Chapter 344: Chapter 344 An Mi Disappeared
Jiang Yan dropped off the three of them at school and then left.
“Do you need a ride back to the dorm?” An Rui asked An Mi.
Su Heng also looked at her.
An Mi: “No need, it’s broad daylight, not the middle of the night. Go take care of your business.”
An Rui: “Alright then, we’ll be off.”
An Mi nodded and made a sound of agreement.
After the two had left, An Mi took out her phone to make a call to someone.
The person on the other end picked up immediately.
“Hello, Mr. Wan, where are you?” An Mi asked.
The man’s voice was deep, magnetic, and yet gentle: “Turn around.”
Upon hearing this, An Mi turned and saw a familiar figure standing under the big banyan tree not far away.
A radiant smile immediately appeared on her face.
Seeing that there was no one around, she immediately trotted over.
She threw herself directly into the man’s arms.
Fortunately, Wan Muqi was prepared.
An Mi wrapped her arms around his sturdy waist, looked up at him, and asked, “How did you know I would be here?”
It was such a coincidence that she had just called him, and he was already here.
Wan Muqi, holding her slender waist, said: “Obviously, someone gave me a heads-up.”
An Mi narrowed her eyes slightly: “Was it An Rui or Su Heng?”
Wan Muqi: “Neither.”
An Mi exclaimed, “Neither? It can’t be my sister and brother-in-law, can it?”
That seemed impossible upon consideration.
The man raised his hand to pinch her somewhat thick earlobe, smiling as he said, “That’s a secret.”
“…”
“Where do you want to go today?” Wan Muqi asked.
An Mi: “Anywhere is fine, as long as you’re there.”
Wan Muqi was directly amused by her comment.
“Your mouth seems to be getting sweeter and sweeter.”
“Really? I haven’t noticed,” she replied.
The man’s thin lips curved slightly: “How about I taste it for you?
Before An Mi could respond, her lips were sealed.
His soft and pliant tongue, like a sharp sword, pried her teeth apart and invaded her mouth.
He gently sucked on the sweetness of her body.
But he only tasted her briefly, without indulging for too long.
“Indeed quite sweet,” he said, looking at her.
An Mi felt a burning sensation on her face, the experience just now was very softening, especially the moment their tips of tongues touched.
She could even feel a current of electricity shooting from her feet to the crown of her head, leaving her body tingling all over.
She said with a bit of shyness, “We should hurry and go.”
It would be even more embarrassing if they bumped into someone they knew.
Coming down the nearby shaded pathway were three people.
Huang Jie suddenly let out a surprised sound, he reached out and tapped Ye Xuan, saying: “Hey, Ye Xuan, doesn’t that silhouette look like An Mi?”
Upon hearing this, Ye Xuan followed the direction of his gesture.
He frowned and remained silent.
Because that indeed was An Mi’s silhouette.
“And who’s that man beside her?” Huang Jie said: “Feels kind of familiar.”
But he couldn’t quite remember where he had seen him before.
The next second, Huang Jie exclaimed: “Holy shit, that car is a global limited edition.”
“Could it be that what the school’s official website said before is actually true?”
The incident on the school’s official website, although it didn’t last very long, was still seen by quite a number of people.
However, the school expressly prohibited promoting the matter and threatened punishment to those who did.
“Ye Xuan, it looks like you’re out of chances,” Huang Jie said patting his shoulder, “If it were me, I’d choose this person too. He clearly looks like someone wealthy.”
Ye Xuan’s expression grew increasingly grim, his back teeth clenched so tightly they might shatter.
It wasn’t long before the car drove off.
But from beginning to end, they never saw Wan Muqi’s true face.
“Brother, stop looking. The guy’s already gone.”
Huang Jie raised his hand and waved it in front of him.
Ye Xuan suddenly turned to look at him and asked, “Can you find out who owns that car?”
Huang Jie was taken aback for a moment, then said, “I can, but it’ll take some time.”
Ye Xuan: “Good, I’ll leave it to you.”
Huang Jie: “Even if you find out, what can you do about it?”
Ye Xuan: “You don’t need to worry about that.”
Huang Jie expressed his concern, “Don’t do anything foolish.”
Without saying much more, Ye Xuan left with a parting remark: “Remember to check.”
Then he turned and walked away.
“Hey, where are you going? Aren’t you going out?” Huang Jie called after him.
“…”
Three days later.
The theater society’s rehearsal resumed, and due to Wu Xiaomin’s withdrawal, Ye Xuan had to find someone else to replace the role Wu Xiaomin had played.
This time, without Wu Xiaomin, it seemed everyone rehearsed quite smoothly.
The play competition was next Monday, so they’d been rehearsing consecutively for several days. There would be no rehearsal on the last day, giving everyone time to relax.
In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the competition.
“An Mi, are you nervous?”
Backstage, waiting to go on, Ye Xuan brought over a bottle of water for An Mi.
