…

Su Yiran realized he had made a mistake. He’d misunderstood something and shouldn’t have said that on purpose…

As a result, he ended up being pinned to the bed by Ting-ge—who had clearly short-circuited—and kissed ferociously for a long time. His lips were swollen from all the kissing.

Su Yiran wanted to cry but had no tears. He reached out to push Gu Yuanting away and turned his head to avoid more kisses, but Ting-ge just chased after his lips again. He tried to protest, but his mouth was blocked, and all he could make were muffled “mm-mm” sounds, mixed with wet, embarrassing noises.

Gu Yuanting was holding in a wave of jealousy. Fueled by vinegar and rage, he pinned Ranran down and kissed him wildly, not allowing him to dodge or escape. He was determined to kiss better and longer than the original host ever had.

After a long bout of passionate kissing, Gu Yuanting finally paused. Looking down at Ranran—his face flushed and soft from the kisses—he felt confident that he had outperformed the original. So he asked again, “Ranran, how was that? Did it feel good? Better than before?”

Su Yiran was still limp all over. Hearing the question and afraid Ting-ge might go off the rails again, he quickly nodded like mad. “So good! Really! Way better than before. Honestly!”

Gu Yuanting: “…”

He had a strong suspicion Ranran was just humoring him. Such a little liar.

Reflecting on it, Gu Yuanting realized that his kissing had been too disorganized—lacking in technique. So he declared, “Not enough. I need more practice.”

With the spirit of a diligent student, he leaned down again and resumed kissing Su Yiran—this time slower, with more deliberate, lingering kisses.

Su Yiran: “…”

Now he truly understood what it meant to shoot yourself in the foot.

Gu Yuanting began tasting Ranran’s soft lips little by little, trying out all kinds of kissing techniques.

Su Yiran: “…” His brain was about to turn to mush from all the kissing.

After one method, Gu Yuanting would ask, “How about this? Do you like it?”

Su Yiran: “Y-yeah—mm mm mm…”

Then he’d kiss him a different way for a while, and ask again, “What about this one? Does it feel good?”

Su Yiran: “Mm-mm… it feels good…”

…

Su Yiran really couldn’t take it anymore. His eyes were teary as he whimpered, “No more… no more… that’s enough. You’ve really improved—a hundred times better than before!”

Hearing that, Gu Yuanting finally felt a little satisfied, though still not quite appeased. He insistently gave Ranran another very thorough kiss and said, “We’ll stop here for today. But we need to keep practicing regularly.”

Su Yiran: “…”

Gu Yuanting, feeling moderately pleased with his “progress,” mentally gave himself homework: he must kiss Ranran several times a day, practice diligently, and not only complete his assignments but also review and take pop quizzes.

Seeing the expression on Ting-ge’s face, Su Yiran felt a bad premonition. He asked cautiously, “Ting-ge… what are you thinking?”

Gu Yuanting, thinking he should get Ranran’s opinion, voiced his plan seriously: “So from now on, we need to do this homework several times a day. The more we practice, the faster we’ll surpass the original… level.”

Su Yiran stared at the very earnest-looking Ting-ge: “……???” Wait, what homework? Ting-ge, are you okay?

“…” Su Yiran said speechlessly, “No way. I object.”

Gu Yuanting gently stroked his cheek and thumbed his lips. “Be good, Ranran.”

Su Yiran: “…” Let’s just… sleep. Let’s sleep, okay.

—

The next morning, Gu Yuanting woke up first.

He looked at Ranran sleeping in his arms, paying special attention to his still-reddened lips. After staring for a few minutes, he picked up his phone from the bedside table, opened Qiandu search engine, hesitated a moment, and then resolutely typed in: “How to improve kissing skills.”

…

When Su Yiran woke up, he saw Ting-ge sitting upright in bed, phone in hand, with a serious expression, reading something intensely.

Su Yiran, still a bit groggy and forgetting most of last night’s ordeal, asked curiously, “Ting-ge, what are you looking at?”

Gu Yuanting froze, only then realizing Ranran had woken up.

He quickly closed the browser and calmly set his phone aside. “Just reading some academic research.”

Academic research… first thing in the morning? Su Yiran was still half-asleep, but he felt deeply respectful. “Wow, you’re so hardworking.”

Gu Yuanting nodded seriously. “One has to be diligent.”

Probably something work-related. Su Yiran didn’t think much of it and got up to wash.

