After what happened yesterday, Gu Zheng didn't dare to say anything to Xia Ran rashly, for fear that Xia Ran would become even more disgusted with him.
But just when Gu Zheng thought Xia Ran would soften her heart, what Xia Ran said made him feel like he had fallen to the ground.
"I'm sorry." Xia Ran looked down at the child. "I can't accept your things because I'm no longer your little father. I hope you can remember that. I was good to you before because I was still your little father. Now that I'm not your little father, I naturally won't be good to you anymore."
"So please don't call me 'little dad' anymore, it's causing me trouble."
Gu Chen's face grew paler and paler as Xia Ran spoke, and tears streamed down his face.
"No, that's not it! I know you love me very much, little daddy. How about... how about I don't want big daddy anymore, I just want you, okay? Will you take me with you? I really miss you so much."
Gu Chen's words stunned everyone present, especially Qin Hao, who almost choked on his own saliva.
"This child, does he even know what that means?!" Xia Ran felt even more nauseous, so suffocated that it was hard to even breathe.
"I'm sorry, we are not related by blood, so it's impossible for me to take you with me."
After Xia Ran finished speaking, she looked at Qin Hao, who was standing behind Gu Zheng, and said,
"Qin Hao, please don't bring your child here anymore. I don't want the neighbors to gossip about me. Your presence has already caused me a lot of trouble."
"I don't want to see something like this happen again."
Xia Ran talked to Qin Hao the whole time, without giving Gu Zheng a single glance, as if she didn't see Gu Zheng at all.
This direct disregard made Gu Zheng feel even worse than his loud arguing and angry outburst.
He would rather Xia Ran yell at him or curse him angrily, but what he was seeing now made his heart ache so much that he couldn't breathe.
"Ranran, let's make it work..."
"I've already said it, there's no need or obligation," Xia Ran said before Gu Zheng could speak.
Gu Zheng's face showed undisguised disappointment. He had known this would be the outcome for a long time, but hearing it with his own ears again still caused him unbearable pain.
"Little Daddy..." Gu Chen looked at Xia Ran with teary eyes, "Please don't leave Xiao Chen, okay?"
"I'm sorry, I've already said I'm not your stepfather." Xia Ran hardened her heart and retorted directly, then looked at Grandpa Xia and Dazhuang.
"Grandpa, Dazhuang, let's go, let's ignore these people."
"Hmm." Grandpa Xia responded, but did not leave. Instead, he looked at Gu Zheng.
"Gu Zheng, if it weren't for the child, I wouldn't have let you off so quickly, nor would I have let you off so easily."
"You'd better not show your face in front of me again, or I'll call the police."
Grandpa Xia still can't forget the words Gu Zheng solemnly told him that he could treat Xia Ran well.
"Xia Ran knelt down and begged me back then. If I hadn't felt sorry for Xia Ran, I would never have agreed to you two being together."
“Grandpa.” Gu Zheng looked at Grandpa Xia. “I’m sorry, I… I didn’t keep my promise to you. Please give me another chance.”
Gu Zheng had never been so humble before, but he knew it was his fault.
"Grandpa, I failed to keep my promise. I...I'm sorry."
Qin Hao felt a pang of pity seeing Gu Zheng so humble. When had he ever seen Gu Zheng like this before?
But thinking about it, this is Gu Zheng's own fault. He treated Xia Ran that way back then, and now he deserves what he got.
Having thought of this, Qin Hao also spoke up.
"Grandpa, Xia Ran, could you please give us a chance to sit down and have a proper talk? There are many misunderstandings here, otherwise you wouldn't want us waiting here every day, would you?"
"Of course, my brother is also at fault, but no one is perfect, right? And the child, he's been crying every day lately, we just can't bear it. My brother knows he was wrong, so please give us a chance to talk things over properly this once, okay?"
Grandpa Xia: "No, no matter what misunderstandings there are, it's a fact that Gu Zheng used my Xia Ran as a substitute. We should forgive him for what he did."
Da Zhuang couldn't help but speak up, "You just sent that Gu En to humiliate Xia Ran a while ago, and now you're saying these things again. Don't you find it disgusting?"
"Or do you insist on making Xia Ran suffer again?"
Chapter 208 Playing dumb
Da Zhuang's words stunned both Gu Zheng and Qin Hao.
"What Gu En?" Gu Zheng immediately had a bad feeling. "Gu En came by?"
Seeing Gu Zheng's disbelieving expression, Xia Ran remained silent, her lips pursed, while Grandpa Xia looked like he was about to explode with anger.
As for Dazhuang, he simply rolled his eyes and spoke.
"Can you two stop pretending to be stupid? You're clearly letting them come here under the pretense of delivering the keys to Xia Ran to humiliate her."
"Give Xia Ran 500,000? Xia Ran has taken such good care of you for so long, and you're going to use 500,000 to humiliate him? What do you mean? You don't mean to..."
"Dazhuang," Xia Ran said, "Stop talking, let's not go eat, let's go home first."
After Xia Ran finished speaking, she turned and went inside, looking like she didn't want to say anything more.
Grandpa Xia gave a heavy snort and quickly said,
"Get out of here right now, don't make me say it a second time. Dazhuang, close the door. Don't let irrelevant people ruin our mood. Today is really unlucky, even going out can lead to encountering people who ruin my mood."
If it weren't for the fact that there was a child here, Grandpa Xia could have said even harsher things.
Although they hated Gu Zheng, the child was innocent, and they couldn't bring themselves to say anything harsh to such a child.
