26. The Dream Begins Construction
Night fell over Xiaoliuqiu.
In the distant sea, fishing lights flickered one by one, like stars scattered across a piece of black silk.
In front of the Tsai family's old sanheyuan, the familiar vegetable garden and courtyard had already been surrounded by fences. In their place was now a construction site in progress.
Floodlights illuminated the entire area. Steel bars, cement, and wooden materials were neatly stacked to one side.
The roaring sound of excavators broke through the quiet of the night. The huge mechanical arms slowly dug into the earth, turning up the soil, while the scent of fresh dirt filled the air.
The guesthouse that carried Tsai Shih-nan's dream was gradually transforming from lines on a design blueprint into the real beginnings of a building before their eyes.
At the center of the construction site, Chang Ya-hui, Tsai Shih-nan, and the foreman stood before a large construction plan, carefully checking every detail under the lights.
Chang Ya-hui crouched down, moving her finger along the markings on the blueprint, her expression focused and serious.
"Master, the two corners of the site need to be excavated for the bathing pools. The depth should be about one meter. The shape and size are clearly marked on the blueprint."
The foreman picked up the drawing and examined it carefully. Then he looked up at the excavator currently leveling the land and nodded.
"Okay. I'll first ask the operator to dig out the approximate size and depth according to the markings. After that, the concrete workers can handle the detailed adjustments."
Chang Ya-hui continued pointing to another area.
"And here, the foundation depth needs to be half a meter. Please reserve several holes for installing the support columns. The holes should be about two Taiwanese feet deep. Also, the locations of the drainage holes need to be reserved according to the drawing."
The foreman lowered his head again to confirm the blueprint.
A look of admiration appeared on his face.
"No problem. Miss Chang, your design drawing is very detailed. It's even clearer than the drawings from some construction companies. I'll follow your plans exactly."
Chang Ya-hui smiled slightly and politely replied,
"Thank you for your help, Master. If there are any questions during construction, please call me anytime."
"Sure, don't worry."
After saying that, the foreman held the construction drawings in both hands and walked to the other side of the construction site.
He compared the blueprint with the actual conditions and began directing the workers to adjust the construction process.
Chang Ya-hui remained standing where she was, watching the busy workers.
Only after confirming that everything was proceeding smoothly did she pull Tsai Shih-nan a few steps away.
The two of them stood at the corner of the construction site, looking at the guesthouse foundation that was gradually taking shape before them.
The night wind passed by, gently moving the strands of hair on Ya-hui's forehead.
Looking at how seriously she had devoted herself to the project, Tsai Shih-nan could not help smiling.
"Ya-hui, honestly, I never imagined before that you would have such an architect's presence."
Hearing that, Chang Ya-hui turned to look at him and smiled.
"What architect's presence? I'm just someone who was forced to learn as I went along."
"Since we decided to do this, I could only start learning from the beginning. Whenever I didn't understand something, I searched for information and asked professionals."
She looked toward the location of the building under construction in the distance, her voice carrying a sense of determination.
"And besides, this isn't just your guesthouse. It's also a dream that we are working toward together. Of course, I hope we can make it the best it can be."
Listening to her words, Tsai Shih-nan felt a surge of gratitude in his heart.
He looked at the construction site before him, then turned toward Ya-hui beside him and smiled.
"Luckily, I have you."
"If I didn't, I would probably only be standing here right now, listening to architects and foremen talk about foundations, structures, and drainage systems. In the end, I would just let them lead me around by the nose."
Chang Ya-hui laughed softly.
"Actually, you're not as much of an outsider as you think. At least your sense of aesthetics is very good."
Looking at the workers busy under the lights, Tsai Shih-nan felt a sense of stability that he had not experienced for a long time.
In his previous life, he had possessed money and a successful career, yet he had lost many precious people and much precious time.
Now, he had returned to the starting point of his life.
This time, he did not only want to make money.
He wanted to create a place of happiness that belonged to his family, his friends, and himself.
The sounds of machinery continued to echo through the construction site.
Between every brick and every piece of tile, a garden guesthouse blending Taiwanese warmth and Japanese elegance was slowly coming into existence.
27. The Stranger Who Lost Her Memory
The afternoon sunlight streamed through the car window, falling on Lin Tai-hua's pale and bewildered face.
She sat quietly in the back seat of the police car, both hands tightly gripping the edge of her clothing, her eyes fixed on the streets rushing past outside the window.
The car stopped in front of a gray-white building.
There was no fancy signboard, nor any warm decoration.
Only a gate marked with the words "Homeless Shelter."
