Perhaps it was because Lin Ziming's tone and eyes were so serious and honest that Xia Ran couldn't help but nod.
"I... then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Ziming. I was originally planning to have someone else investigate this matter, but since you've said so, I'll leave it to you."
"Don't mention it." Lin Ziming smiled. "Don't worry, it's nothing serious. I can handle it. You just need to stay at the hospital and keep the old man company."
"Of course, if possible, don't forget to mention to the old man what I told you the other day. I really want to be family with you."
Xia Ran: "Okay, I'll talk to Grandpa about it tomorrow."
Dazhuang remained silent, planning to ask Xia Ran about it when they got back.
The group stopped talking about that matter and started discussing other things.
Gradually, the atmosphere among them improved considerably.
Seeing that Xia Ran's expression had relaxed considerably, Lin Ziming thought for a moment and then asked, feigning nonchalance.
"Xia Ran, I just saw that Zhang Qiang gave you a photo, right? I feel like there's an old man in it."
Xia Ran paused for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes, one of them is indeed my grandfather."
"I thought I was seeing things. Who's the other one in there? Is he a friend of the old man? They seem to be very close."
Although he shouldn't disturb the old man's current life, Lin Ziming still wanted to test how much the old man held in Grandpa Xia's heart.
"Then... he must be a friend of Grandpa. I've never met him, nor have I ever heard Grandpa mention him, so I don't know that person."
Xia Ran lowered his head and ate his food. Although he felt that Lin Ziming meant no harm, he still didn't dare to tell Lin Ziming about his grandfather.
He could never forget the emotions his grandfather felt when he told him about that past event; he cried like a child.
His grandfather has been protecting him and accompanying him as he grew up since he was a child. Now it's time for him to protect his grandfather.
Lin Ziming nodded calmly.
"Oh, I see. I just felt that the other person was also good-looking, and I was just a little curious."
After asking that question, Lin Ziming didn't ask anything further, but just sighed regretfully in his heart.
It seems that Grandpa Xia never told Xia Ran about the matter, which proves that Grandpa Xia really didn't want to bring up what happened back then.
Or perhaps, they've all been forgotten.
That's true. If he hadn't forgotten, how could he have gotten married, had children, and even grandchildren?
But the question his father asked him to ask is probably impossible now.
His grandfather must have had regrets his whole life, right?
He heard from his father that his grandfather's eyes were red when he passed away, which shows how much he couldn't let go.
After finishing their meal, Lin Ziming first took Dazhuang back to the hotel, and then took Xia Ran back to the hospital.
Because he had something on his mind, Dazhuang came over very early the next morning.
On the way to the hospital, Dazhuang even thought he might run into He Xiu, but to his surprise, he didn't.
Dazhuang didn't know how to describe his feelings; he just felt something was off.
However, Da Zhuang quickly put this strange feeling behind him, because he had many questions for Xia Ran.
Xia Ran didn't hide anything from Da Zhuang and told him directly about Lin Ziming's request to be his grandfather's adopted grandson, as well as the story of Lin Ziming's younger brother and grandfather.
After listening, Da Zhuang couldn't help but stroke his chin and said,
"I have a feeling that something's off about Lin Ziming. Is he being too nice to you guys?"
"Even if he thinks you're like his brother and grandfather, this is still too much, isn't it? His behavior reminds me of Yu Chao. Wasn't Yu Chao very good to you before? Look at what he did afterward!"
“It’s different.” Xia Ran answered without thinking. “I think Ziming and Yu Chao are different. At least Ziming told me directly from the beginning why he was so good to me and Grandpa.”
After listening to Xia Ran's analysis, Da Zhuang seemed to think it made a lot of sense.
"Let's leave it at that for now, but we can't just ignore everything. We still need to investigate what needs to be investigated ourselves. Send those emails to Yu Wu later and ask him to help us investigate."
"Okay, that's what I was thinking too. By the way, how's the house search going? Grandpa's going to be discharged from the hospital in a few days."
Dazhuang: "I've found it. I'll go take a look later. If there are no problems with the environment, we can move it."
"Thank you for your hard work," Xia Ran said with gratitude. "If you ever need my help in the future, I will definitely do my best to help you."
"Sure, I won't hold back then," Dazhuang said with a grin.
I thought the investigation would take a long time, but unexpectedly, Lin Ziming told Xia Ran that there was news that afternoon.
The two were still in the rest area.
Lin Ziming: "I've already told you about this, so you need to stay calm and not get agitated."
"What do you mean?" Xia Ran was somewhat surprised by Lin Ziming's words. "Is there something that I simply cannot accept?"
Lin Ziming nodded. "It's not that this is unacceptable to you, it's just a bit unexpected. I was afraid you would be angry."
Xia Ran became even more anxious, "Brother Ziming, just tell me what's wrong. I'm fine. If you don't tell me, I'll be even more worried and nervous."
