From Dr. Sun, Su Yiran learned that Gu Yuanting’s concealment index had always been higher than the normal range.
That meant Ting-ge was still hiding something—never fully letting his guard down or opening his heart.

While doing psychological counseling for Gu Yuanting, Dr. Sun gradually discovered that although Gu Yuanting appeared cooperative, the moment certain topics were touched upon, his cooperation would stop. He was always concealing something.

And what Gu Yuanting was hiding was very likely the key to the problem.

Su Yiran had also tried talking to Gu Yuanting about this, but Gu Yuanting never admitted to hiding anything. On the contrary, he was showing signs of growing more repressed and irritable.
Su Yiran didn’t dare to provoke him, so he decided to ease into it instead.

“…Last week, after finishing a counseling session with Mr. Gu, I felt that something was a little off. By analyzing a few small, unintentional details he had revealed in previous sessions, I found that Mr. Gu’s perception of himself and the world seems to have some… deviations—perhaps even some confusion.”
That day, Dr. Sun called Su Yiran to tell him about this.

“But right now, without Mr. Gu’s active cooperation, I can’t be certain. So I hope you can persuade him to cooperate with treatment as much as possible.”

“Alright, I understand. Thank you.”
After Su Yiran hung up, having asked a few more questions first, he stared blankly at his phone, frowning slightly as he thought over Dr. Sun’s words.

Ting-ge’s perception of himself and the world… had deviations? How could that be?

“Ranran,” at that moment, Gu Yuanting walked in. “Did you pull up the radishes?”

“Oh—oh, not yet.” Su Yiran came back to his senses, pocketing his phone and smiling. “I just got a call.”

Earlier, he had been in the vegetable patch in the conservatory, ready to pull a few radishes to make Ting-ge a pork-rib-and-radish soup for dinner.
Eat radish in winter, ginger in summer—radish soup in winter is good for the body.

Gu Yuanting noticed Ranran putting his phone away, and his eyes darkened.
Dr. Sun had contacted Ranran again? What had he said this time?

His chest felt heavy. Over the past month, as Dr. Sun’s sessions grew deeper, Gu Yuanting felt that more and more of his problems were being exposed.
He was increasingly worried that one careless slip would allow Dr. Sun to follow the trail straight to his secret.

Su Yiran glanced at the small patch of white radishes on the far right, then waved at Ting-ge.
“Ting-ge, help me bring that basket over—by the wall.”

Gu Yuanting handed over the basket, then joined Ranran in pulling radishes.
“How many should we pull?”

“Let’s take out more than half of these. I’ll pickle the rest into radish strips for side dishes.”
Su Yiran bent down to pull a radish, dirt clinging to it. The radishes from their garden weren’t very big—he’d shake off the mud and toss them straight into the basket.

Gu Yuanting kept pulling radishes in silence, his thoughts still stuck on the psychologist’s words.

Noticing Ting-ge’s quietness, Su Yiran thought of Dr. Sun’s concerns and tried to lighten the mood.
“Do you want radish fritters tonight? We could make some along with the soup.”

“Sure. Let’s do the deep-fried kind—they’re crispier.” Gu Yuanting nodded.

Su Yiran agreed immediately. Soon, they had pulled more than half the radishes and also picked a cabbage for stir-fry.

When they were about to leave, Gu Yuanting hesitated. Finally, he asked,
“Just now… was that Dr. Sun calling you? What did you two talk about?”

Su Yiran hesitated, remembering the call. Should he tell him directly?

Seeing the faint nervousness in Ting-ge’s eyes, he decided it would be better to be upfront.
Dr. Sun had already said it was fine to share this with Gu Yuanting—it might help convince him to cooperate.

Using the lightest tone possible, Su Yiran said,
“It’s nothing serious. Dr. Sun just suggested a possibility—he said you might have a slight deviation in how you see yourself and the world. But—”

Boom.
The words hit Gu Yuanting like thunder. He lost his grip on the basket, and it hit the ground with a loud thud.
Radishes and cabbage rolled everywhere, making a mess.

“A deviation in my perception of myself and the world”—wasn’t that just another way of saying there was a mismatch between him and the original body… and this parallel world?

Dr. Sun had noticed? Ranran had noticed?

A buzzing filled his head. Whatever Ranran said afterward, he didn’t hear a word.