To Lin Tai-hua, this place felt like the entrance to an unfamiliar world.
She lowered her head and looked at her own hands, desperately trying to recover even a trace of her past from her mind.
However, apart from scattered and blurry fragments, she could remember nothing.
The car door opened.
The female police officer walked to her side and said gently,
"Miss 109, we're here."
Lin Tai-hua raised her head, a trace of helplessness in her eyes.
"Miss 109..."
She softly repeated the name.
To others, it was merely a number temporarily assigned to her by the police.
But to her now, it had almost become the only name that could represent who she was.
The policewoman noticed her uneasiness and gently patted her shoulder.
"Don't be afraid. The people at the shelter will take care of you. We will also continue helping to search for your family."
Lin Tai-hua did not answer.
She simply nodded silently.
She followed the policewoman into the shelter office.
Inside the office, a middle-aged man was organizing documents.
He was the director of the shelter, Tang An-ping.
Seeing the police officers enter, he immediately stood up to greet them.
The female officer took out a brown paper folder from her handbag and handed it to Tang An-ping with both hands.
"Director Tang, this is Miss 109's information."
Tang An-ping accepted the folder and looked through it.
His brows tightened slightly.
"She doesn't have any household registration information?"
The female officer shook her head, her expression serious.
"Miss 109 was involved in a car accident earlier and suffered a brain injury. She is currently experiencing amnesia."
"We have already taken her photograph and created basic records. We are waiting for her family members to come forward and identify her."
Tang An-ping nodded and carefully put the documents away.
"I understand. We will take good care of her, and we will also cooperate with the police investigation that follows."
He turned to a female staff member nearby who was organizing some belongings.
"Xin-lian, could you please take Miss 109 to the women's dormitory and help her complete the check-in procedures?"
Song Xin-lian immediately put down the documents in her hands and walked over to Lin Tai-hua.
With a friendly smile, she said,
"Miss 109, please follow me."
Lin Tai-hua looked at this unfamiliar woman in front of her.
After hesitating for a moment, she slowly followed her footsteps.
On both sides of the corridor were simple rooms.
Inside lived people like her—people who had temporarily lost their support and place to rely on.
She walked slowly forward, and an indescribable loneliness rose inside her heart.
She did not know where she had come from.
She did not know where she would go in the future.
The only thing she knew was—
Starting today, she had to remain in this unfamiliar place, waiting for an answer that might never appear.
28. A Gentle Test in the Warmth
In the evening, the lingering glow of the setting sun streamed through the window of the teachers' dormitory into the small kitchen, reflecting on the clean white countertop.
The little kitchen was filled with the aroma of food. The sound of the spatula hitting the surface of the wok, together with the crisp sounds of chopping vegetables, added a sense of warmth and home to the originally quiet dormitory.
Chiu Hsiu-tuan wore an apron and stood before the stove, skillfully stir-frying the dishes in the wok.
Chang Ya-hui stood beside her, carefully draining the freshly washed vegetables and slowly cutting them into suitable pieces with a kitchen knife.
Although the two had known each other for only a short time, after spending this period together, they had already become as natural with each other as mother and daughter.
Looking at the gentle and virtuous Ya-hui beside her, Chiu Hsiu-tuan showed a satisfied smile.
She put down the spatula, wiped her hands, and spoke with both a hint of testing and genuine sincerity.
"Ya-hui, during this time, our whole family has troubled you with so much help. Auntie is truly very grateful to you."
Chang Ya-hui stopped what she was doing and turned to look at her.
Chiu Hsiu-tuan smiled and continued,
"To be honest, Auntie really hopes you can become our family's daughter-in-law."
Chang Ya-hui was slightly startled.
The kitchen knife in her hand stopped on the cutting board.
She did not show a surprised expression.
She simply lowered her head and remained silent for a moment, as if thinking about how she should answer.
After a while, she put down the knife and revealed a gentle smile.
"Auntie, thank you for caring about me so much."
She gently wiped the water droplets from her hands, her voice sincere.
"After spending this time together, Shih-nan and I have indeed become very good friends. But matters of love are a decision between two people. It cannot be only one side having the intention. I think... it would be better to let Shih-nan make his own decision."
After listening, Chiu Hsiu-tuan nodded.
"What you said makes sense..."
She thought for a moment, then seemed to suddenly remember something and looked at Ya-hui.
"But, your father..."
Chang Ya-hui knew she was referring to the condition her father had proposed during their arranged meeting—that Tsai Shih-nan would marry into her family.
Her expression became slightly heavy, but she quickly returned to calm.
"My father... after Shih-nan makes his decision, I will explain it to him myself."
