Chapter 7 Collars and Camouflage
The cold platinum necklace stuck to his skin, like an icy snake, reminding Su Yan of his current situation at all times.
He finally put it on. Under Huo Shen's oppressive gaze through the screen, his fingers trembled as he closed the clasp. The pendant with the letter "S" hung between his collarbones like a silent brand.
After the video call ended, Su Yan stared at the bathroom mirror for a long time. The boy in the mirror was pale, his eyes filled with humiliation and a subtle hint of stubbornness. The necklace was incompatible with his elegant demeanor, yet strangely added a dangerous aura that belonged to Huo Shen.
"Live... First of all, I have to live." Su Yan muttered to himself in the mirror. He had to accept the current situation and then find a new way to live on this basis.
The system's tasks are still being released, but the content is starting to become subtle.
[New Mission: Maintain a "peaceful" relationship with Huo Shen to prevent him from destroying the protagonist's relationship. Mission Reward: Health +10/day. Failure Penalty: Depends.]
Su Yan looked at the task and gave a wry smile. The system seemed to have tacitly accepted Huo Shen as a "variable" in this world. The task changed from active "matchmaking" to passive "maintaining peace" and "avoiding destruction." This implicitly acknowledged Huo Shen's enormous influence.
And the way to "keep the peace" is to obey.
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The next day, Su Yan received Huo Shen's second text message, which contained an address and time: [7 o'clock tonight, Genting Apartment.]
The order was concise and clear and could not be refused.
Su Yan didn't reply, knowing it was meaningless. At seven o'clock in the evening, he showed up at the bottom of the city's most luxurious apartment building. Huo Shen's assistant was already waiting at the door, silently leading him to the duplex apartment on the top floor.
Huo Shen was sitting in front of a huge French window, overlooking the city's nightscape. He was wearing casual home clothes, lacking the sharpness of the mall, but with a bit more of the laziness of home and... an even more heart-pounding sense of casualness.
"Come here." He waved at Su Yan.
Su Yan took a deep breath and walked over slowly. The necklace pendant swayed gently with his steps.
Huo Shen's eyes fell on the "S", and he smiled with satisfaction. He reached out and pulled him to sit next to him. The movements were natural and intimate, as if they had already been like this.
"Have you eaten?" Huo Shen asked, his fingers casually curling the loose hair on Su Yan's forehead.
"Eat...eat." Su Yan's body was stiff, as if sitting on pins and needles.
"You're lying." Huo Shen chuckled, his fingertips stroking his cheek. "You're so nervous that you can't even breathe properly, and you still have the mind to eat?"
Su Yan pursed his lips, unable to refute.
That night, Huo Shen didn't do anything excessive to him. He just made him accompany him for dinner and then forced him to watch an obscure foreign movie. Throughout the whole process, Huo Shen behaved like a... barely gentle partner, if you ignore the occasional possessive and controlling look he gave him.
But Su Yan knew that this was just the calm before the storm, part of the process of taming his prey. Huo Shen was telling him in his own way: Your time, your behavior, and even your emotions are all under my control.
Before leaving, Huo Shen pinched his chin and forced him to look up: "Remember how you feel now. Get used to it."
From that day on, Su Yan's life entered a strange polarization.
In front of Su Chen, he tried hard to play the role of the younger brother who gradually recovered and became sensible after being frightened. Occasionally, he would "inadvertently" say a few good words for Lin Qingyu, carefully maintaining the minimum level of the matchmaking task.
In front of Huo Shen, he was a silent, obedient "possession." He would keep appointments on time, accompany Huo Shen for meals and reading, and even, at his request, stumbling over insignificant daily reports. He had learned to hide all his rebellious emotions, using numbness and obedience as a protective color.
He was like an actor dancing on the edge of a knife, performing two completely different plays at the same time, fearing that one mistake would lead to total loss.
What reassured him somewhat was that, ever since he'd donned the necklace and displayed his "submission," Huo Shen seemed temporarily content with this state, no longer deliberately attempting to disrupt the slowly developing relationship between Su Chen and Lin Qingyu. The system's daily "peace" mission was successfully completed, and his health remained steadily high.
But this balance is fragile and vulnerable.
That day, Su Yan was in Huo Shen's apartment, bored and flipping through a financial magazine, while Huo Shen was handling official business. Suddenly, Huo Shen's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, frowned slightly, and walked to the balcony to answer it.
Su Yan had no intention of eavesdropping, but the balcony door was not closed tightly, and Huo Shen's cold voice with a hint of impatience could be heard faintly:
"...Lin Qingyu? There's no need to report him to me anymore. It's meaningless."
"...Well, I know Su Chen is in contact with that project...let them fight for it."
"…I have more interesting 'toys' now."
The word "toy" was like an icy thorn that pierced Su Yan's heart. His hand, which was flipping through the magazine, froze instantly, and his blood ran cold.
It turned out that in Huo Shen's eyes, all his forbearance and disguise were just a game about "toys".
An indescribable anger and humiliation rushed to his head, almost completely breaking down the psychological defenses he had built up over this period of time.
At this moment, Huo Shen came back after finishing his phone call. He saw Su Yan's stiff back, walked up behind him, put his arms around his waist naturally, rested his chin on the top of his head, and said with a hint of lazy satisfaction in his voice:
"What's wrong? Are you bored?"
Su Yan leaned in his arms, his body was cold, but a flame began to burn in his heart.
He couldn't go on like this. He couldn't remain a passive "toy" waiting for fate forever.
He must find a way to regain a little bit of initiative in this dangerous game, even if it's just a little bit.
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