Grandpa Xia remained somewhat at a loss for words, as if he hadn't quite grasped the situation.
"Grandpa?" Lin Ziming called out to Grandpa again.
The old man came to his senses and chuckled twice, pretending nothing was wrong.
"It's nothing, I was just thinking about some things. Liucheng is still called Liucheng, but Huaizhen doesn't seem to be called Huaizhen anymore."
"I see. Then, sir, do you know what Huai Town is called now?" Lin Ziming pressed.
"I don't know. I haven't heard of that place in a long time, so I don't know anything about it. I'm a little tired and want to take a nap. You guys can continue chatting."
After Grandpa Xia finished speaking, he was about to lie down to sleep, so Xia Ran could only quickly help him lie down.
Lin Ziming didn't believe the old man's words at all. If the old man really didn't know that place, how could he have said in the beginning that the place was no longer called Huai Town?
But the old man seemed unwilling to talk, so he didn't press him further.
"Xia Ran, let's go out first," Lin Ziming said.
Xia Ran nodded and followed Lin Ziming out.
Xia Ran didn't think anything was wrong with what Grandpa Xia had just done.
The two eventually made their way to the rest area.
"Xia Ran, do you know what happened last night? It's what's online."
Xia Ran looked at Lin Ziming, "You found out too?"
Lin Ziming: "Yes, I know, and I was the one who had the public opinion suppressed."
"You suppressed it?" Xia Ran was a little surprised, but quickly felt embarrassed.
"I'm so sorry, I don't know why someone would take pictures of you without my permission. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been photographed."
Xia Ran never imagined that someone would have taken the picture of Lin Ziming and then included him in the shot, because the person who took the picture not only took a photo, but also added a long string of comments, almost every sentence of which said bad things about him.
If the target is Lin Ziming, then it should be Lin Ziming, not him.
Lin Ziming: "What's there to be embarrassed about? It has nothing to do with you, and the matter has been suppressed, so it won't have any impact."
"How can that be? This is all because of me. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have had to suffer like this. By the way, how much did you spend to suppress the public opinion? I'll pay you back."
“I said I don’t need it, and I mean it. I’m not telling you this to ask for the money back, but to ask if you know what’s going on.”
"Besides, we're all friends, why be so formal?" Lin Ziming said helplessly.
Xia Ran didn't know what to say, she just felt that Lin Ziming was a really good person.
Chapter 308 Relationship
"I don't know either. I only saw it last night. But I can assure you that I haven't offended anyone recently. If I have, it's because..."
Lin Ziming: "What is it?"
Xia Ran hesitated for a moment, "It was a long time ago, but I'm not sure if it was him, because I haven't seen him in a long time."
Xia Ran thought of Gu En, since Gu En was the only one with whom he had had a falling out recently.
But he hadn't seen Gu En for quite a while, so he didn't know how likely it was that Gu En was.
"Who is it?" Lin Ziming asked. "Sometimes it's not necessarily about meeting the person directly; it could be something done secretly."
He had seen far too many dark things, so he naturally thought more than Xia Ran.
However, after listening to Lin Ziming's words, Xia Ran still hesitated, unsure whether to speak or not.
After all, he and Lin Ziming weren't that familiar with each other yet.
"Don't worry, I promise I won't tell anyone," Lin Ziming assured him directly.
Xia Ran thought about it for a moment and decided to tell him anyway.
Since everyone has treated him so well, he doesn't need to hide it from them anymore.
"Actually, it's Gu Zheng. Gu Zheng has a younger brother. I had a bad relationship with his brother before, and we could even be considered enemies. If I've offended anyone recently, it's him."
"But it's been almost two months since I last met him, and I haven't seen him in two months, so I'm not sure if it could be him."
"Whether it is or not, we'll find out by checking." Lin Ziming's smile deepened, but it wasn't warm; instead, it seemed rather cold.
He had just found out that Gu En and Xia Ran looked very similar, but now he also learned about the relationship between Xia Ran and Gu En.
It seems that Gu En is indeed a prime suspect.
"But..." Xia Ran wanted to say something more.
"Don't worry, leave this to me. There's no need to thank me. Actually, I'd like to recognize your grandfather as my godfather, but I don't know if he'll agree. So, could you help me persuade him?"
"Huh?" Xia Ran was stunned after hearing Lin Ziming's words. "You...you just said you wanted to recognize my grandfather as your godfather? Why...why?"
Lin Ziming smiled and said, "When I said I had a very good impression of you and felt very close to you, you didn't think I was joking before, did you?"