—

During breakfast, Gu Yuanting and Su Mama prepared the food. He pulled out a chair for Su Yiran and even poured him a glass of milk.

Watching this scene, Su Papa and Su Mama felt simultaneously reassured and overwhelmed by the sweetness—so much so that their teeth ached.

Young people these days. They exchanged a glance and, in an unspoken act of competitiveness, served each other a piece of food with their chopsticks.

After breakfast, Su Yiran, wanting to treat his parents since they rarely visited, said, “Mom, Dad, I’ll make you some desserts to try?”

Su Mama, who was about to go grocery shopping with Gu Yuanting, perked up instantly. “Great! I want to learn, too!” She had always known her son was good at making sweets—he even had a shop in the city—but she hadn’t had many chances to eat his creations, let alone learn from him.

She quickly called out to Su Papa, “Come on, you go grocery shopping with Tingting. I’ll write you guys a list.”

While Su Yiran taught Su Mama how to make desserts, Gu Yuanting took the list and went to the nearby supermarket with Su Papa.

—

The supermarket was big—bigger than the one near their old home. The wet market was in the basement level.

As they walked through, Su Papa frowned at the prices. “These veggies are so expensive! It’s like, several times what we pay back in town.”

Gu Yuanting chuckled. “There are extra costs—like stall fees and transportation. It makes sense that it’s pricier.”

Su Papa nodded after some thought. “That’s true.” He patted Gu Yuanting’s shoulder. “You two have made a solid life in the city. It really puts our minds at ease.”

The two of them chatted casually as they finished the shopping. Just as they were about to leave, Gu Yuanting suddenly stopped in front of the fruit section.

Su Papa looked at him in confusion. “Tingting, you’re buying fruit, too?” He remembered there was still plenty in the fridge.

Gu Yuanting stood there silently for a few seconds, then nodded. “Yeah, need to get some.”

—

Back home, Su Yiran and Su Mama had just finished plating the two desserts they made. They brought them to the living room just as Gu Yuanting and Su Papa returned.

Su Mama smiled brightly. “You’re back! Come try what our son and I made. It’s my first time—hope it tastes okay.”

Gu Yuanting dropped off the groceries in the kitchen and came to try a bite. He gave her a big thumbs-up. “It’s delicious, Mom! You’re amazing.”

Su Yiran laughed beside him. “Told you it’d be good. You didn’t believe me.”

Su Mama beamed. “Eat up. I’m going to cook lunch.”

She led in the kitchen today, with Gu Yuanting tagging along and learning a few dishes.

After lunch and dishes were done, the family chatted a while before heading off for a nap.

—

Su Papa and Su Mama went to their room. As Su Yiran walked past the coffee table in the living room, he noticed a bowl of cherries sitting there.

“Did you buy cherries?” he asked Gu Yuanting. He was pretty sure there hadn’t been any in the fridge.

Gu Yuanting nodded. “Picked up a few. They’re good for your health right now. Go nap first—we’ll eat them later.”

Su Yiran didn’t think much of it. Feeling sleepy, he headed back to bed. Gu Yuanting tucked him in and kissed his forehead. Once he was asleep, Gu Yuanting quietly left the bedroom and went back downstairs.

He sat on the sofa in front of the coffee table and stared at the bowl of cherries for a long time.

After a moment, he picked up one by the stem, examined it seriously, and then popped it into his mouth. He held it in his mouth for ages.

—

When Su Yiran woke up from his nap, feeling refreshed, he came downstairs and found Gu Yuanting still sitting on the sofa, munching on cherries. The bowl was already half empty.

Su Yiran was surprised. He remembered Ting-ge didn’t particularly like cherries. “You ate a lot…?”

With a cherry still in his mouth, Gu Yuanting smiled at him and said, “Just trying something new.”

But there was something strange—something meaningful—in that smile, and it made Su Yiran’s spine tingle with unease.

Then he watched as Gu Yuanting spit out a cherry stem tied in a knot.

Su Yiran: “…” Ting-ge, please don’t.

This… this really isn’t necessary.

—

Su Yiran spent the entire afternoon and evening with an uneasy feeling. After dinner, a nice chat with his parents, and watching TV, he and Ting-ge headed upstairs one after the other.

Gu Yuanting followed him in, and as soon as the bedroom door closed behind him with a crisp “click”, Su Yiran’s heart gave a little jolt.

Gu Yuanting looked at him, serious yet gentle. “Ranran, we haven’t done today’s homework yet. Come on—it’s time to practice.”

Su Yiran: “………………”