"Xiao Ran, I'm really sorry, but my dad hasn't been back to China for many years, so he's understandably a bit excited to be back, so..."
He chuckled helplessly, clearly unsure how to describe his father.
“Brother Ziming, why are you being so polite? Didn’t you say before that we shouldn’t be so formal with family? Aren’t you contradicting yourself now? Besides, Brother Ziming, believe me, my grandpa will definitely like an uncle like you.”
"Grandpa is getting old, and what he likes most is having more people around at home, just like when Gu..."
Xia Ran's words came to an abrupt end, and she awkwardly changed the subject at the end.
"Well, let's go in first and see what Grandpa and Uncle are talking about. Then you can go in and keep them company while I go cook."
Shen Ting was carrying two large bags of vegetables and meat, and there was a bag of pearl rice at her feet.
Xia Ran was a little surprised; how did the two of them manage to carry so many things up here?
Perhaps it was because Xia Ran's gaze was too intense that Lin Ziming immediately understood Xia Ran's doubts.
“My dad carried this bag of rice up here. Don’t let his age of over forty fool you, he’s actually in great shape.”
Xia Ran smiled and said, "Uncle is over forty, but he looks like he's in his early thirties."
As he spoke, he took a bag of rice inside.
He had just turned around to look at the living room when he found the atmosphere there to be extremely strange.
His grandfather was sitting on the sofa, and Lin's father was standing in front of the sofa looking at his grandfather. Then Xia Ran went in and saw that Lin's father's eyes were actually red.
He was somewhat puzzled and worried.
"Uncle Lin, are you... alright?"
Lin Ziming, who followed in, also saw his father's appearance, and a hint of helplessness flashed in his eyes. He began to explain.
“My dad… he was just too excited. I’ve told you before that my grandfather looks a lot like my deceased grandfather, so how could he not be excited to see someone who looks so much like him after so many years?”
Grandpa Xia and the others also heard this, so Grandpa Xia went from being confused at the beginning to understanding now.
Mr. Lin also realized that he had been too emotional just now.
But he couldn't control himself. After all, this was the person he had been searching for for so many years. How could he not be excited? Now he could finally fulfill his long-cherished wish and have an explanation.
"I'm so sorry, Uncle. It's all my fault for getting too excited. You... look just like my dad. I... couldn't help myself. I'm sorry."
Lin's father knew that Lin Ziming used the reason that Grandpa Xia looked a lot like his own grandfather.
Mr. Lin took a deep breath, then bowed slightly to Grandpa Xia and said,
"Uncle, I am Lin Ziming's father, my name is Lin Bai, you can just call me Xiao Lin."
His solemn attitude startled Grandpa Xia, who was genuinely somewhat frightened.
"You... Xiaolin, you don't need to be so formal. You've come all the way back from abroad, so please sit down and rest first."
“That’s right, Uncle Lin, please sit down. I’ll go cook first, and you and Grandpa can have a good chat.” Xia Ran chimed in, carrying the groceries into the kitchen.
Lin's father: "Ziming will also go and help. I'll chat with Grandpa for a couple of days, and you can take care of the meals."
Hearing Lin's father's cheerful voice, Xia Ran was actually quite surprised.
Because Lin's father is tall and imposing, he looks like someone you don't want to mess with.
But to his surprise, she spoke so kindly and was so warm towards him and his grandfather.
"Okay, then you two have a good chat. I'll go with Xiaoran to cook first."
Lin Ziming said something and followed them into the kitchen.
Xia Ran smiled when she saw Lin Ziming come in.
"Brother Ziming, why don't you go out and chat with Grandpa and Uncle? I can do it all by myself."
"How can that be? If I let you do it all by yourself, my dad will skin me alive." Lin Ziming said, making a helpless expression.
Xia Ran: "It's not as exaggerated as you say! I think Uncle is a very nice person, how could he possibly hit someone?"
"How could I not?" Lin Ziming leaned closer to Xia Ran mysteriously. "I used to get beaten by my dad a lot. My dad always said, 'Spare the rod and spoil the child.'"
As if recalling the times his father had beaten him, Lin Ziming's face showed a look of helplessness.
Xia Ran was somewhat surprised, "Really? Uncle really treated you like that?"
"Of course it's true. He was really ruthless to me, but don't worry, he would never do that to you. He felt so sorry for you after he heard about you."
Although his father was a bit harsh on him, Lin Ziming didn't forget to try to win Xia Ran's favor.
After all, his father was doing it for his own good. In their living environment, you couldn't survive without being ruthless.
“I felt it too.” Xia Ran smiled. “When I first saw Uncle Lin, I was quite scared, but when I saw him smile at me, I realized that he was quite cute and not scary at all.”
Lin Ziming: "Right, that's just how his face looks. When he's not talking, he can be quite intimidating, but once you get to know him, you'll find that he's not that kind of person."
“I hope we can get along well in the future. When I heard you say you wanted to be related to us, my grandfather was so happy. He wished there were more people in the family. You don’t know, I don’t have any other relatives. Every holiday, the house is very quiet.”
Xia Ran chopped vegetables and talked, and before they knew it, they had a lot to talk about.
"Really? What about your relatives? Don't you have any relatives on your mother's or grandmother's side?" Lin Ziming asked curiously.
Xia Ran: "No, because of something my grandfather did when he was young, none of our relatives have any contact with us anymore. And my grandmother and my mother don't have any relatives left either."
Hearing this, Lin Ziming felt a little strange. He didn't have a single relative. What a coincidence!
