"Because...because I'm hungry..." Gu Chen said with red eyes, "Uncle and Dad haven't come back yet, I'm so hungry, I originally wanted to go find Dad."
“I remember the road, but… then they took me away.”
When the topic of being taken away came up, Gu Chen's face turned pale for a moment, clearly still feeling a lingering fear.
Xia Ran felt even more distressed upon hearing this, never expecting that the child had come to find him.
"Let's just let this matter go, but Xiao Chen, what your little dad is about to say is very serious and important. You must remember it well, okay? Otherwise, you really won't be able to see your little dad again."
Xia Ran didn't want to scare the child like that, but he knew that if he didn't say it that way, the child might not learn his lesson and something similar, or even more serious, might happen in the future.
If something happens to the child again, will they be so lucky to find him again?
"From now on, you must keep your promises to others, and never go out alone. You must wait for your family to come back. Even if you want to see your stepfather, you can't, understand?"
Gu Chen knew that what happened to him yesterday was also frightening, so after hearing Xia Ran's words, he immediately nodded vigorously.
"Yes, Daddy, Chenchen knows he was wrong and will never do it again."
"Good boy." Xia Ran patted Gu Chen's head, and a smile returned to her face.
"Okay, now that we're not sleepy anymore, let's get up and have breakfast, okay?"
Gu Chen nodded vigorously again, "Yes! Okay!"
Xia Ran took the child to wash up, and during this time Gu Chen kept looking at Xia Ran with a hint of something in his eyes.
Xia Ran had been waiting for the child to speak first, but to her surprise, the child still didn't say anything even after they had finished washing up in the bathroom.
Xia Ran smiled helplessly, bounced the child in his arms, and said,
"What's wrong? Is there something you want to tell your stepfather?"
Under Xia Ran's concerned gaze, Gu Chen hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Little Daddy, where is my...Big Daddy? Is he...is he angry with me too?"
Although he really wanted to be with his stepfather, he was also worried about his stepfather.
Xia Ran was taken aback for a moment before speaking.
"Your great-uncle is fine, he won't be angry with you. If you want to go back, your uncle will come and take you back later."
"No!" Gu Chen's tone suddenly changed. "I don't want to go back. I want to stay with you, Daddy."
Xia Ran originally wanted to say that was your home, but in the end she didn't say anything.
The child was so frightened yesterday; if we say anything now, it might scare the child even more.
"Shall we go eat first?" No matter what, Xia Ran didn't give the child an answer, mainly because he had no answer to give the child.
When they arrived in the living room, the old man was already waiting there.
When Grandpa Xia saw Xia Ran carrying the child out, his expression froze, and he immediately straightened up, speaking in a rather unpleasant tone.
"There's food in the kitchen."
Chapter 226 Decision
When the child saw Grandpa Xia like this, he couldn't help but feel scared and uneasy, and could only cautiously call out "Great-Grandpa".
The old man snorted, "I'm not your great-grandfather."
Although the sound was soft, both the child and Xia Ran heard it.
The child's eyes welled up with tears, and Xia Ran said with a helpless expression.
"Grandpa, what are you doing?"
"What can I do? What can I do!" Grandpa Xia glared at Xia Ran, then went out.
Xia Ran: "Grandpa, where are you going?"
"Buy groceries!" Grandpa Xia replied irritably. "You eat yours, don't worry about me!"
After Grandpa Xia left, Gu Chen looked at Xia Ran with a hint of something in his eyes.
Xia Ran placed the person on the sofa and said softly,
"Don't be afraid, Xiao Chen. Your great-grandfather isn't angry with you. He's just in a bad mood. Look, he went out to buy you something delicious."
"Really...really?" Gu Chen asked hesitantly.
Xia Ran nodded: "Of course it's true, don't you believe your stepfather?"
He understood the old man's feelings. He liked the child, but he was also constrained by his relationship with Gu Zheng. It was a contradiction.
With Xia Ran's assurance, Gu Chen's face lit up with a smile again.
Grandpa Xia, who had already gone out, turned cold instantly when he saw the car parked at the door.
Gu Zheng had dozed off in the car in the early hours of the morning, and now he got out of the car to get some fresh air. When he saw Grandpa Xia, he ran over to him.
"Grandpa, I..."
"Stop." Grandpa Xia interrupted Gu Zheng directly. "I'm not your grandpa. Don't try to claim kinship with me here. Let me tell you, you'd better leave here quickly. Parking is not allowed in front of my house."
Gu Zheng's words were thus cut off by the old man.
"Grandpa, I know I was wrong. Can you give me another chance?"
Gu Zheng was not swayed by the old man's words, but quickly apologized.
At this point, saving face is no longer the priority; the most important thing is to get the old man to forgive him.
