Chapter 73 The Final Stage
——＜A rigid dividing line＞
After Assistant Zhou left, Su Yan stood frozen in the center of the room, like a statue without a soul. Icy fear, like vines, coiled around his feet, strangling him so hard he could barely breathe.
The final scene... Assistant Zhou was about to take action. And I was just one part of his plan, a pawn to confuse Huo Shen, or... to deal a fatal blow to Huo Shen.
Escape? Since Assistant Zhou dared to reveal his hand, he would never give him a chance to escape. Resist? It would be like hitting a rock with an egg.
It seemed that he only had one way left - to follow Assistant Zhou's script and step onto that unknown "stage".
That evening, Assistant Zhou personally brought Su Yan a suit. It was a white suit that was even more refined than the one he'd worn at the charity dinner, yet also more restrictive. It made Su Yan look even more like a fragile porcelain doll. He even brought a makeup artist with him to cover up his pale complexion and the panic in his eyes.
Throughout the entire process, Su Yan was extremely obedient, like a puppet whose strings had been pulled. He looked at his meticulously groomed, beautiful yet empty self in the mirror and felt a deep sense of irony.
When Huo Shen saw Su Yan, who was ready, his gaze lingered on him for a few seconds, his eyes hard to discern. He said nothing, but stretched out his hand, motioning Su Yan to follow.
This time, the reception wasn't held at a hotel, but on a luxury yacht docked at a private pier. The sea was pitch black at night, illuminated only by the yacht's bright lights, which reflected the shimmering water like a floating, isolated island.
Upon boarding the yacht, Su Yan immediately sensed a completely different atmosphere. While the atmosphere was still filled with elegantly dressed people and the clinking of glasses, a more secretive, tense atmosphere permeated the air. The number of guests present was small, but they all seemed to be key figures with ties to the Huo family's core interests, or perhaps... specially appointed by Assistant Zhou.
Assistant Zhou was like a loyal shadow, always following Huo Shen and handling everything with ease, but Su Yan could sense that beneath his calm surface, there was a kind of excitement that was about to close the net.
Huo Shen seemed to have sensed something as well. While he remained calm while conversing, his gaze was sharper than usual, like a dormant cheetah, silently observing the movements around him. Occasionally, he would glance at Su Yan, his gaze scrutinizing, yet also carrying a subtle... inquiry.
Su Yan's heart was in his throat. He knew Huo Shen was suspicious, but he wasn't sure if Huo Shen was suspicious of Assistant Zhou or...himself.
Halfway through the reception, Assistant Zhou arranged a small "entertainment program" - a seemingly casual charity auction with several precious antiques as the items.
After the first few pieces were successfully auctioned, the etiquette lady brought out a tray covered with red velvet. When the red cloth was removed, Su Yan's pupils suddenly contracted - on the tray was the antique brooch that Huo Shen had pinned on him at the charity dinner and then secretly hidden away!
Assistant Zhou held the microphone and smiled politely, "The next lot to be auctioned is a bit special. It's a personal possession that Mr. Huo gave away, and it's said to be of great significance. All proceeds will be donated to a charity fund."
Everyone's eyes were focused on the brooch, then shifted ambiguously to Su Yan, whose face was pale. Everyone knew what the brooch represented. Assistant Zhou's move was tantamount to once again nailing Su Yan to the pillar of shame as "Huo Shen's forbidden delicacy" in front of everyone, while also testing and provoking Huo Shen.
Huo Shen's face darkened instantly, and he shot a cold look at Assistant Zhou.
Assistant Zhou seemed oblivious to this and continued smiling, "Mr. Huo, why don't you name the price for this item yourself?"
In an instant, everyone's attention was focused on Huo Shen. This was a blatant attempt to force him to abdicate!
Su Yan felt cold all over. He knew that the critical moment had arrived. Assistant Zhou was forcing Huo Shen to express his opinion, and he was also forcing himself to make a choice.
Should he continue to act like a docile pet and watch Huo Shen being humiliated in public (if Huo Shen refuses to make an offer or makes an offer that is too low), or...
In this suffocating silence, Su Yan suddenly took a step forward, and in everyone's astonished gaze, he reached out and picked up the brooch.
He raised his eyes and looked at Huo Shen. His face was no longer submissive and timid, but instead a desperate calm. He gently pinned the brooch back on his chest, then turned to Assistant Zhou. His voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard throughout the deck:
"Assistant Zhou might have remembered it wrongly." Su Yan looked directly into Assistant Zhou's eyes, which had instantly turned cold, and said word by word, "This brooch, Mr. Zhou, never mentioned auctioning it. It belongs to me, and only to me."
He chose to stand on Huo Shen's side! On this seemingly desperate stage, he gambled his last chip - the insignificant "value" and "loyalty" to Huo Shen!
The entire deck was dead silent. Assistant Zhou's smile vanished completely, his eyes filled with a terrifyingly sinister look. Huo Shen, looking at Su Yan, who stood before him, his body trembling slightly but his eyes determined, saw unprecedented, complex emotions surging in his deep eyes.
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