Leaning against the passenger seat of the taxi, she unknowingly drifted off to sleep, feeling drowsy.
"Miss, miss, wake up."
Gu Susu felt as if she had dozed off and opened her eyes to find the taxi driver waking her.
She noticed the car had stopped by the side of the road, and the sea was already visible. She asked, "Driver, have we arrived?"
"Take a look and tell me which way to go. From what you said, I think it's around here, but I don't know the specific route to the house you mentioned."
Gu Susu fully woke up, sat up straight, and rolled down the window. She looked at the road ahead and behind, also a little unsure which way she had taken back from the seaside villa last time. She pointed behind her, then in front, and said, "We should continue forward."
"Why don't you contact someone at the house and ask them to send you the location so we know where to go?" the driver suggested.
Gu Susu had no choice but to call Qin Tianyi's phone again, but this time it wouldn't connect at all, going straight to a message saying the user was out of service area.
The driver mused, "Could it be a signal issue?"
"Probably," Gu Susu said, still pointing towards the road ahead, "Driver, let's just keep going straight."
"We can only go up the cliff ahead. Once we're on the cliff, there's no road left. Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Go forward." Gu Susu remembered that Qin Tianyi's mother's grave was on the cliff. If the car drove up the cliff, she might remember the way.
The driver drove forward as she instructed, onto the mountain road. However, when they reached another fork, the taxi driver stopped asking her and started choosing paths himself, driving upwards.
Gu Susu felt something was wrong. At the next fork, she suddenly said, "Driver, do you know the way now? Why aren't you asking me at the intersections anymore?"
The driver glanced at her sideways and said, "Oh, there aren't many choices at the mountain forks. They all lead to the cliff at the summit anyway."
As he spoke, the driver accelerated around a bend.
Gu Susu had a vague sense of foreboding. Holding her phone, she sent her location to Qin Tianyi via WeChat.
Regardless of whether Qin Tianyi was looking at his phone now, sending him the location might be useful.
"Who are you texting? Did it send successfully?" the driver asked.
Gu Susu replied, "I'm not texting, just testing if there's a signal. I'm afraid there won't be any signal at the summit."
"Is there a signal?" the driver asked again.
"Yes," Gu Susu said, trying to open the car door, only to find it was locked.
The driver suddenly rested one hand on the steering wheel and the other casually on her thigh. "You came to such a remote place early in the morning. Who are you looking for?"
Gu Susu immediately moved away from his lecherous hand. "What do you want?"
"I don't want anything. I'm afraid you're lonely and want to comfort you," the driver said, putting both hands back on the steering wheel and chuckling.
Gu Susu noticed there was no name or employee ID badge on the front of his car and suddenly realized, "You're not a legitimate taxi driver, are you? This is an unlicensed car."
"If it were a metered car, who would want to drive you here for only a hundred yuan?" the unlicensed driver said with amusement.
"How much do you want? I can pay more," Gu Susu said, hoping he was just complaining about the fare being too low.
The unlicensed driver's smile was disgusting. "Come play with me at the summit, and I won't charge you anything."
Gu Susu picked up her phone, wanting to call the police immediately, but the unlicensed driver snatched it away and threw it onto the back seat. "Don't be afraid. I know a place on the summit that's perfect for women like you who need comfort."
She was going mad. She had actually encountered such a terrifying unlicensed driver. She began desperately trying to open the car door, but to no avail.
The car soon reached the summit and stopped in an open space by the cliff edge.
Gu Susu frantically looked outside the car, realizing there was no cemetery here, nor did she see any other people.
As soon as the unlicensed driver turned off the engine, Gu Susu seized the opportunity and forcefully pushed open the car door, intending to escape.
However, the unlicensed driver grabbed her hair, pulled her back into the car, and slammed the door shut.
"It's better inside the car than outside. Do you prefer enjoying yourself on the weeds outside?" the unlicensed driver said, trying to get close to her.
Gu Susu told herself not to panic. She calmed down, actively traced his face with her fingers, and smiled charmingly, saying, "Yes, I like the outside. Looking at the sea from time to time, listening to the waves, that must feel good."
Hearing her say this, the unlicensed driver found it quite novel. He loosened his grip on her and said, "Alright, you can't run away in this desolate place."
Gu Susu slowly pushed open her side of the car door. She didn't forget to glance back at the unlicensed driver with a smile. The unlicensed driver immediately showed a lecherous grin, thinking she wasn't a good person after all and was just pretending earlier, and now she was willing.
As soon as she got out of the car, she looked around, searching for a way to escape. She saw a small path about ten meters away, seemingly trodden by people. If she could just rush onto that path and run desperately, she might have a chance to survive this ordeal.
"Come on, hurry up," she said, without revealing that she had spotted the small path. Instead, she playfully beckoned to the unlicensed driver and began unbuttoning her blouse, as if to lure him to the grassy area by the cliff.
The unlicensed driver was surprised by her boldness. He lecherously walked towards her, impatiently starting to undress himself.
Just as the unlicensed driver came over to grab her, she suddenly dashed towards the inconspicuous path. Curses came from behind her, likely the unlicensed driver chasing her.
She dared not look back, running forward desperately. Even though the weeds had covered the trodden path, even though she bumped into rocks or branches, she ignored the pain in her legs and body, running unevenly into difficult terrain.
She didn't know how long she had been running aimlessly until she heard the curses fade and realized no one was chasing her anymore. She stopped and hid behind a large rock, panting heavily.
She kept peeking out from behind the large rock to confirm that the unlicensed driver was indeed no longer pursuing her. Only then did she allow herself to relax, but her body was still trembling uncontrollably.
She never expected to encounter such a terrifying incident upon arriving in Lancheng. Filled with shame and anger, she burst into tears.
It was all Qin Tianyi's fault. Why did he force her to return to Lancheng? Her peaceful life with Xiao Xingxing in Yongning had been shattered.
She could no longer hold back her sobs and began to cry loudly. However, after crying for a short while, she suddenly realized that her crying might attract the bad guy again, so she forcibly suppressed it.
She couldn't walk out on her own yet. She had to wait until the bad guy completely gave up looking for her.
She closed her eyes slightly, leaning against the rock. Her mind was filled with the thought that if Xiao Xingxing hadn't seen her today, would he think she had abandoned him again, causing him psychological trauma? No matter what, she had to get to that seaside villa today.
But her hands and her suitcase were all in that unlicensed car. She only had a small crossbody bag with her. How could she walk to the seaside villa?