Chapter 8 The Toys' Counterattack
——＜A playful dividing line＞
The word "toy" was like a wake-up call, shattering Su Yan's last bit of self-deceiving fantasy.
He leaned against Huo Shen's arms, his body still stiff, but beneath the cold despair in his heart, a flame of unwillingness began to quietly burn. He remembered that he was also an adult with an independent personality before he traveled through time. Why should he be manipulated like a puppet here?
Survival is an instinct, but what about dignity?
Huo Shen seemed to notice his subtle change in mood. He tightened his arm around his waist and asked in a questioning tone, "What are you thinking about?"
Su Yan suppressed the turmoil in his heart and forced himself to relax. He even leaned back in a somewhat dependent posture and said in a muffled voice: "Nothing... I just felt that you seemed very busy."
This was the first time he tried to respond to Huo Shen's words with a personal emotion that went beyond "obedience." He was testing Huo Shen's bottom line.
Huo Shen seemed a little surprised. He looked down at him and chuckled, "Why? Do you think I don't spend enough time with you?"
"I dare not." Su Yan lowered his eyelashes to hide the emotions in his eyes. His tone was just right, with a hint of imperceptible grievance. "I'm just a little bored. I don't know what to do when you're not around."
He was hinting at his own "boringness," the subtext being: This "toy" of mine needs more "attention" and "interaction," otherwise it might lose its fun. He was using Huo Shen's assessment of him as "interesting" to make a counter-demand.
Huo Shen's interest was piqued. He liked to see Su Yan express emotions other than fear and numbness, even if it was just cautious complaints and requests.
"Oh?" Huo Shen turned his body so that he was facing him, and his fingertips stroked the necklace on his collarbone. "So what do you want to do? Tell me."
The opportunity has come!
Su Yan's heart was pounding. He raised his eyes, trying to make them look clear and a little eager. "I... I knew nothing about business before, but now seeing you handle things, it seems very interesting. Can I... learn something from you? Anything is fine. It's better than being alone in a daze."
This request was half true, half false. The true part was that he truly wanted to understand the rules of this world, especially the vortex of the struggle between Huo Shen and Su Chen. Knowing both yourself and your enemy was the key to victory in every battle. The false part was that his purpose was by no means simply to learn.
Huo's deep eyes stared at him, as if trying to see through his innermost thoughts. Su Yan was so nervous that his palms were sweating, and he could hardly hold up his "studious" expression.
After a long while, Huo Shen raised his lips in a playful arc: "Want to study business? Sure."
Su Yan was delighted.
But Huo Shen's next words immediately made him feel like he was falling into an icy cave: "It just so happens that your brother has been vying for that piece of land in the east of the city recently. There's an internal seminar on this matter tomorrow. Come with me. I'll let you learn on the spot what... competition means."
Su Yan's face paled instantly. Huo Shen was going to bring him directly to the battlefield to compete head-on with Su Chen! Let him watch with his own eyes how Huo Shen dealt with Su Chen? This was simply murderous!
"What? Are you scared?" Huo Shen stroked his chin with his fingers, his tone teasing, "Or... are you worried about your brother?"
Su Yan gritted his teeth, knowing he had no room to refuse. He forced himself to smile: "How could it be... I'm just a little surprised."
The next day, Su Yan, wearing the perfectly fitted high-end suit Huo Shen had sent him, followed him into the solemn meeting room. He tried to minimize his presence and sat in the audience behind Huo Shen.
However, when he saw Su Chen walking into the conference room with his assistant, and the shock, disbelief, and rage in his eyes when they swept over him, Su Yan knew it was over.
He had no way of defending himself.
In Su Chen's eyes, he not only had a close relationship with Huo Shen, but he had even entered the inner circle and participated in the core business confrontation. All his previous explanations and disguises seemed extremely pale and ridiculous at this moment.
Su Yan felt extremely uncomfortable throughout the entire meeting. He could not listen to the complex business analysis and heated debates at all. He could only feel Su Chen's gaze, which was as solid as a substance, full of disappointment and anger, and Huo Shen's occasional glances, which were filled with satisfaction and control.
Huo Shen did this on purpose. Not only did he want Su Yan's people, he also wanted to completely cut off his escape route back to the Su family, leaving him with no choice but to rely on himself.
The meeting ended, Huo Shen was determined to win, and Su Chen left first with a grim face, without even looking at Su Yan.
The atmosphere in the car on the way back to the apartment was depressing.
Huo Shen was in a good mood and played with Su Yan's cold fingers: "What did you learn today?"
Su Yan looked at the rapidly receding street outside the window, and said in a hollow voice: "I learned... You are really amazing."
"What else?"
"...I've learned that I have no other way to go." Su Yan turned his head and looked at Huo Shen. His eyes were as calm as dead water, but deep inside, there was a hint of determination to burn his boats. "Right?"
Huo Shen met his gaze, was slightly startled, and then smiled, a smile of genuine joy. He liked Su Yan's eyes that recognized the reality, which meant that he had achieved a stage of success in taming.
"Smart." He kissed Su Yan's forehead, "So, you have to be better behaved in the future."
Su Yan didn't say anything else, just looked out the window again.
Good? Yes, he will continue to be good. But this kind of goodness is not the same as before.
After today, he completely understood that relying on Su Chen's understanding and the system's help was futile. The only person he could rely on was himself. And his greatest "asset" right now was precisely Huo Shen's "interest" in him and his desire to control him.
He wanted to turn this "interest" into his own weapon. He wanted to use the opportunity to stay with Huo Shen to truly learn, observe, find Huo Shen's weaknesses, or... accumulate capital for himself to escape in the future.
From today on, he is no longer just a "toy" for survival, he will be a "lurker" with a purpose.
This game has just begun.
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