You're dumping me, huh? Fine, then I'll just pick up the school beauty and make her my wif

After saying that, Bai Yuning did not wait for Ye Yunjin's response, turned around and pushed open the door to leave the study.

Ye Yunjin stood by the window, watching the black minivan drive out of the manor gate and disappear into the bend of the mountain road.

Her mind kept replaying Bai Yuning's words before she left, and her brows furrowed slightly.

Couldn't stop him?

Ye Yunjin repeated Bai Yuning's last words in her mind.

To be honest, she didn't take that little brat from the Jiang family too seriously.

Even if an eighteen-year-old high school student is the young master of the Jiang family in Beijing, so what? The Ye family is no worse than the Jiang family.

Moreover, this brat is rather simple-minded and lacks cunning, so naturally he can't cause any trouble in front of her.

But Bai Yuning's last look... made her feel like something was off.

After thinking it over, Ye Yunjin finally picked up the walkie-talkie and pressed a button, "Add another night patrol tonight, focusing on the hiking trail behind the mountain and the northwest wall."

A crisp "Yes" came from the other end of the walkie-talkie.

……

After Bai Yuning drove out of the mountains, she stopped in an empty open space by the roadside.

She turned off the engine, took out her phone from her bag, and dialed Jiang Che's number.

The phone was answered after only one ring. "Sis, how are you?"

"Xiao Qinghe is in Palm Villa, that's pretty much it." Bai Yuning said, one hand on the steering wheel. "I just had a face-to-face talk with Ye Yunjin."

"Ye Yunjin?" Jiang Che found the name somewhat familiar.

"Yes, she's the eldest daughter of the Ye family in Hong Kong, and the CEO of the Ye Group." Bai Yuning paused for a moment. "She said that Xiao Qinghe is her biological daughter."

There was a two or three-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"His biological daughter?"

"Yes, I also found it unbelievable at first, but upon closer inspection, the two people's facial features do have a very high degree of similarity."

Bai Yuning briefly recounted her negotiation with Ye Yunjin, then lowered her voice, "Jiang Che, this woman is not easy to deal with. She is very guarded and didn't reveal any valuable information throughout the entire process."

"The only thing I'm sure of is that Xiao Qinghe is in this manor."

"But I have no way of finding out exactly where she is being held or how many people are guarding her."

"However..." Bai Yuning thought for a moment and added, "Ye Yunjin and I talked in the study in the main building."

"If Xiao Qinghe is really her biological daughter, she probably wouldn't feel comfortable letting the child stay too far away from her."

"So I guess Xiao Qinghe should be in the main building."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then a voice said, "Okay, I understand."

Jiang Che said calmly, his voice revealing little emotion.

But Bai Yuning knew him too well. The calmer he appeared at this moment, the faster his mind was working.

Bai Yuning originally wanted to advise Jiang Che not to rush into action and to think about whether there were other ways to rescue Xiao Qinghe.

But now that Ye Yunjin knows Jiang Che will rescue Su Qinghe, she will naturally strengthen the manor's defenses after she leaves, unless she is stupid.

Therefore, the rescue of Xiao Qinghe must be carried out as soon as possible. Every minute that is delayed will inevitably increase the difficulty of the rescue.

Moreover, Bai Yuning knew she couldn't stop this kid, so instead of trying to stop him, she might as well find out his plan so she could help him out.

"So, what time do you plan to take action?"

"After 10 o'clock."

"Okay, contact me immediately if anything happens."

"Don't worry, sis, I'm an adult, I'll be careful."

……

9:45 PM.

Night gradually descended, and the last glimmer of orange light on the horizon disappeared behind the ridgeline, engulfing the entire manor in thick darkness.

Su Qinghe lay in bed, with no phone to play with and no TV to watch, so bored that she counted the patterns on the ceiling over and over again.

We've finally made it to this point in time.

Su Qinghe glanced discreetly at the direction of the room door out of the corner of her eye.

A maid stood inside the doorway, leaning against the doorframe, her eyelids drooping, clearly less energetic than during the day.

If we don't act now, when will we?

Su Qinghe first pretended to turn over, making a muffled murmur, as if she were talking in her sleep.

The maid glanced in her direction, but seeing nothing unusual, she looked away again.

Su Qinghe continued to wait, and after about thirty seconds, she turned over again.

This time, he turned the blanket over more thoroughly and reached under the covers, finding the letter opener hidden under the pillow.

He then closed his fingers and firmly gripped the knife handle in his palm.

All right.

The next step is to get the person at the door away.

Su Qinghe slowly sat up in bed, rubbed her eyes, and looked dazed.

"Um... Sister."

The maid bowed slightly. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Su Qinghe clutched her stomach, her voice soft and slightly embarrassed, and said, "I...I have a bit of a stomachache, could you please get me a glass of hot water?"

The maid hesitated for a second, then turned and glanced towards the door.

The companion outside the door was leaning against the corridor wall. Hearing the noise, he came over and asked in a low voice what was wrong.

The maid inside the door gave a few brief instructions, and then the person outside nodded, turned around, and quickly walked towards the end of the corridor.

One of them left.

There's one left.

Su Qinghe clutched her stomach and bent over, letting out a muffled groan. Her face was contorted in pain.

"Ouch...it hurts so much..."

The maid inside the door frowned upon seeing this, hesitating whether to go over and take a look.

Su Qinghe seized the opportunity, looked up at her pitifully with her wet eyes, and said, "Sister, could you... help me to the restroom? I'm afraid I won't be able to walk..."

The maid ultimately couldn't guard against this face, mainly because she thought that how could such a cute girl with such a pretty face have any bad intentions?

So he quickly walked to the bedside, bent down, and reached out his hand to help her up.

But the moment her hand touched Su Qinghe's arm, Su Qinghe's expression suddenly changed.

With her free hand, she swiftly grabbed the maid's wrist, while her right hand pulled a letter opener from under the blanket, the tip of which was instantly pressed against the maid's throat.

"Don't make a sound."

Su Qinghe's voice suddenly turned cold, showing no trace of her previous sweetness.

The maid was immediately terrified and instinctively opened her mouth to scream, but Su Qinghe's threat with the knife made her swallow her voice at the last second.

Su Qinghe flipped her wrist, changed the angle of the letter opener, and pressed the back of the blade against her neck.

With his other hand, he quickly pulled a pre-prepared pillowcase from under the pillow and tied the maid's hands to the bedpost in a few swift movements.

Then he tore off a piece of pillowcase and stuffed it into her mouth.

The whole process was clean and efficient, taking no more than twenty seconds.

Su Qinghe stood up and looked down at the maid who was tied to the bedpost and unable to move.

"I'm sorry, sister."

After saying that, she turned and walked to the window.

The tip of the letter opener was easier to use than she had imagined.

Although the blade wasn't sharp, it was thin and pointed. After inserting it into the gap of the hidden lock and prying a few times, the metal latch quickly made a soft "click" sound.

The window was open, and the night wind rushed in.

Su Qinghe took a deep breath, then tucked the letter opener into her waistband, braced herself against the windowsill, and leaped out.