Damn it, I'm surrounded by insane Alphas!

The pink-clad man was dragged away like that.

Gu Chen walked back to Shi Ran as if nothing had happened.

His gaze swept unabashedly from the top of Shi Ran's head all the way down to his toes.

Shi Ran felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze, like a QR code that had been scanned.

Gu Chen's gaze lingered behind his ear for a moment before he uttered something startling.

You look best when you're not wearing clothes.

He didn't lower his voice; it was just enough for everyone around him to hear clearly.

"Pfft—cough cough cough!"

A guest who was drinking nearby choked and flew away.

Shi Ran: ...

Why didn't I notice this guy being so talkative in the dungeon?

Oh, if there are cannons in the dungeon, just shoot them down.

Dog! Seriously, that's so dog-like...

If it weren't for the medical expenses, he wouldn't want to stay by Gu Chen's side for even a day longer.

Even though he was practically grinding his back teeth to powder, he still pretended not to understand, saying, "I didn't hear what President Gu just said."

Then he followed Gu Chen back to his seat.

When He Ting saw the two of them coming over, his smug grin, which looked like he was watching a show, almost reached his ears.

"Hey, Mr. Gu, you've got quite the grand entrance for your hero rescue!"

Zhou Yang chimed in, adding fuel to the fire: "Yeah, Brother Gu, that kid's been with your brother for a while, how can you be so ruthless?"

Gu Chen glanced at him sideways. "Is he one of his men?"

Zhou Yang was taken aback. So you didn't know?

"Everyone in the industry knows that he's your brother's most devoted follower..."

Gu Chen interrupted impatiently, "Stop calling me my brother. We're not related by blood."

"Hey, saying that...everyone knows you two are more envious than enemies."

Shi Ran's mind was racing.

He remembered that in the dungeon, Gu Chen's father did indeed remarry, bringing with him a son and an illegitimate daughter he had already had with the Gu family.

But Gu Chen had almost broken ties with his family at the time, and he rarely mentioned anything about his family.

Moreover, so much time has passed that he really can't remember these everyday family matters.

As he was pondering this, He Ting, with a grin, picked up his wine glass and launched an attack on him.

"Come on! Little assistant, let me toast you! You managed to crack open that eternally icy Gu Chen. You should start a class; I'll be the first to sign up!"

Shi Ran raised her glass, completely unaware that she was holding the same whiskey that Gu Chen had just drunk.

"I am Shi Ran, Mr. Gu's assistant. I hope you two handsome gentlemen will give me your guidance in the future."

Gu Chen didn't say anything, but just watched Shi Ran drink her glass of wine, raising an eyebrow slightly.

But He Ting, that kid, was still up to no good after offering the toast; he wouldn't give up until he found out something.

"Hehe, tell me, Young Master Gu, where did you meet such a pretty assistant? Introduce me to one too!"

Gu Chen took the wine glass from Shi Ran, took a sip, and said calmly, "It was arranged by my family."

He Ting and Zhou Yang's expressions changed immediately, and they exchanged a glance.

"At home? Your old man introduced you to him? Don't be ridiculous..."

Shi Ran, standing to the side, awkwardly twitched the corner of her mouth. "If you really think about it, it was indeed a family-arranged marriage back then."

"Everyone knows your partner doesn't get along with you. It's already a miracle they didn't give you a beta, let alone such a pretty little Omega!"

Shi Ran was startled: ?

Screenwriter, why did you jump around?

Gu Chen was reminded of that tense family dinner from years ago by those words, and suddenly felt a little annoyed.

He stretched out his arm, put his arm around Shi Ran's waist, and pulled her close to him.

He raised his chin and pointed to the strawberries in the fruit plate next to him.

Feed me.

Suddenly, his body stiffened; the grip on his waist was so strong that he couldn't refuse.

All eyes that had been watching the spectacle gathered around.

When will this guy ever stop?

He closed his eyes and muttered, "Three hundred thousand, three hundred thousand, three hundred thousand..."

Then, resignedly, she picked up a fork, speared a strawberry, and held it to Gu Chen's lips.

Gu Chen opened his mouth with satisfaction and slowly ate the strawberry, but his gaze lingered on Shi Ran's neck.

"Hmm, it's quite sweet."

His meaning was pointed, it couldn't be clearer.

Shi Ran rolled her eyes inwardly.

Seeing Gu Chen's behavior, He Ting also became playful and deliberately imitated Gu Chen's voice.

"Hey, Assistant Shi, could you please give me one?"

He was simply looking for a good show and wanted to see Gu Chen's reaction.

However, before He Ting could finish speaking—

Gu Chen stretched out his long leg and kicked He Ting's recliner without any mercy!

The force was immense, and the angle was incredibly tricky!

