Ruan Jiaojiao looked at the child’s worried expression, paused for a brief moment, then beamed. She reached out and playfully flicked An'an’s nose. "Instead of worrying about that," she said, "you’d be better off thinking about this: I only managed to knock out those servants for a short while. It doesn’t mean your father doesn't have other eyes and ears around here. If we keep hesitating, we won’t make it out of this gate at all."
Before An'an could even process her words, Ruan Jiaojiao grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the exit.
She dragged An'an along, sprinting the whole way. Her heart hammered like thunder, and the wind whistled in her ears. The oppression of being locked away for days transformed in that instant into the wild, ecstatic joy of newfound freedom. She hadn't realized she could be this happy; as she thought about what they were going to do next, her cheeks flushed with excitement and her eyes glittered with a brilliant, shimmering light—the longing and anticipation of liberty.
Chapter 64