My Unconventional Online Dating - Chapter 45

Tan Xialan and Du Xiaotong exchanged glances between Ji Rongxue and Xiao Nianyuan, neither understanding why Ji Rongxue had refused Xiao Nianyuan’s company.

Based on their understanding of Ji Rongxue, she would reject anyone but never Xiao Nianyuan. Yet now, she had turned Xiao Nianyuan away.

The counselor was equally surprised that Ji Rongxue had asked her to accompany her instead. As a counselor, she wanted to help her students, but Ji Rongxue clearly relied more on her three roommates, especially Xiao Nianyuan. She had expected Ji Rongxue to choose Xiao Nianyuan and had even prepared to take a taxi.

Now, being asked to go along instead, the counselor felt both flattered and immediately sobered. She needed to take responsibility—perhaps Ji Rongxue saw her as a more dependable adult figure.

Xiao Nianyuan found it odd but didn’t press further. She entrusted Ji Rongxue to the counselor’s care and watched as the ambulance drove away.

No sooner had the ambulance left than the police arrived.

Meng Xingwen’s car was still there, and bloodstains marked the ground. The police took Meng Xingwen away. Hearing that Xiao Nianyuan and the others needed to visit Ji Rongxue at the hospital, they didn’t insist on an immediate trip to the station, only reminding them to come later to give their statements.

The counselor proved reliable. By the time Xiao Nianyuan and the others arrived, Ji Rongxue was already having her wounds treated.

The counselor briefly updated them on Ji Rongxue’s condition, reassuring them.

Hearing this, they all sighed in relief. The tension they had carried during the journey now gave way to exhaustion.

Because it was a traffic accident, the hospital advised Ji Rongxue to stay for observation, concerned about potential internal injuries despite her seeming fine. Given her medical history, they wanted to prevent any complications.

Ji Rongxue didn’t refuse and stayed, but once admitted, she barred Xiao Nianyuan and the others from visiting.

Xiao Nianyuan was stunned. Ji Rongxue was hiding something from her. Xiao Nianyuan might have pretended not to notice before, but now that Ji Rongxue wouldn’t even see her, she couldn’t ignore it.

Was Meng Xingwen right? Did Ji Rongxue really have something to hide—and something bad at that?

Xiao Nianyuan returned to campus heavy-hearted. Throughout the journey, Tan Xialan and Du Xiaotong struggled to find the right words to say.

They wanted to reassure Xiao Nianyuan that Ji Rongxue’s refusal wasn’t personal, but the explanation felt hollow. They, too, couldn’t understand why Ji Rongxue would suddenly avoid Xiao Nianyuan like this.

After a long, exhausting day, Xiao Nianyuan was too tired to sleep. Spotting the box containing her gaming equipment, she decided to log in.

“You’re upset?” Lian Qiushui’s voice murmured beside her.

Xiao Nianyuan turned to her. Lian Qiushui continued, “Did something happen?”

Xiao Nianyuan shook her head. “It’s nothing. Just something I can’t figure out.”

“What is it? Can I help?”

“You can’t.” Xiao Nianyuan lowered her gaze.

No one could help her with this—only she could resolve it.

Hearing she couldn’t help, Lian Qiushui deflated a little.

Noticing Xiao Nianyuan’s low spirits, she changed the subject. “Shall we go to Sky City now?”

Before logging off last time, she had already disguised Xiao Nianyuan, who still wore the altered appearance.

Xiao Nianyuan said, “I’ll take a look.”

She hesitated, initially planning to go alone, but meeting Lian Qiushui’s bright, eager eyes, she relented. “Change your appearance a bit too, and come with me.”

Lian Qiushui was pleasantly surprised and quickly applied a simple disguise.

After preparing, the two set off toward Sky City, only for it to vanish halfway there.

Xiao Nianyuan stood frozen in place, taking deep breaths to calm her rising frustration. She couldn’t help but suspect the system had deliberately made Sky City disappear just as they approached—perhaps because it detected they had found it.

Lian Qiushui was even angrier than Xiao Nianyuan. She had hoped to cheer her up, but instead, she had only made things worse.

“Wait for me!” Lian Qiushui blurted before dashing off in a hurry.

Xiao Nianyuan had never seen her move so fast. Left standing there, unsure what to do, she considered following but didn’t know her way around the game’s map.

The map was overly complex—just glancing at it made her dizzy—so she gave up. Scrolling through her friend list, she found Lian Qiushui wasn’t there either.

She turned to the forums for help on locating NPCs, but the first thing she saw was the old post accusing her of being a scammer, now bumped back to the top. Below it were several new threads:

“Plot Twist! The person in the photo is actually the victim—let’s be rational here.”
“Ugh, isn’t that someone from our school? What terrible luck.”

The later posts all claimed Meng Xingwen was the real fraud, with photos showing him being taken away by the police.

One reply read: “The one giving the statement is our classmate! This tea is piping hot!”

Reading this, Xiao Nianyuan felt dazed. Her thoughts drifted back to Ji Rongxue—ever since returning, she had been unsettled. It wasn’t until she logged into the game that she realized she hadn’t seen Tan Xialan or Du Xiaotong for hours.

Originally, after sending Ji Rongxue to the hospital, they were supposed to go to the police station. But Tan Xialan and Du Xiaotong had escorted her back to school before giving their statements. Since the police hadn’t called her in, their testimonies must have been enough.

Meng Xingwen’s case hadn’t been officially announced at school yet, but it would be soon.

