Gu Yuanting’s head throbbed with a dull, rhythmic pain as he tightened the embrace around Ranran.

He knows now that I’m a bad person. Maybe he’ll be scared and want to leave me.

Even if he’s afraid, it doesn’t matter. I won’t let him leave.

Seeing Ting-ge’s face clouded over, Su Yiran smiled. His own eyes were bloodshot, his heart aching with helplessness. He hugged Ting-ge, kissed him, and looked into his eyes. “No, I love you, Ting-ge.”

“How could you have so little faith in me? If I love you, I won’t be afraid of you.” Su Yiran kissed him again.

Gu Yuanting hadn’t expected that kind of reaction. The pain in his head vanished. Staring into Ranran’s eyes, brimming with gentle affection, he felt dazed and unable to react—just staring blankly at him.

Su Yiran took Ting-ge’s hand. “Let’s go upstairs and talk, okay?”

Still a little dazed, Gu Yuanting let Ranran lead him by the hand, like a small child being guided along—trailing a step behind, obediently following him up the stairs.

Su Yiran led Ting-ge upstairs, feeling how cold his hand was. He sat Ting-ge down on the bed, cupping both hands around his to warm them, then lowered his head to kiss them. “Why are your hands so cold?”

After a while of warming them, Gu Yuanting’s hands gradually regained warmth. Su Yiran touched his face. “Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

Still worried that Ting-ge might have been injured, he began patting him here and there, even lifting his clothes to check thoroughly. When he found no injuries, he finally relaxed, hugging Ting-ge and kissing him. “Good thing you’re fine.”

Gu Yuanting felt a bit lightheaded. Looking at Ranran, he thought hazily, Why is he so good to me?

“If I’m not good to you, then who else would I be good to?” Su Yiran chuckled, ruffling his hair. “Besides, I didn’t do anything special—this is normal.”

It was only then that Gu Yuanting realized he’d spoken his thoughts out loud like a fool.

Su Yiran hugged Ting-ge again and kissed him. “You’re my lover. I love you, Ting-ge.”

Gu Yuanting’s tense emotions slowly eased, a warmth of gratitude and joy rising in his heart—though with a trace of disbelief. “You’re not afraid of me?”

Su Yiran touched his face. “Why would I be afraid of you? We’ve been together for so many years.” Then, as if remembering something, he smiled and tapped Ting-ge’s nose. “We even have a child now, Ting-ge.”

We’ve only been together for just over a year. I’m only his stepfather, Gu Yuanting thought. But it didn’t matter. He relaxed. He knew Ranran had already fallen in love with him and hadn’t been repelled by what he had done. He couldn’t help but hug Ranran and kiss him.

After calming Ting-ge for a while, Su Yiran asked, “Can you tell me the reason for what happened today? The cause and effect—why you suddenly did that? And what Gu Xinrong said… about Gu Mingfeng’s condition worsening—does it have anything to do with you?”

Su Yiran knew that Ting-ge’s stepmother, who had once trafficked him, had already died of illness in prison—deservedly so. As for the rest of the Gu family, not a single one deserved sympathy; all of them harbored malice toward Ting-ge. None of them were good people.

But he was still an ordinary citizen at heart, someone who always followed the law—someone who wouldn’t even break a community rule. Su Yiran believed in if someone wrongs me, I’ll wrong them back, but deliberate killing was a serious crime punishable by death—something huge.

He hadn’t imagined that the conflict between Ting-ge and Gu Mingfeng had escalated to this point. After all, Gu Mingfeng was already in the late stages of lung cancer, bedridden, with little time left.

At the mention of Gu Mingfeng, a cold glint flashed in Gu Yuanting’s eyes.

There wasn’t any special reason—Gu Mingfeng had dared to target Ranran, which meant he wanted his life.

After a moment of silence, Gu Yuanting looked at Su Yiran and said, “His condition worsening—that was my doing.”

Su Yiran quietly held Ting-ge, waiting for him to continue.

Seeing Ranran didn’t react otherwise, Gu Yuanting felt relieved. He went on, “Back when the Gu family acknowledged me and I came to Country D… he made a move against me, tried to take my life. I fought back.”

His hold on Su Yiran’s hand tightened, his jaw tensing. “He even almost hurt you once—that’s the most unforgivable thing.”

In just a few sentences, Gu Yuanting had made Su Yiran break out in a cold sweat.

Living in a peaceful country with a sound legal system, Su Yiran had thought that while wealthy families might feud bitterly, it was mostly economic and property disputes.

He hadn’t realized that, without his knowledge, the Gu family’s internal strife had already reached a life-or-death level. The mere thought of Ting-ge being in such constant danger made Su Yiran’s heart race with fear.

Gripping Gu Yuanting’s hand anxiously, Su Yiran said, “Ting-ge…”

Seeing Ranran’s pale face, clearly frightened, Gu Yuanting felt a pang in his heart. Hugging him tightly, he soothed, “It’s over, Ranran. Don’t be afraid—it’s all over now.”

Su Yiran calmed down. Ting-ge was safe and sound in front of him now. What was past was past, and Ting-ge had only acted in self-defense. He didn’t think Ting-ge had done anything wrong.

In Ting-ge’s arms, Su Yiran lifted his head to kiss him, then voiced his thoughts. “If that’s the case, I don’t think you did anything wrong.” Maybe it was because his heart leaned toward Ting-ge—regardless of legality, he didn’t see it as wrong.

Besides, the situation in Country D was different from back home. There were many things the law simply couldn’t resolve.

Interlacing his fingers with Gu Yuanting’s, Su Yiran said, “But, don’t make any more moves against Gu Mingfeng, Ting-ge. He’s already at death’s door. It’s not worth staining your hands with more blood for him. Let’s just live our lives well.”

Hearing this, Gu Yuanting’s heart warmed. He held Ranran close, murmuring an “Mm.”

Thinking back to when Ting-ge had asked him downstairs, Are you afraid of me? Su Yiran felt a twinge of worry. He could tell Ting-ge’s real question was born out of fear.

He touched Gu Yuanting’s face, looking at him seriously. “Why were you worried I’d be afraid of you? Is there some problem between us… have I not given you enough security?”

“There’s no problem,” Gu Yuanting said instinctively. “I’m just being overly sensitive—it’s my fault. I’m sorry.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he froze. That wasn’t what he’d meant to say—but somehow, without thinking, those exact words had come out, as if they’d been rehearsed in his mind for a long time, leaving him with a strange sense of detachment.

“What are you apologizing for?” Su Yiran grew even more concerned. There was definitely something wrong, but Ting-ge didn’t want to say—or maybe it had to do with his depression. He decided that once they returned home in a day or two, he would immediately take Ting-ge to the hospital to see Dr. Sun again.

Gu Yuanting was still wrapped in that strange feeling of detachment. Reflecting on his recent actions, he realized that ever since yesterday—ever since realizing that Ranran might discover his darker side—his emotions had been on the verge of spiraling out of control.

Even going to the hospital today had been irrational. He hadn’t thought everything through, and he’d even made an early mistake in not noticing the surveillance cameras.

He had reasons for acting against Gu Mingfeng and the rest of the Gu family—reasons he could explain to Ranran. After all, Ranran could never imagine what kind of person he had been in his previous life, or what he had done. So why was he so afraid?

It was as if, deep in his subconscious, there had always been this long-standing, deeply rooted fear—of having his darkness exposed.