"No need, no need. Since it's inconvenient, we won't go in. Don't bother buying dinner tonight either; I'll bring it over. Home-cooked meals are cleaner. Let the young master stay inside. I'll head back now."
Uncle Wang didn't press the matter further and turned to leave.
Seeing this, Dazhuang closed the door immediately, but as he closed it, he glanced outside and immediately saw the table where Gu Zheng was eating.
His eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.
Holy crap! Is this what they call the power of money? They're even working in a hospital?
Chapter 287 Rumors and Gossip
Da Zhuang glanced at it briefly and quickly closed the door to prevent Gu Zheng from noticing later.
Hearing the door slam shut, Xia Ran immediately looked at Da Zhuang and asked,
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"It's nothing," Da Zhuang shook his head. "We'll talk about it later."
The old man is fine now, but what if he gets anxious again when he hears about Gu Zheng?
Xia Ran nodded, and roughly understood what Da Zhuang meant by "it's okay".
Grandpa Xia is still recovering. Xia Ran originally wanted the old man to continue sleeping, but unexpectedly, the old man started asking him questions as soon as he regained a little strength.
"Xiao Ran, did you see anything when I fell?"
"What is it?" Xia Ran asked, puzzled, then a hint of guilt crossed her face. "I wasn't home when you fell. Da Zhuang took you to the hospital."
"After that, I stayed with you at the hospital the whole time and didn't go back. I don't know if there was anything there. Grandpa, what was that thing? Was it important?"
Grandpa Xia breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Xia Ran hadn't seen anything.
As long as Xia Ran didn't see it, it's fine. It's all that old man's fault for looking at it for no reason. He should have thrown that thing away a long time ago.
At the time, he was also afraid that Xia Ran would find the things inside when she packed her things.
Given Xia Ran's personality, she wouldn't be able to accept seeing what's inside.
"It's nothing, just something about the past. Don't worry about it, I'll have Dazhuang bring it to me later."
Xia Ran nodded and agreed.
He didn't think much about what Grandpa Xia meant; he just assumed that the contents contained things related to Grandpa Xia's past relationship.
He never imagined that it was about him.
"Dazhuang, did you see that thing?" Xia Ran asked Dazhuang.
Dazhuang nodded. "Is it a small mahogany box, and it's locked?"
Xia Ran didn't know exactly what it was like, so she looked at Grandpa Xia.
Grandpa Xia nodded, "Yes, that's the one. Remember to bring it to me later."
Dazhuang: "I understand, Grandpa. I'll bring it to you when I get back tomorrow."
Grandpa Xia finally relaxed a little and closed his eyes to rest.
Grandpa Xia is still recovering and is very tired. He was just holding on because he was worried that Xia Ran would see what was in the box.
After Grandpa Xia fell asleep, Xia Ran let the child take a nap on the cot next to him, and soon only he and Dazhuang were left in the ward.
"What did you see at the door just now? Why do you look so surprised?"
"I saw Gu Zheng," Da Zhuang said, looking constipated.
Xia Ran looked puzzled. "Gu Zheng? Wasn't he always out?"
It was just Gu Zheng who surprised Da Zhuang so much.
Da Zhuang pursed his lips, "Because I saw him take a table outside, with a computer and food on it, like he's going to settle down here."
Hearing this, Xia Ran frowned.
"Did he really do that?"
"Of course, why would I lie to you? What do you think now? He can't keep bothering you, can he? Didn't you say you had already agreed that he would leave with the child? But looking at him now, he doesn't seem like he's going to leave."
Xia Ran: "I don't know what's going on. They clearly said it before and promised me, but I don't know why they went back on their word. Also, the child seems to be becoming more and more clingy to me."
Xia Ran was also very troubled and confused. She had agreed to it just a few days ago, but now she had suddenly gone back on her word.
Dazhuang patted Xia Ran on the shoulder.
"Let's take it slow. Right now, the most important thing is Grandpa's health. We can talk about the rest later."
Xia Ran nodded, "That's the only way."
Gu Zheng, who was outside the door, had no idea what Xia Ran and the others were thinking. He ate a couple of bites of food and then started working on his computer.
There were too many things to deal with. Although Qin Hao had been handling them at the company, his methods were not as good as Gu Zheng's, so a lot of problems had accumulated.
The hospital had already arranged a room for them, the same room where he and Xia Ran slept yesterday. He could have worked there, but he was afraid Xia Ran would leave, so he had to stay here and keep watch.
He had just finished dealing with two things when Qin Hao's call came in urgently.
