The one-eyed man didn't believe what Adie said at all. He gradually lost his patience and directly picked up Adie by his collar. "Kid, you better start telling the truth, or I'll hit you just like how I hit him!"
"L-Let him go!" William pressed himself onto his feet and tried to stop the one-eyed man. In the end, he was sent flying with a punch.
"Let me go, or you'll be in deep trouble!" Adie shouted angrily. He fought as hard as he could, refusing to get into the one-eyed man's car.
"Shut up, kiddo. You deserve a beating!" Just as the one-eyed man was about to slap Adie across the face, a car suddenly sped over and crashed into his car, sending it flying.
"Damn it! Who the hell…" The one-eyed man began cursing, but his knees went weak the moment he saw the car's registration. He directly went down on his knees and didn't even dare to make a sound.
Adie took the opportunity to set himself free. He slowly walked up to the heavy, off-road vehicle and looked directly at the driver's seat.
The window wasn't rolled down on the driver's side, but he could vaguely see a man in a black windbreaker. He wore a pair of black sunglasses and seemed like a cool guy.
Everyone went down on their knees and pressed their foreheads against the ground. It was as if they were looking at Satan, who controlled their fates.
Adie stood on his tiptoes and knocked on the window. He was frowning, and he seemed to be a little angry.
After a while, the car's window slowly wound down.
"Are you the boss of Carmine Pawnshop?" Adie asked.
The man smiled coldly. The sunglasses nearly covered half of his face, but they couldn't conceal the cold vibe he gave off.
"Are you Aiden Pierce?" The man asked calmly in a deep voice.
"That's right. I am indeed Aiden Pierce. You can call me Adie." Adie stood upright and continued talking. "You should speak to me after getting out of the car. This is basic courtesy."
The man couldn't resist raising his brows. "What if I refuse?"
"In that case, we can't be friends. I won't introduce you to my Mommy either. She said I shouldn't be friends with impolite people."
The man remained silent for a while. He actually opened the door and got out of the car.
Towering over six feet, with the black windbreaker on, he had a quietly mysterious and domineering aura.
The one-eyed man carefully looked up. He instantly felt intimidated by the man's imposing manner. "I'm sorry for trying to steal what belongs to you… Please forgive me, Mr. Q! Please!"
He now believed that what Adie said was true. Mr. Q really did specifically ask for Adie.
Nobody in Water Dock dared to offend Mr. Q, and everybody obeyed him. The one-eyed man was doomed this time!
Mr. Q ignored the one-eyed man and turned to look at Adie instead. He reached out to shake the kid's hand. "Can we be friends now?"
Adie stroked his chin and furrowed his brows as he seriously contemplated the matter for a while, looking just like a tiny grown-up.
When he was done thinking, he tiptoed and held out a hand for Mr. Q to shake, solemnly telling him, 'Since you're repentant of your mistakes, then we can be friends. A pleasure to meet you. Your guidance will be much appreciated."
The man's frozen lips arched up ever so slightly without him noticing it. He even bent down his body involuntarily so that he could get closer to the kid.
"Pleasure to meet you too," he replied in a deep voice. "Your guidance will be much appreciated as well."
Adie was outstandingly tall for a four-year-old boy, but standing in front of a man who was well over six feet tall still made him look tiny in comparison, as he was not even as tall as the man's long legs. Yet the sight of them together standing side by side made such a comical contrast that they looked inexplicably cute together.
Everyone around them, including William Jones, was dumbfounded. On one hand, they were amazed by the calmness and courage of Adie, a mere four-year-old kid. On the other hand, they were also astonished by the rare warmth and tender side shown by Mr. Q, who was generally feared by everyone.
So you really could not judge a book by its cover after all! Just as still water could hide unfathomable depths below its surface, their one meeting with the man himself completely eradicated the image of Mr. Q they had in mind after hearing countless rumors about him!
William nursed the sore spot where he got kicked as he was clouded in a dilemma. Was this his golden chance to save his own skin, or should he beg for Mr. Q's mercy so he would let the kid go?
Judging from what he saw, the tall and handsome man seemed to exude an excellent temperament. He looked much more sensible than the one- eyed man, so William thought he might not be a senseless psychopath who would not listen to any reasoning after all.
But before he could open his mouth, it was Adie who walked up to him and told him, "You've successfully brought me to Carmine Pawn Shop. You've completed your task, so you can go back and tell Mommy that I'm fine now. Tell her that I've made a new friend and I won't be seeing her for a while."
"Ki-Kid!" William was completely caught offguard. Bewildered, he replied," Do you have any idea what you're talking about?! This is an extremely dangerous place and this friend of yours is not a good person! We should instead be begging him so he'd let go of you, that way you'd be able to go home and meet up with your mother soon, so she won't get worried about you!"
"Don't worry," Adie assured him. "This isn't the first time I went missing. Mommy's pretty strong and calm about it now. Just tell her that I'll surely go home once I'm done playing with my new friend, okay? Bye bye!"
Adie waved William goodbye and walked away, but returned again after a few steps to tell him, "By the way, you shouldn't be friends with Alice anymore. She's a really naughty person, and there's no hope of her ever turning nice. You're pretty naughty too, but there's still hope for you if you'd improve yourself. Anyway, thanks for being my driver and bringing me here today! Goodbye!"
The little man then went over to Mr. Q, raised his chin to look up at him and bluntly told him, "It's done. You can take me away now."
The off-road vehicle was very tall, but Adie stretched out his sprightly arms and legs to climb up like a heart-achingly adorable little monkey.
No one had ever dared to speak that way to Mr. Q except for those with death wishes, yet Adie seemed to have acquired a special immunity against this man's frightening aura. Not only was he completely unafraid of him, but he was also even giving Mr. Q orders!
But what was even more puzzling was Mr. Q's reaction. Not once did he show a sign of anger or impatience with this boy. Not only that, he even tenderly and thoughtfully put on Adie's seatbelt, which was an incredible sight to behold! He could not be any more gentle and kind to the boy if he had been his biological father!
"Sit tight," the man reminded Adie in a deep voice as the boy sat in the passenger seat next to him.
Adie leaned back against the seat lackadaisical, his round, chubby face completely untroubled and at ease as he told the man, "Don't bother trying to drive so fast, because no matter how fast you are, you'll never beat Mommy's speed. You guys are nothing but losers compared to her!"