Trapped Beast

"That was indeed the case." Chairman Su's smile faded slightly as he studied Huo Jiu. He said tactfully, "You really haven't been doing very well these past few days."

"Thanks to you." Huo Jiu said, "Before you people showed up, I was doing just fine."

Chairman Su smiled with interest. Looking at Huo Jiu's stubborn, sharp-tongued manner, he decided to crush the boy's useless pride.

"So you think that being beaten by your alcoholic father every day before the age of eleven, then running away from home after eleven, wandering the streets every day, being despised by the neighbors, isolated by classmates, bullied by thugs, and even ostracized by the people collecting scrap on the streets—days when everyone looked down on you... were pretty good?"

Chairman Su wanted the child to face reality. Only then could he make Huo Jiu understand what kind of life a son of Su Shiyuan ought to live. Only then could he make Huo Jiu willingly lie on the operating table for a bone marrow transplant.

Chairman Su was already highly skilled at balancing kindness and intimidation, using both soft and hard tactics. Still, using such methods on a sixteen-year-old child was a first for him.

"Do you know how much Su Zhuo gets for monthly allowance..."

"...They really did call me a little bastard without a mother." Huo Jiu suddenly spoke. He did not deny Chairman Su's words. He merely stated calmly, "You married that bastard's mother."

The smile on Chairman Su's face became a little hard to maintain.

Huo Jiu took a satisfied sip of hot cocoa and continued provoking Chairman Su. "When you say I'll receive the same treatment as Su Zhuo, do you mean that after you die, Su Zhuo and I'll split the Su family's inheritance equally, including Su Corporation's shares?"

Chairman Su's face turned livid.

Huo Jiu chuckled, curled up in the booth, and retorted in a tone that delighted in stirring up trouble, "Aren't you good at making pretty promises? The moment you're asked to mean it, you don't dare say anything."

Chairman Su took a deep breath. "Angering me won't do you any good."

"But it won't do me any harm either." Huo Jiu stretched lazily. He had always lived by the principle: If I'm unhappy, no one else gets to be happy either.

Words like petty and vengeful were made for people like him.

"I'm curious. Why didn't you and the woman who gave birth to me have another child to serve as your precious son's medicine cabinet?" Huo Jiu continued needling Chairman Su. "Cord blood and all that. Draw white blood cells from his body, take bone marrow from him, and if your precious son's condition worsens in the future, you could even cut out one of his kidneys for him—"

"Your body can do the same." Chairman Su interrupted Huo Jiu. With his self-control, he would not curse at Huo Jiu outright. But his words struck precisely at Huo Jiu's sore spot. "You are Man Zhen's son, which makes you my son. And you happen to share such a connection with Xiao Zhuo. I believe this is a gift from heaven. A gift for you as well."

"You believe in that?" Huo Jiu found it rather funny. "If this is a gift from heaven, then your son being born with leukemia..."

Huo Jiu leaned forward slightly, staring at Chairman Su. His smile was full of malicious mockery. "Was that heaven's punishment for you?"

"How many bad things did you do in the first half of your life for heaven to punish you like this?"

Chairman Su's face went completely cold. He looked at Huo Jiu with icy eyes. It had been many years since anyone had dared speak to him like that.

Huo Jiu paid it no mind. After finishing the last sip of hot cocoa in his cup, he stood up. "I may not be a good person, but I hate hypocrites even more. I advise you not to invite a wolf into your home. If you really provoke me, the consequences may not be something you can bear."

With that, Huo Jiu turned and left the coffee shop.

The assistant and several bodyguards standing outside watched Huo Jiu expressionlessly. They were merely waiting for Chairman Su's command to swarm him, force him into the car, and take him straight back to the Su family home.

At that moment, Huo Jiu suddenly heard an almost imperceptible click beside his ear. It sounded as though the hands of a clock had turned backward.

The next second, he was back in the coffee shop. Chairman Su, seated across from him, said with admiration in his eyes, "You're much smarter than I imagined..."

A trace of surprise finally appeared on Huo Jiu's listless face. He looked around the coffee shop's decor in astonishment, then turned his gaze back to Chairman Su, who was still talking away.

What had just happened?

Trapped Beast

"Was that your doing?" Huo Jiu interrupted Chairman Su.

"What?" Chairman Su paused slightly, assuming Huo Jiu was questioning what had happened to him over the past few days. He immediately smiled and played dumb. "I don't understand what you mean. Is there some misunderstanding between us..."

Huo Jiu could not be bothered with Chairman Su. He rose and headed outside. The instant he stepped out of the coffee shop, that clicking sound rang in his ears again. The next second, Huo Jiu was seated in the coffee shop once more.

"...Interesting." Huo Jiu looked around and rose from his seat. This time, however, he did not rush to leave. Instead, he wandered around the hall for quite some time, trying to find a loophole.

Chairman Su was thoroughly baffled, unable to understand what Huo Jiu was trying to do. Even so, he patiently watched Huo Jiu and ordered him breakfast. "Hungry? These past few days..."

"Can you say something else?" Huo Jiu turned around and suddenly asked.

"What?" Chairman Su was stunned again. Clearly, he could not keep up with Huo Jiu's train of thought.

"Why does this conversation keep repeating?" Huo Jiu was very curious. "What triggers the repetition? Can't I leave this coffee shop?"

"What on earth are you talking about?" Chairman Su truly could not understand Huo Jiu. Was this child pretending to be insane, or had the blows of the past few days been too much? Had he really gone mad?

"Do you need me to take you to the hospital? Or shall we go home now and have the family doctor examine you?"