The orphanage had few children and even fewer staff. In the garden, which was a bit farther away, weeds grew rampant, some reaching half a person's height.

They were drawn in by a single, harrowing bark.

Jiang Ya Zhu had previously been chased down three blocks by Bo Rong Xuan's dog, leaving her with some psychological fear. But the scream she just let out was so terrifying, it must be that she's in danger. After a few seconds of internal struggle, she decided to come and see what happened.

Fearing too much noise would scare the dog away, adding insult to injury, the two of them moved very lightly with each step, not daring to make a sound.

Then they saw a sight that shocked them to the core. It was a puppy, only about a month old, that had been tortured to death, its body covered in blood.

The dog’s head was wrapped in layer after layer of plastic wrap. A hole had been torn in its mouth, so they heard a scream—just one scream—and then it died.

And that person crouching beside the dog, covered in blood, with a look of pure enjoyment, was their soon-to-be adopted child — Ji Siyuan.

The two of them left without disturbing him, just as quietly as they had come. Not until they were far away did Jiang Yazhu lower her hand from her mouth and her body trembled uncontrollably.

I was both frightened and angered by what just happened.

How could such a young child do something so heartless and cruel?

Although she doesn't eat dog meat, she doesn't object to others doing so. It's their freedom. She also doesn't object to people being afraid of or even disgusted by dogs, but she absolutely can't accept cruelty inflicted for the purpose of killing.

This is not killing, it's psychological perversion.

The two immediately decided to put the adoption on hold, but it was the son of an old friend. It would be too much for them to just leave him at the orphanage. They had checked out the conditions while looking for Ji Siyuan earlier, and "terrible" was a compliment. So they sent him to a property under their name and had a nanny take care of him, observing him for a while as well. Perhaps that incident was just an accident.

It has proven that some people are born bad.

Jiang Yazi didn't want to be a bodhisattva shining with holy light, nor did she want to use her own kindness to influence his mind. She had Jing Zhou at home, and couldn't take risks.

She didn't want to keep such a time bomb around, so she simply sent the person abroad, out of sight, out of mind.

Shen Wanci didn't expect that this would be the reason she gave up on adoption, but letting someone who takes pleasure in killing live in her home was indeed frightening. He was weak now and could only get satisfaction from torturing animals weaker than himself. What if he got stronger? Would the whimpers of small animals no longer bring him pleasure? Would he turn to humans instead?

Bo Rongxuan frowned deeply, his face full of worry: "If the people around him are really Ji Siyuan, then his situation must be very dangerous."

She was worried he was getting too worked up, his blood pressure rising. She quickly soothed him: "Dad, it's alright, you have to believe him. That scoundrel Ji Siyuan will definitely be led around by his nose."

When it comes to acting, Bo Jingzhou is definitely an emperor-level actor. They've known each other for so many years, married for three years, and she still hasn't figured out that he likes her.

Look at this acting, he deserves an award.

Bo Rongxuan didn't know Shen Wanci's inner thoughts. He only thought she was comforting him, and he forced a smile and nodded: "Yes, I naturally trust him. Don't tell your mother about this first, I'm afraid she can't help but..."

Jingzhou didn't return to the Bo family, but instead stayed at the Lu family as Lu Yanchi, there must be his reasons. They couldn't help him and shouldn't drag him down.

For the Nánxīng project, both Chén Yè and Yùchéng have invested. The funding can be paused for now, and we'll reassess it later.

If it were before, as long as it was a project by the Bo family, financing wouldn't be an issue at all. But recently, with Bo Jingzhou disappearing and the Bo family being suppressed by the Lu family, they lost several projects in a row. Those people began to watch from the sidelines, and as a result, this project has been underway for over half a month, and they haven't even secured the first round of funding yet.Shen Wanci: "Okay."

Bo Jingzhou also received a call at this moment, knowing that Gu Chenye and Nie Yucheng had invested in the 'Nanxing' project. He was slightly relieved. With this project, Bo Shi would at least not face any major difficulties in the short term.

Moreover, when the outside world sees both the Gu family and the Nie family investing in the Bo family, they will also have considerations. In the future, when they need to raise funds again, it will be much easier.

The door to the office suddenly swung open, and Ji Siyuan's figure strode in along with Wang Assistant's frantic voice, "Young Master Ji, you should have at least let me report first! I didn't guard the door well, Mr. Lu is going to deduct my salary."

"Bo Jingzhou waved him out first, then turned his gaze to Ji Siyuan, whose face was clearly unhappy. "What's wrong with you?"

Ji Siyuan's emotions were a little agitated, with an undercurrent of losing control: "Brother, didn't you say you wouldn't give Bao any chance to launch new projects? But now he's not only launched one, but it's also a big project. How long will it take us to achieve our goal of bringing down the Bao family?"

Bo Jingzhou pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes and explained: "Gu Chenye and Nie Yucheng are both friends of Bo Jingzhou. It's within expectation that they would help when the Bo family was in trouble. I can intercept other collaborations, but this one, I can't."

If this had happened before, Ji Siyuan would have definitely said it didn't matter. But once that seed of doubt took root in his heart, it would only grow stronger.

His hand reached into his pocket, where he kept the new medicine he had just gotten from Dr. Wu. It was more effective than before, but the side effects were also more severe.

If it wasn't absolutely necessary, he still wanted a brother who could think and talk to him, rather than a fool who didn't know anything. "Brother, is it that you can't, or just don't want to?" He bent down and met Bo Jingzhou's gaze, his eyes deep like a whirlpool: "You said you weren't interested in Sister Shen, but you went to her apartment twice, staying longer each time. Next time, will you be staying overnight directly?"

Bo Jingzhou's face was calm. "I forgot to tell you, Gu Chenye also has property there. Both times I went looking for him to discuss a business deal."

"And then?"

"As you can see, the talks fell apart. His friendship with Bo Jingzhou isn't easily severed."

Ji Siyuan looked at him intently, while Bo Jingzhou also met his gaze with a calm expression, his eyebrows and eyes betraying no sign of nervousness.

After a tense silence of five minutes, Ji Siyuan suddenly smiled and softened his voice. "Brother, since you have no interest in Sister Shen, just give her to me. That way, I'll believe you."

He looked at Bo Jingzhou, his eyes reflecting his shadow. He said word by word: "Now, you give her a call and ask her out for coffee, formally introduce me to her."

(Editor in charge：wicked novel)