"Xiao Ran..." Aunt Gu wanted to speak, but didn't know what to say.
Xia Ran ignored Aunt Gu and stared intently at Gu Zheng.
"Is it because of my face? Is it because of my face that resembles Gu En's?"
Xia Ran's tone was unusually calm, but his lips were completely bloodless.
Gu Zheng's expression finally changed. He opened his mouth and said,
"Get up and talk first, don't sit on the stairs, it's cold."
Gu Zheng tried to help Xia Ran up, but Xia Ran slapped his hand away and couldn't hold back any longer, yelling at Gu Zheng.
"Answer me! Tell me! Isn't that right? Isn't it just that you want a substitute? Gu Zheng, answer me!"
This is the first time Xia Ran has called Gu Zheng by his full name since marrying him.
His eyes were red, but he still dared not let the tears fall.
He'd already made a fool of himself for so long, he didn't want to be laughed at by anyone present anymore.
Gu Zheng frowned as he looked at Xia Ran, feeling a bit flustered.
"What are you talking about? Who told you these things?"
Gu Zheng didn't want Xia Ran to know about this so-called substitute, because he had indeed initially used Xia Ran as a substitute.
Xia Ran looked up at Gu Zheng and said,
"Because... I heard everything you and Gu En said in the room, Gu Zheng, answer me, I beg you, please answer my question, okay? Have you been treating me as a substitute from beginning to end?"
Gu Zheng didn't speak, but just stared intently at Xia Ran, his silence perhaps already representing the whole answer.
Xia Ran gritted his teeth, his hand involuntarily touching his heart. He was in so much pain, it felt like he couldn't breathe.
"Xiao Ran!" Aunt Gu reached out and grabbed Xia Ran's hand. "Don't be anxious, be good, listen to your aunt..."
"Don't touch me." Xia Ran dodged Aunt Gu's hand, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. "You all know that he's using me as a substitute, don't you?"
Xia Ran, who had been holding back her tears, finally couldn't hold them back anymore at this moment.
He originally thought these people were all nice, and that he was very lucky to have met them, but now he realizes that he was the only one who was moved from beginning to end.
In their eyes, he was like a clown, jumping around arrogantly.
"Waaaaah... Little Daddy, Little Daddy..."
Xia Ran's tears startled Gu Chen. He cried as he approached Xia Ran, but Uncle Wang held her tightly, preventing him from getting closer.
Xia Ran used a lot of effort to prevent himself from seeing the child. He was just a substitute, so what did the child have to do with him?
Gu Zheng: "Uncle Wang, take the child back to his room."
Uncle Wang's eyes also reddened. He picked up the child and left, and the bowl of fruit salad was smashed on the ground with a loud thud, which also hit Xia Ran's heart.
"I want a little daddy... Waaaaah... a little daddy..."
Gu Chen's crying grew fainter and fainter. Xia Ran raised her hand to wipe away her tears, but the tears seemed unstoppable, no matter how much she wiped them away.
Looking at Xia Ran, Aunt Gu couldn't help but tear up, and her voice became choked with emotion.
"Xiao Ran, I'm sorry, we didn't mean to."
Xia Ran's last hope was completely extinguished by Aunt Gu's apology.
Xia Ran turned her gaze to Gu Zheng and stood up, holding onto the stair railing.
Gu Zheng instinctively reached out his hand, but Xia Ran dodged it immediately.
"Gu Zheng, you haven't answered my question yet. Answer me, am I just a substitute you found?"
Even though she already knew the answer, Xia Ran still insisted on hearing it from Gu Zheng.
He wanted to hear Gu Zheng's answer from his own ears.
Gu Zheng's heart had already panicked when Xia Ran first questioned him. Looking at Xia Ran in front of him, his mind was filled with images of her.
He suppressed his panic; perhaps it was time to resolve this, as dragging it out any longer would be pointless.
"Yes, the first thing that caught my eye when I saw you was indeed your face."
As soon as Gu Zheng finished speaking, the air seemed to become suffocating.
Xia Ran swayed slightly. He tried to force a smile, but couldn't manage it.
"So that's how it is, so that's how it is..."
Xia Ran suddenly remembered the time when they had just gotten married, when he had messed up Gu Zheng's photo frame in the study.
He looked down at his finger; although the wound wasn't large at the time, the scar was still faintly visible.
Chapter 156 Let's Get a Divorce
Now, the scar seems to be mocking and ridiculing him.
He actually believed what Uncle Wang said at the time, that Gu En was the young master of the family.
Xia Ran's tears fell into her palm. Aunt Gu and the others didn't dare to speak and could only watch Xia Ran's reaction quietly.
Gu Zheng gripped the folder in his hand tightly, his voice somewhat hoarse as he spoke.
"It's all my fault, and I'll make it up to you. I told you before we got married that I couldn't give you love, so..."
"So... let's get a divorce. I'm sorry, Xia Ran."
"Divorce? I'm sorry? Ha..." Xia Ran suddenly laughed. He looked at Gu Zheng in front of him, his eyes seemingly lost in memories, and murmured to himself.
"Gu Zheng, do you know? I've liked you for many years. You're the first person I've ever liked. When you came to me and said you wanted to marry me, I was so happy and excited that I can't even describe it..."
"When I think back to that time, I feel so happy and blessed. You said you just wanted to find someone to keep your child company, and that you couldn't give me the kind of love I wanted."
