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

Wang Jie, Zhou Yanruo, and Jian Zheng took the last long-distance bus back together, arriving in the city at around 11 p.m. All three were filled with sadness and exhaustion, and no one spoke until the bus approached Yangxi Road, when Wang Jie finally managed to ask, "Jian Zheng, are you sure you can get home by yourself?"

“I…don’t want to go home, I don’t want to be alone.” Jian Zheng’s voice was low and trembling.

"I'll take Zhou Yanruo home first," Wang Jie said to Jian Zheng. "You can come to my place tonight."

Zhou Yanruo's eyes reddened again, and she choked out, "Wang Jie, I'm really scared."

"Don't be afraid, I'll take you home first and explain what happened today to Grandma. She'll take care of you," Wang Jie said, gently patting Zhou Yanruo's back.

"But I don't want to tell Grandma," Zhou Yanruo said softly.

“I still have to tell her. You’re coming home so late; Grandma needs to know why,” Wang Jie insisted.

Zhou Yanruo bit her lip, tears streaming down her face again. She thought of that energetic, sunny, and handsome young man, gone so quietly…

Wang Jie accompanied Zhou Yanruo to her door and gently knocked twice. The small light by the door turned on, and then the door slowly opened. Grandma stood in the doorway, her expression serious: "Ruoruo, why are you so late?"

Seeing Wang Jie behind Zhou Yanruo, Grandma's tone was somewhat displeased: "Wang Jie, don't you remember what you promised me?"

Zhou Yanruo didn't respond and silently walked past her grandmother into the room. The moment she turned around, her grandmother saw her face covered in tears and immediately asked with concern, "What happened? Did someone bully you?"

“Grandma,” Wang Jie explained, “we went to the suburbs to film today and there was a little accident.”

"An accident? Did something happen to Ruoruo?" Grandma asked anxiously.

“No, Grandma. It was two friends of ours, Cheng Zhi and Xue Jiang, who accidentally fell into the pond,” Wang Jie said with difficulty.

"Ah? I think Ruoruo mentioned those two children." Grandma's face immediately turned pale. "How are they? Were they rescued?"

"Xue Jiang is still in the hospital undergoing emergency treatment, but Cheng Zhi... couldn't be saved. When we found him, he was already..." Wang Jie choked up.

Grandma covered her mouth in shock: "How could this be? Cheng Zhi, is that the youngest boy? Their family must be heartbroken."

“Cheng Zhi and Xue Jiang are Zhou Yanruo’s best friends. She is very sad and must be terrified.”

"Ah, life is so unpredictable. I'll take care of Ruoruo. I see your clothes are still wet. It's chilly at night, so go back and have some ginger soup to warm yourself up," Grandma said with concern. "I won't keep you any longer, go back quickly."

“Okay, let Zhou Yanruo rest well at home tomorrow. I’ll go to the school to check on things first, and then I’ll come see her,” Wang Jie said.

"Go back," Grandma said, turning and going inside, turning off the small lamp by the door.

When Wang Jie returned home, his grandfather was already cooking ginger soup for him in the communal kitchen in the corridor. Seeing him come back, his grandfather said softly, "Go inside and change your clothes quickly, don't catch a cold, the ginger soup will be ready soon."

Wang Jie went into her cubicle, changed into a long-sleeved t-shirt, and then remembered Jian Zheng. Didn't they agree to come to the house and wait for him? Where was he?

Grandpa carried a steaming bowl of ginger tea into the house and placed it on the "desk": "Drink some ginger soup to warm yourself up, so you don't catch a cold."

"Grandpa, didn't Jian Zheng come?" Wang Jie asked.

“He just left not long ago,” Grandpa replied.

"Gone? Didn't you say you weren't going back tonight?" Wang Jie muttered to himself, somewhat surprised.

"I think he made a phone call to his mother and then went home."

"Oh, that's fine then." Wang Jie sighed, feeling somewhat forlorn. "Grandpa, you should go and rest."

"Wang Jie, Jian Zheng just told me everything." Grandpa stopped at the door of the cubicle. "Life is unpredictable. It's a pity that the child was so young. Don't think too much about it. Sigh, it's all fate. Don't take it out on yourself; it will make you feel better." Grandpa's voice was full of sighs.

Wang Jie lay on the bed, staring straight at the ceiling, afraid to close his eyes. His mind was filled with Cheng Zhi's young and handsome face, his large European-style eyes, and his bright, sunny smile.

The next morning, Wang Jie used the public phone at the convenience store to send Zhou Yanruo a text message: "I'll go to the school to find out what's going on. You rest well at home. I'll let you know if I have any news." After sending the message, he stood by the phone for a while. Seeing that Zhou Yanruo didn't reply, he thought she was probably too tired last night and hadn't gotten up yet.

Wang Jie rode his bicycle to school. Today, the wheels seemed unusually heavy. He pedaled with difficulty, each stroke feeling like it carried heavy thoughts.

As Wang Jie approached the classroom door, he heard sobbing coming from inside. He stopped, a heavy feeling rising in his heart. This once vibrant classroom was now shrouded in an atmosphere of sorrow. He took a deep breath and pushed open the door to go inside.

The atmosphere in the classroom was unusually heavy, filled with an indescribable sadness. The usually lively and cheerful students all had their heads bowed, their faces bearing undisguised grief. Two boys were about to leave when they bumped into Wang Jie as he entered. They glanced at him, a complex emotion flashing in their eyes, but quickly lowered their heads and hurried away without a word.

Wang Jie walked to the center of the classroom, where several girls were sitting together, intently making small white flowers out of white silk paper, with more than a dozen already made in front of them.

Several students huddled together, discussing something in hushed tones. Their voices were low and suppressed, occasionally punctuated by muffled sobs. Wang Jie stood quietly to the side, listening to their conversation, a pang of pain shooting through his heart.

One of the boys said coldly, "Trying to show off, now look what happened, he's lost his life."

“Everyone is already heartbroken enough, so stop talking nonsense,” a girl retorted, her voice trembling with tears.

"That's right. How can the training class continue after something like this happens? The higher-ups will definitely hold them accountable."

"You're only thinking about these things. Don't you feel sorry for Cheng Zhi? Xue Jiang is still in the ICU."

"I heard that Cheng Zhi's father is an investor."

"No, Cheng Zhi mentioned to me that his father is a sponsor." The girl couldn't help but cry. "Cheng Zhi is so good. He helps everyone. He's only 17 years old, the youngest in our class."

"What's done is done, so let's stop complaining. Cheng Zhi's death was an accident, and we shouldn't blame anyone."

Zhang Ying, a girl who was usually quiet in class, stood up and went to greet Wang Jie when she saw him approaching. Her eyes were slightly red, clearly affected by the incident. She said to Wang Jie, "Teacher Wang, we know about what happened yesterday."

Seeing that Wang Jie looked a little embarrassed, she quickly added, "Teacher Wang, don't listen to them, everyone is too heartbroken."

"It's okay, I understand." Wang Jie waved his hand, indicating that he didn't mind the students' comments.

Before coming to the classroom, he went to the teachers' office, but did not see any other teachers or the head of the curriculum.

"The director took Dafang and Yaya to the train station to pick up Xue Jiang's mother and younger brother."

Dafang and Yaya were the two boys who brushed past Wang Jie when he entered the classroom.

"Are they going straight back to school or going directly to the hospital?"

"We're going straight to the hospital. Are we planning to go too? Is Teacher Wang coming with us to the hospital or to Cheng Zhi's house?"