Su Yiran was sleeping soundly when he was suddenly flung away with great force. He vaguely felt he almost fell off the bed, so he quickly moved towards the center, groggily pulled at the covers, and tentatively groped for Ting-ge’s position under the blanket. Just as he touched Ting-ge’s arm, he was again flung away with great force. This time, half his body nearly slid off the bed.

He finally woke up with a start, quickly sat up, and rubbed his eyes, feeling a bit lost.

It was still dark, and the room was dim. After clearing his head for a moment, he opened his eyes and looked up to see a dark figure sitting by the headboard. Gu Yuanting had sat up at some point, radiating an aura of dark gloominess, staring coldly at him.

Gu Yuanting stared coldly at the person before him, his mind slowly turning, recalling what had happened.

His last memory was in that overseas island villa, a dark room drenched in gasoline, and him lighting the lighter.

Then, a raging fire.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself unexpectedly alive, lying on an unfamiliar bed, warm in the covers, his arms wrapped around his sworn enemy, who should have died in prison long ago.

Su Yiran was fully awake now and noticed that Gu Yuanting’s state was very wrong. He casually turned on the light, approached him, and called out worriedly, “Ting-ge?”

He anxiously reached out to touch Gu Yuanting’s left knee: “What’s wrong? Does your leg hurt again?”

Ting-ge’s left leg was injured when he was a child, almost leaving him disabled. Although it was later cured, it left a chronic problem; whenever the weather was cold and rainy, the old injury in his left knee and calf bone would ache faintly.

Before Su Yiran could touch Gu Yuanting’s knee, Gu Yuanting abruptly grabbed Su Yiran’s wrist, flung him away, and spat out cold words from his thin lips: “Get out.”

Su Yiran was stunned for a moment, not quite reacting. After a while, his eyes reddened slightly, and he silently got up and left the room, feeling a bit upset.

Gu Yuanting inexplicably reached out and pressed his hand to his heart. Why was there a faint, stinging pain here?

He ignored it for the moment and scanned the unfamiliar room.

It was a very ordinary light-colored bedroom, with a vase of fresh flowers on the bedside table, giving it a touch of warmth, but it couldn’t hide its simplicity and small size. He hadn’t lived in such a room since he returned to the Gu family years ago.

Gu Yuanting frowned, got out of bed, and decided to go out and look around.

As soon as he put on his slippers and stood up, he froze after taking only two steps, lowering his head in disbelief to look at his left leg.

His left leg, which was disabled, was healed?

He moved his left leg a couple of times, then walked a few steps. The disability he had suffered since his left leg was broken when he was nine years old was actually healed.

What was going on? He looked up and scanned the strange, simple bedroom again, his gaze inadvertently falling on a photo on the bedside table. He paused, walked to the table, and picked up the photo.

In the photo, sunlight streamed through the lush green leaves of a large banyan tree. He and Su Yiran were embracing, gazing at each other, the atmosphere gentle and intimate.

The two in the photo were both around twenty years old.

Next to the photo was a square mirror lying face down. Gu Yuanting paused, then picked it up.

The face reflected in the mirror was young, stern—his face from his twenties. The only difference was that the scar that ran from his right temple across to the outer corner of his right eye was gone.

Gu Yuanting was stunned. He turned to look at the calendar hanging on the wall.

October 22, 2020.

2020, the year he turned twenty-six.

Su Yiran brought in a cup of hot water and a hot towel, and saw Gu Yuanting sitting by the bed, his hands hanging down, his face shrouded in shadow.

He offered the cup to Gu Yuanting: “Have some hot water?” Seeing that the other didn’t take it or move, he had no choice but to place the cup on the nearby table. He then squatted down in front of Gu Yuanting, rolled up the left leg of his pajama pants: “Let me see.”

This time, Gu Yuanting didn’t push Su Yiran away. He lowered his head, silently observing the other.

Su Yiran rolled up Gu Yuanting’s left pajama leg, all the way above the knee, gently pressed a few spots on his calf and knee, then looked up and asked him: “Does it still hurt here?”

Seeing Gu Yuanting didn’t respond, he thought it must be hurting terribly, so he had the other put his leg on the bed. He applied the hot towel to his knee and calf and slowly began to massage Gu Yuanting’s calf through the hot towel.

Gu Yuanting silently observed Su Yiran without showing any emotion.

A few soft, dark strands of hair fell across Su Yiran’s forehead as he lowered his head. His small, fair face, with large, downturned almond eyes, looked a bit innocent. His long eyelashes fluttered as he meticulously massaged Gu Yuanting’s calf. He looked simply like a handsome young man.

His face was vaguely the same face, but the overall feeling he gave off was completely different from the enemy in his memory.

