News from Taiwan

Chapter 63 Want to See Her
The streets of Taiwan in the afternoon felt like they had been thrown into an oven. The asphalt gleamed with a blinding light, and even the wind was hot and damp, sticky and uncomfortable.

Jiang Guier's hand, clutching the iced milk tea, was sweaty, and stray hairs on her forehead clung to her skin. She raised her hand to brush them away, but her fingertips brushed against the concealer that had smudged under her eyes.

Oh no! My makeup is ruined again.

She hurriedly hid in a roadside snack shop, found a corner with her back to the door, took out a small mirror from her bag, and frowned the moment she opened it.

Her originally exquisite eye makeup smudged into a light gray, her mascara accumulated tiny black smudges under her eyes, and even her lip gloss was washed away by sweat, leaving only half of it, revealing her pale lips.

So ugly?
She was stunned. Her high-end cosmetics weren't working. It seemed she would have to switch to a waterproof base makeup.

"I knew I shouldn't have worn such heavy makeup..." she muttered to herself, rubbing her smudged makeup under her eyes with her fingertips, but the more she rubbed, the worse it got. In the end, she had no choice but to give up, stuff the mirror back into her bag, and stared blankly at the oyster omelet she had just ordered on the table.

Actually, she had no appetite at all.

But the message Shen Huaizhou sent that evening, "The sunset is beautiful," was still lying in the chat box; she didn't want him to know that she had messed up again.

"It wouldn't be good not to reply, so I might as well send him some pictures of food."

As Jiang Guier thought to herself, she picked up her phone and adjusted the angles several times before finding a composition that avoided showing her own face and only captured the dining table.

She moved the iced milk tea next to the oyster omelet and tugged at the corner of the tablecloth to make the picture look neater. Her fingertips were still slightly hot when she pressed the shutter.

The oyster omelet in the photo is steaming hot, and the oysters are glistening with freshness, completely belying how hastily the photographer took the picture. The photo only shows her chin and the movement of her hands, creating an atmosphere of veiled mystery.

She stared at the photo for a long time, typed and deleted in the chat box, and finally clicked send without adding any text.

She put down her phone, picked up a fork, and stabbed a small piece of oyster omelet into her mouth. The golden-brown potato starch crust was perfectly crispy, and the oysters were indeed fresh; it was quite delicious. But after chewing it a couple of times and swallowing it, she couldn't swallow another piece. Her heart felt like it was stuffed with a wet cotton ball, and even the delicious taste tasted bland.

She forced herself to eat two more bites, then put down her fork, wondering what to do next.

She opened the WeChat chat window on her phone, wanting several times to send another message to Shen Huaizhou to tell him about her difficulties and how bad she was feeling, but she didn't want to bother him, so she was a little conflicted.

The moment she put her phone down, the screen suddenly lit up and familiar music started playing.

When Jiang Guier saw the name that popped up on her phone, her heart pounded like a drum.

As soon as the car stopped in front of the hotel, Shen Huaizhou opened WeChat with his fingertips. The chat window with Jiang Guier was still showing the message he'd sent that evening, "The sunset is beautiful," when a new message finally popped up—not text, but a photo.

He immediately leaned back in his seat, his thumb zooming in and out on the screen, enlarging the photo bit by bit.

The scene shows a wooden dining table covered with a light-checked tablecloth, with a few Taiwanese snacks in the center: the oyster omelet in the bowl is still steaming, the oysters on the edge are glistening white, the golden potato starch skin is wrapped with bright green scallions, and even the sweet and spicy sauce in the dipping sauce dish has finely chopped chili peppers clearly visible; next to it is a large intestine wrapped in small intestine wrapped in oil paper, the texture of the glutinous rice sausage is distinct, and there are a few sesame seeds stuck to the cut, and the fresh cucumber slices underneath are bright green.

Shen Huaizhou's gaze did not fall on the food, but lingered on Jiang Guier's neck, which was visible in the image, for a long time. His fingertips even unconsciously traced the shape of her chin on the screen.

He remembered that Jiang Guier was a picky eater, and wondered if this meal would suit her taste.

"Looks like I haven't been in a good mood these past few days." He murmured to himself, gazing at the photos, his fingertips tracing the food on the screen, his eyes softening slightly.

He zoomed out the photo again, noting that at least she was willing to sit down and eat something, unlike last time when she stayed in the hotel without eating. He remembered her always saying, "When my stomach is warm, half of my anger dissipates," and the fact that she could sit down to eat food she liked meant that her mood wasn't at its worst.

Shen Huaizhou held his phone, zooming in and out of the photos repeatedly. After looking at them for a long time, he slowly replied: "The oyster omelet looks very authentic. The oysters should be very fresh. I wonder how it tastes."

After sending the message, he didn't exit the interface. His fingers gently caressed Jiang Guier's hand on the screen. The tenderness in his eyes was like ink that couldn't be dissolved, and even the coldness he felt at the company entrance just now had dissipated.

Unbeknownst to him, his actions were being observed by Lu Qing, who was silently watching him from the side.

He tightened the buttons on his collar, his eyes showing a hint of calculation. Although his senior brother's phone had a privacy screen, he didn't need to guess much to be certain that he was texting with that Miss Jiang.

Compared to my senior who originally had no time to come to Taiwan, he chose to come to Taiwan as soon as possible because he couldn't find anyone last night. He rushed to the airport to catch a red-eye flight and arrived in Taiwan exhausted. He hadn't even rested after getting off the plane.

They're so impatient; I don't believe they're just friends!
He twirled his phone in his hand, his gaze sweeping over the passengers on the bus. Since boarding, everyone had been complaining and gossiping about the bizarre incident that had just occurred.

Everyone was so engrossed in the conversation that no one probably noticed me whispering to my senior.

Thinking this, Lu Qing couldn't help but lean closer, glancing down at Shen Huaizhou's phone. "Senior brother, are you chatting with Miss Jiang? She left early this morning. I reckon she'll be back by the time we get to the hotel."

Shen Huaizhou flipped his phone over and held it in his palm. "What do you think about what happened today?"

"Huh? I'm not really interested in cooperating. Anyway, we're just here to do some research. We're the client, so let's treat this as a company team-building trip." As soon as Lu Qing finished speaking, a loud commotion erupted in the carriage.

"Mr. Lu is so generous!"

"Really, Mr. Lu!"

"I've disliked those Taiwanese guys for a long time. I don't know what they're so arrogant about. They're asking for our technical support, but they're acting like we're begging them."

"Taiwanese businessmen haven't changed their mindset because they came to invest in mainland China in the 90s."

"Absolutely, taking a car feels like being hijacked." Liu Yu finally found an opportunity to vent his grievances.

"Little Liu, you've suffered."

Seeing everyone comforting Liu Yu, Lu Qing nudged Shen Huaizhou with her shoulder, "Senior brother, when you sent me the message, I knew you definitely wouldn't get off the bus."

"Mutual respect is the most basic principle in doing business."

The somewhat oppressive atmosphere instantly eased, and Lu Qing relaxed as well, jokingly saying, "Haha, it's definitely not okay to disturb your schedule, senior brother."

Shen Huaizhou glanced at him, and just when Lu Qing thought he wouldn't speak, he suddenly said, "Tell the driver to drive faster."

His desire to see Jiang Guier grew stronger.

(End of this chapter)