"Thank you for visiting us, Xiao Ruyi," Xu Chen, Bai Jingye's mother said as she invited the woman in front of her inside the place.

"I have to. How's Jingye, mother?" Tian Ruyi worriedly asked.

​​

They were currently at Bai Keran's place. Ever since Bai Jingye was locked in the room, Xu Chen insisted on staying at the place. Whenever it was her son's feeding time, she would usually sneak in a few more food and drinks with her.

"He's still inside that room…" she sighed with a heavy heart.

"He deserves it. He should know better that he should not go against our grandfather." Bai scoffed. He roamed his eyes around the room before returning them to his mother. "You look tired, mother, you should get some rest. Come, I'll accompany you to your room."

"How about I prepare your favorite honey ginger tea, mom?" Tian Ruyi offered with a small smile.

Xu Chen bobbed her head a bit. "Thank you, Xiao Ruyi."

"I didn't expect you both to be coming today."

They all turned to the old man who was by the stairs. He had a deep frown which caused him to have more wrinkles on his face. One thing was for sure, they could tell that he was in a terrible mood.

"You know that I'm a filial son, grandfather. I heard that mom has not been getting enough sleep lately so I have to come," Bai Zichen replied with a plain smile on his lips.

Bai Keran had always known that Bai Zichen cared for his mother the most. "Go, take her to her room," he ordered before he gazed down at Tian Ruyi with his iciness. "You are not allowed to see him while he's in his punishment period."

She pursed her lips as she lowered her head. She had already seen that old man's true colors and he knew it so there was no point in trying to act in front of her. "Please Grandpa Bai… I just want to make sure that he's alright."

The old man stared at her for a minute before he opened his mouth again, "5 minutes. Not more than that. You will be accompanied once you see him."

"Thank you…"

With that, Bai Keran went back to his study. The trio heaved out a sigh at the same time before they looked at each other meaningfully.

With a small smile plastered on her lips, Tian Ruyi said, "Brother Zichen, you should take mom to her room. I'll follow after I prepare the tea."

"Very well."

She turned away and directly headed to the kitchen. It was a good thing that the old snake wasn't able to see through their plans or else, they would have been already killed on the spot. He was a murderer, she was sure that he wouldn't blink an eye if he shot someone right then and there even if it was his own family. Who would have thought that he had killed his own family members years ago?

…

(Flashback)

After Tian Ruyi had informed Lu Mengjie about Bai Zichen's involvement with Si Hongqi, she went back to her apartment.

She was going to meet Si Hongqi that night and join him with his drinking session but knowing that he wasn't someone who could easily get drunk, she had decided not to drink too much later. She could easily come up with an excuse. Besides, once she had gotten Si Hongqi drunk, she was going to use the chance to inquire more about his connection with Bai Zichen. It was easier to get information out from a drunk man so she was confident that she would be able to succeed.

She was able to get Si Hongqi's WeChat so she messaged him and reminded him about latter's drinking session. She even gave him the address of the place.

Night came and Tian Ruyi headed to the place she was going to meet him. It was a KTV bar that was owned by one of her friends so she was able to book a room earlier without any problem. She entered a small glitzy room that fitted 3 to 5 people inside. It had a fancy decoration all around. A big flatscreen TV was on the wall with two microphones sticking in its handles. She took the mics and placed them on the sofa.

Tian Ruyi messaged Si Hongqi with the room number but once again, she didn't receive any replies from him. She could only see that he had read her message. She had already decided to wait for him so while doing so, she ordered snacks and lots of heavy drinks to the room. She had sung a few songs as well to help her with her boredom.

"Is he not coming at all?" She checked her wristwatch for the time. She had been waiting for him for 2 hours! Two hours! She had only drunk juice since she came since she was avoiding getting drunk while she was waiting for him.

"I'll just wait for one more hour." If he still didn't come then she was going to leave. She stood up from her seat and left the room. She was heading to where the restroom was but upon turning, she bumped into someone's hard chest.

"Eek!"

"Hey you, look where you're…" the man trailed off upon seeing her.

"Oh look what we got here, a cutie!" The man's companion said with a grin upon getting a good look at her.

Tian Ruyi instinctively shrunk back upon seeing the men before her. They stink of alcohol. Just seeing the two men's lusty gazes already gave her the creeps.

"I apologize for bumping into you," she said meekly before she sidestepped and was about to walk past them but the other guy ended up blocking her path.

"Are you alone, miss? Why don't you join us in our room and have fun?" The man said with a smirk.

"Sorry, I have my friends waiting for me." Her eyes were cast at the ground as she lied. She was not used to men surrounding her like this.

"I'm sure that they wouldn't mind if you hang out with us for a while, right?" The other man brazenly placed his arm around her shoulders.

Tian Ruyi's heart began to race as cold sweat rolled down her temples. Her legs trembled. She was feeling uncomfortable and at the same time, nervous. She was about to open her mouth to threaten them about calling for help when a familiar voice suddenly caught their attention.

"Can't you see that she doesn't like having your rotten arm around her?"