News from Taiwan

Chapter 13 Green Tea Failure
Shen Huaizhou stood beside the repair table, his sleeves slightly rolled up, revealing a section of his well-defined wrist.

The faint smell of chemicals mixed with the aroma of tea and paper in the air made Jiang Guier feel inexplicably uneasy.

Seeing that Shen Huaizhou had returned to his previous aloof demeanor, Jiang Guier's heart tightened again. She lowered her eyes and thought for two seconds before deciding to play the role of a manipulative woman. She believed that most men like Shen Huaizhou would be unable to resist her charms.

"Teacher Shen, I've taken up so much of your time... Should I go now?"

Jiang Guier walked over slowly and spoke cautiously, as if afraid that her words would cause a bad reaction.

Her doe-like eyes were blinking timidly, the blinking slow and revealing a hint of unease and hesitation.

Her fingers unconsciously gripped the edge of her phone, seemingly trying to control her nervousness, but in reality, she was digging her nails so hard they hurt herself. Her lips were also slightly pursed, revealing her unease.

Shen Huaizhou remained silent for a moment after hearing Jiang Guier's words.

He pursed his lips, then slowly lowered his gaze to her face, lingered for a moment, and quickly looked away. His voice remained calm as he said, "Yes, repairs require a quiet environment."

Refused!
Jiang Guier frowned slightly, forcing herself not to look up and question him. Why wasn't he playing by the rules?

However, with her head down, she didn't see that when Shen Huaizhou said those words, his fingertips trembled slightly. This subtle movement seemed to reveal a hint of unease in his heart.

Jiang Guier looked at him with a wronged expression and opened her mouth, hoping that Shen Huaizhou would take the initiative to speak. She waited for a while, but saw that he was unmoved.

Knowing that her little scheme wouldn't work, this trick wouldn't work on Shen Huaizhou.

Having been directly rejected, she couldn't think of a better reason to stay. In order not to incur Shen Huaizhou's dislike, she could only nod to indicate that she understood, and then slowly reached out to take the bag she had placed aside, her movements as slow as an eighty-year-old woman.

My mind kept racing, trying to find a way to break this deadlock.

—Beep beep beep!

Suddenly, a rapid electronic sound broke the silence.

Shen Huaizhou suddenly turned around and looked at the repair table. Jiang Guier was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously followed him.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a tense voice.

Shen Huaizhou did not answer, but instead leaned closer to observe, his brows furrowing slightly.

Jiang Guier followed his gaze and looked over—the letter fragments that were originally soaked in light blue medicine were now slowly showing a very faint brown pattern on their edges, as if the traces of time erosion were being restored little by little.

"The reaction is complete," he said in a low voice, a hint of tension in his tone.

Jiang Guier held her breath, her eyes fixed on the thin sheet of paper.

The medicine swayed slightly, reflecting the light from the overhead lamp and casting dappled patterns of light on the letter.

She suddenly had a strange feeling, as if the letter was slowly waking up in the water, each ripple a silent story.

Shen Huaizhou nodded without looking up, his fingers, which hadn't had time to put on silicone gloves, stained with pale yellow reagent marks.

"But the third piece..." He suddenly turned around to get the tweezers, almost bumping into Jiang Guier who was peering closer.

"Feel sorry."

The two of them took a step back at the same time, and Jiang Guier smelled the tea fragrance on him.

"So... what's next?" she asked softly, unconsciously taking half a step forward.

Shen Huaizhou glanced at her, his eyes behind his glasses appearing particularly focused under the light. "It needs to be treated immediately." He reached for the tweezers beside him, his fingertips pausing slightly the moment they touched the metal, as if he suddenly realized she was still standing there.

"You..." he began, his voice tinged with hesitation.

Jiang Guier immediately took a step back, "I understand, I'll leave now."

She forced a smile, trying to make it look less forced.

Shen Huaizhou looked at her, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly, and finally relented, saying in a low voice, "Come again tomorrow morning."

Jiang Guier paused for a moment, then her eyes lit up slightly. "Okay!"

That's great, I can come again tomorrow, which means I'm not disliked.

She turned to get her bag, her steps lighter than when she came. Shen Huaizhou watched her brisk back, his eyebrows raised, and his facial expression less tense.

As she reached the door, she couldn't help but glance back. Shen Huaizhou had already buried himself in his workbench again. His slender back was particularly clear under the light, yet somehow it made her feel... less distant.

Jiang Guier pushed open the glass door of the studio, and a cold wind immediately rushed into her collar. She subconsciously shrank her neck. It was already completely dark, and the streetlights cast a dim yellow halo on the wet ground, like an old photograph with blurred edges.

She glanced down at her watch—it was almost nine o'clock.

"I've been here for so long..." she murmured to herself, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the shoulder strap of her LV bag. A gentle breeze ruffled her hair, making her feel as if she could still smell the faint, elegant aroma of tea mixed with the scent of chemicals in the studio.

The parking lot was at the end of the alley, with sparse streetlights, and her shadow was stretched long, cast alone on the cement ground.

The night breeze brushed past her ears, lifting a few stray strands of hair. She reached out and brushed them aside, when suddenly she heard soft footsteps behind her.

someone!

She turned around abruptly, her heart clenching suddenly.

In the darkness, a figure approached rapidly. Jiang Guier's breath hitched, her fingers tightened around her bag strap, and her pace quickened unconsciously. The footsteps behind her grew more hurried, and she almost started running—

"Little girl! Wait!" A hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.

Jiang Guier almost cried out in surprise. She turned around abruptly and saw the parking lot attendant, an auntie, holding a stack of parking tickets in her hand.

"Oh dear, why are you running away!" the aunt said, panting, with her other hand on her hip. "You haven't paid for your car yet! You said you'd park for two hours, but you've been parked for eight hours already. It's 10 yuan an hour, and you still owe me 40 yuan."

Jiang Guier paused for two seconds, then let out a long sigh of relief. "Okay." She looked down and scanned the QR code to pay with her phone, her fingertips trembling slightly.

She was really scared to death.

Once inside the car, she didn't rush to start the engine. Instead, she leaned back in her seat. The temperature inside the car wasn't much higher than outside, which was bearable in the summer heat. Her fingers gripped the leather covering the steering wheel, and she thought about what Shen Huaizhou had said earlier.

"Come again tomorrow morning."

His voice still seemed to echo in her ears, faint and emotionless, yet it inexplicably made her heart skip a beat.

"So annoying!" She rubbed her face, her cheeks feeling hot for some reason.

The night outside the car window was deep and dark. She took a deep breath, finally turned the key, and the roar of the engine broke the silence as the car slowly drove away.

(End of this chapter)