"Alright, then I'll tell you. I had someone investigate, and although they couldn't find out exactly who sent you that threatening message, they did find the IP address of that name, which belongs to the Gu family."
"You know what kind of entity the Gu Group is. My people were discovered as soon as they hacked in to see who it was, and they had to retreat hastily. But it's 100% certain that it's within the Gu Group."
In fact, Lin Ziming was practically saying it was Gu Zheng.
Xia Ran's expression changed, he clenched his fist and took a deep breath.
"I understand. Thank you, Brother Ziming. So, he's the one who found out about my grandfather's affairs, right?"
Xia Ran was very angry, extremely angry. He never expected Gu Zheng to do such a thing, threatening him, as if it was fun to see him scared.
Chapter 319 Suspicion of Gu Zheng
“No, that’s not it,” Lin Ziming said. “It’s just Gu Zheng’s company. It’s not certain that it’s Gu Zheng. It’s still uncertain.”
Xia Ran sneered after hearing this.
"It's him. I'll explain everything to him later. By the way, what about that email address? Have you found it? Could it have been done by Gu Zheng as well?"
"We don't know yet; we need to investigate further."
Lin Ziming wasn't sure if it was Gu Zheng. If it was Gu Zheng, then he would really look at Gu Zheng differently.
Although he had little interaction with Gu Zheng, he had heard of Gu Zheng's reputation to some extent and knew that although Gu Zheng was cold to others, he was not a villain.
"He must have some ulterior motive. Is he trying to use this to get back together with you?"
Lin Ziming also knew that Xia Ran had mentioned the incident where someone threatened him online.
"Hmm." Xia Ran nodded coldly. "I never imagined he would be this kind of person."
Xia Ran felt a pang of sadness, but more than anything, she felt a deep sense of sorrow.
He used to think that Gu Zheng was good in every way. Even though Gu Zheng used him as a substitute, and he hated Gu Zheng, he couldn't deny Gu Zheng's character.
But now, he felt utterly disheartened.
If Gu Zheng is truly that kind of person, then his past relationships seem even more ridiculous.
"Nothing is defined yet, so don't say that."
Lin Ziming comforted Xia Ran, saying that he understood Xia Ran quite well; she still had some feelings for Gu Zheng.
However, it seems that this relationship was hurt by something, causing Xia Ran's feelings for Gu Zheng to become very bad.
Xia Ran didn't say anything, but thought she would question Gu Zheng properly when he brought the child over that evening.
Unless, Gu Zheng doesn't bring the child over today.
But Xia Ran knew that Gu Zheng couldn't possibly not come.
Just as Xia Ran said, Gu Zheng brought the child over around 5 o'clock.
Xia Ran first caught up with Gu Chen, then sent the child to keep the old man company, while he himself looked at Gu Zheng.
"Let's talk."
Gu Zheng immediately got excited and quickly responded.
"Okay, let's talk. You can talk about anything you want."
Seeing Gu Zheng's excited expression, Xia Ran felt only irony.
Why can someone pretend to be like this to him?
Xia Ran went to the rest area, not wanting Grandpa Xia and the child to know about this.
However, Gu Zheng did not notice anything different about Xia Ran at all, and instead thought that Xia Ran wanted to get back together with him.
"Ranran, what...what do you want to talk about? How about we go eat first? We can talk while we eat, okay?"
Gu Zheng looked at Xia Ran with expectant eyes, but Xia Ran's gaze was indifferent, even carrying a hint of disgust.
"Eat and chat at the same time? Do you think I can eat that much? Gu Zheng, do you really think I don't know what you've done? Don't you have even a shred of conscience?"
"Yes, you really do see me as a substitute, and I really don't deserve your affection, but I did help you raise the child to this state. Even if I didn't do anything special, I still put in a lot of effort, right?"
"Fine, even if you don't care about this, you can't treat me like this because I knelt in front of my grandfather for your sake, can you?"
My grandfather has always treated you and the child well, so why are you treating him like this? Since you were able to find out about my grandfather's past, you must know how serious it was for him. Is it meaningful to rub salt in his wounds like this?
Xia Ran was trying her best to control her emotions, but no matter how hard she tried, her anger and resentment still escaped.
Gu Zheng was completely bewildered by Xia Ran's words, but seeing the anger on her face, he immediately offered an explanation.
"Ranran, what do you mean by that? I don't understand."
"Stop pretending, Gu Zheng! Aren't you tired of pretending for so long?!" Xia Ran growled uncontrollably.
His face was flushed red from anger.
"Ranran." Gu Zheng put his hands on Xia Ran's shoulders. "I really don't understand what you're talking about, but I can assure you that I will never do anything to hurt you or Grandpa."
"Don't you understand what kind of person I am? I really don't know anything about what you just said. Can you explain it more clearly?"
Xia Ran was forced to look Gu Zheng in the eye, and the seriousness in Gu Zheng's eyes made Xia Ran pause for a moment.
He pursed his lips, and for a moment, he was startled.