6. The Time Tunnel
The night in Taipei City was shrouded by a sudden torrential rainstorm.
Heavy dark clouds pressed low over the sky. Strong winds carrying rain struck the signs on both sides of the streets. The entire city seemed to be sleeping within a hazy veil.
Streetlights cast blurred shadows through the curtain of rain. When vehicles passed by, their tires splashed up large waves of water, leaving brief ripples on the wet asphalt.
The streets of the downtown area late at night had already become sparsely populated. There was only the sound of rain, along with the sound of the engine of an old car running.
Cai Shinan gripped the steering wheel, driving a twenty-year-old vintage car—a Toyota Corona.
This car had accompanied him through many years of his life.
Although the body of the car showed traces of age, and the interior was no longer as bright and new as it once was, to him, it was not merely a means of transportation.
It carried too many memories.
Including the youth that had already passed away, and the love with Lin Daihua that they had missed.
The windshield wipers kept moving left and right.
“Swish——swish——”
Yet they still could not completely clear away the rainwater on the windshield.
While concentrating on the road ahead, Cai Shinan softly hummed along with the song playing inside the car.
Lo Ta-yu’s song “A Small Town in Lukang” slowly flowed through the vehicle.
That familiar melody was like a river traveling through time.
He softly sang:
“Taipei is not my home……
My hometown has no neon lights……”
When he sang this line, he suddenly became somewhat absent-minded.
He did not know why, but tonight’s song unexpectedly made him feel an indescribable loneliness.
He thought of Little Liuqiu.
He thought of his mother.
And he thought of the woman who had just returned to his life again—
Lin Daihua.
The car entered the interchange of National Freeway No. 2.
The rain continued to fall heavily.
The vehicles on the highway gradually became fewer, leaving only a few cars speeding through the darkness.
Cai Shinan looked at the endless road stretching ahead.
A thought suddenly appeared in his mind:
“Life……is it also like this highway?”
“It seems to have only one direction, yet you never know where the next exit will lead.”
Time was approaching midnight.
Cai Shinan passed through the Fude Long Tunnel.
The moment the car entered the depths of the tunnel, a strange sensation suddenly swept over him.
The sound of rain that had originally been close beside his ears gradually became distant.
The lights inside the car flickered on and off, as if an invisible force had surrounded the entire vehicle.
Cai Shinan frowned.
“Hm?”
He lowered his head and looked at the dashboard.
The next second.
His expression instantly froze.
The numbers on the odometer……
had actually begun moving backward.
Not slowly decreasing.
Instead, they rapidly dropped at an unbelievable speed.
One hundred thousand kilometers, ninety thousand kilometers, eighty thousand kilometers……
The numbers retreated rapidly as if time itself were flowing backward.
Cai Shinan’s eyes widened.
“This……what the heck is happening?”
He gently stepped on the brake.
But the car continued moving forward smoothly.
What was even more shocking was that—
changes began occurring inside the car.
The originally old and worn leather seats gradually regained their shine.
The cracked leather became smooth again.
The yellowed interior regained its original new-car color.
Even the air was filled with the smell of leather that only a new car possessed.
Cai Shinan reached out and touched the steering wheel.
That sensation……
was exactly the same as when he had just bought the car twenty-five years ago.
He was completely stunned.
“Wow……”
He could not help but mutter softly in Taiwanese:
“Ah, what kind of situation is this now?”
When the car drove out of the tunnel entrance, something strange happened again.
The outside world was completely different.
The rain had stopped.
The thick fog had disappeared.
The sky had unexpectedly become clear.
The road was dry, as if it had never rained at all.
Cai Shinan slowly reduced his speed.
He turned on the interior light and carefully examined everything.
What he saw before him shocked him even more.
This car……
had truly returned to the condition it was in when it was first delivered.
He reached out and touched the seat.
His heartbeat gradually accelerated.
“Strange……”
“It didn’t rain on this side of the tunnel.”
He looked into the rearview mirror.
That red two-door sports car was still following behind him.
From the moment he entered the tunnel, it had never left.
But what was even stranger was—
he clearly did not know this car.
Yet he had an inexplicable sense of familiarity toward it.
The car continued driving south.
When they reached the area near Xiangshan, Cai Shinan suddenly saw something unusual appearing ahead on the road.