An Mi glanced at the water he handed her and said, “Thanks, I’m not thirsty, and I’m not nervous.”
She truly wasn’t nervous; although it was her first time performing in a play, her mind was as still as water.
Seeing her respond so candidly, Ye Xuan didn’t feel awkward either.
He then said, “I thought you might be nervous, but it seems my worries were needless. It’s good that you’re not nervous. I also believe we will take first place.”
An Mi responded indifferently with an “mm-hmm,” and said nothing more.
After that, Ye Xuan tried to find another topic to chat about with her.
“By the way, An Mi, do you know Professor Nil?” he asked.
An Mi didn’t understand why he was asking, “Do you need something?”
Ye Xuan replied, “Oh, it’s nothing. I just saw you get into Professor Nil’s car that day.”
An Mi frowned without realizing it. How come it felt like he was present for everything?
An Mi could not afford to not answer. She perfunctorily responded, “Yes, Professor Nil is a relative of mine.”
Ye Xuan knew not to probe further and didn’t ask anything else on the matter.
He said, “No wonder you have such a high talent in medicine; you’ve got great guidance indeed.”
An Mi smiled but didn’t say anything.
Just then, Chen Jin returned from the bathroom, interrupting their conversation.
“Mimi, how come you’re not the least bit nervous?” Chen Jin said with a furrowed brow, “I’ve been to the bathroom multiple times now; people might start thinking I have kidney issues.”
Chen Jin was the kind to feel the urge to go to the bathroom when she was nervous.
She contrasted greatly with An Mi; even though Chen Jin played only a minor role with not much dialogue, she was still nervous.
An Mi, feeling helpless, said, “Don’t keep thinking about it, just keep a calm mindset.”
Chen Jin: “I understand the reasoning, but I can’t seem to do it.”
An Mi: “…then I can’t help you.”
“Mimi, teach me what to do when I go on stage,” Chen Jin begged, a look of distress upon her face, “I think I’ll be even more nervous onstage.”
An Mi was silent for a moment, “Don’t look at the audience. If you have to look, imagine the judges and audience as your favorite rubber ducks. It might help ease some of your nervousness.”
Chen Jin was momentarily speechless; she didn’t know An Mi had such a talent for humor.
“Isn’t that a bit too damaging, Mimi?” Chen Jin asked.
“Not damaging at all. Just imagine the audience as your favorite object or person watching you perform. It’s a method to alleviate nervousness,” An Mi said.
“Does this method really work?”
“I’ve never tried it, but you can give it a shot later.”
At this moment, someone walked in and shouted, “Members of A University Drama Society, please get ready. You’re up next.”
Someone replied, “Okay, senior.”
Ye Xuan also shouted, “Everyone, put your hearts into it, believe in yourselves. Let’s show our best.”
Everyone: “Okay.”
“…”
After getting on stage, An Mi scanned the audience with her gaze.
Soon, she spotted a familiar figure sitting among the crowd.
She curved her lips towards that direction, her clear eyes glinting with a hint of a smile.
The man’s gaze was also fixed tightly on her, his eyes full of tenderness.
Even more, the man also gestured an encouraging sign to her.
For a young person, such a movement would be normal, but for someone over thirty years old, as composed and mature as Wan Muqi, it seemed rather strange.
An Mi felt that he probably wouldn’t make such a gesture; it was odd but not at all out of place.
Seeing her gaze fixated on the audience below, Ye Xuan called out to her, “An Mi, what are you looking at? We’re about to start.”
Hearing this, An Mi walked to her designated spot.
Ye Xuan also subconsciously glanced at the audience, but there were too many people, and he couldn’t tell who An Mi had been looking at.
Unluckily for him, he spotted Wu Xiaomin sitting in the audience.
He immediately frowned.
While Wu Xiaomin gave him a strange smile in return.
He stared at her for a few seconds before looking away.
The entire performance went smoothly.
Ye Xuan breathed a sigh of relief; he was genuinely worried that something might go wrong on stage when he saw Wu Xiaomin.
But nothing happened, and he was at ease.
After returning backstage, everyone truly relaxed.
“Oh my goodness, that was terrifying, my legs are so weak!” Chen Jin suddenly exclaimed, then slumped into a chair.
Another female student also said, “Tell me about it, my legs are trembling too. I was so nervous I almost forgot my lines.”
Now that the performance was over, everyone felt as though a burden had been lifted.
Their school was the second to last to perform; after the final school finished, it would be over.
“Alright, everyone, take a break for now.” Ye Xuan said.
He looked towards An Mi, about to ask her for something, but saw her answer a phone call and then leave backstage.
Until the last group was almost done, An Mi still hadn’t returned.
Chen Jin texted her but got no reply; then she called, but no one answered.
She found it strange and got up to look for An Mi.
She searched the restroom and didn’t find anyone.
