Damn it, I'm surrounded by insane Alphas!

Shi Ran slipped out through the side door and wandered aimlessly along the path until she unknowingly arrived at the artificial lake.

He sat down by the lake, just about to video chat with his mother, when a familiar voice sounded behind him.

"I've been looking everywhere, I never expected to find you here."

Shi Ran almost immediately sprang up, wanting to find an excuse to slip away, but her wrist was suddenly grabbed by the person who came over—it was Lu Lin.

Lu Lin's palm was very hot, and the force was so great that it was impossible to break free.

Why are you avoiding me?

Shi Ran tried to pull her hand back, but failed. She could only force a smile and say awkwardly, "No, Mr. Lu, you're overthinking it."

"Young Master Lu..." Lu Lin repeated the title, staring at Shi Ran, "Shi Ran, you've only called me Young Master Lu twice."

"The first time was two years ago, the day you left the rented apartment. You said to me, 'Young Master Lu, we're not from the same world.'"

"The first time was the day I met you again at the Gu family home."

He took a step closer, his hot breath almost landing on Shi Ran's face.

"Every time it's to push me away, what about this time? Are you going to push me away again?"

Shi Ran subconsciously looked up and met Lu Lin's excessively beautiful eyes.

Lu Lin has changed. His eyes used to be bright, full of sunshine and reckless impulsiveness.

But now it's faded, and its former brilliance is nowhere to be found.

Lu Lin stared intently at the person in front of him; just looking at Shi Ran made it hard for him to suppress his impulse.

How long has it been since he last looked at Shiran like this?

These past few days, when I've run into Shi Ran at the company, he just clenches his fists and hurried past.

Whenever he thought about what Yu Siran had done, he felt that he had no right to see Shi Ran or to be nice to him anymore.

He could only ask Wang Cheng to deliver his meals every day, deceiving himself and foolishly hoping that Shi Ran would guess it was him.

He even followed Shi Ran to the cafeteria, watching from afar, swallowing the unpalatable food while watching Shi Ran's figure, and somehow felt it was a stolen sweetness.

But soon, even the right to watch from afar will be gone.

Because he had promised that once the project stabilized, he would return to City C, put on another set of shackles, and embark on the preordained path.

He just wanted to take one last gamble before losing everything completely.

He grabbed Shi Ran's wrist and pulled her closer, whispering the question, "Shi Ran, let's go back to City C together, okay? Let's get another puppy, buy a house with a yard, and spend every day together, okay?"

Shi Ran was stunned for a moment. Perhaps Lu Lin's words were too vivid, and he was so bewitched that he actually imagined the scene, feeling so happy that it was unreal.

Yes, it's not true.

How could he possibly abandon his mother? How could he possibly escape Gu Chen's grasp?

Lu Lin couldn't stay with her like this forever, with no clear understanding between them. He had his own life as the only son of the Lu family.

Without the absurd error of creating a duplicate, he would never have appeared in any of the countless possible endings of his life.

And what if one day this mistake is corrected?

His memories were erased with a single click, returning him to his original timeline, leaving him behind...

Shi Ran dared not think about it. He simply lowered his face and shook his head. "Many things are not as we imagine, Lu Lin."

"What do you mean? Are you worried about Gu Chen? That was just a temporary mark! You don't like him at all, right?"

Shi Ran remained silent, unable to give a negative answer to the question.

"You can't possibly like him! You've only known each other for a short time... Does that mean our year and a half together means nothing? We were so happy together before, you used to..."

"Lu Lin, do you want to live your whole life in the past?"

Shi Ran's words left Lu Lin stunned on the spot.

Are you blaming me?

Lu Lin's eyes instantly reddened. "It's my fault for being late that night. I'm so sorry... so very sorry. I was in the hospital with my mom, you know that..."

But Shi Ran just turned her face away and wouldn't look at him. He suddenly panicked and gripped Shi Ran's hand tightly.

"Shi Ran, don't ignore me, look at me..."

