Xia Ran's expression stiffened upon hearing her aunt's words.
Because Gu Zheng and his group had visited before, and because Grandpa Xia had taken the child out to play and buy groceries last time, showing off the child in various ways, some people knew the child's identity.
Xia Ran steadied herself and, without a care in the world, truthfully replied.
“Auntie, we are divorced, so I have nothing to do with them anymore.”
Xia Ran knew that she couldn't hide the truth about Gu Zheng and the child.
If he were the only one who came back, he could have an excuse to say he came back to see his grandfather, but now that the child and Gu Zheng have come, he... has no choice but to tell them everything.
Upon hearing this, the aunt's expression became somewhat subtle, and she quickly said,
"I'm sorry, Xiaoran, Auntie... Auntie just thought you two were having a fight."
"Well, we aunties had anticipated this outcome. But when your grandfather took the child out to show off, we said that the man was clearly not a simple man. You've been so well-behaved since you were little, so it's definitely not suitable for you, especially since they had a child with them."
"As expected, our conclusion was correct. It's alright, there are plenty of men in the world. If this one isn't good, we can find another one. I'll definitely introduce you to someone suitable in the future. I have something to do, so I'll be going now."
After saying that, the so-called aunt left immediately, having already gotten the gossip she wanted.
Xia Ran stood there, unable to suppress a self-deprecating laugh. It turned out that even the aunt next door could tell at first glance that he and Gu Zheng were from different worlds.
"Tsk... So that's how stupid I was. Oh well, it's all in the past now."
Xia Ran continued walking forward. Perhaps because he had already gotten used to it, he felt nothing at this moment, even though his heart was riddled with wounds.
The place where Yu Chaoyue and Xia Ran stayed was the best hotel in the town. Although their place was called a town, it was almost as big as a second-tier city.
Yu Chao spoke in a hurry on the phone, only asking him to come over as soon as possible.
Xia Ran arrived at the hotel and went to the private room on the eighth floor according to the address Yu Chao gave him.
Yu Chao had been waiting for him at the door. Seeing him approach, he immediately came over, looking at Xia Ran apologetically, and said…
"Xiao Ran, I'm sorry to have made you come all this way, but I really have no other choice. This client is extremely difficult, and our company hasn't found a professional to handle this matter yet. I remember you studied that kind of thing in college."
Yu Chao went on to talk about the matter, and Xia Ran nodded after he finished speaking, as this was indeed an area he was familiar with.
"Don't worry, senior. Now that you say that, I really can do it. I will definitely do my best."
"Okay, thank you. Let's go inside now."
Yu Chao simply pulled Xia Ran inside by the arm. Xia Ran only regarded Yu Chao as a senior, so she didn't think anything of it.
However, this scene took on a different meaning when it was seen by Gu Zheng and his group who were about to enter.
Gu Zheng's face was dark, and he stared intently at the private room where Xia Ran and the others had entered.
If he weren't currently sitting in a wheelchair with He Xiu holding his shoulders, he probably would have rushed forward long ago.
"Little Daddy, Big Daddy, that was Little Daddy just now, wasn't it?"
Gu Chen looked up at Gu Zheng, but Gu Zheng grabbed his hand.
"Xiao Chen, listen to me, you can't go over there yet."
“But…” Gu Chen looked at Gu Zheng with teary eyes, and finally nodded.
“I will be good. Daddy promised me that he would help me coax Daddy. I really miss him. I want him to kiss me, hug me, and call me baby again.”
The child's words made everyone present feel a pang of sadness, and Gu Zheng nodded to the child.
He Xiu watched this scene and clicked his tongue twice.
"Alright, it's no use looking at anything now. Let's go inside. There are some things you should know better."
Gu Zheng didn't say anything, and simply let Qin Hao push him inside.
The phone call he received at Xia Ran's house was from He Xiu. He Xiu told him that he was coming over. Gu Zheng originally wanted to hang up immediately, but He Xiu said something.
"Don't you want to know what Dazhuang and the others mean by saying that Gu Enlai came?"
It was because of this sentence that Gu Zheng decided to pick up He Xiu. He suddenly remembered that Xia Ran had asked He Xiu to help him deliver candy to the children, so maybe He Xiu knew more about Xia Ran than he did.
Just thinking about this made Gu Zheng's face turn pale, but he knew he couldn't get angry; now he could only rely on He Xiu.
The group entered the private room, and the dishes were served quickly. He Xiu remained silent and focused on eating.
Aside from him eating attentively, everyone else seemed somewhat distracted.
In particular, Gu Zheng and his son Gu Chen didn't eat any, while Qin Hao ate some.
He Xiu glanced at Gu Chen, picked up a shrimp dumpling for the child, and said,
"If you don't eat, you won't have any energy. How will you coax your stepfather then? Didn't you promise your stepfather that you would eat properly?"
Gu Chen still had a slight liking for He Xiu, who had brought him candy. He was his stepfather's friend, someone his stepfather trusted, and someone he trusted as well.
So Gu Chen obediently picked up his fork and ate the shrimp dumplings. He took a bite, glanced at Gu Zheng next to him, and then handed the fork to him.
"Big Daddy eats too, and we'll all work together to coax Little Daddy."
Gu Zheng glanced at the child, then lowered his head and finished eating the shrimp dumplings, while also patting the child's head.