Then she circled around the auditorium corridors, still unable to find her.
She continued to call while searching.
Suddenly, Chen Jin felt that something was seriously wrong.
An Mi would have taken her calls; Chen Jin began to panic.
She quickly ran back.
She remembered seeing Wan Muqi sitting in the audience.
Just as the last performance concluded and the host was about to give the closing speech, Chen Jin rushed in, flustered.
All eyes instantly turned to her.
But she didn’t care about that, glanced over the audience, and ran towards Wan Muqi.
Wan Muqi had a bad feeling when he saw her approaching.
“Mr. Wan, An Mi is missing, I can’t find her, and nobody’s answering her phone,” she said.
Chen Jin rushed to his side and said everything in one breath.
Three minutes later, inside the surveillance room.
The security guard said, “Half an hour ago, the camera outside the auditorium broke.”
Chen Jin said anxiously, “How can this be such a coincidence? It doesn’t break when it’s supposed to, but breaks just now?”
Anyone with a brain would instantly realize there was something wrong with this.
“Mr. Wan, what do we do now?” Chen Jin had no choice but to look towards the man beside him.
The man spoke in a deep voice, “Rewind all of the school’s surveillance footage to half an hour ago and play it at triple speed.”
Based on the timeline provided by Chen Jin, Wan Muqi quickly calculated when An Mi suddenly disappeared.
The security guard glanced at Principal Tan Shengyuan at his side.
He had also been watching the competition in the auditorium and followed out when he saw Wan Muqi hurry off.
Principal Tan’s face also looked quite terrible: “Follow Professor Wan’s instructions.”
An Mi was the granddaughter of his mentor. If she disappeared in broad daylight at their school or something happened to her, he couldn’t shirk the responsibility.
Chen Jin asked, “But there are so many surveillance cameras, how can we watch them all?”
Principal Tan reassured him, “Chen, don’t be nervous, Professor Wan can manage it.”
Wan Muqi, accustomed to reviewing voluminous and intricate case files, had long developed a pair of eyes that could only be described as piercing.
Two minutes later, Wan Muqi spotted a familiar figure in the surveillance playback of the North Gate of A University.
“Stop!”
Upon hearing this, the security guard immediately pressed the pause button.
The man continued in his deep voice, “Based on this timestamp, pull up the surveillance playback for the road by the North Gate.”
The security guard quickly brought up the playback footage.
In the surveillance, An Mi got into a car following a woman.
“Why is she getting into a car with someone? What is she up to?” a barrage of questions from Chen Jin.
Then she muttered, “Why does the back of this woman look so familiar?”
“Isn’t that Wu Xiaomin? What is she doing here?” Chen Jin spoke to herself.
The name Wu Xiaomin was also familiar to Wan Muqi and Principal Tan.
Wan Muqi immediately said, “Principal Tan, call the police.”
Principal Tan nodded, “Okay.”
…
Half an hour later.
At the police station.
Su He and Jiang Yan rushed over after receiving a call from Wan Muqi.
Xing Siyang had just found some clues and was preparing to leave.
Seeing them, he said, “I’ve sent people to the Wu Family. They claim to have no knowledge of the situation and can’t contact Wu Xiaomin either. Regarding the gray van An Mi got into, we’ve checked the license plate. It’s a fake, so the kidnappers must have planned this thoroughly. Another thing, an hour before An Mi left the school, a couple filed a report that their daughter had disappeared from their home. Their daughter’s name is Yang Jie. Does An Mi know her?”
Upon hearing this name, Su He and the others immediately understood why An Mi would willingly get into a car with someone.
…
Elsewhere, An Mi was still in the van.
Throughout the ride, she had not spoken a word.
Seeing the car continuing towards the outskirts, she turned her head to look at Wu Xiaomin sitting beside her and asked coldly, “Wu Xiaomin, since I agreed to come with you, you should let me see my friend now, right?”
After the performance, An Mi received a call backstage, not from Yang Jie but from an unfamiliar man.
The man warned her not to call the police. Fearing something might happen to Yang Jie, An Mi agreed.
After the man hung up, another stranger’s call came in; it was from Wu Xiaomin.
Then, she followed Wu Xiaomin into this van.
But almost an hour had passed, and she still hadn’t seen Yang Jie.
Wu Xiaomin sneered, “What’s the rush? You’ll naturally see her when it’s time.”
An Mi: “Wu Xiaomin, do you realize that kidnapping is a crime?”
With an indifferent look, Wu Xiaomin said, “Of course, I know it’s illegal. But what does it matter? I’ve already done it; there’s no turning back. Besides, who saw me kidnap you? You got into the car voluntarily. Also, I haven’t had anyone hit you; at most, I’ve asked you out for a chat over tea, to watch a play.”
After hearing this, An Mi frowned tightly, sensing an ominous premonition in her heart.
“Wu Xiaomin, what exactly do you want to do?”