He stopped thinking about what had just happened and focused on watching Gu Zheng's back. But as he watched, Xia Ran felt that something was wrong.
Gu Zheng started off very fast, and if he had continued at that pace, he and his team would have definitely won the championship.
But just as he was about to reach the finish line, Gu Zheng suddenly slowed down.
Well, it wasn't a significant slowdown; it was more like I suddenly ran out of energy and slowed down a bit.
Xia Ran frowned, somewhat puzzled. He Hao, who was standing next to Xia Ran, also moved closer and asked,
"Xia Ran, is something wrong with your husband? Why has he suddenly slowed down?"
The words "your husband" made Xia Ran feel a little uncomfortable, but she ultimately held back her discomfort and didn't say anything, only saying,
"I don't know, it shouldn't be anything serious."
Just as Xia Ran finished speaking, Gu Zheng had already reached the finish line, only five seconds slower than Feng Ming and the others as the teacher counted down.
The two were still puzzled, but Feng Ming understood a little bit.
Gu Zheng brought Gu Chen back to their side. Gu Zheng's first look was at Xia Ran, but Xia Ran's gaze was on Gu Chen.
Gu Chen immediately walked towards Feng Nianhao and said,
"Alright, the championship is yours now."
"Huh? How did you know? There are still several people who haven't competed yet, so we can't just say things like that, or others will laugh at us. My dads always said that we shouldn't say anything unless we're absolutely sure. It's better to be low-key."
Feng Nianhao spoke cautiously, as if afraid that their conversation would be overheard by others.
However, even though he thought he was being very careful, the others still overheard him.
"No, my dad said you will definitely be the champions. You have to believe in my dad and me."
Gu Chen spoke with certainty, and the two children argued face to face.
Xia Ran smiled, her eyes crinkling, finding the chubby boy's personality incredibly endearing.
"You've raised your son very well! Do you have any tips or secrets?" Xia Ran asked He Hao, who was standing next to her.
Upon hearing this, He Hao couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise, saying incredulously,
"No way, no way, you actually think I've raised my son well? You don't know that Feng Ming always says that my relationship with my son is not the same, that I don't treat my son like a son at all, and that I just play with him all day and feed him all sorts of weird things."
"Sigh, I'm too embarrassed to talk about it. Anyway, I always take him to eat all kinds of snail rice noodles, spicy hot pot, spicy strips and milk tea. Feng Ming is always on guard against the two of us, but he can't keep us away."
He Hao couldn't help but laugh as he spoke, clearly recalling how they outwitted and outmaneuvered Feng Ming.
Xia Ran couldn't help but imagine the scene just by listening, and the corners of her mouth curved into a smile.
"But Xia Ran, to be honest, I'm really envious of your son. He's so handsome and good-looking, and so sensible and mature. Look at my son, he's the same age, but they're so different. All he thinks about is eating, drinking and having fun!"
"Me?" Xia Ran's gaze fell on Gu Chen. "I didn't teach him much. You probably know that my relationship with him is..."
Xia Ran didn't finish speaking, but He Hao already understood.
Gu Zheng already had a son, but the mother of the child had never appeared until about a year ago when someone revealed that Gu Zheng had married a man.
They were quite surprised at the time. They had thought that Gu Zheng's new partner would not be good to the child, but they did not expect that the two would get along like a biological father and son.
"Yes, we know, but that's precisely why we want to ask you. Look how warm and loving your relationship is. So tell us, what's your secret?"
Xia Ran paused for a moment upon hearing this, then laughed.
"There's no secret formula. It's all about exchanging hearts. I don't expect anything from him, I just want him to be alright."
He Hao smiled and said, "Don't worry, with such a prestigious family background, such a good father, and such good looks, how could his life not be good?"
Xia Ran did not answer this question, after all, the child's previous situation was different, which was unknown to outsiders.
"By the way, Xia Ran, who else is in your family?" He Hao suddenly changed the subject.
Xia Ran assumed He Hao was just curious, so she answered without thinking much about it.
"There's only my grandfather left. He raised me since I was a child. He told me that he passed away when I was very young, less than a few months after I was born."
"I see." He Hao nodded, and began to consider it in his mind.
Whether Xia Ran's words were true or false was unknown, but at least we now knew about Xia Ran's family situation. We could talk about the rest later.
The event quickly came to an end, and just as Gu Chen had said, Feng Nianhao's family indeed won the championship.
Feng Nianhao was still a little dizzy after receiving the prize with his parents, but he was also very happy and excited.
"Ahhhh!! Gu Chen, Gu Chen, you're so right! We really are the champions! Look, doesn't this look like yours? Oh right, I also want my stepfather to braid the rope by hand so that our whole family can wear it!"
Gu Chen was still a bit annoyed by Feng Nianhao's constant chatter, but he nodded and responded with an "Mm."
But He Hao, who was standing next to him, was dumbfounded.
"Oh dear, you little fatty, don't cause any trouble for your dad. I'm not good at such delicate work. If you want to wear it, go buy a red string and wear it."
"Why?" Feng Nianhao asked, somewhat disappointed, his chubby face drooping. "Then why can Uncle Xia do it but you can't?"
"Hey, you brat!" He Hao was so angry he laughed. "Do you think everyone can do that? Then why aren't you as smart as Gu Chen? Or as good-looking as Gu Chen?"
Feng Nianhao was also angered by his stepfather.
"Hmph! My little daddy is so mean! I'll definitely grow up to be very handsome!"
He Hao smiled but didn't say anything. It didn't matter whether his son was good-looking or not, as long as he was healthy and happy.
For the next period of time, parents and children are free to play.
