Chapter 56 Silent Echo
The carriage on the return journey was dead silent.
Huo Shen drove intently, his profile hard and cold, as if the will-destroying trial in the teahouse had nothing to do with him. Su Yan leaned back in the passenger seat, tilting his head to look out the window, his eyes empty, like a delicate puppet with its soul sucked out.
Su Chen's pale, shocked face, then filled with despair and shame, was like a brand, deeply engraved in his mind. His brother's huge losses in Southeast Asia, his shady projects... These information were like bombs, shattering the image of his brother, who, though strict, always represented "family" and "integrity."
He had always thought he was a burden, one of the reasons that led to the confrontation between Su Chen and Huo Shen. But now he understood that behind Su Chen's crazy behavior, there was such unbearable selfishness and huge loopholes. He was being used, and the Su family might be dragged into a deeper quagmire.
What about Huo Shen?
He had brought me to Su Chen, brutally tearing everything apart. Why? Was it simply to prove his power and control? Was it simply to admire the gruesome sight of their brothers killing each other? Or... as he'd said, to make me "see clearly"?
Su Yan found that he was increasingly unable to understand Huo Shen. This man was like a thick, impenetrable fog. You thought you saw his cruelty, but he occasionally revealed a glimmer of humanity. You thought you had grasped a glimmer of understanding, but the next moment he was dragged deeper into the icy cave.
The car drove into the apartment's underground garage. Huo Shen turned off the engine but didn't get out immediately. In the enclosed space, only the faint breathing sounds of the two people could be heard.
"Now, do you understand?" Huo Shen suddenly spoke, his voice sounding particularly low in the small space.
Su Yan slowly turned his head and looked at him. Huo Shen's face was expressionless, but in those deep eyes, there seemed to be a subtle hint of... fatigue?
"Understand what?" Su Yan's voice was a little hoarse, with a kind of numbness after being exhausted. "Understand that my brother is an idiot? Or understand how ridiculous I am?"
Huo Shen stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly leaned over. Su Yan subconsciously shrank back, his back pressed against the cold car door.
Huo Shen's hand stopped in mid-air, not forcibly touching him as before. He simply looked closely into Su Yan's eyes, which were no longer filled with the previous teasing or anger, but with a near-pure scrutiny and... a certain indescribable complexity.
"Understand who the only person you can rely on is." Huo Shen's voice was very soft, but it carried a strange weight that hit Su Yan's heart.
After saying that, he stood up, opened the car door and got out.
Su Yan sat alone in the car, looking at Huo Shen's tall back as he walked away, and those words echoed in his ears again and again.
The only person I can rely on... is him?
This realization made Su Yan feel absurd and chilled. How could he possibly rely on a man who imprisoned him, toyed with him at will, and could destroy him and everything he had at any time?
But, besides him, who else is there?
Su Chen is in danger and might even use him. He is isolated from the outside world. Assistant Zhou is watching closely.
He actually... really only had Huo Shen left? This man he feared the most had become his only visible, twisted "support"?
A huge sense of sadness and powerlessness swept over him. He was like a person trapped in quicksand. The more he struggled, the deeper he sank. The only hand that could hold him back was the hand that was pushing him into the quicksand.
He slowly got out of the car, walked into the elevator, and returned to the magnificent cage.
Huo Shen had already taken off his coat and was sitting on the sofa in the living room, his eyes closed and his fingers rubbing his brows. He looked even more tired than before he went to the teahouse.
Su Yan stood there, hesitated for a moment, and then went to the kitchen as before, poured a cup of warm water, and quietly placed it on the coffee table in front of him.
This time, Huo Shen opened his eyes. He looked at the glass of water, then at Su Yan, who was standing beside him with his eyes downcast, his eyes deep and difficult to read.
He didn't ignore it like last time, nor did he make sarcastic remarks. He just watched silently for a few seconds, then reached out and picked up the glass of water.
He took a sip.
The movements were natural, as if it was just a trivial matter.
But Su Yan's heart trembled violently because of this simple action.
This insignificant acceptance seemed to him at that moment like a single spark flickering in the darkness. He knew he might get burned if he got too close, but he couldn't help but want to grab it.
Huo Shen put down the water cup, his eyes fell on Su Yan again, and suddenly asked a seemingly irrelevant question:
"That day in the study...what else did you take besides the key?"
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