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

Chapter 132 A Rich Friend

After lunch, Ding Jiajia left Zhou Zihang's house and, unable to resist Miss Hong Yun's persistent pleading, was dragged to go shopping. S&K is definitely the most popular place for leisure and shopping among the wealthy socialites in Beijing.

This is Ding Jiajia's third time stepping into S&K's doorstep. The first two times, she came as Shang Yibo's assistant, accompanying him to events, and left as soon as the work was over.

This time, she was truly browsing as a customer, a far cry from her work life. Being a customer naturally meant more relaxation. However, upon entering, she felt like a country bumpkin visiting a grand mansion for the first time. Her perspective had changed, and it wasn't the opulent decor that dazzled her—after all, she was the assistant to a hot celebrity and had seen the world—but rather the price tags. The numbers on the merchandise truly shocked her.

While Hong Yun was trying on shoes at the LV boutique, Ding Jiajia, bored, tried on a silk scarf covered in logos. Luxury brands are indeed luxury brands. Looking at the chaotic print of logos, it actually suited her quite well. But when she saw the price tag, she was shocked and quickly put it back on the counter, asking the sales associate to put it away.

When Hong Yun was paying the bill, Ding Jiajia heard her say to the sales assistant, "Please pay for the scarf that lady tried on earlier as well, and also get her a scarf clip."

Ding Jiajia quickly snatched the scarf, stopping the sales associate from packaging it into a box, saying, "No, no, I won't buy it."

"Alright, this is how it looks when we're pushing and shoving each other around." Hong Yun pulled Ding Jiajia away and said to SA, "Pack them in separate shopping bags."

"Will you carry it yourself, or will the driver carry it for you first?"

Ding Jiajia said, "I'll transfer the money to you when I get back."

Hong Yun scoffed and continued walking forward on her own.

Miss Hong Yun has amazing stamina. They managed to explore every corner of the five-story, nearly 100,000-square-meter S&K luxury shopping mall.

Hong Yun, dragging the exhausted Ding Jiajia along, said, "Let's go have hot pot tonight, I want it really spicy, and then we can find a bar and have some drinks, what do you think?"

Ding Jiajia was speechless. How did this young lady take a liking to her? She had already spent the whole afternoon shopping with her, and they were finally about to finish, but now she was being dragged to continue "having fun." She glanced at the assistant and driver following behind them, and then at the large and small shopping bags in their hands, and said in a drawn-out tone, "Young lady, please spare me. I just want to go home and sleep now."

Hong Yun raised a brow. “Why don’t we go? Aren’t you hungry after shopping all afternoon? The dishes Zhou Zihang made for lunch looked good but didn’t taste good at all. They were all bland and tasteless. Let’s go eat something with strong flavors tonight to cleanse our palates.”

Ding Jiajia pouted, "My legs are about to break, and I'm wearing sneakers. Aren't you tired after walking around in high heels all afternoon? I really admire you."

Hong Yun remained noncommittal, "How about I buy you another bag? You've spent the whole afternoon with me, and you still have to stay with me all night."

Ding Jiajia's eyes widened, her face showing surprise, but she said, "Don't even think about bribing me. I'll transfer the money for the scarf and scarf clips you just bought to you when I get back. And don't try to get any information from me, I won't tell you anything."

Hong Yun, barely suppressing her patience, explained, "I've told you so many times, I don't pry into Shang Yibo's affairs. I just returned to China and don't have many friends. I find you quite interesting, and I simply want to be your friend. Have you developed a persecution complex from being an assistant to a big star, thinking that everyone in the world is trying to persecute your celebrity? Give me a break."

What she said was true. Having grown up abroad, she only surfed the internet out of boredom. Since she's studying new media communication, she'll definitely work in that field in the future. Being a fan is just a way for her to integrate into the mainland entertainment industry. Among all the popular stars, she just found Shang Yibo to be pleasing to the eye. The biggest advantage of being a dedicated fan is being able to debate and engage in flame wars with fans on various online platforms, and occasionally write short essays, debate articles, and denunciations. Putting everything else aside, her Chinese has improved considerably; otherwise, she might have completely forgotten her mother tongue and writing system.

Ding Jiajia blinked, unable to believe that her luck had been blessed, allowing her to make such a wealthy friend.

The two were discussing whether to go out for hot pot when Ding Jiajia's phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Brother Can.

Calling her at this time couldn't be anything good. Ding Jiajia took a deep breath nervously, turned her back to Hong Yun, took two steps back, and swiped to answer the phone, "Hello, Brother Can!"

As soon as the call connected, a man's complaining voice came through the phone, "What's so good about it! Can't we even have a peaceful weekend? Zhou Yanruo must have been with Yibo today, right? I tried calling Zhou Yanruo but she didn't answer. Did you see Yibo today?"

Ding Jiajia sensed the unfriendly tone in Can Ge's voice and was momentarily confused about what had happened. Following the principle of avoiding trouble, she decided not to cause any more problems for Yibo by speaking too quickly. "I'm off today, so I haven't seen Yibo."

Can-ge said, "So, do you know where he went?"

"I...I don't know." Ding Jiajia felt a little guilty, afraid that something might have really delayed her, and asked, "What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

Can said, "This is troublesome. President Hua won't let me off the hook. You'd better find Yibo."

"He'll start acting lessons at the company tomorrow morning, and we'll be joining the production team soon, so let him rest for a day."

"You make it sound so easy. Have you forgotten about the coordinated attack by anti-fans after last night's charity gala?"

"I was busy most of last night, but hasn't it all been resolved already?"

"At noon, someone photographed Yibo and a woman driving a sports car entering the same residential area one after the other. Someone found out that the woman in the sports car is the granddaughter of the chairman of Hongliang Group and a big fan of Yibo. Rushang Group is troublesome enough. Anyway, it's Yibo's own business, so it's okay. But if Hongliang Group is involved, we can't afford to mess with them."

"Huh? Fans are the craziest. They can expose a person completely. Which company these days can withstand such in-depth scrutiny?"

"You'd better find a way to get to Shang Yibo. I've had enough. I'm even chatting with you for no reason."

After finishing his sentence, Jie Can hung up the phone without waiting for Ding Jiajia's reply.

Ding Jiajia put away her phone, turned around, and found Hong Yun already standing behind her. "Did you hear that?"

Hong Yun rolled her eyes at Ding Jiajia, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop. You two were talking so dramatically, I heard it even if I didn't want to."

Ding Jiajia felt a little embarrassed, because the person she had mentioned in her phone call with Jie Can was right there, and the person had overheard it.

She hurriedly explained, "The person who called just now was our company's director of agents. Someone photographed you going to Zhou Zihang's house and started making up stories online again. This time you're the female lead. Surprised? Unexpected?"

Ding Jiajia deliberately spoke lightly to avoid embarrassing Hong Yun.

Hong Yun replied decisively, "Let's deal with it using fan circle rules. Let's organize the fans to fight it out. Who's afraid of who! If they break the rules and take it to the real world or offline, my lawyer will handle it. They won't be able to win the case. When they're bankrupt and can't afford to pay compensation, don't come begging for mercy."

Ding Jiajia's eyes lit up as she clicked her tongue and said, "Awesome! So domineering! I must have burned incense properly for the heavens to send you, this incredibly wealthy friend."

Hong Yun pursed her lips, "Stop joking, let's find your big star first."

"I'll call Sister Yanruo first."