But to his surprise, when Lin Ziming saw Xia Ran come out, she went straight to the balcony where they had talked yesterday.
Xia Ran thought Lin Ziming was going to talk to him about his grandfather.
"Dr. Lin, is there any change in my grandfather's health?"
“No.” Lin Ziming remained serious. “I asked you to come out to talk to you about your matter.”
"My business?" Xia Ran asked, her face full of confusion.
"Yes, that's right, it's about you. Didn't you tell me yesterday that you and Gu Zheng were divorced? Why are people online saying that you are still married?"
Xia Ran was taken aback, not expecting it to be because of this.
"That marriage certificate is from before. Gu Zheng shouldn't have thrown it away. This is just a way for us to suppress the online public opinion. My relationship with Gu Zheng will always be that of a divorced couple. There will be no other relationship between us."
"Who told you this? Or whose idea was this? Did you tell Gu Zheng to do this? Is this so-called solution the one you told me yesterday that you could solve it yourself?"
Lin Ziming's tone involuntarily became somewhat angry.
It was precisely this tone that made Xia Ran feel somewhat puzzled.
Why did he feel that Lin Ziming was even angrier than him?
“I… Dr. Lin, this is my own business. I know you mean well, but your questioning tone doesn’t seem quite right, because our relationship doesn’t seem to be that good yet.”
Xia Ran was already in a bad mood, and Lin Ziming's questioning tone made him feel uncomfortable.
Ultimately, this is still just his private matter.
After hearing Xia Ran's words, Lin Ziming suddenly realized that his tone just now seemed a bit off, just as Xia Ran said, their relationship wasn't that good yet.
He was just confused because he was worried.
The moment he found Xia Ran and the old man, he regarded them as his own grandfather and younger brother.
He always protected his own, and seeing Xia Ran like this now, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her as an older brother.
"I'm sorry." Lin Ziming composed himself. "My tone was too harsh just now. I was just a little worried and confused. I really feel very close to you and can't help but treat you like a younger brother."
"It's nothing." Xia Ran didn't dwell on Lin Ziming. "Actually, I wasn't in a very good mood either, so my tone wasn't very nice just now."
After saying that, Xia Ran fell silent. He walked to the railing and looked ahead with a blank expression.
Lin Ziming couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Xia Ran, so he walked over to her side.
"Want a cigarette?" Lin Ziming handed Xia Ran a pack of cigarettes.
Xia Ran was somewhat surprised, "Are doctors allowed to smoke in the hospital?"
"Of course not, I'm just leaving it there, so why would I smoke it?" Lin Ziming said.
Xia Ran chuckled softly and reached out to take it.
"Go ahead and smoke." Xia Ran chuckled softly for no apparent reason.
Actually, he doesn't usually smoke, and he didn't even smoke when his classmates insisted he smoke when he was seventeen or eighteen.
But now, for some reason, he suddenly wants to try smoking it.
He's heard that smoking can relieve stress, and he really needs to adjust his mood right now.
Lin Ziming took out a lighter and lit a cigarette for Xia Ran, but he didn't smoke it himself.
"Thanks."
Xia Ran put the cigarette in his mouth, intending to take a puff, but since it was his first time smoking, he didn't know how to control himself and choked immediately.
"Cough cough...cough..."
"Have you never smoked before?" Lin Ziming quickly patted Xia Ran's back to help her catch her breath.
Xia Ran shook her head, speechless, choked by the words.
Lin Ziming simply took the cigarette from Xia Ran's hand and threw it into the nearby cigarette extinguishing area.
"If you don't know how to smoke, don't force yourself to. I just thought you had smoked before, so I wanted to give you a smoke to cheer you up."
Xia Ran calmed down and couldn't help but chuckle self-deprecatingly after hearing Lin Ziming's words.
“My parents passed away early, and my grandfather raised me alone. I didn’t want him to worry, so I basically didn’t have a rebellious phase, and I never did anything to upset my grandfather.”
"Of course, my grandfather is quite open-minded and usually won't let me do anything I don't like. The only time I lied to my grandfather was when I secretly married Gu Zheng."
At this point, Xia Ran suddenly seemed to realize something and continued,
"Sorry, I accidentally said too much just now."
Lin Ziming: "It's okay, I'm happy to listen to you. If you don't mind, you can tell me about you and Gu Zheng. I'm very tight-lipped and won't tell anyone. I just treat you like a younger brother and feel sorry for you."
Xia Ran glanced at Lin Ziming, and inexplicably felt that this person could be trusted. He sighed and said,
"Then I'll tell you, but Dr. Lin, you have to keep it a secret for me. I can completely trust you."
"If you were to tell anyone about this, I'd be so embarrassed I'd die."
Lin Ziming: "Don't worry, I will definitely not tell anyone."
"Okay." Xia Ran took a deep breath and said slowly.
"Actually, my marriage to Gu Zheng was an accident. My grandfather never allowed me to like boys when I was a child, so I never dared to tell my grandfather about my marriage to Gu Zheng."
