Su Yiran frowned slightly when Gu Yuanting didn’t reply and continued to lecture him: “You need to apologize properly to them, you know?”

Gu Yuanting, struggling to suppress his inner fury, could only accept the unexpected blame falling on him like a giant pot from the sky: “…I’ll give them gifts to apologize.”

Hearing this, Su Yiran finally relaxed. “I already told them. We’ll treat them to a meal together and prepare some gifts.”

Gu Yuanting: “…Okay.”

Then Su Yiran thought of something else. “Oh right, do you still remember Hang Zikun and Wu Lanlan?”

Gu Yuanting replied, “Why?” Of course he didn’t remember them.

Su Yiran hesitated. “Today Hang Zikun said something weird… It sounded like Wu Lanlan’s transfer back then had something to do with us.”

Transfer? Gu Yuanting frowned slightly, then said, “I don’t have any impression of them.” Not remembering old classmates was quite normal.

Su Yiran nodded. Even he had barely any impression of Hang Zikun, let alone Ting-ge.

As for Wu Lanlan, they were only somewhat familiar since they sat front and back in class. Gu Yuanting had even less interaction with her.

Su Yiran felt he had overthought it. Hang Zikun’s words had been strange, but he had been acting passive-aggressive all night anyway. Thinking about it, Su Yiran let it go. “It’s probably nothing. I was just overthinking.”

Gu Yuanting nodded but silently kept this in mind, deciding to investigate the matter later.

Now that the issue with his classmates was addressed, Su Yiran felt it was time to talk about a more serious matter—something between him and Gu Yuanting.

“Let’s talk about it now,” Su Yiran said. “Why did you go behind my back and scare our classmates?”

Tearing up the love letters in his desk—he could somewhat understand that. But…

“You went so far as to threaten people just because they talked to me a bit more? That’s too much—even TV dramas aren’t that dramatic!”

Gu Yuanting: “…”

Seeing him stay silent, Su Yiran continued, “And you kept it from me all this time. If I hadn’t gone to the reunion, I might’ve never found out. You really kept this secret well, huh?” From middle school until now—that’s a lot of effort.

Gu Yuanting: “…”

“This can’t just be brushed off, Ting-ge. You need to explain,” Su Yiran demanded.

Gu Yuanting: “…”

With no way out, Gu Yuanting could only try to guess the original host’s mindset. “…Back then,” he paused, “I had no sense of security and was terrified someone would steal you away. That’s why I acted like that.”

“I was afraid that if you found out, you’d hate me and stay away from me… so I hid it from you.”

He felt he had roughly figured out the original host’s motives.

But the more he thought about it, the more his rage grew.

How dare that lunatic manipulate his Ranran like this?

Su Yiran felt a pang of guilt after hearing the explanation. He knew about Gu Yuanting’s childhood and how he grew up overly vigilant, extremely defensive, even hostile to the world around him.

But over time, as they spent more time together, Gu Yuanting had slowly changed for the better.

Su Yiran had always thought that, at least by high school, Gu Yuanting had overcome his trauma. Though he was still cold and quiet on the surface, his heart should’ve become healthy and happy.

He lowered his head in remorse. “I’m sorry. I didn’t give you enough attention. That’s why you felt so insecure.”

Gu Yuanting couldn’t stand seeing Su Yiran upset—especially not upset over the original host. It made his heart ache… and made him jealous.

“Ranran,” he said softly, trying to comfort him. “That’s all in the past now.”

“I was immature and made a lot of mistakes,” he added. “But I’ve changed now, haven’t I?”

Su Yiran was moved by his words. He thought about it, nodded, and smiled as he looked at the present-day Gu Yuanting. “Yeah, you have.”

Hearing this affirmation, a gentle joy rose in Gu Yuanting’s heart.

Yes, he was better than the original host. With him, Su Yiran would be even happier.

Su Yiran felt more relaxed and let go of the reunion incident.

Ting-ge was indeed growing in a better direction.

Back in university—maybe because they were officially together then—although Ting-ge still got jealous all the time, he had never limited Su Yiran’s social interactions.

Back in middle school, academics were intense, and Su Yiran didn’t have the energy to notice much about those around him.

But university was easier. If Ting-ge had still been threatening classmates just for talking to him, he would’ve definitely noticed.

In fact, most of the friends Su Yiran still kept in touch with were from college. Even at their wedding, almost everyone who attended were his university friends, including his senior.

As for middle school classmates, they’d basically all lost touch after graduation.

