Damn it, I'm surrounded by insane Alphas!

When Gu Chen arrived at the restaurant, Gu Jingwei was already sitting by the window waving at him.

He walked over and noticed that there was another girl sitting next to her.

Gu Chen's gaze never wavered; he assumed it was one of Gu Jingwei's friends, since she was always busy, like a social butterfly.

But just as he was about to sit down, he suddenly smelled a very faint aroma of fig wafting past his nose.

It was very mild, but quite familiar, because it tasted so much like Shi Ran's.

Gu Chen suddenly stopped moving and looked up at the other side.

The girl opposite me was wearing the latest Loewe off-white knit dress, with long, smooth hair; she looked like someone from a wealthy family and well-mannered.

Almost instinctively, an Alpha feels a natural affinity for the person in front of him when faced with pheromones that resonate with an Omega.

But he quickly frowned because of the smell...

The pheromones on He Shiran are so similar.

It seems like there's an ulterior motive.

"Brother, this is He Ran, my best friend."

Seeing his interest, Gu Jingwei, always eager for a good show, smiled and introduced the situation.

He Ran smiled and nodded politely: "Hello, Mr. Gu."

Gu Chen didn't respond, but just narrowed his eyes slightly.

He Ran...the He family?

The low-profile and mysterious He family?

The He family has produced many great artists and scholars in its ancestors, and are true "old money" in the real sense. They are rarely active in the world of fame and fortune, but if you were to mention the major families in Y City, the He family would definitely be among the top.

He stared at her without any attempt to hide it, until Gu Jingwei couldn't help but tease him, "Brother, you're staring at me so directly, you're scaring me."

Gu Chen ignored her teasing, cautiously averting his gaze and getting to the point: "Do you sometimes use WeChat?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"Lend me your phone."

Gu Jingwei was taken aback, then suddenly realized and became excited, "Brother! So you really got blocked by Assistant Shi!"

She turned to He Ran excitedly, completely unaware of the other's slightly stiff smile.

"This Shi Ran is my brother's precious assistant. To be honest, it's not that simple! Look, she's even making my brother lower himself like this. What kind of relationship do you think they have?"

Gu Chen expressionlessly reached out his hand to her and said coldly, "My phone."

Gu Jingwei handed it over while continuing to laugh, "Brother, you've finally met your match? I thought you never took the initiative with anyone."

Gu Chen ignored her and went straight to Shi Ran on her WeChat, sending her a short message.

This time, Shi Ran added Gu Chen back in just one minute.

Gu Chen looked at the friend request that popped up again on his phone, and his brow finally relaxed slightly.

Gu Jingwei leaned closer curiously: "What did you send? It's so effective!"

On the chat interface, there was only one cold but incisive sentence:

"Add me on WeChat, I'll send you your year-end bonus."

Gu Jingwei burst out laughing: "So this is your method for pursuing someone? Bro, throwing money at them?"

Gu Chen ignored her, but for Shi Ran, a top-tier money-grubber, this was indeed the most effective approach.

He lowered his head and took a sip of tea, but the lingering aroma of figs still hung in the air, making him a little irritated.

He Ran remained seated quietly, her back straight, her hands clasped on her knees, even the curve of her lips was just right.

It's so perfect, as perfect as a carefully arranged porcelain doll.

This only fueled Gu Chen's suspicions.

"Miss He."

Gu Chen suddenly spoke, his voice low, "I wonder... what perfume you usually wear?"

He Ran looked up at her, her smile gentle and polite: "I don't use perfume."

No need for perfume...

His gaze fell on He Ran's slender neck, where there were no suppression patches, so she was a Beta?

But Beta doesn't use perfume, so how could she possibly smell sweet?

Gu Chen was stunned when he thought of this. Wasn't Shi Ran like this before?

Although he had no glands, he inexplicably emitted a fig scent. My initial interest in Shi Ran stemmed from this scent on him, which was similar to the one in my mother's study.

