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

Chapter 154 has come to an end.

As dawn broke, Shang Yibo finally finished filming the last shot.

As Director Li shouted "Cut!" to signal the end, Zhang Xiaoguang immediately grabbed a blanket and rushed onto the set, quickly wrapping it around Shang Yibo.

Seeing this, Lin Wei quickly bowed to Shang Yibo and apologized: "Teacher Shang, I'm so sorry, because of me we had to film a few extra takes, which made you work so hard!"

Shang Yibo wrapped his hands tightly in the blanket, smiled slightly, shook his head gently, and then turned and walked into his private dressing room.

Ding Jiajia followed closely behind, handing over a thermos and saying, "Yibo, quickly drink some hot ginger tea to warm yourself up and avoid catching a cold."

Shang Yibo took the cup, took a couple of sips, and then returned the thermos to Ding Jiajia.

Zhang Xiaoguang then took out a small blanket from his backpack and carefully laid it on Shang Yibo's legs, muttering, "The weather has cooled down; it's almost zero degrees outside now. Lin Wei really isn't in the right state of mind today. If it weren't for him constantly causing problems, we would have finished work long ago."

Ding Jiajia laughed and replied, "Look, even someone as honest and unassuming as Xiao Guang couldn't help but complain."

Shang Yibo closed his eyes, his voice sounding slightly tired, "Lin Wei is a bit nervous. The more anxious you are at times like this, the more likely you are to make mistakes. Let's not say any more; he's under a lot of pressure too."

Zhang Xiaoguang quickly reassured him, "Teacher Shang, don't worry, I won't say anything after I leave. I was just waiting too impatiently."

Shang Yibo waved his hand gently: "It's okay. After we finish here, we'll go straight back to Beijing."

Ding Jiajia nodded: "Xiao Guang, you stay here and help Yibo remove his makeup and change his clothes. I'll go back to the hotel to pack my things and come pick you up later."

Early in the morning, there weren't many cars on the highway. I arrived back at my apartment in Rushang Garden, located on the Second Ring Road, before seven o'clock.

Shang Yibo hadn't been home for over a month. Upon entering, he first took a hot shower, changed into comfortable silk pajamas, and lay down on the bed, but found himself wide awake.

I was idly scrolling through online messages on my phone, and when I got really bored, I played a few rounds of Candy Crush to kill forty minutes.

Finally, nine o'clock arrived, which should be Zhou Yanruo's time to go to work. She opened her WeChat chat and typed a message: "We have returned to Beijing."

After thinking for a while, he deleted it word by word and edited it again: "We finished filming the scenes in Zhuocheng last night, and in a couple of days we will move to the outdoor location in Huizhou."

She should be well aware of the production crew's announcements, so why tell her all this?

He deleted it again and simply posted: "I'm at Rushang Garden."

After sending the message, he suddenly felt that this action was exactly like proactively reporting his whereabouts to Zhou Yanruo. He immediately exited the WeChat chat with Zhou Yanruo, tossed his phone onto the pillow, as if running away quickly would prevent someone from finding out and feeling embarrassed. Three seconds later, his phone beeped with a message notification. Shang Yibo rolled over, picked up his phone, sat up, and crossed his legs on the bed, feeling pleased with himself. "She replied pretty quickly." He swiped the screen and saw that Zhou Yanruo had replied with three words: "Got it."

Shang Yibo thought to himself, "What does that mean? That's it? Got it? And then what?"

Before this.

Zhou Yanruo was woken up by her phone's notification sound. She pulled her phone out from under her pillow and saw that it was from Ding Jiajia: "Sister Yanruo, we just finished filming a night scene and went straight back to Beijing. We're taking Shang Yibo back to Rushang Garden now. Let him rest this morning. We can bring over the documents that need his signature this afternoon, or we can go to the company and follow your instructions."

Zhou Yanruo replied: "Okay, you should go back and catch up on your sleep too. I'll contact you again this afternoon."

She glanced at the time and it was not yet seven o'clock; she had only slept for a little over two hours.

For nearly a week, she and her colleagues in the financing department worked around the clock to develop a plan, and finally last night they reached an agreement with the Beijing branch of Anshang Bank to extend the loan. The bank officially agreed to process the loan extension for Rushang Group.

They escorted the bank representatives to the lobby and exchanged a few more words under the awning at the entrance.

Zhou Yanruo said sincerely, "Ji Xing, thank you so much. Once this busy period is over, we must get together properly, and we'll invite President Hong along too."

Ji Lian replied with a smile, "You're too kind, President Zhou. However, as for President Hong Yun, I think we should just let it go. If she finds out that I only did this much and you had to treat me, she might scold me again."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanruo smiled and said, "How can that be? Since I promised President Hong that I would thank her for introducing you to me, I have to repay this favor. Please give me a chance to show my appreciation."

Ji Lian waved his hand and laughed, "Speaking of which, I'm really a little afraid of President Hong's temper. But then again, President Zhou's negotiation skills are truly brilliant. It's hard for us to refuse. It feels like we owe you a huge favor."

Zhou Yanruo quickly replied modestly, "Not at all, not at all. In front of a professional like Ji Xing, I wouldn't dare call myself an expert. The successful extension this time was entirely due to the strong support of Anshang Bank, which helped our company overcome the difficulties. The difficulties we encountered are only temporary. When the company recovers in the future, won't we be working for your bank anyway?"

Suddenly, feigning surprise and belated realization, she added, "I knew it! Ji Xing and President Hong must be very good old friends. My words of thanks only made your relationship more distant. I was being inconsiderate."

More than two weeks ago, when Zhou Yanruo asked Hong Yun to introduce Ji Xing, Hong Yun immediately called Ji Lian "Old Ji". She could tell that the two had a special relationship.

Ji Lian said, "Hehe, Mr. Zhou is always the best. We'll go back and prepare the documents now. We need to go through the bank's internal procedures and get the legal review before we can give you the supplementary agreement. It probably won't be long."

Zhou Yanruo said, "We will wait no matter how late it is tonight. There are only two days left until the main contract expires. We need to issue a board resolution, sign the contract, and have a notarized signing ceremony. Time is very tight."

Ji Lian said, "Let's all hurry up and prepare, and try to finish all the procedures by tomorrow."

Zhou Yanruo waved her hand, "You've all worked hard! See you tomorrow."

After the bank staff left, Zhou Yanruo quickly headed to the group's headquarters on the 37th floor to report the latest situation to Chairman Chu Fanqing. Upon exiting the private elevator, she was surprised to find Secretary Chen already waiting in the elevator lobby.

"Secretary Chen, did you wait for me here specifically?" Zhou Yanruo asked with a hint of surprise.

Secretary Chen greeted him with a smile and replied, "Yes, Mr. Zhou. Chairman Chu asked twice this afternoon whether you had come up. The receptionist said you took the private elevator after seeing off your guests, so I came here to wait for you."

"Oh, I see." Zhou Yanruo nodded. "Is Chairman Chu in his office right now? I have some things to report to him."

"Chairman Chu is waiting for you in his office," Secretary Chen replied. "I just explained to Chairman Chu that you were seeing off a guest, otherwise he might have already left for another event."

"Chairman Chu is going out? But there's no such arrangement on the schedule." Zhou Yanruo spoke softly to Secretary Chen as she walked inside. The handmade carpet under her feet was thick and soft, making her footsteps almost imperceptible.

Secretary Chen simply gave a soft "hmm" and didn't offer any further explanation.