Chapter 21: Breaking Free

For the next week, Mu Xi’s days were a torment beyond endurance.

She had to navigate Ye Lan’s perverse pet games while catering to Lin Ke’er’s increasingly bizarre whims. 

The mixed-blood woman, leveraging her ability to sneak food from the kitchen, pushed her demands to new extremes. 

From kissing to licking her legs, she eventually insisted on something even more degrading.

“Are you a dog?” Mu Xi snapped, unable to hold back her disgust.

“Woof, woof,” Lin Ke’er replied playfully, her eyes glinting. 

“I’m your little puppy.”

“Lunatic,” Mu Xi muttered, rolling her eyes.

***

Each night, after Ye Lan drifted into a deep sleep, Mu Xi would creep to the window, her movements silent as a shadow. 

She gazed down at the pile of “trash” Tuesday had meticulously arranged below—a heap of soft fabrics and debris designed to cushion her fall.

“It’s a long drop. Even with the padding, it’s going to hurt,” Mu Xi whispered, leaning against the windowsill, mentally rehearsing every possible landing stance. 

She had to be ready to spring up and flee the moment she hit the ground. 

If they caught her, it was over.

***

That night, Tuesday had piled the heap higher than ever, layering it with thick cloth and disguising it with leaves and branches. 

Mu Xi’s heart quickened. 

This was it—the moment she’d been waiting for.

When Ye Lan returned, weary from her travels, Mu Xi plastered on a saccharine smile and hurried to greet her. 

The golden bell around her neck jingled softly as she swayed.

“Master, you’re back,” she said sweetly, her voice a practiced melody, while her mind counted down the seconds. 

Just a little longer, and this nightmare would end.

Her fists clenched, nails biting into her palms. 

She couldn’t bear another minute of being caged like a pet.

Mu Xi had expected the evening to pass like all the others—endure Ye Lan’s games, and it would be over. 

But tonight, Ye Lan was in high spirits, craving something new.

“Darling, tonight we’ll try a different kind of fun,” Ye Lan purred, peeling Mu Xi’s clothes off one by one and binding her to the bed with silk ribbons.

“What are you doing, Master?” Mu Xi asked, her voice tinged with unease.

Ye Lan pulled a white feather from a drawer and brushed it lightly across Mu Xi’s face. 

“A little game. If you laugh, you’ll be punished.”

“What kind of punishment?”

“A spank for every laugh,” Ye Lan said with a wicked smile.

Mu Xi’s heart sank. 

Her body was a map of ticklish spots, her waist and soles especially vulnerable.

Sure enough, the moment the feather grazed her waist, a giggle burst from her lips.

“Smack.” 

Ye Lan’s hand landed on her backside.

“No, Master, I can’t help it!” Mu Xi squirmed, trying to escape the feather’s torturous path.

“Then you’ll keep getting punished.” 

The feather danced across her skin, and each involuntary laugh brought another sharp slap.

Itching, stinging, Mu Xi’s laughter soon dissolved into tears. 

Her skin burned red, but Ye Lan, reveling in the game, showed no sign of stopping.

“Master, I’m sorry, please stop,” Mu Xi pleaded, her voice breaking.

“Then tell me what you are.”

“I’m your little pet,” Mu Xi sobbed, her mind fixed on the trash pile outside the window. 

Tonight, she would escape.

Ye Lan pressed her down onto the bed, their lips meeting in a fevered dance. 

Mu Xi’s body trembled under her touch, her silver hair spilling across the pink sheets like moonlight.

“Master, gently,” Mu Xi gasped, the golden bell chiming with her movements.

She knew freedom was close, so she played along, matching Ye Lan’s rhythm. 

Ye Lan’s fingers roamed, leaving trails of heat on her skin. 

Mu Xi bit her lip, stifling any sound, her body exuding a sweet mix of cream and perfume that Ye Lan couldn’t resist.

“You’re so eager tonight, darling,” Ye Lan whispered in her ear.

“Because you’re so gentle tonight, Master,” Mu Xi replied, her wide eyes shimmering, lashes fluttering like butterfly wings.

Their breaths mingled in the pink-hued room, echoing until the moon hung high in the sky. 

Exhausted from her day and with an early trip to the mines ahead, Ye Lan fell asleep quickly.

Mu Xi’s obedience had earned her a reprieve—Ye Lan no longer tied her toes with thin silk. 

Lying still, Mu Xi listened to Ye Lan’s steady breathing. 

Moonlight poured through the window, bathing the forest in a silvery glow. 

Tree shadows swayed, punctuated by the occasional cry of a night bird.

She slipped from the bed, her bare feet silent on the carpet. 

Retrieving three boxed meals hidden beneath the bed, she turned slowly, each step deliberate to avoid the slightest sound.

At the window, she glanced back at Ye Lan’s sleeping form, a flicker of conflicted emotion in her eyes. 

‘Goodbye, you monster,’ she whispered in her mind.

The trash pile glimmered faintly below, Tuesday’s carefully prepared cushion waiting. 

A faint whistle pierced the night, startling Mu Xi nearly off the ledge. 

She gripped the window frame, ears straining.

A second whistle, then a third, urgent and insistent.

‘I’m coming!’ Mu Xi took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and leapt.

“Thud.” 

She landed in the pile, pain shooting through her despite the padding. 

The bell around her neck jingled sharply, and she tore it off, tossing it aside.

“Damn bell,” she muttered, staggering to her feet. 

Too many sweets had softened her body, and even a few steps left her breathless. 

But she couldn’t stop. 

The garden was just ahead.

Mu Xi ran, each step unsteady, as if treading on cotton. 

Her lungs burned, her breaths ragged.

Then, a black SUV roared out of the garage, its headlights blinding. 

“Get in!” 

Tuesday shouted, flinging open the passenger door.

Mu Xi lunged forward, nearly tripping, and threw herself into the car. 

Before she could settle, Tuesday floored the accelerator, speeding toward the gate.

“Boom.”

The gate didn’t budge.

“Again!” 

Mu Xi screamed.

Tuesday reversed, then slammed forward, crashing through the gate with a deafening screech. 

Guards, now alert, drew their guns, bullets pinging off the car’s frame.

“Ah!” Mu Xi curled into a ball, terrified. 

“Are they insane?”

Tuesday, unfazed, weaved through the forest path with practiced ease. 

Mu Xi stared, astonished at the burly man’s skill behind the wheel.

“Were you a race car driver?” she asked.

“Nope. Bulldozer operator,” Tuesday said with a sheepish grin.

“Bulldozer?” Mu Xi blinked. 

“How are you this good?”

“Because I’ve been picturing this moment—driving you to freedom—every single day.”

Mu Xi fell silent, warmth flooding her chest. 

The gunfire faded into the distance, leaving only the engine’s roar echoing through the forest.