The next day, just as they had agreed yesterday, the two of them slept until they naturally woke up, then spent the whole day lounging at home without going anywhere—watching TV, chatting, watering the vegetable garden, playing with the baby, living leisurely and carefree.

Su Yiran and Ting-ge also began preparing pickled dried radish together. Today they first peeled all the radishes, cut them into long strips, put them into baskets, and set them out to dry on the balcony. In a couple of days, once the strips naturally dried in the breeze, became dry and pliable, they could start pickling them.

Perhaps because he had slept well and rested fully today, Su Yiran was pleasantly surprised to find Ting-ge’s emotional state had stabilized quite a bit. He seemed much more relaxed, as if he had set down a heavy burden, no longer silently repressing himself like yesterday.

Su Yiran snuggled in Ting-ge’s arms. They sat together in the swing chair by the bedroom’s large floor-to-ceiling window, quietly leaning against each other and watching the beautiful night view outside. The atmosphere was tranquil and warm.

Su Yiran was thinking about Ting-ge today, hoping he would get better and better, when suddenly Gu Yuanting lifted his chin and dropped a kiss on him. “What are you thinking about?”

“About you.” Su Yiran looked at Ting-ge and gave him a small smile.

Gu Yuanting was satisfied. Looking into Ranran’s eyes full of affection, at the little dimple on his right cheek, his Adam’s apple moved slightly before he lowered his head to kiss that dimple.

Su Yiran felt a sweet warmth in his heart. He wrapped his arms around Ting-ge’s neck and kissed him for a while. Feeling it was enough, he was about to pull away when Ting-ge’s hand clasped the back of his head, not letting him escape.

By the time they finally finished, Su Yiran’s cheeks were tinged with pink. He pushed against Ting-ge’s shoulder, breathing lightly. “Alright, enough… Let’s hurry to sleep, we have to get up early tomorrow.”

As he spoke and tried to get out of Ting-ge’s arms, he had barely stood when Gu Yuanting grabbed his wrist and pulled him right back, holding him tightly once more.

“Let me hold you a little longer.” Gu Yuanting hugged Ranran, savoring the feeling that Ranran couldn’t get away, a secret thrill rising in him.

Su Yiran felt a bit helpless. Although Ting-ge’s mood had improved and he seemed much more relaxed today, he somehow felt more overbearing than before—as if Ting-ge wanted to have complete control over him.

Ah well… What could he do about it? Su Yiran looked at Ting-ge, his heart softening. Helplessly, he gave him a kiss. “Ting-ge, I love you.”

Something softened inside Gu Yuanting’s chest. Yes, Ranran loved him.

At least for now, in this moment, Ranran loved him.

“I love you too.” Gu Yuanting gently kissed Ranran again.

After a night of tenderness, the next day they followed their plan and went to the hospital for a follow-up with Dr. Sun.

Gu Yuanting was no longer worried Ranran might leave him. He already had a solution, and it gave him confidence. Even when facing Dr. Sun’s questions like “What’s your view of yourself and the world?”—knowing Dr. Sun was trying to dig out the secret of him coming from a parallel world—Gu Yuanting felt no fear.

He no longer resisted Dr. Sun’s psychological inquiries, nor was he afraid his secret would be uncovered.

Having put down this heavy worry, his mindset changed. This reflected in the follow-up: his depression index appeared to have lessened.

Dr. Sun was surprised. He hadn’t expected such marked improvement in just a few days. As for the “cognitive bias about self and the world,” that concept was too vague for now—no immediate conclusions could be made. Long-term observation would be needed.

However… Dr. Sun frowned slowly as he looked at the follow-up assessment sheet in his hand.

Although Gu Yuanting’s depression index had decreased, his paranoia index had soared to a very high level—already past the red warning line, flashing a danger signal. What had happened in just a few days?

Unable to get answers from Gu Yuanting, Dr. Sun spoke privately with Su Yiran, telling him about this situation and asking whether there had been any abnormal behavior lately.

“Abnormal behavior?” Su Yiran was delighted to hear Ting-ge’s depression had eased, but at Dr. Sun’s next words he became serious, frowning slightly as he thought carefully. He recounted events from the past two days—especially Ting-ge’s odd behavior yesterday.

Dr. Sun nodded as he wrote notes. After Su Yiran finished, he asked a few more questions, then glanced again at Gu Yuanting’s follow-up sheet. It seemed everything was connected to Gu Yuanting’s cognitive bias toward himself and the world.

“I’ll need to compare this with his earlier treatment records and study it carefully before I can give you a preliminary conclusion. I’ll call you when I have something.”

Su Yiran agreed, then remembered something and quickly asked, “By the way, Dr. Sun, Ting-ge and I plan to go back to our hometown for the New Year, so we won’t be able to come in for follow-ups during that time. Will that be a problem?”

Dr. Sun smiled. “That’s fine. A change of environment might help. Let him relax a little. Just come for a follow-up when you return.”