"What is it?" Gu Zheng asked in a cold voice.
Qin Hao: "Brother, this is terrible! You need to go online and check it out. There are rumors about you and Xia Ran everywhere. They say you're keeping Xia Ran as a mistress, and there are a lot of negative news stories about Xia Ran. They all say that Xia Ran used her cunning to get close to you."
"There's also footage of Xia Ran at the company. Anyway, there's bad news about Xia Ran everywhere online. You should take a look, damn it!"
Qin Hao became increasingly agitated as he spoke, which gives you an idea of just how outrageous the news online was.
Gu Zheng's expression turned completely cold after hearing Qin Hao's words on the phone. He hung up without saying anything.
Qin Hao on the other side: "..."
He kindly offered his advice to Gu Zheng, and this is how he gets treated? Doesn't he have any pride?
However, at this moment, he did not want to question Gu Zheng. He could only ask someone to help find out who had leaked the information and to suppress the matter.
A short while later, Qin Hao's phone rang again; it was Lin Yi calling.
It seems like they haven't seen each other for two days now, but he can't keep his promise to Lin Yi right now.
"Hey, President Lin, I'm busy right now and can't keep my promise to you. I'll come to your house to be your housekeeper after I finish what I'm doing."
Before Lin Yi could speak, Qin Hao finished speaking.
Lin Yi, on the other end of the phone, raised an eyebrow and said,
"When did I say you had to come and fulfill your promise?"
"Huh? If it's not about me fulfilling a promise, then why are you calling?"
"I just saw some interesting things online, and I don't know if I need your help. But I do have a pretty good idea."
"Hmm?" Qin Hao's expression changed instantly. "You have a way? What way do you have? Tell me."
Lin Yi: "Actually, it's very simple. Just let Gu Zheng take this opportunity to make his relationship with Xia Ran public and say that he and Xia Ran are married."
"This will not only quell the gossip, but also give Gu Zheng more opportunities to interact with Xia Ran. You can talk to Gu Zheng about this, and he'll probably know what to do."
"This method is indeed excellent!" Qin Hao's eyes lit up, but a moment later a hint of wariness returned to his face.
"But why are you helping us like this? You don't have some kind of premeditated plan, do you?"
Chapter 288 The Possibility of Reconciliation
Qin Hao will be wary of this, since they are not that familiar with Lin Yi yet.
Lin Yi, sitting opposite him, gave a seemingly helpless chuckle and said,
"I was just giving you advice as a friend. What harm would it do me to help you? Besides, I owe Gu Zheng a favor before, so this is me repaying that favor to him."
After thinking about it carefully, Qin Hao realized that this was indeed the case.
Lin Yi has no grudge against them, so he shouldn't harm them.
"Okay, I'll thank you on behalf of my brother. I'll tell him what to do now, I'll hang up now."
He hung up the phone without waiting for Lin Yi's reply, just like Gu Zheng had hung up on him earlier.
He had thought Gu Zheng was wrong just now, but now he didn't think he was wrong at all.
Looking at the phone that had been hung up, Lin Yi sighed silently.
He did say he owed Gu Zheng a favor, but there was an even more important reason.
If Gu Zheng doesn't resolve his issues with Xia Ran, Qin Hao will never have time for anything.
How can he come to his house to fulfill his promise if Qin Hao is too busy? And how can he cultivate a relationship with Qin Hao if he doesn't come to fulfill his promise?
Therefore, by helping Gu Zheng, he was also helping himself.
What he couldn't understand was why Gu Zheng, who was so decisive and efficient at work, was so clueless when it came to love. So much time had passed, and he still hadn't won her over.
Gu Zheng was looking at the rumors on his computer, his face growing increasingly gloomy.
This person came prepared for him; otherwise, given the timeline Qin Hao knew, he would have been suppressed long ago.
These people actually revealed Xia Ran's face and the child's face.
It seems he's been too lenient lately because of his search for Xia Ran.
Some people need to be disciplined.
It was at this moment that Qin Hao called.
Gu Zheng frowned and answered the call.
"Brother, I have an idea!" Qin Hao's voice was filled with excitement.
"This method can not only suppress the gossip, but also give you and Xia Ran more opportunities to spend time together, and you might even get back together."
"Tell me about it." Gu Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly.
Qin Hao directly told Lin Yi the method he had mentioned.
"But brother, do you still have your marriage certificate with Xia Ran? You need a marriage certificate to prove it's real."
“It’s still there.” Gu Zheng smiled slightly, clearly approving of Qin Hao’s method.