"Okay, okay, I'll definitely be careful," Mrs. Feng quickly replied.
Now that she was already here, she really didn't want any more problems to arise.
If she hadn't been afraid of hurting Xia Ran by speaking directly, she would have already spoken up.
When Xia Ran arrived home with his child, he found several people at the door, and he recognized them.
"Uncle Wang, Aunt, Qin Hao, what brings you here?"
When the group saw Xia Ran, they looked a little awkward, but they quickly returned to normal.
"Xia Ran, let me introduce you. This is Lin Yi, my friend. My mom and Uncle Wang wanted to come and see Xiao Chen, so we brought them here together," Qin Hao said.
“Yes, that’s right.” Aunt Gu also spoke up. “You said last time that you could come over if you wanted to see the children. I just missed them a bit because I haven’t seen them in so long, so I came over. Will our visit bother you? If it is, we’ll leave now. These are things we brought for you, Grandpa, and the children.”
Aunt Gu said to the pile of gifts placed to the side.
Xia Ran glanced at the gifts and noticed there were many items. Seeing Aunt Gu's tense expression, she sighed.
"Aunt, Uncle Wang, Qin Hao, and Lin Yi, please come in and sit down. Next time you come, you can just knock on the door. Grandpa is home."
As he spoke, he walked to the door to open it and asked Gu Chen to help him bring all the things inside.
Aunt Gu and the others were still a bit confused by Xia Ran's actions when Qin Hao patted her on the shoulder and said,
"Mom, Uncle Wang, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and go in. Xia Ran has already let us in."
Aunt Gu and Uncle Wang came to their senses and quickly went to get their things and went inside together.
Looking at his mother's expression, Qin Hao sighed helplessly.
They had actually been waiting here for quite a while, but they hadn't dared to knock on the door, afraid that Xia Ran would be angry. But now it seemed that Xia Ran really wasn't angry anymore.
Lin Yi said to Qin Hao, "Let's go in, lest Xia Ran changes her mind later."
Qin Hao nodded and went inside together.
Grandpa Xia was in the living room when he saw Aunt Gu and the others, and he was taken aback.
They just said this afternoon that they might come, and now they really have.
Aunt Gu was also a little nervous when she saw the old man.
"Grandpa, it's been a long time. We've come to bother you again."
Actually, there are very few people who can make Aunt Gu feel nervous. At present, it's only Grandpa Xia and Xia Ran, because she feels deep down that she owes them a lot.
Like now, she feels ashamed to face the old man.
They treated her family with all their heart, yet they hurt Xia Ran so deeply. Just thinking about it made her feel ashamed to come. But she had no choice but to come; she needed to see Xia Ran and the old man's attitude to know if there was any possibility between Gu Zheng and Xia Ran.
The old man nodded and looked at Xia Ran. When he saw Xia Ran smile at him, he roughly understood.
"It's alright, come and sit down, let bygones be bygones."
Since Xia Ran wants to let go, he, as Xia Ran's grandfather, won't say anything more.
Aunt Gu and the others were overjoyed and immediately sat down on the sofa.
"Grandpa, how are you feeling? Are you feeling better? I brought some mild and nourishing medicinal herbs with me. We can use some of them to make a medicinal meal to gently nourish your body," Aunt Gu said.
Grandpa Xia: "No need to be so polite. Just come over whenever you want next time."
Xia Ran poured a few cups of tea over at that moment and overheard the conversation.
"Yes, next time you want to come see the kids, you can just come directly. You don't need to bring so much stuff."
“We have some at home anyway, and they’re just sitting there, so we might as well give them to the old man.” Qin Hao didn’t stand on ceremony at all and picked up the teacup to drink.
Lin Yi stood beside Qin Hao, acting like a mere background figure.
The group talked for a while longer. Although they didn't mind anymore, they still couldn't go back to how things were before.
Aunt Gu and the others knew this, so they soon suggested leaving, fearing that Xia Ran would feel uncomfortable staying there.
Xia Ran actually wanted to ask if they wanted to eat here, but after thinking about it, she decided not to.
Before leaving, Qin Hao pulled him aside and quietly asked him a question.
"Xia Ran, have you and my brother reconciled by now?"
Because the two had a fairly good relationship, Qin Hao dared to ask.
Xia Ran was taken aback, then shook her head directly, "No."
"Really?" Qin Hao's disappointment was palpable. "I thought you two had already reconciled."
Xia Ran smiled, but did not answer Qin Hao's question. Instead, she glanced at Lin Yi before looking at Qin Hao.
"Don't worry about our affairs. Just live your life. So, do you have any plans for when you're getting married? I think Lin Yiren is pretty good."
"What?" Qin Hao was stunned by Xia Ran's words. "What do you mean by 'me and Lin Yi'? What do you mean by 'planning to get married'? I don't even have a girlfriend, how can I get married?"
