The rush of adrenaline made my blood surge from my feet straight to my brain. I could feel my face was hot enough to fry an egg. I pulled back from Mo Xu, staring at her in disbelief. She, however, wasn’t blushing or nervous, just wearing a look of playful triumph after stealing a kiss.
“I didn’t expect you to be quite charming when you’re being naughty. Don’t look at me with that innocent expression. Who told you to tempt me?”
Her finger hooked under my chin. According to typical novel plots, she could probably devour me completely without spitting out the bones.
Who am I? I am a decent, upstanding socialist youth. I am the modern-day Liuxia Hui, who remains unperturbed and still as a mountain even when a woman sits in his lap! Fine, I admit I am a timid coward who hasn’t seen much of the world. I can’t afford to provoke her.
…
🎭 The Escape Plan
…
As dusk approached, Mo Xu arranged for the kitchen to prepare a large table of food and wine, inviting everyone in the Hall to a farewell banquet for us. I knew I couldn’t avoid this drinking feast. To prevent myself from getting drunk, I adopted a policy of avoidance wherever possible.
Mo Xu’s intentions were likely not so simple. She might want to ply me with wine and then try to consummate things—it wouldn’t be surprising. Therefore, I could only resort to clowning around and faking drunkenness. I guarantee that with three cups of wine, I could win an Oscar for Best Thespian.
Sixiao, sitting beside me, rarely encountered such a lively scene. He excitedly claimed he was a man and insisted on drinking. For the sake of the plan, I allowed him. Unsurprisingly, he was knocked out by the first cup.
Drinks were exchanged back and forth, and I managed to drink a total of five cups—that was my limit. I couldn’t drink any more, so I began to slur my words and pretend to be rambling.
After all, I was Mo Xu’s soft spot. Seeing me slumped over the table, unable to get up, she dismissed everyone. I could feel her slightly cool hand moving across my feverish cheek—a very comfortable sensation.
Thank goodness, she didn’t try anything else. She instructed someone to take Sixiao and me back to the guest room. I lay on the bed, pretending to snore until there was no sound outside, then slowly sat up. I pushed the door open, checked repeatedly, and only after ensuring no one was around did I slip out and rush to the privy to vomit loudly for a while.
No matter where I am, I refuse to drink and drive or ride while intoxicated. Safety awareness starts with me, preventing problems before they arise!
Yesterday, I made a precise calculation: Mo Xu’s main chamber and the stable were separated by two ponds and courtyards. If running down the corridor, crooked turns and all, it would take about two and a half minutes to circle around.
My room, however, was separated from Mo Xu’s room and the stable by just one small courtyard each. The three locations formed an irregular triangle. Geographically, I had the advantage: running from my room to the stable or Mo Xu’s room would take less than a minute.
The immediate priority was to go to the stable and disguise the scene. So, I started running toward the courtyard outside the stable, looking back three times like a thief. I found a large stone and violently smashed the wooden door’s lock. Since I couldn’t make too much noise, I stopped after creating some marks. Then, I propped the wooden ladder against the door, creating the illusion of having climbed the wall to escape.
To gauge the movement of people in the Hall, I chose the route from the stable, passing through two courtyards and past Mo Xu’s room, while trying to stay hidden. Fortunately, everyone had been drinking tonight, and the security of the entire compound was much laxer than usual. Actually, a bystander might ask why I didn’t just pick the lock and leave straightforwardly?
The reason is simple: I lack experience driving a carriage. The width of that small alley outside the courtyard is difficult to navigate. If I made too much noise during that time, it could easily attract the attention of the people in the Hall. Therefore, a feint is necessary: get them to open the gate for me, and simultaneously buy more escape time to handle the carriage driving.
However, it now seems that tonight’s banquet has lowered the difficulty for me. The corridor is dark, quiet, and eerie, with no one in sight. Still, for safety, I have to be cautious everywhere; there might be traps.
Alright, time to perform. As I approached Mo Xu’s room, I started running, trying to make loud noises with my footsteps on the wooden floor of the corridor. I lowered my voice, making it sound exceptionally rough, and shouted loudly: “Something is wrong! I saw someone abduct Young Master Ji! Help! The direction of the stable! Hurry, everyone!”
