Gu Zheng woke Xia Ran up around the same time, so Gu Chen had no idea that his stepfather wasn't sleeping with him.
Gu Zheng's aunt didn't return until evening, and she had a smile on her face, looking like she was in a very good mood.
Xia Ran was sitting on the sofa with Gu Chen in her arms. When she saw the two of them come back, she quickly stood up.
"Aunt, Uncle."
Having spent time with Aunt Gu and knowing that both husband and wife were easy to talk to, Xia Ran wasn't so nervous.
Aunt Gu sat down next to Xia Ran with a smile, wanting to hug Gu Chen, but Gu Chen seemed to have anticipated that Aunt Gu wanted to hug him, and buried his head in front of Xia Ran, with one hand tightly gripping Xia Ran's clothes.
Chapter 66 Romantic Encounters
Aunt Gu was both amused and helpless, but in the end she couldn't help but speak up pitifully.
"Xiao Chen, do you really dislike your grandma that much? All I wanted to do was hug you, and you're already so disgusted?"
Hearing Aunt Gu's words, Gu Chen still didn't turn around, but instead buried his head even deeper into Xia Ran's arms.
His performance undoubtedly provided the answer directly.
Aunt Gu looked at Xia Ran with hurt in her eyes, the meaning of which was self-evident: she wanted Xia Ran's help.
Xia Ran smiled slightly, then lowered her head and pulled Gu Chen out of his arms.
"Xiao Chen, have you forgotten what Daddy usually tells you? Hmm?"
His tone was gentle, but Gu Chen knew that his stepfather was speaking to him very seriously, so he didn't dare to make any other moves and could only look at Xia Ran with an innocent expression.
Xia Ran patted his head and continued,
“Xiao Chen, your father has told you that you must respond to anyone who greets you and not remain silent. Your aunt is our family, so you must not treat her like that. It will make her feel bad.”
"Feeling bad is like when your stepfather wasn't home and you were unhappy because you couldn't see him. That's what feeling bad is. Do you want your aunt to feel bad like you did before?"
Xia Ran knew that Gu Chen's situation was somewhat special, so she analyzed it for him again and again.
Although Gu Chen is much more lively in front of him and Gu Zheng now, he still seems unwilling to talk to others.
Xia Ran was still worried. Now that there were a few more people in the family, he hoped that Gu Chen could be more lively.
After hearing Xia Ran's words, Gu Chen's eyes quickly reddened. He was thinking of the time when Xia Ran went back to her hometown.
"Little Daddy...don't...don't leave Xiao Chen behind..."
Xia Ran, suppressing her heartache, gently patted Gu Chen's head.
"Of course, Daddy won't abandon Xiao Chen, but Xiao Chen, you're a big kid now. You need to learn to communicate with others. That's what will make Daddy happy."
This time, Gu Chen looked at Xia Ran and remained silent.
Gu Zheng and the others did not interrupt Xia Ran teaching the child, but quietly watched the father and son.
Aunt Gu was increasingly satisfied with Xia Ran. With such a person educating Gu Chen, Gu Chen would surely grow up healthily.
Finally, amidst everyone's anticipation, Gu Chen nodded.
"Xiao Chen... I understand."
Xia Ran's lips, which had been pursed, curled up into a smile.
“I knew you were the best, so baby, Grandma wants to hold you for a bit, can you let her hold you? She loves you very much too.”
Gu Chen glanced at Xia Ran, then looked at his aunt Gu beside him, and said in a childish voice,
"Grandma...hug me..."
He opened his arms to Aunt Gu, who immediately beamed with joy.
"Okay, okay, let Grandma hug our precious Chen."
Gu Chen quickly sat properly in his aunt's arms, unlike when he was in Xia Ran's arms, he would snuggle up to Xia Ran and wrap his arms around her neck.
Even so, Aunt Gu and the others were satisfied.
After bringing Gu Chen over, Aunt Gu took out two red boxes from her bag and gave one of them directly to Xia Ran.
"Auntie, what is this...?" Xia Ran looked at the red box in front of her in shock.
Aunt Gu said with a smile, "This is a gift for you, take it."
After listening to Aunt Gu's words, Xia Ran did not immediately accept the gift, but instead looked up at Gu Zheng, clearly seeking his opinion.
Gu Zheng's expression remained unchanged; he simply nodded, indicating that Xia Ran could accept it.
Meanwhile, Qin Hao, who was standing to the side, had already started shouting.
"Hey Xia Ran, why are you looking at my brother? This is a gift from my mom. Hurry up and take it to see what it is."
He looked eager to try it out, wishing he could take the gift for Xia Ran instead.
But he also knew his mother's temper; if he dared to take it, she might beat him to death! So he could only tell Xia Ran to take it quickly.
With Gu Zheng's permission, Xia Ran thanked him and accepted the gift with both hands.
Urged by Qin Hao, Xia Ran opened the box with great anticipation.
When Xia Ran saw what was inside the box, she was filled with astonishment.
