My Unconventional Online Dating - Chapter 43

The driver was taken aback by the shouting. He glanced at Xiao Nianyuan and the others, noticing their grim expressions, and reluctantly agreed, “I’ll take you, but there are so many of you—I can’t fit everyone in one trip.”

“I’ll take some of you,” a female driver nearby, who had been waiting for customers, overheard the conversation and couldn’t help but offer. “I’ll cancel my current ride. Hurry up.”

Without a word, Xiao Nianyuan got into the car, and the girl followed. There was one seat left, and Tan Xialan volunteered, “I’ll ride with you. Teacher, if you have anything to discuss, she can relay it to us.”

The counselor nodded and got into the car with Du Xiaotong. Xiao Nianyuan’s car drove off first. Seeing Tan Xialan and the counselor about to leave, the girl quickly asked, “Can I come with you?”

Du Xiaotong shot her a glance and, before the counselor could respond, motioned for the girl to follow.

The counselor didn’t object since Du Xiaotong had allowed it. After all, they were all from the same dorm. Tan Xialan and Du Xiaotong had come out of concern for Ji Rongxue—they were worried about their roommate. Bringing the girl along couldn’t hurt.

Once the car started moving, Du Xiaotong asked the girl what she had told Xiao Nianyuan. The girl repeated everything verbatim, ending with a guilty expression. “I didn’t know he was a bad person. I thought he just wanted to confess his feelings.”

Besides Xiao Nianyuan and the others worrying about Ji Rongxue, the girl was also anxious. If anything happened to Ji Rongxue, even if no one blamed her, she would feel terrible.

The counselor frowned and asked, “Do you remember which day you ran into him?”

The girl hesitated. “Not exactly. Do we need to check the surveillance to identify him?”

The counselor nodded. “We need to confirm it.”

Though they were already fairly certain, the audio had been processed and might not be entirely accurate. It was best to verify to avoid accusing the wrong person.

After thinking for a moment, the girl checked her phone and confidently gave a date. The counselor immediately contacted security to pull up the surveillance footage near the girls’ dormitory.

Meanwhile, Xiao Nianyuan remained tense the entire ride. Tan Xialan wanted to help but had no idea what to do, so she could only silently pray that Ji Rongxue would be safe.

The driver, who had been solemn at first, noticed their silence and cleared her throat reassuringly. “I drive fast. Hold on tight—I’ll make sure you get there in time.”

Xiao Nianyuan was stunned, while Tan Xialan instinctively thanked her. “You’re so kind, sis.”

The driver maintained a steady yet swift pace. After two minutes, they approached a fork in the road, and she asked, “Where exactly are we heading?”

They hadn’t mentioned a destination since getting in the car, and it only occurred to her now at the intersection. What was the point of driving fast if she didn’t know where to go?

Xiao Nianyuan sighed helplessly. “We don’t know the exact location, so we might have to ask you to drive around a bit.”

She briefly explained that they had seen surveillance footage showing Ji Rongxue heading in this direction, but beyond that, she had no clues.

The driver was at a loss. She wanted to help, but without any specifics from Xiao Nianyuan, aimlessly driving around wouldn’t do any good. Even if they eventually found her, it might be too late by then.

She encouraged them, saying, “Think carefully—she must have brought something back with her when she went out. Maybe she brushed against some flowers along the way, or there might be a particular scent on her.”

She didn’t expect Xiao Nianyuan and the others to provide precise details. Even a vague clue would help her determine the right direction to investigate.

Xiao Nianyuan racked her brains but couldn’t come up with anything. However, Tan Xialan suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “She went to a café!”

“Are you sure it was a café?”

Tan Xialan nodded firmly. “Definitely a café. She never usually goes to cafés, but one day she came back smelling like coffee. She must have either visited one or passed by.”

“Alright, stay seated.”

There were two cafés in that direction. The driver took them there, and the two quickly got out to question the staff, showing them a photo of Ji Rongxue. But one after another, the employees shook their heads, saying they hadn’t seen her.

Xiao Nianyuan refused to give up. “Maybe the person on duty that day wasn’t you.”

The staff from both cafés replied helplessly, “I work the day shift,” and “I’m the only employee here.”

Apart from the cafés, Xiao Nianyuan stared ahead blankly. Could Ji Rongxue not have gone to a café at all, but merely passed by? If she had only passed through, the search area would be far too broad.

The driver rolled down the window and urged, “Hurry up and get back in the car. I remember there’s one more place.”

Once Xiao Nianyuan and Tan Xialan were back inside, the driver explained, “This shop is really out of the way—hardly anyone goes there. I almost forgot about it.”

Having worked as a driver in the area for a long time, she was familiar with the roads and buildings. But that particular café was an exception—she barely knew it, as almost no customers ever went there.

The driver slammed on the brakes, causing Xiao Nianyuan and Tan Xialan to lurch forward from the momentum. The seatbelt dug into Tan Xialan so tightly that her face twisted in discomfort.

The driver grumbled, “They never block this road—why now of all times?”

Xiao Nianyuan rolled down the window and looked outside. Sure enough, police tape had been stretched across the road ahead, barring vehicles from passing.

Just as the driver was about to turn around, Xiao Nianyuan said firmly, “Wait.”