The road narrowed.
Concrete barricades were arranged in the middle of the road.
A large construction sign beside the road was especially eye-catching in the darkness.
It read:
“1 KM to the end of the opened section.”
Cai Shinan suddenly opened his eyes wide.
He froze in front of the steering wheel.
“Wait……”
“What is this?”
He slowed down and looked at the scene before him.
A chill slowly crawled up his spine.
“Have I encountered something supernatural?”
He murmured to himself.
“Wasn’t National Freeway No. 2 already completed and open to traffic long ago?”
“I clearly drove on this road dozens of times before……”
His hands tightened around the steering wheel.
His mind was in complete confusion.
After Leaving the Freeway
After leaving the freeway, Cai Shinan changed to Provincial Highway No. 1.
The street scenes in the night made him feel increasingly uneasy.
Because……
everything had become unfamiliar.
He lowered his head and glanced at the dashboard.
The mileage display showed—
this journey was only a little over one hundred kilometers.
But according to his memory, he had clearly been driving for a very long time.
He frowned.
Suddenly, his eyes fell on the rearview mirror.
The face reflected in the mirror……
made his entire body freeze.
It was not the tired and aged face of himself after being discharged from the hospital.
Instead, it was a much younger face.
His skin was firm.
His eyes were bright.
Cai Shinan slowly lowered his head and looked at his abdomen.
That beer belly formed over years of hard work and lack of exercise……
had actually disappeared.
He was so shocked that he could not say a word.
“What……what exactly is happening?”
His voice began to tremble.
“Am I suffering from hallucinations because I haven’t gotten enough sleep?”
“I’m not dreaming, am I?”
He reached out and pinched his own face hard.
“Ah!”
The pain came clearly.
He stared blankly at his own hand.
“I’m clearly not dreaming……”
“But then what exactly is going on?”
After being stunned for a long time, Cai Shinan took a deep breath and tried hard to calm himself down.
“Forget it……”
“First, find a hotel and rest.”
“After dawn, I’ll slowly figure everything out.”
He restarted the car.
However, he did not know that everything happening at this moment was not an illusion.
It was a journey arranged by destiny.
At the same time, inside the red two-door sports car that had been following behind all along, Lin Daihua was also caught in shock.
She held the steering wheel and looked at her own hands.
Those hands that had once experienced the passing of years and carried the marks of a mature woman……
had actually returned to the appearance they had in her youth.
Through the rearview mirror, she saw her own youthful and delicate face.
She instantly froze.
“How could this be……”
She whispered softly.
She did not know that the person inside the old sedan ahead was the man she had not seen for many years, the man with whom she had just renewed their promise for the future:
Cai Shinan.
She also did not know that the two cars were moving forward within the same crack in time, passing through a mysterious space-time wormhole, returning to—
the late night of September 21, 1999,
the night that changed Taiwan’s history and changed their lives:
the eve before the 921 Earthquake occurred.
And they……
were about to meet again the life that had been rewritten by destiny.
7. Returning to the Starting Point of Destiny
The night covered the entire city.
Cai Shinan drove the Toyota Corona, which had already regained its youthful appearance, slowly into a motel.
Neon lights flickered in the darkness.
The wet asphalt after the rain reflected colorful rays of light, resembling an unreal dreamscape.
He drove the car into an independent garage.
After turning off the engine, the inside of the car fell into a brief silence.
Cai Shinan sat in the driver’s seat, his hands still holding the steering wheel.
His mind continuously replayed everything that had happened tonight:
the old car becoming new,
the unbelievable changes inside the tunnel,
his suddenly younger body,
and that completely unreasonable world.
He took a deep breath.
“What exactly……happened?”
But no one could answer him.
He opened the car door and stepped out.
Walking around to the back of the car, he opened the trunk.
Inside were two large leather suitcases.
His expression instantly became serious.
Inside these two suitcases were fifty million New Taiwan dollars in cash that he had originally prepared to restart his life.
In this absurd change of time and space, one of the things he worried about most was whether this money had also disappeared.
He crouched down and carefully opened the first suitcase.
Stacks of banknotes were neatly arranged inside.
He opened the second suitcase as well.
After confirming everything was intact, Cai Shinan let out a long breath.
