Damn it, I'm surrounded by insane Alphas!

Inside the door, Fu Yanshen closed it and walked towards the bedside.

He walked very lightly and slowly, observing Shi Ran's reaction as he went.

He carefully controlled himself, not letting out a single trace of pheromones that might stimulate Shi Ran.

Shi Ran leaned against the headboard, looking at his cautious and tense appearance, and couldn't help but laugh out loud, reaching out her hand to him.

"It's okay." Shi Ran's voice was still a little hoarse, but very gentle. "It'll really be fine in a little while, don't be so nervous."

Fu Yanshen finally breathed a sigh of relief, quickly walked to the bedside, and sat down on the edge of the bed.

He looked at Shi Ran's pale and haggard face, his eyes filled with unconcealed heartache.

"Are you still feeling unwell?"

Shi Ran shook her head and took his hand. "Much better..."

He paused, then got to the point, "I was thinking, now that the professor has agreed, shouldn't we arrange for my mother to come over?"

"Everything is arranged. A private jet and a medical team will accompany you. We're just waiting for you to say the word."

Shi Ran looked at him, and finally a genuine smile appeared in her eyes.

"Thank you," he said softly.

"Don't thank me anymore."

Fu Yanshen picked up the bowl of still-warm wontons from the bedside table, blew on them gently, and offered them to Shi Ran's lips.

"You know, what I need is never your gratitude."

Shi Ran paused for a moment, then obediently opened her mouth and ate it.

Of course he knew what Fu Yanshen wanted.

I want his love.

He needs to love you wholeheartedly and without reservation.

But how can he give it to me?

Does his wholehearted devotion to everyone count?

Shi Ran abruptly changed the subject, gesturing towards the closed door with her lip, "Do you think those two are peeking through the crack in the door right now?"

He was just joking, trying to ease the tension.

But when he turned to look at Fu Yanshen, he found that Fu Yanshen did not have a smile on his face.

Fu Yanshen just watched him quietly, and Shi Ran's smile slowly froze, and then he lowered his eyes even more guiltily.

After a long while, Fu Yanshen finally spoke, his tone unreadable:

"Can't I even ask about their relationship with you?"

Shi Ran's heart sank suddenly.

He didn't dare look Fu Yanshen in the eye. "What if I said...no?"

Fu Yanshen watched him quietly, finished feeding him the remaining wontons in the bowl without saying a word, and left with only one sentence before turning to leave.

"have a good rest."

---

Meanwhile, in the top-floor president's office of the Gu Group.

The surveillance footage on the screen remained focused on Shi Ran's glass office, but there was no one in the picture.

Gu Chen's suit jacket was casually draped over the back of the chair, and the dark circles under his eyes were hard to hide. He hadn't had a full night's sleep for several days.

However, there was still no news.

He used all available resources to investigate, but Shi Ran seemed to have vanished into thin air.

He specially sent someone to the port city, but the news he received was that Fu Yanshen attended all the events as usual.

So...it really has nothing to do with him?

"Knock knock".

A knock came at the door.

Gu Chen didn't look up, only squeezing out a single, cold word from his throat: "Go in."

Wang Cheng pushed open the door and came in, holding a document that needed to be signed.

These past few days, President Gu's mood has been terrifyingly low, and everyone in the company is keeping quiet.

He placed the document beside Gu Chen and said in a low voice, "Mr. Gu, this supplementary agreement needs your signature."

Gu Chen mechanically signed the document, but Wang Cheng stood there, hesitated for a few seconds, and didn't leave.

Gu Chen didn't even look up, his voice flat and emotionless, "Is there anything else?"

"Mr. Gu, it's about Assistant Shi."

Gu Chen's fingers tightened around the pen, and he immediately looked up. "Is there news about him?"

"No..." Wang Cheng quickly shook his head, still hesitant as he spoke, "It's because a few days ago I overheard Assistant Shi talking on the phone. I didn't eavesdrop on purpose, it was just a coincidence, and I felt it might be related to his disappearance..."

"What did he say?" Gu Chen interrupted him.

"I heard that his mother is sick and hospitalized, and her condition is quite serious. I initially thought it was his privacy, but I never expected him to disappear... I'm also worried that he's desperate and something might have happened to him..."

Gu Chen's mind went blank.

