The Secret Realm of Time, His and Her Life Through the Changes

In the morning, Shang Yibo was woken up by the ringing of the phone. "Yibo, we have already set off and will arrive at Zimo Garden in about fifteen minutes."

The call was from Ding Jiajia.

This morning, he will go to the Huairou Ming and Qing Film and Television Base to participate in the costume fitting and take costume photos for the TV series "Legend of Huizhou Merchants".

Shang Yibo hurriedly got up and went to the bathroom to wash up. Standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, he looked at himself and couldn't help but recall the scene from last night.

The elders in his family took turns telling him stories about his biological father, Yin Bei, which left him with mixed feelings.

He had expected to have a sleepless night, but for some reason, he drifted off to sleep while deep in thought, and slept exceptionally soundly. The restlessness and anxiety that used to easily overwhelm him had completely vanished, replaced by a sense of peace and tranquility.

From Wang Jie's recollections, there are very few fragments about Tsinghua and Peking Universities.

"Both Mom and Yin Bei attended Tsinghua and Peking Universities, and that's where they met. What kind of person is Yin Bei? He must have left some traces at Tsinghua and Peking Universities. After this morning's itinerary, I'll go to Tsinghua and Peking Universities this afternoon to find out." Shang Yibo silently planned while brushing his teeth.

At eight o'clock in the morning, they arrived at the "Ming and Qing Film and Television Base" in Huairou on time.

The crew of "The Legend of Huizhou Merchants" is in place and has made all the necessary preparations well in advance.

"Teacher Yibo, please proceed to dressing room number 1. Assistant Ding, I'll take you there; the makeup artist has already arrived." The staff member greeted them warmly.

Zhou Yanruo: "Yibo, you guys go to the dressing room first, I'll go check with the costume department."

Ding Jiajia: "The costumes and photography are in the same place. We'll come find you after we finish our styling."

The assistant director quickly came over and extended his hand to Zhou Yanruo, "Are you Assistant Director Zhou from Rushang Group?"

Zhou Yanruo reached out and lightly touched the assistant director's outstretched hand. "Hello, I'm Zhou Yanruo."

"Director Gao specifically instructed that we would resolve any problems Teacher Yibo encounters as soon as possible."

"Director Gao?"

"Director Gao from Tomato Pictures is the producer of 'The Legend of Huizhou Merchants'," the assistant director said. "My surname is Qian, just call me Xiao Qian."

This was Zhou Yanruo's first time on set, and she was surprised by how enthusiastic the crew members were. Gossip often says that a film crew is like a small society, full of backstabbing, flattery, and bullying. It seems that the rumors aren't all true.

"Thank you, Director Qian." After saying that, Zhou Yanruo turned around and walked towards the studio.

"Mr. Zhou, you can go directly to makeup room number 1. It's inside the building, so the environment is better, less crowded, and quieter. The photography studio is too noisy. I'll have the costume team send the costumes over, and Mr. Yibo can try on his makeup here. You can go to the photography studio when we need to take the official photos and stills."

Assistant Director Qian stopped Zhou Yanruo and made a series of enthusiastic arrangements.

“That’s a great arrangement, of course.” Zhou Yanruo smiled and nodded at him. “See you in a bit.”

When Zhou Yanruo entered the dressing room, the stylist was putting a wig on Shang Yibo.

"The hair on the forehead needs to be covered with a fake scalp first."

"It's too big and doesn't fit properly. The effect looks barely right, and it will probably look even more unnatural when magnified on camera."

The stylist whispered to his assistant.

"Shave your hair," Shang Yibo said to the stylist in the mirror.

“I will try not to shave your head. Yihua Company said that you have a variety show to record soon.”

“You can wear a wig or a hat,” Shang Yibo said.

"You can't shave your head. Yibo has a shampoo endorsement contract, and it's stipulated in the contract," Ding Jiajia quickly reminded him.

"Yanruo, take a look at the contract and go talk to terminate it. Don't worry too much about the penalty for breach of contract."

When Shang Yibo saw Zhou Yanruo enter the dressing room, he immediately arranged for her to handle the shampoo endorsement contract issue.

"Or the company could arrange for another artist to take over, so that Yihua Entertainment won't lose resources and won't offend anyone."

Zhou Yanruo immediately proposed a solution and discussed it with Shang Yibo, "After all, it's not an easy thing for the company to secure advertising resources."

"That would be best, of course," Shang Yibo immediately agreed.

"Teacher Yibo is so dedicated..." Makeup artist Li Manman gently poked Shang Yibo's shoulder with her orchid-like finger.

"Brother Manman is being 'genuine' again," the stylist laughed.

Shang Yibo instinctively slumped his shoulders and said helplessly, "Thank you."

"It's really rare to receive a compliment from Brother Manman." Ding Jiajia took the opportunity to pull Li Manman aside and said, "I asked the driver to buy milk tea. Brother Manman, less sugar and less ice, right?"

"Um, okay?" Li said hesitantly, feigning reluctance.

Zhou Yanruo didn't recognize the makeup artist Li Manman. When she saw him, a grown man with greasy hair and a pretentious manner, she couldn't help but shudder and get goosebumps all over.

Ding Jiajia noticed Zhou Yanruo's displeasure, gave her a wink, and left the dressing room.

Zhou Yanruo also came out.

"Sister Yanruo, could you go get me some milk tea from the entrance? The driver can't get in without his badge," Ding Jiajia said to Zhou Yanruo as soon as she stepped out. "Oh, by the way, do you dislike Brother Manman?"

"It's not just things I can't stand or can't stand, it's things I can't accept. Yibo really knows how to put up with it."

"You don't understand Manman. He may look sullen, but he's actually very genuine."

Ding Jiajia noticed Zhou Yanruo's difference while in the dressing room and took the opportunity of going to get milk tea to quickly explain to Zhou Yanruo.

"Brother Manman once helped Yibo. Back then, Yibo debuted through a talent show. Although he had top-tier popularity, he was still a newcomer in the acting circle and did not yet enjoy the privilege of having a dedicated makeup artist. The entertainment industry is full of power struggles, especially for actors who are not from professional backgrounds, there are prejudices and hierarchies of contempt. At that time, no one knew about Yibo's family background, and he himself did not want to rely on his family. Given his personality, he did not like to climb the social ladder. Therefore, whenever he attended an event, he would always arrive early, but he would often have to wait until the very end to have his styling done."

On two separate occasions, he was cut in line by late, somewhat famous celebrities, and ultimately, due to time constraints, Yibo had to go on stage without makeup.

“Yibo isn’t afraid of going makeup-free,” Zhou Yanruo said with a smile.

“That’s true.” Ding Jiajia also laughed. “Manman stood up for Yibo, and later whenever Yibo had an event and Manman happened to be there, he would do Yibo’s styling.”

Zhou Yanruo asked, puzzled, "There's nothing special about this, is there? She's just a makeup artist..."

“Brother Manman is no ordinary makeup artist,” Ding Jiajia explained. “He has won many gold awards internationally and is the personal makeup artist of Cannes Best Actress Zhang Meilin. Apart from top-tier celebrities, no one can hire him.”

"That's amazing." Zhou Yanruo raised an eyebrow and said, "I was just ignorant."

"However, given Shang Yibo's consistent style, it's quite strange that he would try to curry favor with a makeup artist," Zhou Yanruo thought to herself.