It was likely that Ruan Qing's act of lowering his head infuriated Duan Ming. Duan Ming let out a cold laugh and violently yanked at the front of Ruan Qing's shirt again.
"Young master, it seems you’re still not quite clear about your situation."
Duan Ming harshly grabbed Ruan Qing's pale chin, forcing him to look up, his tone cruel and merciless. "You’d better pray your father delivers the money to us on time."
"Otherwise, I can’t guarantee you’ll leave here unharmed."
Duan Ming wasn’t exerting much force, but with the pain being amplified several times over, even a slight discomfort turned into an unbearable agony.
Ruan Qing’s delicate body trembled from the sharp pain, and more physiological tears welled up in his eyes. His beautiful gaze was completely glazed with tears.
Even his long eyelashes were dotted with teardrops, trembling uncontrollably from the pain.
It hurt so much.
Even more than being stabbed in the abdomen.
It was a kind of pain that was intolerable, jarring the nerves in his brain.
The illness of the original owner was worse than he had imagined—any small irritation could cause his brain to become engorged with blood.
In the case of overly narrow blood vessels, once the brain fills with blood, the pain would become excruciating, and in severe cases, it could even lead to death.
Ruan Qing's eyes narrowed slightly from the pain, his vision blurring due to the tears. His mind was nearly consumed by the agony, making it impossible to think.
Just as Duan Ming was about to continue with his harsh threats, he found his words stuck in his throat as he stared, dumbfounded, at the boy in front of him.
Because of how Duan Ming had lifted his chin, the boy’s hair had fallen slightly, revealing a stunningly delicate and beautiful face. His slightly reddened eyes were as exquisite as a painting, with a teardrop mole accentuating his watery eyes, making him appear dazzling.
His beauty was so striking that it seemed as if the entire dark basement had turned into a mere backdrop, as though he had stepped straight out of a painting.
Whether it was from fear or from pain, the boy’s eyes had a faint blush at the corners. His delicate face was pale, giving him a fragile look and an inexplicable air of vulnerability and pitifulness.
He was so breathtaking that Duan Ming couldn’t look away.
The boy looked nothing like Ren Yanqing—there wasn’t even a trace of resemblance.
He hadn’t inherited a single feature from Ren Yanqing.
Even his personality was completely different.
There was no arrogance, no haughtiness, not even the slightest hint of superiority or disdain.
The young boy looked more like a well-cared-for little lamb, innocent and harmless.
The other workers were not far outside, and noticing Duan Ming's sudden silence, they thought something had happened and immediately walked in.
The man walking at the front was wearing a gray work uniform typical of the construction site, yet it couldn't hide his striking handsomeness. On him, the gray uniform looked as sharp as a tailored suit.
The man was called Yan Lulin. He looked at Duan Ming with a serious expression and asked, "What's going on?"
It was only then that Duan Ming snapped back to his senses. Awkwardly, he loosened his grip on Ruan Qing. "Nothing," he replied.
As Duan Ming let go, Ruan Qing collapsed onto the ground again.
Earlier, Duan Ming's body had completely blocked Ruan Qing from view, but as soon as he let go, Ruan Qing was exposed to the sight of the others.
Upon seeing the young boy curled up on the ground, they froze slightly, even the worker who had been responsible for the kidnapping.
Though they were standing some distance from the boy at the doorway, they could still clearly see his face.
The boy was so exquisitely beautiful, as if meticulously crafted by the heavens. Because Duan Ming had just pinched his chin, a blush had spread across his face, like the finest rouge, adding a hint of allure and fragility to his beauty.
He was extraordinarily pretty.
Perhaps because of fear, the boy's beautiful eyes were misty, as if he was about to cry. His entire body was tense with unease, making him appear delicate and helpless.
But even so, the boy’s aura of purity and innocence remained intact.
He was like a white magnolia blooming under the moonlight, making everything else around him pale in comparison.
The boy seemed completely out of place in this dark world, as if he belonged to a different world from these people.
Yet, somehow, the two worlds seemed to have overlapped in this moment.
Overlapped to the point where they could easily decide the boy's future, could easily control his fate.
After all, the boy was so weak that they could humiliate him however they wanted, just as Ren Yanqing had done to them.
No, they could even go further than that.
The group slowly stepped forward, stopping a short distance away, looking down at the curled-up Ruan Qing with a sense of cruel dominance and pressure.
The worker standing on the far side was Zhou Jinchen. Among the group, he was the one who least looked like a worker. Despite working outdoors, the sun hadn't darkened his skin much; instead, he looked more like a university student out to experience life.
However, his gaze was fierce and sinister.
Zhou Jinchen grinned, revealing a malicious smile. "The young master certainly has a good appearance."
"If your father isn't willing to pay, it seems we can make that money off you."
Even an idiot could understand what Zhou Jinchen meant by this. If the original owner's father really didn't care about him, the original owner's fate would be far worse than death.
Ruan Qing had already recovered somewhat from the pain. Upon hearing Zhou Jinchen's words, he trembled and shrank back, his beautiful eyes full of fear and terror.
But with his hands and feet bound, there was nowhere he could retreat to. His slender body was completely overshadowed by the tall figures surrounding him.
Ruan Qing's delicate body quivered slightly, and his face was drained of all color.
He was clearly terrified.
Zhou Jinchen seemed to enjoy the look in Ruan Qing's eyes. He squatted down in front of Ruan Qing and gently brushed aside the stray hairs that had fallen over his forehead.
After brushing the hair away, Zhou Jinchen didn't withdraw his hand. Instead, he slid it down with a subtle sense of ambiguity, moving slowly from Ruan Qing's eyebrows down to his chin.
Then, he exerted a light force, lifting Ruan Qing's chin slightly.