Who was he?

Su Yiran felt the hot towel cool down, so he removed it and asked Gu Yuanting: “Feeling better?”

Many conjectures flashed through Gu Yuanting’s mind. He gave a faint “mm,” his narrow, dark phoenix eyes staring gloomily at Su Yiran, his whole demeanor sullen and cold.

Su Yiran knew that Gu Yuanting often became emotionally unstable due to childhood events, but since they started dating and got married, this situation had largely stopped.

Seeing Gu Yuanting was clearly not well, he thought it was an old habit returning because the leg pain reminded him of past events. He couldn’t help but move closer to Gu Yuanting, opened his arms, embraced him, and stroked his hair: “It’s okay, I’m here.”

A warm aura suddenly enveloped him. Gu Yuanting didn’t react immediately, his nose catching a faint, sweet candy scent. He was momentarily stunned; no one had ever dared to treat him this way.

He should have utterly detested this person, loathed all his touch, yet his body neither resisted nor disliked it, seemingly accepting it as a matter of course.

Gu Yuanting suddenly felt a soft touch on his forehead. Su Yiran gently kissed his forehead, caressed his face, like comforting a child, then looked down, meeting his gaze with tea-colored pupils full of purity, worry, and affection: “It’s okay, Ting-ge.”

Gu Yuanting was completely bewildered.

Su Yiran felt that Gu Yuanting seemed better. He then felt his forehead to check his temperature, and only when he felt it was normal did he slightly relax: “Why don’t you sleep a bit more? Hmm?” He glanced at the alarm clock, then released his embrace, “It’s only a little past six. I’ll go get busy for a bit. I’ll call you when breakfast is ready.”

Gu Yuanting watched Su Yiran’s retreating back, slowly touching his forehead with his fingers. He could still feel the soft touch of the other’s lips. His expression was uncertain.

Su Yiran finished packing the items for the new store. Most of it had actually been packed yesterday, with only a little left to organize.

When he and Gu Yuanting were in college, they opened a bubble tea shop in the school cafeteria, primarily selling bubble tea and also some desserts. Business was quite good, and they continued to operate it for three years after graduating college.

Now, with gradually sufficient funds, they decided, after discussion, to expand the business and open a dessert shop together in the city to live a better life.

They had been busy with the new store recently, and the bubble tea shop in the school cafeteria was run by student part-time employees.

Currently, the preliminary work for the new store, such as site selection, renovation, and obtaining permits, had all been completed. The preparations before opening were in the final stages. Su Yiran had already chosen an auspicious day, and the grand opening would be in a few days.

Su Yiran placed the two large packed boxes and several bags near the entrance, ready to take them down to the car when they left.

He went to the kitchen and cooked a few more egg pancakes. The preserved egg and lean meat congee, which he had started early, was also ready. Checking the time, it was almost 7:30 AM. He wondered if Ting-ge was awake. He quietly pushed open the bedroom door and peeked inside.

Gu Yuanting was looking at his phone. Hearing the movement, he looked over. Su Yiran didn’t expect him to be awake, but seeing him still energetic enough to play on his phone, it seemed his mood had improved. He felt a little relieved: “Time to get up and eat.”

Seeing Gu Yuanting put down his phone, Su Yiran returned to the kitchen to continue preparing the side dishes for the congee.

When Gu Yuanting had finished washing up and changed into casual clothes, he saw that the porridge bowls and a plate of egg pancakes were already set on the living room dining table. He surveyed the living room. Like the bedroom, it had simple, light-colored decor, with fresh flowers on the table, indicating that the owner was someone who enjoyed life and had good taste.

The house was a two-bedroom, one-living room layout. The other room was used as a study, and there was a large balcony, also decorated with some green plants and fresh flowers.

It was small, but very cozy.

Gu Yuanting looked at Su Yiran, who was still mixing seasoning for the side dishes in the kitchen. The last impression he had of Su Yiran in his memory was from ten years ago.

Back then, it was Su Yiran who indirectly caused his left leg to be broken, leaving him permanently disabled. It was also Su Yiran who filled his teenage years with distortion and darkness. However, these things no longer mattered to him. Ten years ago, Su Yiran was sent to prison by him, and not long after, he heard the news that the other had died in prison.

Whether it was an accident or something done by his subordinates to curry favor, he didn’t care.

Only the last image of the disheveled, hysterical figure before he sent him to prison remained in his memory.

Su Yiran brought over the three prepared side dishes. Seeing Gu Yuanting staring at him again, he couldn’t help but smile slightly, revealing a shallow dimple on his right cheek.

“…” Gu Yuanting calmly averted his gaze.