"Later, my grandfather found out about Gu Zheng and me by accident. He was very angry. It was the first time he had ever been so angry with me. I begged him for a long time before he finally agreed to let me be with Gu Zheng."
"Then Gu Zheng and I got divorced because of some things. Although my grandfather was angry, he felt sorry for me and was worried about me. After the divorce, I thought I should keep my distance from Gu Zheng and never see him again, but all sorts of things always made me run into him."
Chapter 301 His Identity is Not Simple
"So, the time you were hospitalized here was the time you and Gu Zheng divorced?"
Lin Ziming suddenly remembered that he had checked Xia Ran's information that day and found that Xia Ran had stayed in this hospital for a period of time, in the psychology department.
Xia Ran did not deny it, but nodded in agreement.
"Yes, I liked Gu Zheng for many years back then, and some things happened that were hard for me to accept, so I couldn't get over it. But I got better later."
Lin Ziming did not answer Xia Ran's question because when he looked at the information, he clearly saw that it indicated a psychological and emotional breakdown.
It's easy to imagine how distressed Xia Ran must have been at that time.
Xia Ran: "Actually, I don't know how to describe myself. I really want to never see Gu Zheng again, but Gu Zheng keeps coming closer to me."
"And then there's Gu Chen, that child. Although I'm not related to him by blood, I really like him. He's very obedient, and another reason is that I only had my grandfather as a relative when I was little."
“When I was little, I was always ridiculed by my classmates because I didn’t have parents. Now when I see Gu Chen, I can’t help but feel sorry for him and want him to have a better life.”
"You may find it hard to understand this kind of feeling, but sometimes that's just how it is between people. The moment I saw the child, I liked him very much."
"You don't understand how I felt when I heard my child smile at me for the first time and call me 'little dad' for the first time. It made me feel incredibly happy."
Xia Ran also understood that his repeated softening of his heart because of the child might be hard for many people to understand, and might even make them think he was crazy.
But only he knows the feelings behind it.
Lin Ziming looked at Xia Ran; this was the first time he had ever gotten to know Xia Ran so directly.
"Xia Ran, you are wonderful and amazing. Your child is so lucky to have a little dad like you."
Xia Ran smiled and said, "Actually, I am very happy. I will never marry anyone else in my life. When I fell in love with Gu Zheng, I never thought about having children, but now I have filled that regret."
Upon hearing this, Lin Ziming frowned and said,
"How could you think like that? Gu Zheng isn't right for you, it's normal for you to break up. Why reject more possibilities for the wrong person?"
"One failed relationship doesn't mean anything. You can still have more people you like and try different people."
Xia Ran: "I understand the reasoning, but I really can't articulate it right now."
Lin Ziming hesitated, wanting to say something more, but ultimately changed the subject.
"So who came up with this online method? Who suggested it? Gu Zheng?"
Xia Ran nodded, "I can't think of any other way. Gu Zheng also told me a lot, saying that this is the only way."
Xia Ran also recounted Gu Zheng's suggestion to put the marriage certificate up there and then expose the mastermind behind it all.
After hearing this, Lin Ziming let out a cold laugh.
"That's what he told you?"
"right."
"Ha..." Lin Ziming was so angry he almost laughed. "You believed him just because he said it?"
"Dr. Lin, what do you mean by that?" Xia Ran felt that Lin Ziming's words were a bit off.
Looking at Xia Ran's expression, Lin Ziming couldn't help but feel a little angry, but even more so, helpless.
He didn't expect Xia Ran to be so easily fooled. Of course, he also didn't expect Gu Zheng to be so shameless as to use these lies to deceive Xia Ran.
"As far as I know, Gu Zheng is already a local bigwig here. If Gu Zheng can't solve problems here, then the other people in the city will have even less of a chance."
"Xia Ran, you seem to know very little about your ex-husband. I can guarantee that it's absolutely false for him to say that he can't resolve this matter. There's a high probability that he's lying to you, but as for his reasons for lying to you, I have no idea."
Xia Ran was stunned after hearing Lin Ziming's words. Lin Ziming didn't know what Gu Zheng meant, but he seemed to have a rough idea.
Gu Zheng probably intends to continue entangled with him, preventing him from having a chance to leave.
Xia Ran felt even more disgusted and resistant to Gu Zheng because of this.
"Thank you, Dr. Lin, I understand." Xia Ran thanked Lin Ziming, "But now that Gu Zheng has already released the marriage certificate, there's no point in me saying anything more."
"There are solutions, it just depends on whether you're ruthless enough," Lin Ziming said.
Xia Ran looked at Lin Ziming, who then spoke his mind directly.
"If you're ruthless enough, I can expose everything Gu Zheng has done. I can't guarantee that Gu Zheng will be completely ruined, but I can certainly make him lose all his reputation."
"You don't need to worry about Gu Zheng finding out about me. Even if he does, it doesn't matter, because my identity is not simple either."
Lin Ziming still wore a gentle smile, but his words carried a ruthless edge.
A strange feeling rose in Xia Ran's heart.
"Dr. Lin, you..."
"Don't worry, I won't do anything to you. I really feel close to you and the old man, and I just don't want you to suffer any injustice."