Gu Zheng was suddenly amused by the child's antics, and couldn't help but pinch the child's cheek, saying,
"So you're planning to use me and then discard me? You want your little daddy but not your big daddy?"
"I...I don't have one either," the child said somewhat guiltily, "but between you and my stepfather, I can only choose my stepfather."
Gu Zheng: "Don't you want both fathers?"
"Of course I want to!" the child nodded vigorously. "But... but now Daddy doesn't like you anymore. I can't have both of you, and I can't be too greedy."
The child kept saying "Daddy doesn't like you anymore," which directly hit Gu Zheng's heart.
This little guy is getting bolder and bolder with him now.
"If you trust me, I can give you both fathers. But you have to promise me you'll keep a close eye on your stepfather, not let anyone with ulterior motives get close to him, and you have to win my favor in front of your stepfather."
Gu Chen looked at Gu Zheng with suspicion, not quite believing his words. After a while, he hesitated and nodded.
"Then you can't bully your dad anymore, or I won't help you."
Gu Chen's face was tense and serious.
This time, Gu Zheng was not angry at all; on the contrary, he felt very happy.
"Okay, I promise you, I won't bully your stepfather anymore. You also need to be careful not to let anyone else get close to your stepfather, okay?"
Gu Chen nodded vigorously, "Once I understand, I will absolutely not let anyone get close to my stepfather."
Holding the child, Gu Zheng thought of the rumors still circulating wildly online, and his mood was better than ever before.
Regardless, this incident is a good thing for him.
"Where's your stepfather? Is he free right now?"
"Yes." Gu Chen nodded. "Big Daddy, you need to help me find a kindergarten quickly, otherwise Little Daddy will be very worried."
"Okay, I'll have someone find it for you right away, and you can start kindergarten next Monday. But Gu Chen, there's something your dad needs to make clear to you."
Chapter 290 Online Discussions
"When you go to kindergarten, you have to do everything by yourself. You need to learn to be independent, learn to make friends, not to lose your temper easily, and to complete the homework assigned by the teacher every day."
“Before, you were too young, so your dad didn’t let you go to school. But now it’s different. You’re older now. You not only need to study, but you also need to master other things, such as foreign languages, piano, chess, painting, etc. You have to learn all of them. Even so, do you still want to go to kindergarten?”
Previously, he hadn't let his child do these things because of the child's special physical condition.
But the moment Gu Chen became Gu Zheng's son, these things had to be done.
He had been learning these things since he was three years old.
Gu Chen glanced at Gu Zheng, then nodded vigorously and said,
"I know, don't worry, Daddy. Little Daddy said that everyone has things to do at every age, so I will do my best to do them. Daddy, let's work together, okay? You try to cheer up Little Daddy as soon as possible, and I will try my best to go to kindergarten so that Little Daddy won't be sad."
At that moment, Gu Zheng felt for the first time that his child was very sensible.
"Okay, I promise you, I will make sure to take good care of your younger father from now on and not let him worry."
"Okay, I'm going to find Little Daddy now. Big Daddy, you have to work hard!"
Gu Chen slid off Gu Zheng's lap and jogged towards the ward.
After the child left, Gu Zheng took out his phone, intending to have his assistant contact the kindergarten.
However, before he could make the call, his assistant called.
"President, we found it. Lin Ziming's information has been sent to your phone, but after reviewing it, the information is too clean."
"Okay, let's find a kindergarten. Gu Chen needs to go next Monday."
"Okay, but President, shouldn't we suppress those messages online? Some people in the company are already starting to get restless."
"No need, I'll let you know what to do later." Gu Zheng said coldly and hung up the phone.
He was even hoping the news online would spread further so he could have a proper talk with Xia Ran.
Gu Zheng smiled and picked up his phone to read the message his assistant had sent him.
As he read through it all, his expression gradually turned cold.
Just as the assistant said, the information is indeed too clean.
No one's life is ever completely clean, and even if it were, it wouldn't be this clean.
Therefore, Lin Ziming's identity is indeed very suspicious.
Did this suspicious person really meet Xia Ran by chance, or did he specifically seek her out?
Gu Zheng held his phone and pondered for a moment, then glanced at the door of Grandpa Xia's ward before deciding to go out.
The company definitely needs a cleanup.
For a while, he really didn't dare to leave Xia Ran, but now he's not afraid to go out.
His absence for a while will allow the online situation to escalate even further. He can also take the opportunity to check on the company, letting people know that even when he's not there, he's not someone who can just run around aimlessly.
Moreover, with the child by Xia Ran's side, there's no fear of not being able to find her.
