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

Chapter 192 I'm sorry, I've dragged you into this.

The atmosphere between Shang Yibo and Zhou Yanruo suddenly became heavy. The two stopped scrolling on their phones almost simultaneously, looked up at each other, and revealed complex emotions in their eyes, including doubt and concern for each other.

The two remained silent, then lowered their heads again to continue browsing the content under the entry.

Shang Yibo scrolled through the pages and noticed a Weibo post by a user with the ID "[Justice, Though Delayed, Will Surely Arrive]", which contained vulgar language and directly referenced his and Zhou Yanruo's family background.

The woman beside the wealthy second-generation tycoon, surnamed Zhou, is the only daughter of a seemingly respectable professor couple. Twenty years ago, her college entrance exam score was less than 300, but she managed to go to the United States for a prestigious degree by exploiting the suffering of others.

Shang Yibo clicked to enter the netizen's Weibo homepage, where he saw only three Weibo posts, which read: "Does anyone still remember the bombing case from twenty years ago? The biological father of the top idol was actually the culprit of that incident," "The professor couple committed heinous crimes, but the victims have no way to appeal," and the exposé he had just seen under the trending search terms.

He then logged into his Weibo account to search for the strange comment he had just seen.

He searched the comments section twice but couldn't find the comment; it had obviously been deleted. He realized that his staff might have filtered the comments and removed the inappropriate one.

Who exactly saw that comment and then deleted it? Besides himself, Qi Qingnan and Ding Jiajia previously had access to his Weibo account and password. Due to changes in work requirements, his Weibo ID and password were also given to Zhou Yanruo.

Did Zhou Yanruo also see that comment, and was it she who deleted it?

Is the person who left the comments section the same person who is now revealing Zhou Yanruo's background? Why would someone put him and Zhou Yanruo together to expose this information?

Among the people he and Zhou Yanruo both knew, who were the people who knew about their past? Shang Yibo mentally counted them, and only Jian Zheng met all the criteria. Because Zhou Yanruo still didn't know that Shang Yibo was Wang Jie, Jian Zheng wouldn't be hiding behind the scenes doing this, which filled Shang Yibo with doubt.

Shang Yibo looked up at Zhou Yanruo sitting opposite him, realizing that she was being doxxed and subjected to cyberbullying, all because of him. His gaze fell on Zhou Yanruo's hands, which were tightly gripping her phone. Her hands trembled slightly from the force, and her fingertips had turned white from the prolonged grip. Her expression was tense, her upper teeth biting her lower lip tightly, as if to suppress the surging emotions within her, preventing them from easily showing. Her tightly bitten lips had lost their color and appeared exceptionally pale.

Clearly, Zhou Yanruo had already seen the revelations about her on Weibo.

“You must have experienced a lot of pain and helplessness during those years. I’m sorry!” Shang Yibo murmured.

However, Zhou Yanruo didn't pay attention to Shang Yibo's words. Her slender fingers jumped quickly across the phone screen. In response to a topic criticizing Professor Zhou, she replied: "How unfortunate must your lives be to fabricate such malicious stories and distort the facts. You revel in the misfortunes of others to vent or relieve your inner pain and unbearable suffering."

Shang Yibo wanted to offer comfort, but struggled to find the right way.

Only now did he realize that he didn't actually understand Zhou Yanruo as well as he had imagined. Time had passed, many years had gone by, and he was no longer in her life. Even if there were traces of him, they were merely memories.

She endured all the hardships alone, including Wang Jie's departure and the passing of Zhou Yanruo's parents.

What right does he have, and from what standpoint, to reopen her wounds, and presumptuously believe he can smooth over those traumas?

Thinking of this, an indescribable pain welled up in his heart. He whispered, "Ruoruo, is it true? You..."

This soft call made Zhou Yanruo's body tremble slightly. The familiar voice, filled with endless longing, instantly touched the softest part of her heart.

Shang Yibo slowly stood up, walked to Zhou Yanruo's side, and gently placed his hand on her shoulder, both to comfort and to apologize: "I'm sorry, I've dragged you into this. I didn't expect that the people behind the internet would be so unscrupulous."

Zhou Yanruo withdrew her gaze, her lips trembling slightly, her already fair complexion now appearing even paler. She finally spoke, her voice soft yet unusually firm: "It's not your fault, you don't need to feel sorry. They can criticize me, but they shouldn't speak ill of my parents. They've been gone for twenty years. They're gone, and those things should be forgotten."

Shang Yibo was eager to know the details, but he was also careful not to ask too many questions, for fear of touching her sore spot.

Suppressing his own desire, he asked tentatively in the gentlest of his voice, "Yes, what happened? Can you tell me?"

Zhou Yanruo hesitated, wondering whether she should bring up these old stories with Shang Yibo. After all, Shang Yibo's position was rather special; although they had recently shared some experiences, he was still her superior.

Seeing this, Shang Yibo gently pulled out the chair next to Zhou Yanruo and sat down. He reached out and gently held her still slightly trembling hand, and said softly, "It's okay. I'll be here listening whenever you want to talk."

Feeling the warmth from Shang Yibo's palm, Zhou Yanruo felt an indescribable urge welling up inside her, wanting to confide in the young boy in front of her: "Those are all things of the past, I've never mentioned them to anyone. If it weren't for today..."

Shang Yibo nodded silently, giving her an encouraging look, and said softly, "No rush, I'll wait for you."

Zhou Yanruo's eyes gradually reddened. She gently pursed her lips, her voice as soft as a whisper, yet filled with unbearable sorrow. With difficulty, she opened her mouth, revealing a long-buried memory: "It was the year 2000, the beginning of the new century. While we were all still looking forward to the future, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, a day that should have been a time for families to gather and admire the full moon, my parents, due to a sudden explosion, left me forever..."

Zhou Yanruo's voice choked as she spoke, but she still tried her best to control her emotions and keep her words coherent: "The accident came so suddenly, catching everyone off guard..."

As Zhou Yanruo narrated, Shang Yibo's heart tightened, as if weighed down by something heavy, sinking deeper and deeper...