“Yes, my parents had actually wanted to come for a while,” Feng Ming said, stepping forward. “But I was worried that it would put pressure on you, so I didn’t let them come. Just yesterday, I was discussing a collaboration with President Lin, and he mentioned that they were coming over for the New Year today. So I made a last-minute decision to bring my parents along. Don’t be angry that we came uninvited.”
Xia Ran looked at Feng's parents, then at Feng Ming and He Hao, and finally at Feng Nianhao, who had already run over and grabbed Gu Chen's hand.
His feelings were very complicated. Although his grandfather's love for him from childhood was enough to make him used to the absence of his parents, the sudden appearance of his parents, who had been searching for him for so many years and whose love for him was so open and undisguised, was a shock.
He thought that even if he were a stone, he should be able to be warmed up, let alone a person, a person who actually longed to have parents and family, a person who had just lost a close relative.
"How could I be angry?" Xia Ran's tone softened. "I'm really happy that you came, really."
He smiled at the group, and it was clear that the Feng family members felt a surge of joy after he said those words.
For some reason, Xia Ran felt a pang of sadness, especially when she recalled the sentence her grandfather wrote in his last letter.
'They turned gray overnight because they lost you.'
Aunt Gu and the others also came over at this time. No, it should be said that they had arrived a long time ago, but had been listening to Xia Ran and the Feng family reminisce. They only came over after seeing that the others had finished their conversation.
"Xiao Ran, we came here without your permission, we..."
"It's alright, Aunt and Uncle. I'm very happy that you could come. Thank you for coming." Xia Ran interrupted Aunt Gu directly.
When Aunt Gu and the others heard Xia Ran's address, they were slightly taken aback, but were quickly filled with joy.
"Oh, alright, alright, as long as you're happy, as long as you're happy!" Aunt Gu said.
The fact that Xia Ran has changed how she addresses them proves that she has forgiven them, and judging from the atmosphere between Xia Ran and Gu Zheng, they have probably made up. This is really good news for them.
"Xia Ran, brother, long time no see." Qin Hao said with a smile, with Lin Yi standing next to him.
Upon hearing Qin Hao's voice, Xia Ran looked at the two of them, a smile in her eyes.
"It's been a long time, so long that you two have both gotten married, and the kind of marriage where you did it first and then told us. Now, can you tell us about it?"
Those present were momentarily stunned, perhaps because they hadn't heard Xia Ran speak in this tone for so long. Lin Yi, however, wasn't too surprised, as he rarely spent time with Xia Ran and had no idea how much her personality had changed.
"It was wrong of us to act first and inform later, so we're here for the New Year as an apology. As for the specifics and etiquette, I'll have my family present them to you personally after the New Year."
Upon hearing Lin Yi's words, Qin Hao snapped out of his daze, a blush of embarrassment spreading across his face.
"Ahem... things have been quite unexpected, but the wedding is indeed over. We'll talk about the details later, haha. How about we go inside first? We can't finish talking about this in a short time, can we? And it's so cold."
Qin Hao was simply looking for an excuse to avoid the topic. Today was a bright and sunny day, the weather was perfect, how could it be cold?
Everyone knew what Qin Hao was thinking, but they all just smiled and agreed without saying anything more. After all, he was shy and would get embarrassed if they talked too much.
After entering the living room, Feng's parents sat close to Xia Ran, making her very uncomfortable.
Seeing that there was no seat next to Xia Ran, Gu Zheng went to pour tea for everyone, a move that shocked Feng Ming and Lin Yi.
They all knew very well what kind of person Gu Zheng was, which is why they were shocked.
However, they are now relatives, especially Feng Ming, who is not afraid of Gu Zheng at all. He is now Gu Zheng's brother-in-law, so it is already very kind of him not to make things difficult for Gu Zheng. Why should he be afraid of Gu Zheng?
Gu Zheng understood this principle well, so he served them tea very gently.
With so many people suddenly arriving, the living room was almost full. The joyful scene eased Xia Ran's sadness at her grandfather's passing.
After chatting for a while, everyone started preparing for the New Year's Eve dinner. Aunt Gu and the Feng family had come prepared, bringing seafood flown in by air, along with several boxes of ice. So they weren't worried about running out of food for the New Year's Eve dinner.
