Lin's father, watching from the side with envy, couldn't help but look at Lin Ziming and say...
"Hey Ziming, when are you going to bring me back such an obedient grandson?"
Lin Ziming, who was suddenly called out, was both amused and exasperated.
"Dad, why are you in such a hurry? You're still young. Work hard for a few years, or you won't have enough money to support your grandson."
"Work, work, and more work. Can't you even have time to date if you're just working all day? Don't you have enough money to support your wife and kids? Besides, I have money. All you need to do is bring your wife and kids back."
Lin Ziming was speechless for a moment, and even felt a headache coming on.
Xia Ran was secretly laughing to herself, but didn't say anything.
Grandpa Xia nodded in agreement and said,
"That's right, Ziming, you're getting old enough to get married. While your father is still young, you can have a few more children so he can help take care of them."
"Think about it, if you don't get married now, you'll probably be thirty when you get pregnant and give birth. By the time your child is twenty, you'll be over fifty. You'll be so old then."
Upon hearing this, Lin Ziming immediately looked to Xia Ran for help. Xia Ran shrugged, indicating that she couldn't help him, so Lin Ziming had to find a solution himself.
"But why should I have children? Can't I just find a boy?"
After he said that, the living room fell silent, especially Xia Ran, whose expression became somewhat indifferent.
"Um, you guys chat, I'll go cook first."
After saying that, he went straight into the kitchen. Lin Ziming belatedly realized that he had said the wrong thing, but it was too late. After all, words spoken are like water spilled; they cannot be taken back.
Mr. Lin glanced at Grandpa Xia before saying with a smile,
"It's okay, it's okay if you find a boy, as long as you like him. But you have to treat him well, whether he's a boy or a girl. Once you like someone, you should keep liking them. You can't be fickle."
“That’s right, that’s right. It doesn’t matter if you like boys or girls, what matters is that you like them,” Grandpa Xia chimed in.
Lin Ziming breathed a sigh of relief, as he was quite afraid that his words might have upset the old man.
"Okay, I understand. Don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who's fickle. Dad, you talk to Grandpa for a bit, I'll go help Xia Ran."
"I'll go too, I can help pick the vegetables." Gu Chen stepped out of Grandpa Xia's arms.
"Okay, let's go, Uncle will take you." Lin Ziming rubbed Gu Chen's head, and then the two of them walked towards the kitchen together.
Gu Chen now knows that Lin Ziming won't compete with him for the position of "little father," so he doesn't harbor much hostility towards Lin Ziming.
After the younger children had all gone into the living room, Mr. Lin sat down next to Grandpa Xia, patted Grandpa Xia's hand, and said reassuringly,
“Grandpa, you see, Xiao Ran is probably still thinking about Gu Zheng, otherwise she wouldn’t avoid the topic whenever it comes up. And the bigger reason is probably that she’s afraid of hurting your feelings.”
The old man nodded silently. He understood Xia Ran's reaction perfectly; it seemed he still needed to talk to Xia Ran.
Mr. Lin smiled, knowing what the old man was thinking.
"You should have a good talk with Xia Ran. He's a good kid, he'll understand you."
"Okay." The old man nodded, then picked up the clothes Gu Chen had bought and touched them carefully, looking extremely pleased with them.
Mr. Lin laughed as he looked at him, "Gu Chen is still just a child."
"Yes, he's a child too." If he wasn't a good child, how could he let Xia Ran keep taking care of Gu Chen?
In the kitchen, Lin Ziming was helping Xia Ran, still worried about her from what he had just said, so he kept glancing at her.
Xia Ran isn't stupid; how could she not notice Lin Ziming's gaze?
"Brother Ziming, just say what you want to say. You can't cook properly if you keep staring at me like this."
Lin Ziming felt a little uncomfortable, but he also realized that he had been too cautious just now, which would only make Xia Ran feel more uncomfortable. It would be better to just say it directly.
