Chapter 281.1: Haunted Building (17)

  Luo Haodong stopped in his tracks as he looked at the young man before him.

Though the boy’s shirt was dirty, he didn’t appear disheveled. His beautiful eyes, moistened by tears of fear, looked even more striking.

Because of his fear, he pressed his slender, fragile body stiffly against the wall, giving off a sense of vulnerability as if he could easily be mistreated.

In that instant, Luo Haodong understood why a hostage like him would be treated so well.

Because this person was beautiful enough to evoke pity—and to tempt others into wrongdoing.

Even someone with the best intentions might find dark thoughts surfacing upon seeing him.

Even someone like Luo Haodong, who normally wasn’t drawn to beauty, found himself feeling a strange sensation toward this young man, as though he had suddenly been bewitched.

He was certain that he hadn’t felt anything unusual when he first saw the boy.

After all, kidnapping someone required investigating their routines and habits. Luo Haodong had tailed this young master for three days straight, studying him the whole time.

During that period, he felt no unusual emotions and had shown no signs of softening toward him.

Now, Luo Haodong silently observed the person before him, suddenly detecting a faint scent of orchids.

It was a fragrance that even the smell of blood couldn’t overpower.

He leaned in slightly, sniffing carefully, and the cool, delicate orchid scent grew even stronger—so strong it felt almost cloying, intensifying the dark impulse within him.

This person seemed… not to be Ren Yanqing’s son.

Could he have kidnapped the wrong person?

No, he was certain he had taken the young master. Could it be that Ren Yanqing had swapped the boy out during his absence?

Wanting to get a clearer whiff of the scent, Luo Haodong leaned in so close that his head was practically beside Ruan Qing’s slender neck.

From a distance, it looked as if a man was pressing a young man against the wall, leaning down to do something unspeakable.

The livestream audience, who had been speculating about the man’s identity, immediately lost their composure upon seeing this.

[Bro!? What’s going on here?! Are you that close with my wife? You just go straight for it? Hey! Let go of my wife! Or you’re gonna have to answer to me!]

[Seriously, people! Do these kidnappers not have wives of their own? Is that why they’re all after other people’s?] 

[And where are the other lackeys? Can’t they see my wife is being bullied? Where the hell did they go!?]

The man was so close that Ruan Qing could feel his breath. Ruan Qing didn’t dare to move a muscle; even as the man leaned in closer, he stayed rigid, pressing against the wall, frozen in fear.

A man capable of driving a dull iron rod into the wall could just as easily snap his neck. This man before him was nothing short of a monster.

And now, this monster of a man was sniffing him, as if he were assessing whether his prey would make a good meal.

Once Ruan Qing realized this, his face turned pale, almost drained of blood. He pressed his lips tightly together, his delicate, beautiful eyes brimming with unease and fear.

Luo Haodong frowned as he looked at the person in front of him. The next moment, he reached out and grabbed Ruan Qing’s delicate, jade-like chin, tilting his head up to scrutinize him carefully, trying to determine exactly who he was.

If this person wasn’t really Ren Yanqing’s son, then their entire plan would fail.

Yet no matter how hard Luo Haodong looked, the young man’s appearance was identical to Ren Yanqing’s son. He also looked exactly like the young master he’d been tailing for three days.

But appearances could be disguised.

Luo Haodong’s brow furrowed even deeper, and he ran his fingers along the edge of Ruan Qing’s cheek, trying to see if there was any sign of a disguise.

After a long time, he couldn’t find a single flaw. This person truly seemed to be that young master.

When the man reached out, Ruan Qing instinctively wanted to back away, but his back was already pressed against the basement wall—there was no escape.

The man’s hands were cold, unnaturally so, far from the warmth of a normal human being. Ruan Qing’s eyes filled with even deeper fear, yet he could only stand stiffly, allowing the man to examine him.

Luo Haodong’s hands were rough, and he didn’t hold back on pressure, making Ruan Qing’s eyes well up in pain.

But he didn’t say a word or dare to struggle. He merely clenched his pale, slender fingers tightly, enduring it all.

Luo Haodong was about to examine him further, but he paused when he saw the tears gathering at the corners of Ruan Qing’s eyes. Almost unconsciously, he reached out and brushed his thumb over the tear mole near Ruan Qing’s eye.

