After kicking Si Yina down, Shen Ruxue immediately straddled her, using her own body to pin Si Yina in place.
But her strength was no match for Si Yina’s, and combined with the stamina she had already exhausted while breaking free from the ropes, relying solely on physical restraint could only buy a very short amount of time.
Shen Ruxue was well aware of this, so from the very beginning she struck without mercy.
She dug her fingers into Si Yina’s scalp, smearing the blood that still clung to her hands across Si Yina’s head.
Shen Ruxue gripped her hair tightly, refusing to let any strands slip through her fingers.
Only by holding on in such an unrelenting, unreasonable way could she buy the two of them a chance to escape.
Jiang Lai’s face turned deathly pale at the sudden appearance of Shen Ruxue.
Her hands were covered in blood, and Jiang Lai could not even imagine what she must have done to herself to break free from the ropes that had bound her.
But this was no time to dwell on such thoughts.
Even though Jiang Lai was deeply worried, she could only force herself to focus entirely on untying the rope still around her own ankle.
Once Jiang Lai had removed all her restraints and stood up from the bed, she hurried to help Shen Ruxue subdue Si Yina.
In her heart, she was terrified that Si Yina might call the bodyguards.
The first thing she did was grab the sock she had taken off earlier and stuff it forcefully into Si Yina’s mouth.
In a one-on-one fight, neither she nor Shen Ruxue was a match for Si Yina.
But together—even in their current exhausted states—they could briefly overpower her.
Under Shen Ruxue’s hold, Jiang Lai was finally able to tie Si Yina up securely.
Though the immediate danger had passed, a massive problem still loomed before them: how exactly were they going to escape this place?
Before entering the villa, Jiang Lai had clearly seen vast stretches of lawn surrounding it, and beyond that lay an artificial forest.
There was no doubt—this was a huge estate.
Without a map or a phone, finding their way out would be incredibly difficult.
As long as they remained inside the estate, the risk of being recaptured by Si Yina persisted.
And with bodyguards downstairs, even getting out of this villa itself was in question.
While Jiang Lai pondered their escape plan, she suddenly felt an itch at her wrist.
She looked down to see a bloodstained hand gently stroking the dark red marks left by her struggle with the handcuffs.
“I’m fine. It’s you who—”
Jiang Lai reached out to take Shen Ruxue’s hand but hesitated, terrified of aggravating the wounds.
Instinctively, she wanted to tend to Shen Ruxue’s injuries first.
She turned to search the room for anything that could clean the cuts—at the very least, some clean cloth.
Watching Jiang Lai frantically search the room, Shen Ruxue understood what she was looking for.
But there was simply no time.
“It’s okay. These are just shallow scratches. We don’t have much time to waste. If those bodyguards come up, our only chance to escape will be gone…”
The situation was extremely urgent.
Every extra second wasted made escape that much harder.
With that in mind, Jiang Lai took Shen Ruxue’s wrist and quietly explained the plan she had just come up with.
“Wait—we’re both going to carry our shoes in our hands. That way we can move as quietly as possible. Once we’re out, stay right behind me. If anyone chases us, I can buy you some time.”
“I’ll go in front!”
Shen Ruxue instinctively rejected Jiang Lai’s attempt to put herself in greater danger.
She could not bear to see Jiang Lai face peril.
No matter what happened, she would rather take the injury herself.
“You’re going to listen to me on this. Remember: as long as one of us gets out of this damned estate, that’s enough. Your stamina is better than mine. You have a better chance of making it.”
Though Jiang Lai wanted to explain more, she glanced at Si Yina—still bound tightly on the floor—and decided it was better to talk while they moved.
With that thought, she picked up her fallen phone.
Just before the two of them opened the door to leave, Jiang Lai looked back at Si Yina on the floor.
Thinking of everything the woman had done to her moments earlier filled her with rage.
Mimicking Shen Ruxue’s earlier action, she kicked Si Yina once more.
Even that was not enough to vent her anger.
She slapped Si Yina hard across the buttocks.
“Smack!”
The crisp sound echoed in the room.
Only after hearing it did Jiang Lai finally feel some of her fury dissipate.
She stared proudly at her own palm.
If time were not so pressing, Jiang Lai would have spanked Si Yina like a naughty child until her backside was raw.
Shen Ruxue watched Jiang Lai’s rather unique method of punishment.
