Su Yiran couldn’t help but wrap his arms around Ting-ge’s neck and press a gentle kiss to his lips. Looking at Ting-ge like this, he was overwhelmed with emotion. “I love you too, Ting-ge.”

Ranran said… he loves him.

In that instant, even the sound of fireworks seemed to vanish. Everything around them faded into insignificance. Gu Yuanting’s senses felt like they were both amplifying and narrowing to a single point—he couldn’t think about anything else. All he could see was Su Yiran. All he could hear was him saying he loved him.

Happiness.

Why am I allowed to feel this happy too?

Gu Yuanting looked down at him, hands gently cupping Su Yiran’s face. His thumb softly brushed his cheek. Even such a simple touch made his heart race—it filled him with happiness.

Thank you, heaven.

Gu Yuanting lowered his head and touched his forehead to Su Yiran’s, then placed a light kiss on his soft lips. Just a simple kiss, skin touching skin, their breaths mingling.

They quietly held each other like that for a while. From time to time, their lips would gently brush again, silently repeating what words could no longer express: he loved him.

Eventually, a chilly breeze passed by. Gu Yuanting, worried that Su Yiran might be cold, snapped out of his daze and said quickly, “Let’s head back inside. It’s cold out here.”

Su Yiran was a bit reluctant to break their embrace, but they’d already been on the rooftop for a while. He nodded. “Okay.”

Back inside, the Spring Festival Gala was still playing on the TV. A medley of songs was on, the atmosphere festive. Gu Yuanting had Su Yiran sit on the couch and turned the volume down. Then he poured a cup of hot milk and handed it to him. “It’s getting late. Are you tired? Should we sleep now?”

Su Yiran held the cup and looked at him, shaking his head. “Not sleepy. I want to stay up and see in the New Year with you.”

Their hometown had a tradition on Lunar New Year’s Eve where the whole family stayed up late watching the Gala, eating snacks, and waiting for midnight to set off firecrackers—symbolizing the old year’s end and a safe, fresh start to the new one.

Technically, the tradition was to stay awake until dawn, but hardly anyone did that nowadays. Most just stayed up past midnight.

In the past, he and Ting-ge always went back to their hometown to celebrate the New Year with their parents—this was the only exception.

Seeing that Su Yiran insisted, Gu Yuanting didn’t argue. He pulled Ranran into his arms, holding him close as they continued watching the Gala together.

Time passed quietly. It was already 11:30. Lately, Su Yiran had been going to bed by 10 p.m. sharp every night, so even with the entertainment and snacks, he was barely holding on. His eyelids were getting heavier by the second.

Gu Yuanting noticed how drowsy he looked and stood up with him in his arms, intending to carry him to bed. “Let’s go sleep?”

But Su Yiran quickly shook his head to fight off the sleepiness and struggled to get out of Gu Yuanting’s arms. “No no no—it’s almost midnight. I can do it.” It was only thirty minutes away. It would be such a shame to give up now.

Gu Yuanting was worried he might hurt himself moving too much. “Okay, okay, don’t move,” he said, gently placing Ranran back on the sofa and lowering the volume again.

Su Yiran leaned against him and kept watching the TV. But after just two more performances, his eyelids began to droop again. His head started bobbing, and eventually, he gave in to sleep, curling up against Ting-ge.

Gu Yuanting saw he was asleep and muted the TV completely. He held him still, not daring to move in case he woke Ranran up.

He watched Ranran’s peaceful sleeping face and couldn’t help but recall those words again: “I love you.”

Just remembering them brought him such joy.

Even though he knew clearly that the one Ranran loved wasn’t really him, but the “original host” of this body…

Still, those words were spoken to him. Out loud. By Ranran.

Even if he was technically being “cheated on” by a ghost of a past self, he was still willing to bask in the happiness.

Gu Yuanting pushed all the doubts and worries down deep and gently kissed his Ranran.

At that moment, the clock was striking midnight. The countdown had started on the Spring Festival Gala. Gu Yuanting watched the numbers ticking silently on the screen and counted in his heart: “…Three, two, one.”

The New Year had arrived.

He and his Ranran had crossed into it together.

---

The Fifth Day of the Lunar New Year

Su Yiran’s parents were arriving on the noon high-speed train and would get in around 3 p.m.

Su Yiran and Gu Yuanting arrived early at the station, waiting in the car.

As the time neared, Gu Yuanting adjusted his collar in the rearview mirror and asked seriously, “Ranran, do I look sharp today?”

Su Yiran nodded solemnly. “Very sharp. Extremely handsome.”

Just as Gu Yuanting began to relax a bit, Su Yiran’s phone rang. It was Su Mama calling. He tensed up again.

Su Yiran answered, “…You’ve arrived? Yes, come out from the West Square exit. We’re waiting there.”

After hanging up, he said to Gu Yuanting, “They’re here. Let’s go meet them.”