“Fortunately……”
“The money is still here.”
At this moment, he finally regained a slight sense of reality.
At least, not everything had gone out of control.
After entering the room, Cai Shinan hung his coat over the back of a chair.
The room was very quiet.
There was only the low humming sound of the air conditioner running.
He sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the remote control to turn on the television.
He originally only wanted to find out what era he was currently in.
But the next second, the image on the screen made his body instantly freeze.
The news anchor had a solemn expression.
The background footage showed buildings collapsed one after another.
The streets were devastated.
Rescue workers searched for survivors among piles of rubble.
At the bottom of the television screen, a huge headline scrolled across:
“The Century’s Great Shock Shakes All of Taiwan, Number of Casualties Continues to Rise.”
Cai Shinan slowly stood up.
His eyes were fixed on the screen.
He could not believe what he was seeing.
Until the date appeared in the upper right corner of the news screen—
September 22, 1999.
Instantly.
His face turned pale.
“My goodness……”
His voice trembled.
“I……”
“Could it be that I really returned to twenty years ago?”
He stepped backward and hit the table behind him.
“September 22, 1999?”
“How is that possible?”
“How could this be possible!”
The entire room contained only the sound of the television news.
Cai Shinan began pacing back and forth inside the room.
He kept shaking his head, desperately trying to find a reasonable explanation.
“Impossible……”
“It must be a dream.”
He rubbed his forehead with his hand.
“I must be dreaming.”
After a moment of silence, he murmured again:
“Otherwise……”
“I must have been possessed by something.”
He looked toward the pitch-black night outside the window.
The mysterious tunnel appeared in his mind, along with all the unbelievable changes that had happened in that moment.
A chill slowly rose within him.
“Could it be……”
“When I passed through that tunnel just now, I really encountered something supernatural?”
He gave a bitter smile.
“Sigh……”
“Forget it.”
“I’ll sleep first.”
“Maybe when I wake up tomorrow, everything will return to normal.”
Cai Shinan took off his coat and shoes, then lay down on the bed.
He pulled up the blanket and closed his eyes.
However, even with his eyes closed, the same question continued appearing in his mind.
If……
he had really returned to twenty years ago,
then could life begin again?
In the Morning Light
The morning sunlight shone into the room through the gaps between the curtains.
Cai Shinan slowly opened his eyes.
His first thought was the absurd experience from last night.
He suddenly sat up.
He reached out, picked up the remote control, and turned on the television.
The next second, his expression froze.
The news channel was still broadcasting reports about the 921 Earthquake.
The disaster area shown on the screen.
Collapsed houses.
Crying crowds.
Rescue scenes.
Everything remained unchanged.
Cai Shinan sat motionless on the bed, completely stunned.
After a few seconds, he raised his hand and slapped his forehead hard.
“Damn it……”
“It really wasn’t a dream.”
He let out a helpless sigh.
But the facts were already right before his eyes.
He could only accept them.
He walked into the bathroom and turned on the faucet.
Cold water flowed over his face.
When he raised his head and saw himself in the mirror, he froze again.
The man in the mirror:
Young.
Energetic.
There was no exhaustion accumulated over many years in his eyes.
No paleness after illness.
And no middle-aged body that had been worn down by work.
Cai Shinan stared at himself in the mirror.
Suddenly, he could not help laughing.
He reached out and touched his own face.
“Hey!”
“Hey, Cai……”
He spoke to the person in the mirror:
“You really have become younger!”
At first, it was only a foolish laugh.
Then the laughter grew louder and louder.
A person who had suddenly received a second life.
He picked up his toothbrush.
While brushing his teeth, he looked at himself in the mirror and laughed.
While brushing, a thought suddenly appeared in his mind.
His smile slowly disappeared.
“Perhaps……”
“God heard my wish and gave me a chance to start over.”
He looked at himself in the mirror.
“This time, I must cherish my life.”
“I won’t be like before, only knowing how to work and make money.”
But the next second, another, more important question appeared.
Lin Daihua.
His eyes darkened.
“But……what about Daihua?”
“Will she still remain twenty years in the future?”
Cai Shinan quickly rinsed his mouth.
He walked back to the room and picked up the smartphone placed beside the bed.
