Chapter 57: The Chips Are Laid Out
Huo Shen's question was like a bolt of lightning, splitting the illusion of calm that Su Yan tried so hard to maintain.
He knew it! He knew he had touched the contents of the secret compartment! His previous silence, indulgence, and even his acceptance of the glass of water just now, might have been just waiting for the right moment to settle all this.
Su Yan's heart suddenly tightened, and the blood seemed to rush to his head, then quickly recede, leaving behind a cold fear. He stood there, his fingers curled unconsciously, his brain working frantically, searching for any possible excuse or excuse.
But when he met Huo Shen's eyes, which were so deep that they seemed to see through everything, all his carefully woven lies got stuck in his throat.
In the face of absolute control and insight, any sophistry seems pale and ridiculous, and will only anger the other party and make the situation even more out of control.
In a flash, Su Yan made a decision - to confess.
He took a deep breath and forced himself to meet Huo Shen's gaze. His voice trembled slightly due to nervousness, but with a sense of desperation: "...a white medicine bottle."
He chose to talk about the medicine bottle instead of the more deadly diary. The medicine bottle pointed to Huo Shen's own secret, while the diary was related to Ah Xi, which was Huo Shen's reverse scale that he absolutely could not touch.
The light in Huo Shen's eyes flickered violently, like a boulder thrown into a calm lake. He didn't attack immediately, but the aura around him became noticeably colder and more dangerous. The knuckles of his hands, resting on his knees, turned slightly white.
"Have you seen it?" His voice was terribly low, and every word seemed to be squeezed out from the cracks in the ice.
"...I have seen it." Su Yan lowered her eyelashes, not daring to look him in the eye again. Her voice was as low as a whisper, "I don't know him...there is no label..."
He deliberately emphasized "not knowing" and "no label", positioning himself as a frightened bystander who accidentally discovered the master's secret but was unable to understand its true meaning due to ignorance.
"Don't know him?" Huo Shen repeated these three words, his tone filled with cold mockery and a subtle hint of...other emotions. He stood up suddenly, and a huge sense of oppression instantly enveloped Su Yan.
Su Yan was so scared that he took a half step back, his back against the cold wall, with no way to retreat.
Huo Shen approached step by step until their noses were almost touching. He reached out his hand, not to pinch Su Yan's chin as he usually did, but to grab Su Yan's wrist with such force that it seemed as if he was going to crush his bones.
"Then guess what," Huo Shen's breath sprayed on his face, carrying an extremely suppressed madness and pain, "What kind of medicine is that? Is it for a headache? Or for... my rotten heart? Hmm?"
His voice was hoarse, his eyes bloodshot, churning with intense and chaotic emotions that Su Yan had never seen before. It wasn't just anger, it was more like an outburst of long-suppressed emotions on the verge of collapse.
Su Yan was stunned by the naked pain and self-destructive tendencies in his eyes. He forgot to struggle and fear. He stared at Huo Shen in amazement, watching this man who was always strong and in control of everything, revealing such a vulnerable and real side.
Was it because of the drugs? Or was it because... the past he had hidden, the guilt and remorse, had finally overwhelmed him?
"Sir..." Su Yan's voice trembled without him even noticing.
Huo Shen seemed not to hear. He grabbed Su Yan's wrist as if he was holding onto a piece of driftwood. He stared into the void with empty eyes and muttered something, as if questioning Su Yan and himself:
"Do you think I'm ridiculous? A madman who relies on drugs to stay awake... a loser who can't even protect his own brother... and yet here he is, pretending to control other people's lives..."
His voice grew lower and lower, filled with a heartbreaking desolation and despair.
Su Yan looked at him, a mixture of emotions welling up in his heart. Fear still lingered, but more so, a complex, indescribable emotion—pity, shock, and even a hint of… sorrow for being a fellow trapped person.
He knew Huo Shen's most unbearable secret. This secret was like a double-edged sword, which could hurt both himself and others.
Just when Su Yan thought Huo Shen was about to lose control, Huo Shen suddenly let go of his hand. He stumbled back two steps as if burned, and steadied himself by holding onto the backrest of the sofa next to him. He was panting heavily, his face frighteningly pale, and fine beads of cold sweat oozed from his forehead. The confusion in his eyes gradually gave way to extreme fatigue and emptiness.
He glanced at Su Yan, his eyes were complicated and difficult to read, and finally turned into a hoarse and weak word:
"……go out."
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