"Do you know what I was thinking back then? I wasn't afraid. As long as I could marry you, I would be willing to die right now. As for the fact that you had a child, I didn't care at all. I even felt very happy."
"Because... that's your child. I think that if it's your child, it's my child too. I will definitely treat him well and love him."
Xia Ran's tears streamed down her face, landing on the stairwell floor, seemingly striking Gu Zheng's heart as well...
"I'm sorry..." Gu Zheng slightly shifted his gaze.
Xia Ran acted as if she hadn't heard Gu Zheng's words and continued talking to herself.
“My grandfather really disliked me being with men, he was extremely opposed to it. I have never gone against my grandfather’s wishes, but in order to be with you, I got married without telling my grandfather. In order to get my grandfather to accept our relationship, I angered my grandfather, who raised me since I was a child, to the point that he was hospitalized.”
"Look how unfilial I am..." Xia Ran suddenly smiled, but this smile made everyone present feel extremely uncomfortable.
Gu Zheng was speechless. Of course he knew what Xia Ran had sacrificed for him, but he couldn't give her what she wanted.
"I even knelt down and begged Grandpa when he was in the hospital so that I could be with you. I knelt down and begged him, you know that? I knelt down and begged him..."
"Yes, how could you not know? I remember you promised Grandpa that you would treat me well, that you would treat me very, very well. Grandpa believed you, and I believed you too. But now? Now I've discovered that I'm someone else's substitute, cough... cough cough..."
As Xia Ran spoke, she coughed violently, her face looking ashen as if she were about to faint.
"Xia Ran!" Gu Zheng blurted out Xia Ran's name. He wanted to help Xia Ran up, but Xia Ran seemed to be hiding from something scary and subconsciously backed away.
But there was a staircase behind him, and he fell directly down it, feeling pain all over his body. However, Xia Ran seemed completely unconcerned, only looking at Gu Zheng and saying each word clearly.
"Don't touch me. I don't want to be someone else's substitute anymore. I don't want to be a mistress. I don't want to like someone who treats me as a substitute anymore..."
"Gu Zheng, do you know? I'm in so much pain, I'm really in so much pain. I can't tell where the pain is coming from, it feels like my whole body is aching, but the worst pain is in my heart..."
Xia Ran placed her hand on her heart, as if that could lessen the pain there.
"Xiao Ran, don't scare your aunt. Your aunt was wrong. Your aunt shouldn't have helped Gu Zheng lie to you. Your aunt should have told you from the beginning. Wouldn't you be less upset then? I'm sorry, Xia Ran. Your aunt was wrong."
Aunt Gu ran straight to Xia Ran and hugged her, tears streaming down her face.
Xia Ran, who was being held, had no more emotions left.
"Aunt Gu, please let me go, okay? I'm in so much pain right now, I don't even have the strength to push you away. Please let me go! I don't want to have any contact with any of you anymore, but... I'm in so much pain, I don't have the strength to push you away..."
"If... if you still remember what you promised my grandfather, then please, don't touch me. Every time you touch me, it reminds me that I am just a substitute. I really don't have the strength to push you away."
Xia Ran's words stunned Aunt Gu. She let go of Xia Ran, her face still streaked with tears, and finally covered her mouth, crying as she released Xia Ran.
Aunt Gu ran back to Qin Hao's side, and Qin Hao's father hugged her tightly, his eyes reddening as he did so.
Qin Hao's eyes were already red and he dared not speak.
Looking at Xia Ran, who had fallen to the ground, Gu Zheng felt a surge of regret, but he didn't know what he was regretting.
"Xia Ran, listen to me, get up first. This is all my fault, not yours."
Gu Zheng didn't dare to help Xia Ran up anymore, afraid that Xia Ran would fall again because she was trying to avoid him.
Hearing Gu Zheng's words, Xia Ran shook his head vigorously. He had stopped crying, but the sadness in his eyes was even more heartbreaking than the tears.
"No, it's not your fault, it's my fault. I was too shameless. If I hadn't insisted on liking you and following you back then, you wouldn't have found me. It's my fault. It's all because I was too persistent. I understand now..."
Xia Ran stood up again, holding onto the stair railing.
"Give me the divorce papers, I'll sign them right away."
He thought of the contracts that Aunt Gu had made him sign that morning, and his already broken heart seemed to ache even more.
It turns out that everyone knew Gu Zheng wanted to divorce him, except for him who was completely oblivious.
"Since you like Gu En so much, then live a good life together from now on."
Hearing Xia Ran's words, Gu Zheng pursed his lips but did not hand the divorce agreement to Xia Ran.
Xia Ran walked directly towards Gu Zheng.
"Gu Zheng, if you haven't forgotten how I knelt down and begged my grandfather, then give me the divorce papers. Also, I don't want any compensation."
Xia Ran's words startled Gu Zheng, but he still raised his hand and handed the folder to Xia Ran.
Xia Ran opened it without hesitation, and the first thing she saw was the divorce agreement. There was also a pen clipped to the folder.
Xia Ran suddenly laughed, even though she clearly wanted to divorce him.
Chapter 157 Xia Ran's Mental Collapse
"Xia Ran." Just as Xia Ran opened the file bag, Gu Zheng suddenly called out Xia Ran's name.