Gu Zheng stared at Xia Ran, his affectionate gaze making Xia Ran uncomfortable and causing her to look away.
Now he doesn't care what Gu Zheng says anymore; it's all too late.
"Wow! How romantic! We're so envious!" The host's words drew cheers from everyone present. "May you be happy forever and always be as loving as ever!"
"Thank you." Upon hearing this, Gu Zheng gave the others a rare smile.
Even though the teacher knew he was married, she couldn't help but blush.
If she had such a handsome, wealthy, and gentle man as her husband, she would be laughing in her sleep.
Gu Chen and Gu Zheng stepped down from the podium and walked directly towards Xia Ran.
Gu Zheng's gaze never left Xia Ran, which made Xia Ran feel quite uncomfortable.
"Daddy! Did we play well? Weren't we great?"
Gu Chen hugged Xia Ran's leg, looked up at her with a pleading expression, and asked for her praise.
Xia Ran patted Gu Chen's head, "Yes, that's great. In Daddy's heart, Xiao Chen is the best!"
Gu Chen was a little embarrassed by the praise, and just then Feng Nianhao came up to him.
"Gu Chen! Gu Chen! You're amazing! You played so beautifully and sang so beautifully!"
Gu Chen wasn't as comfortable around other people; he just gave a blank "hmm" and said thank you.
However, Feng Nianhao did not feel ignored. On the contrary, he kept chattering around Gu Chen, which proved that he liked Gu Chen.
Gu Zheng's gaze fell on Xia Ran, and when he saw that Xia Ran still wasn't looking at him, he couldn't help but speak up.
"Ranran, I was originally planning to play this piece for you with the child in a few days, but since we had the chance today, I'm doing it earlier. Do you like it?"
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Xia Ran had no choice but to answer, and could only give a curt "hmm." But when he saw the child's gaze, he added another sentence.
"It's pretty good."
Chapter 376 Every Family is the Same
He was only saying this to the child, not to Gu Zheng.
But for Gu Zheng, even a simple "pretty good" was enough to make him happy.
"If you like it, I'll play it for you again next time. I can play other pieces."
Xia Ran didn't respond, but Gu Chen gently pulled her hand again and said softly,
"Little Daddy, is it okay? If you like it, we'll play it for you again next time."
Xia Ran can choose not to respond to Gu Zheng, but she cannot choose not to respond to Gu Chen.
"Okay, then you can play it for your little dad next time."
"OK!"
He Hao, watching the family of three from the side, finally realized that something was not quite right.
Xia Ran's relationship with the child is as close as that of a biological father and son, but there's something not quite right between Xia Ran and Gu Zheng.
However, He Hao couldn't say this directly, so he could only observe it secretly.
After this final activity, kindergarten is essentially over, and everyone has to go home.
Xia Ran and the others also went back to the children's classroom to retrieve their own belongings, such as their cell phones.
Xia Ran remembered that He Hao had said he wanted to add her as a friend, so as soon as she picked up her phone, she looked at He Hao. He Hao was also looking at her, and the two smiled knowingly and went over to add each other as friends.
"You absolutely have to come to my birthday party in a couple of days. It's the first time I've ever invited a friend home on my own initiative, so please don't embarrass me."
"Don't worry, I'll definitely go. I just hope you won't mind."
"How could that be? I'm overjoyed that you can come, and my little chubby son will be ecstatic."
At this point, both of them turned their gazes to the two children, who were huddled together talking.
No, it's more accurate to say that Feng Nianhao was unilaterally pulling Gu Chen into conversation rather than the two children talking together.
Because there are two days of rest after this parent-child activity, it means that the two children will not be seen for two days.
This makes no difference to Gu Chen, but it doesn't make a difference to Feng Nianhao.
He particularly liked Gu Chen, especially after Gu Chen confidently stated that they would win the championship, which made him even more blindly admire Gu Chen.
Gu Chen is handsome, sings well, plays the piano well, and even knows that his father can win a championship! That's just too amazing!
"Look how much my son likes your son. With my son, this little chatterbox, around, your son will never be too lonely. I just hope your son won't dislike my son."
"Don't worry, he doesn't mind. If he didn't mind, he would have stopped Xiao Hao from getting close to him long ago. But although he doesn't talk much now, he lets Xiao Hao get close to him, which proves that he likes Xiao Hao."
Xia Ran knew Gu Chen quite well.
"Really?" He Hao's eyes lit up. "I thought Xiao Chen didn't like it. In that case, you can bring your son over to play more often. One is a chatterbox and the other doesn't like to talk, so combining them can balance things out."
"Okay, thank you in advance."
"No need to thank me, you're too kind. Let's go, it's time to go back."
"OK."
The two of them, each with their child, lined up to leave the kindergarten. As they reached the gate and prepared to part ways, little Feng Nianhao looked at Xia Ran expectantly and said…
"Uncle Xia, you must bring Gu Chen to my house in two days. I will miss Gu Chen if I don't see him for two days."
