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

Chapter 106 Exceptional Talent Means Growing Younger with Age

Zhou Yanruo came over to help Ding Jiajia out of the awkward situation, "Jiajia, do you have any other plans for today?"

Ding Jiajia quickly turned to Zhou Yanruo and said, "It's Saturday today, I don't have anything else to do. Where are you all going?"

Zhou Yanruo said, "I was just about to go to my friend's house for dinner."

Ding Jiajia looked at Shang Yibo with a surprised expression, then secretly pointed at Shang Yibo in front of Zhou Yanruo with her index finger and asked, "Sister Yanruo, are you saying that Shang Yibo went to your friend's house for dinner with you?"

“Me too.” Jian Zheng said, walking around behind Shang Yibo with a gift box in each hand.

When Zhou Yanruo saw that Jian Zheng was carrying both the "50-Year Pu'er Tea Gift Box" and the "Purple Clay Tea Set Gift Box," while Shang Yibo was casually standing aside swinging his arms, she wanted to take one of the gift boxes from Jian Zheng, so she said, "Let me take one for you."

Jian Zheng gently brushed aside Zhou Yanruo's outstretched hand to take the gift box, and said with a smile, "No need, I'll take it myself. How could I trouble you, madam?"

Shang Yibo watched from the side, his eyelids lowered, and scoffed. He seemed nonchalant, but his heart was already churning: "Jian Zheng is still the same as before, only older. His personality is still the same as before, a nice guy."

Ding Jiajia saw a middle-aged man, tall and slightly overweight, wearing a floral shirt and white casual shorts, walking with a limp. The floral shirt made his face look fair and clean, and he wore gold-rimmed glasses. He was chatting happily with Zhou Yanruo. She looked at Zhou Yanruo with a questioning gaze.

Zhou Yanruo introduced Ding Jiajia to Jian Zheng, saying, "Ding Jiajia is my colleague and Shang Yibo's assistant." Then she turned to Ding Jiajia and introduced Jian Zheng, saying, "Jiajia, this is my friend, Jian Zheng."

Jian Zheng took the initiative to greet Ding Jiajia: "Hello! So big stars are surrounded by beautiful women."

Ding Jiajia was flattered to be praised as a beauty. It was the most pleasant thing she had heard since morning, and she didn't care if it was just polite talk or not; she took it as the truth. So, she smiled and replied, "Hello, Mr. Jian! Sister Yanruo's friends are all elites in their respective fields."

Zhou Yanruo scoffed, "You two should stop flattering each other... oh dear." But she swallowed the word "fart" from her mouth, thinking it was too vulgar.

Unexpectedly, Shang Yibo added a single word from the side: "Bullshit."

Zhou Yanruo's little scheme was immediately seen through, and a blush rose on her face.

Jian Zheng said meaningfully, "Zhou Yanruo, stop pretending to be a lady. We're all family here."

Seeing several people standing in the hotel lobby, chatting idly, Shang Yibo couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you leaving?"

Ding Jiajia said to Zhou Yanruo, "Would it be appropriate for me to go too?"

Zhou Yanruo said, "There's nothing inappropriate about it. Zihang is a very good person. We'd be happy to have another person eat his cooking."

Shang Yibo gave a light "tsk" and said, "I'll drive, Zhou Yanruo will lead the way, and Ding Jiajia and President Jian can sit in the back."

Following Shang Yibo's instructions, everyone got into the car together.

Starting from Yishang International Hotel and heading to Shangqing Jiayuan, located on the North Third Ring Road, the distance isn't far, only about 10 kilometers. However, since it was the weekend and there were no restrictions on vehicle license plate numbers, there was a traffic jam on the ring road in the middle of the day.

Shang Yibo drove silently, oblivious to everything. As soon as he got in the car, he reached out and adjusted the rearview mirror, a small gesture that went unnoticed by anyone. While driving, he would occasionally glance at the rearview mirror, where he could see Jian Zheng, his face glistening with oil, chatting idly with Ding Jiajia.

Zhou Yanruo was arranged to sit in the passenger seat by Shang Yibo, and she couldn't object. After all, they were going to her neighborhood, and if she didn't lead the way, who would? It all seemed perfectly reasonable. How could she have overlooked something called "navigation"?

Thinking of navigation apps, Zhou Yanruo didn't want to sit in the passenger seat and give directions by gesturing. So she simply opened the navigation app on her phone, entered the address of her neighborhood, and placed her phone on the glove compartment. Turning her head to look out the window, she felt a mix of emotions.

For more than ten years, she deliberately kept her distance from Jian Zheng, even at the cost of losing contact with him, all in order to avoid seeing him.

Seeing Jian Zheng naturally reminds her of Wang Jie. How can she let go of this? She keeps telling herself to look forward, but it seems to be nothing more than empty words of self-deception.

Jian Zheng and Ding Jiajia, who were sitting in the back row, hit it off immediately and, after a brief silence, began to chat enthusiastically.

I don't know who started the conversation, but the two of them started talking about the characteristics of southern and northern cuisines.

Ding Jiajia is also from the South, specifically from Nanning, Guangxi, which is further south than Jian Zheng and the others.

Jian Zheng said, "Although your area is in the south, the food there is quite strong in flavor."

Ding Jiajia said, "It's both salty and sour, and I can't live without spicy food."

"That's the exact opposite of where we live."

"how to say?"

"Neither too salty nor too bland, sweetness is paramount."

"Haha, that's right, that's right, you summed it up perfectly. I just can't eat Huaiyang cuisine. I always find it bland and overly sweet."

"Dr. Zhou is from our hometown, and he'll most likely be cooking Huaiyang cuisine today. What are you going to do then?"

"There's no need to be so particular. Back when I first came to Beijing, I ate rice with soy sauce for a whole month. It's not that I can't get used to Huaiyang cuisine, it's that I simply can't afford it, okay?"

"It's not as exaggerated as you say. You're talking about the old days. Why do you sound so old-fashioned? How old are you?"

"This is my third year living in Beijing," Ding Jiajia said, her tone a mix of grievance and pride.

Jian Zheng laughed and said, "You're pretty amazing. You ventured out here all by yourself. We didn't have your kind of courage and determination back then."

Upon hearing this, Shang Yibo raised an eyebrow slightly, looked sharply at Jian Zheng through the rearview mirror, and said, "President Jian, don't be modest. If you didn't have enough courage and determination, why would you have chosen to leave Xichuan?"

Upon hearing this, Jian Zheng's expression hardened, but he then said as usual, "We should give the young girl some encouragement. She's had it so tough, isn't she, Zhou Yanruo?"

Hearing someone mention her name, Zhou Yanruo snapped out of her reverie and stammered, "Yes, it's not easy for a young girl. Yes, that's right, it's not easy for anyone."

Ding Jiajia felt embarrassed by what was said, "Why are you all acting like you're old? Besides, you're not old at all. Yibo is even a few years younger than me."

Jian Zheng smiled and muttered to himself without making it obvious, "Some people are just naturally gifted; they seem to grow younger as they age."

Shang Yibo frowned and looked deeply at Jian Zheng through the rearview mirror.