JOH CH121: Ranran with the Singed Cowlick

They rested the whole day like this. Gu Yuanting busily attended to both the baby and Ranran—feeding the baby, pouring water for Ranran, soothing the baby when he cried, and giving fruit to Ranran.

Su Yiran quietly watched the energetic Ting-ge, feeling like he’d taken some kind of strange stimulant, being so hyperactive since last night, full of excess energy.

It wasn’t until almost dinner time that Gu Yuanting finally calmed down from his excitement. He gently touched Ranran’s head and warmly said, “Shall we go out for dinner? I booked a restaurant.”

Su Yiran met Ting-ge’s affectionate gaze and was stunned—his face flushed, feeling a bit overwhelmed and “singed” by those intense eyes.

Really… was it necessary?

Su Yiran silently followed Gu Yuanting out. Only after entering the restaurant did he calm down. The restaurant was near East Lake, close to their home. There was a pianist playing in the lobby, creating a classy atmosphere.

They went up to a private room on the second floor. Su Yiran saw candlelight, flowers, and red wine set on the table—it was clearly prepared for a candlelight dinner. He couldn’t help but smile, wondering when Gu Yuanting had arranged all this.

After ordering, the appetizers came quickly. Listening to the beautiful piano music flowing, Su Yiran smiled and praised, “The playing is really good. You know, this is actually the first time I’ve heard live piano.”

Before, he’d only seen it on TV during Spring Festival Gala shows, so this felt fresh and new.

He looked out the window to watch the pianist, as their private room had a good view. Most of his attention was drawn to the performance.

Gu Yuanting silently clenched his knife and fork.

Su Yiran didn’t notice the small gesture and kept talking, “We should ask the baby if he likes it someday, maybe get him to learn piano. People who play piano have good temperament.”

Gu Yuanting said nothing.

During dinner, Gu Yuanting served Ranran and chatted as usual. After finishing, Su Yiran thought the restaurant was really nice. On the way downstairs with Gu Yuanting, he mentioned they could come back another time.

The pianist in the lobby was still playing. Su Yiran wasn’t paying attention this time as they were leaving, but suddenly Gu Yuanting grabbed his hand.

Su Yiran stopped and looked at him curiously. “What’s up?”

“Ranran, sit here.” Gu Yuanting gently guided him to a seat and helped him sit down.

Su Yiran was puzzled but sat as asked. Looking up at Gu Yuanting, he saw him walk toward the piano in the lobby.

Su Yiran: “?”

Gu Yuanting stepped onto the piano platform and spoke to the pianist. The player stopped and stepped aside.

Gu Yuanting sat at the piano, straightened his tie, straightened his back, glanced at Ranran, and placed his hands on the keys.

The first clear, spring-like note sprang out, and Su Yiran instinctively held his breath.

He saw Gu Yuanting’s well-defined fingers dancing on the black-and-white keys. A beautiful, gentle piano melody flowed through the restaurant. Gradually, the soft, lyrical tune moved into the middle section and climax—becoming passionate and lingering, as if expressing deep love to someone.

The music flowed smoothly like clouds and water from Gu Yuanting’s fingers, slowing down near the end, returning to gentle calmness—like the destination of all happiness, bringing warmth and peace.

Gu Yuanting looked at Ranran, who was focused on him, and couldn’t help but smile gently.

Su Yiran once again felt what it meant to have his heart stirred.

This was just a stranger’s restaurant; some people stopped to listen to Gu Yuanting’s playing, others kept chatting and eating, indifferent. They didn’t notice much.

Su Yiran only knew this was Gu Yuanting’s confession, played only for him.

When the song ended, Gu Yuanting got off the platform and walked toward Su Yiran.

Su Yiran instinctively stood and took a few steps forward, hugged Gu Yuanting, and kissed him. His heart was filled with emotion and love: “I love you.”

Gu Yuanting hadn’t expected Ranran’s sudden confession and was both excited and sweetly moved. If he had known Ranran liked his piano playing, he would have bought a piano at home to play for him every day.

“I love you too.” Gu Yuanting kissed Ranran excitedly. “Was it good?”

Su Yiran nodded seriously, “Very good.”

Gu Yuanting asked, a bit jealous, “Better than that other guy just now, right?”

Su Yiran’s eyebrow twitched. All the feelings of being moved and having his heart flutter suddenly faded. Now he understood why Gu Yuanting suddenly played piano and got jealous.

What a big jealous bear…

“Better, handsome.” Su Yiran paused, giving a brief answer.

Gu Yuanting didn’t notice and brightly talked about his plan, “I’ll buy a piano for home. I’ll play it for you every day.”

Su Yiran: “…”

“Ting-ge, let’s go home.” Su Yiran was almost overwhelmed, unable to listen any longer. He quickly changed the topic and pulled Gu Yuanting out of the restaurant.

Gu Yuanting didn’t mind and had already put buying a piano on his to-do list.

However, when leaving, Su Yiran felt like he’d forgotten something, something was off.

What was it?

—

When they left the restaurant and returned to the neighborhood, it was already around seven or eight in the evening.

