Chapter 22 The Taste of Cake

The vibration of the phone in his pocket was like a weak electric current, piercing through Su Yan's confused thoughts.

He secretly took out his phone, and the screen lit up. A text message from an unknown number appeared:

【Be careful Assistant Zhou.】

Su Yan's fingers instantly turned cold. These five words slithered into his mind like a venomous snake. He looked up suddenly. The entrance was empty and the door to Huo Shen's study was closed.

"..." He deleted the message, his palms sweating. Who sent it? Assistant Zhou? Huo Shen's most loyal lackey? What was he supposed to be wary of? Was he supposed to be the one to target him, or was he... himself?

The air in this house suddenly became thick and dangerous.

---

The next day, Su Yan was brought to the company by Huo Shen. He was placed in a bright and beautiful position outside the president's office, like a fine product in a display cabinet.

Huo Shen was busy, the office bustling with people. Assistant Zhou handled everything silently, like a precise ghost. Su Yan lowered his head, pretending to sort through a pile of documents he couldn't understand, feeling Assistant Zhou's cold gaze sweeping over him like a searchlight from time to time.

At noon, Huo Shen went to a social event without him. Before leaving, Assistant Zhou walked to his desk as usual: "Mr. Su, lunch will be served. Mr. Huo has instructed that you please do not leave this floor."

Su Yan nodded obediently: "Okay, Assistant Zhou."

Watching Assistant Zhou leave, Su Yan silently complained in his heart: Not leaving this floor? Can I still jump from this building that is dozens of stories high?

Lunch was an exquisite set menu, but he couldn't taste it. He was chewing mechanically when a young girl from the administration department came over with a small plate and a sweet smile. "Mr. Su, this is the restaurant's dessert today. We have an extra portion, and President Huo asked you to try it."

That is a tempting-looking strawberry cream cake.

Su Yan was stunned for a moment. Huo Shen's instructions? The man who even controlled his meals would suddenly care about whether he wanted dessert? This didn't seem right.

He subconsciously glanced at the cake, then at the girl, whose smile was impeccable.

But just as she put down the cake and turned around, Su Yan seemed to see her fingers tapping twice very quickly on the edge of the plate - tap, tap.

Su Yan's heart leaped. [Is this an illusion? Or some Morse code distress signal? Have I watched too many spy movies?]

He stared at the strawberry cake, its red jam dripping with color. He picked up his fork, hesitated, and then, like a bomb disposal expert, carefully peeled away the top layer of strawberries and cream. The cake base looked normal.

He breathed a sigh of relief and scooped a spoonful into his mouth. "I really thought too much. It tastes quite... huh?"

The fork touched the hard substance at the bottom of the cake. Su Yan froze. He looked around cautiously, then quickly used the fork to pry open the soft cake base.

At the bottom layer of the cake, quietly embedded was a black USB flash drive smaller than a fingernail, tightly wrapped in a transparent waterproof bag.

His heart was pounding in his chest. Su Yan could practically hear the blood coursing through his body. He quickly covered the USB drive with the cake base and, with forced composure, pushed the remaining half of the cake aside, his appetite completely gone.

Who had delivered this thing to him in this way? Was it the same person who had sent him the warning text message? What was in this USB drive? Another warning, or... some kind of evidence?

Countless questions instantly filled his mind. He felt isolated and helpless like never before. Assistant Zhou was untrustworthy, and it was unclear whether the mysterious cake delivery girl was friend or foe. And Huo Shen… He couldn't imagine what would happen if Huo Shen knew about this.

The most important thing now was how to hide this hot potato. The office obviously wouldn't work; there were eyes everywhere. On his body? Huo Shen sometimes... checked. He thought of Huo Shen's sometimes obsessive, controlling behavior and dismissed the idea.

His eyes swept over the delicate metal pen holder on the table. Got it! He pretended to tidy up the pen holder, taking out a few pens and putting them back, and took the opportunity to slide the small USB drive into the almost invisible gap between the base of the pen holder and the tabletop.

After doing all this, his palms were covered in cold sweat. He was like an engineer laying mines in a minefield, not knowing whether this step would lead to survival or a deeper abyss.

In the afternoon, Huo Shen returned with a faint smell of alcohol and a hint of barely perceptible fatigue. He passed by Su Yan's seat without stopping, but glanced at the almost untouched lunch and cake on his desk, his brows furrowed slightly.

"Not to your taste?"

Su Yan's heart skipped a beat. He raised his head and tried to squeeze out a natural, somewhat dependent complaint: "It's a bit annoying..."

Huo Shen stared at him for two seconds, said nothing more, and walked straight into the office.

Su Yan looked at the closed door and slowly breathed a sigh of relief, but the heaviness in his heart only grew. He felt as if he had been thrown into a huge maze, the road ahead was confusing and unknown, and the USB drive hidden under the pen holder was like the first abrupt sign in the maze, pointing nowhere.

------