"Grandpa, Aran, Uncle, why don't you all come home with me for the New Year? There's plenty of space and lots of people at home, it'll be more lively together."
Xia Ran didn't notice what Gu Zheng said behind him. He only heard Gu Zheng call him "uncle," which made him feel a little confused.
When did Gu Zheng become so familiar with Uncle Lin and the others?
After hearing Gu Zheng's words, Grandpa Xia and the others did not answer immediately, but looked at Xia Ran first.
It took Xia Ran a while to realize that everyone was looking at him.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Grandpa Xia could tell at a glance that Xia Ran hadn't listened to what Gu Zheng had said, so he repeated what Gu Zheng had just said.
Xia Ran answered without even thinking after hearing the answer.
"I'm not going."
Everyone seemed to have already guessed the answer, and they all exchanged knowing glances with Gu Zheng.
Gu Zheng was also very disappointed, but in the end he did not force the issue.
“It’s okay, my child and I will come over this year.”
Xia Ran paused for a moment before speaking.
"No need, you should all go back to your own homes."
Their relationship is currently in a very awkward situation. What would it mean if Gu Zheng and the others were to spend the New Year here?
"Little Daddy, don't you want me anymore?" Gu Chen suddenly asked.
Xia Ran didn't expect the child to be so sensitive. He had only said one sentence, but it made the child associate it with the fact that the child didn't want him anymore.
"No, that's not true. How could your little daddy not want you? He just wants you to go back home for the New Year and spend time with your great-aunt and the others. They've been so good to you, how can you not spend the New Year with them? You can come back to see your little daddy after the New Year, and we can stay like we are now, okay?"
"But... I want to spend the New Year with you." Gu Chen nestled into Xia Ran's arms.
"It's alright, my aunt and uncle won't mind," Gu Zheng said.
“I mind,” Xia Ran said directly to Gu Zheng, holding her child.
Gu Zheng understood as well; Xia Ran didn't want to spend the New Year with them. It would be a lie to say he wasn't disappointed and upset.
He thought that Xia Ran's turning a blind eye these past few days meant she was almost ready to accept him again, but now it seems that's not the case at all; Xia Ran still doesn't want to forgive him.
The group suddenly fell silent, and Grandpa Xia sighed inwardly as he watched. He knew that Xia Ran couldn't get over that hurdle in her heart.
"Alright, alright, let's talk about this in a couple of days. There are still several days until the New Year, so don't worry about it. Xiao Ran, finish your breakfast first. I have something for you to do later."
Xia Ran could not possibly be unaware that his grandfather was changing the subject, but he had no choice but to continue down this path.
"I've almost finished eating. Tell me, what do you want me to do next?"
"I'd like you to go buy me some things, quite a lot, so please go after lunch," Grandpa Xia said.
Xia Ran was a little curious, but she didn't ask. She nodded and finished the rest of her breakfast.
But when he saw the list of items on the piece of paper his grandfather had taken out, he was dumbfounded.
"Grandpa, why...why did you buy so much stuff? A lot of these things seem like we won't need them, right?"
"Who said we don't need them? These are all things I need. Don't worry about it, just buy them for me."
Xia Ran had no choice but to agree.
"But you have so much stuff here, it'll probably take me a long time to buy it all. Don't you feel bad about me spending so much money?"
He deliberately said to Grandpa Xia that if he usually said he was going to go a little further to buy something, Grandpa would be afraid that he would get tired. But now he was being asked to buy such a big pile of things.
Grandpa Xia chuckled and scolded, "What's so tiring about you? I didn't make you walk. Besides, I only let you go shopping once in a long while. Aren't you happy about that?"
"I was just saying. You wait for me at home. I'll go buy it and come right back. But the child will have to stay home with you. It will definitely be inconvenient to take the child with us when we go with all this stuff."
"No need," Grandpa Xia said. "The child will go with you, and Gu Zheng will go with you too. It will be more convenient to buy things if we drive."
"Why?" Xia Ran's expression changed instantly. "I can take a taxi by myself, or Brother Ziming can come with me. Isn't Brother Ziming free today?"
He now strongly suspects that his grandfather deliberately created this opportunity for him to go out with Gu Zheng.
"I have other things to do for Ziming and the others, and you're not allowed to argue with me! What I say goes, or I'll get angry with you."
Grandpa Xia deliberately put on a stern face, and Xia Ran moved her lips but did not refute him.
Forget it, Grandpa has just been discharged from the hospital. If he says something that makes Grandpa angry, Grandpa might get upset again.
Because they had so many things to buy, Xia Ran and the others went out after lunch. Before leaving, they repeatedly reminded Grandpa Xia to call them if anything happened.
Only after the old man confirmed it several times did Xia Ran feel relieved enough to go out.
After Xia Ran and the others left, Lin Ziming also asked the old man.
"Grandpa, didn't you say you had something else for us to do? What is it?"
"It's nothing, you all sit down and wait with me for a few people." Grandpa Xia's smile completely disappeared, and he was no longer as happy as he had been when Xia Ran was here. Instead, he looked worried.
Lin Ziming and his father exchanged a glance, but in the end, they didn't ask anything.
About half an hour later, someone knocked on the door. Lin Ziming went to open it.
Lin Ziming was surprised to see Feng Ming's family at the door, but he still let them in.
There were four people who came: Feng's father and mother, Feng Ming and He Hao. You could tell from their faces that they were very anxious.
"Grandpa..." Mrs. Feng called out, her voice still choked with emotion, "Where's Xiao Ran? Why isn't he here?"
“I’ve sent him away. I want to talk to you about this first, and then I’ll tell him tomorrow. I need to talk to him slowly, otherwise he won’t be able to handle it.”