"Actually, I just wanted to say that I didn't mean anything by what I said earlier, so please don't overthink it."
Xia Ran had already guessed what Lin Ziming was going to say, so she wasn't surprised at all.
"Don't worry, Ziming. I'm fine. I just came in because I was worried that Grandpa would be sad. As for myself, I've already figured it out."
"That's good." Lin Ziming smiled and then changed the subject to other things.
During the meal, Grandpa Xia brought up the idea of holding a family reunion banquet. Xia Ran naturally had no objections, but his thoughts were similar to those of Grandpa Xia.
"But wouldn't it be too unfair to Brother Ziming if we put it here?"
“Actually, we don’t really care about those rules. We just know the relationship between us,” Lin Ziming said.
"In that case, let's set up here and have a good meal at the hotel. Ziming, you should also invite your friends."
Grandpa Xia made the decision, and Lin Ziming and the others nodded in agreement.
As for Gu Chen, he was eating his rice while also listening to their conversation, planning to tell his uncle later.
Xia Ran: "But Grandpa, shouldn't we pick a day? There aren't any fortune tellers around here, and I don't know where to find one."
Lin Ziming: "Why not pick a special day? I don't think we need to. I think we can just pick any day with good weather."
For Lin Ziming and his family, it didn't really matter whether they held a banquet or not, as long as they could take care of the old man and Xia Ran.
"How can that be!" the old man said disapprovingly. "Of course we have to choose an auspicious day. That's the rule, we can't break it. Xiao Ran, go out and have a stroll tomorrow, see if you can find any fortune tellers."
"Or you can see if you have any friends around here and ask them if they know anyone reliable. Don't be afraid to spend money, even if it's a bit expensive, the most important thing is that they are reliable."
After listening, Xia Ran nodded, "Okay, I understand. Don't worry, Grandpa, I will go look for it."
Lin Ziming and his father didn't say anything after hearing this. Since it was the old man's wish, they could only agree.
After dinner, Lin Ziming and his father were about to leave. This time, Xia Ran didn't see them off, because he felt that since they were all family, there was no need to be so polite.
But just as the father and son were leaving, they ran into Gu Zheng, who was also leaving.
Lin Ziming glanced at Gu Zheng, then closed the door.
Gu Zheng originally went to the company in the evening to handle some matters, but he did not expect to run into the Lin family father and son.
Gu Zheng's expression was somewhat cold; he didn't want to argue with Lin Ziming here because he was afraid of upsetting Xia Ran.
Most importantly, Qin Hao had told him that if he continued to use methods similar to driving Lin Ziming out of the hospital to deal with Lin Ziming, it would only make Xia Ran hate him even more.
Lin Ziming had expected Gu Zheng to say something to him again, but to his surprise, Gu Zheng just gave him a cold look and left.
Mr. Lin glanced at Gu Zheng, then at Lin Ziming, who shrugged and said...
"Let's go back."
Because they left one after the other, they were together in the elevator as well.
Since Gu Zheng remained silent, Lin Ziming was unlikely to say anything either, and neither was Lin's father.
The three of them got out of the elevator, got into the car, and parted ways. Once in the car, Mr. Lin couldn't help but say...
"This Gu Zheng seems alright. I've heard about him before, but I never expected him to be such a scumbag. Well, I guess you can't really call him a scumbag, but I really didn't expect him to be like this."
"Judging from his appearance, he still likes Xiaoran, but Xiaoran is heartbroken by him, so it's hard to end things."
Lin Ziming replied upon hearing this.
"Gu Zheng is intelligent, but he has emotional intelligence issues. It's also possible that he cares too much about Xiao Ran, so he always seems particularly childish when it comes to Xiao Ran, so childish that it makes people want to laugh."
"However, I didn't expect him to think of moving to the opposite side of Xia Ran's house. It seems that his emotional intelligence is not that low. Moreover, with Gu Chen standing between him and Xia Ran, it is impossible for the two of them to have no interaction in the short term."
