"Oh right, Yu Chao also came by briefly, but he seemed to have some urgent business to attend to. He said something had come up at his company, so he left first. He also said to send him a message when you wake up."
Xia Ran nodded, "Okay, I'll send it to him in a bit."
As soon as Xia Ran stepped out of the ward, she saw Gu Zheng standing outside.
Xia Ran wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but Gu Zheng seemed to have aged considerably.
But this thought was fleeting and was quickly dismissed by Xia Ran herself.
"Ranran." Gu Zheng, who was outside the door, immediately went to Xia Ran when he saw her. "How are you? Are you dizzy? Are you tired? Do you still have a fever?"
Gu Zheng's barrage of questions made Xia Ran purse her lips and answer expressionlessly.
"I'm much better now. Thank you for bringing me to the hospital. Dazhuang, Grandpa, did you bring any cash? Please give them some money for the ride and as a token of your appreciation."
After Xia Ran finished speaking, she walked forward. Gu Zheng subconsciously wanted to follow, but was stopped by Da Zhuang.
"That's enough. Xia Ran has just recovered from his illness, so don't go up there and upset him."
Dazhuang had cash with him, so he simply took out two red banknotes and gave them to Gu Zheng.
Of course, he didn't care whether Gu Zheng wanted it or not; since Xia Ran had said so, he would just do as she said.
Dazhuang left with Grandpa Xia. Although they were somewhat grateful to Gu Zheng for bringing Xia Ran and the others to the hospital.
However, this gratitude vanished without a trace after she thought about what Gu Zheng had done to Xia Ran.
"Big Dad, don't be sad. I will help you take good care of Little Dad and make sure he's not alone with anyone, especially Uncle Yu Chao."
Gu Chen hugged Gu Zheng's leg, offering him words of comfort with pleading eyes.
Gu Zheng patted Gu Chen's head and whispered,
"Go find your stepfather. Remember to be good, don't make him angry or sad, and remember to make him drink more water, okay?"
"Understood." Gu Chen nodded and quickly ran towards Xia Ran and the others.
"Little Daddy, Great-Grandpa, wait for me."
Xia Ran and the others hadn't gone far to begin with, so they stopped and waited for the child when they heard his voice.
Gu Zheng held the two hundred yuan that Da Zhuang had given him and watched Xia Ran and the others leave.
He really wanted to go back with Xia Ran, but Da Zhuang's words just now made him stop in his tracks.
Indeed, Xia Ran has only just recovered. If he were to follow her, it might make her even angrier, and if she gets too angry, her health would suffer even more.
When Xia Ran got home, she took her medicine and took a nap, which lasted until evening. When she woke up, she saw Yu Chao coming over.
"Senior, what brings you here?"
Yu Chao: "I didn't have time to come during the day, so I came to check on you tonight. How are you? Are you feeling alright?"
Xia Ran smiled and was about to sit next to Yu Chao, since Yu Chao was sitting on a long sofa with plenty of seats around him. But before he could sit down, a little boy quickly sat down next to him.
And so he and Yu Chao were separated.
Xia Ran smiled when she saw Gu Chen suddenly sit down. Without thinking much about it, she sat down next to the child.
"Thank you for your concern, senior. I'm all better now, so you don't need to worry."
Upon hearing this, Yu Chao turned his gaze away from the child and said,
"How could that be? Our relationship is quite special now, of course I have to come and check on things."
Da Zhuang, who had been playing games silently the whole time, couldn't help but purse his lips when he heard this, but in the end he still didn't say anything.
Xia Ran's expression stiffened for a moment, and she became somewhat embarrassed.
He originally wanted to make things clear with Yu Chao on the phone, but then he forgot, and then he got sick, which delayed things. Now that Yu Chao has taken the initiative to talk to him, he should make things clear as well.
"Um..." Xia Ran hesitated before speaking, "Dazhuang, could you take the child out and buy me some food? I want to eat wontons and chicken porridge."
Upon hearing this, Da Zhuang knew that Xia Ran was trying to get rid of them. As for Gu Chen, he didn't want to leave. After all, he had promised his eldest father that he would keep a close eye on his youngest father. Moreover, there was Yu Chao by his youngest father's side, so he definitely couldn't go.
"Little Daddy, let Uncle Dazhuang go buy it. I'll stay here with you, okay?"
Gu Chen looked at Xia Ran with pleading eyes, but this time Xia Ran was determined to let the child leave, so how could she possibly soften her heart?
"But Chenchen, Daddy is very, very hungry. He only wants to eat what you bought. Can you buy some for Daddy?"
Gu Chen hesitated upon hearing this. He looked at Xia Ran, then at Yu Chao, before making what seemed like a major decision.
"Okay, but Daddy, you have to promise me one thing: you have to sit in the chair next to Uncle Dazhuang, okay?"
