"Baby, why did you wake up so early today? Daddy is still sleepy."
As Xia Ran spoke, she pulled Gu Chen into her arms. He was small and didn't feel heavy lying on her; in fact, Xia Ran found it quite comfortable.
Gu Chen's innocent and wide eyes were fixed on Xia Ran.
“Dad…Dad…”
Hearing Gu Chen's soft, sweet voice, Xia Ran's heart melted.
"It's Dad, not Daddy."
He was correcting the child's pronunciation, but Gu Chen had just started speaking and it was already quite good that he could even speak; he couldn't possibly pay attention to pronunciation.
After Xia Ran mentioned it several times but Gu Chen didn't correct him, he stopped. He kissed Gu Chen's soft cheek and said...
"Come on, let's get out of bed and have breakfast, and then we'll take Chenchen swimming, okay?"
There's a swimming pool in the backyard. It's nice to go for a swim on such a hot day. The swimming equipment he bought last time has arrived, and we'll just go and unpack it later.
Although Gu Chen didn't know what swimming was, he could answer, so he immediately replied with a "good".
When they finished washing up and went down to the living room on the first floor, Gu Zheng was already waiting there, along with Qin Hao.
Upon seeing Xia Ran, Qin Hao immediately greeted her.
"Sister-in-law, you're up! Come and eat! This congee with preserved egg and lean pork is really good today. I've already cooled it down for you, so it's perfect to drink now."
When Gu Zheng, who was sitting opposite Qin Hao, saw Qin Hao's reaction, his face instantly turned cold. He snorted coldly and looked at Qin Hao with icy eyes.
Chapter 21 Gu Zheng's Abnormal Behavior
But Qin Hao didn't realize that he was still waving at Xia Ran.
Xia Ran was slightly taken aback by Qin Hao's enthusiasm, then chuckled and said,
"OK, thanks."
Because this person is Gu Zheng's cousin, and now he is also his cousin, Xia Ran, out of affection for Gu Zheng, treats Qin Hao very well.
But in Gu Zheng's eyes, it was an eyesore no matter how he looked at it.
"Don't be so polite. We're all family. Besides, if it weren't for you, Chen, we wouldn't be where we are now. By the way, sister-in-law, after I told my parents about Chen's situation, they couldn't wait to come and see him. He should be here in the next day or two."
"Huh? Your parents are coming?" Xia Ran felt a sudden surge of nervousness and instinctively looked at Gu Zheng beside her.
But when Gu Zheng looked over, he simply snorted and turned his head away.
Xia Ran was taken aback by Gu Zheng's reaction and didn't understand what he meant.
Why do you look so angry and upset?
Xia Ran tugged at Gu Zheng's clothes from below, hoping Gu Zheng would pay attention to him, because he didn't know how to answer Qin Hao's question.
Although he was married to Gu Zheng, Gu Zheng's aunt was coming, and he didn't know what to do.
However, Gu Zheng acted as if he hadn't noticed Xia Ran's actions at all, completely ignoring her.
Qin Hao frowned slightly as he looked at Gu Zheng, but he couldn't say anything in the current situation.
Xia Ran felt a little sad. He withdrew his hand and then looked at Qin Hao, smiling as he spoke.
"Okay, what do Aunt and the others like to eat? I'll have them cook it, or I can cook it myself."
Although Xia Ran had a smile on her face, Qin Hao could tell at a glance that she was forcing a smile.
Thinking about the reason why Gu Zheng and Xia Ran got married, Qin Hao sighed and couldn't help but feel sorry for Xia Ran.
"It's okay, my parents aren't picky eaters, they eat everything. If you cook, my mom will be ecstatic. She used to say that no one in her family can cook."
To make Xia Ran happier, Qin Hao kept talking to her.
Just as Qin Hao had thought, Xia Ran was a little happier after hearing his words.
"That's good. I'll cook for my aunts then."
Seeing the two chatting as if no one else was around, Gu Zheng's expression instantly turned even colder. He slammed his chopsticks down on the table and said coldly,
Do you know what it means to not speak while eating or sleeping?
Qin Hao and Xia Ran both paused simultaneously.
Xia Ran glanced at Gu Zheng but said nothing. She then picked up a spoon and began feeding Gu Chen.
Gu Chen blinked innocently. Although he didn't understand what had happened, he knew that something was wrong, so he held tightly to Xia Ran's clothes and leaned against her obediently.
The child's action calmed Xia Ran down and improved his mood. He lowered his head and touched the child's forehead before continuing to feed the child.
