The farther they walked, the more familiar the scenery looked to Ji Ran. It suddenly dawned on him. "Ge, isn't this where we used to live?"
It was the little apartment he had rented when he first met Zhao Pingchuan. They had spent a warm and happy time there, and even now, he still missed it.
The money they had now had multiplied many times over, and they could afford anything they wanted, but those days of scraping by were precious too.
Zhao Pingchuan remembered something as well, a smile in his eyes. "Back then, you spent every last bit of your money buying me clothes. You didn't even think to treat yourself a little better."
Ji Ran smiled too. "I couldn't let you suffer along with me."
Zhao Pingchuan tightened his grip on his hand, his voice infinitely gentle. "I didn't suffer. You never made me suffer."
After all, he really had been living off Ji Ran for more than half a year.
Before they knew it, they had reached the apartment building. Ji Ran looked up at their old floor, where the windows were dark. "Looks like no one rented it after we moved out."
Zhao Pingchuan looked at him and asked seriously, "Want to go up and take a look?"
Without a key, they wouldn't be able to get inside, but it would be nice to see it from the outside. Ji Ran readily nodded. "Sure."
They went upstairs one behind the other and stopped in front of the familiar door. Everything was exactly as they remembered it.
Ji Ran touched the door, his eyes full of nostalgia.
Just then, a hand reached over and placed a set of keys in his palm.
Ji Ran looked down, then snapped his head up toward Zhao Pingchuan. Some of his words were barely audible. "Are these the keys to this place?"
Tiny glimmers of light shone in Zhao Pingchuan's eyes. He nodded and said, "Let's go inside."
Ji Ran's throat bobbed, a thousand thoughts rushing through his mind. He mechanically inserted the key into the lock. It was all muscle memory. With a gentle turn, the door opened.
Zhao Pingchuan switched on the lights.
The familiar scene unfolded before him. Everything was just as he remembered: the familiar stove, the little sofa where they had squeezed together to watch TV, and his favorite window, where the sunlight streamed in.
He walked over to the bedroom doorway. The furnishings were just as they had always been, arranged as they had been when they lived there. Even the things they had taken with them when they moved were back in their original places.
Zhao Pingchuan had followed silently behind him the whole time.
Ji Ran asked, "Ge, what's going on? How do you have the keys to this place?"
His voice was choked with tears.
Zhao Pingchuan stepped forward, pulled him into his arms, and gently patted his back. "This place means a lot to me, so I bought it."
Ji Ran stared at him in surprise. "You bought it?"
He had guessed that Zhao Pingchuan had borrowed the keys from the landlord and brought him here for a visit today. He had never imagined the place already belonged to them.
Zhao Pingchuan smiled. "Let's keep it just like this forever, okay? You can come back whenever you want."
Ji Ran's tears fell. He wiped them away hard and nodded. "Okay."
Zhao Pingchuan sat down on the sofa with him in his arms, and the two nestled close together. Ji Ran leaned against him and sat quietly for a while before remembering to ask, "When did you buy it?"
Given the local property prices and the apartment's size, it wasn't expensive. For Zhao Pingchuan now, it was a drop in the bucket, but he had clearly bought it a long time ago.
Zhao Pingchuan smiled and explained, "A year ago. And I'm not the owner of this apartment. You are."
Ji Ran looked up abruptly, his round eyes full of surprise. He pointed at himself. "Me?"
Zhao Pingchuan nodded. "Your name is on the property deed. Want to see it? It's in the safe at home."
Ji Ran's mouth fell open, and he even forgot to blink. After a long moment, he exclaimed, "Ge, you really do big things without saying a word."
Zhao Pingchuan chuckled.
Ji Ran said cautiously, "But if you're going to do something as big as buying a house again, you have to discuss it with me."
"Of course," Zhao Pingchuan readily agreed. "I wanted this to be a gift for you, so I made the decision myself. From now on, you can manage all our money."
Ji Ran's face reddened. "That's not what I meant."
Zhao Pingchuan held his hand in his palm and gently swayed with him in his arms. "Wasn't that the rule you set? Your money is my money, so of course my money is your money too."
He was referring to the time Ji Ran had let him link his card and spend as he pleased. Ji Ran laughed when he heard that. "How much money did I even have back then?"
All his savings put together had barely reached five figures.
But Zhao Pingchuan answered earnestly, "A lot. It was everything you had."
