Just as Xia Ran was about to go find Gu En, Gu Chen tightly hugged Xia Ran's leg.
"Hmm?" Xia Ran looked down at Gu Chen in confusion, but when he saw the grievance in Gu Chen's eyes, he seemed to understand immediately.
"Little Chen, be good. Daddy has other things to do, but he'll be back soon, okay? You stay here with Grandpa, okay?"
"Little Daddy knows that Xiao Chen is a great kid and will definitely be able to complete the task that Little Daddy gave you, right?"
Xia Ran bent down and touched the child's head. Gu Chen's eyes showed some struggle, but in the end he slowly released Xia Ran's leg.
"Little De home soon."
"Okay, Daddy will be there soon. Trust Daddy, okay?"
It's just a short talk, it won't take long.
But what Xia Ran didn't know was that this conversation would lead to...
Gu Chen watched Xia Ran leave with longing eyes, his disappointed expression impossible to hide.
My husband seems really busy these past few days. Even when he's not busy, he's always spacing out. He hasn't had time to watch cartoons or do puzzles with me.
Xia Ran had no idea that the little guy had sensed his unusual behavior over the past two days. Now he was standing in front of Gu En's door, but he hesitated, unsure whether to push it open.
Actually, he came here without telling Uncle Wang. He just told Uncle Wang that he had something to do and needed to go back to his room to make a phone call to someone.
He didn't know why he was hiding it from Uncle Wang, but it seemed like he did it subconsciously.
He always felt that Gu En was different, and he was also afraid that Uncle Wang would worry.
Standing at the door, Xia Ran took a deep breath and then raised her hand to knock on the door.
Gu En seemed to be waiting for him in the room. As soon as he knocked on the door, he immediately said, "Come in."
Xia Ran pushed the door open and went in. Gu En was sitting on the bed looking in the direction of the door.
Xia Ran wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Gu En's gaze was a little strange, as if he was mocking and ridiculing him.
“I thought you were too scared to come over,” Gu En suddenly said.
Xia Ran frowned. "Why wouldn't I dare to come over?"
As if she had thought of something, Xia Ran changed her tone again.
Regardless of the circumstances, this person is still A-Zheng's younger brother, even if they are half-brothers.
So even if he disliked Gu En, he had to put up with it.
"Heh..." Gu En chuckled lightly, "In that case, come and sit down."
Xia Ran sat down directly, but he didn't sit on the bed; instead, he sat on a stool.
"Speak, what do you want to talk to me about?" Gu En asked directly and bluntly.
Xia Ran: "I want to know why you told A-Zheng that I deliberately made you fall? Do you dislike me very much?"
"You're only just realizing this? I thought I'd been making it pretty obvious all along."
"What?" Gu En's undisguised words left Xia Ran slightly stunned.
Chapter 151 is just a substitute.
Gu Zheng shook his head and chuckled as he looked at Xia Ran's stunned expression.
"I thought you were always smart, but I didn't expect you to be so stupid. It's true, I did deliberately tell Zheng-ge that you deliberately pushed me down."
"So, what's the reason? I want to know the reason?" Xia Ran asked calmly.
This is the question he most wanted to ask when he came here.
"The reason is simple: I'm jealous. I don't want to see you and Zheng Ge so close. Zheng Ge can only be one person, and I don't want to see what belongs to me being taken by someone else."
Although he had already guessed that Gu En had this reason, he was still somewhat shocked and found it hard to accept when he actually heard it.
"But...you are brothers, and we are a married couple. These two things don't conflict, do they?"
"Who said we're brothers?" Gu En looked at Xia Ran as if she were an idiot. "You don't actually believe what Zheng Ge said about me being his brother, do you?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Ran felt a sudden sense of unease.
He suddenly remembered what Aunt Gu had said about the two not being biological brothers.
"But even if they are half-brothers, they are still brothers. If you and A-Zheng are not brothers, then what kind of relationship do you have?"
"Half-brothers?" Gu En was somewhat surprised. "Who told you we were half-brothers?"
“My aunt said it,” Xia Ran blurted out subconsciously. “Well, it’s not exactly what my aunt said, but she didn’t deny it after I said it.”
"Heh..." Upon hearing this, Gu En chuckled, her tone quite pleasant. "I originally thought that Auntie was more or less on your side, but now it seems that Auntie still loves us more."
"What does that mean?" Xia Ran felt increasingly uneasy. He felt that he understood every word Gu En said and every sentence he said, but he just couldn't quite understand the meaning behind it.
"What do you mean? You don't actually believe what your aunt said, do you? Well, your aunt didn't mean it. She was just trying to help me and Zheng-ge. Don't blame her."
Gu En said with a touched expression, "Since Aunt Gu likes Xia Ran so much, then I will help Aunt Gu retain her image in Xia Ran's heart."
Xia Ran still looked confused. "What do you mean by 'Auntie is doing this for your own good'?"
"Tsk..." Gu En felt incredibly pleased to see Xia Ran like this. The more confused and clueless she was, the more painful the fall would be.
"Or to put it another way, haven't you noticed that we look quite alike?"
Hearing Gu En's words, Xia Ran's heart skipped a beat, and a bad premonition rushed into her heart.
