News from Taiwan

Chapter 46 The Person Making Up the Numbers
With the phone pressed against my ear, I could hear Shen Huaizhou's soft breathing through the receiver, mixed with the faint sound of pages turning.

Jiang Guier's fingers tightened slightly around the phone, her fingertips rubbing back and forth on the cool surface as she waited for his reply, feeling a little nervous.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the receiver, followed by Shen Huaizhou's deep laughter, like a pebble thrown into a lake, rippling across Jiang Guier's heart.

"Miss Jiang, do you think I'm that kind of person with so much free time?"

His voice came through the electricity, carrying a unique magnetism, "I'll be waiting for you downstairs at the company at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. I'll give you the address in a bit."

Jiang Guier straightened her back abruptly, her eyes instantly lighting up like sparks. "No need!" she said hurriedly, her voice full of excitement, "I can go by myself, no need to trouble others."

Jiang Guier paused on the screen, her cheeks flushing. She quickly lowered her head, her bangs falling to cover her eyes and brows. "Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?" She hesitated for a moment, but still said, "Why don't you create a group chat? I can communicate directly with the person in charge. I don't want to delay your work."

The sound of pages turning on the other end of the phone suddenly stopped.

The air seemed to freeze, with only their breathing mingling in the receiver.

Shen Huaizhou's smile faded, his pupils appeared deeper in the tea steam, and the pressure of his knuckles on his chin increased slightly. During the two seconds of his silence, Jiang Guier heard even the cicadas chirping outside the window pause before she heard him say in his usual tone, "No need."

Jiang Guier paused for a moment, her fingers tightening around her phone, and her heart jumped again.

She could sense the displeasure in Shen Huaizhou's tone, and the chill in the final syllable reminded her of the sky before a snowfall in winter.

"But……"

"Miss Jiang, are you really alright?" Shen Huaizhou's voice was a few decibels deeper than before.

Jiang Guier didn't insist any further and obediently deleted the group chat name she had typed out, but she thought to herself: Why can't this Mr. Shen make things easier for people?

What a weirdo!

"Okay, thank you for your help, Mr. Shen."

"You're welcome, Miss Jiang. I won't disturb your rest any longer. I'll hang up now." Shen Huaizhou still remembered Jiang Guier's hoarse voice when he answered the phone. Although he didn't know what she was busy with, her physical condition didn't lie.

As soon as the busy tone on his phone ended, Shen Huaizhou opened WeChat and swiped rapidly across the screen. He found Jiang Guier's profile picture, hesitated for a moment, and then initiated a group chat invitation, expertly adding Lu Qing to the chat. After doing all this, he casually placed his phone on the table, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and a barely perceptible smile played on his lips.

Jiang Guier was grinning foolishly at her phone when a group chat invitation suddenly popped up on the screen, startling her. She clicked on it with a puzzled look, and when she saw that in the group, besides herself and Shen Huaizhou, there was another contact named Lu Qing from Rolling Stone Technology Company, her eyes widened instantly.

Who is this person!

She checked the note repeatedly, her fingertips tapping lightly on the screen, her heart filled with mixed emotions. "How could Shen Huaizhou know the CEO of a tech company?"

She repeatedly checked the note, her fingertips lightly tapping the screen, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

Jiang Guier's fingers swiped across her phone screen, her eyes fixed on the words "General Manager Lin of XX Technology Company." She recalled Shen Huaizhou delivering food, dressed in simple blue overalls, his face showing a hint of fatigue. In her imagination, the CEO of the technology company was someone impeccably dressed in a suit, moving in and out of upscale office buildings, his speech exuding a business aura. These two images intertwined in her mind, creating a strange and unsettling sense of disconnect.

"What kind of person is he?" Jiang Guier asked, resting her chin on her hand, her eyes filled with confusion. She suddenly felt that she knew nothing about Shen Huaizhou. This food delivery man seemed to be hiding many secrets, waiting for her to discover them.

Just as Jiang Guier was using Qichacha to check who Lu Qing was, the door to Shen Huaizhou's office behind him was suddenly flung open, and Lu Qing rushed in carrying a takeout bag. "Senior! Senior! I saw you added me to a group chat earlier, who's this beautiful girl in it!"

She was incredibly curious.

Shen Huaizhou put down his phone and looked at him with a cold gaze. Lu Qing was startled by his gaze, stopped abruptly, and gripped the takeout order tightly.

"Senior...Senior Brother?" Lu Qing stammered, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. What was he doing?
I'm just picking up takeout, why are you looking at me like that!

Shen Huaizhou looked at him but remained silent.

Lu Qing was even more frightened. Holding the takeout, he took a small, tentative step forward, muttering to himself, "My senior brother's eyes look like he wants to kill me. I didn't do anything."

The phone screen on the table, which Shen Huaizhou had placed there, was still lit up, displaying the WeChat group interface. He tapped the screen with his finger, making Lu Qing's heart even more uneasy.

He said in a low voice, "You're just there to make up the numbers in the WeChat group, don't ask about anything else."

"No, I'm just a little curious," Lu Qing explained. He really wanted to know. His senior brother was usually so hard to get anyone to join him and hated being asked. It was extremely rare for him to take the initiative to create a group chat like this.

He was only curious because she was a beautiful woman.

"You need to be mindful of boundaries. What's there to pry into, especially for girls?" Shen Huaizhou's tone wasn't harsh, and his gaze wasn't particularly sharp, but it carried an undeniable seriousness, like a reminder or a warning. "Let's eat first."

He took the takeout bag from Lu Qing, unsealed it, and took out the food inside.

Lu Qingteng stretched out his hands, his eyes constantly scanning Shen Huaizhou. After hesitating for a moment, he took out his phone and showed his friends page. "But senior brother... just now, this beautiful... girl in the group took the initiative to add me on WeChat."

"Snap." The plastic seal on the takeout box was pried open.

Shen Huaizhou paused, then continued what he was doing, "Oh."

Lu Qing squatted down next to him and they unpacked the takeout together. The clay pot rice smelled delicious, and the aroma filled the air as soon as the box was opened.

Lu Qing's mind wasn't on eating at that moment.

He quickly opened the box of chopsticks and respectfully handed them over with both hands, saying, "Senior brother, here are the chopsticks."

Shen Huaizhou took the chopsticks that Lu Qing helped him break apart, picked up his claypot rice, and ate it slowly and deliberately.

"Senior, she texted me, saying something about meeting tomorrow at a certain time. What's going on?" Lu Qing held his phone with both hands, pointing at the screen.

Shen Huaizhou reached out and took Lu Qing's phone. He quickly tapped the screen, typed the message, clicked send, and then returned the phone to Lu Qing.

Lu Qing picked up the phone and glanced at it. Her pupils dilated.

I go!

My senior brother is unethical!
(End of this chapter)