He used to think that was just normal—people going to different cities and colleges.

Now he finally understood why… they all cut contact because of someone else.

Su Yiran thought a moment and asked, “Do you still feel insecure now?”

Gu Yuanting immediately replied, “No.”

Su Yiran let out a breath of relief and smiled gently at the screen. “Ting-ge, we’re only going to get better and better.”

Gu Yuanting’s heart softened. He looked at Su Yiran and nodded firmly. “Yes, we will.”

Su Yiran suddenly felt like he missed Ting-ge.

Still sitting on the couch, he grabbed a pillow and hugged it to his chest, resting his chin on it as he gazed at Ting-ge on the screen. In a soft, droopy voice, he asked, “When are you coming back?”

He wanted to be held, kissed, and fall asleep in Ting-ge’s arms.

Su Yiran nuzzled the pillow and whispered, “I miss you so much.”

Gu Yuanting’s heart melted.

His fingers twitched. He should be holding Ranran right now—pulling him close and kissing his forehead, his cheeks… and many other places.

He knew how that felt. He knew that… sensation.

His breath quickened. His throat tightened with thirst.

Gu Yuanting looked at him and said, “I miss you too.”

He admitted it—since the day he left, he had been missing Su Yiran every second.

“I’ll be home in just over a month.”

Su Yiran recalled him mentioning before that he was on a three-month assignment and would return to headquarters once midway for a report and transition.

He nodded. “Okay. I’ll wait for you.”

Gu Yuanting felt like his heart had been struck again.

Not wanting to dwell on the sadness, Su Yiran began talking about some funny moments at the reunion, gradually lightening the mood.

As they chatted, Su Yiran brought up their former class monitor—now bald—Sun Xiaogang: “Life really is tough. Our class monitor is already bald. A lot of our classmates were talking about their receding hairlines and how badly their hair’s been falling out.”

Then, something occurred to him. His expression turned serious as he looked at Gu Yuanting. “You’re not still staying up late, are you?”

Gu Yuanting: “…I haven’t been.”

Su Yiran didn’t believe him. “Liar. Just the other day, I saw you liking my WeChat post in the middle of the night.”

Gu Yuanting: “…” That night, he had seen Ranran’s rare selfie post and couldn’t resist liking it. He got caught and scolded right after.

Su Yiran looked serious. “You really can’t keep doing this. Even if it’s for work, staying up late all the time is bad.”

He gave an example to prove his point: “Sun Xiaogang went bald from all the overtime and late nights. He’s only in his twenties, but he looks like a middle-aged man now.”

Gu Yuanting: “…”

Su Yiran was getting more and more serious. “Think about it. If you keep staying up late, your hairline will recede, and your head will go bald like a Mediterranean sea.”

Gu Yuanting imagined the image he described: “…”

Su Yiran didn’t treat this as a joke at all. “So no more staying up late. And the goji berries I gave you before you left—have you been making tea with them?”

Gu Yuanting: “…Yeah.”

Su Yiran reminded him, “Drink a cup every day. It’s good for your health—it helps replenish energy, supports liver function, aids digestion… or you could try ginseng too.”

“…” Gu Yuanting only caught one keyword. He took a deep breath. “…Replenish… kidney?”

Su Yiran immediately realized he’d taken it the wrong way. His face flushed. “No—I meant it’s just generally good for you! It also boosts energy and digestion, not just that!”

Gu Yuanting: “…Still replenishes the kidney though?”

Su Yiran: “…”

Gu Yuanting nodded seriously. “Okay. I’ll drink it every day when I get back.”

Su Yiran: “…”

It’s over…

He completely forgot about the hair loss and late nights now. Flustered and red-faced, he mumbled a few more sentences before hanging up in a panic.

Gu Yuanting stared at the disconnected video call, his eyes darkening.

He opened a drawer, took out the goji berries Su Yiran had given him, and made himself a cup of tea—drinking slowly.

He thought about the classmates Su Yiran had mentioned—Hang Zikun and Wu Lanlan—and frowned. He then called a number back home and instructed someone to investigate them.

The results wouldn’t take long.

As he sipped his kidney-replenishing tea, he resumed his work.

The assignment was meant to last three months, but he had already accelerated everything, preparing to return ahead of schedule.

He wanted to go back sooner.

He wanted to be with him, to build their home together.

He couldn’t wait to see him again.

__

Author’s Note:
Wants to go back early to f— him
(No no no what am I even saying ●—●)