Chapter 60 Looking Back from the Abyss
——＜A dividing line with a strong desire for control＞
“You always remember who you are.”
Huo Shen's words burned like a cold brand into Su Yan's heart. It wasn't a question, it was a declaration. He placed his life and loyalty in front of Su Yan, refusing to refuse.
Su Yan lowered his head, his long eyelashes casting a shadow under his eyes, obscuring the turbulent waves in his eyes. He understood that Huo Shen's offer of "considering a way out for Su Chen" was just a vague bait filled with uncertainty. The price he paid was his complete self-sacrifice, nailing his soul and body to the pillar of shame of "Huo Shen's property."
Can he accept it?
Sacrifice yourself completely for your brother's slim chance of survival?
A voice inside him screamed frantically: No! He couldn't! If he had lost himself, what was the point of saving Su Chen? Would both of them, in different ways, become victims of Huo Shen's power and obsession?
But what would be the consequences of refusing? Huo Shen's patience was clearly running out. Assistant Zhou was like a venomous snake waiting for an opportunity. Su Chen was in a precarious situation outside. What could he do, all alone?
The enormous pressure and contradictions almost tore his nerves apart.
"I..." He opened his mouth, his voice was very dry, but he found that he could not give the answer of "willingly" at all.
Huo Shen didn't seem surprised by his silence. He reached out his hand, but this time, his movements were no longer forced like before. He simply brushed the soft hair on Su Yan's forehead, his fingertips bringing a slight cool touch.
"Don't rush to answer." Huo Shen's voice was low, with a calmness that seemed to be in control of everything. "I'll give you time to think it over."
This brief "tolerance" was more suffocating than direct coercion. It was like a blunt knife, slowly cutting into Su Yan's will.
Huo Shen withdrew his hand, turned and walked towards the study, leaving Su Yan standing there alone, as if standing on the edge of a cliff, with a foggy abyss in front of him and a desperate situation of raging fire and oil boiling behind him.
For the next few days, that subtle, oppressive atmosphere still permeated the apartment. Huo Shen no longer mentioned that choice, and his attitude towards Su Yan could even be described as "peaceful." He would ask about Su Yan's diet, and occasionally, when he was reading, he would casually ask a question or two about the content of the book, as if their relationship was just an ordinary... guardian and ward relationship?
But beneath this "peace" lay a deeper unease. Su Yan felt like a frog being slowly boiled in warm water. Huo Shen was using this seemingly normal interaction to gradually wear down his will to resist, making him accustomed to this life of being caged and controlled.
He couldn't go on like this! He had to do something to break this suffocating deadlock!
He thought of the USB player buried under the potted plant. It was a seed of silence he had planted, but now he needed it to make a sound.
But how could Huo Shen discover it "naturally" without suspecting himself?
An opportunity presented itself one weekend morning. Huo Shen, on a rare day off from work, was watching the morning news in the living room. Assistant Zhou arrived with an expedited document.
Su Yan noticed that when Assistant Zhou was reporting to Huo Shen, his eyes had casually glanced at the potted plant at the study door several times. The glances were extremely brief, but Su Yan caught a very subtle trace of... concern?
A bold thought flashed through my mind—had Assistant Zhou noticed something too? Or was he also looking for something?
Just as Assistant Zhou finished his report and was about to leave, when he passed by the pot of green plants, Su Yan "happened" to walk out of the kitchen with a glass of water. His steps became "unsteady" and the water in the glass spilled out. A few drops splashed onto the leaves of the potted plants, and more spilled onto the carpet next to it.
"I'm sorry!" Su Yan apologized hurriedly, with just the right amount of panic and helplessness on his face. He immediately squatted down, and seemed to want to wipe the leaves and carpet in a hurry, but his fingers "accidentally" touched the soil of the potted plant, and with a little force, he moved away some of the soil on the surface.
A corner of the small black USB player was instantly exposed!
Assistant Zhou's steps suddenly stopped! His eyes, like those of a hawk, instantly locked onto the foreign object emerging from the soil! The pupils behind his lenses shrank imperceptibly.
Huo Shen was also attracted by the movement here and looked over with a frown. When he saw the small black object that was obviously not a plant sticking out from the potted plant at the door of his study, his face instantly darkened.
"What is this?" Huo Shen's voice was cold. His sharp eyes swept over Su Yan who was squatting on the ground, and then looked at Assistant Zhou who was standing stiffly beside him.
The air froze at this moment. Su Yan lowered his head, his heart pounding, waiting for the fire he had ignited with his own hands, which would burn to an unknown direction.
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