Upon hearing this, Yu Wu paused for a few seconds before realizing that Lin Ziming was talking to him.
"Yes, I like it very much, thank you."
"Don't mention it, Xia Ran's friend is my friend," Lin Ziming said.
I haven't had much experience interacting with others, so I didn't know how to answer. I could only say thank you again.
Overall, the meal was quite good. Xia Ran knew Yu Wu's personality, so she kept talking to him and tried her best to keep him from feeling awkward or uncomfortable.
Surprisingly, Lin Ziming stayed with them the whole time, which didn't bother Xia Ran, but Lin's father was a little surprised.
His son, though seemingly easy to get along with, is actually a very cold person.
It's really strange that he's being so enthusiastic towards someone he just met.
However, Mr. Lin only kept these doubts to himself and did not voice them.
After they finished eating, Yu Wu offered to clear the bowls. Xia Ran initially refused, but Yu Wu insisted on helping, so Xia Ran had no choice but to agree.
He was worried that Yu Wu would feel awkward staying in the living room with Lin's father and grandfather, so he thought it would be better to let Yu Wu help him wash dishes in the kitchen.
Lin Ziming wanted to help, but the kitchen was too cramped for three grown men, so he could only go out and keep Lin's father and Xia's grandfather company.
After Lin Ziming left, Yu Wu asked Xia Ran in a low voice,
"Xia Ran, who was that person just now? When he opened the door, he said he was a relative of yours, that he was your brother, but I remember you said before that you didn't seem to have any relatives, right?"
Chapter 363 Finding Someone Who Likes You
Xia Ran knew that Yu Wu would definitely ask about this, so she didn't hide it from him.
"Yes, I don't have any other relatives, but he is my grandfather's newly adopted godson. He is a very good person, so he is now a relative of mine."
Yu Wu noticed Xia Ran's affection for Lin Ziming, and couldn't help but recall Lin Ziming's appearance when he opened the door for him earlier.
"That person seemed alright; he even admitted to being your brother when he opened the door for me."
“Yes.” Xia Ran smiled and said, “He is a really good person. My grandfather and I both like him very much. Anyway, you know that there are not many people in my family. With two more relatives, my grandfather is in a great mood.”
Yu Wu: "Yes, it's definitely more lively with more people."
After the two finished washing the dishes, Lin Ziming came in with a fruit basket.
"This is a fruit basket that Yu Wu brought. Should we wash some of it and eat it?"
Xia Ran and Yu Wu looked at him at the same time, but for some reason his gaze fell on Yu Wu.
He didn't know why, but he just subconsciously looked over there.
However, neither Yu Wu nor Xia Ran noticed this detail.
"Okay, then cut some and make some fruit for dessert." Xia Ran took the fruit basket from Lin Ziming.
Yu Wu usually doesn't talk to people he's not very familiar with. Just like now, when he heard Xia Ran say that she wanted to serve fruit after dinner, he had already started taking out plates.
Seeing this, Lin Ziming realized that he wasn't needed here, so he said, "I'll go out and wait," and turned to leave the kitchen.
After the meal, everyone sits together to eat fruit. When you sit with the elderly, you inevitably get asked about work and marriage.
Grandpa Xia probably hadn't had so many people with him in a long time, so he couldn't help but ask a few more questions.
"Xiao Wu, you and Xiao Ran are in the same year, right? Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend now?"
Yu Wu, who was eating fruit with his head down, subconsciously looked up after hearing this and found that the others were all looking at him.
Yu Wu's face flushed red instantly.
"I...I haven't..."
Grandpa Xia: "Why haven't you found someone yet? You're not getting any younger, it's time to start looking for someone."
Yu Wu said apologetically, "I haven't met anyone suitable."
"You stay home all day and never go out, how can you possibly meet someone suitable?" Xia Ran directly exposed Yu Wu's lie.
"Stay at home all day? Do your chores at home?" Grandpa Xia asked curiously.
“Yes.” Yu Wu nodded. “I work from home and don’t usually like to go out, so I haven’t met many suitable people.”
"Oh dear, that won't do," Grandpa Xia said disapprovingly. "You need to go out more often in the future, otherwise staying at home all the time will affect your mood."
"We'll be staying here for a while, then you can go out and play with Xiaoran more often."
"Okay, I understand, Grandpa." Yu Wu nodded vigorously. He liked these well-intentioned reminders, but he was just a little unaccustomed to them.
Xia Ran understood Yu Wu and knew that if Grandpa continued to ask questions, Yu Wu would probably get restless.
"Grandpa, please stop asking. Yu Wu is shy. If you keep asking, he might not be able to sit still. Let him come back to my room with me so we can have a good talk."
Grandpa Xia chuckled, "Alright, alright, then you should go back to your rooms. You've been apart for so long, you must have a lot to talk about."
Upon hearing this, Xia Ran stood up with Yu Wu, and of course, she didn't forget to tell the Lin family father and son.
"Uncle, Brother Ziming, we'll go into the room first and come back to keep you company later."
Mr. Lin: "Go ahead, we'll take care of things here with Grandpa, you don't need to worry."
"good."
Xia Ran and Yu Wu entered the room. As soon as Xia Ran closed the door, she heard Yu Wu let out a sigh of relief.
