Chapter 5 Out-of-control trajectory and system silence
～～～＜A dividing line of loss of control＞
The bathroom door opened and then closed gently.
Huo Shen left, as if he had only come in to complete a simple marking ceremony.
Su Yan, however, felt as if all the bones in his body had been pulled out, and he slid down the cold sink and sat on the ground. His fingertips trembled as he touched his still numb and tingling lips, which seemed to still retain the domineering aura and warmth of Huo Shen.
"Replace Lin Qingyu and become the object of my interest..."
These words echoed over and over in his blank mind like a spell.
How could this happen? How did the story take such a tangled turn? Shouldn't the villain resent the protagonist for being unloved and turning his love into hatred? Why would they shift their focus to this cannon fodder brother?
Was it because his frequent matchmaking behavior caught Huo Shen's attention? Or was it because the flapping of his "butterfly" wings really changed the trajectory of the story?
"System! System! Did you see that?! Huo Shen...he kissed me! He also said..." Su Yan called out in panic in his heart. He urgently needed an explanation or a solution from the culprit who threw him into this world.
However, there was a dead silence in my mind.
That mechanical voice that always appeared coldly and promptly did not respond to him for the first time.
"System? Speak! What do we do now?!" Su Yan panicked even more. The system's silence frightened him even more than Huo Shen's kiss. What did this mean? Was the system unable to handle this out-of-scope situation, or... was it accepting this development?
The unknown is the most terrifying thing.
There were light footsteps outside the door and Lin Qingyu's hesitant voice: "Su Yan? Are you okay? You've been in there for a long time."
Su Yan shuddered and abruptly got up from the ground. He quickly tidied up his messy hair and clothes and splashed cold water on his face again, trying to hide the blush on his face and the panic in his eyes. He couldn't let others, especially his brother and Lin Qingyu, see anything unusual.
Taking a deep breath, he opened the bathroom door and forced a smile that was uglier than crying: "No, nothing, I just feel a little uncomfortable."
Lin Qingyu looked at his pale face and obviously swollen lips, his eyes flickered for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he swallowed it back and just nodded gently: "That's good, your brother is a little worried."
Back at my seat, the atmosphere was even weirder than before.
Su Chen's gaze swept across Su Yan's face like a searchlight, lingering for a moment on his overly red lips, his brow furrowed. He wasn't a fool. Su Yan had gone to the bathroom and returned looking so distracted, his lips swollen. Add to that Huo Shen's previous ambiguous behavior...
An absurd and infuriating guess formed in Su Chen's mind.
Huo Shen continued to enjoy his meal elegantly as if nothing had happened, and even commented in a good mood: "The desserts here seem good, would you like to try some, little guy?" He looked at Su Yan with undisguised amusement and possessiveness in his eyes.
Su Yan suddenly lowered his head and stared at the plate in front of him, not daring to respond or look anyone in the eye. He felt like a prisoner under the spotlight.
This agonizing dinner finally came to an end.
Su Chen stood up almost immediately and said to Su Yan coldly, "Come home with me." He didn't even look at Lin Qingyu. Obviously, the weird interaction between his brother and his mortal enemy had occupied all his thoughts.
Huo Shen did not stop him, but smiled and said to Su Yan: "Goodbye, we... will see each other soon."
That sentence was like a death warrant.
On the way back to the Su family's house, the air pressure was terrifyingly low. Su Chen said nothing, his jaw set tight, a chill emanating from his body. Su Yan huddled in a corner, trying to minimize his presence, his heart a turmoil.
As soon as he entered the house, Su Chen finally exploded.
"Su Yan! What the hell are you doing?!" Su Chen dragged Su Yan into the living room, his voice filled with suppressed anger, "What's going on between you and Huo Shen? Why did he say you took him to the gallery? Why did he treat you to dinner tonight? The way you looked when you came out of the bathroom...did he do something to you?!"
A series of questions bombarded Su Yan, leaving him nowhere to escape.
"I...I didn't!" Su Yan denied subconsciously, his voice tinged with tears. "Brother, believe me, I have nothing to do with him! It was him...he was the one who threatened me!"
In desperation, Su Yan could only cry half-truthfully: "He said... if I don't listen to him, he will do bad things to you and the Su family! I'm scared... Brother, I'm really scared!" He portrayed himself as a poor little guy coerced by the villain. This seems to be the best reason to explain his series of abnormal behaviors and gain Su Chen's sympathy.
Su Chen was stunned. Looking at his brother's pale face and terrified eyes, his anger was replaced by doubt and a hint of heartache. Huo Shen was indeed capable of such a thing. Using his family to threaten his opponents was a common tactic of his.
"He threatened you?" Su Chen's tone softened a bit, but he was still serious. "What did he ask you to do?"
"He... he didn't say it explicitly, but he just asked me... asked me to stay away from Mr. Lin, and it seemed like... he really minded me trying to bring you two together." Su Yan continued to fabricate, leading Huo Shen's motive to be "targeting Lin Qingyu." This was in line with the logic of the original novel and temporarily covered up the terrible truth.
Su Chen was silent. If Huo Shen was venting his anger and threatening Su Yan because of his obsession with Lin Qingyu, that made sense. But he felt something was wrong. The look in Huo Shen's eyes when he looked at Su Yan was more than just a threat.
"Stay away from Huo Shenyuan from now on." Su Chen finally said in a deep voice, "I will handle the company's affairs. Don't be afraid, I'm here."
The words "I'm here" made Su Yan's nose ache. For the first time, he felt a sense of real dependence on this cheap brother. But then came a deeper sense of guilt and panic. He had lied to Su Chen.
Back in his room, Su Yan collapsed on the bed exhausted. The system's silence, Huo Shen's relentless pressure, and the deception he had committed against his brother...all of this weighed heavily on him.
[Ding—New mission released: Within one week, get Su Chen and Lin Qingyu to hold hands or hug once. Mission reward: Health +25. Failure penalty: Health -35.]
The system's prompt sound suddenly rang out, still cold and without any ripples, as if the silence just now had never happened.
Su Yan looked at this task and felt it was extremely ironic.
After Huo Shen had clearly warned him and even... kissed him, he still wanted to continue to match the protagonists? This was simply plucking hair from a tiger's mouth!
Moreover, after what happened tonight, does Su Chen still have the mood to hold hands and hug Lin Qingyu?
The trajectory of the story has completely spiraled out of control. And for this book-traveler, holding a fragmented script, the road ahead is shrouded in uncertainty.
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