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

Chapter 113: After a long journey, I am still a young man when I return

The moment to face it had finally arrived. Shang Yibo turned to look at Jian Zheng and said calmly, "You already know?"

Jian Zheng stared ahead, as if he could look back on all his past with Wang Jie through the windshield.

He took a deep breath and said slowly, "Let's find a place to talk. What exactly happened?"

Shang Yibo responded, "We need a place where we can drink; we really can't talk about this without drinking."

Jian Zheng frowned and replied, "Where are we going to find a place to drink in the middle of the afternoon?"

Shang Yibo didn't offer much explanation; he simply stepped on the gas.

The two remained silent throughout the journey, and soon after, the car stopped in front of the Yishang International Hotel.

Jian Zheng asked, somewhat surprised, "You're taking me back to the hotel?"

Shang Yibo pointed in the direction of the hotel and said, "There is Rainbow BAR on the B1 floor. They have drinks there. There won't be too many people at this time, which is perfect for us to chat."

As soon as the car came to a stop, Jian Zheng quickly opened the car door and got out.

The bar on the B1 floor of the Yi Shang International Hotel is one of the hotel's amenities. Although it is not primarily for profit, such a facility is essential to meet the requirements of a five-star hotel as assessed by the tourism bureau.

The bar usually opens at 2 p.m. and closes at 2 a.m.

When Shang Yibo and Jian Zheng entered the bar, it had just opened for business. A heavily made-up waitress was chatting and laughing happily with the bartender behind the counter.

Upon seeing guests enter, the waitress immediately came forward and greeted them warmly: "Hello, are you two gentlemen?"

Shang Yibo, wearing a baseball cap and a mask, completely covered himself up. He didn't respond, but walked straight into the depths of the bar. Jian Zheng followed closely behind, also remaining silent.

The two found a relatively secluded corner by the bar, where Shang Yibo sat down and Jian Zheng followed suit.

The waitress followed them in and, after they sat down, asked, "What drinks would you like to order? There's a QR code on the table; you can scan it to order yourself."

Shang Yibo replied simply, "Okay, we'll order ourselves. You can go ahead and get busy."

The waitress nodded slightly and turned to leave.

Shang Yibo picked up his phone, scanned the QR code on the corner of the table, opened the mini-program's wine list, and then turned to Jian Zheng, asking, "What would you like to drink? How about Johnnie Walker?"

Jian Zheng rolled his eyes at Shang Yibo and replied, "I'm on edge right now. I'm afraid that if I drink the whiskey, I might set it on fire again."

Shang Yibo chuckled and said, "It wouldn't be that exaggerated. How about we stick to our usual routine and get some beer? How about Tsingtao?"

Jian Zheng nodded and said, "That's more like it. Iced food is just right to cool you down."

Shang Yibo swiped his phone screen, searching for the Tsingtao Beer option, but after flipping through it twice, he still couldn't find the brand, and couldn't help but feel a little annoyed: "Damn, there's no Tsingtao Beer."

He looked up and asked Jian Zheng earnestly, "What about Heineken if Qingdao isn't around?"

Jian Zheng glared at Shang Yibo and said, "Damn it, is what we drink the important thing right now? Are you deliberately changing the subject?"

Shang Yibo didn't answer directly, but muttered to himself, "Then I'll take the liberty of ordering half a dozen Heineken first, and order more if that's not enough."

Jian Zheng said impatiently, "Alright, alright, hurry up."

"Okay, the order has been placed," Shang Yibo replied.

Shang Yibo took off his mask and was about to remove his hat when he realized his bald head was too conspicuous, so he didn't take it off and instead pulled the brim down further. Just then, a waitress came over with a tray to serve them drinks and immediately recognized Shang Yibo as the big star. She first showed a look of surprise, then remembered that Shang Yibo was also the owner of this hotel, and quickly apologized, saying, "Shang Yibo, no, Mr. Shang, I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you just now."

Shang Yibo waved his hand and said to the waitress, "Just leave the wine here. You don't need to worry about it for now. I'll call you if I need anything."

He then opened a can of beer and poured it into a glass. He looked up at Jian Zheng, only to find that Jian Zheng was still sitting still, staring at the table, clearly lost in thought.

I remember that in the past, when the two of us drank together, we would each pour our own drinks.

Seeing that Jian Zheng did not react, Shang Yibo took the beer in front of Jian Zheng, pulled the tab, poured the beer into another glass, and handed it to Jian Zheng.

"Jian Zheng, it's been a long time. Let's have a drink first."

Jian Zheng looked up, his eyes bloodshot and red. "You make it sound so easy. You think you can just brush everything off with a 'long time no see'? Dream on."

Shang Yibo didn't argue and downed his drink in one gulp.

Then he opened another can of liquor and poured it into a glass.

"I didn't mean to cover everything up, and I can't really explain what happened."

Jian Zheng took a sip of wine, trying to keep his voice steady, and said, "That year, when you left Xichuan, you were no longer Wang Jie, were you?"

Shang Yibo said, "Yes, let's go back another six months."

"Half a year?" Jian Zheng pondered for a moment, then continued, "The night you were struck by lightning and fell into a coma, that's when it started? That's right, it was after that night that you became different from usual. I thought it was because you were injured by lightning and your brain hadn't recovered yet."

"That year, I had just finished my college entrance exam and was about to go on my graduation trip when I was caught in a thunderstorm at the airport and fell into a coma. When I woke up, I saw you and Grandpa, and that's when I realized I had come to Xichuan. What's even more inexplicable is that it was 1999."

“Many of your ideas and the terms you often use have only come about in the last few years,” Jian Zheng said sullenly. “So, you’re from here. So, you’re Shang Yibo.”

Shang Yibo knew that Jian Zheng hadn't spoken to him, and the "you" Jian Zheng was referring to wasn't him, but Wang Jie.

He downed another beer and said, "Jian Zheng, are you blaming me?"

“What right do I have to blame you? You had no choice in the matter.” Jian Zheng also drank a whole glass of beer and said, “Why didn’t you tell me back then?”

"At first, I didn't know what had happened. I was very scared. I was afraid that if I told you, I might reveal some secret and there would be no going back. Later, I fell in love with you all, with Xichuan and Wang Jie. I couldn't bear to tell you."

"You want to make the best of a bad situation."

"I think that was the best choice I could make at the time."

Jian Zheng's voice choked with sobs as he stammered, "But you should at least have told me what we were. We were brothers. When you left, we were so heartbroken. We weren't prepared at all. A living person, just vanished without a trace, without a sound, do you understand? As if you had never existed."

Shang Yibo comforted him in a trembling voice, "Don't be sad."

Jian Zheng wiped away the tears that welled up in his eyes, rubbed his face vigorously with both hands, and said, "How can I not be sad?"

“Look at this.” Jian Zheng patted his round belly, then brushed the hair from his forehead and pointed to his receding hairline, saying, “Why is it that you’ve been away for half your life and come back still a young man, while I’ve become an old man with a big belly. And, and I’m bald.”