"What...what does this have to do with you deliberately telling Ah Zheng that I made you fall down the stairs?"
He noticed the resemblance between the two, but he hadn't had a chance to tell Ah Zheng yet.
And isn't it normal for people to look alike?
"Let me tell you a story." Gu En particularly enjoyed the expression on Xia Ran's face after she understood everything.
Will she cry, break down, or become extremely angry?
Xia Ran nodded, signaling Gu En to continue.
Gu En slowly began to speak.
"Once upon a time, there was a child who lost his parents in an accident and was taken in by a rich man's son. The rich man was cold to everyone, but he was very kind to that child and spoiled him in everything."
"They are brothers on the surface, but in reality, their relationship has changed. Their families see through it but don't say anything, so they accept their relationship."
"As the child grew up, the wealthy young master doted on him even more. They had already reached a tacit understanding that they wanted to be together forever. But then an accident happened..."
Upon hearing this, Xia Ran's face turned pale, and his eyes became unfocused, as if he were thinking about something.
Gu En was quite satisfied with Xia Ran's dumbfounded appearance.
"After that accident, the child disappeared. During that time, the rich young master was in great pain, even living a life worse than death. Later, the young master met someone who looked a lot like the missing child."
"When he saw that person, it was as if his heart came back to life, so he specifically sought out that person, married that person, started a family, and treated that person as a substitute for that child..."
At this point, Gu En paused to observe Xia Ran's expression.
Xia Ran's face was ashen, and there wasn't a trace of color in her lips.
He was fairly satisfied with Xia Ran's reaction.
However, this was not the result he wanted most. He wanted to make Xia Ran fall completely from heaven to hell, and make it impossible for Xia Ran and Gu En to ever have a chance again.
"Later, the boy came back. When he saw that the rich young master had married someone who looked a lot like him, he was both happy and sad. In the end, he left after only wanting to take one last look at the rich young master."
"But unexpectedly, the young master found out about him. The young master wouldn't let him leave, saying that this was his home. But the child didn't want to stay because he felt that the young master had already married someone else, and there was no point in him staying here. He might even cause the young master's family to break up. But do you know what the young master said?"
As Gu En was talking, he suddenly threw the question back at Xia Ran.
Xia Ran gritted his teeth and stared intently at Gu En, his mind in turmoil. He couldn't believe Gu En's story; it was all too familiar.
"What...what exactly are you trying to say?" Xia Ran didn't notice that his voice was trembling as he spoke.
Gu En curled the corners of her lips smugly. "What do I want to say? Of course, I want to tell this story completely. After all, a story without an ending isn't a good story. I just don't know if you want to continue listening."
"However, even if you don't want to hear this story, you'll find out eventually, so I might as well tell you in advance, so you won't be kept in the dark forever. Otherwise, I'll be guilty of a terrible sin."
"Later, just when the child was about to leave, saying he didn't want to break up the young master's family, the young master refused to let him go, saying that he only married that person because the child looked like him, and that he had no feelings for her whatsoever."
"Not only that, in order to keep the child, that young master took the child back to their old home and conspired with everyone in the family to keep it a secret from that person. That person thought that everyone in the family liked him, but it was all a lie. That person was just a substitute for that rich young master!"
"Oh, right, that young master also told that child he wanted to divorce that person. After all, he was just a substitute. He just needs some compensation, since he was just a substitute..."
Chapter 152 Abyss or Redemption?
"Enough! Stop talking!" Because she was so scared, Xia Ran kept biting her lower lip so hard that it bled.
He looked at Gu En with a look of horror and disbelief, and stood up abruptly.
"So you mean I'm your substitute?"
Gu En smiled smugly and said,
"It seems you're not hopelessly stupid after all; you can still understand this story."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Xia Ran roared, her eyes red. "A-Zheng isn't that kind of person! Absolutely not! You're lying about all of this! A story is just a story!"
Xia Ran looked at Gu En with red eyes, and it was unclear whether what she had just said was a rebuttal to Gu En or a speech to herself.
Gu En admired Xia Ran's current disheveled state, not showing any anger even after being yelled at.
On the contrary, they felt that Xia Ran's actions proved that she was afraid.
Gu En: "Impossible? Xia Ran, are you still trying to fool yourself now? Tsk tsk tsk... I wonder if your grandfather will be so angry that he'll vomit blood if he sees you being this stupid."
"Gu En!" Xia Ran suddenly called out to Gu En, a pleading look in her eyes, "What you said just now was all a joke, right? You just don't want me to marry you, right?"
"You...you just don't like me, right? What you just said...was just a story, wasn't it?"
Seeing Xia Ran's expression, Gu En's smugness grew even stronger.
"Xia Ran, how can you be so shameless? I've made it so clear, why don't you believe me? You're right, you're just a substitute that Gu Zheng found? You can't possibly think that you and I look alike is just a coincidence, right? Don't be naive, Xia Ran, Gu Zheng doesn't love you."
Xia Ran's hopes were completely shattered after hearing Gu En's words.
He recalled the difference in Gu Zheng's attitude towards him since Gu En returned. He looked at Gu En's face and then reached out to touch his own face.
He thought of Uncle Wang and Aunt Gu, who had never doubted that he and Gu En looked alike.