Though the matter was temporarily resolved, what bothered Xiao Nianyuan most was Ji Rongxue’s attitude—why was she avoiding her?

Ji Rongxue was strikingly beautiful; if Xiao Nianyuan had seen her before, she would have remembered. Yet she had no recollection.

Their first meeting had been on freshman orientation day, when they entered the school gates together. Ji Rongxue had even offered to help, but Xiao Nianyuan declined. Only later did she discover they were roommates. Even then, Xiao Nianyuan rarely interacted with her, let alone had any conflicts.

Closing the post, Xiao Nianyuan found a guide on tracking NPCs. Following the instructions, she eventually located Lian Qiushui standing in an open plain, facing a large tree—doing something unclear.

As Xiao Nianyuan approached, Lian Qiushui noticed her and quickly hid her hands behind her back. “What are you doing here?”

Xiao Nianyuan hadn’t caught a clear glimpse. “I wanted to know what you were up to.”

Lian Qiushui had only told her to wait without explaining for what.

“I’m not sure if this will work, so it’s better if you don’t watch,” Lian Qiushui said, slightly embarrassed, urging her to leave. “I’ll come find you when I’m ready.”

Xiao Nianyuan guessed, “Are you trying to find a way to Sky City?”

Lian Qiushui nodded, then shook her head. “Close, but not exactly.”

“What are you trying to do?”

“Let me finish first. If it works, I’ll tell you.”

If it failed, she didn’t want Xiao Nianyuan to know. But if it succeeded—that would be ideal.

It’s still uncertain. What if telling Xiao Nianyuan now just gets her hopes up for nothing? Like earlier—I thought I could take her to Sky City, but the system detected us and hid it away again.

Xiao Nianyuan looked at Lian Qiushui and suddenly sighed. “You’re too good to me.”

Lian Qiushui replied matter-of-factly, “You’re my disciple. Of course I’d treat you well.”

“Just because I’m your disciple? You were good to me even before I became one.”

Lian Qiushui paused, then quickly explained, “You were the first person I met, so naturally I treated you well. And after you became my disciple, it was only right to treat you even better.”

“So, you’re saying, if the first person you met wasn’t me, you would have treated someone else the same way?”

Lian Qiushui froze, unable to answer. She wanted to deny it—this hypothetical didn’t even make sense to her, because the first person she met was Xiao Nianyuan.

If she had met someone else first, would she have treated them the same way? Lian Qiushui didn’t know.

Seeing her struggle to respond, Xiao Nianyuan didn’t press further. It was just a casual question—even if Lian Qiushui would treat others the same, she didn’t mind.

Lian Qiushui wasn’t her personal NPC. Even though she’d been following her lately, sometimes giving Xiao Nianyuan that illusion.

But Lian Qiushui was a world NPC. At most, she now had the title of “Master,” but nothing else had changed.

“Don’t waste your effort. If they don’t want me to know, nothing you do will help.”

Just like how they’d been toyed with before.

But Lian Qiushui refused to give up, staring intently at the sky. Xiao Nianyuan stepped forward and grasped her clenched fist. “Don’t be like this. I’ll find another way.”

“Then what about me?” Lian Qiushui said dejectedly. “Why can’t I do anything?”

She thought she could help Xiao Nianyuan find Sky City, but now she felt like a fool—not only failing to locate it, but even alerting the system to their intentions.

Xiao Nianyuan chuckled. “This was my problem to begin with. You’ve already helped me more than enough.”

“Can you tell me why you want to go to Sky City?” Lian Qiushui suddenly asked.

Xiao Nianyuan hesitated before answering, “To find someone.”

“Is that person important?”

After a moment of thought, Xiao Nianyuan replied, “Very important. If not for her, I wouldn’t even be here.”

Lian Qiushui was confused, not understanding what she meant.

“I never realized you were this talkative before,” Xiao Nianyuan teased, reaching to pull Lian Qiushui’s hand up. “What’s in your hand?”

Hearing this, Lian Qiushui tried to pull away, but Xiao Nianyuan held tight, trying to pry her fingers open. Yet Lian Qiushui resisted, her grip ironclad.

Xiao Nianyuan looked up at her. “What are you hiding? Can’t I see?”

“It’s nothing important,” Lian Qiushui deflected. “I have another idea—maybe we can still reach Sky City.”

“Let’s not talk about Sky City right now,” Xiao Nianyuan refused to be sidetracked. “What is in your hand?”

“Really, it’s not—”

Before she could finish, Xiao Nianyuan released her hand. “If it’s not important, then forget it. I’m leaving.”

With that, Xiao Nianyuan really turned to leave. Lian Qiushui quickly blocked her path, saying anxiously, “Alright, I’ll tell you, okay?”

Xiao Nianyuan remained silent, simply staring at Lian Qiushui. Left with no choice, Lian Qiushui raised her hand and opened her palm, revealing nothing but a single leaf resting on it. Xiao Nianyuan looked at the leaf in confusion—it was just an ordinary leaf.

Lian Qiushui carefully observed Xiao Nianyuan’s expression and, seeing only bewilderment without any other emotion, smiled and said, “I told you it wasn’t anything important.”

As she spoke, she made to tuck the leaf away.

Xiao Nianyuan reached out her hand. “If it’s not important, then give it to me.”

Lian Qiushui hesitated. That brief moment of hesitation told Xiao Nianyuan everything—Lian Qiushui had lied to her.

Normally, Lian Qiushui would give her anything she wanted without a second thought. And if this really were just an ordinary leaf, Lian Qiushui would have handed it over without her even needing to ask.