Lin Ziming looked at the busy crowd, a strange glint in his eyes, before finally making a decision.
Gu Zheng and Xia Ran were processing seafood, Lin Ziming and Qin Hao were picking vegetables, Da Zhuang and He Xiu were peeling garlic, and even six-year-old Gu Chen and Feng Nianhao were cleaning scallions.
Everyone else is in a couple. He's the only one who's single.
Lin Ziming walked over and patted Xia Ran on the shoulder, gesturing for her to come with him.
Xia Ran followed him, puzzled. "What's wrong, Brother Ziming?"
"I have something I want to talk to you about. I'm thinking of going to see Yu Wu," Lin Ziming said, getting straight to the point.
Xia Ran was taken aback for a moment, but quickly understood what she meant, and asked in surprise,
Are you... sure?
"I'm now absolutely certain that if I don't go, I'll regret it for the rest of my life, and I'll be spending the New Year alone anyway."
"Okay, then be careful on the road. If you hurry over now, you can have a New Year's Eve dinner together."
Xia Ran didn't stop Lin Ziming; she only told everyone what had happened after Lin Ziming left. The most excited person was Lin's father, who was overjoyed.
It was almost nine o'clock by the time the New Year's Eve dinner was ready. There was no way around it; there were just too many people and too much food to prepare.
This year's New Year's Eve dinner is very special for the Gu and Feng families, as they prepared it themselves, whereas in previous years it was always prepared by servants. You can imagine how different it is.
There weren't enough tables, so we had to move tables from the house next door to make up the difference.
During the New Year's Eve dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Feng kept their eyes glued to Xia Ran, circling around her as if afraid that everything that had happened that day was just their imagination, and that their little one would disappear if they weren't careful.
The two were staring at him so intently that it was hard for Xia Ran not to notice, but he didn't know what to do for a moment, so he could only put a piece of food on their plate.
"Eat more. This New Year's Eve dinner may not be as good as yours in previous years, but it's all made by our own hands, so the taste should be different."
Mr. and Mrs. Feng's eyes welled up with tears as they looked at the food in their bowls.
Seeing this, Mr. Lin couldn't help but say something.
"You two should be happy today. Your son, grandson, relatives and friends are all by your side. What is there to be sad about? You should be happy."
"Yes, yes, yes. We're all very happy," said Mrs. Feng with a smile, her eyes glistening with tears of joy.
Xia Ran sighed inwardly. Although he really wanted to call out to someone, he just couldn't seem to bring himself to do it. He could only wait and see.
He looked up at Gu Zheng and found that Gu Zheng was also looking at him. He smiled at Gu Zheng, and their eyes conveyed a meaning that only they could understand.
It was almost midnight after the New Year's Eve dinner, and the sound of fireworks could be heard outside.
Dazhuang took the fireworks he had bought long ago and called the two children to go to the door to set them off.
Their house has a large open space in front of it, making it the perfect place to set off fireworks.
Xia Ran and Gu Zheng followed them out, but they didn't go up to put it down; instead, they stood aside and watched. Xia Ran took Gu Zheng's hand and they intertwined their fingers.
"Ah Zheng, let's watch fireworks every year from now on."
"Okay. From now on, we'll watch fireworks every year, and see all kinds of different fireworks."
Some say death is the end of everything, but that's not true; forgetting is the true end.
We've gone through many twists and turns, but we've always stayed by each other's side.
Time will tell. If there's anything uncertain, let time prove it.
Life is only once, so don't shrink back, don't be ashamed, and don't care about what others think.
—End of article
Chapter 438 Extra Chapter: The Wedding (Part 1)
Chapter 438 Extra: The Wedding (Part 1)
On the day of the Lantern Festival after the New Year, Gu Zheng and Xia Ran took the child and left the town, returning to the Gu family home. Da Zhuang also accompanied them.
As for the others, they had already left one after another after the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, except for Dazhuang.
Because Dazhuang was still a little worried about Xia Ran, he stayed with her the whole time. He even let He Xiu go back alone.