I blamed my disappearance on the enemies Mo Xu had mentioned, thus covering up the fact that I was deceiving her and running away. My feet couldn’t stop. My voice echoed in the corridor. I sprinted at full speed, dashed into the room, quickly grabbed the white cloth, wrapped Sixiao up, and secured him on my back. To create the scene of an abduction, I deliberately left the door wide open, then quickly hid under the bed, blocking myself with clutter.
In a moment, the quiet courtyard began to stir. The sound of a large group of people’s footsteps grew closer. Soon, I heard someone rush in: “Young Master Ji really isn’t here, and the young master is also missing! Quick! To the stable!”
With that, the sounds of the group began to fade into the distance. I silently counted about one minute, which was the distance from the room to the stable. It was very possible that Mo Xu or Xin’er would appear at this moment, so to avoid people coming from either direction, I had to leave this now-unsafe room immediately.
I kept an eye on any movement while climbing out from under the bed with Sixiao on my back. This feint was truly exciting! Time for the next step: to the stable!
I stared in the direction of Mo Xu’s room for a while; no movement. Relieved, I turned and ran toward the stable. Hiding at the corner of the corridor, I listened to the sounds in the courtyard. The staff should have already run from the courtyard onto the main road.
I quickly rushed into the stable. Although I had bought myself escape time, what if the people who ran out suddenly rushed back? Wouldn’t I have set a trap for myself?
I patted the horse’s head: “No time to lose, Big Brother Horse, I’m counting on you.”
Saying that, I undid the white cloth on my back, put Sixiao down, and jumped onto the carriage. The moment I pulled back the curtain, I was almost scared out of my wits. Mo Xu was sitting in the carriage, supporting her head with one hand, staring at me lazily and meaningfully, without saying a word. I quickly masked the shock on my face, tightly hugged Sixiao, and silently met her gaze. Was she forcing me to abandon this carriage?
“Don’t you want to explain yourself?”
Mo Xu’s voice was low, even carrying a hint of mockery. It seemed my plan had been exposed. Lowering my head, I slipped into the carriage. My backpack was by Mo Xu’s feet; I had to find a way to take it with me.
Relaxing slightly, I lowered my voice and questioned her: “How did you know I would come here?”
“I already anticipated tonight’s exciting performance when you eavesdropped on my conversation with Wei Huang.”
“You’ve been secretly keeping an eye on me?”
“Ji Sijie, you are indeed smart, but you are still too naive in your methods.”
“So, I’m surrounded, correct?”
“Yes.”
“I cannot give you Xiaozhi, and I must leave. You won’t get me, and you won’t get this child. I don’t want to hurt you, but if Mo Xu insists on doing this… Sijie must offend you.”
I directly pounced and pinned Mo Xu down, firmly holding her shoulders with both hands. She struggled to resist but couldn’t leverage her strength. I freed one hand and grabbed her throat, then shouted loudly: “Hall Master Mo Xu is in my hands! If anyone dares to come closer, I won’t be polite!”
My shout was trembling, but I looked at Mo Xu with sadness. Tears of guilt dripped onto her face. I kept murmuring: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I truly don’t want to hurt you… I’m sorry…”
Mo Xu’s expression dimmed. Her hands gripped my arms, and she looked at me with distress. I grabbed the white cloth nearby and securely bound her, hog-tying her. Mo Xu spoke angrily: “Everyone, do not approach.”
I settled Sixiao, then crawled out of the carriage. Wei Huang and Xin’er stood with the crowd outside the stable. Their unfamiliar expressions filled my heart with mixed feelings. I no longer had my usual kind demeanor. You all forced me to do this. Don’t blame me:
“Sijie means no offense to Hall Master Mo Xu. I just want to save this child’s life. If anyone tries to harm him, they’ll have to step over me first.”
After delivering my warning, I raised the whip and lashed the horse’s round rear. The horse neighed, reared up its front hooves, and the carriage charged out of the stable. With a violent jolting, the horse pulled off a remarkable, Initial D-style drift, and, without the difficulty I had imagined, smoothly sped into the alleyway.