It was a phone that belonged to the year 2019.
He looked at the screen.
After hesitating for a moment, he dialed the phone number Lin Daihua had given him.
The phone rang several times.
Then a cold automated system voice came through:
“The mobile phone number you have dialed is not in service. Please check the number and dial again.”
Cai Shinan froze completely.
The phone slowly lowered from his ear.
“How could this be……”
His brows tightened.
“How could Daihua’s phone number become unavailable?”
He sat on the edge of the bed, falling into deep thought.
Suddenly, he remembered something else.
“Right……”
“Her family’s home phone number……”
He closed his eyes and tried hard to recall.
But twenty years was simply too long.
Those numbers that had once been familiar had already been buried deep within his memory.
“Oh no……”
“How could I have forgotten?”
He scratched his hair.
With a bitter smile, he said:
“This is really troublesome……”
Outside the window, the morning light of 1999 gradually rose.
A person who had returned to the past was searching for a lover he had lost for twenty years.
But what he did not know was—
the same space-time transformation had also changed Lin Daihua’s life path.
The gears of destiny were beginning to turn again.
8. The Other End of Destiny
After morning arrived, traffic on the provincial highway gradually increased.
The streets after the 921 Earthquake still carried an uneasy atmosphere.
Many people were busy repairing and organizing their homes.
News programs continuously broadcast images of the disaster areas, reminding everyone—
this land had only just experienced a tremendous shock.
However, beside a provincial road not far from the city area, a sudden accident was quietly changing another person’s destiny.
A red two-door sports car sped along the road.
Inside the car, Lin Daihua held the steering wheel, her expression somewhat dazed.
She lowered her head and looked at her own hands.
Even now, she still could not understand everything that had happened last night.
After passing through the tunnel, her body had suddenly returned to youth.
Time, memories, the world……
everything had become unbelievable.
But compared with the changes in herself, the person she cared about more was another person:
Cai Shinan.
“Shinan……”
She softly whispered this name.
A trace of sadness appeared at the corner of her mouth.
“Where……would you be now?”
She did not know that, at this moment, Tsai Shih-Nan was also searching for her. The two people who had traveled through time were driving their own cars, searching for each other in the same era. However, fate did not allow them to meet immediately.
Just as Lin Dai-Hua was distracted for a moment, a slow-moving vehicle suddenly appeared from the intersection ahead.
She suddenly came back to her senses. “Ah!” She slammed on the brakes, but the car was moving too fast, and the road conditions were poor. The red sports car lost control. The tires made a sharp screeching sound against the asphalt, “Screeech——”
The next second, a tremendous crash echoed across the road.
“Bang!” The red sports car violently crashed into a roadside utility pole. The front of the car instantly collapsed. The hood was thrown open from the impact, white smoke continuously poured out, and all the airbags deployed. Lin Dai-Hua was shaken unconscious by the tremendous force of the impact. Her forehead was injured, and blood slowly flowed down. She closed her eyes. The world gradually fell into darkness.
Not far away, a taxi happened to be passing by. When the driver saw the accident ahead, he immediately stepped on the brakes.
“Damn it!” He pushed open the car door and quickly ran toward the accident scene. Thick smoke kept rising from the front of the car. Ignoring the danger, he rushed to the driver’s side.
“Miss! Miss, can you hear me?”
But Lin Dai-Hua did not respond. She was trapped inside the driver’s seat, and her body showed no obvious reaction.
The taxi driver gritted his teeth. He opened the car door and tried his best to pull her out.
“Come on… just a little more! Hold on!”
After using a great deal of effort, he finally dragged Lin Dai-Hua out of the car. He supported her and moved her to a safe place by the roadside.
“Miss, don’t fall asleep! Wake up!”
But Lin Dai-Hua had already lost consciousness. The blood from her head stained her cheeks red.
At that moment, the red sports car suddenly made an abnormal sound.
“Boom——”
Flames burst out from near the engine. The taxi driver’s face changed instantly.
“Oh no! The car is going to catch fire!”
He immediately took out his phone, his fingers trembling slightly from nervousness.
He dialed 119.
“Hello, is this 119? There has been a car accident here. Someone is injured. The car is smoking, and the crashed vehicle has caught fire!”
