Pei Jiangmu didn't think too much about it.
For one thing, he was actually quite cold - hearted by nature and didn't pay much attention to others. If he wasn't worried that Meng Ruozhao would ask when she woke up in the morning, he wouldn't have bothered at all. After all, Ai Gao had already reported the case, and it was the police's job to find the person.
For another, he was sure that Xu Lin had been taken away by her parents. As an adult who had already started working, even if she had a bad relationship with her parents, she wouldn't be led around like a puppet. She must have left voluntarily. He didn't have so much free time to care about other people's business.
But now that Meng Ruozhao was worried, things were different.
"If you're worried, I'll go with you, Sister."
"After all, I'm a man. With me around, it'll be safer."
"Wait for me. I'll go change my clothes."
He said quickly and walked towards the room at the same time.
Meng Ruozhao stood still and called Ai Gao back. Ai Gao was already on the way to Xu Lin's hometown.
"Zhaozhao, there's news about Linlin. She went back to her hometown with her parents and sent me a message."
"But her phone is still out of reach. I'm really worried, so I'm going to check. I may need to take two days off."
Ai Gao hadn't slept much in the past two days, and her voice sounded very tired.
"It's okay. Send me the address of her hometown. I'll go and check with Pei Jiangmu."
"If everything is okay, it'll be great. We can just take it as a little trip to relax."
"If something is wrong, with the two of us going together, we can offer more help."
Meng Ruozhao wasn't being nosy or overly suspicious. She had once overheard Xu Lin on the phone with her family. She was almost on the verge of a breakdown, asking if they were trying to drive her to death. She also said that two - thirds of her salary had been sent back home since she graduated, and she didn't know what else they wanted. So now that it was said that she had been taken away by her family, Meng Ruozhao couldn't shake off a sense of unease.
Ai Gao on the other end of the phone thought for a while and thanked her in a low voice, "Thank you, Zhaozhao. I also thank you on behalf of Linlin."
As Xu Lin's best friend, she naturally knew about the situation in her family. That was why she was worried and wanted to go and check. But she was going alone, and she had been a bit nervous. Now that Meng Ruozhao and Pei Jiangmu were going together, she was of course more than happy.
After they agreed and hung up the phone, Pei Jiangmu came out after changing his clothes. He still dressed in a minimalist style. There was no brand logo, but the clothes looked of great quality and made him look extremely noble.
Meng Ruozhao was stunned for a moment and quickly came back to her senses. "Let's go."
Xu Lin's hometown was about more than 300 kilometers away from Haicheng. Taking the high - speed train was definitely the fastest way.
The two bought tickets for the nearest train. Maybe because it was a weekday, there weren't many people on the train after they got on. The carriage was very quiet. Meng Ruozhao leaned against the window, looking at the scenery flashing by outside, but her mind couldn't calm down.
She took out her phone, repeatedly looking at the address of Xu Lin's hometown sent by Ai Gao. She then opened the chat interface with Xu Lin and scrolled up the previous messages, trying to find some clues.
Pei Jiangmu was sitting next to her. Noticing her unease, he didn't say much. He just silently took out a thermos from his bag and handed it to her.
"Drink some water. Don't worry too much. Ai Gao has already gone there. We'll figure out a way together when we arrive."
Meng Ruozhao took the water and was a bit surprised.
"When did you get the thermos?"
Pei Jiangmu looked at her tenderly. "I saw it when I was about to go out, so I took it. The water was filled at the high - speed railway station."
They had left in a hurry, and she hadn't even finished her breakfast. Pei Jiangmu also bought her some food at the convenience store in the high - speed railway station. Now they were all placed in front of her. But she had no appetite. She only drank some warm water and then closed her eyes, trying to rest for a while.
Pei Jiangmu didn't disturb her. After she closed her eyes, he moved a bit closer to her, letting her lean on his shoulder so that she could sleep more comfortably.
Two hours later, they finally arrived at the county where Xu Lin's hometown was located. They got off the high - speed train and took a taxi to the small town on the address.
The taxi was booked under Pei Jiangmu's account. When Meng Ruozhao saw the car in front of her, she was very confused.
"Do luxury cars also run Didi now?"
It was actually a BMW X7. Even if Meng Ruozhao wasn't very knowledgeable, she knew that this car cost more than a million yuan. Running as a ride - hailing car? Could it even cover the gas cost?
A look of embarrassment flashed across Pei Jiangmu's face. He hadn't booked any ordinary taxi. He had asked Qi Yu to arrange it. He was taking Meng Ruozhao to a strange place, so of course, he had to ensure her personal safety first. So he asked Qi Yu to arrange a car with a driver who was good at martial arts.
Qi Yu cared about the safety of his boss more than anyone else and immediately took action. He not only arranged a car and a bodyguard but also another car to follow at a distance. This car was already the most low - key one he could think of. After all, the road into the village might not be very good, and his boss had to be comfortable.
"Maybe it's the driver's hobby. Maybe he's just experiencing life," Pei Jiangmu explained vaguely.
As soon as he finished speaking, the driver had already got out of the car and opened the door for them in person.
"Please get in the car, guests."
Meng Ruozhao couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth and murmured in a low voice, "Rich people have such special hobbies."
Not only was the hobby special, but the person was also very polite.
The two got in the car, and the driver quickly started the vehicle.
It was still more than 30 kilometers from the station to Xu Lin's hometown. Meng Ruozhao turned on her own navigation and occasionally compared it with the driver's navigation. It wasn't that she was suspicious, but this was just too strange. It was rare for such a car to run as a ride - hailing car. The driver didn't say a word along the way. He sat upright, wearing an earpiece on his ear and white gloves on his hands. He looked strange no matter how you looked at it. Moreover, the road was getting more and more desolate, so Meng Ruozhao naturally became more and more nervous. It wasn't that she was overconfident, but both she and Pei Jiangmu had good looks. What if the driver had evil intentions?
Pei Jiangmu next to her quickly noticed her unease. He wanted to laugh but held it back in time. It was a good thing that his Zhaozhao was vigilant. But being on tenterhooks all the time wasn't a good thing. So he coughed lightly and took the initiative to talk to the driver.
"Sir, your car is not cheap, and the fuel consumption must be quite high. Why did you decide to be a ride - hailing driver?"
Hearing his words, the driver in front tightened his grip on the steering wheel, obviously nervous. But he quickly relaxed. Before being sent to carry out this task, Qi Yu had already explained everything clearly to him. Protecting the people was one thing, and not exposing the boss's identity in front of Miss Meng was also very important. He quickly organized an answer in his mind and then laughed twice.
"It is not cheap, but this car is not mine. It belongs to my company. I'm a company driver."
"Hehe, my brother - in - law is the boss of the company, but he's so stingy. He assigned me this idle job, so I can't get any extra benefits."
"But I'm smart. I use the company car privately and come out to be a ride - hailing driver when I'm free. The gas fee is paid with the company's gas card anyway."
"The money I earn all goes into my pocket. My brother - in - law is happy to see that I'm not in the company. It's a win - win situation."