They had both drunk red wine. Su Yiran opened the car window to look outside and said to Gu Yuanting, “Ting-ge, let’s walk back, get some fresh air, sober up a bit.”

Gu Yuanting told the driver to park by the tree-lined path. They got out holding hands, strolling slowly toward home. The neighborhood was large, so they could walk quite a while.

The weather was nice, the temperature just right. Street lamps cast a soft white glow along the path, spring breeze was warm, and the atmosphere grew gentle and peaceful.

Su Yiran took a deep breath of fresh air and smiled at Gu Yuanting, “When the weather’s good, we should bring the baby out to walk too. It’s not good to keep him cooped up inside all the time.”

Gu Yuanting nodded, smiling. Occasionally, he tilted his head to look at Ranran beside him, chatting casually about trivial things, feeling satisfied.

He must have been blessed for several lifetimes to have Ranran. That thought from last night surfaced in his heart again.

But this time, Gu Yuanting suddenly stopped mid-step.

From “several lifetimes,” he recalled his previous life.

In his past life, he hadn’t done good deeds or accumulated blessings but had done many bad things.

Gu Yuanting looked up at the sky, his heart tightened. Worry and unease crept in, causing anxious, restless thoughts.

—Had his bad deeds in his past life diminished his blessings? Would they reduce the blessings in this life?

Gu Yuanting instinctively squeezed Ranran’s hand tightly, their fingers intertwined.

“Hey, little sheep?” Suddenly, Su Yiran spotted a small sheep grazing on the lawn beside the path. “Looks like it’s lost—still not back in the pen at this hour.”

This neighborhood had lots of green space and some free-roaming animals—deer, sheep, peacocks—that wandered on lawns, unbothered by people. Su Yiran had seen them from his car window and fed them a few times.

But now it was nighttime, and the animals should have been herded back by staff. This sheep must have wandered off alone.

Su Yiran loosened his grip on Gu Yuanting’s hand and approached the little sheep. The sheep, used to neighborhood life, wasn’t shy at all. It looked up and “baa”-ed, then calmly resumed grazing.

Su Yiran reached out and petted it. The sheep didn’t move, letting him pet and stroke freely. He laughed and said to Gu Yuanting, “It’s so well-behaved.”

Gu Yuanting smiled back, feeling his tension ease. Ranran was right beside him—why worry so much?

He recalled the wild, heartbreaking thoughts he’d had during his amnesia and scolded himself quietly, mentally telling himself to avoid superstitions.

From now on… he’d try to do more charity work. If blessings really existed, he’d do as many good deeds as possible, hoping for peace and happiness for their little family of three.

After petting the sheep a while, Su Yiran called property management to report the lost sheep. Then he told Gu Yuanting, “Let’s go back.”

On the way back, Su Yiran couldn’t help looking back at the sheep. Gu Yuanting glanced back too and asked, “Do you like it?” He resisted feeling jealous of a sheep and generously said, “Maybe we should keep it at home, let it live in the yard.”

“That’d be ridiculous. No thanks, it’s better to let it roam here.” Su Yiran smiled and shook his head.

As they continued walking, Su Yiran suddenly remembered his previous life. The old director he regarded as his grandfather had kept a sheep. At first, they planned to raise it until the New Year and then eat it, but over time, the children in the welfare home grew attached to the sheep and named it “Mimi.” No one agreed to kill Mimi, so the old director eventually gave in and let it live on.

Since coming here, Su Yiran missed that old director most. The old man was like their family head, always finding ways to keep them fed and clothed despite poor conditions. Kind and gentle, the old director was also Su Yiran’s life mentor, teaching him many simple truths.

Back home, Su Yiran and Gu Yuanting played with the baby, put him to sleep, then showered and lay down. As Su Yiran rested in Gu Yuanting’s arms, his thoughts turned again to the old director.

Unfortunately, he never got to say a proper goodbye before crossing over. He felt a bit lost and melancholic.

“Ranran, what’s wrong?” Gu Yuanting noticed Su Yiran’s low mood and asked quickly.

Su Yiran smiled and said, “Nothing, just lost in thought.” He couldn’t talk about his past life with Gu Yuanting.

Gu Yuanting was silent for a moment. He knew Ranran was clearly thinking about something wistful but didn’t want to share it.

That feeling made Gu Yuanting uneasy—it wasn’t the first time since childhood.

Sometimes he’d catch Ranran zoning out, thinking about things unknown to him. Sometimes, he felt Ranran was from a different world, making him feel like he couldn’t hold onto Ranran tightly.

His chest tightened. He hugged Ranran closer and kissed him, feeling quietly hurt but said nothing.

Su Yiran had been snapped out of his thoughts by Gu Yuanting’s question but then recalled the candlelight dinner and piano performance. He still felt something was off—everything seemed natural but something wasn’t right.

After thinking for a long time, suddenly a lightning bolt struck his mind—he knew what was wrong.

He and Gu Yuanting had grown up together, almost inseparable. When did Gu Yuanting learn piano?

Why did he never know??

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