Perhaps Ah Zheng is in a bad mood because of work. He shouldn't think too much about it, since he was so nice last night.
Xia Ran managed to calm herself down again.
After finishing breakfast, Xia Ran looked at Gu Zheng and asked,
"Zheng, I'm taking Xiao Chen swimming later, do you want to come along?"
Xia Ran's eyes were full of anticipation, making it difficult for Gu Zheng to refuse.
Just as he was about to nod in agreement, Qin Hao spoke first.
"What? Cousin-in-law, you said you're taking Chen baby swimming? Can I come along?"
As soon as he said that, Gu Zheng's face turned cold.
What made him even colder was Xia Ran's next answer.
"Of course! It's good for Xiao Chen to have someone to play with."
Perhaps hearing his own name called, Gu Chen looked up at Xia Ran and called out in a soft, sweet voice.
"Daddy..."
Upon hearing this, Xia Ran couldn't help but lower her head and give Gu Chen a hard kiss.
"You're so great, baby!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Chen, who was in his arms, also brightened up, and the corners of his mouth turned up, clearly smiling.
When Qin Hao saw this scene, his mouth gaped open in shock.
Gu Chen's family was extremely worried about his condition. His parents were so worried that they couldn't eat and kept looking for all sorts of doctors, but none of them could cure him.
But looking at Gu Chen now, apart from being a little quieter, how is he any different from a normal child?
Qin Hao looked at Xia Ran and admired her from the bottom of his heart.
Gu Zheng's face darkened even more when he saw the way Qin Hao looked at Xia Ran.
"Qin Hao, aren't you too idle? Have you just come back to loaf around?"
Qin Hao, who had finally calmed down a bit, was stunned again after hearing Gu Zheng's words.
What's wrong with his cousin? He's actually showing concern for him like this? This has never happened before!
Could it be that he finally feels he owes his younger brother something?
Qin Hao's eyes were filled with excitement as he spoke to Gu Zheng.
"No, cousin, of course I have things to do when I come back this time, I certainly won't be idling around! But I want to spend the next couple of days with Chen and his wife!"
Qin Hao thought that Gu Zheng would praise him for saying that, but to his surprise, Gu Zheng's face grew darker and darker, and his eyes showed obvious displeasure when he looked at Qin Hao.
"Is that so?" Gu Zheng said calmly.
Qin Hao finally realized something was wrong; he felt like his cousin was angry with him.
But he didn't seem to have done anything wrong, did he?
Qin Hao scratched his head in confusion and replied,
"Yes, by the way, cousin, are you going to the company later? Don't worry, I will take good care of your wife and Chen. You can go without worry."
"Hmph." Gu Zheng snorted heavily again, then stood up.
Moreover, the movement of standing up was so forceful that the chair tipped backward several times.
But Gu Zheng didn't care at all and turned around to go upstairs.
Xia Ran clearly noticed that Gu Zheng was acting strangely. He glanced at Qin Hao, who was equally puzzled, and said...
"I'll go ask him; he must be having some kind of problem at work."
"Okay." Qin Hao nodded, of course, because he didn't know what was wrong with his cousin.
Xia Ran carried Gu Chen upstairs. He couldn't find Gu Zheng in Gu Zheng's room, so he went to the study and found that the door was closed from the inside.
Xia Ran pursed his lips. It was locked from the outside before, but now it was locked from the inside. Was A-Zheng hiding something from him?
But even if something was being kept from him, he didn't dare ask, because their marriage agreement included a clause that stipulated they wouldn't interfere in each other's private affairs.
"Ah Zheng, what's wrong?" Xia Ran knocked on the door from the outside.
Chapter 22 Who is the Father?
Gu Zheng, who was in the study, paused when he heard the sound, even though he was holding a document in his hand.
However, if someone had followed him into the study just now, they would have noticed that Gu Zheng maintained the same posture while holding the document, without changing at all.
“Ah Zheng…”
The sounds coming from outside the door made Gu Zheng's brows furrow even more. Finally, for some reason, he got up and went to open the door.
Xia Ran raised her hand to knock on the door again, but the door was opened from the inside.
Xia Ran's hand remained frozen in mid-air.
"What is it?" Gu Zheng's voice was indifferent.
Although Gu Zheng usually spoke to him like this, Xia Ran still noticed the difference.
Gu Zheng is clearly angry now.
He lowered his hand from mid-air, mustered his courage, and took Gu Zheng's hand, speaking softly.
"Zheng, what's wrong? Did something upset you? Tell me what's wrong, okay? Don't keep it to yourself."