A few minutes later, the sound of urgent sirens came from a distance. Fire trucks and ambulances quickly arrived at the scene.
The firefighters immediately got out of the vehicles.
“Both of you, move back! Keep a safe distance!”
Powerful streams of water were quickly sprayed toward the burning vehicle. Under the forceful water streams, the flames gradually went out. However, when the fire was completely extinguished, the once bright red and beautiful sports car had been burned until only a blackened frame remained.
The medical personnel quickly examined Lin Dai-Hua’s injuries.
“Female patient, head trauma, unconscious.”
“Send her to the hospital immediately!”
They carefully lifted her onto a stretcher.
The taxi driver stood to the side, watching as the ambulance doors closed. His face was full of concern.
“I hope you’ll be okay……”
He whispered one sentence.
The ambulance started moving, and its red warning lights flashed under the sunlight.
“Woo——woo——”
The vehicle carried the unconscious Lin Dai-Hua and sped toward the hospital.
No one knew that this accident was not merely an ordinary car crash, but a trial that fate had given Lin Dai-Hua after the distortion of time and space.
The world twenty years ago.
The life twenty years ago.
And that love waiting to begin again—
were all waiting ahead for her to awaken.
9. Lost Memories
Sunlight streamed through the window of the hospital room.
Outside the window, leaves swayed gently in the breeze. The sunlight cast mottled shadows on the white curtains.
However, inside the hospital room, the atmosphere seemed especially heavy.
Lin Dai-Hua slowly opened her eyes.
She felt waves of pain coming from her head. A strange voice came from beside her.
“Miss…… Miss, are you awake?”
She opened her eyes, and her blurred vision gradually became clear.
A white ceiling.
The smell of disinfectant.
An unfamiliar hospital room.
She tried to sit up, but felt that her body was weak. The nurse quickly stepped forward to support her.
“Take it slowly. Don’t rush.”
“You were just in a car accident. You have a head injury and need to rest.”
Lin Dai-Hua stared blankly at the nurse.
A car accident?
She tried hard to recall.
The red sports car.
The road.
The sound of the impact.
And then……
A complete blank.
She frowned, trying to grasp those missing fragments. But inside her mind, there was only a chaotic fog.
Not long afterward, a police officer came to the hospital room.
He sat beside the bed with a notebook in his hand, preparing to record the accident report.
“Miss, we need to take your statement.”
The police officer spoke gently, trying not to put pressure on her.
“We also need to notify your family to come here.”
He lowered his head and looked at the information.
“May I ask what your name is?”
Lin Dai-Hua looked at the police officer.
She opened her mouth, but no answer came out.
Her expression gradually became blank and confused.
“I……”
She paused for a moment.
“I don’t know.”
The police officer was stunned.
“You don’t know?”
He put down his pen.
“Miss, try to think again.”
“What is your name?”
“Where do you live?”
“What is your home phone number?”
Lin Dai-Hua’s brows became more and more tightly furrowed.
She closed her eyes and desperately searched through her memories.
Her parents……
Her friends……
Her work……
Her address……
Everything and everyone familiar to her seemed to be separated by a thick pane of frosted glass.
She could vaguely see them, but she could not touch them.
Suddenly, she held her head, a painful expression appearing on her face.
“I really don’t remember……”
“I really can’t remember anything……”
Her voice trembled slightly.
At that moment, she herself felt frightened.
Because she did not even know—
who she really was.
“I really can’t remember anything……”
Her voice trembled slightly.
At that moment, she herself felt frightened.
Because she did not even know—
who she really was.
The police officer looked at her helpless appearance and did not know how to handle the situation either. He turned to the doctor beside him.
“Doctor, her condition……”
The doctor walked closer to the hospital bed and examined Lin Dai-Hua’s medical examination records.
“Based on her current condition, it may be traumatic amnesia.”
He explained calmly:
“After a blow to the head, some patients may temporarily lose part of their memories.”
“Do not force her to recall things for now. Let her rest and observe her for a period of time.”
Lin Dai-Hua sat on the bed, listening to the doctor’s words, but her heart became even more panicked.
Amnesia?
Had she really lost her own past?
The police officer flipped through the records in his hand.
Suddenly, he thought of something.
“Doctor.”
“When she was brought to the hospital, did she have any identification documents with her?”