Meeting Ruan Qing's frightened gaze, Zhou Jinchen smiled wickedly. "Don't worry, young master. With your looks, you'll earn the money back soon enough."
Ruan Qing's eyelashes fluttered anxiously. He pressed his lips tightly together and turned his pale face away.
Seeing this, a flicker of displeasure and coldness flashed in Zhou Jinchen's eyes. Just as he was about to reach out and force Ruan Qing's head back, Duan Ming shot him a warning glance.
Zhou Jinchen pursed his lips slightly and withdrew his hand.
As long as Ren Yanqing hadn't yet broken their agreement, this little young master was still useful to them.
It wouldn't be wise to act recklessly before they got the money.
There was still some time before the half-hour deadline, so the group left the dark basement.
It was already nearing evening, and time for dinner.
But none of them were in the mood to eat.
Still, having spent the whole day planning the kidnapping, they hadn’t eaten anything yet. They each reluctantly took a few bites of bread.
Duan Ming paused while chewing on his bread, then picked up an unopened loaf and headed towards the room where Ruan Qing was being held.
The others glanced over but said nothing.
At this moment, Ruan Qing was silently moving towards the glass, but was startled when he heard footsteps.
Instinctively, he turned his head towards the direction of the door.
It wasn’t his imagination; the footsteps were indeed getting closer.
Even closer and closer.
Ruan Qing’s heart sank sharply. His current position was completely different from before; as soon as the man entered, he would notice his intentions.
At that point, he would definitely anger this group of workers.
Moreover, it was too late to slowly move back now.
Ruan Qing glanced around. He was still a bit away from the glass, but the wall next to him was within arm's reach.
Without hesitation, Ruan Qing stepped on the wall, using all his strength to push off and roll back to the position he had been lying in.
He couldn’t care less now that this might dirty his shirt or that someone might notice something was wrong.
However, because his hands and feet were tied, Ruan Qing couldn’t control the angle or the force well, and he ended up rolling too far.
His knee even slammed into something nearby.
Ruan Qing wasn’t prepared for the impact. His eyes widened at the moment of collision, and a second later, a sharp pain shot through his knee.
The pain caused tears to well up in his eyes instantly, making him look pitiful.
But there was no time to focus on that now, as a wave of dizziness washed over his mind.
That was... the precursor to the original owner’s frequent memory loss.
Ruan Qing started to panic. He couldn’t afford to lose his memory now.
If he lost his memory now, he would be done for.
Ruan Qing bit down hard on his lower lip, his pale fingers clenching tightly, hoping that the pain would help him stay conscious.
However, despite the pressure turning his lips and fingers white, the dizziness in his head didn’t ease. In fact, he was losing consciousness.
A few seconds later, Ruan Qing’s eyes became unfocused, and the tight grip on his lip and fingers loosened weakly.
The noise from when Ruan Qing bumped into something wasn’t small, drawing the attention of those outside. They immediately put down their bread and rushed into the room.
Zhou Jincheng frowned, “What is it this time?”
As he spoke, Zhou Jincheng looked at the boy curled up on the floor, who was now in a completely different spot from where he had been earlier.
Zhou Jinchen burst into laughter, a cold and ruthless laugh. "Trying to run?"
After speaking, Zhou Jinchen took large strides toward Ruan Qing. Just as he was about to pull the boy up, the boy on the ground, with tearful eyes, innocently blinked at him and asked, "Who are you?"
Hearing this, Zhou Jinchen let out a mocking laugh, "I'm your dad."
The boy tilted his head, thought for a moment, then flashed a pure and innocent smile at the man, sweetly saying, "Daddy."
Everyone present: "???"
The boy tried to stand but failed, realizing he was tied up.
A look of confusion appeared on his delicate face. "Daddy, why am I tied up?"
"Did Qingqing do something wrong?"
"Daddy, could you untie Qingqing?" The boy raised his wrists slightly and said pitifully, his voice sounding extremely aggrieved. "It really hurts."
Everyone was stunned, seemingly unable to process what just happened.
The affectionate gaze the boy gave wasn’t fake; it was not the kind of look a kidnapped person would give to their captor.
What on earth was going on?
Everyone exchanged puzzled glances. Could it be that they had scared him senseless?
Zhou Jinchen also found it strange. The boy didn’t seem to be faking it—he genuinely appeared to believe he was his father.
Zhou Jinchen immediately stepped aside, took out his phone, and made a call to someone.
A few minutes later, Zhou Jinchen hung up. "I found out."
"This young master has a brain condition."
Everyone turned to Zhou Jinchen, looking somewhat confused, as if they didn’t understand why Zhou Jinchen suddenly insulted the boy.
Zhou Jinchen immediately realized the misunderstanding and clarified, "No, I mean he really has a brain condition. It seems like he has something called Moyamoya disease, and his memory can only last for three days at most."
This was the first time anyone had heard of such a strange illness. Duan Ming frowned, "Three days?"
"Yes," Zhou Jinchen nodded. "After three days, his memory resets to zero."
"Aside from basic life skills, he remembers nothing."
The group suddenly remembered the notebook that the young boy had with him when he was kidnapped, and they finally understood why he had such a detailed record in it.
Clearly, it was because he couldn't remember things on his own and had to rely on the notebook to keep track of everything.
The expressions of those present varied, but ultimately, they all turned their gaze towards the well-behaved young master sitting not far away.
The young master looked clean and innocent, and even though his white shirt had been stained with dirt, he still appeared as pure as a magnolia after the rain.
He was also like a little bunny unaware of the good and evil in the world.
Innocent and harmless.
If you even scolded him a little harshly, he might cry for half a day.
This is too bad for him but só funny at the same time
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