Xia Ran was somewhat amused and exasperated, and said,
"How come after all these years, you're still so uncomfortable around other people? What will you do if you start dating in the future?"
Xia Ran was alone here, so Yu Wu was a bit more relaxed.
"Stop laughing at me. Let's talk about your situation first. Dazhuang didn't explain things clearly to me last time he came over. He said you... married a man? Is that Gu Zheng you mentioned when you were drunk?"
Xia Ran's smile faded slightly as she sat down on the edge of the bed and said,
"Yes, but we're divorced now. Yuwu, I didn't tell you before because things weren't stable yet, and now we're divorced, so I didn't mean to keep it from you. You can't be angry."
Yu Wu: "I wasn't really angry at first, just a little upset, but after hearing your explanation, I'm not upset anymore. No wonder you didn't talk much in the group for a while. Was that the time around your wedding?"
Xia Ran thought for a moment, then nodded.
When he first married Gu Zheng, all his attention was focused on the child. He worked hard every day to help the child get better, and he didn't dare to slack off at all. So he didn't have much time to chat in the group during that period.
Xia Ran lay down on the bed and said with a touch of emotion,
"I really want to go back to when I was in college. I was so happy and carefree back then."
Yu Wu noticed that Xia Ran was upset, but he didn't know how to comfort people, so he could only say dryly that things were fine as they were.
Indeed, for Yu Wu, being able to earn his own money and own a small house is much better than not being able to afford food during his university years.
However, everyone's mindset and life are different at different times, so he didn't really refute Xia Ran's words.
Xia Ran chuckled softly, "Yes, actually it's pretty good now."
His eyes were somewhat vacant. What was wrong with things being like this? Compared to many people, his life was already very good. Why wasn't he satisfied?
Yu Wu didn't want to see Xia Ran like this, so he could only try to find other topics to talk about.
"By the way, how are things going with Dazhuang and his girlfriend? Didn't Dazhuang go back to his hometown? Did his girlfriend go back with him? If she didn't, won't they be in a long-distance relationship?"
"Dazhuang's girlfriend?" Xia Ran looked at Yu Wu with a puzzled expression.
“Yes.” Yu Wu nodded. “He was the one who came with me when he came to see me last time. I think his name was He… He something, I forgot.”
Yu Wu ran her fingers through her hair. "But back then, Da Zhuang wouldn't admit that the person was his girlfriend. He kept explaining to me, but I felt like there was definitely something going on between them!"
Hearing this, Xia Ran finally understood that the "big guy" Yu Wu mentioned must be He Xiu.
"Well, she wasn't Dazhuang's girlfriend. She just liked Dazhuang and pursued him. I used to think they had a future together, but now they've completely broken up."
"What?" Yu Wu was a little surprised. "Why? Is it because you can't accept a long-distance relationship? But isn't there a saying that as long as you can get through a long-distance relationship, your married life will be very happy?"
Xia Ran: "No, it's because they were never really together. Da Zhuang said he didn't actually like He Xiu very much, he just had a little bit of a feeling for him."
After listening, Yu Wu didn't know what to say.
"When I saw the way they looked at each other, I thought Dazhuang's wedding was coming soon, and I even prepared the money for the gift. I never expected..."
"Feelings are hard to predict. You might like someone but not necessarily end up together, and you might not like someone but still end up together. In short, it all depends on fate."
Xia Ran felt that he had been a bit obsessed lately, always feeling that hard work was useless and that everything depended on fate.
But isn't that the truth? He tried his best, He Xiu tried his best, even Grandpa tried his best, but in the end it was all in vain.
"Forget it, these things can't be rushed. By the way, Yuwu, you must not get married just because you've reached a certain age. You must find someone you both like to marry."
"If you really can't meet someone, but you're eager to get married, then you must find someone who likes you, not someone you like but who doesn't like you."
Hearing Xia Ran's words, Yu Wu actually found it a little hard to understand, because he had never been in a relationship either.
While others were still young and naive, he was already doing part-time jobs to earn money, figuring out how to use twenty yuan for a week.
But since Xia Ran had already said so, he nodded in agreement.
"I understand, Xia Ran, and you too. Everything will be alright from now on, everything will be alright, it will always be alright, won't it?"
"Pfft..." Xia Ran couldn't help but laugh. "Yu Wu, it's been so long since I've heard your famous quote. Hearing it again really brings back memories."
Back when they were in college, they often heard Yu Wu say this, and every time they thought Yu Wu was particularly optimistic.
As the two were engrossed in their conversation, there was a knock on the door from the outside.
"Xiao Ran, may I come in?"
Upon hearing Lin Ziming's voice, Xia Ran immediately sat up.
"Sure, sure, Ziming, come in."
When Lin Ziming opened the door and came in, he was carrying two glasses of water and a plate of fruit.
"Grandpa said he was worried you two might get thirsty from chatting, so he asked me to bring you some water and fruit."
"Thank you." Yu Wu got up to take the water, his fingertips inadvertently brushing against Lin Ziming's hand.
He paused for a moment, then quickly withdrew his gaze, lowering his head somewhat awkwardly.
Lin Ziming's eyes flickered slightly when he saw this scene, and he said,
"You're welcome. I heard you say you don't like going out, but you can still come and visit Xia Ran often in the future."