He explained somewhat incoherently, trying to hug Shi Ran.

"Let me go..."

Shi Ran instinctively gave him a sharp shove, and Lu Lin staggered backward.

His elbow slammed heavily against the cold ground, but he seemed not to feel any pain and didn't even try to get up.

He knelt down on the damp grass and took Shi Ran's hand again.

"Sometimes."

He looked up, and warm tears rolled down his cheeks without warning, landing on their clasped hands, both hot and cold.

"Please don't leave me." His voice was broken, each word trembling with sobs. "Don't leave me alone again... please?"

Shi Ran didn't dare to look at Lu Lin at all, and she couldn't believe that the person kneeling on the ground now, humbly crying and begging her not to abandon him, was the arrogant and domineering young master of the Lu family.

Lu Lin gently rested his forehead against Shi Ran's leg, his voice trembling uncontrollably, "I've done a lot of awful things, I'll change, I'll change everything... just don't ignore me."

The wound from two years ago seems to be aching again.

On the day the news of Shi Ran's death came, he sat in his dimly lit rented room all night.

He didn't regain consciousness until the early morning when their pet dog licked his palm.

The feeling of being abandoned is too painful. He has experienced it once and never wants to repeat it again.

He could no longer hold back his tears, which he had been suppressing for so long. Trembling, he uttered words he himself could hardly believe: "Just don't ignore me..."

"You can be with him too."

Shi Ran looked down at him in shock. Lu Lin seemed to be burned by his gaze as well. He himself couldn't believe that he would say such a humiliating thing.

But that's what he's thinking right now.

As long as Shi Ran doesn't lose contact with him, he'd be happy even if Shi Ran never marks him for the rest of his life.

Even if it meant just watching Shi Ran and Gu Chen together, he would accept it.

Shi Ran stared at the person in front of her in disbelief, completely at a loss for words.

Just then, his phone rang; it was a message from Gu Chen.

Ask him where he is.

Shi Ran finally came to her senses and abruptly pulled her hand away from Lu Lin's grasp.

"I...I have something to do."

Shi Ran left without giving any answers, and simply left in a panic.

When I returned from the lake, Shi Ran's head was buzzing.

What exactly does Lu Lin mean by this? Is he willingly becoming a concubine?

But I'm not a Beta in the dungeon anymore, so I can stay completely untouched. Now I'm an Omega. Are you going to take turns marking me every day?

Shi Ran's head started to ache more and more, so she quickly went to the bathroom to tidy herself up and then went to the auction house to find Gu Chen.

The auction was held in a small banquet hall on the other side of the manor. A waiter led Shi Ran into the hall and towards Gu Chen's seat.

Gu Chen watched him sit down, his gaze sweeping over his face. "Where have you been?"

The voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unyielding, questioning tone.

"It was too stuffy inside, so I went out for some fresh air."

Gu Chen didn't speak, but his hand naturally reached out and took the hand that was resting on his knee.

As their palms touched, Gu Chen's brows immediately furrowed.

Shi Ran's hands were icy cold and trembling almost imperceptibly.

"What's going on?" Gu Chen squeezed his hand tightly.

Suddenly panicked, she forced herself to make up a story: "I was hungry."

"Didn't you go to get something to eat?"

"I'm not full." Shi Ran stiffened her neck, hiding her guilty conscience behind her self-righteousness.

Gu Chen stared at him for a few seconds, seemingly somewhat helpless, but then raised his hand to beckon a waiter, and soon a delicate hot dish was served.

Gu Chen pushed the plate towards him, but his hand remained firmly in his grasp.

And so, hidden by the tablecloth, he held Shiran's cold hand tightly.

He didn't know why Shi Ran's hands were so cold and trembling, nor did he know that the tear that fell on Shi Ran's hand belonged to Lu Lin.

I'm so conflicted! I feel like it would be satisfying to leave Lu Xiaogou here and watch him suffer as a mistress for love. What do you all think?