Chapter 6 Dancing on the Edge of a Knife
—→＜A sharp dividing line＞
The system's task was like a death warrant, hanging over Su Yan's head.
He couldn't bear the penalty of -35 health points, but Huo Shen's warning was still fresh in his mind, and that possessive kiss was like a brand, making him shudder every time he thought about it.
"Arrange for my brother and Lin Qingyu to hold hands and hug? This is simply asking me to dance in Huo Shen's minefield!" Su Yan paced around the room frantically.
Direct matchmaking was a dead end. He had to find a roundabout way to clear himself of the charges.
Over the next few days, Su Yan behaved unusually well. He stopped mentioning Lin Qingyu and even avoided appearing in front of Su Chen, minimizing any behavior that might irritate Huo Shen. Meanwhile, he secretly observed the movements of Su Chen and Lin Qingyu.
He noticed that since the gallery and restaurant incidents, Su Chen's protectiveness towards Lin Qingyu had intensified. He would offer to pick Lin Qingyu up and drop him off at work (Lin Qingyu worked at a cafe) and would ask about his life, but there always seemed to be a barrier between them, making progress slow. Su Chen's attention was clearly largely preoccupied with Su Yan and Huo Shen's affairs.
This gave Su Yan an opportunity.
---
That night, Su Chen came home from work with a bad look on his face, as if the company was in trouble. Su Yan, holding a cup of hot milk, carefully knocked on the door of the study.
"Brother, drink some milk and take a rest." Su Yan put the milk on the table and observed Su Chen's expression.
Su Chen rubbed his eyebrows and rarely did not chase him away immediately.
Su Yan took the opportunity to say in a tone of worry and fear: "Brother, the more I think about it these days, the more scared I am... Will Huo Shen go looking for trouble with Mr. Lin again because he didn't succeed with me?"
Su Chen paused and raised his head. He had also considered this question.
Su Yan continued to add fuel to the fire, playing the role of a simple worry: "Mr. Lin is alone and helpless. If Huo Shen really wants to do something to him, he has no way to resist... Brother, do you want to... send more people to protect him? Or, spend more time with him, so that he feels a little safer?"
These words seemed to be entirely for Lin Qingyu's sake, but in fact they perfectly packaged the task requirement of "increasing the contact between Su Chen and Lin Qingyu" into a necessary measure to "deal with the threat from Huo Shen."
Su Chen pondered for a moment. For both public and private reasons, he couldn't let Lin Qingyu be hurt by Huo Shen. Increasing contact and protection was indeed reasonable. He looked at his brother's worried eyes and felt that after this shock, his brother seemed to have grown more mature.
"I understand." Su Chen's tone softened, "I'll make the arrangements."
[Ding—Mission completion 30%. Host, please promote substantive contact.]
The first step was successful! Su Yan was secretly delighted, but he didn't dare to show it.
The opportunity soon came. Over the weekend, Su Chen learned that thugs were harassing customers near the coffee shop where Lin Qingyu worked, so he immediately drove over. Su Yan "happened" to meet Su Chen at his doorstep as he was about to go out, and because he was "worried about his brother," he insisted on going with him.
When they arrived at the cafe, the situation had calmed down, but Lin Qingyu was obviously frightened and his face was pale. Su Chen went forward to comfort him.
Right now! Su Yan hid behind Su Chen, watching the opportunity, and when Su Chen lowered his head to ask about Lin Qingyu's situation, his feet "accidentally" slipped and he crashed into Su Chen's back!
Su Chen was caught off guard and stumbled forward. He instinctively reached out to support Lin Qingyu in front of him. The two of them hugged each other in an instant!
Time seemed to stand still for a second.
Su Chen reacted and immediately wanted to let go, but Lin Qingyu seemed to be frightened and subconsciously grabbed his collar. The two of them were in an ambiguous posture, and the atmosphere instantly became subtle.
[Ding—Mission completed. HP +25, current HP 100/100!]
For the first time, his health bar was full! Su Yan was ecstatic, but he still had to put on a good show. He quickly stood up and apologized with a panicked look on his face: "Sorry, brother! I didn't mean to! The ground was too slippery!"
Su Chen let go of Lin Qingyu, looked at Su Yan with a complicated expression, and finally just sighed: "You're so clumsy, are you okay?"
"It's okay, it's okay!" Su Yan waved his hands quickly, and the heavy stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.
However, he was too happy too soon.
Just when he thought he had successfully concealed the truth, his phone vibrated. It was a text message from Huo Shen.
【Did you have fun with the tricks? 】
Those seven short words instantly sent Su Yan plummeting from heaven to hell. He suddenly raised his head and looked around, as if Huo Shen's eyes were hidden somewhere in the corner.
How did he know?! Has he been spying on me?!
Fear gripped his heart once again. He realized that all his little movements might be invisible to Huo Shen.
That evening, Su Yan received an unsigned package. He opened it, revealing a small, exquisite black velvet box. With trembling hands, he opened it. Inside lay a platinum necklace. The pendant was a simple yet sharp letter—S.
Is it the first letter of "Shen"? Or... "Su"?
There was also a card in the box, with Huo Shen's domineering and sharp handwriting on it:
[My things should have a mark. Wear it.]
This isn't a gift, it's a collar! It's Huo Shen's way of claiming ownership!
Su Yan threw the box away as if he had been scalded, and the necklace fell on the carpet, shining with a cold luster.
What should he do? Wearing it would mean surrendering to Huo Shen and admitting that he was his "property." Not wearing it? How would Huo Shen react? He couldn't imagine.
Just then, his phone rang. It was an unfamiliar video call request. Su Yan had a strong premonition that it was Huo Shen.
With trembling fingers, he pressed the answer button.
The screen lit up, and Huo Shen's handsome yet dangerous face appeared in the picture. He seemed to be in an office on the top floor, with the dazzling city night scene in the background.
"Did you receive the gift?" Huo Shen's voice came through the receiver with a lazy smile.
Su Yan bit his lip and didn't dare to speak.
"Don't like it?" Huo Shen raised an eyebrow, "Or... do you need me to put it on for you personally?"
His tone was light, yet full of threat.
Su Yan looked at Huo Shen's eyes on the screen that seemed to see through everything, and then looked at the cold necklace on the ground. A huge feeling of powerlessness and a sense of humiliation of being forced into a desperate situation surged in his heart.
He slowly squatted down and picked up the necklace. The touch of the cold metal made him shudder.
On the other side of the video, Huo Shen watched his movements with satisfaction, as if admiring a pet that had finally learned to obey.
"So good." Huo Shen's voice was bewitching. "Remember, from today on, your every move represents my preferences. Don't let me see you pushing your brother into someone else's arms again, okay?"
Su Yan clenched the necklace tightly in his hand, his nails almost digging into his flesh.
He knew that from this moment on, his journey of surviving through the book had completely turned into a dangerous and deadly game with the villain.
And he just realized that perhaps he had no right to refuse to join the game from the very beginning.
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