The tear mole, set against the reddened corner of his eye, shimmered in a way that was both alluring and irresistibly tempting, prompting Luo Haodong to press a little harder.

The tear mole was a sensitive spot, and coupled with Ruan Qing’s naturally delicate and pain-sensitive constitution, he couldn’t hold back any longer. His tears spilled like a string of broken pearls, trickling down his cheeks and landing on Luo Haodong’s hand.

The warm, cool sensation of the tears on his hand felt like feathers brushing against his heart, stirring up a flood of dark thoughts.

The young man’s features were already so beautiful, like a fallen celestial being from a painting, refined to perfection. His tearful expression, as if he’d been wronged beyond measure, made one want to comfort him.

Luo Haodong couldn’t help but feel a spark of desire he’d never experienced before.

Luo Haodong was tall, nearly a full head taller than Ruan Qing. He looked down at the person in front of him, his deep, obscure gaze fixed, and said, “Stop crying.”

Ruan Qing wasn’t crying out of sadness; the tears were simply a reflex from the pain he felt—something he couldn't easily control. So, his tears continued to fall uncontrollably.

The tears dampened Ruan Qing’s eyes, streaked down his delicate cheeks, and even moistened Luo Haodong’s fingers.

Luo Haodong looked down at his hand, his gaze darkening further. He lifted Ruan Qing’s chin again, this time with an undeniable forcefulness.

Ruan Qing, weaker than Luo Haodong, didn’t even have the strength to resist and was forced to look up at the man before him, his teary, fear-filled eyes reflecting pure terror.

“Can’t you understand what I’m saying?” Luo Haodong’s deep voice had a hoarse edge to it, as if suppressing some unknown emotion.

“I told you to stop crying.”

For someone who’s experienced certain things, they might guess what was going on just from this scene alone.

But Ruan Qing was simply too scared. Luo Haodong’s expression looked harsh, and Ruan Qing’s eyes widened in fright.

With a frightened, tight-lipped expression, Ruan Qing’s thin, frail body trembled slightly. Despite his fear, he dared not disobey the man, trying hard to hold back his tears.

Yet, whether due to the physiological nature of the tears or sheer terror, Ruan Qing could only barely stop his tears from falling, though they lingered on the verge of spilling over.

He looked utterly pitiful, emanating an aura of helplessness, like someone bullied into holding back their sobs.

He was obedient in a way that invoked both pity and heartache.

Seeing Ruan Qing obediently trying to hold back his tears, Luo Haodong was momentarily stunned, unsure of his own feelings.

It was as though a single drop had entered the still surface of a lake, not causing much disturbance, but sending gentle ripples spreading out in every direction.

One ring after another, endlessly.

This was an emotion Luo Haodong had never felt before, so foreign that it nearly made him lose control of himself.

Snapping back to reality, Luo Haodong recoiled as if his hand had been burned, immediately releasing Ruan Qing and instinctively taking two steps back.

Since they were in a corner, Luo Haodong’s retreat left a clear path. 

However, Ruan Qing didn’t dare run toward the door anymore, because he knew there was no way he could be faster than this man in front of him.

He glanced sideways at the iron rod embedded in the wall. If he really tried to escape again, that rod might very well end up embedded in his own body.

Luo Haodong wasn’t at all worried about the person in front of him trying to run. Still, he felt something strange about the situation.

He was definitely not the type to be captivated by beauty, nor someone who falls in love at first sight.

In fact, he wasn’t even someone who was interested in other men.

For a straight man to feel attracted to another man within minutes—something about that just didn’t make sense.

…Could this person have been sent by Ren Yanqing specifically to mess with their minds?

After a moment’s thought, Luo Haodong took a few steps back, pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and casually lit one, taking a deep drag.

As the smoke passed through his throat, Luo Haodong instantly felt much calmer, his mind clearer.

But that calm didn’t last long. Just as he exhaled the smoke and took a second drag, he heard a faint cough nearby.

He turned his head to see the boy, who had caught a whiff of the smoke and was coughing softly. Almost instinctively, his hand moved faster than his mind, and he stubbed out the cigarette. He didn’t even realize what he was doing until the cigarette was already out.

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