Damn it, I'm surrounded by insane Alphas!

The next morning, when Shi Ran woke up, Gu Chen was already gone.

He opened his eyes groggily, his mind still a little sluggish.

He shifted and couldn't help but hiss.

My lower back aches, my groin aches, my mouth aches, and my whole body aches.

"Ahhhhh—"

Shi Ran let out a wail and rolled around on the bed twice.

The system activated in his mind: [Awake? Regretful Bro?]

Shi Ran froze, pulling her face out of the pillow. "You're the one who regrets it! I don't regret it!"

System: [Alright, alright, no regrets, bro. No matter what, congratulations! Your current attraction level with target Gu Chen is 17.]

Suddenly, he stopped moving, thinking he had misheard.

【Why is it still -17?! This is truly infuriating!】

System: [It's 17.]

Shi Ran was stunned. Two seconds later, she suddenly realized what the system was saying.

A 34-point surge overnight?!

He yelled and tried to jump out of bed to celebrate, but his back ached and he fell back down with a cry of pain.

She slumped back into the soft bedding in a disheveled state.

He clutched his lower back, wincing in pain, and couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath: "This guy must have spent all his time at the gym working out his legs and back! What kind of beastly stamina is that..."

It took a while for the tingling and numb sensation to subside.

He slowly reached for his phone, intending to check the time, but found a new contact on WeChat.

The nickname is just one simple letter: G.

Shi Ran knew perfectly well—who else could it be but President Gu?

The system's tone held a rare hint of surprise: "Wow, this is the first time I've ever seen his WeChat."

Shi Ran pursed her lips. "There are plenty of things you'll never see before."

The system silently sent a message: "I genuinely didn't see any of those from last night."

Shi Ran stared at the chat box, typed a few words, sent it, then tossed his phone aside and went to wash up.

Before the system could even peek, it couldn't help but ask in his mind: "What did you send?"

While squeezing toothpaste, Shi Ran mumbled, "[Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed unless you exchange some information with me.]"

The system paused for two seconds, then said, "Okay, I actually do have some important information."

Shi Ran's eyes lit up instantly.

Tell me about it.

[Gu Chen is hosting a high-profile private banquet at the Cloud Top Club tonight. Historically, he never brings a companion, but a key figure was present at tonight's ball, and because he was alone, he missed the opportunity to make a connection, subsequently losing out on an important project.]

Shi Ran slowed down her brushing, nodded thoughtfully, and didn't say anything.

----

Meanwhile, inside the conference room of Huanyu.

Gu Chen listened to his subordinate's report with little expression on his face, his gaze occasionally sweeping over the phone on the table.

It's 10:30.

Are you still not awake? Or did you simply not realize you'd added me on WeChat?

Or... you saw it, but didn't care?

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Gu Chen immediately closed his eyes.

It's crazy.

He knew the Lin family's situation all too well: their finances were tight, and they desperately needed to find a powerful patron.

Sending Shi Ran over was a pretense of a marriage alliance; the real purpose was to leverage the Gu family's influence to overcome their difficulties.

Hasn't he seen enough of these "gifts" delivered to his door with ulterior motives?

Shi Ran was merely a rather pretty and seductive pawn.

Last night's loss of control was just an accident.

Just then, the phone screen suddenly lit up.

Gu Chen almost instinctively reached out and took it.

My back is about to break.

The four words are like a thorn, or a hook.

He raised an eyebrow slightly, slammed his phone shut behind his back, and didn't reply to anything.

He couldn't explain why he added Shi Ran on WeChat.

When his alarm rang in the morning, he instinctively sat up, but his movement startled the person next to him.

The man grunted in dissatisfaction, then groggily rolled over and, using both hands and feet, clung to him.

His body stiffened for a moment, and he didn't push him away immediately.

In the morning light, Shi Ran was fast asleep, her hair disheveled and her lips slightly parted.

He lay there for a while, and then, as if possessed, reached out and pinched that smooth section of his lower back.

Shi Ran shuddered immediately, groggily turned over, and mumbled with her back to him, "...bad guy."

Gu Chen sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the waistline peeking out from under the covers, and shook his head with a smile.

He picked up Shi Ran's phone from the bedside table and added her on WeChat.

The profile picture is a frizzy rabbit, and the signature reads: This person is definitely not a scallop.

He glanced back at the scallop curled up on the bed, gave a slight smirk, reached out and tucked the guy's protruding feet back under the covers before getting up and leaving.

"Mr. Gu?" Assistant Wang Cheng's voice brought him back to reality. "The report is over. What do you think..."

Gu Chen looked up and saw that everyone in the conference room was looking at him.

"Meeting adjourned." He stood up and picked up his suit jacket.

He stopped at the door and said to Wang Cheng, who had followed him, "Send a copy of the invitation for tonight to Shi Ran as well."