Xia Ran hummed in confusion, not understanding for a moment what the child meant.
However, he was also thinking about getting the child to leave as soon as possible, so he nodded in agreement.
"Okay, Daddy will listen to you."
He walked to Dazhuang's stool and received a meaningful look from Dazhuang.
However, the child was relieved to see this and obediently followed Dazhuang out the door.
After the child left, Yu Chao couldn't help but laugh and said,
"This little guy is quite shrewd."
"Hmm?" Xia Ran asked, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"He didn't want me to live with you earlier because he was afraid that you and I would have some kind of relationship. He was thinking about his great-father."
Xia Ran had never thought about this question before, but now that Yu Chao said it, he suddenly understood.
Looking back, it's clear that the child was indeed constantly trying to prevent him from being alone with Yu Chao.
Xia Ran smiled and said,
“My child has been quite lonely since he was little, so it’s inevitable that he feels a little insecure. He’s just very clingy to me.”
"She always liked to stick to me, even following me to the bathroom, so please don't mind."
Chapter 240 There are others who love you too.
Yu Chao smiled, not denying Xia Ran's words. He thought for a while before speaking.
“Senior, you said the other day that the relationship we were pretending to have could get rid of Gu Zheng, but... after thinking about it, I felt that it wasn't a good idea, and I've already made things clear with Gu Zheng that he won't bother me anymore.”
"So, senior, after thinking about it, I've decided not to continue this fake relationship. It's not good for you in the future, so let's not continue this relationship."
After hearing Xia Ran's words, Yu Chao's face froze. He hadn't expected that this relationship, which he had been thinking about for a long time, would disappear after only two days.
"But... I don't care. This doesn't affect me at all, Xiaoran, I..."
Yu Chao wanted to say something more, but Xia Ran interrupted him.
“Senior, you may not care, but I do. I can’t let my own affairs drag you down. I’ve already thought this through, so you don’t need to persuade me anymore. I’ve made my decision.”
Xia Ran looked serious, while Yu Chao had a lot of things to say but couldn't get them out.
"Why?" Yu Chao muttered to himself, his face full of disappointment.
Xia Ran felt that something was off about Yu Chao, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
"Senior, I'm sorry to have troubled you so much. If your company is short-staffed, I can help out for a few days, but I'll be going away for a while and I'm afraid I won't be able to help you for an extended period."
Yu Chao opened his mouth, but ultimately remained silent.
Xia Ran was even more puzzled and continued to ask,
"Senior, are you alright?"
Yu Chao snapped out of his daze and shook his head. "It's nothing. You should get some rest. I'll head back now."
Perhaps he was too heartbroken, for Yu Chao didn't even ask Xia Ran why she was leaving in a while.
Xia Ran saw Yu Chao off at the door and watched him get into the car, feeling a pang of guilt.
With him tormenting Yu Chao back and forth like this, it's no wonder the senior was angry.
But now, besides feeling guilty, he doesn't know what to say.
Having just seen Yu Chao off, he turned around and saw Gu Zheng sitting at the door of the house next door.
Gu Zheng wanted to come up and talk to him when he saw him, but Xia Ran quickly turned away.
Gu Zheng could only sigh helplessly and continue standing at the door. But when he thought of how Xia Ran had seen Yu Chao off earlier, his eyes darkened again.
When Dazhuang returned with the child and didn't see Yu Chao, he raised an eyebrow.
"They left so quickly? Didn't they get a proper chat?"
Xia Ran found Da Zhuang's words a bit strange, but she still answered truthfully.
"We've finished talking, and everything has been explained."
Dazhuang also knew about Xia Ran and Yu Chao's fake relationship.
"He didn't react?" Dazhuang asked.
Xia Ran: "What kind of reaction could there be?"
Seeing Xia Ran's puzzled expression, Da Zhuang clicked his tongue twice and said,
"Xia Ran, Xia Ran, you probably used up all your emotional intelligence on this child's father."
Da Zhuang's words made Xia Ran frown. "Why can't you just say it clearly?"
Dazhuang didn't answer, but he glanced at the child.
With just one glance, Xia Ran understood what it meant.
"How about I help you rank up tonight? I haven't helped you rank up in a long time, and I feel like I owe you something."
"Okay, let's play ranked games tonight then." Da Zhuang nodded in agreement, after all, the child was here.
Gu Chen couldn't understand what the two were saying at all, but he happily went to pour Xia Ran a glass of warm water.
"The water is just right for Daddy, neither too hot nor too cold."
He hadn't forgotten what his eldest uncle had told him to make his younger uncle drink more hot water.
"Thank you, Xiao Chen, that's great!" Xia Ran bent down and patted Gu Chen's head.
In the evening, after putting the child to sleep, Xia Ran went to Da Zhuang's room, and the two of them played online games on their phones.