At Xia Ran's insistence, Feng's parents also went back with Aunt Gu and the others.
Although he accepted the Feng family, he felt guilty and uncomfortable that they always abandoned everything to be with him.
In the end, only Lin's father remained at home in this part of town.
Mr. Lin said that everything in his life has been fulfilled, and all he wants to do is live out the rest of his life well and see Lin Ziming doing well.
He also told Xia Ran that if she didn't mind, she could stay at home. No matter where Xia Ran went or came back, this would be her home. He would treat it as a way of looking after Xia Ran for the two old men who had passed away.
Xia Ran certainly wouldn't refuse, so Lin's father stayed here alone. However, Lin Ziming said that their housekeeper from abroad would also be coming, so Xia Ran's family and the courtyard house that Gu Zheng bought planned to merge into one, making it convenient for everyone to live together when they came back in the future.
The reason they chose to return at this time is because Qin Hao and Lin Yi are getting married in a week.
It was already evening when Xia Ran and the others arrived at the Gu family's house. Aunt Gu and the others were already waiting at the door.
"You guys are really something, why didn't you come back sooner? It's almost eight o'clock, you must be starving."
Xia Ran smiled at Aunt Gu, "Don't worry, Aunt, we ate before we came back, so we weren't hungry at all."
"Even if you're not hungry, hurry up and go in and get something to eat. We've been waiting for you."
"Okay." Xia Ran and the others went inside. Stepping into the Gu family home again, Xia Ran's feelings were still quite complicated. When he reached the door of the living room, he couldn't help but stop.
Everything here seems exactly the same as when he was still here.
Gu Zheng was standing next to Xia Ran and naturally noticed her unusual behavior. He took Xia Ran's hand and said softly,
"Let's go inside, it's time for dinner."
Hearing this, Xia Ran glanced at him, a hint of a smile in her eyes.
"Okay, let's go in. I feel like I have a really good appetite right now."
There's no need to repeat some things or words; the fact that they're still under review is the best proof.
The table was set with Xia Ran’s favorite foods. Today was a formal family dinner at the Gu family home, and even Uncle Wang sat down.
"Oh dear, it's a pity Qin Hao and Lin Yi went to try on their dresses, otherwise we could have had dinner together," Aunt Gu said with a smile.
"It's alright, Auntie. We're all family anyway, and we can see each other anytime. Right now, their wedding is the most important thing," Xia Ran said.
"That's true. We've been busy ever since we got back. We only had some free time these last two days. Before that, we were busy with all sorts of things with Lin Yi's family. Fortunately, Lin Yi's family really cares about Qin Hao. They showed him all the proper etiquette, and even things that others didn't."
Aunt Gu also seemed very happy, clearly very satisfied with Lin Yi and his family.
"But Xiao Ran, I'm sorry to have wronged you." Aunt Gu's face showed a hint of guilt. "I haven't been able to give you a wedding yet. I didn't know how to face my future in-laws the other day, but they comforted me in the end."
“They said that Grandpa’s matter… happened not long ago, so according to the rules, as his only grandson, you can’t have a wedding for these three years. They said you must think so too. I didn’t know what to say when I heard that. Although that’s the rule, we really feel guilty and sorry for you.”
This matter is actually a worry in Aunt Gu's heart. Xia Ran has done so much for their family, and Gu Zheng has suffered so much injustice and pain because of his lack of ambition. She has always felt guilty towards Xia Ran, and this guilt has only deepened now.
"Auntie doesn't know how to tell you, it's just..." Aunt Gu's eyes were red, "Gu Zheng's parents are gone, and I have been acting as his mother all these years. I know he has done so many things to wrong you."
"I'm happy that you're doing so well now, but seeing Qin Hao and Lin Yi busy and happy every day preparing for the wedding, especially seeing their joy when choosing their dresses, makes me feel even more upset and guilty. I feel like I've let you down."
Xia Ran listened to Aunt Gu the whole time, and all she felt was gratitude and peace.
"Auntie," he called out to Aunt Gu, "I know you're all good to me and feel sorry for me, but I can tell you that the wedding really isn't important to me. What I've never wanted is a wedding; what I want is..."