Gu Yuanting calmly asked, “Ranran, what are you looking for goji berries for?”

Su Yiran couldn’t bear to hurt Ting-ge’s self-esteem. He didn’t tell the truth, instead saying innocently, “Nothing, I just haven’t had goji berry water in a long time, and I felt like having some.”

As soon as Gu Yuanting saw the goji berries, he remembered the incident from their first night, when he had been too excited and, embarrassingly, “finished” too quickly. He guessed what was going through Ranran’s little mind and took a deep breath.

“Oh,” Gu Yuanting nodded, smiling gently at Ranran, “That’s good.”

Su Yiran: “…”

Su Yiran’s legs went weak, and he almost dropped the bag of goji berries in his hand. He was scared inside and barely managed to compose himself: “I, I’ll go downstairs first.” With that, he fled the bedroom with the goji berries as if escaping, hurrying downstairs.

Coming down to the living room, he looked at the goji berries in his hand, thought for a moment, and then went into the kitchen to get a small kettle, beginning to brew goji berry water.

As he steeped them, Su Yiran felt a little wronged. Ting-ge was clearly weak, yet he insisted on showing off. Why couldn’t he understand his painstaking efforts? Forcing his body was absolutely not good.

Just as he was thinking, he saw Ting-ge approach. Su Yiran’s goji berry water was already brewed. He poured a cup from the kettle and handed it to Gu Yuanting, saying nonchalantly, “Here you go.”

Gu Yuanting took the cup, only to see a few red goji berries floating on the surface, gently bobbing up and down with the slight movement of the water: “…”

Su Yiran secretly glanced at Ting-ge, then poured himself a cup of goji berry water and nonchalantly began to drink it.

Gu Yuanting took another deep breath. He needed to properly educate Ranran.

In between sips, Su Yiran secretly glanced at Ting-ge again, and their eyes met. He was so startled that he choked, almost spitting out the water he had just drunk.

Gu Yuanting, seeing Ranran choking, quickly stepped forward to pat his back. When he stopped coughing, he breathed a sigh of relief, and his hand stroking Ranran’s back turned into a gentle caress. He said softly, “Don’t be afraid, Ranran, I won’t do anything to you.”

Su Yiran shivered, feeling even more scared…

Gu Yuanting picked up the cup placed nearby and obediently took a sip: “I’ll drink it.” He quickly gulped down the entire cup of goji berry water, almost in one go.

Su Yiran: “…”

Su Yiran nervously began to eat lunch with Ting-ge. At the dinner table, he didn’t forget to subtly lecture Ting-ge, implying that making him drink goji berries for his kidneys was entirely for his own good.

“…So, it’s still important to practice moderation and not be too greedy. Otherwise, as the book says, if you hurt your body, it’s not worth it. It’s better to conserve your energy, and you shouldn’t push yourself. The protagonist in XX forced himself, and in the end, he ended up in the hospital,” Su Yiran painstakingly explained.

Gu Yuanting listened with a constant smile, nodding in agreement. Su Yiran gradually spoke softer and softer, and then, slowly, didn’t dare to speak anymore. The meal became tense, making Su Yiran feel on edge.

Finally, the meal was almost over. Su Yiran was still slowly drinking the last of his soup when Gu Yuanting finished eating, placing his spoon down with a crisp “clink” against the porcelain bowl. Su Yiran’s nerves tightened, and he almost jumped up. He forced himself to remain steady, drinking his soup even slower.

Gu Yuanting kept watching Ranran from the side, waiting patiently, even gently urging him: “Drink slowly, Ranran, don’t choke.”

Su Yiran: “…”

Su Yiran simply slurped down all the soup, then put down his bowl and quickly stood up: “I, I, I’m going upstairs. It’s getting late, time for a nap.”

He hurriedly rushed upstairs. Seeing that Ting-ge hadn’t followed him, he relaxed. He paced around the bedroom a couple of times, felt that he hadn’t really done anything wrong, and then regained his self-assurance, comfortably lying down in bed to take a nap.

He closed his eyes, and before drowsiness could set in, he heard familiar footsteps entering from outside the door. Ting-ge walked all the way to the bed. Su Yiran’s heart tightened again. He closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep, not daring to move.

Then he felt the bed sink, Ting-ge leaned closer and kissed him, then… started taking off his clothes! Ting-ge’s hand also…

Su Yiran, panicking, quickly opened his eyes and pushed Ting-ge with a flushed face: “We agreed to a truce today.”

