With a loud click, the heavy iron gates of the estate slowly swung shut.
The ear-piercing creak echoed as the gates locked Jiang Lai and the others who had burst in together inside the estate.
Jiang Lai stared at the tightly closed gates and instinctively tried to push them open.
But she knew the gates were electric.
Unless they had the key or destroyed the motor, there was no way to open them.
And she had no idea where that motor was…
For a moment, everyone present fell into a passive state.
They were like prey that had walked straight into a trap, with no way to escape.
Jiang Lai understood very clearly that Si Yina would never let them leave so easily.
Locking them inside the estate was probably her final act of resistance.
When Jiang Lai thought about everything that had happened in the room earlier—if the chain on those handcuffs had not had a gap—she would have been taken advantage of long ago.
Just imagining the consequences of being unable to escape made her body tremble with a trace of fear.
She was terrified that what had nearly happened to her would be repeated.
Chi Yingyu sensed Jiang Lai’s unease.
Her hand firmly held Jiang Lai’s waist as she quietly shifted closer, little by little.
Before Jiang Lai could even react, Chi Yingyu gently wrapped her arms around her from behind.
“With me by your side, you don’t have to be afraid anymore!”
“Mhm.”
Jiang Lai turned her head and looked at Chi Yingyu leaning against her back.
Her eyes curved into a beautiful arc, yet they sparkled brightly with emotion.
With Chi Yingyu beside her, Jiang Lai finally felt at ease.
The sense of security that came from family companionship was something no one else could compare to.
When escaping in front of Shen Ruxue, she had to act like the reliable adult everyone could depend on.
But in front of her dear sister-in-law, she gradually felt she could drop all her reserve and show her truest self.
“Thank you. Thank you for always staying by my side.”
Jiang Lai turned around, instinctively wanting to pull her sister-in-law Chi Yingyu into her arms.
But when she saw Shen Ruxue standing nearby and staring at them, the thought that there was still a child present made her feel strangely shy.
She no longer dared to do anything intimate.
After hesitating, Jiang Lai finally chose to hold Chi Yingyu’s hand tightly.
Even though she felt embarrassed inside, she still wanted to express her affection for her sister-in-law.
“Let’s talk about the rest when we get home…”
“Okay.”
Just as the atmosphere between Jiang Lai and Chi Yingyu was growing slightly intimate, several cars drove out from deep within the estate and stopped in front of them.
The person who stepped out was a clearly furious Si Yina, along with the remaining female bodyguards.
Si Yina had never expected things to develop this way.
She had not imagined that Chi Yingyu, that bastard, would actually bring so many people to break into her estate.
She clearly did not take Si Yina seriously at all.
At the same time, Si Yina looked at Jiang Lai standing beside Chi Yingyu, her eyes filled with unwillingness.
She absolutely refused to let everything end before she had done anything.
Compared to the lazy way she had lounged on the sofa in the room earlier, Si Yina now had messy hair.
The gaze she fixed on Jiang Lai flickered with a strange light—full of possessiveness and fanaticism.
“Today I will absolutely not let you leave.”
Si Yina was nearly going crazy.
Her words were mixed with hoarse roars, her voice turning raspy from rage.
Right now she looked insane and frenzied, so terrifying that no one dared to approach her.
Jiang Lai met the other woman’s fanatical stare.
Although there was some fear in her heart, in this situation there was no need to be afraid of her anymore.
Since the other party wanted to push her to the brink, she should not blame Jiang Lai for fighting back with everything she had.
“You are simply insane. Do you really think you can stop all of us?”
Jiang Lai did not know how Chi Yingyu had managed to bring so many people for help, but at least now she had the confidence to stand on equal footing with Si Yina and no longer needed to fear her threats.
“Do you think I wouldn’t dare?”
Si Yina had completely fallen into her own psychological extremes.
She did not want to listen to anyone.
No matter what happened, there was only one thing left in her mind: to take Jiang Lai back and teach Chi Yingyu a harsh lesson.
Just as Si Yina was about to order the bodyguards around her to seize Jiang Lai, a woman’s voice rang out from outside the estate with all her might.
“Daughter, stop doing foolish things right now! It’s not too late to turn back. While there is still a chance to salvage this, do it!”
Outside the estate, Si Yina’s mother had used the loudest voice of her entire life.
If it had been even a little softer, it would not have caught everyone’s attention, nor would it have reached the ears of her daughter who had already lost her mind.
In other people’s eyes, Si Yina was already a lawless figure.
But in front of her mother, she could at least still behave like a daughter.
And now, on the verge of losing control, only Si Yina’s mother could rein her in.
Ever since her daughter had grown up and become successful, Si Yina’s mother had rarely interfered.
But that did not mean she could not.
It simply meant the methods she would use now were much stricter than when her daughter was young.
Si Yina also knew this very well, which was why she had never wanted her mother to find out about any of this.
Until just moments ago, she had still held onto a sliver of hope—if she went all out right now, there would be nothing left to fear.
But the moment her mother appeared at the estate gate, it meant she could no longer turn a blind eye.
The matter had already blown up too big.
Si Yina’s mother would never allow her daughter to keep making the same mistakes.
The way Si Yina’s mother could discipline her was very simple: she could take back everything Si Yina currently possessed.
Without the family’s support, it would be impossible for Si Yina to continue doing whatever she wanted like before.
The Si Yina who had just been standing in front of them like a big boss instantly turned into a meek little lamb after her mother arrived.
The estate gates that she had refused to open no matter what were now opened with a single sentence from her mother.
Si Yina looked at the opened gates but did not drive back in.
Instead, she strode inside alone with a furious momentum.
Seeing the large crowd gathered at the estate entrance and realizing this was all the result of her daughter’s actions, complicated emotions swirled in her heart.
Looking at her daughter standing beside the car, too afraid to even meet her eyes, Si Yina’s mother walked straight forward.
Her face was full of anger, her eyes showing deep disappointment and helplessness.
She raised her hand high, trembling slightly, and finally brought it down heavily across Si Yina’s cheek.