Although it wasn't completely dark outside, the basement was so gloomy that it was almost pitch black, to the point where you could barely see your hand in front of you.
Moreover, there were no workers around at all.
Zhou Jinchen, emanating coldness and hostility, kicked open the basement door and slowly walked inside.
Before he could even take in the scene of the basement, someone suddenly threw themselves into his arms.
The suddenness of it caught Zhou Jinchen off guard, causing his steps to falter. He almost instinctively shoved the person away from his embrace.
After the basement door was opened, Ruan Qing threw himself into Zhou Jinchen’s arms, clinging tightly to him. His voice carried a hint of unease and fear, “Daddy, don’t leave me here alone.”
“It’s so dark in here. I’m really scared.”
The soft sensation of the person in his arms made Zhou Jinchen, who had been exuding coldness, freeze instantly.
For a moment, he didn’t even know what to do with his hands, which stiffly hung at his sides, as the boy hugged his waist.
It was an unusually intimate position.
If the person in his arms were truly a child, it would naturally be seen as genuine fatherly affection, and no one would think anything of it.
But the problem was, the person in his arms wasn’t a child—he was a 22-year-old adult man.
When Zhou Jinchen had investigated the boy’s background, he had learned most details about him, including the fact that the boy was already 22 years old. It was only due to illness that he appeared to be sixteen or seventeen.
Moreover, Zhou Jinchen wasn’t his father, nor was he much older than this young master. In fact, he hadn’t even met this young master until today.
Given such circumstances, this posture seemed unusually suggestive and intimate, almost like lovers reunited after a long time apart.
However, the boy seemed to genuinely fear the dark. Even with a flashlight, he was still terrified, his slender body trembling slightly.
His voice also trembled with a hint of sobbing, making him seem especially pitiful.
Additionally, the boy’s body was soft, exuding a faint, pleasant fragrance of orchids—delicate and barely noticeable, yet captivating.
In contrast, Zhou Jinchen, who had been working on construction sites, was used to unpleasant smells—cement, paint, and formaldehyde.
The stench was overwhelming.
Even wearing perfume couldn’t cover up the odors of the construction site; the mixture often made it worse.
But the boy's scent was different. It was so faint that it could easily be missed if not noticed, yet it wasn’t overpowered by the pungent smells of the basement.
The scent was like a delicate orchid blooming in a secluded valley under the moonlight, capable of washing away all filth and sin, and overpowering any pungent odors.
It smelled wonderful.
So wonderful that it instantly quelled Zhou Jinchen's anger, so wonderful that he immediately forgot why he had come in the first place.
It took Zhou Jinchen several seconds to react. Stiffly, he pushed the person out of his arms, as if he'd suddenly lost the ability to speak. He repeated what he had said before, but his tone was a bit rigid.
"Stand properly. What does it look like, pulling and tugging like this?"
Ruan Qing bit his lip in grievance and, in the end, lowered his head without saying a word. His slender figure looked especially helpless and pitiful.
In fact, Ruan Qing wasn't particularly short—he was about 1.75 meters tall—but among the others, who were all over 1.8 meters, he seemed somewhat delicate.
Delicately fragile, stirring feelings of pity.
However, his way of biting his lip in grievance didn't evoke pity in others; instead, it carried a trace of allure.
It was as if he was enticing someone to do something even more outrageous to him.
Sometimes, being obedient didn't bring gentle treatment; it only provoked a desire to torment.
And the boy was just such a person.
From head to toe, he exuded an innocent and harmless aura, which only made people want to bully him even more, to stain his white shirt completely.
To ruin him along with it.
Zhou Jinchen's gaze lingered on Ruan Qing's slightly pursed lips for a few seconds before he forcefully averted his eyes and looked at Duan Ming, who was standing beside him.
Not only did Zhou Jinchen look at Duan Ming, but the others also turned their gaze toward him.
Duan Ming was confused for a few seconds under their stares before he remembered the harsh words he had said on the phone to Ren Yanqing earlier.
—— "If I don’t see the money in half an hour, Boss Ren, you'll be receiving one of your son's hands."
Although they all shared the same dormitory, each of them typically acted alone, and there was little trust between them. If anyone secretly contacted Ren Yanqing, it would surely lead to some bad consequences. So every time they communicated, it was done openly in front of everyone.
Duan Ming had made that phone call in front of the others, without lowering his voice, so it was perfectly normal for them to have heard what he said.
And since Ren Yanqing didn’t believe his son had been kidnapped, cutting off his son's hand and sending it to him would surely make him believe.
That would also achieve their goal of threatening him.
However...
Duan Ming fell silent as he looked at the innocent and pitiful expression of the person in front of him.
Forget about chopping off his hand, even leaving him alone in the basement for a few minutes almost made him cry out of fear.
He couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to actually cut off his hand.
Duan Ming's gaze unconsciously fell on the boy's hands.
The boy's entire body was exquisitely beautiful, and his hands were no exception—perfect and flawless, like a work of art.
God's favor was vividly reflected in this boy.
He was nothing short of a divine favorite.
Ruan Qing, confused by Duan Ming’s stare, looked down at his own hands, but couldn’t see anything wrong with them.
Still, Duan Ming’s gaze seemed to scare him. Feeling uneasy, he nervously hid his hands behind his back.
He also hid behind Zhou Jinchen, revealing only a small part of his head as he cautiously watched Duan Ming.
The look he gave Duan Ming was full of wariness, as if he were staring at a strange uncle who might kidnap him.
Seeing this, Duan Ming grew even quieter, and eventually stood motionless in place, as if he hadn’t noticed the looks he was receiving.
He showed no intention of making a move.
The others also fell silent, none of them taking any action either.
Even Zhou Jinchen, who had the worst temper, remained still.
Before kidnapping this person, none of them had expected they would feel this soft-hearted.
Especially towards Ren Yanqing’s son.
But the boy was just too obedient, so much so that they couldn’t bring themselves to hurt him.
Still, if they didn’t do something to threaten Ren Yanqing, it would be impossible to get the money they needed from him.
That money was crucial to them.
If they hadn’t reached a dead end, they wouldn’t have risked kidnapping this young master.