The father and son weren't that close before, but now that Xia Ran is gone, their relationship has improved quite a bit.
After Gu Zheng finished eating, he looked at He Xiu and said in a calm tone,
"You've taken him in, and he's eaten with you. Now you can tell me exactly what happened, right?"
Chapter 210 Encounter
Hearing this, He Xiu showed no sign of panic. Instead, he slowly took a sip of soup before speaking.
"Actually, it's quite simple. Gu En came over the day you had your surgery, so it's normal that you didn't know what had happened."
Gu Zheng frowned and remained silent, waiting for He Xiu to finish speaking.
Of course, He Xiu did not disappoint Gu Zheng and immediately told him what had happened.
Of course. He didn't know what was going on at first, but because Dazhuang was there, and he had been coaxing Dazhuang to send him updates on Xia Ran every day to keep in touch, He Xiu found out what was really going on.
After hearing this, Gu Zheng's face turned extremely ugly, but Qin Hao spoke up immediately.
"So! Gu En came here on my brother's orders to deliver the keys to Xia Ran? And he even insulted Xia Ran along the way?"
He Xiu nodded. "Yes, Grandpa Xia only found out about it then. He was so angry that he ended up in the hospital for two days. Of course, I heard from Da Zhuang that Xia Ran hated Gu Zheng even more because of this incident."
After speaking, He Xiu took a leisurely sip of tea, looking at Gu Zheng as if he didn't think anything was wrong at all, and even had a hint of interest in his eyes at the end.
He was genuinely interested in this kind of Gu Zheng.
"I knew it! Gu En wouldn't let this go so easily! I just didn't expect him to do something like this! Damn it! He better not show his face in front of me right now, or I'll definitely beat him to death!"
Qin Hao was furious. He knew Gu En was no good, but he didn't expect him to be this bad.
Gu Zheng's gaze was deep and unfathomable; no one knew what he was thinking.
"Could you go and explain this to me?" Gu Zheng looked at He Xiu. "He's very resistant to me right now, and I don't even have a chance to explain to him."
"Why should I?" He Xiu looked at Gu Zheng with a slight smile. "Our relationship isn't that great, is it? You could even say it's not good at all. Why should I help you?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Hao's face immediately showed a hint of anxiety.
“He Xiu, since you’re already here and have said what you wanted to say, why not do us a favor and help us out? We can’t get close to Xia Ran right now, we can’t even talk to her, let alone explain anything.”
He Xiu did not answer, but a nonchalant smile remained on his face.
"What conditions do you want?" Gu Zheng asked coldly.
He Xiu chuckled softly and said,
"As expected of our longtime nemesis, it's very simple. If you want me to help you, you have to agree to one request. Of course, I haven't figured out what that request is yet."
"But besides that, you also have to admit that you are not as good as me, and you will have to temporarily wear the so-called title of 'perennial second place'."
He Xiu's words made Qin Hao's eyes widen, and he subconsciously asked,
"That's it?"
What kind of strange request is this? Is this all there is to it? Just to get his brother to admit he's always been number two?
He thought it was some important request, but it turned out to be this!
He Xiu: "Otherwise what? You think it's too simple? How about I make a couple more requests?"
"No!" Qin Hao quickly shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I was just a little curious!"
He Xiu snorted coldly. What was there to be curious about? He and Gu Zheng had known each other since childhood, but unfortunately, he had always been overshadowed by Gu Zheng and could never compare to Gu Zheng in anything.
Therefore, he and Gu Zheng were the two people who understood each other the most, but also disliked each other the most.
Gu Zheng did not express any opinion on the conversation between Qin Hao and He Xiu, but simply nodded and responded coldly.
"no problem."
He Xiu was a little surprised by Gu Zheng's answer; it seemed that Gu Zheng treated Xia Ran differently after all.
After all, for someone like Gu Zheng, admitting that he is inferior to others is a very humiliating thing.
Qin Hao wasn't too surprised, after all, he knew how much Gu Zheng liked Xia Ran. Let alone asking Gu Zheng to admit that he was always second best, even if Gu Zheng were to die right now, Gu Zheng would probably be willing to do so.
Sigh... As expected, love makes people lose their minds.
For some reason, thinking about this, a certain person suddenly appeared in Qin Hao's mind.
Thinking of that person, Qin Hao pursed his lips again and quickly pulled his thoughts away.
He's talking about Xia Ran right now, how could he possibly be thinking about anyone else!
After Gu Zheng finished speaking, he became somewhat absent-minded. He turned his wheelchair to the door, opened the door of the private room, and sat down, looking at the private room opposite.
That was the private room Xia Ran and Yu Chao went into. What were they doing there for so long?
Gu Chen looked in the direction Gu Zheng was looking, and then stared longingly in that direction as well.
He Xiu clicked his tongue twice, thinking to himself, "I really didn't expect Gu Zheng to be such a romantic."
However, he has other things to do now and cannot stay here for the time being.
"Alright, call me if anything comes up. I need to go find Dazhuang now. If Xia Ran sees me here later, I won't be able to explain myself. Even if I want to help you, I won't be able to."
Gu Zheng nodded slightly. After He Xiu left, he still sat at the door of the private room, hoping to see Xia Ran as soon as she came out.
Qin Hao had no choice but to sit in the private room.