Mom is sick and hospitalized?

How is that possible?

Gu Chenqing clearly remembered that when Gu Hongyuan wanted to arrange a marriage for him, he said that Shi Ran was the adopted son of a family friend of the Gu family.

The couple died in an accident when they were young, leaving Shi Ran an orphan.

So all these years he never thought to investigate Shi Ran's background, how could she suddenly have a sick mother?

He naturally couldn't understand it. He was just a pitiful NPC in the instance. He didn't know about Shi Ran's real life, nor did he know what the merging of world lines had changed.

But Gu Chen suddenly remembered the question Shi Ran had asked him on the day he disappeared.

"Gu Chen, if I needed a large sum of money, would you lend it to me?"

What was his answer at the time?

He thought it was just a trick to test his limits, or some kind of canary flirtation, so he responded to him in a way that was almost humiliating.

But now you're saying he did it to pay for his mother's medical treatment?

If it were truly to save a life, he wouldn't hesitate to do it, no matter the cost, even if it meant emptying the world.

Why doesn't he say anything? Why doesn't he just tell him directly?

Shi Ran knew perfectly well that her mother had died because she hadn't received timely medical treatment.

If he had just asked, I would have done everything I could to help him, but he still didn't ask me for help.

Gu Chen abruptly closed his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing violently.

He began to hate himself.

She hated her uncontrollable desire to control Shi Ran, and she hated that he couldn't love someone with tenderness and care.

If he had simply asked one more question, "Why do you need money?", would Shi Ran have spoken to him?

He couldn't even imagine how much courage Shi Ran must have mustered to ask that question... only to be shut down by his arrogant remark.

He's really... such a jerk.

Now all he wants is to find Shi Ran immediately; he wants to apologize and beg for Shi Ran's forgiveness.

He is willing to give whatever Shi Ran needs unconditionally.

He is willing to learn to hide all his thorns and love for one person.

So... since Shi Ran needed this money, who did he ultimately turn to?

Gu Chen grabbed the phone on the table and called Lu Lin directly.

At this moment, Lu Lin was sitting in a teahouse in City C, dressed in a low-key Zhongshan suit, chatting with an official across from him about the development of the old city.

He appeared virtuous but was actually quite adept at handling things.

These days, he successfully won the bid for plot B7, and the project is now progressing steadily.

But because he had agreed to the old man's conditions, he had no choice but to return to City C and enter the political arena, which he had once despised, to start all over again.

At first, Lu Lin was resistant.

He hated spending all day smiling obsequiously at these old foxes, speaking official jargon, and playing those obscure word games.

But once he started, he was surprised to find that it wasn't as bad as he thought.

In fact, it's kind of interesting.

He discovered that he had an amazing talent for playing the fool.

He not only adapted quickly, but was even able to navigate the situation with ease.

Just then, the screen of his phone on the table suddenly lit up, displaying the caller ID—Gu Chen.

Lu Lin picked up his phone and quickly walked to the eaves outside the teahouse.

"What a rare guest! What's wrong? Did you and Shi Ran have a fight? Want me to help you comfort them?"

Gu Chen wasn't in the mood to beat around the bush: "Have you seen Shi Ran recently?"

Lu Lin's voice still carried that cynical tone: "Yeah, I see you. We see each other every day."

Gu Chen's heart sank: "Really?"

"Of course it's true." Lu Lin's chuckle came through the receiver, languidly. "I dream about him every night, and every dream is different..."

Gu Chen hung up the phone immediately.

It seems that Lu Lin also doesn't know Shi Ran's whereabouts.

Just then, Wang Cheng suddenly knocked on the door and came in with new information: "President Gu, the investigation you just asked us to conduct has yielded results. Wen Yiheng and Cheng Ye have both been out of Y City recently due to personal schedules. We still need to investigate where they went."

Gu Chen turned around abruptly. "Continue to check all their schedules for the past few days."

Wang Cheng immediately agreed and turned to leave.

Gu Chen stared intently at the empty small office on the screen.

He had a premonition that he was getting closer and closer to Shi Ran.

Little Gu has finally caught up with the pace! Speaking of which, I always feel that if we want our Lu to make a triumphant return to politics, a dashing and charming politician, he and Cheng Ye will just be childishly fighting each other, hahaha.