Su Yiran hadn’t expected such a strong reaction. Alarmed, he left the scattered vegetables and hurried to wrap his arms around Ting-ge, patting his back in comfort.
“Ting-ge, don’t worry—it’s fine, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

He kissed Ting-ge twice on the lips and looked him in the eyes.
“This isn’t a big deal. And it’s not confirmed yet. When we go for your follow-up the day after tomorrow, just cooperate with Dr. Sun’s checkup. Even if there is a deviation, we can correct it right away. It’s a small matter. Really, don’t be afraid.”

Those two kisses brought Gu Yuanting back to himself. He slowly exhaled, hugging Ranran tightly—so tightly it felt like he wanted to merge him into his own body.

So Dr. Sun hadn’t fully discovered it yet… and Ranran hadn’t either…

But it wouldn’t be long.
If the psychologist could see the deviation between him and this world today… tomorrow, he might realize that he was not this world’s “Gu Yuanting.”

And when that day came… Ranran, what would you do?

With that thought, Gu Yuanting looked at Su Yiran like a predator sizing up its prey—judging whether it would struggle, run, or submit.

Su Yiran met that unreadable gaze without flinching.
Seeing that Ting-ge seemed calmer, he leaned forward and kissed him again.
“Ting-ge, it’s fine. When we go for the checkup the day after tomorrow, let’s just cooperate with the doctor, alright? You’ll get better soon.”

Those words seemed to hit a nerve again.
Suddenly, Gu Yuanting bent down and kissed Ranran fiercely—rough and urgent.

Hadn’t he imagined kissing him like this in the vegetable patch for a long time?

Caught off guard, Su Yiran felt his lips ache from the intensity. But after a moment of surprise, he didn’t pull away—he held Ting-ge and kissed him back gently.

At last, Gu Yuanting ended the kiss, softening to plant one more on Ranran’s reddened lips. His gaze was deep as he murmured,
“Sorry… did I hurt you?”

His tone was calm and mild, but his eyes were like a bottomless abyss—there was little sincerity in the apology, as if he were testing something.

“It’s fine. I like kissing you,” Su Yiran said, steadying his breath and giving Ting-ge another peck, smiling with his eyes.

Gu Yuanting’s heart slammed in his chest. Looking into those smiling eyes, he bent down to kiss them softly.
This Su Yiran was his. Only his.

“Let’s go make dinner, alright?” Su Yiran coaxed.
“We’ll have a good meal, then sleep until we wake up naturally.”

“Okay.” Gu Yuanting agreed.

Only then did he release Ranran. Looking down at the radishes scattered across the dirt, he felt a pang of guilt—Ranran had picked them for him.

He quickly crouched down to gather them, with Su Yiran helping.
Once the radishes and cabbage were back in the basket, Gu Yuanting carried it with one hand and held Ranran’s hand with the other as they headed to the kitchen.

Su Yiran had already told his mother and the nanny that he would cook tonight, so they stayed upstairs with the baby.
In the kitchen, only the two of them worked together—pork-rib-and-radish soup, radish fritters, stir-fried cabbage, plus two other dishes.
The remaining radishes went into the fridge to be pickled the next day.

Before long, dinner was ready.

While they were eating, Mother Su remembered something.
“Ranran, the New Year’s almost here. This year, you two should go home for it.”

By “home,” she meant their old house in the village. She clearly hoped they would come.

Su Yiran thought for a moment. Their original plan had been to return for the New Year.
The baby was still small, but with a nanny along for the car trip, it would be fine.
The family’s two-story house in the village was spacious—they wouldn’t feel cramped.

But now… with Ting-ge’s condition…

“Ting-ge, should we go back to my hometown for the New Year?” Su Yiran asked.

Glancing at Mother Su, Gu Yuanting knew she and Father Su would want them to return. He nodded.
“Let’s go. We didn’t last year, so it’s only right to go this year.”

He also wanted to see where Ranran had grown up—little Ranran’s world.

Mother Su beamed.
“Great. I’ll have your father tidy everything up. The neighbors still talked about you two not coming back last year.”

Su Yiran agreed with a smile. He figured going back to the village might be good—the countryside was quieter than the city, and the old hometown was full of happy memories from when they grew up together. It could be good for Ting-ge’s recovery.

Mother Su was in high spirits, chatting about the past.
She laughed, “Your dad still teases me about the time right after your college entrance exams—Ranran disappeared, and we were frantic. Even Ting-ting was so worried he cried. In the end, we found you in… in…”

She trailed off, unable to remember.
Then she turned to Gu Yuanting. “Where did we find him again? You found Ranran yourself—this must be clear in your memory.”

Gu Yuanting: “…”

College entrance exams? Ranran went missing?

Of course he didn’t know.
Facing Mother Su’s trusting gaze—and Ranran’s expectant eyes—he froze from head to toe.