Lin Ran felt deeply guilty for having delayed so long, not knowing how much time Luo Yao had spent waiting here.
Little Black curled up trembling beneath the car seat, not daring to move a muscle.
"Waiting for you."
"I'm sorry I came back so late."
Lin Ran had no idea how long Luo Yao had been here. They could have returned much earlier today.
Of course, Luo Yao knew where Lin Ran had gone, and she didn’t blame him for it.
She didn’t like doing good deeds herself, but that didn’t mean she opposed Lin Ran’s kindness.
Her Ah Ran should always be kind, bright, optimistic, and full of love.
"Let’s go."
[Little Black: L-L-L-Lin Ran, we’re leaving t-t-tomorrow. (voice trembling)]Lin Ran paused. [Got it.]
The two returned to the villa. Lin Ran had originally planned to spend the night with the 23-year-old Luo Yao, but the incident involving Wang Anjian had drained him of any such mood.
"Is Yao Yao angry?"
Luo Yao turned her head and finally let out a soft sigh. "A little. Ah Ran got distracted by other things."
Yao Yao was upset—she needed to be coaxed.
"Yao Yao, I have a gift for you."
Luo Yao was puzzled. "What is it?"
Lin Ran took out the photograph.
"This is for you. Starting tomorrow, I might lose my memories. I was afraid you’d think this version of me was fake, so I left this behind—proof that I was here. And... this line is from the angel’s message."
Luo Yao took the photo. The image of Lin Ran smiling brightly made her fall in love with it instantly.
She thought she should take more photos of Lin Ran and keep them in the hidden room of her office.
When she flipped it over, she froze.
Those words were her truest feelings—she had been waiting, waiting for Lin Ran to return, waiting for him to love her.
And those words were also what pained Lin Ran the most. He never expected a random line from Wang Anjian would strike right at his heart.
"Ah Ran... are you really leaving?" Luo Yao murmured. "When will you come back?"
Lin Ran looked at her, his heart aching unbearably.
"To be precise, it’s not leaving. Think of it as me losing my memories. As for when I’ll return... let’s set a code phrase."
"Code phrase?"
Lin Ran: "Mhm. When I say to you, ‘I love you, for the rest of my life, I’ll never leave you again,’ that’s when I’ve come back."
Luo Yao lingered on the words, "For the rest of my life, I’ll never leave you again."
Would Ah Ran really say this to her one day?
"Alright. I’ll wait for my Ah Ran to find himself again."
That night, Luo Yao curled up against Lin Ran’s body, refusing to move until dawn tinged the sky.
Lin Ran watched her sleep, his heart overflowing with love—but reality soon pulled him back.
Little Black had already appeared outside.
[Lin Ran: Can we wait a little longer before leaving?]
[Little Black: No matter how long you wait, the song must end, and we must part.]
Lin Ran’s gaze remained fixed on Luo Yao. Then, in an instant, time and space twisted around him.
It felt like only a second, yet three years flashed by at a dizzying speed, scenes flickering past like a film on fast-forward.
Hospital.
Luo Yao was asleep—only beside Lin Ran could she rest like this.
"Meow—" A cat’s cry shattered the silence. Luo Yao furrowed her brows in her sleep—that sound was truly annoying.
Suddenly, she felt a tickling sensation on her face. Reacting instinctively, she grabbed whatever it was and twisted.
"Ah—!"
Hearing the familiar cry, Luo Yao’s eyes snapped open to see she had just broken Lin Ran’s finger.
"Ah Ran, you’re awake?"
Lin Ran: "Yao Yao, I just woke up, and you’ve already injured me again."
Luo Yao immediately clutched his hand. "I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to. Ah Ran will forgive me, right?"
Lin Ran nodded. "Of course. Because you’re my Yao Yao. Because I’m your husband. And I’m happy."
"Ah Ran, don’t talk. You need rest. I’ll call the doctor to check on you."
As Luo Yao turned to leave, Lin Ran suddenly called out to her.
"Yao Yao!"
"Hmm?"
Lin Ran couldn’t bear to make her wait a second longer—he had already waited over three years.
Those three years had been nothing more than a fleeting playback for him, but for Luo Yao, they had been an endless cycle of pain—her chasing after him as he fled.
"For the rest of my life, I’ll never leave you again."
Luo Yao froze. She turned back, eyes wide with disbelief as she stared at Lin Ran on the bed.
"Ah Ran... you’re back?"
Lin Ran nodded. "I’m back."
Luo Yao’s emotional walls crumbled instantly. Before, she had thought that even if Lin Ran never fully returned, things were already perfect—she had been content.
But now, with all of him restored, she realized this was the true, complete Ah Ran.
Lin Ran sat up, wincing at a sharp pain in his chest.
"Yao Yao, it hurts. I need a kiss to make it better." He shamelessly played the role of a spoiled tough guy. Without hesitation, Luo Yao sealed his lips with hers, their mouths dampened by her tears...
The fully returned Lin Ran was, without a doubt, unbearably adorable.
"Yao Yao, after all these years, your kissing is still as domineering as ever. Did you forget how I taught you?"
"Pfft!" Luo Yao recalled the time she had kissed Lin Ran’s lips into a swollen mess.
"Well, Ah Ran hasn’t been teaching me these past few years. I got rusty."
Lin Ran feigned offense. "That’s slander! Even if we didn’t communicate much these three years, in the last six months, we’ve had plenty of deep exchanges. And you say I didn’t teach you? My heart is broken. I need a kiss to recover."
This time, Luo Yao’s kiss was gentle yet burning with passion.
For those who cherished pure love, this moment was perfection.
What was mutual affection?
The one I love loves me in return.
The one I wish to belong to already possesses me.
The doctor soon arrived. After an examination, he confirmed Lin Ran’s condition was stable—all that remained was rest and daily treatment.
Relieved, Lin Ran requested to recuperate at the estate.
Luo Yao initially refused, but when he said, "I want to go home," she immediately arranged for a car.
In the days that followed, people across the country noticed something unusual—Lin Ran and Luo Yao, who had long dominated trending topics, had gone silent.
Rumors began swirling, leaving fans anxious, fearing they might never again glimpse the daily lives of their favorite power couple.