Wang Cheng was taken aback: "Is it that one from the Lin family...?"

Gu Chen had already stepped into the elevator and nodded.

The email was quickly sent to Shi Ran's inbox. At the time, he was sitting in the Chanel store, leisurely experiencing the afternoon aromatherapy workshop.

I didn't react much to the invitation and just closed it.

The system couldn't help but ask: "Aren't you planning to go to the banquet tonight?"

Shi Ran said lazily, "He didn't come to ask me for anything, what's the big deal about sending an email?"

While talking, Shi Ran took several photos of the aromatherapy diffuser she made and posted them on her WeChat Moments with the caption: "[The best-smelling fig scent in the world is here, who dares to disagree?]"

After handing out the gift, he picked up the exquisitely packaged gift bag from the shop assistant and stepped out of the store when his phone vibrated again.

It wasn't an email, it was a WeChat message from... Qin Chang?

He frowned. Who is this?

The system promptly notified you: [Qin Chang, one of your friends in the dungeon world. His family runs a jewelry business; he's a typical rich second-generation heir who loves to have fun and enjoy life. He's also quite loyal, and you have a good relationship with him.]

Shi Ran nodded, then remembered.

Oh, that young master who likes to drag him around trying new things and having fun.

He opened the message and saw a voice message from Qin Chang: "Brother Ran, are you free tonight? My brother and his friends are throwing a party at the Cloud Top Club. It's going to be fun. Want to come? A few acquaintances are coming."

Genting Clubhouse?

Shi Ran slightly raised her eyebrows, and the corners of her mouth slowly curved into an arc.

This is interesting.

----

8 PM, Genting Clubhouse.

The crystal chandelier illuminated the banquet hall brightly; the banquet was halfway through, and the ball was about to begin.

Couples of guests glided onto the dance floor. Gu Chen sat on a sofa near the corner, his long legs crossed, his gaze fixed on a well-dressed middle-aged man not far away—Chairman Li from Hong Kong.

Wang Cheng bent down and whispered in his ear, "President Gu, Chairman Li seems to really enjoy dancing. If we don't go dance, I'm afraid..."

Gu Chen looked up, his expression blank: "Then you'll come with me to jump?"

Wang Cheng felt a chill run down his spine and immediately stood up straight: "President Gu, Chairman Li has many other interests."

Gu Chen looked away and took a sip of wine.

It's almost nine o'clock.

The dance floor was filled with people, and the music changed one song after another.

His gaze swept across the entrance, the lobby, and the terrace, but he couldn't find Shi Ran anywhere.

The email was sent at 1 p.m., and his own email address was also copied.

It's impossible that I didn't see it.

They saw it, but didn't come.

He took out his phone and went straight into his chat with Shi Ran. The last message was the same four words Shi Ran had sent that afternoon.

He saw it too, but deliberately didn't reply.

Having Wang Cheng send out the invitation was the maximum initiative he could take.

He waited for Shi Ran to ask, or at least give a vague answer.

But there was nothing there.

He stared at the screen and typed a few words: "Didn't receive the email?"

delete.

He called again: "What are you doing?"

Delete it faster.

He paused for a moment, then typed: "Is your back feeling any better?"

They were deleted almost instantly after being typed.

He irritably placed his phone face down on his lap.

Just then, a voice carrying a sweet, pheromone-like scent approached, "President Gu?"

An elegantly dressed Omega, holding a wine glass, asked, "Would you do me the honor of dancing with me?"

Gu Chen looked up, his face expressionless, and was about to signal Wang Cheng to block the person away—

A familiar and clear voice, with a touch of lazy laughter, rang out from not far away:

"I'm sorry, my husband might prefer to dance with me."

Gu Chen's heart skipped a beat, and he looked up.

Shi Ran appeared a few steps away without anyone noticing, wearing a well-tailored silver-gray suit. The satin fabric shimmered under the light, and the waist was extremely narrow.

He wasn't wearing a tie, and the top two buttons of his shirt collar were undone, revealing a small patch of his fair collarbone.

His hair was styled casually, with a few unruly strands falling across his forehead, which he casually brushed aside.

He stood there, relaxed like a lazy cat, casually surveying his territory.

His gaze swept past the somewhat embarrassed Omega beside him, finally settling on Gu Chen's face.

Then she tilted her head slightly, reached out her hand to Gu Chen, and on her ring finger was a dazzling ten-carat diamond ring, which made the Omega next to her dizzy.

"President Gu?" Shi Ran smiled, her beautiful eyes crinkling at the corners. "Would you do me the honor?"

Gu Chen's gaze was fixed on his smiling eyes. Everything around him seemed to blur and fade, but the person in front of him was dazzlingly bright.

A few seconds later, he lowered his eyes and chuckled softly, as if resigned to his fate.

He admitted it.

He got caught.

(I'm at my wit's end, how did I end up in the dark room again?!!!!)