After the door closed, the room became extremely dark. A faint light wasn’t enough to clearly see what was in front of him.
Xia Xunqian’s hands and feet were tied, the rope digging into his wrists painfully.
At this moment, he was completely at someone else’s mercy. Being harmed was the lightest possible outcome.
Xia Xunqian struggled against the ropes, but all it did was make the redness on his wrists more obvious.
After an unknown amount of time, the door opened from outside.
“Creak…” The specially designed soundproof door made a dull noise.
Light from outside backlit the man, filling the room with a sudden, overwhelming pressure.
Xia Xunqian couldn’t see the man clearly.
The man walked closer, step by step. In the extreme darkness, his face was hard to focus on.
Xia Xunqian curled up on the leather sofa, instinctively shrinking back. Looking closely, the sweat on the boy’s neck was clear.
In his struggles, his pale neck was exposed.
A faint, moist scent hung in the air; everything felt damp.
Xia Xunqian could crawl into someone’s bed to survive, but his little pride made him feel that dying would be better.
He curled back, his body moving in a way that made his thin curves look faintly ambiguous.
Though frail, the little flesh he had was in all the right places.
But his face looked cold and detached; even when acting obedient, it was partly a disguise.
The man at the door got closer. Xia Xunqian shivered more and more.
When the man reached the sofa, Xia Xunqian saw his face in the dim light.
Feng Lin…
It was Feng Lin.
The “Mr. Feng” they had mentioned earlier was Feng Lin!
Seeing Xia Xunqian trembling, Feng Lin switched on the room light.
He looked Xia Xunqian over carefully, his eyes full of curiosity. His slight surprise was well hidden.
He hadn’t expected to meet Xia Xunqian here.
Today’s business belonged to his second brother. Feng Lin had been pulled into it, and he hadn’t realized his brother did business like this.
Money, benefits, rules—and beautiful people too.
The smell of smoke and alcohol wafted in as the door opened. Feng Lin’s gaze on Xia Xunqian was unusual.
Xia Xunqian’s breath was tense. Seeing Feng Lin, he didn’t see him as a savior, only as someone to hate.
The boy’s eyes were tinged pink, bloodshot, watery. He gritted his teeth, refusing Feng Lin’s help.
Feng Lin could reach here—how would he save him?
No one would save him.
Xia Xunqian struggled against the ropes, his eyes bitter and complex.
“Mr. Feng… here for fun?”
Feng Lin’s eyebrow twitched.
“Mr. Feng…”
Feng Lin had heard too many people flatteringly call him “Mr. Feng.” Xia Xunqian’s tone had none of that respect.
Instead, it was sharp, cutting.
Feng Lin’s gaze moved to Xia Xunqian’s narrow waist, so slim it could be held in one hand.
The boy’s desperate face was oddly pitiful.
A little crying kitten had grown teeth—more interesting than before.
Feng Lin stepped closer and half-squatted by the sofa.
Xia Xunqian froze in fear.
“Don’t touch me!”
Feng Lin frowned slightly.
“I have no interest in weaklings.”
Xia Xunqian froze, biting his lip, unsure how to feel.
Feng Lin untied the ropes on Xia Xunqian’s hands.
His movements were rough, but when he saw the red marks on Xia Xunqian’s wrists, he slowed down a bit.
He knew his second brother was a womanizer; it was easy to guess why Xia Xunqian ended up here.
If you can’t be at the absolute top, someone like Xia Xunqian becomes prey for rich families. Not unusual.
Feng Lin’s tone was calm, almost ascetic, with a dangerous resonance:
“I never come to places like this for fun.”
With that, he finished untying Xia Xunqian’s hands.
The sound of the ropes dropping was heavy, as was Feng Lin’s voice.
After freeing his hands, Xia Xunqian hurriedly untied his feet.
He looked at Feng Lin, fingertips tightly clenched.
“Mr. Feng… aren’t you here for fun?”
He tested boldly.
Seeing Xia Xunqian’s mood calm slightly, Feng Lin stood, looking down at him.
A few days ago, he heard Old Master Xia had died. He nearly forgot about it if he hadn’t met Xia Xunqian here now.
Favor and justice—businessmen like to show face.
But Xia Xunqian was truly someone who should be protected.
Feng Lin looked at Xia Xunqian, his obedient expression returning.
Feng Lin’s long black eyes narrowed.
“And if I were? Would you agree?”
Xia Xunqian’s fingers trembled slightly. He looked up and asked something Feng Lin didn’t expect:
“Has Mr. Feng been with anyone recently?”
Feng Lin: “And if I have?”
Xia Xunqian pressed his lips.
“I wouldn’t want it.”
Feng Lin: “And the opposite?”
Xia Xunqian timidly reached and grabbed Feng Lin’s expensive custom trousers.
“I would.”
In that moment, the room’s atmosphere became subtle, intense. One step forward, and it would ignite like wildfire.
Hearing such words from Xia Xunqian, still nearly naked, the image of his cold bones, soft waist, curled fingers, and bite marks lingered.
Feng Lin’s lips curled slightly, his eyes full of study.
“If I hadn’t come… what would you have done?”
Xia Xunqian’s expression was sharp, pupils like a deep mire.
“Maybe you’d see me in prison, Mr. Feng.”
Feng Lin paused.
“You even have the courage to kill?”
Xia Xunqian: “If Mr. Feng reaches a dead end, wouldn’t the methods be harsher?”
Feng Lin understood why Xia Xunqian agreed. Setting aside love, he had absolute influence in the entire capital.
Protecting someone was easy.
Xia Xunqian’s willingness just now was flattery.
He had nothing, only that face.
Feng Lin’s expression darkened.
“Let’s go. Home.”
“Mr. Feng will take care of you.”