Qin Hao's eyes widened immediately, and he started yelling.
"Wow, Mom and Dad, you're so unfair! You gave Xia Ran such a nice jade ring! I don't even have one!"
Of course, Qin Hao was just saying this; in reality, he was very happy for Xia Ran.
Hearing Qin Hao's voice, Xia Ran snapped out of his daze. He glanced at Gu Zheng, then at Aunt Gu, before speaking.
"Auntie, is this gift... too expensive?"
When Gu Zheng saw the jade ring, his eyes flickered slightly.
The jade in this jade ring looks very familiar.
Aunt Gu's next words completely confirmed Gu Zheng's thoughts.
Aunt Gu: "What's so valuable about this? Actually, it originally belonged to you. These two jade rings were made from the jade bracelets that have been passed down in the family. That's right, I just went out and had them made."
"Since it's inconvenient for you to wear a jade bracelet since you're a man, I just went out and had it made into four rings."
“There are two of these bracelets. One belongs to my sister-in-law, who is also Gu Zheng’s mother, and the other is mine. They were both given to me by my mother, who is also your grandmother. After my sister-in-law passed away, she has been kept here. I was thinking that when Gu Zheng gets married, I would give the one that belonged to my sister-in-law to Gu Zheng’s wife.”
"So now that I have you, of course I have to give you this family heirloom bracelet. But for convenience, I made it into two rings, one for you and one for A-Zheng."
Aunt Gu told the whole story in one breath, and after she finished, she felt a real sense of relief.
They were extremely worried because Gu Zheng hadn't gotten married before. Gu's aunt was even afraid that the bracelet would just stay on her wrist forever. Fortunately, Gu Zheng is here now.
"Wow, Mom, does that mean I have one too?" Qin Hao certainly hadn't missed his mother mentioning that she had four boxes, so his hand naturally reached for the other box.
But before his hand could even touch the box, his mother slapped it back.
"You do have one, but I can't give it to you now. I'll give it to you when you get married."
Hearing his mother's words, Qin Hao could only silently withdraw his hand.
Waiting for him to get married? He wants to get married too!
But he didn't know why, even though he had a good figure, good looks, and a good family background, he had never had any luck with women since he was a child!
Chapter 67 Wanting to Date and Get Married
As a lifelong single, no one wants to be in a relationship more than him!
Xia Ran also realized what was happening. He looked at the ring on his hand, but his eyes couldn't help but feel a little hot.
The ring was the kind that fit perfectly on the wrist; it was very simple, but in Xia Ran's eyes at that moment, it was more beautiful and precious than anything else.
Because this means that he has been accepted by Aunt Gu and the others.
Thinking about how she had been accepted not only by Gu Zheng but also by his family in the past two days, Xia Ran felt a bittersweet feeling.
"Alright, stop looking, hurry up and put it on and see if it fits," Aunt Gu said with a smile.
Xia Ran nodded, took the two rings directly, and looked at Gu Zheng with a slightly flushed face, whispering,
"Ah Zheng, do you...do you want to wear it now or save it for later?"
Gu Zheng originally wanted to say he didn't want to wear it, but Aunt Gu seemed to have read his mind and spoke up directly.
"Of course you should wear them now. I brought them all back for you. What would it look like if you didn't wear them? Hurry up, put them on and let me see."
As Aunt Gu spoke, she glanced at Gu Zheng, and the meaning in her eyes made Gu Zheng pause for a moment, but he still reached out and took it.
Xia Ran didn't notice the exchange of glances between the two at all. Now that he saw Gu Zheng reach out, he immediately handed over Gu Zheng's ring before picking up his own.
Gu Zheng's is slightly larger.
It fit Gu Zheng perfectly when he put it on. To be honest, young people like them rarely wear jade, let alone jade rings.
However, when Gu Zheng put it on, it didn't look out of place or ugly at all; on the contrary, it gave people a very noble feeling.
Xia Ran also put it on, and because of his fair skin, it looked good on him too.
Xia Ran liked it very much. He looked up at Gu Zheng and found that Gu Zheng was also looking down at the ring. He assumed that Gu Zheng was also looking at it because he liked it.
Xia Ran felt a sweet warmth in her heart.
"Thank you, Aunt Gu." Xia Ran looked at Aunt Gu, her eyes filled with undisguised joy and happiness.
Seeing Xia Ran like this, Aunt Gu felt even more guilty. Of course, she still maintained a nonchalant expression and said with a smile,
"What's there to thank me for? It was yours to begin with."
Xia Ran smiled slightly, then showed her hand to Gu Zheng, her eyes full of anticipation as she asked,
"Zheng, is it good?"
Before, Xia Ran really wouldn't have dared to ask, but now it's different, because Gu Zheng has personally said he accepts her, so Xia Ran's courage has naturally grown.
Gu Zheng snapped out of his daze, glanced at Xia Ran's hand, and then nodded slightly.
"nice."
It was a very brief and calm tone, but for Xia Ran, that was more than enough.