Seeing Qin Hao's constantly changing expressions, Lin Yi felt a little uneasy. Could it be that he had gone too far earlier? Was Qin Hao backing down? If that were the case, should he take the initiative to say something else?
"It's not that I can't help," Lin Yi said calmly. "But there's no such thing as a free lunch, you understand that, right?"
Qin Hao stared blankly at Lin Yi. Why was this person helping him again?
But that's none of his business; as long as this person is willing to help him, that's all that matters!
"I understand, I understand. Tell me, what kind of reward do you want? Money or something else?" Qin Hao asked impatiently.
Lin Yi clicked his tongue immediately, "Do you think I look like someone who's short of money?"
Qin Hao felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this. Indeed, Lin Yi was not short of money.
But Lin Yi isn't short of money, so what does he need?
Could it be...?
Qin Hao's eyes widened instantly. "Let me tell you, it's impossible for me to exchange company secrets for you. I will never do such a thing!"
Lin Yi was also stunned for a moment, and then a rare look of helplessness appeared in his eyes.
"Am I that kind of person? I just wanted to say that my house is almost finished being renovated, but I'm not comfortable with strangers coming into my house, so you can work as my maid for half a month as payment for this."
"What?" Qin Hao blurted out instinctively, "You want me to be your maid? Are you dreaming?!"
Qin Hao was filled with disbelief. He was, after all, a young master! How dare Lin Yi humiliate him like this! He was furious!
Moreover, it wasn't that he didn't want to be a servant, but that he was afraid Lin Zhi would play him to death if he were a servant!
Lin Yi's face darkened, and even his voice turned cold.
"Just do some routine cleaning for me. The housekeeper I'm used to has taken leave and gone back to her hometown. Besides, it seems that what you asked me to do isn't a big deal, since you're not even willing to pay such a price."
"I..." Qin Hao hesitated as expected. Thinking of Gu En's annoying appearance, he gritted his teeth and agreed.
"Fine! You decide! Half a month it is!"
A hint of triumph flashed in Lin's eyes, before he feigned impatience and asked,
"Tell me, how exactly do you want me to help you?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Hao forgot all about other things and immediately told Lin Yi what had happened.
After listening, Lin Yi looked somewhat surprised.
"So, Gu Zheng really got divorced? And it's true that you were really busy the other day?"
"Otherwise what?" Qin Hao rolled his eyes. "With so many things happening at home, I'm so anxious, how could I have time to follow up on any projects?"
"Besides, that project isn't urgent, so I've put it aside for now. But don't worry, as soon as this matter is over, I'll work with you to finalize the project."
"Okay." Lin Yi agreed immediately.
Qin Hao finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Then I'll leave now, Mr. Lin. I'll definitely treat you to a meal next time I have time. There's no need for you to see me off, Mr. Lin. I can go out by myself."
Qin Hao was about to leave when Lin Yi spoke up again.
Chapter 180 Liking or Habit
"There's no need to wait until next time. I think tonight is just right."
"Huh?" Qin Hao was stunned. Looking at Lin Yi's serious expression, he couldn't help but ask cautiously.
"Mr. Lin, you were joking just now, weren't you?"
"Do I look like I'm joking? I'm going to change my clothes first."
After Lin Yi finished speaking, he went straight into the bathroom, leaving Qin Hao alone on the spot with some regret.
Damn it! He shouldn't have said that. But when he said he would invite Lin Yi to dinner, it was just a polite gesture. Who knew Lin Yi would actually take it seriously!
Why did he feel that Lin Yi was pushing his luck?
But no matter how much Qin Hao regretted it, he was still forced to have dinner with Lin Yi.
Of course, this time Qin Hao didn't dare take Lin Yi to eat anything random, fearing that he would be the one to suffer the consequences. Instead, he found a well-known restaurant and had a proper meal.
The only thing that made Qin Hao feel relieved was that Lin Yi said he could find out everything about Gu En over the years, including what happened after he came back, in two days at most.
Qin Hao returned home satisfied. When he got home, everyone was asleep, but when he went up to the second floor, he found that there seemed to be someone on the balcony.
Qin Hao walked over, only to find Gu Zheng drinking alone in silence.
Qin Hao pursed his lips and was about to turn and leave. He didn't want to talk to Gu Zheng right now, but unexpectedly, Gu Zheng noticed him.
"Have a few drinks with me."
Gu Zheng didn't know how long he had been drinking, but there were several bottles of wine next to him, and his voice was very hoarse.
Qin Hao wanted to pretend he hadn't heard anything and leave, but in the end he couldn't bear to, so he sighed and grabbed a can of beer to drink.
Do you think I did something wrong?
Qin Hao was drinking when he suddenly heard Gu Zheng's words and choked.
It's really not fair to blame him for overreacting! The main reason is that in all his years, he's rarely seen Gu Zheng admit his mistakes on his own initiative!
"Cough..." Qin Hao coughed twice to calm himself down. "You're wrong? How would I know if you're wrong or not? This is your own business, and it's no use what we people say."
Gu Zheng fell silent again. It was undeniable that Gu Chen's words today had left a lingering resentment in his heart.
