Damn it, I'm surrounded by insane Alphas!

It's Gu Chen.

But he looked very different.

He had lost so much weight that his old coat looked rather loose on him, and his lips were tightly pressed together, pale and bloodless.

He'd been here a long time; he'd been here ever since Shi Ran and the man walked into the restaurant together.

Shi Ran seemed very happy, even his back view was cheerful. He was holding the man's hand, leaning against him and looking up at him while saying something.

Even just by looking at his profile, he could recognize that the man was Fu Yanshen, an enemy he had only met once but had fought against many times.

What made his heart tighten even more than Shi Ran and Fu Yanshen appearing together was that Shi Ran exuded a relaxed and vibrant aura that he hadn't seen in a long time.

He thought he wouldn't see Shi Ran tonight, so he planned to settle down first and then go find Shi Ran.

Unexpectedly, just as he was about to leave, Shi Ran ran out of the restaurant entrance alone, and his action of getting into the car suddenly stopped.

He watched as Shi Ran excitedly ran towards the cake shop, then came out carrying a cake box that looked meticulously prepared. He saw Shi Ran's joy and happiness, knowing full well that it wasn't for him.

When Ran was about to disappear at the restaurant entrance again, he finally couldn't hold back and almost instinctively called out his name.

These days, he has called Shi Ran's name many times.

"Wang Cheng, have you heard from Shi Ran?"

"Silly cat, stupid cat, you're just as pathetic as me. Even Shiran doesn't want us anymore."

"Yes, Shi Ran, let's carve his name in the inner circle."

Not far away, Shi Ran stood rooted to the spot, staring in shock at Gu Chen who had suddenly appeared in Paris, unable to move.

Finally, he found this place.

Shi Ran watched Gu Chen walk towards her, and the cake box in her hand suddenly felt incredibly heavy.

Upstairs was a warm dining room, a carefully prepared dinner, and Fu Yanshen waiting for him to return.

Downstairs appeared Gu Chen, who looked shockingly haggard after his long journey, suddenly appearing in the freezing cold.

The snow was still falling quietly on Christmas Eve.

It landed on his shoulder, and also on Gu Chen's shoulder.

It was as if this sudden, unprepared, and speechless moment, along with all the inescapable past, were being gently and cruelly covered up.

Gu Chen didn't speak immediately, but simply reached out and gently touched the back of Shi Ran's hand that was holding the cake box.

The touch was very light, yet it made Shi Ran tremble violently, instinctively wanting to back away.

Gu Chen's hand was faster; he grabbed Shi Ran's wrist and pulled the still somewhat dazed Shi Ran into his arms.

The embrace was icy cold, and the coat was covered with unmelted snowflakes, carrying a biting chill.

But the force with which they hugged was astonishing, as if they wanted to embed you into their body.

Shi Ran's face was forced against his cold wool coat, her nose filled with the smell of wind and snow, as well as the familiar snowy scent of Gu Chen.

"Let me go..."

Shi Ran finally realized what was happening and began to struggle, her voice muffled by her clothes, filled with obvious panic and anger.

Gu Chen tightened his grip on her arm.

His chin rested on the top of Shi Ran's head, his Adam's apple bobbed violently, and his body even trembled slightly.

"sorry."

Shi Ran's struggle suddenly stopped.

He almost thought he had misheard.

Gu Chen felt the stiffness in the person's arms and tightened his grip a little, as if afraid that if he let go, the person would suddenly disappear.

He buried his face even deeper, his voice muffled and trembling uncontrollably:

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you said you needed money that day... because of your mother's illness."

Shi Ran felt as if her heart had been squeezed tightly, and her breath caught in her throat.

So he already knew.

"If I had known back then that you were doing it for Mom..."

Gu Chen's voice paused for a moment, as if something was blocking his throat, "I won't hesitate at all, I'll give you as much as you want."

His tone was urgent to the point of humility. He really didn't know that Shi Ran's mother hadn't died. He had clearly checked Shi Ran's background before, and just as Gu Hongyuan said, her biological parents had already passed away.

So when Shi Ran first asked him to borrow 10 million yuan, saying it was to pay off debts, he never imagined it was for medical expenses, let alone that this 20 million yuan was also for his mother.

Money—because of the one thing he had no shortage of, he pushed away the person he loved, all because of a ridiculous misunderstanding.

Gu Chen released the person in his arms, looked down at him earnestly, and said, "Shi Ran, you know, my feelings for you have never been unconditional..."

As Shi Ran listened, the wall in her heart that had been built for so long finally cracked open.

What welled up was not relief, but a stronger sense of grievance, anger, and a long-suppressed feeling of suffocation.

He shoved Gu Chen hard, staggering backward and nearly falling as the snow slipped on the wet ground.

"I have no idea!"

He practically shouted it out; his pent-up emotions finally found an outlet.

"Gu Chen, I don't know! I don't know which of your words are true and which are false! I don't know when you love me and when you hate me!"

