Chapter 54: Cracks and Glimmers

Su Yan's words were like a stone dropped into stagnant water, causing a violent shock in Huo Shen's eyes. In those eyes, always filled with control and icy iciness, a clear flash of shock, anger at being offended, and a deeper sense of embarrassment at having the truth exposed flashed across them.

He stood up suddenly, and the oppressive feeling brought by his tall figure instantly filled the entire space. He stared at Su Yan, his chest heaving slightly, and his jawline tense, as if he was about to tear this daring little thing who repeatedly challenged his bottom line into pieces in the next second.

Su Yan's heart stopped beating at that moment. He saw the murderous intent surging in Huo Shen's eyes. He had gambled everything, and the outcome seemed to be about to be revealed - survival, or destruction?

However, the expected wrath of thunder did not come.

Huo Shen just stared at him intently, his gaze as if he wanted to devour him alive, or as if he was looking through him, battling an invisible ghost. Time passed in a suffocating silence, each second stretching as long as a century.

Finally, the terrifying storm in Huo Shen's eyes gradually subsided, replaced by an almost desolate fatigue and... a trace of indescribable clarity.

He said nothing.

No admission, no rebuttal, no punishment.

He just gave Su Yan a deep, deep look, a look so complex that Su Yan couldn't interpret it. Then, he turned abruptly, strode out of the living room, walked straight to the study, and slammed the door shut.

"Bang!"

The loud slam of the door echoed throughout the apartment, hammering down on Su Yan's heart. He slid down onto the carpet, his back cold, and realized he had been holding his breath. His hands and feet were shaking slightly uncontrollably.

He was not punished. Huo Shen let him go again.

But this time, unlike the previous times when he let him go out of "interest" or "indulgence", Huo Shen was forced to retreat by something sharp and essential in his words.

Su Yan's words, like a precise scalpel, not only cut through Huo Shen's shell of self-deception, but also... accidentally touched upon some truth about Ah Xi's death that even Huo Shen himself was unwilling to face.

Huo Shen needs to face alone the emotional wasteland that he has forcibly frozen for a long time, as well as the more cruel facts that may be buried beneath the wasteland.

For the next two days, Huo Shen almost completely shut himself away in his study. Even when Assistant Zhou came in to deliver documents, his stay was extremely brief. The atmosphere in the apartment was oppressive and suffocating, like the final silence before a storm.

Su Yan became even quieter. He stopped making unnecessary moves, simply eating on time and quietly staying in the living room, like a plant tenaciously surviving in the shadows. He knew he had already carved a crack in the ice. Now all he needed was patience, waiting for the ice to disintegrate further, or... waiting for an opportunity to widen the crack.

He would occasionally glance at the closed door of the study, his heart filled with complex and indescribable emotions. His fear of Huo Shen was still deeply rooted, but at this moment, that fear was strangely mixed with a hint of... something akin to understanding.

They are all trapped people.

That evening, Assistant Zhou arrived again. He entered the study for a moment and then emerged, his expression more serious than usual. He glanced at Su Yan, who was sitting by the living room window, paused, and finally walked over.

"Mr. Su." Assistant Zhou's voice remained steady, but Su Yan keenly detected a slight hint of tension.

Su Yan raised his head and looked at him quietly, waiting for what to say next.

Assistant Zhou pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze behind the lenses calm and composed. "Boss Huo has instructed that you please get ready and go out with him tomorrow morning."

Go out together? Su Yan's heart skipped a beat. Where would Huo Shen take him during this sensitive period?

"Where are you going?" he couldn't help but ask.

Assistant Zhou's mouth corners seemed to curl ever so slightly, but the arc disappeared in an instant, so fast that it seemed like an illusion.

"Go to a place where you can better understand your position," he said calmly, but with an undeniable meaning.

It was the same controlling rhetoric again. But this time, Su Yan wasn't just filled with fear; he also had a strong premonition—this journey was no ordinary escape from the prison. It could be a turning point, or perhaps... a more dangerous trap.

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