Relieved, Su Yiran chatted with Dr. Sun a bit more, then moved on to the last stage of the checkup—a joint conversation between Dr. Sun, Su Yiran, and Gu Yuanting. Half an hour later, the day’s session ended.

It was now noon. Instead of eating at the hospital, they walked to a nearby restaurant they liked, then planned to return and drive home. Every follow-up day, they’d eaten at this same place.

The restaurant was diagonally across from the hospital, separated by a street with no crosswalk. To get there, they needed to take the pedestrian bridge.

As they climbed the steps of the bridge, Gu Yuanting held Ranran’s hand and, as if casually, asked, “What did Dr. Sun say to you just now?” In his heart, a twisted little anticipation flickered.

Su Yiran smiled. “He said your depression has improved a lot. Ting-ge, that’s wonderful.”

“Mm.” Gu Yuanting smiled back. He already knew that part, but he was after something else. “What else did he say?”

“Not much. He asked what had happened these past few days, then said he’d study your condition and call us when he had a conclusion.”

Hearing this, Gu Yuanting knew Dr. Sun hadn’t discovered his secret yet—and oddly, he felt a bit disappointed.

Just then, they passed a row of stalls along the bridge. One stall owner called out, “Sir, would you like a fortune told?”

Su Yiran looked over and saw it was a fortune-teller’s stall. He didn’t believe in that stuff, so he shook his head and started to lead Ting-ge away—only for Gu Yuanting to stop, clearly wanting to have a reading.

“You want to?” Su Yiran asked, a bit surprised. Then he remembered Ting-ge was a little superstitious—he had even taken him to a temple for a reading once before.

Gu Yuanting gazed at the Bagua diagrams and divination sticks on the stall. “Let’s give it a try?” Once, he wouldn’t have believed—but after experiencing rebirth and traveling between worlds, he had begun to.

Parallel worlds could be called science. But dying and coming back, your soul crossing over?

Seeing Ting-ge was interested, Su Yiran agreed. “What can you read?” he asked the fortune-teller.

The fortune-teller looked young, maybe in his twenties, and didn’t seem especially reliable to Su Yiran.

The man stroked an imaginary beard with a grin. “Luck, fate, destiny—anything you like.”

Gu Yuanting looked at Ranran and said to the fortune-teller, “Fate in love.”

The fortune-teller blinked, glanced at their clasped hands, understood their relationship, and nodded. “Sure.”

He picked up a cylinder of divination sticks. “Draw a Moon Elder blessing stick,” he said, shaking the cylinder and handing it over.

Gu Yuanting reached to draw—but the man suddenly pulled it back and pointed to a QR code on the table. “Two hundred yuan.”

Su Yiran eyed the green QR code, feeling the whole thing seemed even more dubious, but since Ting-ge was interested, they could treat it as a game.

Gu Yuanting didn’t comment, just scanned and paid. He didn’t really trust the man either, but there was no harm in trying.

After payment, the cylinder was offered again. “Which of you will draw?”

“You go,” Su Yiran said.

Gu Yuanting reached in, pausing a moment before carefully drawing one long, thin wooden stick, its tip roughly painted red. On its face, in fine black and red ink, was the verse.

Gu Yuanting turned it over, froze, and didn’t move, as if in a still frame.

“What does it say?” Su Yiran peered over—and also paused.

It read: No. 0 Stick – King of Sticks (in red). “A fine match? A heavenly pairing indeed. What more could one seek?”

The fortune-teller, curious at their reaction, said, “What did you draw? Let me see and I’ll interpret it.”

Gu Yuanting came back to himself and carefully handed it over. “Please interpret it.”

The man glanced at it and blinked, then smiled broadly. “This is the King of Sticks—very rare. For you to draw this means your bond is truly destined.”

Gu Yuanting looked at Ranran and smiled. Su Yiran saw stars in Ting-ge’s eyes and smiled back.

The man explained, “A perfect match, a hundred years together. If you ask about your future, it’s a heavenly pairing. In love, the two will unite; in marriage, a celestial couple. Congratulations to you both.”

Hearing this, Gu Yuanting’s heart bubbled with sweetness. He knew the man was right—he had died and returned, crossed worlds, defeated the original, and met Ranran. This had to be fate—they were meant to be together. Ranran was his by destiny.

The fortune-teller handed the stick back. “I’ll give this to you.”

Gu Yuanting thanked him, cherishing the stick as they left. All the way, he kept looking at it as if those few words held a million.

Even if one day the truth came out and he had to lock Ranran away forever, the ending would still be beautiful.

The stick gave him endless confidence. He walked with new energy—so much so that he nearly tripped on the steps coming down the bridge.

Su Yiran, who had been glancing at his silly goose of a Ting-ge, rushed to steady him, taking the stick from his hand. “Stop looking. Walk properly. You can look at it in the restaurant.”

He turned it over in his hands and smiled. “You know… This is such a coincidence. Remember? When you took me to Lingquan Temple for a love reading, you drew this same stick—the King of Sticks.”

Gu Yuanting: “………………?”