Indeed, Lin Ziming thought that his father also did not want Xia Ran and Gu Zheng to get back together, but what his father said next surprised him.
“I would like to have a serious talk with him to see how he feels about Xia Ran. If he really likes Xia Ran that much, I can help him, or I can help Xia Ran.”
"Dad, what do you mean? You want Xia Ran and Gu Zheng to get back together? Aren't you afraid of upsetting the old man?"
Mr. Lin: "If I hadn't sounded out the old man, would I be telling you all this? Would he even have this idea?"
"Hmm? You sounded out the old man? He agrees? That shouldn't be the case; he's strongly opposed to it." Lin Ziming was somewhat incredulous.
Mr. Lin smiled and said,
"Then you don't understand the old man's thoughts. The old man was just afraid that Xia Ran would get hurt. I analyzed it for him the other day, and he understood. But what he means is that as long as Xia Ran is happy, he won't stop her anymore, whether it's a man or a woman, even if it's Gu Zheng, I think he can accept it."
"Really? Did the old man really say that?"
"Nonsense, do you think your father would be the kind of person to fool you with something like this? But this matter isn't urgent for now. You should first prepare for your trip to Liucheng. Now that you're back, you should fulfill the old man's last wish so that he can rest in peace in the afterlife."
"It's a pity that we can't let Grandpa Xia Ran know about this. I think the old man would be happy to know the life Grandpa Xia Ran is living now. Back then, the sentence he said to me the most was that he was afraid Grandpa Xia Ran wouldn't be able to hold on."
The atmosphere in the car became somewhat somber as they reminisced about the past.
Lin Ziming: "Actually, Dad, do you think... Grandpa Xia Ran really likes Grandpa that much? If he really likes him that much, why did he still get married and have children?"
He found this quite hard to understand, because he had learned about the story of the two old men from his father. According to his father, the two old men were inseparable from each other, but now that Grandpa Xia was getting married and having children, he still found it difficult to comprehend.
"This is probably also your second grandfather's fault. He said he deliberately faked an affair before leaving. Grandpa Xia was probably heartbroken too. You can't understand this feeling since you've never loved anyone. Drive carefully. No matter what, you must protect Grandpa and Xia Ran in the future. That's what you have to do, understand?"
"I understand, Dad. Don't worry, I will definitely take good care of them."
Mr. Lin sighed and looked out the window. In truth, matters of the heart are really hard to explain with words.
If he hadn't harbored thoughts of revenge back then, and if he hadn't had Lin Ziming, he would have followed his wife long ago. But he couldn't; he had to watch his child grow up so that he could face his wife in the afterlife.
Chapter 379 Very Delicious
When Gu Zheng arrived at the company, Qin Hao was there, but he didn't expect that Lin Yi would also be there.
Gu Zheng glanced at Lin Yi only once before sitting down, turning on his computer, and starting to work.
Qin Hao glanced at Lin Yi, then at Gu Zheng, before speaking.
"Brother, Lin Yi said he has something he wants to tell you."
"Hmm," Gu Zheng replied without looking up from his computer.
Qin Hao found Gu Zheng's attitude somewhat strange.
"Brother, didn't you take Xiao Chen and Xia Ran to the parent-child activity today? Did you and Xia Ran have another fight?"
If he hadn't had a falling out with Xia Ran, why did he look so grim? Although he usually has a stern face, at least he wouldn't not even greet Lin Yi, right? After all, they're business partners.
"No." Gu Zheng still didn't look up. "Just say what you want to say. I'm very busy."
Qin Hao was speechless for a moment, and it was Lin Yi who finally spoke up.
“I found some information about the Lin family, but it’s not about the current generation’s heir, but about the previous generation, his father. There’s only one photo.”
Upon hearing this, Gu Zheng finally raised his head.