News from Taiwan

Chapter 59 Change of mind
The steam in the bathroom hadn't dissipated yet, and Jiang Guier was drying the water droplets from her hair in front of the mirror. The lingering warmth from the hairdryer gave the whole room a relaxing feel.

She swept her dried hair behind her shoulders, sat on the edge of the bed, pulled out the room service menu, and made a call to the front desk.

The doorbell rang urgently, sounding unlike that of a hotel staff member.

"coming."

Jiang Guier slipped on her fluffy slippers to open the door. As soon as she opened the door a crack, she saw Lu Qing standing outside. The first button of his dark gray shirt was undone, and there was a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead. He was holding a cell phone in his hand, and the screen was lit up with the call log. It was obvious that he had run over.

"My dear sister, you finally opened the door!"

Lu Qing spoke at breakneck speed, "Shen Huaizhou just called me nonstop, saying he called you dozens of times but no one answered, and asked if you were lost in Taiwan. I told him you went out to run errands this morning, but he was still worried and told me to knock on your door as soon as I got to the hotel."

Jiang Guier paused, her fingertips still on the doorknob: "Lost? I just hung up on him. What's he doing?"

"He just hung up." Lu Qing's prepared list of words suddenly stopped. "I think you should go and see how many times he called you."

Jiang Guier quickly turned around to get her phone. The phone on the bedside table was still lit up. She opened the chat window and noticed the missed call notification on the call screen. The red number "30" was as eye-catching as a small light.

When her fingertips touched the screen, she felt a strange tingling sensation. After unlocking the phone, she opened the call log and saw that the first call was when she went into the bathroom, and the last call was the one she answered.

"I..." She opened her mouth, but suddenly couldn't say anything.

I always thought Shen Huaizhou's concern was just "friendship," but after 30 missed calls, this care seems to go beyond just "friendship."

My heart skipped a beat, like it had been soaked in warm water, and even the fatigue from drying my hair earlier seemed to lessen.

Lu Qing leaned against the door frame, watching her stare blankly at her phone, and couldn't help but tease her, "This is the first time I've seen him so flustered. Last time I asked my senior brother to set up a server for me, he wasn't this anxious. He was so calm and collected, telling me to wait until he had brewed the tea."

Jiang Guier's ears felt a little hot, so she quickly put down her phone and changed the subject: "By the way, Mr. Lu, could I exchange some Taiwanese dollars with you? My mom froze my card, and Alipay doesn't work here. The money I exchanged this morning is almost gone."

She took out her phone and said, "I'll transfer RMB to you, the exchange rate can be the same as today's."

Lu Qing raised an eyebrow, pulled out a wad of NT dollars from his wallet, and handed it over: "You're being so stingy with me? If President Shen knew you were so poor that you had to exchange change with me, he'd probably transfer all his possessions to you overnight."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Guier's mind conjured up images of Shen Huaizhou delivering food on his electric scooter. He earned his money through hard work, and she couldn't accept it.

Lu Qing paused, then asked seemingly casually, "Why was your card suddenly frozen?"

Jiang Guier took the NT dollars, her fingertips gripping the edge of the banknote, and said casually, "She wants to force me to go back, but I won't agree." Without saying anything more, she opened Alipay to transfer the money, but Lu Qing said no, and she knew she wouldn't refuse.

Lu Qing didn't accept her transfer. Instead, she put her phone back in her pocket and said, "Forget it, consider this money as my treat for milk tea. You can have Shen Huaizhou pay me back next time." "No, you have to keep it. I am me, and Shen Huaizhou is Shen Huaizhou. We can't mix up. Besides... he doesn't earn money easily, so why should he pay for it?"

With a serious expression, Jiang Guier grabbed Lu Qing, who was about to leave. Lu Qing had no choice but to pull out her phone again and accept the transfer. "I've accepted it. You can let go of me now."

Jiang Guier then let go. After she closed the door, Lu Qing turned around and walked towards the elevator, her fingers flying to dial Shen Huaizhou's number.

The phone rang for a while but no one answered. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "You're clearly so anxious that you're about to explode, but you insist on making me your mouthpiece. I'm exhausted from running around, and you still won't answer the phone. Shen Huaizhou, you're really something."

"Hello." Shen Huaizhou's voice was deep and magnetic.

"Senior brother, you finally answered the phone! You were the one who was worried to death just now, and now you're not answering the phone at all." Lu Qing kept complaining. At this moment, he had just reached the door of his room and was looking for his room key in his pocket. The lights in the hotel corridor stretched his shadow long.

"The call went through just now."

"Senior brother, does that mean you don't need me anymore?" Lu Qing entered the room, unbuttoning his shirt with one hand, and sat on the edge of the bed. "Then I don't need to share the information I know with you, right?"

"How to say?"

"Miss Jiang just asked me if I had some Taiwan dollars in hand." Lu Qing deliberately left the conversation hanging, waiting for Shen Huaizhou to ask.

Shen Huaizhou paused in pouring tea. "She should have had cash on her, how could she have spent it all in just one day?" He frowned. Before the trip, he had reminded Jiang Guier that electronic payments were not very convenient in Taiwan and suggested that she bring more Taiwanese dollars.

Lu Qing leaned against the bed, unable to suppress her smile. "When I was exchanging Taiwanese dollars with her, I asked her, and she said her mother had frozen her bank card, so it must be quite inconvenient for her."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Shen Huaizhou's urgent voice, "Do you know why the freeze is in effect? ​​If she goes out again, keep a close eye on her and don't let her wander off on her own."

Lu Qing smiled and agreed: "I know, I heard she had a fight with her mother and was forced to go back. Her mother is a well-known strong woman in the industry, definitely dictatorial and controlling. I was shocked when I heard that she even froze her daughter's card while she was away. Isn't she afraid of what might happen to her? But senior brother, you're so worried, you're almost like a family elder. If you're so worried, why don't you come? You're on the invitation list too. If you come, I'll have the finance department buy your plane ticket right now. You can take a red-eye flight and arrive tomorrow."

Lu Qing made a casual joke, but unexpectedly heard a reply: "Okay, sure."

"Huh? What did you just say? Did I hear that right? You said it's okay?" Lu Qing jumped up from the bed, his expression excited. If his senior brother could come, their investigation would be shortened considerably. With his senior brother overseeing the project, he could be a hands-off manager. He would gladly be Jiang Gui'er's 'tour guide' and 'bag carrier' later on.

"Let me know once the finance department has bought the plane tickets." Shen Huaizhou took a sip of tea to moisten his throat. During the half hour he couldn't find Jiang Guier, he was flustered and lost his composure.

As Lu Qing said, if something really happened, there was nothing he could do in Shanghai, but it would be different in Taiwan.

(End of this chapter)