Her tone was firm.
"This is my own life. I will take responsibility for persuading him."
Looking at this sensible young woman before her, Chiu Hsiu-tuan admired her even more.
She lowered her head to organize the ingredients on the table, then could not help asking again.
"Oh, right. There is one more thing Auntie has always wanted to ask you. Shih-nan only went to work in Hsinchu for half a year. How could he possibly have enough money to renovate the guesthouse and redo all the interior decoration?"
She paused and asked tentatively,
"You should know about this, right?"
Chang Ya-hui's hands stopped for a moment.
She thought of how seriously Shih-nan had worked while planning the guesthouse.
She also remembered the process of accompanying him to study designs and discuss the plans.
After a moment of silence, she softly answered,
"I invested in Shih-nan."
Chiu Hsiu-tuan's eyes widened slightly.
Chang Ya-hui gave a faint smile.
"Shih-nan truly has the determination to start a business, and the plan for this guesthouse was something the two of us developed together through discussion. I believe in his ideas, so I am willing to support him."
After hearing this, the doubt on Chiu Hsiu-tuan's face slowly disappeared, replaced by relief.
"If that's the case, then Auntie can rest assured."
Looking at Ya-hui, she became even more certain in her heart that this young woman would be a good choice for a future daughter-in-law.
29. Searching for the Lost Self
At night, the women's dormitory of the shelter was filled with dim and gentle lighting.
The streetlights outside the window shone through the glass, leaving mottled shadows of light on the floor.
Lin Tai-hua stood alone by the window, her hands gently resting on the window frame as she quietly gazed into the distance.
Pedestrians came and went on the streets outside.
Car lights continued to flash.
The city continued operating as usual.
However, for her, her own world seemed to have remained frozen at a certain blank moment.
She tried desperately to remember.
Her own name.
Her own home.
Her own family.
But there was only a blur inside her mind.
It was as if someone had taken away the most important part of her life, leaving behind only a body that still remembered how to breathe, but had forgotten where it came from.
"109."
A voice suddenly came from behind her.
Lin Tai-hua slowly turned around and saw Lu Xiu-ying standing behind her.
Lu Xiu-ying was a woman in her forties.
She had a straightforward personality.
Although her own life was also filled with hardships, she always used caring for others as a way to hide her own loneliness.
She walked to Lin Tai-hua's side and followed her gaze toward the street outside the window.
"109, you are even more pitiful than me."
Lu Xiu-ying let out a soft sigh.
"I came here because I had nowhere else to go and had reached a dead end in my life. But you..."
She turned her head and looked at Lin Tai-hua.
"You don't know where your home is, and you don't even know whether someone is currently searching for you."
After hearing this, Lin Tai-hua's lips formed a faint bitter smile.
There was no resentment in that smile, only deep helplessness.
Lu Xiu-ying remained silent for a moment, then could not help saying,
"However, I have always found something strange."
She frowned, her voice filled with confusion.
"You were in a car accident and disappeared for such a long time. Logically speaking, if you had family members, they should have been desperately looking for you."
"How could it be that, even until now, no one has come to claim you?"
Lin Tai-hua lowered her head, her fingers gently intertwined.
After a long while, she finally spoke softly.
"Perhaps..."
She paused for a moment, her eyes growing dim.
"Perhaps in this world, I really don't have any family."
Hearing this, Lu Xiu-ying immediately turned around to look at her.
"How could that be?"
Her tone was firm.
"Even if you don't have family, you must have friends, right? Classmates, coworkers, or people you knew before. It is impossible that you don't have even one person."
Lin Tai-hua did not answer.
She simply continued looking silently out the window.
Suddenly, Lu Xiu-ying seemed to think of something, and her eyes lit up.
"That's right! I thought of a way. Maybe it can help you find your family or friends."
Lin Tai-hua turned around.
For the first time, a trace of expectation appeared in her eyes.
"What way?"
Lu Xiu-ying pulled over a chair and sat down.
She began to analyze seriously.
"You can place a missing-person advertisement in the newspaper and put your photograph on it."
She gestured toward Lin Tai-hua.
"If you really have family members, when they see your photograph, they will definitely come looking for you."
After hearing this, Lin Tai-hua remained silent for a while.
A trace of expectation flashed in her eyes, but it was mixed with fear.
"But..."
She lowered her voice.
"What if the person who comes looking for me doesn't actually know me?"
Lu Xiu-ying was stunned for a moment.
"How could that happen?"
She smiled, trying to comfort her.
"The person who truly comes to identify you will definitely have proof. For example, photographs, identification documents, or things that only the two of you would know."
