Chapter 55 The Judgment Seat
——＜A serious dividing line＞
The next day, Su Yan changed into the new clothes that Huo Shen had sent him. Every inch of the fabric was ironed so tightly that it felt like his second skin, but it also felt like an invisible shackle.
Huo Shen drove the car himself, without Assistant Zhou. The atmosphere in the car was oppressive. Su Yan sat in the passenger seat, his eyes fixed on the rapidly receding street outside the window, his heart heavy.
The car finally drove into a secluded private teahouse, with a quiet environment and tight security. When the waiter pushed open the door of a private room, Su Yan saw the person sitting inside, and his blood almost immediately rushed backwards -
It’s Su Chen.
He looked even more haggard than he had in the news footage, with dark circles under his eyes, and his once sharp features were filled with fatigue and a forced toughness. When he saw Su Yan behind Huo Shen, his pupils shrank sharply, shock, anger, and a hint of unconcealable worry intertwined on his face.
Huo Shen seemed oblivious to Su Chen's unpleasant expression and sat down naturally at the head of the table, as if he were the host of this meeting. He even politely pulled out the chair next to him for Su Yan.
"Sit down." He said to Su Yan, his tone calm but with an unquestionable command.
Su Yan sat down stiffly, feeling like he was being roasted on fire. He didn't dare look at Su Chen, so he could only lower his head and stare at the smooth table in front of him.
"Huo Shen, what do you mean?!" Su Chen slammed the table, stood up, and glared at Huo Shen, "What do you want to do by bringing my brother here?!"
Huo Shen slowly picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea without even raising his eyelids: "Why is Mr. Su so angry? I just want you two brothers to reminisce about the past."
He took a sip of tea, then raised his eyes, his gaze swept between Su Chen and Su Yan, a cold smile on his lips: "By the way, let Su Yan hear with his own ears how the good brother he tried so hard to protect dragged him and the entire Su family into the abyss step by step."
Su Yan's nails dug deep into his palms.
"You!" Su Chen's face turned blue with anger. He looked at Su Yan, his tone anxious and filled with the pain of disappointment. "Xiao Yan! Do you know what you are doing?! You follow this devil... Do you know that he..."
"I know." Su Yan suddenly raised his head and interrupted Su Chen. His voice was not loud, but it made the two men in the quarrel startled at the same time.
Su Yan looked at Su Chen, his eyes slightly red, his voice trembling with suppression: "I know who he is, and I know what he did. Brother, what about you? Do you know what you are doing? Reporting him with your real name? Do you think you can bring him down like this? You are gambling with the entire Su family! You are gambling with your own life!"
The fear, worry and powerlessness that had been pent up in him for too long finally burst out uncontrollably when he faced Su Chen.
Su Chen was stunned by his question. A complex expression flashed across his face, but was soon replaced by a deeper stubbornness. "If I don't do this, am I going to watch Su's company being eaten away by him bit by bit?! Xiaoyan, you've been locked up like a fool by him! He's just using you! Using you to contain me!"
"That's enough." Huo Shen put down his teacup with a crisp clinking sound. The smile on his face disappeared, leaving only cold indifference.
"Su Chen, put away your high-sounding rhetoric." Huo Shen's gaze was like an icicle, piercing Su Chen. "Are you reporting the 'Prometheus' project really for the Su Group? Or are you trying to cover up the huge losses you incurred from that shady project in Southeast Asia? You want to use this to divert attention, or even... extort money from me to fill your hole?"
Su Chen's face turned pale instantly, his lips moved but no sound came out. The panic and shock in his eyes confirmed the truth of Huo Shen's words.
Su Yan looked at Su Chen in disbelief. A huge deficit? A shady project? His brother...actually...
Huo Shen took in Su Chen's reaction, and the corners of his mouth curled up again. He looked at Su Yan, whose face was also pale, and said in a tone that was almost cruel:
"Do you see clearly, Su Yan? This is the brother you've been so obsessed with protecting. His so-called counterattack, the so-called fighting for the family, is nothing more than a cover-up for his own stupidity and incompetence. He's even willing to drag you and the entire Su family down with him as leverage for his gamble."
He stood up, walked to Su Yan, and gently placed his hand on his shoulder. The gesture was like a master stroking his tamed pet, full of possession and declaration.
"Now, tell me," Huo Shen lowered his head and whispered in Su Yan's ear, his voice loud enough for Su Chen on the other side to hear clearly, "Do you still think he's worth any price you pay to protect him?"
Su Yan's body was frozen, as if he were being roasted on a raging fire. On one side was his brother, whose actions were extreme but perhaps had more complex motives. On the other was Huo Shen, a cold and cruel man who had repeatedly let him go and was now pushing him to the brink of decision.
He looked at Su Chen, whose face was pale and whose eyes were filled with shock, shame and a hint of despair. His heart felt like it was being tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and he was in so much pain that he couldn't breathe.
He opened his mouth, but in that private room that was like a judge's seat, under Huo Shen's cold gaze and Su Chen's desperate eyes, he couldn't utter a word.
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