Chapter 7

Song Yulin was indeed tired of this meaningless chase.

He thought that perhaps Lu An was right to bring his emotions back to reason, otherwise he would suffer if he lost control.

Then stay away from it completely.

It's just saying I've fallen in love with someone else, it's just a lie. As long as it brings me peace in the future, what's wrong with saying it?

But it was indeed the first time he had ever seen He Yang with that expression.

Like the entire sky, shattered before my eyes.

It's ridiculous that even at a time like this, Song Yulin still felt a dull pain in her chest at the despair in the other person's eyes.

This time, when he left, only He Yang remained standing there.

————

Song Yulin didn't want to have any further contact with He Yang for the time being, and just then, Lu An invited him again to cut the ribbon for the newly opened jewelry flagship store in Paris.

Although it was called a ribbon-cutting ceremony, the other party actually arranged many activities, including museums in Paris and boating on the Seine.

"No, I don't want the Seine."

Song Yulin sat on the plane with her eyes closed.

Lu An raised an eyebrow, but without asking anything, he crossed out the relevant option.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place three days later, and during those days they toured every street and alley.

When He Yang and I traveled to Paris, they meticulously analyzed the composition of the scenery, the handling of colors, and all the buildings, streets, and art history.

The related paintings were linked together, leading to debates and discussions.

The scenery seemed to possess a breathing soul, embedded in his memory.

Even after so much time has passed, when Song Yulin looks at all of this again, it feels like yesterday is happening all over again.

At that time, he would transform his heart into a flower.

Hidden in the bottle of a loved one.

Waiting to bloom or wither.

How fragile is romanticism.

Yet how beautiful it is.

Yes, looking back through the glass bottle of time, Song Yulin still feels that she was innocent and beautiful back then.

That is the most perfect state for an artist, a softness without a trace of impurity.

Perhaps he wasn't suffering from the heartbreak of his love.

But what he hated was why that person had to violently shatter his happy self.

No matter how much you push your limits, you can still create even more outstanding works.

He could no longer paint those vibrant, dreamlike strokes.

That carefree version of myself is gone forever.

In the following days, when he toured with Lu An, he always avoided the old scenery.

Despite their best efforts to conceal it, the other party still noticed something was wrong.

"It was my fault."

The man sighed and handed him the still-warm coffee.

"I thought that if I went with you to revisit the places we used to visit, we could replace the past with new memories, and you wouldn't be saddened again."

Song Yulin shook her head. The light was like a silver hook hanging down from thousands of lonely islands, and only a lonely person could bite the line.

Time will heal all wounds.

He smiled slightly.

You're right.

Song Yulin thought Lu An was really good.

There's a sense of peaceful times, a feeling of exchanging knowing smiles.

But precisely because things are so good, he doesn't want to start a relationship with her in this exhausted state.

Lu An deserves 100% love and passion.

Song Yulin wanted to wait until after the ribbon-cutting ceremony to have a proper talk with Lu An.

Unexpectedly, a sudden change occurred that day.

Two days ago, France promulgated new laws and regulations, and a large-scale parade began on the day of the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Clashes broke out between police officers maintaining order and ordinary citizens, and some homeless people took advantage of the chaos to rob the commercial street.

Lu An's shop was not spared either.

Just as a group of people finished their ribbon-cutting ceremony, their shop was vandalized by a large group of people. A fight broke out between the bodyguards, Lu An, and many others, which was extremely dangerous.

Lu An had his bodyguards escort Song Yulin away, but they were attacked on the way.

Outnumbered, the bodyguards were outmaneuvered, and Song Yulin was taken hostage by a gang leader.

Song Yulin's French was mediocre; judging from the few words he uttered, it was clear that someone had paid a large sum of money for his hands.

Who hates him so much?

Song Yulin tried to escape, but was hit hard and immediately fainted.

—

He Yang had actually been following Song Yulin and Lu An all along.

He watched as the tall, handsome Alpha, gentlemanly arm in arm with the Omega who had once belonged to him, spoke to him.

They were so close that the sunlight cast their shadows on the ground, creating overlapping outlines that looked like kisses.

He Yang watched them quietly, feeling as if their intertwined gazes were nitric acid corroding his heart.

The two walked through the places He Yang and Song Yulin had once visited, filled with laughter and joy, and enjoyed peaceful moments together.

Song Yulin seemed very happy. Even when the Alpha deliberately swapped coffees and left a lip print on the spot where Song Yulin had drunk from, she didn't notice.

Perhaps it's not that they didn't notice, but rather that they didn't care.

He Yang would stare at the light in their hotel room from downstairs every day.

The thought that they might be even closer in unseen corners, hidden in the darkness under the moonlight and curtains, felt like his heart was being torn apart.

If there were any technology that could split open a skull and extract all memories related to Song Yulin from the mind, He Yang would definitely do it without hesitation.

But no.

Just as there is no medicine for regret in this world.

Perhaps this is retribution.

It was the punishment he received for not trusting his lover and personally pushing her into the mire of suffering.

He Yang was extremely busy, staying up late at night to handle work, but during the day he would self-torture by following Song Yulin and Lu An's travel itinerary.

It felt like torture, yet I couldn't give up.

He was nearby when the sudden change occurred.

When the thugs took Song Yulin away, He Yang only had time to make a brief phone call to a local bigwig who had connections in both the legal and illegal worlds before following them with a bodyguard.

He originally intended to act covertly, but when the tattooed thug knocked Song Yulin unconscious, He Yang lost all reason.

The two bodyguards, both 1.95 meters tall, couldn't stop the other party.

He Yang raised his hands, walked up to the group of thugs, took off his Marlboro cigarette and threw it to them, saying in fluent French, "He is my friend, I can give you money."

The gang leader sneered, "We're business people, not beggars. What we want is this man's hand!"

He Yang felt a chill run down his spine, realizing that someone had taken advantage of the chaos to hire someone to ruin Song Yulin's career.

He threw down all the valuables he had on him, including several black gold cards.

The thugs looked at each other, but were eventually swayed by the money. As one of them approached to take the watch, He Yang and his bodyguards suddenly attacked.

The fight was brutal, with blood and flesh flying everywhere. He Yang was hit several times, and blood was trickling down his body.

Fortunately, it was just a superficial injury.

But this group of people were truly desperate criminals.

He Yang and his men had almost beaten everyone to the ground, but the gang leader held a knife to the neck of the unconscious Song Yulin.

The neck, as fragile as a crane's, showed signs of bleeding.

"Let him go." He Yang took a deep breath and held his knife to the two restrained thugs. "You can cut off my hands as compensation."