The doctor shook his head.
“No.”
“If she had an identity card, driver’s license, or any other information on her, we would have already notified her family to come here.”
The police officer remained silent for a moment. He looked at Lin Dai-Hua lying on the hospital bed.
At this moment, she seemed like a person forgotten by the entire world.
No name.
No address.
No family.
She did not even know her own past.
The police officer put away his notebook and said softly:
“Then for now, we can only leave things this way.”
He looked at Lin Dai-Hua.
“Miss, if you remember anything later, or if your memory returns, please contact us.”
Lin Dai-Hua slowly nodded.
However, as she looked at the bright sky outside the window, an inexplicable uneasiness rose in her heart.
She did not know where she had come from.
She also did not know whom she had once loved.
And she knew even less that……
somewhere in this world, there was a man who was anxiously searching for her.
At this moment, Tsai Shih-Nan also had no idea that the person he most wanted to find had already arrived in the same time and space.
Only……
she had lost all memories about him.
10. The Reunion in Little Liuqiu
In the early morning of Little Liuqiu, the sea breeze carried a salty scent, blowing from Baisha Harbor all the way toward the island’s streets.
Although the 921 Earthquake had shaken all of Taiwan, this coral island separated from Taiwan’s main island was fortunate enough not to suffer serious damage.
At the harbor, tourists were still carrying their luggage on and off the boats. The shop owners along the commercial street also gradually opened their metal shutters, preparing to welcome a new day.
Tsai Shih-Nan drove the Toyota sedan, which had regained its youthful appearance, slowly along streets that were both familiar and unfamiliar.
Looking at everything before him, he felt an indescribable emotion in his heart.
Little Liuqiu twenty years ago—
this place where he had once lived and grown up, yet later left because of work—
had now appeared in his life again in the most unbelievable way.
He looked at the familiar street scenery outside the window, constantly reminding himself—
this was not a dream.
He had truly returned.
When the car passed the intersection of the shopping street, a group of elementary school students who had just finished school suddenly appeared ahead.
The children carried schoolbags and lined up in a row, preparing to cross the road under the guidance of a female teacher.
Tsai Shih-Nan slowed down and stopped at the intersection.
At the moment while he was waiting, his eyes fell upon the female teacher.
She was wearing a simple and elegant blouse with a long skirt. She held a traffic control flag in her hand, and her expression was focused as she reminded the students to pay attention to safety.
The sunlight fell upon the side of her face.
At that moment, Tsai Shih-Nan’s heart suddenly trembled.
This face……
Why did it look so familiar?
He frowned and tried hard to search through his memories.
“Hmm? She looks so familiar…… Why can’t I remember who she is?”
The female teacher was concentrating on directing the students across the road and did not notice Tsai Shih-Nan sitting inside the car beside her.
It was not until all the children had safely crossed the road that he suddenly seemed to remember something and opened his eyes wide.
“Ah!”
He could not help but blurt out:
“It’s Chang Ya-Hui!”
Tsai Shih-Nan held the steering wheel and stared at her in a daze.
“Twenty years ago…… I went on a blind date with her.”
That memory, hidden by the passage of time, instantly appeared before his eyes.
That year, the young Tsai Shih-Nan had just graduated from the Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering at National Tsing Hua University and entered the Hsinchu Science Park to work.
In his mother Chiu Hsiu-Tuan’s eyes, her son had excellent qualifications, but he only knew how to work all day long. His marriage had always remained unresolved.
Therefore, through the arrangement of a matchmaker, she brought Tsai Shih-Nan to a restaurant in Little Liuqiu to meet the Chang family.
That afternoon, the sea breeze blew through the streets, and the restaurant was filled with the aroma of seafood dishes.
Tsai Shih-Nan sat beside his mother, his expression slightly reserved.
Sitting across from them were Mr. Chang and his two daughters. Chang Tien-Ting had brought his elder daughter Chang Ya-Hui and younger daughter Chang Ya-Ching to the meeting.
Chang Ya-Hui sat quietly.
She wore simple yet appropriate clothes. She spoke gently and carried herself with grace.
As she listened to the matchmaker introduce Tsai Shih-Nan, she occasionally glanced secretly at him, and a shy smile appeared on her face.