"Fuck!!!"

He Ting cried out in surprise, and he and his chair crashed into the swimming pool, sprawled out!

The DJ was stunned, and the music in the venue suddenly stopped.

The entire place fell silent, except for the sound of He Ting splashing and cursing in the pool.

When He Ting was a child, his father kicked him into a reservoir, leaving him with severe psychological trauma.

From then on, he developed a fear of water and became a complete landlubber.

Shi Ran cursed inwardly, then jumped into the pool with a "plop," swam over to He Ting who was choking on water, grabbed his arm and dragged him to the edge of the pool.

Gu Chen's face instantly turned ashen on the shore, and his grip on the wine glass tightened slowly.

He knew, of course, that He Ting couldn't swim, and kicking him was a warning that Shi Ran was not someone they could joke around with.

Shi Ran was really something, embarrassing him in front of so many people!

and…

When the hell did you learn to swim?!

Two years ago, I told myself I was afraid of water, but now I've transformed into a swimming champion, using both breaststroke and freestyle, and I even dare to jump in to save others.

Gu Chen's face grew darker and darker as he thought about it, and the air pressure around him was frighteningly low.

On the other side, He Ting was dragged ashore by Shi Ran.

Although he felt like he was about to cough up his lungs, he wasn't annoyed at all. Instead, he took advantage of Shi Ran's support and grinned cheekily.

"Cough...cough cough...It was worth it! Taking a kick in exchange for a beauty saving my life, this was a good deal!"

Okay, now Gu Chen's gaze turned even colder.

Shi Ran herself climbed up, completely soaked, her silk shirt clinging to her body, outlining her slender and supple waistline.

The Alphas around him immediately gave him strange looks.

Gu Chen's eyes darkened. He tore off his coat and threw it directly at Shi Ran's head.

Shi Ran was startled when she was covered by the coat that carried Gu Chen's body temperature and pheromones.

"Mr. Gu..."

He pulled off Gu Chen's suit jacket, saw the man in front of him turn his face away impatiently, and said coldly, "Go upstairs to the bedroom to change your clothes."

"Oh, uh... Mr. Gu, where's the bedroom?"

Gu Chen turned around abruptly, her eyes devoid of warmth, and questioned him in a low voice, "You can't find the place you've done two hundred times?"

Shi Ran took a deep breath and said fiercely!

I did it two hundred times along with those four, you know!

But outwardly, he could only lower his head and say sorry, then wrap his coat tighter and quickly turn and run away.

As soon as he stepped into the villa's entrance hall, he remembered everything.

Because the villa is almost unchanged from when he left it. The beige sofa is still in its original place, where he used to love to curl up like a boneless person.

The kitchen remains spacious and bright.

He remembered that year on his birthday, Gu Chen, for the first time ever, personally cooked him a strawberry cake.

Even with remote guidance from a chef, the finished product was still a mess, with cream filling everywhere.

Gu Chen probably felt too embarrassed, so he secretly hid the ugly cake in the refrigerator and ordered an extremely expensive fondant cake to be delivered.

But unexpectedly, he still found out in the end.

He took dozens of close-up photos of that ugly-cute cake and posted them on his WeChat Moments to show off.

"Do my family members watching this think I'd eat a rat?"

Later there was a Polaroid photo of him embracing a reluctant Gu Chen and that ugly cake.

He even forcibly stuck this Polaroid photo right in the middle of the refrigerator door.

Back then, their refrigerator door was covered with refrigerator magnets they had collected from their travels, as well as various Polaroid photos of the two of them.

Gu Chen, with a deadpan expression, was standing at the foot of Mount Fuji when he suddenly jumped up and playfully hooked his arm around someone's neck.

He was caught stealing a kiss on Gu Chen's cheek on a gondola in Venice.

There was also a scene on the streets of Paris where the two of them were eating a huge crepe together, cream smeared on their lips, and grinning at the camera…

And now…

The refrigerator door was completely empty.

All the fresh, warm traces were wiped clean.

Shi Ran's heart sank; he knew that Gu Chen hated him.

They resented him for disappearing without a word, which is why they erased all evidence of his existence so thoroughly.

In fact, Gu Chen was his first role, and he wasn't as adept at it back then.

He didn't know how to attract an aloof Alpha; he was incredibly clumsy and could only try to win her over with his genuine feelings. In many moments…

Even he himself couldn't tell whether it was acting or genuine emotion.

He thought that once the mission was over and he left, everything would be reset to zero.

But he never imagined that the sincerity he gave away would trap others in the same place forever.

"Hello, sir."

As he was thinking, an older woman came over and interrupted his thoughts.

"Mr. Gu instructed me to take you upstairs to change your clothes."

Shi Ran then came to her senses and followed her aunt up the stairs.