"And you know what, just the other day Grandpa told me something really helpless. He said he was really happy that you were willing to be his grandson, and that he would have someone to support him when he's gone."
At this point, Xia Ran couldn't help but feel a lump in her throat.
Lin Ziming sighed, then said seriously,
"Xia Ran, don't worry, what Grandpa is thinking won't happen. No matter whether Grandpa is here or not, I will always be your brother and someone who can support you. I'll tell you something in a while. From now on, you can do whatever you want."
Lin Ziming wanted to reveal his true identity and background, but he wasn't saying it now mainly because his grandfather hadn't officially acknowledged the godparent relationship yet. He was afraid that if Grandpa Xia and Xia Ran found out, they wouldn't be happy, and that would be a real problem.
If we wait until the godparents are officially recognized before discussing this, we won't have to worry about Xia Ran and the others changing their minds.
It would be a lie to say that Xia Ran wasn't moved after hearing this.
"Thank you, Brother Ziming."
Lin Ziming: "We're all family, why be so polite? Hurry up and cook, I'm afraid Grandpa will be hungry. Oh, right, my dad also brought some medicinal herbs, which are all suitable for Grandpa to eat now. You go cook the other dishes, I'll take care of Grandpa's."
"Okay." Xia Ran didn't insist on making the food for her grandfather herself, because Lin Ziming knew more about medicinal cuisine than she did.
The two were busy in the kitchen, while the two in the living room were chatting animatedly.
Grandpa Xia was initially worried that there would be a distance between him and Lin's father, since they were not in the same age group and he really didn't know what to talk about.
But to my surprise, I don't feel awkward at all when I talk to Mr. Lin now.
“Grandpa, from now on, you should treat me as your son and Ziming as your grandson. I don’t have any other relatives. I’ve always wanted to come back to retire, but I never had the chance.”
"The other reason is that I didn't dare to come back because I didn't know anyone in China. But now it's different. With you guys here, I'll stay in China from now on. Then my son and I can chat more."
Grandpa Xia: "That's great! No matter what the environment is like abroad, it's still better to live in our own country. If you don't mind, you can come back and live with me. We don't have much else, but we have plenty of rooms. And you don't know how nice the environment is back home."
Grandpa Xia was also very happy, and he felt a sense of friendship with Lin's father despite their age difference.
"Really? That's great! I definitely won't mind. I'd be overjoyed." Mr. Lin said with a smile. "Besides, if we acknowledge this relationship, the two children can support each other in the future. I only have the two of us left on my side; I don't have any proper relatives."
Grandpa Xia's eyes lit up instantly upon hearing this.
"Really? Me too. If that's true, that's wonderful. You have no idea how old I am. Although my life hasn't been entirely satisfactory, I have no regrets. The only thing I can't let go of is Xiao Ran."
As Grandpa Xia spoke, his eyes welled up with tears again.
Mr. Lin quickly comforted him, saying,
"It's alright, it's alright. With Ziming around, don't worry, no one will be able to bully Xiaoran."
"Okay, okay, okay." Grandpa Xia didn't know what to say, so he could only say "okay" several times.
"By the way, Grandpa, do you know where Liucheng is now? My late father told me that our family used to be from Liucheng before we went abroad, so now that we're back, we want to go and see it."
As he spoke, Mr. Lin glanced at Grandpa Xia, his eyes filled with a hint of probing.
Sure enough, he saw the stunned look on Grandpa Xia's face.
"That place..." Grandpa Xia replied after a while, "I've only heard of it before, but I've never been there, so I really don't know where it is. You can look it up online later. These days, young people always look up anything they want online, right? You should be able to find it by searching."
Seeing the old man's obvious dejection, Mr. Lin regretted asking the question earlier, but he couldn't help but ask it if he didn't.
"Okay, then I'll have Ziming check it out. By the way, Grandpa, are you thirsty? Let me get you some water."
"No, no, I'm not thirsty, I'm just a little tired and want to go back to my room to lie down."
Chapter 362 Urgency, Traces
Grandpa Xia's tone was very urgent, even somewhat impatient, not even giving Lin's father a chance to answer.
Lin's father watched Grandpa Xia's retreating figure, sighed inwardly, and surprisingly did not say anything to stay.
The old man must be thinking about that person too, right? Otherwise, why would he act so strangely whenever the topic comes up?
Indeed, in that person's memory, the two loved each other so much, how could they possibly bear to forget?
But even if they loved each other deeply at the time, they couldn't avoid those unpredictable misunderstandings.
But seeing that the old man is doing well now, his spirit in heaven can finally rest in peace.
I just don't know if he'll be sad, sad that the person who once told him he'd be with him forever has married someone else and has grandchildren.
Mr. Lin walked around the living room for a while, then went to the kitchen door to watch the two of them cook.
And you know what? Although the father and son had a good relationship, there were simply too few people in the family. During holidays and festivals, it was always quiet and deserted, not lively at all.
But now, with two more people in the house, it's finally a bit more lively.
It's a pity. Ziming said that the old man doesn't like Xiaoran being with men, otherwise he could have paired Xiaoran and Ziming up.
That makes sense, given what happened back then, how could the old man possibly want Xiaoran to be with a man?
It's that Gu Zheng...
Mr. Lin snorted softly, realizing that Gu Zheng had gotten the better deal.
Ziming always said that Gu Zheng wasn't as amazing as outsiders made him out to be, but he didn't think so.
That Gu Zheng is not that simple. Otherwise, how could he have dared to support a family and a group when he was so young after his parents died? He must be a simple person.