Chapter 251 - Just This Once

"Time's up." The man outside, announced. He didn't notice that Tian Ruyi had already fed Bai Jingye since he was not paying attention to them at all.

Tian Ruyi wiped Bai Jingye's lips one last time before she stood up. "Wait for me, okay?"

A small chuckle was heard coming from him. "It's not like I'll be going anywhere right now."

Tian Ruyi only flashed him a bitter smile before she left the room.

Bai Zichen had already told her where the keys were hidden inside Bai Keran's room so she directly went to the music room beside Bai Keran's study. She made sure that there were no servants present before she entered the room. She used the balcony of the room to get to the neighboring balcony after making sure that no one was below.

She broke into a sweat when she jumped towards the other side and held into the railings. She had already started to pant. 

"No, I will not take out her life support." Bai Keran's voice was heard inside. "You better do something, Dr. Lin. You don't want to put your family in danger do you?"

Tian Ruyi felt chills run down her spine when she heard the old man's menacing tone while he talked on his phone.

He must be talking about her daughter, Bai Xiuying.

She carefully got on the balcony before she stood at the side to hide. It seemed like she had to wait for Bai Keran to leave. It was surely going to take time so she decided to pull out her phone from her pocket. She made sure that it was in silent mode before she messaged Bai Zichen about it.

[Bai Keran's in his study. Help me distract him.]

A few seconds after, she received a reply from Bai Zichen. 

[Got it.]

Tian Ruyi sat on the corner to avoid getting seen by others from the garden below. They should have brought a third guy with them so that it wouldn't be hard for her. Now that she thought of it, she would need to distract the guard outside of Bai Jingye's room. After that, knowing that his legs had gone numb, it would be hard to carry him. She was sure that they would be easily seen by the servants and before they could even get out of the place, Bai Keran's men would stop them.

Tian Ruyi's eyes glistened as an idea came into her mind. What if… she stayed inside the punishment room with Bai Jingye? No one would have thought that someone else had entered. She could release him from his shackles and wait for his legs to regain their strength. By nightfall, when everyone was gone, it would be a great opportunity for them to escape. That's right. They could do that instead.

Knock knock.

She turned and peeked inside.

"Come in."

The door was pushed open and a servant came in. "Sir, you have a guest. Mr. Qi is here."

Bai Keran frowned. "Why does he always have to come unannounced?" 

The old man stood up from his seat and headed out of the room. 

Once the room was empty, Tian Ruyi went in. She hurriedly went towards the old man's desk before she opened the first drawer and there she saw the keys. Bai Zichen was right. It was indeed there.

She stole the keys and hurriedly went towards the balcony to get to the other side.

Tian Ruyi couldn't help but sigh in relief the moment she entered the other room. 

Just then she was startled upon feeling the vibration of her phone in her pocket. She took it out to see who messaged her. It was from Bai Zichen.

[I'm on my way back there to distract grandfather.]

He must have taken his mother to the car. [There's no need. A guest came just in time. You can go ahead and leave. Jingye and I will be leaving tonight.]

[Bai Zichen: What do you mean? It's dangerous to stay in this place.]

[Tian Ruyi: It's more dangerous to take out Jingye right now. We will be seen by the servants. He'll catch us! It's better to move at night.]

With that, she kept her phone. She left the room but upon turning, she bumped into someone, causing her to shift back and sprawl flat on her ass.

Her elbows ached from the impact of the marble floor, but she didn't seem to notice. She was too anxious with the man in front of her to notice anything else.

"Xiao Ruyi? What are you doing here?"

"U-uncle…" She gulped nervously.

Bai Kai offered his hand and helped her up. 

As she stood up, a metallic clang was heard which caused their eyes to land on the item on the floor. The keys.

"That's…"

Tian Ruyi quickly picked them up and kept them in her pockets.

"Those keys…" His eyes narrowed upon recognizing those keys.

There was no use in making an excuse. Just like Bai Zichen, Bai Kai knew what those keys were for.

"Please uncle…" She put on a pitiful act. "You know how important Jingye is to me… I can't tolerate seeing him being punished. Uncle, he is your son… please, just once, please turn a blind eye to this…" She begged.

The man stayed still, his face void of emotions as he looked at the woman in front of him. It only made Tian Ruyi feel even more worried. She knew that he had always turned a blind eye to whatever happened to his sons.

"Bai Jingye is still your son even if you never loved his mother."

Bai Kai's brow twitched upon hearing what she said.

"You're still his father… so please uncle, just this once, help him…"

Silence filled them as Bai Kai remained still and quiet. The more he stared down at her, the more anxious she got.

"Huh? What are you two doing here? Standing in the middle of the hall?"

Tian Ruyi was startled upon hearing Bai Keran's voice.

Bai Kai slowly turned to face the old man who approached from behind him. As he was about to open his mouth, Tian Ruyi's heart dropped.