The moment Su Yiran saw Gu Yuanting’s current expression, he shivered. He scrambled to backtrack:

“It was actually worse before—I mean, just a little worse before. Ting-ge, please don’t mistake me—please don’t!”

Gu Yuanting: “…”

Su Yiran nearly regretted ever opening his mouth—why could he remember only the dips and not the bruises? He felt the sting of past lessons.

Eyes wide, he blurted soothing lies, fearing Ting-ge would disbelieve him: “The technique now is much better in every way! Ting-ge, you’ve improved—really improved. No regression, not a bit!”

Gu Yuanting: “…”

He took a deep breath, then smiled at Su Yiran with unexpected warmth.

Su Yiran: “…” He trembled and felt tears welling up.

Reasonably and gently, Gu Yuanting said, “Ranran, let’s add one more daily lesson. We will do practice homework every day. Don’t worry—progress will come eventually. No need to fear.”

Su Yiran: “…” No—I’m not worried, but I am terrified.

He struggled weakly: “No, I don’t agree.”

Gu Yuanting shook his head gently and his hand began touching Su Yiran’s skin again. The comforting softness kindled warmth in his eyes. He spoke with patience:

“Be good, Ranran. How can we get better results without practice? Let’s start today—come, let’s do a few more rounds.”

Su Yiran swallowed despair: “…” He felt utterly defeated.

---

The next morning, as soon as Su Yiran got out of bed, his legs buckled beneath him.

He could only muster: “…”

Seeing him so weak, Gu Yuanting supported his waist from behind and kissed his cheek: “Feeling okay?”

But when Su Yiran heard that, he thought back to last night—how he’d cried before being let go. He felt shy and angry, glaring at Gu Yuanting with reddened cheeks. What did he expect?

Seeing Ranran’s flush and the glistening in his eyes, Gu Yuanting involuntarily responded.

He recalled how last night he had practiced his “oral technique” on Ranran, exploring every nuance…

And how Ranran had ended up trembling in his arms, tear-filled and speechless like a fragile little rabbit.

The image triggered a swell in his throat. He felt suffocated, desperate for release—but he held back. Just as last night, when he’d wanted more but forced himself to wait.

Su Yiran noticed the shift and discreetly lifted an eyebrow: “…” Was he… perverted?

Gu Yuanting resisted. He only kissed Su Yiran once and held back, patiently saying:

“Don’t hurry, Ranran. We have plenty of time to keep practicing.”

Su Yiran: “…” Who’s in a hurry here?

He withdrew Gu Yuanting’s hand and walked into the bathroom without saying anything.

Gu Yuanting didn’t follow immediately. Watching his retreating form, he steadied himself. No rush.

---

That morning, Su Yiran’s parents took the 9 a.m. high-speed train. After breakfast, he and Gu Yuanting accompanied them to the station.

During farewells, Su Yiran hugged his parents tightly. They gave final reminders and turned to leave with lingering glances. Ranran stood waving until they disappeared from sight.

A pang of parting grief swept through him. Momentarily forgetting his earlier complaint about Ting-ge, he took Gu Yuanting’s hand and said wistfully:

“I miss Mom and Dad so much. Time flew—they left so fast.”

Gu Yuanting stroked his hair gently in reassurance:

“It’s okay. After they’re home, we can video-call them—just like talking.”

Su Yiran nodded softly: “Mm.”

With his parents gone, it was back to their two-person reality. Gu Yuanting quietly breathed easier—though he found Su Yiran’s parents lovely, he preferred just the two of them.

On the way back, they stopped at a supermarket. Su Yiran spotted a baby cloth, found it adorable, and picked it up.

“Let’s buy some baby stuff—for later.” Although they’d already begun setting up a baby room, preparation was still incomplete.

Gu Yuanting didn’t object. “Pick what you like. Let’s get a few things.”

He had mentally come to terms with their future together. Even though Ranran was carrying the original host’s child—and that stirred jealousy—he resolved to give the child the best life possible. After all, the baby belonged to Ranran.

Together, they browsed the infant section. Su Yiran fell in love with every cute outfit he saw—but since they didn’t know the baby’s gender, he pulled himself back.

Seeing his hesitation, Gu Yuanting said, “Get both the boy and girl versions—we’ll decide later.”

Su Yiran shook his head: “Too expensive. Let’s wait until we know the gender.” He tugged Gu Yuanting’s hand, leading him to the toy section: “Let’s just buy some toys that aren’t gender‑specific.”

Gu Yuanting silently agreed—and later arranged for the earlier clothing picks to be wrapped and sent home.

Su Yiran rambled excitedly about the child—what toys to get, nutrition, future education, activities, school choices (public vs private), maybe even studying abroad someday.

Gu Yuanting listened quietly, pinching his nose against the jealousy, but joined in planning.

Over the drive home, Ranran’s chatter never ceased—even at dinner, while walking, until before sleeping. Lying side by side, they pored over childcare books and parenting guides they’d purchased.

Then Su Yiran paused, a realization hitting: “Ting-ge, what should we name the baby?”

Gu Yuanting: “…”

Su Yiran thought aloud: “The formal name should be meaningful. For now, pick a nickname. Let’s look into it later.”

Gu Yuanting tried teasing: “Let’s just call him Gou‑Sheng.”

Su Yiran’s face turned green. “Are you kidding—is that a real father speaking?!”

Gu Yuanting: “…” Didn’t mean it.

He quickly said: “Just joking. Let me think more.”

They brainstormed names. Gu Yuanting offered Lele, Dian Dian, An An…

Su Yiran stared at him: “Ting-ge, you forgot—our neighbor’s dog was named Dian Dian.”

Gu Yuanting, not the original one, had no idea.

In the end, after checking naming lists online, Su Yiran grew tired. They still hadn’t found the right name.

Then Gu Yuanting said: “Let’s just call him ‘Bao Bao.’”

That lit up Su Yiran’s face: “That’s perfect. Simple. He’s our beloved baby.”

Gu Yuanting: “…” He’s not.

But choosing Bao Bao as the nickname felt meaningful and right to Ranran. He immediately started imagining their future: what their family life would be like with Bao Bao.

Gu Yuanting initially didn’t want to hear it, but Ranran’s loving vision of a future family drew him in. Soon, he joined in the daydreams.

In that process, Gu Yuanting found himself grateful—he realized he could accept this child. Though jealousy still stirred at the connection to the original host, the baby belonged to Ranran.

Ranran’s child would be his child too.

Three of them—two, then three, maybe four someday—leading an ordinary but happy life.

The thought filled him with tenderness. He leaned over and kissed Ranran gently, full of warmth and longing.

He wanted Ranran—and he felt the moment was right. Even if he couldn’t claim Ranran in that intimate way now, he craved close connection.

He held Ranran and kissed him tenderly, then teasingly licked his lips: “Ranran…I want to practice homework now.”

Still thinking about baby stuff, Ranran barely noticed at first. When Gu Yuanting licked again, he realized what was implied:

“No—stop that. We’ve only read one chapter. Let’s keep reading.”

Gu Yuanting saw the reluctance and, finding himself in a totally different emotional state, stayed quiet.

Ranran firmly refused to continue with practice tonight, leaving Gu Yuanting frustrated. They resumed reading the parenting book together—but for every kind of frustration bursting from Gu Yuanting’s heart…

Bachelorhood is over. Husbandhood. Fatherhood.

Family of three.

A beautiful future.

Heh.