Chapter 44 Confrontation on the Cliff
"You, are here as expected."
Huo Shen's voice was low, but it pierced the air like an icicle, chilling the blood. He closed the study door with his backhand, and the sound was like a death sentence to Su Yan.
Su Yan froze in place, his mind blank, even forgetting to pretend. He watched Huo Shen approach step by step, his bottomless eyes surging with the rage of having his territory violated and a kind of... cold anger of being deceived.
"I..." Su Yan opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Fear was like an invisible hand strangling his throat.
Huo Shen didn't give him a chance to explain. He walked over to the desk and scanned it sharply, finally settling on the secret compartment that Su Yan had just locked. He reached out and lightly ran his fingers across the smooth surface of the compartment. Then, he suddenly raised his eyes to look at Su Yan, his gaze as if he were looking at a dead person.
"Key." He held out his hand, his tone an unquestionable command.
Su Yan's heart stopped. He knew! He even knew about the key!
In the face of absolute power, any sophistry seemed pale and ridiculous. Su Yan took out the cold key from his pocket with trembling hands and placed it on Huo Shen's open palm.
Huo Shen held the key, his fingertips turning white from the force. He did not immediately open the secret compartment, but instead looked at Su Yan with that creepy calm gaze.
"Once, I can treat it as an accident." Huo Shen's voice was low and slow, and every word carried a thousand pounds of weight. "Twice, Su Yan, tell me,"
He approached fiercely, and the strong pressure made Su Yan almost suffocate. Huo Shen grabbed his wrist with such force that it seemed as if he could crush his bones, and pulled him fiercely in front of him.
"Am I too tolerant of you?" Huo Shen's breath sprayed on his face, carrying the cold smell of medicine. "Or do you think that you can do whatever you want just because of this face, huh?"
His other hand roughly lifted Su Yan's chin, forcing him to meet his furious eyes. There was no longer the complexity and inquiry from before, only the completely enraged instincts of a controller and predator.
"Tell me! What are you looking for?!" Huo Shen's voice suddenly rose, carrying a terrifying murderous aura.
Su Yan was shaken until he felt dizzy. The huge fear and the humiliation of being forced into a desperate situation intertwined and almost tore him apart. He knew that if he continued to play the role of weakness, he would only die faster.
An inexplicable courage, or perhaps a desperate urge to throw the can down the drain, supported him as he raised his head and met Huo Shen's furious gaze. His voice trembled with fear, yet carried a hint of desperate sharpness:
"I'm looking for... something to keep me alive!"
Huo Shen's pupils shrank slightly, as if he didn't expect him to answer like this.
Su Yan gasped for breath, tears welling up uncontrollably, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall. "You've locked me up here like a pet! Assistant Zhou stared at me like a criminal! As for my brother... you've never even considered letting him go! What else can I do besides looking for him myself?! Am I just going to wait for you to dislike me one day, or for Assistant Zhou to 'deal with' me?!"
He cried out half-heartedly, reducing all his fear and anxiety, all his struggles and calculations, to the most primal desire to survive. He didn't mention the diary, the medicine bottle, or the terrifying speculation about Ah Xi's death. He simply laid bare before Huo Shen the image of a terrified and helpless prisoner trapped in a golden cage.
Huo Shen's grip on his wrist loosened slightly, almost imperceptibly. He stared intently at Su Yan's tearful eyes, which were filled with resentment and fear. His chest heaved violently, and it was obvious that his anger had not subsided. However, Su Yan's "accusation" seemed to have hit a certain point precisely.
"So," Huo Shen's voice remained icy, but the murderous aura he held within him had subsided slightly. "Is this how you're going to 'find' me?"
"I... I have no other choice..." Su Yan choked with sobs, his body trembling slightly with fear and excitement. "I know I was wrong... Sir, I won't dare to do it again... Please..."
He used both soft and hard tactics, first sharply pointing out his predicament, then lowering his posture and begging, throwing the choice back to Huo Shen.
Huo Shen stared at him silently, his eyes shifting in a complex pattern. Anger, scrutiny, a subtle irritation, and… perhaps even he himself wasn't aware of the desire to control and that damned "interest" in this fragile yet stubborn being before him.
He released his grip on Su Yan.
Su Yan took a step back exhausted, leaning on the cold desk, breathing heavily, leaving a clear red mark on his wrist.
Huo Shen rubbed the key in his hand, his eyes falling on the secret compartment again, but he didn't open it. He seemed to be weighing and judging.
After a long moment, he turned around, his back to Su Yan, and his voice returned to its usual coldness, but with a hint of barely perceptible fatigue:
"Get out."
“There won’t be a next time.”
Su Yan felt as if he had been granted amnesty. He didn't dare to pause for a moment, stumbling out of the study. He knew he had just walked on the edge of a cliff. Huo Shen had let him go, but his warning was harsher than ever. And that unopened secret compartment was like a time bomb buried between them, ready to explode again at any moment.
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