If she was going to hit her at all, why not slap her face?
Given everything Si Yina had done, once they escaped, Shen Ruxue certainly would not let her off so easily.
And as for her long-absent husband behaving this way—well, after so much time apart, it was only natural that Jiang Lai’s personality or preferences might have shifted.
Having vented the pent-up rage in her chest, Jiang Lai finally tiptoed out of the room alongside Shen Ruxue.
Once they were out of Si Yina’s sight, Jiang Lai quickly shoved the phone she had picked up from the floor into Shen Ruxue’s hand.
“You already know the password. It doesn’t matter if we get out or not—as long as we find a spot with signal, we can send a message.”
On the second floor of the villa, the two of them moved without encountering a single bodyguard.
This was all thanks to Si Yina ordering everyone downstairs in anticipation of what she planned to do to Jiang Lai.
But their smooth progress ended the moment they reached the first floor.
The ground level was swarming with bodyguards—seemingly all waiting for Si Yina to finish.
Outside the villa, more patrolled back and forth as if on a casual stroll.
Jiang Lai quickly realized escaping through the main door was nearly impossible.
Their only option now was to climb out a window.
She cautiously peeked at a corridor window and, seeing no one passing by, waved for Shen Ruxue to follow closely.
Jiang Lai’s heart pounded with tension.
Though no guards were visible outside or nearby at the moment, the mere thought of the sound the window would make had her nerves on edge.
She had already resolved that if a bodyguard appeared, she would sacrifice herself to ensure Shen Ruxue could jump out.
She reached out, trying to minimize the noise, and carefully opened the window.
When no one came running at the sound, she exhaled in relief and set her shoes on the floor.
“You go first. Leave the shoes here for now. I’ll pass them to you through the window once you’re outside. We can put them on when we’re out.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Lai spoke in the softest whisper only the two of them could hear, briefly outlining her plan.
Walking barefoot would hurt, and jumping from the window later would be painful too—but this was their only way to reduce the sound of their footsteps.
First, she helped Shen Ruxue through from inside the room.
Seeing no one around, Shen Ruxue awkwardly climbed out the window.
Just as Jiang Lai and Shen Ruxue prepared to put on their shoes at the window’s edge, a ragged shout came from the second floor.
“Don’t let them escape!”
In an instant, the bodyguards inside the villa reacted as though receiving a direct order.
Dense, crisp footsteps echoed all around Jiang Lai.
The patrolling guards outside had spotted them too.
Seeing the bodyguards closing in, Jiang Lai no longer cared about putting on shoes.
Even though the ground hurt her bare feet with every step, survival came first.
Minor pain no longer mattered.
She grabbed Shen Ruxue’s hand and ran toward the forest.
If they could just reach a place to hide, they might buy a little more time.
Jiang Lai’s plan was simple: find a spot with signal and send their location to her aunt.
That was all that mattered—they did not actually need to find an exit.
Everything she had said earlier in the room about escaping had been meant to mislead Si Yina.
If Si Yina believed they were heading for an exit, she would concentrate most of her forces there—leaving other areas less guarded.
Jiang Lai and Shen Ruxue ran for what felt like forever until Jiang Lai felt her lungs were about to burst.
She glanced back at the bodyguards still close behind them, then looked at Shen Ruxue, whose hand she still held tightly.
She could not keep running much longer.
If they stayed together, they would both be caught soon.
If she stayed behind to hold them off, at least Shen Ruxue might escape.
But Shen Ruxue was no fool.
The moment Jiang Lai glanced at her, she understood exactly what idea had crossed her mind.
No matter what happened, she would never leave Jiang Lai behind.
“No way. We go together. Get that stupid thought out of your head right now!”
Shen Ruxue’s tone was fierce.
Seeing Jiang Lai press her lips tightly together in response, she gripped her hand even harder.
This time, she absolutely would not let go.
“But we need something to slow them down…”
Jiang Lai glanced at the pair of shoes she had not had time to put on.
Gritting her teeth, she turned, gathered her strength, and hurled both thick-soled shoes at the nearest bodyguard behind them.
One struck the woman square in the forehead.
The heavy sole caused real pain; the female bodyguard immediately clutched her face and stopped in her tracks.
Taking advantage of the brief opening, Jiang Lai and Shen Ruxue darted into the small patch of forest.