Gu Zheng handed him the cotton candy and said, "Go and call your stepfather out. Tell him I have something to tell him."
"Little Daddy seems to be in a bad mood," Gu Chen said, taking the cotton candy. "Besides, Little Daddy is cooking. If he comes out now, the food will burn. Do we really have to say it now?"
Gu Zheng thought for a moment, "Then tell your stepfather to pick you up and drop you off tomorrow, because I won't be able to do so."
"Oh, I see. So, is this box you're holding for us? I'm closing now."
"Okay." Gu Zheng handed the cake to Gu Chen. "Remember to tell your stepfather."
"Okay." Gu Chen held a cake in one hand and a marshmallow in the other. "Then help me close the door, my hands are busy."
"Hmm." Gu Zheng watched Gu Chen turn around, and just as he was about to close the door, Gu Chen turned back again.
"Oh, right, my great-aunt, Grandpa Wang, and my uncle have come over."
"What?" Gu Zheng was taken aback. He didn't know that his aunt and the others had come. "Why did they come? How is your stepfather? Is he angry?"
“Angry? Why should I be angry? My little dad isn’t that petty. He let my great-aunt and the others in to sit down, and my great-grandfather even made them tea.”
After saying that, Gu Chen quickly ran to the living room. If he didn't go soon, the cotton candy would melt. He didn't even know when his uncle had bought it.
Gu Zheng remained where he was, pondering Gu Chen's words. Xia Ran had let his aunt and the others in? Grandpa had even made tea? Did this mean that Xia Ran and the old man were no longer angry?
Gu Zheng couldn't help but smile. Although it was just his own guess, judging from Gu Chen's words just now, Xia Ran wasn't as angry as before. Otherwise, why would she let Qin Hao and the others in?
Because of this, Gu Zheng even closed the door with a sense of pleasure.
Gu Chen staggered into the living room carrying the things, mainly because the two cotton candies were too big and there was also a box, which was a bit of a struggle for him.
When Grandpa Xia saw this, he immediately stood up and went over to help take the box.
"Oh my, where did all this come from? How come there are so many things? Come, come, let Great-Grandpa hold them."
"Great-Grandpa, this is what my eldest uncle brought for me and my youngest uncle. He said you're not well yet and can't eat these things, so he didn't buy them for you. Don't worry, I'll buy them for you when you're better."
Gu Chen looked up at Grandpa Xia and said. Gu Zheng hadn't said those things at all; Gu Chen only said them because he saw that Gu Zheng hadn't bought anything for Grandpa Xia.
Grandpa Xia didn't know if he believed it or not, but he was very happy with what Gu Chen said.
"Okay, okay, great-grandpa, wait a minute. Hurry up and eat your cotton candy, or it'll melt."
Gu Chen nodded repeatedly, "Then I'll take it and eat it with my little dad!"
"Go ahead, go ahead."
Grandpa Xia watched Gu Chen leave, then glanced at the box and saw that it contained a small cake.
He sighed, a small smile appearing on his face, and got up to put the cake in the refrigerator.
Gu Chen came to the kitchen with cotton candy. "Little Daddy, turn around quickly!"
"Huh? What..." Xia Ran subconsciously turned around, but before she could finish the sentence, she saw the two cotton candies in Gu Chen's hand.
Moreover, the marshmallows were pink, which seemed somewhat familiar.
"Where did this come from?" he asked.
"Daddy bought it, can we eat it, Daddy?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Ran glanced at the almost melting cotton candy and nodded gently.
"Eat."
Gu Chen's eyes lit up, and he put a cotton candy near Xia Ran's mouth.
"Then you eat first, little dad!"
Xia Ran glanced at the pot; there was only one braised pork rib left, which needed to be braised for another five minutes, so there was no need to check it anymore.
"Okay, eat them all." Xia Ran and the child each took one and ate it. Although it was a little melted, it didn't affect the taste, and it even seemed quite sweet.
After finishing eating, Xia Ran looked at the cotton candy stick and suddenly chuckled. Gu Chen happened to see Xia Ran's smile, and his eyes lit up immediately.
The younger dad seems to be smiling! Is it because of the cotton candy that the older dad bought? It must be! Does that also prove that the younger dad isn't so angry with the older dad anymore?
Gu Chen's eyes crinkled slightly, but he didn't say it aloud, afraid that Xia Ran would stop smiling if he did.
"Oh, right, there's one more thing I haven't told you. My husband said he won't be able to take me tomorrow morning, so he'll ask you to pick me up."
"Okay, then tomorrow Daddy will take you there, and then we'll go get pancakes for breakfast together, okay?"
"good!"
After Xia Ran finished eating, he heard from Grandpa Xia that there was a small cake in the refrigerator. He was stunned for a moment, then went over and picked it up to look at it.
It was indeed a dessert, but not a small cake; it was a chocolate tiramisu, and the portion was quite generous—enough for him and his child to share.
"See, Grandpa was right, wasn't he? Time will tell." Grandpa Xia watched this scene with a smile.
Xia Ran looked at him, did not refute, but just smiled slightly and asked Gu Chen next to her.
"Should we eat now or wait a bit?"
It's only been an hour since they finished eating.
Gu Chen blinked. "Let's eat later. I'm a little full now. I'll go do my homework first, and then I need to watch some piano videos. My dad told me this tonight. He said that I need to go back to practice piano and other lessons every morning after the holidays start, because I've been too lazy lately."
"Okay, then you write first, and Daddy will find some videos for you to watch." Xia Ran didn't say anything about not letting the child learn.