So now, he wanted to give Ji Ran something of equal value in return.
Ji Ran's salary was good now, but it couldn't compare to Zhao Pingchuan's fortune. Still, he didn't feel inferior, because he would give Zhao Pingchuan the best he had too.
"Okay," Ji Ran readily agreed. "I won't hold back."
Could spending his boyfriend's money really mean the same thing as spending his own?
Zhao Pingchuan had never intended to hide Ji Ran's identity and even brought him to some less formal receptions.
At first, Ji Ran was reluctant, afraid of causing him trouble. "Ge, maybe I shouldn't go. You'll be discussing business, and I don't know anything about it. Wouldn't I just get in the way?"
Zhao Pingchuan was carefully picking out clothes for him. Hearing that, he turned and smiled. "Tonight's reception is fairly casual. Everyone will be bringing a date. Could you really bear to leave me there alone?"
He knew perfectly well that Ji Ran couldn't bear to leave him alone. Sure enough, Ji Ran hesitated. "Is it really okay for me to go?"
Zhao Pingchuan nodded firmly, making no attempt to hide the anticipation in his eyes.
In the end, Ji Ran gave in.
He had thought he was only there to make up the numbers and hang on Zhao Pingchuan's arm, but to his surprise, Zhao Pingchuan introduced him to everyone who came over to talk. "This is my boyfriend, Ji Ran. He works at Yusheng Technology."
They would usually look surprised, but they quickly concealed it and shook his hand and greeted him warmly.
Given Ji Ran's looks and age, most people assumed he was a male companion Zhao Pingchuan had found, not his boyfriend. But the importance Zhao Pingchuan placed on him determined how others treated him. At least on the surface, no one dared brush the young man off.
At first, Ji Ran was very nervous. Even counting both his worlds, he had never been to a place like this.
But Zhao Pingchuan's confidence and composure rubbed off on him. He would rest a hand lightly around Ji Ran's waist, giving him a sense of security. "Ranran, don't be afraid. They're not as formidable as you think."
Growing up was a process of losing illusions. After a few such occasions, Ji Ran grew less nervous. He could smile naturally at the other guests and even chat with them for a bit.
At first, it was just small talk, but gradually, Ji Ran realized he could understand the topics they were discussing and joined in.
Before taking his leave, a company president about Zhao Pingchuan's age offered a sincere compliment. "President Zhao, your boyfriend is a good match for you."
He wasn't talking about appearances, but Ji Ran's bearing and the way he spoke.
It was confidence born of his own abilities, and the broader perspective Zhao Pingchuan had helped him develop over the months and years. Ji Ran was no longer the insignificant little programmer he thought himself to be.
Before long, Ji Ran built up a network of his own. He and Zhao Pingchuan didn't work in quite the same field, but at all kinds of banquets, he could meet all kinds of people he needed to know.
Gradually, Ji Ran also understood that this was what Zhao Pingchuan had really intended.
He thought Ji Ran was wonderful, so he wanted everyone to see his good qualities and recognize how outstanding he was.
He had never wanted to keep a canary. Step by step, he was pushing Ji Ran onto a bigger stage.
Ji Ran had also run into Gu Xingye.
When enemies met, tempers flared. Zhao Pingchuan wouldn't seek out unpleasantness, and Gu Xingye disdained putting on a show of politeness.
But his gaze clearly swept slowly over Ji Ran, as though surprised that Zhao Pingchuan had brought him along. In his mind, Ji Ran was just an ordinary employee at an ordinary internet company.
Throughout the banquet, Ji Ran could feel that appraising gaze, but he paid it no mind. He had nothing to hide.
Gu Xingye couldn't say whether he was jealous or disdainful. In his eyes, Ji Ran was far inferior to Jiang Jinyue in both family background and looks. Only Zhao Pingchuan treated him like a treasure.
But seeing the two of them together reminded Gu Xingye that whenever he invited Jiang Jinyue to attend with him, he was always refused or even ignored.
They too had once been a couple everyone envied. Everyone had praised them as well matched, a match made in heaven.
But now everything had changed.
A morbid thought crossed his mind. Losing his only younger sister had left Zhao Pingchuan dejected for so long. What if he made him lose the person he loved?
If Zhao Pingchuan were made to taste the loss of everything again, when their love was at its strongest, what would become of him?