Xia Ran had no idea that Gu Zheng had already left, and now the child was pulling on his legs and talking to him.
"Little Daddy, Little Daddy, I just asked Big Daddy, and he told me to get ready so I can go to kindergarten next Monday."
"Okay." Xia Ran picked Gu Chen up from his lap. "From now on, when you go to kindergarten, you have to listen to your teacher, okay?"
"Okay, I understand. So, Daddy, you'll pick me up from kindergarten from now on, right?"
Xia Ran paused for a moment, then smiled and said,
"Okay, your little dad will definitely pick you up when he has time. But sometimes when your little dad is not available, you should ask Uncle Wang or your great-aunt to pick you up. You must remember what your little dad said before."
"No matter what, your dad will always love you, you know?"
Gu Chen pursed his lips and looked at his stepfather, vaguely understanding some things in his mind.
He nodded vigorously, "Don't worry, Daddy, Xiao Chen understands."
Xia Ran patted Gu Chen's head, and soon Grandpa Xia woke up.
Grandpa Xia was in good spirits. Xia Ran and the child talked to him for a while and even gave him some water.
Seeing that it was almost time, Dazhuang suggested that he go back to the hotel to get some things.
Grandpa Xia looked at Dazhuang and said in a somewhat weak voice,
"Remember to bring the box, but don't look at it, okay?"
Xia Ran and Da Zhuang both found this strange.
Grandpa Xia is usually very kind and good to them. He tells them everything. Now there are things he doesn't allow them to see.
This was quite strange to Xia Ran and Da Zhuang, but they tacitly refrained from asking.
Dazhuang responded and went out. Xia Ran looked at Grandpa Xia and noticed that he seemed quite downcast.
"Grandpa, what's wrong? You don't look well."
Grandpa Xia shook his head slightly.
"It's nothing, Grandpa is just a little tired."
"Then lie down comfortably. Xiao Chen and I are right here. Tell me if you need anything."
"Okay." Grandpa Xia nodded in response, and then closed his eyes.
Xia Ran didn't think much of it, assuming that Grandpa Xia was just genuinely tired.
Lin Ziming, who was about to leave work, just saw a message sent to his phone by his subordinate.
Lin Ziming narrowed his eyes upon seeing the information above.
It turns out that Gu Zheng and Xia Ran really were married, but not many people knew about it. If he hadn't ordered his men to investigate, he really didn't know if they would have been able to find out.
But they got divorced later. What happened?
Lin Ziming looked down and was surprised to find the news article that was online today.
So many hours have passed since the news broke online. Given Gu Zheng's methods, he could have suppressed it long ago. Why hasn't it been suppressed yet? Is it that Gu Zheng is unwilling to suppress it, or that he simply lacks the ability?
Lin Ziming glanced at the time and realized it was almost time to leave work. He told his subordinates to bring the food to the ward later, while he grabbed a medical record and headed over.
When he arrived, he was surprised to find that Gu Zheng was not at the door.
He raised an eyebrow. Was Gu Zheng going to suppress the online discussions?
However, this has nothing to do with him. Anyway, he came to see Xia Ran. As long as Gu Zheng doesn't do anything bad to Xia Ran and the others, he will turn a blind eye and pretend he didn't see it.
If Gu Zheng continues to treat Xia Ran badly, then don't blame him for being impolite.
Chapter 291 Unrelated to Blood Ties
Lin Ziming knocked on the door, and a voice from inside told him to come in.
When he went in, he found that only Xia Ran and the child were with the old man; the one named Dazhuang was not there.
"Dr. Lin." Upon seeing that it was Lin Ziming, Xia Ran immediately stood up. "Why are you here?"
The main concern was that when the doctor came in at the hospital, he was worried it was because of his grandfather's health.
Lin Ziming immediately noticed Xia Ran's nervousness and said,
"Don't worry, I'm just here for a routine check-up, nothing else. The old man is recovering very well, so you don't need to worry."
Xia Ran smiled sheepishly.
"I'm sorry, I was just too nervous."
"It's alright, I understand. How are you feeling now, Grandpa?"
"It's alright." Xia Ran smiled. "He chatted with us for a while, then said he was sleepy and went to sleep. Dr. Lin, does Grandpa need to be awake for this examination? Should I wake him up?"
"No need, I'm fine right now. I can just wait here for the old man to wake up. He needs to rest properly."
"Oh, okay then."
Xia Ran turned around and went to the water dispenser to pour Lin Ziming a glass of water, which Lin Ziming took and drank in one gulp.