Transformed into a heartthrob's simp, every day is a battleground.

Chapter 373 Escape

"Let's see if we can get out," Yan Xun said.

According to the Gao family's rules, they must obtain Master Gao's permission to go out.

Gao Wen was about to nod after hearing Yan Xun's words, but the next second he looked dejected.

"I think it's a bit difficult." Gao Wen winked at Yan Xun, signaling him to look at the tightly closed door. "There are two people watching me over there."

He was referring to the maid who had previously stayed by his side at all times.

Yan Xun then remembered that because Gao Wen had a history of "running away," his maids were keeping a close eye on him. Even during their last conversation, they stayed by his side and refused to leave. Thinking of this, he glanced at Gao Wen a few more times and asked, "How did you convince them?"

When Gawain came in, the two maids were not with him.

Gao Wen looked grief-stricken and indignant. "I said if they continue to follow me, I will hang myself."

Yan Xun: "?"

He looked Gawain up and down. "They compromised?"

“No.” Gao Wen was even more indignant. “They said they could lend me a hand if I needed anything.”

Yan Xun asked curiously, "So how did you convince them?"

Gao Wen glanced at Li Wu sitting to the side, and finally said in a desperate move, "If you two come any closer, I'll cut my face with scissors!"

"Gao Ruiyun only kidnapped me because he was attracted to my good looks," Gao Wen said with his eyes closed. "If I were disfigured, he would be the first to be unhappy!"

Yan Xun: "…………"

Li Wu: "…………"

Having said that, Gao Wen felt he had nothing left to hide, and he even shared his experience with Yan Xun, saying, "I think Lou Yanchuan is right too."

"We should be more immersive."

As he spoke, he moved closer to Yan Xun, saying, "Go ask him for leave, and he'll definitely let us out."

Yan Xun blocked Gao Wen's face from getting closer with one hand, "Are you out of your mind?"

"I wasn't planning to ask him for leave."

"...Huh?" Gao Wen was completely confused. "How are we supposed to get out without asking him for leave?"

“It’s precisely because we can’t go out that we want to try,” Yan Xun said. “Look at what they’re saying. Without a note from Master Gao, we can’t leave the Gao family home at will. Which side is preventing us from leaving?”

Gao Wen nodded, then asked, "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, Yan Xun is going to see if it's the gatekeeper who's preventing us from leaving, or if the Gao family has its own rules that prevent us from leaving at will," Li Wu couldn't help but interject. "I think it's the latter."

Yan Xun nodded, indicating that this was exactly what he meant.

Gao Wen looked left at Yan Xun, then right at Li Wu, thinking to himself—

How come you two seem to be on the same wavelength, while I've become the outsider?

“There’s one more thing,” Yan Xun said to Li Wu. “I estimate that when we’re about to climb over the wall and leave, the system will issue a task for you to report this matter to Master Gao.”

"You can try it yourselves and see the results of reporting and not reporting."

After giving Li Wu a final instruction, Yan Xun prepared to leave with Gao Wen.

Looking at Gao Wen, Li Wu couldn't help but ask Yan Xun, "Can't we find someone else?"

He felt that Gao Wen was really unreliable.

“No need, he’s perfect,” Yan Xun said.

He pointed at Gao Wen, "He's always been thinking about escaping."

"And I was just sold to the Gao family by my uncle, so I didn't know anything about the Gao family. It makes perfect sense that he persuaded me to secretly go outside and take a look."

Given his level of "favoritism" with Master Gao, it was somewhat illogical for him to choose to climb over the wall instead of asking Master Gao for permission to go out.

It would only make sense if he were taken along by Gao Wen, a habitual escapee.

Li Wu thought about it and agreed that Yan Xun's words made some sense. "Then be careful," he instructed.

After saying that, he seemed to realize there was another living person present, and nodded to Gawain, "You too."

……

As soon as Yan Xun and Gao Wen stepped out, the other party's two maids immediately followed.

"Ahem," Gao Wen coughed, "Don't forget what I said yesterday!"

The two exchanged a glance. "Yes."

"I'm having a private talk with Seventh Concubine, so please don't follow us," Gao Wen instructed.

Yan Xun also expressed the same sentiment to his maid.

Xiao Hong and Xiao Lü glanced at Gao Wen, then at Yan Xun, and finally could only nod, "Yes."

Only after the two had walked some distance and left the maids behind did Yan Xun ask Gao Wen, "Why did you fail to escape before?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Wen's expression also became somewhat strange. "To be honest, I don't know."

"You didn't know?" Yan Xun thought for a moment and understood his implication. "This information wasn't in your storyline?"

But everyone else in the instance knew about this, so why was Gao Wen the only one unaware of the details?

“I asked them about it yesterday as well.” The “they” Gawain was referring to were naturally his maids.

"Are you accusing me of something wrong?"

“I have no recollection of running away.” Gawain recalled his conversation with the two maids.

"They said it was normal for the lady not to remember."

Yan Xun glanced at Gao Wen a few more times after hearing this, "Is this normal?"

“That’s the strange thing,” Gawain said, stroking his chin. “They said they came to my room as usual that night, only to find that I wasn’t there at all.”

"So he immediately reported it to the steward of the mansion."

"That old man?" Yan Xun was referring to the old man who had taken him to Gao Ruiyun's courtyard.

“Yes.” Gao Wen nodded. “However, he did not report it to Gao Ruiyun immediately.”

"I didn't expect the old man to be such a kind person," Gao Wen remarked.

“No.” Yan Xun looked at Gao Wen with a pitying gaze. “I guess he didn’t report it to Gao Ruiyun, firstly because he knew that Gao Ruiyun had finally fallen asleep, and it was unnecessary to bother him with such a trivial matter.”

"Secondly, we know you can't escape the Gao family."

As for whether the two maids knew... Yan Xun really didn't know.

Gao Wen: "...How could this old man be so wicked!"

"Anyway, according to them, after they reported it to the old man, he said he would come and handle it and told them to go back first."

"They kept this on their minds, so they didn't dare to close their eyes. Unexpectedly, before dawn the next day, they suddenly heard a noise outside the door." Gao Wen said as if he were telling someone else's story. "When they opened the door, they found me lying unconscious outside the door."

"When I woke up, no matter who asked me what I had done, I said I had no idea."

"She said she was sleeping soundly in bed and didn't understand why they would accuse her of running away."

“They said that everyone in the mansion said that I pretended to have amnesia because I was afraid of being punished by Master Gao.” Gao Wen frowned as he spoke. “But I really don’t remember anything.”

“I have absolutely no memory of that,” Gao Wen said.

"But I don't know, I really have amnesia."

"It's because this memory involves the secrets of the instance, so it can't be seen by me, the player."