News from Taiwan

Chapter 64 He Came to Taiwan
As soon as Jiang Guier got out of the taxi, the damp sea breeze made her feel uncomfortable.

Jiang Guier, who was already annoyed, suddenly felt as if she had been thrown into a pressure cooker, where it was sticky and stuffy.

She thought of the phone call she had just received. Because she had been away from Shanghai for the past few days, the partner who had previously agreed to the collaboration had somehow gotten wind of it and called to question whether she could complete the work within the stipulated time.

She patiently explained that it would definitely be completed within the contract period, but the other party seemed to be brainless and couldn't understand human language. Those emotionally charged words, such as "it would be best" and "why didn't you say so earlier," weighed heavily on her heart like a wet cotton wad, making it hard to breathe.

This made her already bad mood even worse.

She swallowed her anger and finally managed to get rid of the person. Then she thought about the two days she had been in Taiwan, running around one after another, and how she had been disappointed time and time again despite her high hopes. Her initial enthusiasm for coming to Taiwan had been gradually eroded.

No! She absolutely cannot admit defeat, she cannot let her mother look down on her!
We must prove ourselves!

She stood outside the hotel's revolving door, her fingertips unconsciously gripping the bag strap. No marks were left on the Hobo leather, but the pads of her fingers were slightly hot and sore from the friction.

Across the street, under the arcade, pedestrians passed by in an endless stream, each carrying a colorful parasol. The neon sign of the ice cream parlor shone brightly in the blazing sun, mingling with the hawkers' cries from the street. But none of this liveliness touched her heart.

Jiang Guier stared blankly at the street, unaware of the beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. She felt utterly exhausted, as if the weather and her worries had drained all her strength.

Ugh! Can't we have some good news?

"Sweetie, have a cold drink."

A strange voice, seemingly in Shanghainese or Hokkien, came from behind her. Jiang Guier didn't pay it any mind until a cup of steaming bubble tea was suddenly handed to her. Water droplets condensed on the cup wall dripped down the side of the cup and landed on the back of her hand, bringing a cool sensation that also brought Jiang Guier back to her senses.

"No, thank you." She instinctively waved her hand in refusal. Her irritation made her unwilling to deal with strangers. Besides, drinking a stranger's beverage when you're out and about is practically suicide, isn't it?

She certainly didn't want to end up on the front page of the news with a picture of her being trafficked.

She strategically took a step to the side and turned around, but her gaze met a pair of familiar eyes.

It's Shen Huaizhou!

Jiang Guier froze, her eyes widening. "It's you!"

Perhaps it was the joyous occasion of meeting an old friend in a foreign land that made Jiang Guier rush over excitedly. She almost uncontrollably reached out and tightly grasped Shen Huaizhou's wrist. Her fingertips turned slightly white from the force, and her hands could clearly feel the warmth of his skin and his strong, beating pulse.

It's real! A living person!

"Why are you here?" Her voice carried a slight, almost imperceptible sob, and her eyes welled up with tears. The irritability, grievances, and repression that had been affecting her emotions were like a punctured balloon, bursting out all at once and turning into joy. Her nose tingled slightly, and even her breathing became erratic.

Shen Huaizhou was momentarily stunned by her grip, but then a gentle smile spread across his eyes. He didn't pull away, still holding the bubble tea in his hand, his gaze falling on the beads of sweat on her cheeks, and he said patiently, "I just needed to take care of something, so I came over."

He looked at Jiang Guier, whose emotions were clearly fluctuating, and felt a pang of heartache in his eyes. She hadn't been very happy in Taiwan these past few days.

"Didn't you say before that you couldn't come and that I was taking your place? Why are you here all of a sudden?" Jiang Guier couldn't help but ask. Seeing Shen Huaizhou appear in Taiwan now, she couldn't help but wonder if he had deliberately given her the spot before.

Or was it that I disrupted his original plans? He was supposed to come, but said he wouldn't come so I could give it to him? And then he came by other means. If that's the case, she'll feel bad. Seeing the doubt flash in Jiang Guier's eyes, Shen Huaizhou curled his index finger and gently brushed the stray hairs from her cheek. "You're overthinking it, Miss Jiang. I really didn't need to come. There was something I had to take care of here." His fingers, cool with the taste of iced milk tea, touched Jiang Guier's cheeks, which were burning from being exposed to the sun all day. The contrast between ice and fire was particularly striking.

Jiang Guier suddenly came to her senses. At this moment, the two were still holding hands. She was holding his wrists tightly with both hands, and his fingers were on her face. At this moment, the noise, car sounds, and voices around them seemed to stop, leaving only their warm breaths and the warmth from their palms.

Realizing this, Jiang Guier's cheeks flushed instantly. She hurriedly withdrew her hand as if she had been burned, her ear tips even burning. The moment she let go, a smile appeared on her face, "Sorry, I was a little excited."

She reverted to her initial elegant and aloof persona to cover up her earlier lapse in composure.

Seeing her somewhat pretentious demeanor, Shen Huaizhou couldn't help but chuckle and shoved the cup of milk tea he had been holding for a while into her hand. "Drink something cold first to warm yourself up. You look so hot."

"Thank you." Jiang Guier took the milk tea, lowered her head and took a big gulp through the straw, the icy liquid flowing down her throat.

"I'm quite happy that I can make Miss Jiang excited."

The slightly teasing words almost made Jiang Guier spit out her drink. She looked at Shen Huaizhou with a slightly reproachful gaze.

"Shen Huaizhou!"

To Shen Huaizhou, this sounded like a coquettish whining.

"Miss Jiang, drink slowly so you don't choke."

Seeing Shen Huaizhou, who was clearly the one who got the better deal but was now acting innocent, Jiang Guier laughed in exasperation, "It's all because you talked nonsense."

Shen Huaizhou raised an eyebrow. "It's just a fact."

Jiang Guier wanted to retort, but after opening her mouth, she decided against it.

He flew across the strait and endured a bumpy journey to get here. Why should she argue with him over a few words and try to prove who's better?

“Mr. Shen is right. You’ve flown across the strait to come all this way. I wonder if you could spare a little time from your busy schedule to have a meal with me?” She smiled and tilted her head away from Shen Huaizhou’s fingertips. “You’ve helped me so much, and I haven’t properly thanked you yet.”

"Oh. Miss Jiang has only been in Taiwan for a few days and she's already become a regular customer?" Shen Huaizhou smiled and withdrew his hand, his deep eyes seemingly glued to Jiang Guier, unwilling to move an inch.

Jiang Guier choked for a moment, then smiled and said, "We can search for them together."

"Okay, let's go together later."

"Senior brother, why are you still stopping Miss Jiang from coming in? You're not hot, but she is." Lu Qing, who was openly enjoying the fresh gossip, couldn't help but interrupt with a wicked sense of humor when he saw the two of them exchanging a long, lingering glance.

Shen Huaizhou naturally took Jiang Guier's bag from her hand and gentlemanly extended his hand, "Please come in."

"Thank you." Jiang Guier didn't hesitate. She took a sip of her milk tea, nodded to Lu Qing, and went into the hotel. The cool air conditioning instantly brought down her feverish temperature.

(End of this chapter)