The matchmaker smiled so widely that her mouth could hardly close.
“Tian-Ting, this young man, Tsai Shih-Nan, graduated from Tsing Hua University and works at the Hsinchu Science Park. He is a computer engineer. His income is stable, and he is an honest person.”
She turned to Chiu Hsiu-Tuan.
“Ah-Tuan, the young lady, Ya-Hui, lives on Donggang Street. She graduated from the Department of Fine Arts at National Taiwan Normal University, and her family background is also good. But unlike ordinary rich girls, she has a gentle and sensible personality. Around here, she teaches at an elementary school.”
The matchmaker clapped her hands and laughed.
“Look, isn’t this a perfect match of a talented man and a beautiful woman, with families well matched in social standing?”
After hearing this, Chang Ya-Hui lowered her head, and a smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of her mouth.
Tsai Shih-Nan only smiled shyly.
At that time, he did not know that this gentle girl before him had also once left a trace of fate in his life.
However, this marriage arrangement eventually did not continue.
A few days later, the matchmaker came to the Tsai family with news.
“Ah-Tuan. The girl’s family really likes your son, Shih-Nan. They hope you can formally go and ask for her hand in marriage.”
After hearing this, Chiu Hsiu-Tuan showed a troubled expression.
She remained silent for a while before saying softly:
“Ah…… how should I put this? I’m really sorry.”
The matchmaker looked at her in confusion.
“What happened?”
Chiu Hsiu-Tuan sighed.
“Our Shih-Nan said he doesn’t want to marry into the woman’s family.”
The matchmaker was stunned.
“Is that so?”
(She paused.)
She showed a regretful expression.
“But the Chang family only has two daughters and no son, so that is why they proposed this condition.”
Chiu Hsiu-Tuan nodded.
“I know.”
“But Ah-Nan said he doesn’t want to become a live-in son-in-law.”
The matchmaker helplessly shook her head.
“Then there is nothing we can do. I can only go back and explain everything clearly to Mr. Chang.”
Inside the room, Tsai Shih-Nan sat nearby, listening to their conversation.
His expression appeared calm, but deep inside, he also felt a trace of regret.
At that time, his entire heart was focused on making a name for himself in the technology industry.
He believed that as long as he worked hard, he would surely be able to have the life he wanted in the future.
Yet he never imagined—
the most precious things in life are sometimes not things that effort alone can regain.
Tsai Shih-Nan sat inside the car, looking at Chang Ya-Hui before him.
Twenty years ago, she had been so young and so gentle.
But this time, he did not want to miss any possibility again.
He slowly rolled down the car window and waved at her.
A warm smile appeared on his face.
Chang Ya-Hui was originally preparing to leave. When she heard someone calling her, she stopped.
She looked carefully for a few seconds, with confusion appearing in her eyes.
Then, she recognized him.
“Shih-Nan?”
A surprised smile appeared on her face, and she quickly walked over.
“You came back for vacation?”
Looking at the familiar face before him, Tsai Shih-Nan felt countless emotions surging inside.
He smiled and nodded.
“Yes. A major earthquake happened yesterday. I was worried about my family, so I specially came back to take a look.”
Chang Ya-Hui nodded.
“Fortunately, there hasn’t been any major disaster reported here.”
As she said this, she suddenly thought of something.
“But there is a problem at the school. The wiring in the computer classroom seems to have malfunctioned. The entire classroom cannot be turned on.”
Tsai Shih-Nan smiled.
“Oh? I almost forgot. You should remember that I work with computers.”
Chang Ya-Hui also smiled.
“That’s right.”
“You are a computer expert.”
Tsai Shih-Nan nodded.
“I’ll go to the school tomorrow and help you check it.”
Chang Ya-Hui showed a grateful expression.
“Then I’ll trouble you.”
The sea breeze blew past the two of them.
Tsai Shih-Nan looked at Chang Ya-Hui before him, but another name appeared in his mind.
Lin Dai-Hua.
He knew that returning to twenty years ago was not only for starting his life over again.
It was also for finding the person he truly wanted to cherish.
But at this moment, he still did not know—
that fate had already quietly arranged another path, waiting for him to face it.
下一則： Long Fantasy Romance Novel〈The Reissued Youth〉2