Tears welled up unexpectedly.

"You never ask me what I need; you only use your own methods and your own logic to decide everything for me."

His voice trembled, and he could barely stand.

"Including what you call love, loving you is too exhausting, I don't want to..."

"Sometimes..."

Gu Chen's face paled even more, and she instinctively wanted to move closer and grab his hand. "You know I'm not—"

"I have no idea!"

She suddenly flung his hand away.

The next second, he didn't even realize it—

"Smack."

A crisp sound.

It sounded particularly jarring in the quiet, snowy night.

Shi Ran's hand froze in mid-air, his palm burning with pain, and his mind went blank.

He...he hit Gu Chen?

Gu Chen turned his face to one side, and a clear red mark quickly appeared on his pale cheek.

Time seemed to stand still.

Gu Chen didn't move. A few seconds later, he slowly turned his face back.

There was no anger, no violence.

He grabbed Shi Ran's still trembling hand again, and then, under Shi Ran's horrified gaze, placed that hand on his slapped cheek.

"Does your hand hurt, hmm?"

His voice was hoarse, yet unusually calm.

"If this makes you feel any better," he looked at Shi Ran, almost pleading, "could you hit me a few more times?"

"I'll beat you until you stop being angry."

Suddenly, he froze completely.

He looked at Gu Chen's tears, at this once high and mighty man, now holding his hand, standing almost humbly in the snow.

My heart ached and hurt, and I could barely breathe.

The snow fell a little more heavily.

Before Shi Ran could recover from Gu Chen's loss of control, she suddenly heard a very light footstep behind her.

Very stable, very slow.

Unlike Gu Chen, who was covered in snow and looked disheveled.

He subconsciously turned around and saw Fu Yanshen standing at the entrance of the restaurant not far away.

He had obviously been standing there for a while.

And obviously, they saw everything that just happened.

Including that slap, including the way Gu Chen looked with tears in his eyes.

Fu Yanshen's gaze first fell on Shi Ran's face to make sure he was alright, and then slowly moved to Gu Chen.

That glance held no anger, but rather scrutiny.

Gu Chen turned around and looked directly at the equally powerful and dangerous man in front of him, coldly saying, "So it was you who took him away."

Fu Yanshen simply sneered, "Didn't you see it all? He's very happy with me."

Gu Chen took a step forward, completely shielding Shi Ran beside him. "Is that so?"

Fu Yanshen turned his head to look at Shi Ran, "Really, Ranran?"

Suddenly, Shi Ran found herself being stared at by the two people, and couldn't help but clench the cake ribbon in her hand. It turned out that there really was a day when she had to choose between the two.

He recalled the question Gu Chen asked him on the night of Yu Siran's engagement party: "If you had to choose between me and Fu Yanshen, who would you choose?"

At that time, Fu Yanshen had not yet returned to his life, and the berserk Gu Chen needed comfort, so he answered without hesitation, "Of course it's you."

But now?

On one side was Gu Chen.

It was his first dungeon, his first real-life experience of being moved, and also an old wound that he had been struggling to heal, no matter how hard he tried.

On one side was Fu Yanshen.

It was the hand he offered in his most desperate moment, a trust that came without question, the one who handed the choice back to him.

Shi Ran's throat tightened, he took a deep breath, and finally moved.

Step by step, she walked through the snow towards Fu Yanshen.

very slow.

But he didn't turn back.

When he stood next to Fu Yanshen and was enveloped by that familiar aura, he realized that he had been trembling the whole time.

Fu Yanshen didn't speak immediately, but simply raised his hand and draped his coat over him to shield him from the wind and snow.

A very natural protective posture.

His gaze fell on the cake box in Shi Ran's hand. He smiled slightly, took the box, and naturally grasped Shi Ran's cold hand. "Is this for me?"

Shi Ran nodded with a slight smile. Fu Yanshen raised his hand and touched his hair, his voice gentle, "You did a great job, thank you, Ranran."

Shi Ran stared at him quietly, unsure whether he was praising the cake in his hand or something else.

Gu Chen, standing not far away, was covered in snow that quickly piled up on his shoulders.

He watched as Shi Ran was carried away and disappeared by Fu Yanshen. He didn't say anything, but slowly lowered his head and smiled.

At that moment, he finally understood that he had not lost to Fu Yanshen.

He lost to Shi Ran, whom he had pushed away time and time again.

His hand was still in his coat pocket, his fingertips touching a small, cool box. Inside was the wedding ring he had found again, handcrafted by the same craftsman from years ago, with their names engraved on the inner band.

He traveled all the way to Paris, originally intending to do it tonight.

On Christmas Eve.

Amidst the crowds, snow, and lights, I bow my head and beg Shi Ran for a fresh start.

But now it seems there's no need to bring it out.

Gu Chen stood there for a long time until Wang Cheng got out of the car and asked him something, then he turned and left.

I arrived as soon as I landed!!! And I brought a very long post: Where is Jiang Xin?!