After speaking, the old man looked at the Lin family father and son beside him.
"No matter what you hear later, don't make a sound. I'll explain everything to you afterwards, okay?"
The Lin father and son nodded simultaneously.
Grandpa Xia poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, glanced at the anxious Feng family members across from him, and then spoke.
"Xiao Ran, I found her."
Chapter 418 The Tea Has Gone Cold
Grandpa Xia's words elicited a strong reaction from everyone. Lin Ziming and his father could not hide their shock, but remembering what the old man had said earlier—that they should not say anything no matter what they heard—they could only remain silent.
Mr. and Mrs. Feng had red eyes; they were eager to know what would happen next.
"Then...do you know who we are?" Mrs. Feng couldn't help but ask.
"I think I guessed it. I guessed it almost the first time I met you. You are Xiaoran's biological parents, right?"
As the old man spoke, he took something out of his coat pocket. As soon as he saw it, both Mr. and Mrs. Feng burst into tears.
“This thing is still here. Yes, we are Xiaoran’s biological parents. Back then, our family was framed because of our business. Someone bribed our nanny to steal our baby who was only two months old. We have been looking for her ever since, but we have never been able to find her.”
Mr. Feng took the longevity lock from Grandpa Xia's hand and gently stroked it.
"We didn't have time to name him back then, we just called him Zaizai. This longevity lock is something every child in our family gets. Grandpa, could you tell us how you met Xiaoran?"
“I found him by a river in Liucheng.” The old man’s eyes were lost in memories. “Back then, I also had some things happen to me. I happened to pass by there and heard a child crying, so I went over to take a look and found that the child was wrapped in a small blanket and placed in a pile of reeds that was half a person tall.”
“That place was very remote, and the surrounding area was overgrown with weeds. It was very dangerous to leave the child there. He was wearing this longevity lock around his neck at the time. I held the child and waited there for a whole day, but no one came back to look for the child. So I took him home and raised him as my own grandson.”
"In order to keep my child from knowing his background, I told him from a young age that his parents died early and he had no other relatives. He grew up slowly. His arrival gave me a lot of motivation to keep living. He is a very, very good child."
The old man couldn't help but chuckle as he spoke, though his eyes were a little moist. He took a sip of tea before continuing.
“I originally thought about not telling you, not revealing the child’s background, but then I thought about how hard you must have worked to find the child all these years, and how I’m getting old and can’t stay with the child for much longer, so after thinking it over, I decided to tell you.”
"Grandpa, don't worry, you are Xiaoran's grandfather, and you will always be our grandfather. You don't need to worry that you won't be able to see your younger brother after you recognize him. You can live with us from now on."
Feng Ming began to speak. He was in a slightly better mood than his parents, though his eyes were a little red.
"Yes, yes, yes," Mrs. Feng quickly added, "We'll always be family. We all know that without you, Xiao Ran wouldn't be growing up so healthy and happy. She might have..."
She couldn't bring herself to say the rest. In truth, everyone knew the truth: if it weren't for the old man, Xia Ran would probably be dead by now.
Mr. Feng: "Grandpa, there are no more elders in our family. From now on, you and we are one family. We have seen how good you are to the children."
Upon hearing this, Grandpa Xia smiled.
"Okay. But there are two things I want to make clear to you first. One is that I must tell Xiaoran. I will talk to him slowly tonight. If he can't accept it later, you can't force him. You have to give him time to adapt. The other is about his relationship with Gu Zheng. You can't interfere. You can't force him to do things he doesn't want to do. You have to give him his own right to choose."
The Feng family members exchanged glances, and then Mr. Feng quickly nodded.
"Alright, alright, Grandpa, don't worry, we understand, we'll definitely listen to you."
"Okay. Then I'm relieved."
Afterwards, Grandpa Xia talked for a long time with the Feng family, mostly about Xia Ran's childhood.
Of course, in the end, Grandpa Xia also told them about Xia Ran and Gu Zheng's current relationship.
Grandpa Xia initially considered not saying anything, but then he thought that after he was gone, someone would have to protect Xia Ran.
Gu Zheng can be trusted now, but he is still not at ease. The Feng family are Xiao Ran's relatives and family, and they can be trusted 100%.
After hearing Grandpa Xia's account of Xia Ran and Gu Zheng's situation, the Feng family was indeed somewhat shocked. However, since Grandpa Xia had said that they should not interfere and that Gu Zheng and Xia Ran should resolve the matter themselves, they were not allowed to do so.
"That's the gist of it. I can assure you that the two children like each other, but they've had some disagreements. They can resolve these issues themselves, so please, please don't try to stop or interfere. Just stand behind Xiaoran and support him."
“Okay, we understand. As long as Gu Zheng doesn’t do anything to wrong Xia Ran, we will definitely not interfere,” Feng Ming said.
Both of Feng's parents nodded repeatedly, agreeing with what Feng Ming had just said.
"Good, good, good." Overall, Grandpa Xia was quite satisfied with this conversation.
But he was still very upset, because he was essentially handing over the child he had raised for so many years to someone else.
Grandpa Xia knew he shouldn't think like that, but he just couldn't control himself.
However, he also knew that the appearance of the Feng family was a good thing; otherwise, he didn't know if he could bear to leave Xia Ran alone, without any relatives or friends.
"How old are you this year? Why is your hair all white?" The old man wanted to talk to them about other things to ease the tension and atmosphere.
When Mr. and Mrs. Feng heard this, they just smiled and touched their hair.
“My hair turned white overnight after my younger brother went missing. Even after new hair grew back, it was still white,” Feng Ming said.
His tone was very calm, but you could still hear the heartache in his voice.