Gu Yuanting nodded, steadied his nerves, and got out of the car with Su Yiran.

It was peak travel season and the station was crowded. Gu Yuanting shielded Su Yiran as they stood to the side, making sure no one bumped into him.

After waiting a bit, Su Yiran finally spotted two familiar figures in the crowd. He waved excitedly. “Dad! Mom! Over here!”

Gu Yuanting also saw them. In his memory, their faces were now just a blur.

In his past life, in his original world, Su Dad and Su Mom had adopted him too. But because of the actions of that world’s “Su Yiran,” they were forced to abandon him in the end.

In that life, he and the Su family had settled all debts. He didn’t confuse the two worlds.

Here, Su Dad and Su Mom were his “parents-in-law.” He clenched his fists slightly—he had to do well.

The two elders saw them and pushed their suitcases over. Gu Yuanting quickly stepped forward to take the luggage. “Dad, Mom,” he greeted.

Su Dad and Su Mom beamed and responded warmly. Su Mom asked, “Baby, how long have you two been waiting?”

“Not long,” Su Yiran replied. “Ting-ge and I just got here too.”

Su Mom glanced at Su Yiran’s belly and gently touched it. “Is this… really happening?”

Su Yiran replied a little shyly, “It’s real.”

Gu Yuanting said, “Dad, Mom, it’s cold out. Let’s talk in the car and head home first.”

Su Dad nodded. “Yes yes, let’s not just stand around. Our baby is pregnant.”

Gu Yuanting: “……”

On the way home, the four of them chatted about recent events. When they arrived, Su Dad and Su Mom saw the new villa and exchanged a glance, but didn’t say anything for now.

Gu Yuanting settled them into a guest room upstairs. Su Mom opened her suitcase. “I brought some goodies from home. Take a look.”

Su Yiran said, “Didn’t I tell you not to bring anything? It’s heavy and inconvenient.”

“It’s fine,” Su Mom waved him off. “There’s cured chicken, duck, and sausages. You won’t get these in the city.”

“Thanks, Mom. Ranran was just saying a few days ago how he missed home-cured meats.” Gu Yuanting accepted them, then said, “You must be tired from the trip. Rest a bit, I’ll go cook dinner.”

Su Mom stood up. “Let me help. I’ll make something delicious for you two.”

After they finished cooking, Su Dad helped serve the dishes while telling Su Yiran to sit and rest. The table was covered with hearty food.

The four of them sat around the table. Su Mom proudly introduced which dishes she made, which were Ting-ge’s, and which were made to nourish Su Yiran’s health. She ladled out some chicken soup for him. “Try this—it’s rich and full of flavor.”

Su Yiran took a sip, eyes lighting up. “So good! Just like back home. I’ve missed this.”

Su Dad tried Gu Yuanting’s cooking too and praised, “Ting-ting, your cooking’s really improving. Tastes better every time.”

Gu Yuanting quickly replied, “Mom’s cooking is amazing. Mine’s still far from it.”

They all complimented one another, the atmosphere warm and joyful.

After the meal, while they were chatting over snacks, Su Dad asked a little hesitantly, “Ting-ting, Ranran mentioned before that your birth family found you. So… about your relatives…”

Su Yiran had briefly mentioned the Gu family’s situation to his parents earlier but hadn’t gone into detail.

Gu Yuanting nodded. “They found me two months ago, but they’re all in Country D now recovering from some health issues. They won’t be coming back any time soon.” In fact, he had no plans to let them return.

Su Mom asked, “Health issues? Are they serious?”

“Just minor illnesses, nothing to worry about,” Gu Yuanting replied.

Su Mom sighed in relief but looked a little disappointed. “That’s a pity. I thought we’d get to meet your parents.”

Not wanting Ting-ge to dwell on unpleasant memories, Su Yiran quickly changed the topic to some funny moments from his recent livestreams.

Everyone ate snacks and chatted happily.

Gu Yuanting made an effort to behave well. Judging from Su Dad and Su Mom’s reactions, they were clearly satisfied with him. He felt relieved—he’d likely done better than the original host ever had.

Afterwards, remembering that Su Yiran once told him Su Mom loved mahjong, Gu Yuanting offered, “Mom, shall we play a few rounds? We have a mahjong table at home.”

Su Mom perked up immediately. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Su Yiran, itching to play too, led the way to the entertainment room. The four of them sat around the table and started playing.

As he arranged his tiles, Su Dad reminisced, “I remember back in the day, you used to lose every single hand, Ting-ting. But you got better over time. Take it easy on your old man today.”

Su Mom scoffed. “Listen to you. No need to go easy on him,” she said to Gu Yuanting.

Gu Yuanting nodded without a change in expression, thinking to himself—just playing mahjong and you still managed to lose every time? The original host really was useless.

He would hold back a little… for the parents.