He reflected on Gu En's recent situation today and realized that although Gu En said she was doing it for the child's good and wanted to get along well with the child, he hadn't seen Gu En with the child much.
He remembered that he had spoken with Gu En that evening and asked the same question.
Gu En's response was that the child was currently resisting him and that he needed to let the child take it slowly.
But then he remembered when he and Xia Ran had just gotten married, their child had also been very resistant to Xia Ran.
What did Xia Ran do back then? She was always in front of the child, talking to the child regardless of whether the child could hear her or not, playing with the child's toys, going shopping, watching cartoons, and doing all sorts of other things to keep the child company while they slept and played.
Later, the child slowly opened up to Xia Ran.
He really didn't want to compare Xia Ran and Gu En, but ever since he returned home from the hospital, Xia Ran's image had been constantly on his mind, and no matter how he tried to distract himself, it wouldn't work.
Even when he was looking at documents, he would think of Xia Ran. He remembered that when he looked at documents for a long time, Xia Ran would remind him to take a break, and she would also make him a midnight snack and heat up his milk.
Thinking about this, Gu Zheng felt a pang of sadness. Undeniably, he seemed to have grown accustomed to Xia Ran's presence. He hadn't felt anything while at the hospital, but now that he was home, he found this feeling lingering...
“Actually, I married Xia Ran not only because of his face, but also because of his personality,” Gu Zheng suddenly spoke up again.
“I investigated him at the time and knew what kind of person he was. I felt that with him around, the child would definitely be better off than he is now, and he certainly did.”
Upon hearing Gu Zheng's words, Qin Hao clicked his tongue lightly and said,
"But even so, it still can't change your original intention of using him as a substitute."
Qin Hao's words startled Gu Zheng once again.
"I thought I would feel relieved after divorcing Xia Ran, because I wouldn't have to think about how to hide everything from Xia Ran anymore. But I found that it wasn't as relieved as I imagined."
"So what are you trying to say?" Qin Hao asked Gu Zheng.
Gu Zheng paused for a moment before speaking.
"I have no idea."
The answer was somewhat ambiguous; it seemed to be answering Qin Hao's question, but it also seemed to be answering his own.
Qin Hao paused for a moment, looking at Gu Zheng in front of him, and an answer vaguely emerged in his mind.
"Actually... have you ever thought that you like Xia Ran?"
"Impossible!" Gu Zheng answered almost instinctively, "I could never like him."
"Why do you think it's impossible? Have you seriously thought about it?" Qin Hao pressed him directly.
Gu Zheng glanced at Qin Hao, then continued drinking while looking ahead, without answering Qin Hao's question.
Qin Hao also felt he hadn't married her, so he finished the rest of his wine and went back to his room. But before leaving, he left Gu Zheng a message.
"Running away won't help. You need to seriously think about what it means to like someone, what it means to be used to someone, or what it means to feel guilty and want to make amends."
Qin Hao's words took root and sprouted in Gu Zheng's heart. Was it liking? Habit? Guilt and compensation?
How could he possibly like Xia Ran? He told Xia Ran when they got married that there would be no love between them.
But... is that really the case?
Gu Zheng's mind was a jumbled mess, and he even subconsciously didn't want to delve any deeper or think about it anymore.
After an unknown amount of time, Gu Zheng finally returned to his room from the balcony.
Because of Gu En's leg injury, Gu Zheng had someone sleep on the first floor, which is why Gu En didn't hear Gu Zheng's conversation with Qin Hao earlier.
As Gu Zheng lay in bed and closed his eyes to sleep, he seemed to feel Xia Ran beside him, lying in his arms.
He remembered that his first time with Xia Ran was right here...
Gu Zheng didn't know how he fell asleep, and he even woke up very early the next morning.
When he got up and looked at the empty room, he felt a little uncomfortable. He had been living alone for more than 20 years, but Xia Ran had only been here for a short time. Why did he feel uncomfortable?
Gu Zheng got up and went to the next room. He quietly pushed open the door, turned on a small lamp, and stood there watching Gu Chen, who was fast asleep.
Chapter 181 Finding Evidence
Ever since He Xiu came, the child has stopped locking himself in his room, but no matter what he does, he acts as if Xia Ran is still there.
For example, the child can eat vegetables, but usually it takes Xia Ran a long time to coax him to eat them. Then he has to take a bath and get dressed by himself. After that, he will watch cartoons for an hour and read storybooks for an hour, just like when Xia Ran is around, and then go to sleep.
Xia Ran used to do all of this with the child, but now the child can do it by himself without anyone watching. So is this a habit, or is it because the child can't bear to part with Xia Ran?
Gu Zheng didn't know how long he had been standing in the room, but he knew that just as he was about to leave, the sleeping child murmured something that made him stop in his tracks.
"Little Daddy, don't go, baby's good, baby's good, baby's not a burden..."
Gu Zheng couldn't quite describe his feelings; he only felt an unusual complexity, and even a touch of heartache.
Gu Zheng bent down and touched the child's head before leaving. He planned to go to the company, since he hadn't been there for several days.
Of course, another reason is that he doesn't know how to face Gu En right now.
He had agreed to marry Gu En after divorcing Xia Ran, and at the time he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.