Gu Chen was deep in thought when suddenly a sharp pain shot through his head.

"hiss..."

He instinctively pressed his temples and lowered his head.

The pain only lasted a few seconds, but it came on so intensely that he felt a little dazed afterward.

Gu Jingwei noticed his unusual behavior and stopped smiling. "Brother, what's wrong?"

He Ran simply looked at him quietly. The fragrance of figs in the air seemed to become clearer, seeping into his nostrils in wisps.

Gu Chen spoke in a hoarse voice, "It's nothing."

But he realized that he remembered every detail of what he had just recalled about Shi Ran, except for Shi Ran's face...

It's like looking through frosted glass, leaving only a blurry outline.

How could this be... that I suddenly can't remember?

Just then, his phone screen lit up with a message from Wang Cheng: "[President Gu, Assistant Shi has added me back.]"

He composed himself, picked up his phone, and opened Shi Ran's Moments. Just then, a newly posted Moments update popped up.

The accompanying photo shows the rare bright sunshine of a Parisian winter, shining on the shimmering river. The composition is very casual, as if it were just a snapshot.

The caption was simple: "Sunbathing."

Gu Chen zoomed in on the photo, and then zoomed in again.

Sure enough, in the corner of the photo, a hand with distinct knuckles appeared, wearing a Richard Miller watch that Gu Chen recognized very well.

He recognized it as Fu Yanshen's watch.

Almost the instant he saw it clearly, the post mysteriously disappeared.

It's obvious that Shi Ran didn't pay attention to the group when he posted it, or... he deliberately made it visible only to him for those few seconds.

Gu Jingwei also craned her neck to look, but Gu Chen had already turned off the screen with a blank expression.

He had finished his task and immediately stood up. "I'm leaving now."

"Huh? Dinner's not ready yet—"

Gu Chen quickly left. Wang Cheng's car was already waiting at the door. As soon as he got in, he instructed Wang Cheng, "Investigate He Ran from the He family, especially about her pheromones, as soon as possible."

Wang Cheng was visibly taken aback: "The He family? That artistic family, the He family?"

"Yes, investigate immediately."

Gu Chen leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and gave an address.

"Let's not go back to the hotel, let's go here."

Wang Cheng immediately changed the route as instructed. Gu Chen even got off the bus once along the way. When he returned, he had an exquisite paper bag and a small bunch of elegantly wrapped white tulips in his hand.

Upon arriving at his destination, Wang Cheng discovered that it was a top-tier private medical institution.

Could this be... the hospital where Shi Ran's mother works?

But Shi Ran was clearly not here in that WeChat Moments post just now. Is President Gu going to visit alone?

Before getting out of the car, Gu Chen hesitated for a moment, then said to Wang Cheng, "You should come along too."

They walked through the quiet corridor and stopped in front of a hospital room.

He looked through the glass window in the door and saw a woman sitting on the hospital bed. Although she was pale and thin, she was in good spirits.

Most importantly, the gentle features between her eyebrows and eyes really do resemble Shi Ran by about five or six points.

Gu Chen tightened his grip on the flowers slightly. She... really was Shi Ran's mother.

Why would Gu Hongyuan lie to himself? Why would Shi Ran's information not match up?

He took a deep breath, finally made up his mind, and gently knocked on the door.

Hearing the voice, the mother turned around and was somewhat surprised to see the tall, unfamiliar man. "You are...?"

"Hello, Auntie."

Gu Chen stepped forward, his tone unusually gentle and respectful.

He placed the bouquet on the bedside table, where a pile of expensive tonics and fruit baskets already lay. "I am Gu Chen, from Shi Ran..."

He paused, momentarily at a loss for how to define himself.

Former boss? Ex-husband? Or... just a friend?

The woman looked at him, then suddenly smiled, her voice weak:

"You must be President Gu? Ranran mentioned you to me."