“Hmm,” Gu Yuanting looked at him with dark, deep eyes. Ranran’s body still bore the marks of their lovemaking last night…

Gu Yuanting’s eyes seemed to flicker with fire, and he nodded in agreement, but his actions didn’t stop. “But we just had goji berries, so we need to properly test the effects…”

As he spoke, Gu Yuanting’s voice grew hoarse. Su Yiran’s ears tingled from the low, magnetic sound, then his whole body tingled. He struggled on the edge of refusal and compliance, but before he could make a choice, he was overwhelmed by Gu Yuanting’s fierce assault…

…

Su Yiran’s legs were trembling uncontrollably, his face flushed, still streaked with wet tears. He hadn’t recovered from the intensity for a long time and felt like he couldn’t get out of bed.

Now, all he felt was regret, overwhelming regret…

Why did he have to think so much nonsense? Why did he have to give Ting-ge a tonic? Now look, it’s overcompensated…

Gu Yuanting looked at Ranran’s appearance and couldn’t help but get excited again. He held Ranran and kissed him passionately, intertwining his fingers with Ranran’s, ready to “study” again and re-practice the effects of the goji berries.

However, just as he was about to “practice,” he suddenly felt something was amiss.

Gu Yuanting paused, then looked up at Ranran and his tightly clasped left hand.

And then he saw that Ranran’s left ring finger was no longer wearing his wedding ring, but rather… the original owner’s old ring.

Gu Yuanting stiffened. His passion receded somewhat. He wasn’t in a hurry to go again.

He had been too excited these past few days, completely immersed in Ranran’s body, and had forgotten about this ring. He forgot to throw that old ring away.

How did Ranran find it so quickly?

Su Yiran finally recovered. He noticed Ting-ge’s abnormality and followed Ting-ge’s gaze, looking at his own wedding ring: “What’s wrong?”

Gu Yuanting said, “Why… did you change to this one? Where’s the one you were wearing the past two days?”

“Oh,” Su Yiran nonchalantly showed Ting-ge his left hand: “I just found it in the bedside table drawer. Luckily, it wasn’t lost.”

He continued, “The one you gave me is too valuable. It’s not suitable to wear every day. I’ve put it in the safe. Let’s just wear our wedding rings normally.”

Gu Yuanting heard that his wedding ring was in the safe and immediately got up to look for it. The safe was in a small cabinet under the bedside table. Soon, he had retrieved the wedding ring.

Su Yiran wrapped himself in the blanket. Seeing Ting-ge’s expression, his face burned intensely. He avoided direct eye contact, not understanding why Ting-ge was so eager to find the ring.

Gu Yuanting retrieved the ring, lay back next to Ranran, and embraced him, saying, “The old… wedding ring, it’s too common. It doesn’t suit you. Let’s switch to this better one, okay?” He held Ranran’s hand and looked at him carefully.

Su Yiran smiled: “How can a wedding ring be changed so casually? Besides, what’s ‘common’ about it?” He took off the wedding ring and caressed it fondly. “This ring, and your ring, we designed and made them together. The words inside the band were even engraved by our own hands. They’re very meaningful.”

This pair of diamond rings, designed and made by the two of them, looked elegant and simple, with only a small main diamond, very suitable for everyday wear.

The original owner… and Ranran… designed and made the ring together.

Even the small words inside the original owner’s ring band were carved by Ranran himself.

Gu Yuanting felt as if he was in a warm bubble of happiness, only to be suddenly doused with a basin of icy cold water. He looked at the wedding ring he had prepared for Ranran; the difference was obvious. He had lost.

From the very beginning, he had been losing.

No matter how Ranran responded to his love, or how many words of love Ranran uttered to him during their intimacy, those weren’t for him, but for the original owner. Ranran loved the original owner, not him.

Gu Yuanting’s heart felt as though it had been struck by an iron hammer, and his entire body turned cold.

The intimacy of these past few days had made him too happy, completely forgetting this fact, forgetting that Ranran simply did not love him.

Su Yiran noticed Ting-ge’s abnormality. He anxiously moved closer to Ting-ge and touched his face: “Ting-ge, what’s wrong?” He kissed him worriedly: “Ting-ge?”

Gu Yuanting stiffened, then, with a hint of bewilderment, hugged Ranran. He buried his head in Ranran’s neck, slowly rubbing against it for a while. After a long moment, he finally said, “Ranran, I love you.”