Xia Ran felt a little embarrassed because he had genuinely thought Lin Ziming was joking.
"Then I'll go back and ask my grandfather for his opinion."
"Okay, you go back to the ward and look after the old man. I'm afraid he'll look for you when he wakes up."
Actually, Lin Ziming knew that what he had just said would definitely upset the old man, so he was afraid that the old man would overthink it. He thought it would be better to let Xia Ran go back and keep him company.
Xia Ran responded and went back, feeling a sense of relief.
Because of what happened with Yu Chao, Xia Ran is quite afraid of everyone who is nice to him now. He's afraid that everyone's kindness towards him is premeditated.
However, since Lin Ziming just said he wanted to recognize his grandfather as his godfather, he probably doesn't have any other intentions towards him.
When Xia Ran returned to her room, Grandpa Xia had his eyes closed and seemed to be sleeping.
Xia Ran didn't wake her grandfather; she simply sat down beside him, her thoughts drifting away.
Today is Monday, and my child should already be at kindergarten. I wonder if he'll be able to get used to it.
Xia Ran never understood the saying "A mother worries when her son travels a thousand miles" until he left his grandfather's side to go to university and began to understand it a little better.
Now, he finally understands the meaning of that sentence.
As for Gu En, he hasn't seen her for a long time since they separated last time. Is the online discussion really related to Gu En?
If so, he really wanted to know why, since he had already divorced Gu Zheng, wasn't that enough?
He was foolish at the time, and Gu En's words made him feel like he really was a mistress.
Later he realized that none of this had anything to do with him. His only mistake was liking Gu Zheng.
As for the mistress, what does that have to do with him?
What worried Xia Ran more was not his relationship with Gu Zheng, but his grandfather's situation.
Grandpa has kept what happened back then so well hidden. If it were to be exposed suddenly, Grandpa definitely wouldn't be able to accept it.
He originally thought that this was all in the past and he could just ignore it.
But now he doesn't think so anymore. He's determined to find the mastermind behind this, otherwise all sorts of unpredictable things will happen.
What if that person suddenly brings up Grandpa's past again? By then, it will be too late to regret it.
But who should he ask for help?
For the first time, Xia Ran felt so small, so incompetent, and so helpless.
When Dazhuang came over, Xia Ran quickly told him to go out with her.
Dazhuang was a little confused, but he still followed them out.
"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
"Yes, I want you to help me find some people to investigate some things."
"What is it?"
Xia Ran recounted everything that had happened online in the past two days.
After hearing this, Da Zhuang became extremely angry.
"Xia Ran, what do you mean? Do you even consider me a brother? I'm right here, and you didn't tell me anything?"
"You kept such a big thing from me, what do you take me for? Xia Ran, are you deliberately trying to cause trouble?"
Da Zhuang's tone was unusually harsh, which showed just how angry he was.
He considered Xia Ran his best brother, but now that so many things have happened to Xia Ran, he knew nothing about it, which made him feel embarrassed and that Xia Ran didn't consider him a good brother at all.
Seeing Dazhuang like this, Xia Ran knew he was angry, and quickly said...
"No, Dazhuang, don't be angry. I just didn't want you to worry. I've already troubled you a lot during this time. In my heart, you will always be my best brother."
Dazhuang remained silent, leaving Xia Ran somewhat at a loss.
They'd known each other for so many years, and this was the first time Dazhuang had ever been this angry with him.
Dazhuang turned his back to Xia Ran, not intending to actually get angry with her.
"Alright, you wait here. I'll find someone to investigate for you. I remember there used to be a really good hacker in the dorm next to ours who frequently hacked the school's website. I'll go find him."
After Dazhuang finished speaking, he left directly. Xia Ran smiled slightly. Sure enough, Dazhuang wouldn't really be angry with him.
He knew about the hacker in the dorm next to theirs, but he didn't have as good relationships with people as Dazhuang.
Chapter 309 Your Family's Partner
As luck would have it, Dazhuang ran into He Xiu again when he left the hospital.
His first instinct was to run away quickly, but he stopped as soon as he turned around.
Damn it! Why is he running away? He hasn't done anything wrong! If he runs away, He Xiu will probably say something about him again.
So He Xiu could only watch as Da Zhuang went from running away to stopping in his tracks.
It wouldn't be accurate to say they stopped; they just kept walking forward as before, as if they hadn't seen him at all.
He raised an eyebrow and strode over.
As He Xiu drew closer, Da Zhuang quickened his pace.