Xia Ran smiled and said, "Okay, don't worry, I will definitely go."
However, Feng Nianhao was still worried and pulled Gu Chen aside to give him repeated instructions.
"Gu Chen, you absolutely have to come! We're good friends. I have lots of toys at home, including a lot of puzzles and Lego sets. They're so much fun!"
Gu Chen gave a blank "hmm," still feeling uncomfortable with Feng Nianhao's intimacy.
"Alright, alright, stop holding others up and hurry back." He Hao grabbed the chubby boy's clothes, said goodbye to Xia Ran and the others, and headed towards the parking lot.
Xia Ran, holding Gu Chen's hand, asked,
"Xiao Chen, let's go back too. Where are you going today? Home or my house?"
"Aren't we all home? Why do we have to distinguish between your home and mine?" Gu Chen looked at Xia Ran with a puzzled expression.
Xia Ran paused, then patted Gu Chen's head and answered.
"No, Daddy was wrong just now. No matter where it is, it's Xiao Chen's home."
"What about the stepfather? Is the stepfather the same as me?" Gu Chen pressed.
“It’s different,” Xia Ran replied firmly. “My father’s home is where my great-grandfather lives. Nowhere else is my father’s home.”
Although it may be cruel to say this to the child, it is something that must be said.
Gu Chen's face initially showed confusion, but then it seemed as if he understood something, and his confusion turned into distress.
"I understand, Daddy. Let's go home, let's go back to Great-Grandpa's place."
Xia Ran gave a soft "hmm," and the two completely ignored Gu Zheng standing beside them during their conversation.
Gu Zheng's heart had been aching ever since Xia Ran said that home was only where his great-grandfather was.
He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say.
"Big Daddy, let's go back."
Gu Chen looked up at Gu Zheng beside him.
Gu Zheng nodded and led Gu Chen forward, making them look like a family of three.
But only Xia Ran knew how much he resisted such close contact with Gu Zheng, but he had to hold back, in case he said something that would upset the child.
After getting into the car, Xia Ran seemed to remember something; he needed to go to the supermarket to buy some groceries.
Grandpa can't travel far, and he certainly won't go grocery shopping in an unfamiliar place.
As for Lin Ziming and the others, he couldn't keep relying on others to buy things for him. Besides, it was getting cold, so he had to go to the mall to buy some warm clothes for his grandfather.
Although I brought two sets of clothes, it still wasn't enough.
So I'm afraid I can't bring the child along, otherwise it would be impossible to manage both carrying things and taking care of the child.
Most importantly, he didn't want to go with Gu Zheng?
"Xiao Chen," Xia Ran decided to talk to Gu Chen, "Daddy wants to go to the mall to buy some clothes for Great-Grandpa, so Xiao Chen, could you go back first?"
"Why go back? Can't we go together? I haven't gone shopping with my stepfather in ages," Gu Chen said without thinking, then looked at Gu Zheng in the driver's seat.
"Big Daddy, don't you agree? Let's go buy clothes for Great-Grandpa together, shall we go shopping?"
“Okay, there’s a shopping mall nearby.” Gu Zheng readily agreed and changed the direction, giving Xia Ran no time to refuse.
"I can park the car myself. I don't like shopping with too many people."
Xia Ran spoke in a cold voice, her attitude extremely firm.
"Didn't you used to love taking the kids shopping with me? Why don't you like it anymore?" Gu Zheng said.
But as soon as he finished speaking, Xia Ran gave a sarcastic laugh.
"You know it's all in the past. A lot of things have changed. People and things you used to like have changed a long time ago. People always change."
Gu Zheng paused, realizing what Xia Ran meant by those words, and a sense of oppression instantly filled the carriage.
Gu Chen glanced at his two fathers, then leaned over Xia Ran and said...
"Little Daddy, but I want to go shopping with you. Please don't make Big Daddy stop the car, okay? If you want Big Daddy to come along, just let him carry the things. Or, you can just pretend you didn't see him, okay?"
Xia Ran wanted to say no, but seeing that Gu Zheng was unlikely to stop the car, he could only reluctantly remain silent to indicate his agreement.
Gu Zheng finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Xia Ran didn't say anything more.
It seems that all the training and guidance given to Gu Chen these past few days has finally paid off.
He could see that Xia Ran disliked him now, but Qin Hao and the others said that no matter how much Xia Ran disliked him, he had to stay by Xia Ran's side.
We arrived at the shopping mall, the largest in the city, bustling with people.
Xia Ran wasn't short of money, and since she was buying clothes for her grandfather, she naturally wanted to buy expensive ones.
If it were him, he wouldn't buy it here. After all, buying clothes that are too expensive is useless to him; as long as they're wearable, that's fine.