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

Chapter 215 Things keep happening, one thing after another.

Shang Yibo stared at Jian Zheng suspiciously and asked, "Why is he avoiding you? I don't think it's that serious. Are you overthinking it?"

Jian Zheng retorted sharply, "Whether you believe me or not is up to you. I'm just asking you, do you want to see Zhang Qian, and his most awesome senior, the one surnamed Yin? Don't tell me you don't know that your biological father's surname is Yin."

Shang Yibo, his sore spot hit, retorted angrily, "You're investigating me?"

"I found it by accident, see, you don't believe me. I don't have that much free time to investigate you." Jian Zheng said somewhat guiltily, "That's not the point, don't go off-topic."

Shang Yibo had indeed considered finding out about his biological father and had even tried to look up information at his father's alma mater. Last time, he even arrived at the gates of Tsinghua and Peking Universities, hesitating whether to go in or not, but it happened to be summer vacation, and the school's management was strict, so he was unable to enter the school. Therefore, he used this as an excuse to give up.

As the two were locked in a stalemate, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open, and Zhou Yanruo and Ding Jiajia walked in.

Both were surprised to see Jian Zheng sitting there, but their surprises were different.

Zhou Yanruo asked bluntly, "Jian Zheng? What are you doing here? Why are you everywhere?" Her words were sharp and showed no mercy.

Ding Jiajia said somewhat reservedly, "Mr. Jian, I was wondering why I hadn't heard from you these past few days. So you've come to Huizhou."

As Zhou Yanruo took off her coat, she casually asked Shang Yibo, "You invited him over? Why didn't you mention it to me?"

“We bumped into each other at the restaurant entrance,” Shang Yibo explained, then asked Zhou Yanruo, “How come you came with Ding Jiajia?”

Zhou Yanruo mimicked Shang Yibo's tone and replied, "We also bumped into each other at the entrance of the restaurant."

Jian Zheng stood up and said to Zhou Yanruo, "He didn't lie to you, we really did meet by chance."

Then, he turned to Shang Yibo and said, "Alright, I won't disturb your date any longer. I'll be going now. If you've made up your mind, contact me. I'll be in Huizhou these days."

Shang Yibo lowered his head and remained silent, and Zhou Yanruo didn't understand for a moment.

Only Ding Jiajia quickly chimed in, "What date? Who's going on a date with whom?"

Jian Zheng laughed and pulled Ding Jiajia along, "Fine, I'll go on a date with you, okay? Come on, I'll take you to eat something delicious. This restaurant is all show and no substance. It has a fancy atmosphere, but the food is terribly bad."

Before anyone could react, Jian Zheng had already pulled Ding Jiajia out of the private room and closed the door behind them.

Zhou Yanruo, who was confused, and Shang Yibo, who seemed to be deep in thought, remained in the private room.

After a moment of silence, Zhou Yanruo asked, "What were you and Jian Zheng talking about just now? Why did you both look so serious? Strange, why did he come to Huizhou too?"

Shang Yibo replied casually, "Oh, it's an old friend I haven't seen for many years. Jian Zheng found out he's in Huizhou and wanted to invite me to meet him."

Zhou Yanruo pressed on, "What old friend? You and Jian Zheng haven't known each other for very long, have you? How could you have an old friend you haven't seen for years?"

Shang Yibo stammered, "Well, it's an old friend of his who wanted to introduce me to him."

He didn't want to hide it from Zhou Yanruo to avoid misunderstandings, but when she pressed him for an explanation, he didn't know how to explain it clearly and felt that the more he talked, the more confused he became.

Zhou Yanruo sensed a hidden meaning in his words. She instinctively felt that Shang Yibo was just brushing her off and didn't believe him, but she couldn't find a reason to refute him.

Shang Yibo noticed that Zhou Yanruo had lost even more weight in just over ten days.

"You've lost weight again. Have you been too busy and haven't been getting enough rest?" he asked with concern.

When asked about work, Zhou Yanruo couldn't help but sigh, "Sigh, it's not just busy, it's also very tricky."

Since Shang Yibo began participating in the affairs of Rushang Group, Zhou Yanruo has officially regarded him as a senior management member of the company, and many core business matters are reported to him first. Crucially, although Shang Yibo is young, he can always provide practical and feasible suggestions, which makes Zhou Yanruo's work progress extremely smoothly, and thus frequently earns him high praise from the chairman.

Zhou Yanruo had no choice but to admit this.

Once Shang Yibo decided to participate in the group's investment business, his blood was truly awakened, and every cell in his body was highly active in order to achieve business goals.

"What happened again? I've always felt that although things have been busy lately, everything has been going according to plan. Could something have gone wrong again? That shouldn't be the case." Shang Yibo asked himself.

Seeing Zhou Yanruo's tired appearance, Shang Yibo quickly said, "We can talk about these things later. Let's order first. You must be hungry. We can chat slowly after we eat. Anyway, we have time today."

"Let me order. You'd better hide your celebrity face, or you'll cause trouble again."

Then, Zhou Yanruo picked up the menu on the table and left the private room. A little while later, she returned and said, "I ordered three dishes and two bowls of rice. It should be enough for just the two of us."

As soon as she finished speaking, the waiter entered the private room and brought them a pot of tea. When it was time to pour the tea, Zhou Yanruo said, "Let's pour it ourselves."

The waiter nodded upon hearing this and politely withdrew.

Shang Yibo asked with concern, "You ordered melon seed tea. Is it okay to drink green tea this season? Don't you often have stomach problems?"

“Just try some of the local famous teas; a little bit shouldn’t be a problem,” Zhou Yanruo replied.

Zhou Yanruo couldn't keep things to herself, and before all the food was served, she started talking to Shang Yibo about recent company matters.

"The Yuehai Medical Pilot Zone project has run into trouble," Zhou Yanruo said, taking a sip of tea. "The project has been halted."

Shang Yibo was very surprised. Although this project was an investment introduced by the Yuehai City Development Zone government, it had received high attention from the provincial government. Last month, the development zone even organized a meeting with heads of various professional departments and industry experts to actively promote the project. How could it be stopped so easily?

The Yuehai Medical Pilot Zone project is of extraordinary significance to Rushang Group, coinciding with a critical period of business transformation. The entire group is going all out; this is a project that must be protected. While not explicitly stated, everyone understands the implications of a failed investment.

Shang Yibo asked, "When did this happen? We talked on the phone yesterday, how come you didn't mention it?"

Zhou Yanruo replied, "I received the news the night before last. Yesterday, Chairman Chu held a meeting all day, and all departments are actively responding."

Shang Yibo was still puzzled: "Then what was the reason for the halt? Who made the decision, the city or the province?"

Zhou Yanruo said, "It's because someone reported it, and some provincial leaders are already involved. It's not convenient to talk to you about this over the phone. Anyway, I'm coming to Huizhou today, so I'd like to meet you in person and tell you the details."

"What exactly happened? What kind of report would involve the leaders?" Shang Yibo pressed.

“Falsified data in the tender documents, and…” Zhou Yanruo paused for a moment, then added seriously, “bribery.”