"Wait a minute." Qin Hao wanted to ask again, but Da Zhuang simply closed the door, and Gu Chen pounded on the door with tears in his eyes.
"Daddy, could you please open the door?"
But no one was going to answer him. He gripped the insulated food container tightly, and remembering what Xia Ran had said earlier, he ran back to Gu Zheng's side, looking at Gu Zheng expectantly and asking,
"Big Daddy, Little Daddy said I'd be a burden to him, is that true? Big Daddy, why did you divorce Little Daddy, why..."
The child's tears kept falling, and Gu Zheng's heart ached terribly at the child's question.
"I'm sorry, Xiao Chen." Gu Zheng took the insulated food container from Gu Chen's hand with one hand and patted Gu Chen's head with the other. "It's Daddy's fault. You're not the problem for Xiao Daddy. It's just that he's in a bad mood right now. Why don't you and Daddy work together to comfort Xiao Daddy?"
Gu Chen nodded heavily and immediately lay down on Gu Zheng's lap. After a while, his gaze turned to the front of Xia Ran's house.
"Brother, what was that Da Zhuang talking about just now?" Qin Hao frowned. "He said Gu En came? You let Gu En come?"
Qin Hao's tone was also very unpleasant. If Gu Zheng really had sent Gu En over, then he really had no way to deal with Gu Zheng.
Gu Zheng: "Do you think I would? Or do you think I have a chance to get Gu Enlai?"
Qin Hao was momentarily speechless, but ultimately shook his head slightly and said,
“I…I believe you wouldn’t, but…judging from how Grandpa Xia and the others looked just now, it seems unlikely that they were lying.”
Gu Zheng's expression and eyes turned much colder. "Have someone investigate what Gu En has been doing recently."
If Gu En really came looking for Xia Ran, then don't blame him for not showing any mercy to Xia Ran.
Qin Hao nodded. "Understood. I'll have someone investigate right away. But what about us? What do we do now?"
"Wait here." Gu Zheng glanced in the direction of Xia Ran's house.
Now, besides waiting here, he doesn't know what else to do. He really wants to have a proper talk with Xia Ran, but Xia Ran doesn't give him the chance at all.
Qin Hao sighed, pushed Gu Zheng to the other side of the car, and let Gu Zheng get in and sit down. However, the car door was not closed, so that they could see the front door of Xia Ran's house.
Gu Zheng had originally planned to wait here all day, but a phone call came shortly afterward, interrupting his plans.
After hearing what it was about, Gu Zheng responded, hung up the phone, and then had Qin Hao drive away.
Qin Hao looked puzzled: "Huh? We're leaving? Didn't you say we were going to wait here all day?"
Gu Chen also held Gu Zheng's hand tightly and said,
"Big Daddy, I don't want to leave here either. You promised me you'd wait for Little Daddy here."
Since Gu Zheng's car accident, Gu Chen has changed completely. However, this change is only directed at Gu Zheng. For example, he talks to Gu Zheng more now, but he remains as indifferent as ever to others.
Gu Zheng patted Gu Chen's head and said,
"Let's figure out one thing first, and then we can better appease your little dad."
Qin Hao seemed to understand after hearing this.
"You mean there's been some discovery regarding Gu En, which Grandpa Xia and the others were talking about earlier?"
"Okay, let's drive off first," Gu Zheng replied indifferently.
Qin Hao nodded and started the car. After all, he was just a tool, moving things wherever needed, so of course he did whatever Gu Zheng said.
Da Zhuang, who had been hiding behind the door peeking, made a sarcastic remark as Gu Zheng drove away.
"What the hell? He was just pretending to be all lovey-dovey a moment ago, and now he's turned around and left as soon as Xia Ran walked in!"
Da Zhuang snorted heavily, then planned to go and talk to Xia Ran, after all, Xia Ran needed to know about Gu Zheng's hypocrisy.
Xia Ran did not react excessively after hearing Da Zhuang's words. Instead, she had an expression that said, "I knew this would happen."
"I never believed he would like me, because how could someone who doesn't want the real person like a substitute?" Xia Ran laughed self-deprecatingly, then continued.
“He came to me, apologized, and asked me to forgive him, simply because the child needs me.”
Seeing Xia Ran's calm expression, Da Zhuang breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Xia Ran had not been deceived, but couldn't help feeling a little sorry for her.
To be honest, he felt that Xia Ran had changed during this period.
Although Xia Ran still greets him with a smile every day, chatting, playing games, and even going out with him, her eyes have lost their sparkle and their former vigor.
Xia Ran now seems more like an empty shell, especially when she talks about Gu Zheng. Her eyes no longer shine as brightly as they used to when she mentioned him, as if stars were living inside them.
Since learning the truth about the divorce, Xia Ran could only express her unconcealed distress when she talked about Gu Zheng.
Shortly after Xia Ran finished breakfast, she received a call from Yu Chao, who said he needed her help with something and asked if she was free to help him.
Xia Ran already knew from Da Zhuang that Gu Zheng and the others had left, so she nodded in agreement, changed her clothes, and went to find Yu Chao.
Chapter 209 Help, Transaction
But as he reached the door, he couldn't help but pause for a moment before taking a deep breath and leaving as if nothing had happened.
But after walking only a few steps, he was stopped by a neighbor aunt he knew.
"Xiao Ran," the aunt said with a gossipy look, grabbing Xia Ran's hand. "That man and child who's been showing up at your door these past few days, I remember your grandfather said they're your son, and that man is your boyfriend, right?"
"But why haven't I seen him come into your house these past two days? Did you two have a fight?"