Ruan Qing’s tear-filled eyes were full of fear. In the end, he didn’t dare spit the medicine out, letting the bitter taste dissolve in his mouth.
Duan Ming immediately handed over a glass of warm water. This time, Ruan Qing obediently took the water and swallowed the pill with it.
Since Ruan Qing had struggled for so long, the medicinal liquid on the side had gone cold. Under Zhou Jinchen’s icy gaze, Ruan Qing obediently drank the liquid medicine as well.
The group collectively breathed a small sigh of relief. Getting this little young master to take his medicine was more exhausting than being slashed with a knife a few times themselves.
They couldn’t help but find it odd. The boy was so afraid of bitterness and so delicate. How did he manage to take medicine obediently when he was at home?
Surely they didn’t force-feed him every single time, did they?
Xu He couldn’t help but grow curious about the boy’s past life. He suddenly really wanted to know what Ruan Qing had been like before.
No one here knew the former Ren Qing, nor was there any information about this young master. The only thing they had was the young master’s notebook.
It seemed to be a notebook the young master used to record important matters.
Xu He vaguely remembered that they had thrown the notebook… into a trash can not far away?
Xu He concealed his emotions and left the group under the pretense of an excuse while they were discussing the plan to kidnap the male high school student. He headed straight for the trash can from his memory.
There was a lot of garbage at the construction site, most of which was discarded materials that wouldn’t decompose even if left there for a long time. As such, the trash wasn’t taken out daily.
Xu He recalled that it wasn’t time for the trash to be cleared in the past two days, so the notebook should still be there.
However, Xu He couldn’t find the notebook. The trash from a few days ago was still there in the trash can, but the notebook was missing.
The only explanation was that someone had picked it up.
Xu He stood silently in front of the trash can for a few seconds with an inscrutable expression, then eventually turned and left.
***
Whether it was due to the bitter medicine or the pain caused by Zhou Jinchen, Ruan Qing was in an extremely low mood, looking utterly pitiful.
After taking the medicine, he pulled the blanket over himself and lay on the bed facing the wall, unwilling to talk to anyone.
He wouldn’t respond to anyone who spoke to him.
Even when the group finished discussing their plan and returned, he still remained in this state.
The group stared at the little lump under the blanket, momentarily at a loss for what to do.
They had no experience comforting anyone. The only time they’d tried was when the boy was taking the medicine earlier, and it had completely failed.
Xu He sat down by the bed and spoke gently to Ruan Qing, “Still angry?”
There was no response from the person on the bed, as if he had already fallen asleep.
But the group knew he wasn’t asleep because his breathing didn’t sound like someone who was asleep.
Xu He continued speaking softly, “It was our fault earlier. Please don’t be mad, okay?”
While comforting him, Xu He didn’t promise there wouldn’t be a next time. He extended his hand toward Ruan Qing, “I know the medicine was bitter. Look, what do I have here?”
Ruan Qing paused for a moment and turned to glance at the item in Xu He’s outstretched hand.
Xu He held a piece of candy in his hand.
Seeing Ruan Qing looking over, Xu He immediately and gently placed the candy into Ruan Qing's hand and coaxed softly, as if speaking to a child, "Eat it, and it won't taste bitter anymore."
Ruan Qing looked at the candy in his hand, pouted aggrievedly, then sat up and directly stuffed the candy back into Xu He's hand. Raising his chin arrogantly, like giving an order to a servant, he demanded, "Peel it for me."
Xu He wasn’t angry. He immediately unwrapped the candy and gently brought it to Ruan Qing's lips.
Ruan Qing took the candy into his mouth, and the bitter and nauseating taste in his mouth faded significantly. The frown on his face instantly softened.
Xu He, who had initially been coaxing him, froze in place, his hand stiff in mid-air, unable to recover for a long while.
His mind was entirely consumed by the image of the boy obediently taking the candy.
The boy’s pale pink lips parted slightly, revealing white teeth. Through the gap, a glimpse of his pink tongue could be seen as he gently took the candy.
To top it off, the boy had stretched out his tongue to pull the candy into his mouth, giving off an unexpectedly seductive allure.
Moreover, because Xu He had been holding the candy, the boy accidentally brushed his fingers with his lips as he bit down.
Xu He lowered his gaze to his fingers, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.
So soft...
Awkwardly, Xu He withdrew his hand and sat stiffly on the edge of the bed, no longer speaking or continuing to comfort him.
Fortunately, after eating the candy, the person in bed wasn’t as upset as before.
Though he was still a bit too pampered.
On the other side, Zhou Jinchen took a deep breath as he looked at the boy, who had suddenly decided that the color of the walls was unbearable, and stood up abruptly.
Duan Ming noticed and quickly stood as well, subtly blocking Zhou Jinchen’s way. Clearing his throat and averting his gaze, Duan Ming tried to make an excuse for Ruan Qing. "Actually, I also think the wall color is a bit unsightly."
Xu He nodded in agreement without hesitation, his face full of approval. "It does look pretty bad. It's so dark."
Zhou Jinchen: "..." Madness.
These two must be out of their minds.
It’s just an unfinished basement wall. How good could it possibly look? Even with some light, it would still appear dark and indeed, quite unappealing.
The problem was, why would they even pay attention to a hostage's demands!?
Xu He ignored Zhou Jinchen’s look that seemed to say he was being ridiculous. After thinking for a moment, he smiled at Ruan Qing. “I have some stickers with me. I’ll give you one later. It’ll look much better then.”
In reality, Xu He didn’t have any stickers. However, this construction site was part of a bustling district. Right outside the worksite was a mall, and stickers weren’t hard to come by.
Conveniently, the mall was on the way to where they planned to carry out the kidnapping.
The time for the kidnapping soon arrived. Although Xu He wanted to stay with Ruan Qing, it was clearly unrealistic.
This kidnapping was extremely risky and could very well lead to danger. He had to go and help.
Workers entering and leaving the site had to register, but the registration was not done individually; rather, it was done by worker teams.
Every afternoon, there would be a shift handover among worker teams. The group mingled with one of these teams during the shift change and left the construction site.
As Zhou Jinchen walked, he gradually slowed his pace and turned to look in the direction of the construction site’s basement.
After a few seconds of silence, he took out his phone and sent a text message.
This time, Ren Yanqing was undoubtedly prepared. Attempting the kidnapping would certainly be incredibly dangerous. Even with all of them working together, success was not guaranteed.
If something were to happen to them, no one would be there to open the door for that young master.
After receiving confirmation from the other side, Zhou Jinchen slipped his phone back into his pocket. Finally, he disappeared into the crowd with the other four.
Not long after the five of them left the construction site, a shadowy figure quietly approached the basement.