"No boyfriend?" Xia Ran looked at Qin Hao with suspicion, and found that Qin Hao did not seem to be hiding anything, but really looked like he didn't know.
Xia Ran suddenly seemed to have thought of something and asked in a low voice,
"You two aren't together? Or did you not sense that Lin Yi likes you?"
Qin Hao was startled, a hint of disbelief in his eyes, and stammered, "..."
Are you sure you're not joking?
Xia Ran looked completely innocent. "Do I look like one?"
Qin Hao nervously swallowed. Xia Ran patted his shoulder and said,
"You'll see if you observe carefully. Let's go, don't keep them waiting too long."
Qin Hao turned around blankly and walked towards the elevator. Xia Ran waved to Gu Chen, signaling him to come over from next to Aunt Gu.
Aunt Gu and the others waved to Xia Ran and then entered the elevator. Although they didn't eat there, Xia Ran could still sense that Aunt Gu and the others were in a much better mood.
Qin Hao was still confused by what Xia Ran had just said, and Lin Yi was the first to notice that something was wrong with him.
"What's wrong? Why do you look so strange?"
As he spoke, Lin Yi reached out and patted Qin Hao's shoulder, but because of this touch, Qin Hao was startled as if he had been startled by something and quickly took two steps away from Lin Yi.
If it weren't for the limited space in the elevator, he probably could have run even further.
The more he acted this way, the stranger Lin Yi found it.
Qin Hao realized his reaction might have been too much and quickly explained.
"Um, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something, haha..."
He chuckled dryly, thinking he had gotten away with it, but little did he know that Lin Yi's eyes were full of thoughtful thoughts as she looked at him.
The driver was Lin Yi. He and Qin Hao had originally agreed to go out for dinner together after dropping off Aunt Gu and the others at home, because they had been eating together frequently lately, and it seemed that going out to eat together had become the norm.
However, Qin Hao changed his mind because of what Xia Ran had just said. He used the excuse that he had something else to do to cancel his dinner with Lin Yi and hurriedly ran back to his room.
Lin Yi felt something was wrong, but judging from Qin Hao's expression, it seemed he wouldn't get any answers even if he asked.
Aunt Gu also felt that Qin Hao's behavior was inappropriate, and quickly said to Lin Yi,
"Lin Yi, why don't you just eat at home?"
Lin smiled at Aunt Gu and declined.
"No need, Auntie. I have other things to do at the company, so I'll be going now. See you next time."
"Oh, I see you next time. Drive carefully on the road."
"Okay." Aunt Gu watched Lin Yi leave before going inside.
Qin Hao had already returned to his room and called Gu Zheng. Ever since hearing Xia Ran's words, he had been reflecting on Lin Yi's actions towards him. After thinking about it, he realized something was amiss. In the process of recalling, he also felt that his brother was acting strangely. Could it be that his brother knew something that he didn't? That's why he wanted to call Gu Zheng to ask.
Gu Zheng answered the phone very quickly.
"Brother, there's something I want to ask you, and you must tell me the truth."
"What?" Gu Zheng's tone on the other end of the phone sounded heavy, and it was unclear whether he was busy.
But Qin Hao couldn't care less about that now; he just wanted to know the answer in his heart.
"Brother, let me ask you, do you know that Lin Yi has some kind of scheme against me?"
Gu Zheng on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, then asked, "Why are you suddenly asking this?"
"Don't ask me why, just answer my question first. Do you know? Do you know what Lin Yi's feelings are towards me...?"
Qin Hao couldn't bring himself to say the last few words; he felt a sense of shame.
Although I had my doubts once, it still feels quite... strange to hear it from someone else for the first time.
"Yes." Gu Zheng didn't hide it from Qin Hao anymore.
Qin Hao was completely stunned, unable to utter a word for a moment.
A few minutes later, he felt that his language system had returned.
When did you find out?
"Before you first met him."
"What? Say it again, how long ago was it?"
Qin Hao was completely shocked. Damn it, he thought he would find out later at most, but he didn't expect it to be before he and Lin Yi met for the first time.
Wait, that's not right. If it was before their first meeting, then he hadn't even met Lin Yi yet. How could that be?
"You really don't remember him?" Gu Zheng suddenly said something that puzzled Qin Hao.
"What do you mean? Should I have known him before? No, I don't have any memory of him. He's not ugly. If I had met him, I would definitely remember him."
Chapter 403 A Boy's Eighteen-Year-Old Transformation
Hearing this, Gu Zheng felt a pang of sympathy for Lin Yi. He figured if Lin Yi had gone through so much and still not been remembered, he probably wouldn't have made it through.
"Brother? Say something! Why are you silent? Tell me right now, when did I see Lin Yi? I really don't remember seeing him at all!"
Qin Hao couldn't help but feel a little anxious.
"Do you really want to know?"