Why did Ting-ge suddenly become so down? Su Yiran didn’t know the root of the problem for a moment. He tenderly held Ting-ge’s head and stroked it, cupped his face, and leaned in to kiss him: “I love you too, Ting-ge,” he kissed him again, asking with concern, “What’s wrong?”

Gu Yuanting didn’t speak, but instead cupped the back of Ranran’s head and kissed him fiercely, frantically seeking a sense of presence on his body, as if wanting to devour him whole.

You don’t love me at all. Gu Yuanting thought miserably.

Su Yiran was quickly breathless from Ting-ge’s kisses. He gasped for air, then felt Ting-ge’s urgency, as if he were in pain, kissing and touching him everywhere. He was a little hurt by the kisses, but he didn’t make a sound or push Ting-ge away. Instead, while enduring it, he gently stroked the back of Ting-ge’s neck and his spine. Gu Yuanting felt Ranran’s tolerance and comfort, and he slowly calmed down, gradually releasing Ranran.

He had known for a long time that Ranran didn’t love him, so why was he so agitated and sad now?

Perhaps it was their time together, Ranran’s responses during intimacy, Ranran’s answers during their tender words, that had numbed him, making him believe that Ranran had grown to love him over time.

Gu Yuanting kissed Ranran again. He said, “I’m fine.”

He saw that Ranran was feeling sorry for him now and took the opportunity to ask Ranran: “I want to wear the new ring with you, can I?” He took Ranran’s hand and looked at him carefully.

Whatever Ting-ge said now, Su Yiran would agree to. He quickly nodded, taking off his wedding ring himself. Gu Yuanting felt a slight ease in his heart and put the new wedding ring on Ranran.

He kissed Ranran’s finger, pleadingly looking at him: “Don’t take it off again, okay?” After saying that, he found another excuse, showing Ranran the matching wedding ring on his own ring finger, “My old… wedding ring, I accidentally lost it. That’s why I wanted to get a new pair of wedding rings. I want to wear matching ones with you.”

“I, I prepared this wedding ring for a long time.”

Su Yiran hadn’t expected that the original wedding ring had been lost by Ting-ge. He first nodded, reassuring Ting-ge: “Okay, I won’t take it off. I’ll wear it every day.”

Then he couldn’t help but ask Ting-ge: “Why didn’t you tell me your wedding ring was lost? And why didn’t you tell me you wanted to get a new pair?” It seemed Ting-ge had only started customizing new rings after losing his, looking for another opportunity to give them to him.

Gu Yuanting lowered his head: “I’m sorry, I was afraid you’d blame me.” Actually, he hadn’t lost that ring; he had brought it with him this time, intending to throw that old ring away along with Ranran’s once they switched to the new wedding rings.

Su Yiran was a bit helpless. He kissed Ting-ge: “What’s there to blame you for? Losing things is normal. Didn’t I almost lose my wedding ring two days ago?”

Gu Yuanting felt a slight sense of relief now that this hurdle was passed and Ranran was properly wearing his wedding ring.

He said nothing, but kissed Ranran again. He wanted to make love to Ranran, now, immediately.

Su Yiran thought about Ting-ge’s reaction just now, feeling a weight in his heart. He still didn’t know why Ting-ge had suddenly become so down, as if suppressing some pain. Was it just because of the ring? It didn’t make sense.

But within a short while, he was so overwhelmed by Ting-ge that he couldn’t think clearly. Ting-ge… was so urgent, and… how, more skilled…

…

…

Gu Yuanting looked at Ranran’s teary eyes, his crying face, and watched Ranran’s soul-stirred expression caused by him. He felt a twisted satisfaction in his heart.

Ranran doesn’t love me, he loves the original owner. It’s okay, so what?

He’s mine. He married me. The one touching him now is me. The one inside his body is also me.

He leaned close to Ranran’s ear. As his breath brushed against him, Ranran’s whole body trembled, and the tips of his ears turned a captivating crimson. Gu Yuanting’s voice was low and hoarse: “Ranran, is doing it like this… good?”

“Did… I used to do it like this too?”

Su Yiran couldn’t speak, whimpering, looking pitifully at Ting-ge through a watery haze.

Gu Yuanting then said: “How about this?” He leaned closer to Ranran’s ear and asked him, “Am I better than the old me?”