In other words, the teachers set up various small games in the kindergarten, such as ring toss, yo-yo, and balloon popping, which are common games in amusement parks.
There are corresponding rewards for playing these games, and there are no restrictions; you can play whichever game you want.
Xia Ran and Gu Zheng played several games with the child. Xia Ran still ignored Gu Zheng, but the two got along fairly well.
These games continued until noon, and then the kindergarten started preparing lunch, which took more than an hour to eat.
After lunch, the kindergarten teachers put on a show to liven up the atmosphere.
Xia Ran checked the time and realized it was time to get his phone from the locker, so he took it and asked his grandfather if he had eaten yet.
Although Grandpa is in relatively good health now, he is still a little worried.
"Hey, Grandpa, how are you? Have you eaten yet? I'm not going back that early yet; Xiao Chen's kindergarten activity won't start until the afternoon."
Grandpa Xia: "It's alright, it's alright. I've already eaten. Your Uncle Lin came over this morning and even made me some medicinal porridge. He just finished playing chess and was planning to take a nap."
"Don't rush back. It's a rare opportunity for the child to have such an event, so spend time with him and make him happy. He's usually too lonely, and now that he's finally become more lively, we can't let him go back to how he was before."
"I understand, Grandpa. Take care of yourself. I'll go back as soon as I'm done here."
"Okay, let's hang up. I need to go get some rest."
"Okay." Xia Ran hung up the phone and turned around to see Gu Zheng standing behind him.
He paused for a moment, then casually put his phone away and prepared to leave.
But Gu Zheng had no intention of letting Xia Ran leave just like that. He directly grasped Xia Ran's hand and said,
"Ranran, give me a chance, give me some time, let's have a good talk, okay?"
"No." Xia Ran looked at Gu Zheng. "Gu Zheng, this isn't the first time I've said something like this to you, and this isn't the first time you've asked me this question. I don't want to say anything more."
"The reason I'm still standing here with you is because of the child, it has nothing to do with you, and you don't need to apologize to me anymore. Whether I apologize or not, those things are in the past, or rather, I liked you willingly in the first place, so... I don't blame anyone, I blame my feelings."
Xia Ran withdrew her hand and was about to leave.
Gu Zheng paused for a moment, sighed silently, and finally left.
On the other hand, after hanging up the phone, Grandpa Xia seemed somewhat absent-minded.
Seeing Grandpa Xia's mood, Mr. Lin couldn't help but ask,
"Grandpa, what's wrong? Why do you look so pale? Has something happened?"
"No." The old man came back to his senses. "I was just... thinking about Xiao Ran. Xiao Lin, don't be fooled by how optimistic Xiao Ran seems now. He's been carrying something in his heart all along. He's not happy at all, and it pains me to see it."
Grandpa Xia's eyes welled up with tears as he spoke, and Mr. Lin paused for a moment before asking,
Are you thinking about Xiaoran and Gu Zheng?
"Yes. You don't know, I don't know how to advise Xiaoran now. Should I let him let go, or should I let him follow his heart?"
Perhaps because he had been keeping it all to himself for so long, the old man couldn't help but confide in Mr. Lin.
Mr. Lin: "Actually, Grandpa, why don't you want Xia Ran to be with Gu Zheng again? I think Gu Zheng genuinely knows he was wrong. He may have made mistakes in the past, but no one is perfect, right? If they truly love each other, then don't stop them."
"Life is so short, it's really not easy to meet someone you like. Grandpa, your children and grandchildren have their own blessings."
"Is that so?" Grandpa Xia murmured to himself, "But I'm afraid he'll get hurt again, I..."
"Grandpa, you don't want Xia Ran to be with a man, right? You're afraid he'll be hurt by another man, aren't you? Do you want him to find a woman to marry?"
The old man was startled, then nodded.
Mr. Lin sighed, and he roughly guessed why the old man thought that way.
"But Grandpa, how can you be so sure that Xia Ran won't be hurt by women when he's with them? Actually, being hurt isn't about gender, it's about the person."
"Same-sex relationships have been legal for so long now, what's wrong with that? We can let our children love others with their eyes and hearts, instead of forbidding them from loving or being afraid to love. And we can't prevent our children from loving just because we've been hurt ourselves, for fear that they might get hurt. Is that fair to our children?"
After hearing what Mr. Lin said, the old man was stunned.
Isn't it unfair to the child? But he... was also afraid that the child would get hurt.
Mr. Lin said solemnly, "Grandpa, if Xia Ran still likes Gu Zheng, then why not persuade her to give Gu Zheng a chance? It's really not easy to like someone."
"Perhaps Xia Ran will never be hurt again if he doesn't stay with Gu Zheng, but he will never be happy either. So what if we take a gamble to make Xia Ran happy? Since the chances of not being hurt, being unhappy, and winning the gamble are all fifty percent, why not let him take a gamble and see if he wins? Life is a gamble, isn't it?"
While Lin's father's words seemed to be directed at Xia Ran, he was actually trying to comfort the old man.
"Grandpa, maybe everyone will love the wrong person sometimes, but so what? We didn't do anything wrong, right? After all, when we loved, we truly loved with all our hearts. If we don't love anymore, isn't it better to let go and leave gracefully? Being too persistent is not a good thing."
Chapter 374 Don't be afraid
Suddenly, an image of a person appeared in the old man's mind. It was that person smiling and saying that things would always be alright, but then the image shifted to the moment that person left.
For a moment, he couldn't tell what the person's true appearance was.
Perhaps it's really as Lin's father said: when you love someone, you truly love them; when you don't love someone, you truly don't love them anymore.
He sensed that the person liked him, so does that prove that they were truly in love when they were in love?