"No!" The old man's face was very cold. "You are not qualified, nor are you worthy. Let me tell you, you had better take your little thing away from home as soon as possible, otherwise it will be difficult for me to arrange blind dates for Xia Ran in the future, lest others misunderstand."
Grandpa Xia didn't give Gu Zheng a chance to speak again and walked away quickly, leaving Gu Zheng standing there.
Watching Grandpa Xia's departing figure, Gu Zheng couldn't help but sigh. He couldn't understand why the old man, who was usually so kind, had become like this.
However, he felt relieved after thinking about what he had done to Xia Ran.
If he were the old man, he would probably be even angrier than the old man.
But what was this about the blind date the old man mentioned? Gu Zheng's heart tightened. He had thought that Yu Chao was already a match, but now it seemed that the old man wanted to find Xia Ran a few more.
Gu Zheng ruffled his hair with a hint of reaction, then looked at Xia Ran's house. Would Xia Ran be angry if he knocked on the door at this moment?
And Xia Ran went to bed so late last night, will she be up now?
Just as Gu Zheng was pacing around Xia Ran's house, Qin Hao arrived.
Upon seeing Gu Zheng, a look of confusion quickly appeared on his face. He walked over and asked,
"Brother, what are you doing pacing around the door? You didn't know I was coming, so you're waiting for me here? Please don't do that, I can't accept such a big gift."
Qin Hao spoke with a smile, but Gu Zheng's expression turned even colder when he saw Qin Hao's smiling face.
"I didn't stay inside at all yesterday, I just spent the night in the car?"
"Huh?" Qin Hao was stunned. "You didn't seize such a good opportunity yesterday?"
When the two parted ways at the police station, Qin Hao spoke to Gu Zheng for a long time, urging him to take advantage of yesterday's events to have a good talk with Xia Ran, hoping that Xia Ran might forgive him.
But judging from Gu Zheng's current expression, it seems he hasn't succeeded.
Qin Hao was fine until he mentioned this, because the mention of it made him think of Xia Ran's conversation with him last night, which made his expression darken even more.
Even if Qin Hao was stupid, he could see that something was wrong with Gu Zheng, so he could only keep his mouth shut.
Gu Zheng: "We did talk yesterday, but it was about not seeing each other anymore and not liking me anymore."
"Before, I thought he was just putting on a brave face and that it was impossible for him not to like me. But last night I realized that he might really not like me anymore."
Gu Zheng felt a sudden, sharp pain in his chest, and he instinctively placed his hand on his heart.
Only after divorcing Xia Ran did he realize what heartache truly felt like.
Qin Hao instinctively supported Gu Zheng and said,
"Brother, are you alright? Your body is still recovering, and you could easily get into trouble like this. I've brought your medicine; take some first."
Qin Hao took a bottle of medicine out of his pants pocket and gave it to Gu Zheng, then went to the car to get a bottle of mineral water.
Gu Zheng swallowed the medicine without expression.
Qin Hao: "When Nanfeng came just now, I thought you had already won over Xia Ran, so I didn't bring you breakfast. Now that you've taken your medicine, you need to eat some breakfast."
Gu Zheng: "Go buy me some."
Helpless, Qin Hao could only go buy breakfast for people, but on his way back, he ran into He Xiu.
Then Gu Zheng and Qin Hao watched as He Xiu knocked on the door, and Da Zhuang came out to open it and let the person in.
When Dazhuang saw Gu Zheng and Qin Hao at the door, he snorted coldly and slammed the door shut.
Qin Hao couldn't help but sigh, glanced at Gu Zheng who was eating breakfast, and said,
"Brother, what should we do now? I'm afraid I can't stay here any longer. There's a lot going on at the company, and my dad's health can't handle it."
"You go back first," Gu Zheng said without looking up.
Qin Hao moved his lips slightly, and finally nodded.
"Okay, that's what my mom and the others think too. They said you should make sure Xia Ran is appeased before going back. I'll go back and keep an eye on things at the company first."
Although the thought of going to work made Qin Hao's scalp tingle, he knew it was the only option left.
If he doesn't go back soon, his father's health won't be able to hold up.
Gu Zheng gave a soft hum, but his mind involuntarily drifted back to what Xia Ran had said yesterday.
Since Xia Ran said she no longer liked him, he would stay here and make her like him again, and then they could start over.
"If there are any problems that can't be solved, I'll send them over via computer. I plan to buy a house here so I can spend more time with Xia Ran."
Chapter 227 The So-Called Pretending to Be Deeply Affectionate
"Okay." Qin Hao nodded. "Since you've made up your mind, I won't ask any more questions. I'll leave tonight. You still need to rest more."
Gu Zheng nodded. "Before you go back, help me buy the house next door to Xia Ran's family."
"Hmm?" Qin Hao hummed in confusion. "You mean the house next door? Grandpa Xia and the others said that the whole family moved abroad. I wonder if we can find them."