Chapter 29 Dangerous Answers
"He contacted you privately..."
Huo Shen's voice was not loud, but it was like a huge rock thrown into stagnant water, stirring up huge waves in Su Yan's heart. Huo Shen's eyes, fixed on him, seemed to have seen through everything, just waiting for him to lose his composure.
Admit it? That would be equivalent to directly exposing the "abnormal" contact between him and Assistant Zhou. He had no way of explaining the reason unless he handed over the USB drive and the girl - which would undoubtedly be a dead end.
Deny? But how can he justify his reaction just now, as if he had seen a ghost?
In a split second, Su Yan abruptly lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly. This wasn't a disguise, but a genuine reaction to fear and pressure. He reached out and carefully grasped the cuff of Huo Shen's pajamas, his fingertips cold.
"I... I'm afraid of him..." His voice was choked with sobs, and he attributed all his fear and anxiety to Assistant Zhou himself. "The way he looks at people... is so cold, as if I'm some... obstacle that needs to be removed. After the last incident with Lin Qingyu, the way he looked at me was even more... even more scary." He cried half-truthfully, distorting Assistant Zhou's coldness in "warning" him and "dealing" with Lin Qingyu into a personal threat against him.
He raised his tearful eyes and looked at Huo Shen, which were full of dependence and the vulnerability of seeking protection: "Sir... will he, will he treat me like he did to Lin Qingyu one day...?"
This was a risky move for him. He mentioned Lin Qingyu again, not only to explain the "reasonable" source of his fear, but also to implicitly remind Huo Shen of Assistant Zhou's "tactics," and to test Huo Shen - will you protect me? In your heart, are Lin Qingyu and I the same? ( )
Huo Shen looked at his slightly trembling hand clutching his sleeve, then at his tearful, fear-filled face. The fear in the boy's eyes didn't seem fake; the vulnerability of viewing him as his only support strangely appealed to a dark, possessive, and protective urge deep within him.
Zhou Mingchen is indeed a useful but cold tool. Tools should not have their own emotions, and should not scare the "little guy" he raises.
He held Su Yan's cold fingers with his backhand, with a strong force that seemed to convey control, but also conveyed a hint of warmth.
"He wouldn't dare." Huo Shen's voice remained flat, but the menacing aura had subsided a bit. "No one can touch you without my permission."
This sentence, like a pardon, almost made Su Yan collapse. His bet was right. At least on the surface, Huo Shen accepted his explanation based on "fear".
"But..." Su Yan pressed forward, resting his face gently on his solid chest. Listening to his steady heartbeat, he continued to play the frightened little animal. "After all, he is the person you trust the most... I..."
"Trust?" Huo Shen hummed, with an elusive tone in his voice, "Just a tool." He ruffled Su Yan's hair, his movements nonchalantly soothing, "Do what you should do, and don't worry about anything else."
This crisis seemed to have passed temporarily. Huo Shen did not delve into his overreaction, but instead made him a "promise."
But Su Yan, leaning against his chest, felt no sense of relief. Huo Shen's assessment of Assistant Zhou—"just a tool"—sounded incredibly cold, yet also revealed a sense of absolute control. So, was Huo Shen truly clueless about Assistant Zhou's potential betrayal, or... had he already seen through it and was simply biding his time?
And in Huo Shen's eyes, isn't Su Yan himself also a "tool" or "property" of another nature?
At this moment, Huo Shen's phone rang again at an inopportune time, breaking the false calm. Huo Shen glanced at the caller ID and saw it was Assistant Zhou. He let go of Su Yan and answered the phone, his tone returning to the cold and hard tone he used at work.
"explain."
Assistant Zhou's voice came clearly from the other end of the phone, with a hint of tension:
"Mr. Huo, the technical department has just intercepted an abnormal signal attempting to infiltrate the internal database. The source address... has been initially identified as the Su Group headquarters network."
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