Gu Chen's surname is Gu, and the Gu family's background is different from theirs, so there are some things he should learn from them.
As for why he didn't let his child learn so much before, it was because he was afraid that the child would be under too much pressure. But now that the child has fully recovered and is just like a normal child, he can let the child learn some things appropriately.
Chocolate tiramisu is one of Xia Ran's favorite desserts. She doesn't know if Gu Zheng bought it by chance or if he specifically looked into it beforehand.
Thinking about this, Xia Ran shook her head, realizing that she might be overthinking things.
Gu Zheng wouldn't have had that much time to find out what he liked to eat; it was probably just a coincidence.
The next day, when she took the child to school, she didn't see Gu Zheng. Xia Ran couldn't explain how she felt. She just stayed home for a day and learned that Lin Ziming and the others would be back in a couple of days.
Xia Ran thought about the timing. It seemed that He Hao and the others would be coming over to play, so they could have a meal together.
In fact, Xia Ran had a good impression of He Hao and his family. Although Feng Ming's parents were a bit strange, they were genuinely warm and didn't seem to have any ill intentions towards him.
In the afternoon, Xia Ran was just thinking about going out to pick up her child when she received a strange message on her phone. The message had no name and was from an unknown number.
Xia Ran initially thought it was just spam, but when he clicked on it, he discovered it wasn't spam at all, but rather a kidnapping message—no, it was definitely a kidnapping message.
'Gu Chen is with me. If you want him to live, come here alone with Gu Zheng. Don't tell anyone, only the two of you. Otherwise, I absolutely cannot guarantee what the consequences will be.'
The next text message was a photo of Gu Chen with his hands tied, seemingly unconscious.
Xia Ran felt as if all the blood in her body had stopped flowing, and she felt cold all over.
He had often seen similar text messages on TV and in movies before, but he never thought that one day he would experience it himself.
Only by experiencing it yourself can you know how you really feel—fear, worry, and despair.
“Xiao Ran, what’s wrong? Why do you look so pale? Didn’t you say you were going to pick up the child? Why aren’t you going yet? We’ll be late if you don’t go soon. Don’t keep the child waiting.”
"No...it's nothing." Xia Ran put her phone down. "I'll go pick him up now. Grandpa, are you alright being home alone? That was a message from the child's kindergarten teacher. She said there's a children's and parents' party tonight, so we'll be back a little late. How about I have Yu Wu come over and keep you company?"
Xia Ran dared not let her grandfather know about the child, otherwise he would definitely be anxious, and if he couldn't calm down in time, something could easily happen.
"Why is there another party? Wasn't there one just a few days ago?" Grandpa Xia asked, somewhat puzzled. "Oh, you guys can go if you want. I'll be fine at home by myself. Don't let Yu Wu come over. You go ahead."
Grandpa Xia muttered to himself, then pushed Xia Ran toward the door.
Xia Ran glanced at Grandpa Xia, then nodded.
"If you have any questions, be sure to call me. I'm leaving now."
Grandpa Xia nodded, and Xia Ran entered the elevator with a solemn expression. Only after he was sure that Grandpa Xia could not see him did Xia Ran's hands begin to tremble.
His face turned pale, and his hands trembled as he dialed a phone number he knew by heart.
He never imagined he would feel this way when he made that call again.
Gu Zheng was somewhat surprised when he received Xia Ran's call. He had already asked Qin Hao for Xia Ran's phone number, so Xia Ran was saved in his phone's contacts.
Even without a note, he could tell it was Xia Ran, because he had already memorized Xia Ran's phone number.
He knew perfectly well why Xia Ran was calling him at this time, because everything was part of their plan.
However, he did not expect that Xia Ran would call him. He thought that Xia Ran would call Qin Hao first, and then he would call Xia Ran.
Could it be that Aran has always remembered his phone number?
As Gu Zheng thought about it, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly again. He then pressed the answer button, but his tone of voice didn't betray the fact that his mouth was upturned.
"Ran? What's wrong?"
"Come pick me up, something happened to the child." Xia Ran's voice was trembling.
Even though Gu Zheng knew what was going on, he still felt a pang of heartache upon hearing Xia Ran's trembling and frightened tone.
"Something happened to the child? What happened? Shouldn't he have just gotten out of school?"
"No, hurry up and come! Come pick me up right now! Why are you talking so much nonsense!"
Because she was so scared and worried, Xia Ran spoke in a shouting tone.
Gu Zheng could only quickly respond.
"Okay, wait for me at the entrance of the community. I'll be right there. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything. The child will be fine."
Hearing this, Xia Ran hung up the phone and then sent a message back.
"Who are you? Why did you kidnap my son? What did you do to him? He's just a child. If you have a problem, come at us adults. Don't hurt the child."
"Don't worry about it too much. You'll find out when you get here. You'd better hurry up, or you'll face the consequences."
An address is attached below.
Xia Ran bit her tongue to calm herself down. The worst thing she could do at this moment was to panic, otherwise something bad could easily happen.
'Okay, we'll be right there. Remember, don't hit the child.'
Xia Ran took a deep breath, but still couldn't suppress her panic. However, biting her tongue calmed her mind and restored her thinking ability.
The person who sent the message knew his and Gu Zheng's identities and relationship, so they must be someone who knows them.
Also, the kindergarten's security is very good, so how was the child picked up?
Xia Ran called Gu Chen's kindergarten, and the child's homeroom teacher answered. He asked about the child, and the teacher said that the child had been picked up by a family member and had left voluntarily.
However, when Xia Ran asked which parent it was, the teacher said she didn't know.