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

The costume fitting and stills shoot in the morning went very smoothly.

Neither the director nor the executive producer present expected that Shang Yibo would shave his head, even at the cost of terminating his commercial contract, for the sake of portraying the character.

Shang Yibo, labeled as a traffic star, has had a successful run in his previous drama "The Swordsman's Journey," but recent controversies have made him both loved by many fans and subject to some criticism. Fortunately, his low-key and humble demeanor has not damaged his public image; otherwise, actors with this kind of personality might be categorized as "risky" artists, deterring other production companies from casting him.

This successful collaboration was largely thanks to Fang Xichen's personal intervention in communicating with the production company and his additional investment, which directly upgraded the production level of "Legend of Huizhou Merchants" from S-level to S++-level.

On the way back to the city in the van, Shang Yibo instructed the driver to head directly towards Tsinghua and Peking Universities.

Zhou Yanruo said, "Yibo, I need to go back to the group to handle some work first. I also have some personal matters to take care of this afternoon. I'd like to ask for leave."

"Let's go to Rushang Building first," Shang Yibo said in a low voice.

“Let’s drop me off once we enter the Fifth Ring Road. I’ll call a car back to Rushang Building, so you won’t have to take a detour,” Zhou Yanruo suggested.

"Whatever you want," Shang Yibo replied briefly, then closed his eyes and began to rest.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Ding Jiajia turned to Shang Yibo to confirm, "Yibo, are we really going to Tsinghua and Peking University?"

"Yes, that's right," Shang Yibo replied.

"I mean, do we really want to go to Tsinghua or Peking University now?" Ding Jiajia asked again to confirm.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Shang Yibo opened his eyes, looked at Ding Jiajia, and showed a puzzled expression.

“It’s summer vacation now, and Tsinghua and Peking Universities are already closed. Without prior arrangements, it might be difficult to get in,” Ding Jiajia explained.

"What should we do? We only have time this afternoon." Shang Yibo seemed a little uneasy.

“There will be many study tours and visits during the summer vacation,” Ding Jiajia said. “These are educational institutions or travel agencies that organize students to visit the school.”

"Do I have to sign up for a tour group first?" Shang Yibo teased. "Am I going to visit a school with a bunch of middle school students while I'm bald?"

Ding Jiajia: "It doesn't seem quite appropriate."

“You can try going through the west gate. That leads to the staff quarters and the school’s living area. In the past, you could just say you were a visitor and register to enter. But I don’t know about the current situation,” Zhou Yanruo suggested after a moment’s hesitation.

"Sister Yanruo, you seem to know a lot about Tsinghua and Peking Universities?" Ding Jiajia said with envy. "I haven't been there yet. I've always wanted to visit Jingming Lake. I've heard it's a very romantic place."

“Yes, I… am very familiar with that place…” Zhou Yanruo’s tone revealed a complex emotion.

Shang Yibo remained silent, Zhou Yanruo also avoided the topic, and Ding Jiajia, after talking to herself for a while, gradually lost interest and turned away, no longer speaking.

The car suddenly became quiet.

Zhou Yanruo's phone rang unexpectedly. Afraid of disturbing everyone, she quickly answered, "Hello, Zihang."

The caller was Zhou Zihang: "Ruoruo, have you finished your work this morning?"

Shang Yibo was sitting in the back of the van with Zhou Yanruo when he overheard a man calling her "Ruoruo" on the phone.

His heart tightened: Zhou Yanruo really did have a man, though he wondered if it was a boyfriend or a husband. At her age, it was perfectly normal for her to have a man.

Shang Yibo kept his eyes closed, trying to control himself, but his eyeballs trembled involuntarily under his eyelids.

Zhou Yanruo felt a little embarrassed when Zhou Zihang affectionately called her "Ruoruo". The car was quiet, and she guiltily glanced at Shang Yibo beside her. He was still resting with his eyes closed and hadn't noticed her movements at all.

"Zihang, I'll call you back in a bit," Zhou Yanruo said to Zhou Zihang, half-covering the microphone.

"Tell me your address, and I'll go directly to your apartment complex. What time will you be back? We can meet there," the man's voice on the phone said again.

“Okay, I’ll send it to you,” Zhou Yanruo said softly. “I estimate I’ll be home in about two hours.”

Shang Yibo frowned and couldn't help but let out a soft "humph," it was unclear whether he was reminding or warning him.

Zhou Yanruo ended the phone call and heard movement on Shang Yibo's end, knowing that he was not asleep, so she said softly, "Yibo, I'm going to the front, I'll get off first."

Shang Yibo did not respond.

Ding Jiajia then turned to Zhou Yanruo and said, "Sister Yanruo, let's talk on the phone again later. I'll let you know as soon as there are any last-minute arrangements from the company. There have been quite a few last-minute announcements lately, so we need to stay in touch."

“Okay, no problem, I’ll contact you later,” Zhou Yanruo replied.

"Driver, please pull over. I'm getting off up ahead," Zhou Yanruo gestured to the driver.

After the car stopped, Zhou Yanruo got out.

Inside the car, Shang Yibo still had his eyes closed, seemingly resting, but his lips were tightly pursed.

"You and Yan Ruo seem to be quite close?" Shang Yibo's tone carried a hint of barely perceptible indifference.

Ding Jiajia turned her head and asked in confusion, "Yibo, are you talking to me?"

"if not."

Shang Yibo's reply was brief and cold. To Ding Jiajia, his tone sounded like an icy wind, clearly revealing his extreme displeasure.

"Sister Yanruo has only been with the company for a short time, and we haven't had much contact before. When I heard from colleagues at the company, they all said that President Zhou is a very nice person, but he seems too serious and tense. To be honest, we only really got to know each other recently because we've been working together more and spending more time together, and that's how our relationship became closer." Ding Jiajia didn't know what Shang Yibo meant by this question, so she could only answer cautiously, trying to figure it out.

She suddenly remembered something and added, "Oh, right, Sister Yanruo rarely takes leave for personal matters. I heard her boyfriend recently returned from the United States and has been back for several days. We've all been busy dealing with various things these past few days, and Sister Yanruo hasn't been able to find time to spend with her boyfriend."

"Boyfriend? Zhou Yanruo has a boyfriend?" Shang Yibo stared at Ding Jiajia with wide eyes.

"Yeah, it's not surprising that Sister Yanruo has a boyfriend."

The two were talking and neither of them noticed that the car had already stopped at the west gate of Tsinghua and Peking Universities.

"Let's go see if we can get in."

Shang Yibo put on a mask, pulled the brim of his baseball cap down, got out of the car and walked straight towards the west gate of Tsinghua and Peking Universities.