Rephrase the language...
At this moment, Taylor was undoubtedly under immense pressure.
He had just walked through the door, intending to take control of the situation and make a strong first impression. Who could have guessed he'd run straight into a lineup like this?
Fu Qian and Yuan Shan were all right; they had always been approachable.
But Su Gao's scrutiny was suffocating.
It was a pure, unadulterated killing intent. There wasn't even any anger in it, just a bone-deep chill.
Under those beautiful amber eyes, Taylor found himself at a loss for words.
"I came here this time... Actually, I have something important to take care of..."
After instinctively gathering his thoughts, Taylor spoke again, now much more humbly.
"Hmm?"
"It's something very important. I need to use the notebook, so I came to see if you were done with it..."
Something important?
Fu Qian blinked but said nothing.
Hmm...
Getting no response, Taylor—who had already hit one dead end after another with Fu Qian—instinctively turned to Yuan Shan.
Whatever else, the Night Watchers were at least reasonable.
Unfortunately, she looked lost in thought and showed no intention of intervening.
"I think I may not have put that very accurately..."
Realizing he wouldn't get any help from Yuan Shan, Taylor had to change tack and gather his thoughts again.
"It really is urgent, so I was hoping to borrow it and return it as soon as I'm done... Would that be all right?"
As he said "return it," Taylor couldn't help gritting his teeth.
"You could've just said that from the start."
Fu Qian looked enlightened.
"But I'm afraid our bookstore doesn't usually offer rentals!"
"...I did bring some money..."
Seeing that there might be room for negotiation, Taylor gritted his teeth and lifted a case beside him,