Lin Tai-hua lowered her head and thought carefully.
This method might be the only chance she currently had to find the answer.
After a while, she slowly nodded.
"Alright."
She looked at Lu Xiu-ying and showed a grateful smile.
"I'll try your method."
She walked back to the window and once again looked at the world outside.
"All this time, I have always felt like I was a blank sheet of paper."
Her voice was very soft, as if she were speaking to herself.
"I cannot remember anything about my past life."
"The me I am now feels as if I have lived again from the beginning."
Looking at her lonely figure from behind, Lu Xiu-ying's eyes showed more sympathy.
She did not know what kind of past this woman who had lost her memory was hiding.
She knew even less that—
when that missing-person advertisement was published, it would bring out a secret buried for many years.
30. Dark Currents Rising
Night covered the earth.
In the distance, only scattered lights on the surface of the sea continued to flicker.
Inside the office of a European-style hotel, soft yellow lighting illuminated a luxurious wooden desk.
Photographs of tourist attractions from various countries hung on the walls.
Bookshelves were filled with books related to hotel management.
Although the space appeared grand and impressive, an uneasy atmosphere lingered throughout the room.
Zhu Fu-liang sat behind the desk, staring at the computer screen.
His fingers slowly tapped on the keyboard.
Displayed on the screen were data about the tourism market of Xiaoliuqiu, as well as changes in the number of visitors in recent years.
His brows furrowed slightly.
In recent months, a construction site nearby had already caught his attention.
If that new guesthouse really opened, it would inevitably take away some of his customers.
Just then, the office door was pushed open.
Black Dog entered with Man Niu and Mu Zei-zai.
The three stood at the doorway, their expressions carrying a somewhat flattering attitude.
Zhu Fu-liang did not turn around.
He simply spoke in a calm voice.
"Black Dog, how is the investigation going on the construction site I asked you to look into?"
Black Dog quickly walked forward and stood in front of the desk.
"Boss, I've found out everything."
He rubbed his hands together and lowered his voice.
"That piece of land belongs to the Tsai family. I heard that the Tsai family's son used to work away from home. Recently, he made some money and came back, planning to renovate the old house into a Japanese-style guesthouse."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Fu-liang stopped moving his hands.
He slowly turned his chair around, and his eyes became dark and cold.
"A Japanese-style guesthouse?"
He let out a cold laugh.
"No wonder they made the construction site so large. So they want to steal tourists from me."
Zhu Fu-liang stood up and walked to the window.
He looked at the lights of the construction site gradually taking shape in the distance.
His expression became increasingly unpleasant.
"The tourist market in this place is only this big. Once they open, my business will definitely be affected."
Black Dog stood behind him and cautiously asked,
"Boss, then how should we brothers deal with it?"
Zhu Fu-liang stood with his back facing the three men and remained silent for a moment.
Then, a cold and sinister smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"After their guesthouse is completed and begins operation..."
He turned around and looked at the three men.
"Go there in the middle of the night and set it on fire."
The room instantly fell silent.
Black Dog froze for a moment.
"Set... set it on fire?"
A trace of hesitation appeared on his face.
"Boss, what if... what if there are people inside and someone dies? What then?"
Zhu Fu-liang glared at him and snorted coldly.
"You three have followed me for so long, and you still don't know how to think?"
He walked back to the desk and tapped his fingers on the tabletop.
"Choose rooms that no one has moved into yet. A newly built guesthouse will always have empty rooms that haven't been occupied, right?"
Black Dog understood what he meant and quickly nodded.
"I understand, Boss."
Zhu Fu-liang looked at them, his voice cold.
"Remember, do the job cleanly. Don't leave behind any trouble."
Man Niu and Mu Zei-zai stood to the side.
Although they did not say anything, nervousness appeared on both of their faces.
Zhu Fu-liang walked back to his desk and picked up a cigarette.
He lit it.
The smoke slowly rose, covering his expression.
"I'll prepare the plane tickets and the money for you to escape."
He exhaled a mouthful of smoke.
"Pick a night and make your move. The next morning, the three of you leave immediately."
"Go to the other side of the strait and hide for a while. After things calm down, come back."
Black Dog nodded.
"Understood, Boss."
The three of them turned and left.
The moment the office door closed, Zhu Fu-liang sat back down in his chair.
He looked at the hotel competition data displayed on the computer screen.
His eyes were filled with hostility.
"Want to compete with me for business..."
He muttered to himself.
"Not that easy."
Outside the window, the night grew even darker.
And a dark conspiracy targeting the Tsai family's guesthouse quietly began to unfold inside this European-style hotel.
