Gu Chen was initially reluctant to leave, but Xia Ran coaxed him a bit and persuaded him to go out with Qin Hao, and in the end, the child agreed.
Only Gu Zheng and Xia Ran remained in the ward.
Xia Ran remained calm. "Speak, explain yesterday's events clearly to me. What exactly happened?"
Seeing Xia Ran like this, Gu Zheng knew that things were really in trouble. It seemed that if he didn't make things clear today, Xia Ran would be even less willing to forgive him.
"What happened yesterday was actually part of a plan I devised. I never thought about not wanting the child or not wanting you. I just wanted Gu En to disappear completely. The child wouldn't have actually fallen; someone would have caught him. I didn't tell you beforehand because I was afraid you wouldn't agree. I was thinking of making Gu En believe the child was gone. I never imagined you would jump. That was my fault. Thankfully, you're alright, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do in the end."
After hearing Gu Zheng's words, Xia Ran didn't know what to say.
"Are you really willing to let your child jump into this trap? What if something happens to the child? Can you guarantee 100% safety?"
“There will be no surprises,” Gu Zheng said directly. “My decision is not unexpected.”
Xia Ran just looked at Gu Zheng like that. Sometimes he also felt that Gu Zheng's mind was terrifying, that he could actually calculate everything.
"So what about now? What about Gu En now?"
"I haven't gone to see him yet. I'll go see him after you've had breakfast. I'll take care of some things."
Xia Ran was feeling extremely confused and agitated.
"That's your problem. Just don't let him come out and disturb my life."
"I know, don't worry, I definitely won't let him bother you anymore. You should have your breakfast first, or it will get cold."
Gu Zheng helped Xia Ran carry her breakfast to the dining table in the middle of the bed.
Xia Ran watched this scene in silence. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought they had made up.
But Xia Ran's feelings were very complicated. He now knew that Gu Zheng's actions yesterday were actually a good thing, and he felt that he had been very foolish yesterday.
But... the image of Gu Zheng rushing into the river after him was still etched in his mind.
He ate his breakfast in silence. Seeing that Xia Ran's attitude was calm, Gu Zheng hesitated for a moment before tentatively sitting on the bed and eating as well.
Chapter 408 What Happened Six Years Ago
Xia Ran glanced at him but didn't say anything.
After they finished eating, Xia Ran wanted to pack up, but to his surprise, Gu Zheng was faster and started packing up immediately.
Although I wasn't very skilled at it, I still managed to clean it quite well.
Qin Hao probably saw that they had been talking for so long and there was no sound coming from the ward, so he got a little worried and opened the door to peek in.
He and Gu Chen peered in from above and below.
"Um... Brother, Xia Ran, have you two finished talking? There aren't any problems, right?"
"Little Daddy?" Gu Chen couldn't help but call out, wanting to come in, but he didn't dare.
Now, Xia Ran feels even more heartache for Gu Chen and a stronger desire to protect the child as he grows up.
Imagine how heartbroken a child would be if they knew about a father like that. Luckily, the child knows nothing; sometimes, ignorance is bliss.
"Baby, come in and tell your dad what you ate for breakfast. Let your dad feel your tummy to see if you're full."
Upon hearing this, Gu Chen immediately ran in and rushed to the bedside, offering his belly to Xia Ran for her to touch.
Xia Ran touched it and said, "Hmm, not bad, Daddy touched it. You're eating well."
Qin Hao followed him in. He secretly observed the atmosphere between the two, but couldn't discern anything, so he gave up in the end.
Xia Ran talked to the child for a while, while Gu Zheng and Qin Hao watched from the side for a long time.
Xia Ran checked the time and decided to be discharged from the hospital.
With Qin Hao and Gu Zheng there, Xia Ran didn't need to go through the discharge procedures; Qin Hao happily went and got the discharge certificate done for her.
Upon arriving at the hospital entrance, Gu Zheng asked Qin Hao to take Xia Ran and Gu Chen home, while he went to find Gu En.
"Brother, where are you going? Aren't you going to send Xia Ran back?" Qin Hao was speechless, wishing he could pry open Gu Zheng's head to see what was inside.
Wouldn't it be the perfect time to build goodwill by sending Xia Ran home after her discharge? Why send her home now? Is he out of his mind?
However, Qin Hao didn't dare to say these words aloud. He could only keep giving Gu Zheng meaningful glances, but Gu Zheng didn't even look at him. Instead, he looked at Xia Ran, who had already gotten into Qin Hao's car.
"Aran, you take the child home first. I told Grandpa yesterday that we finished too late and it was too far to go home, so we found a hotel to stay in. When you get back, just tell Grandpa that I'm going to take care of what happened last night."
Xia Ran knew what Gu Zheng meant; he simply wanted to go find Gu En.
But even though he knew, he still didn't answer Gu Zheng.
Qin Hao glanced at the two of them, as if there were still some things he couldn't let them know.
"Then I'll take Xia Ran and Xiao Chen back." He got into the driver's seat.
Gu Zheng wanted to say a few more words to Xia Ran, but Xia Ran had already rolled up the car window, so he could only watch her car leave.
Only after the car had completely disappeared from his sight did he get into his own car and, with a cold face, head to find Gu En.
He came to the same house where he had visited Gu En before, but he ran into the man next to Gu En in the neighborhood.
The man looked hurried, carrying a bag as if he was rushing to do something. But after seeing him get off the bus, he walked straight towards him.
"Gu En is missing."
"What?" Upon hearing this, Gu Zheng was momentarily stunned and didn't react.
The man said, "He asked me to go out and buy something in the morning. When I came back, he was gone. He only left a note and his phone was switched off."
"Give it to me."
The man handed the note to Gu Zheng.
"Don't look for me. I will never forgive Gu Zheng and Xia Ran. I did nothing wrong yesterday. Since Gu Zheng isn't calling the police to arrest me, then that's what he owes me. I still loathe that child—I loathe his birth, his very existence."
The words on this note are somewhat disjointed, but the meaning is very clear.
Last night, after Gu Zheng rescued Xia Ran, Gu En was gone, but the man was still there. Gu Zheng told the man that he wouldn't call the police, but he would settle things with Gu En. After the man went back, he told Gu En everything. Gu En didn't react after hearing it and went straight to her room to sleep. She didn't come out until this morning.
He thought Gu En would make some plans or reflect on himself, but he never expected that Gu En would leave a note and then leave.
“Nothing is missing, just some identification and a few sets of clothes,” the man said. “Thank you for not calling the police yesterday. Knowing him as I do, Gu En probably won’t be coming back this time, so it’s kind of a compromise. I’m going to find him now. I’m entrusting the child to you.”
Gu Zheng returned the note to the man, saying, "You don't need to worry about the child. He will always be my son, Gu Zheng's son."
The man grunted and was about to leave, but Gu Zheng stopped him.
“Take this card. There’s some money in it. Use it to find him and give him a good life. Don’t refuse. This is what I owe him. If we don’t pursue what happened yesterday, we’ll be even.”
Gu Zheng spoke calmly, and the man glanced at him before taking his card and leaving.
As Gu Zheng stood by the roadside watching the man, wearing a black baseball cap and carrying a black backpack, resolutely walk towards the taxi, a sense of emotion suddenly arose in his heart.
In fact, everyone is loved, and everyone deserves to be loved. When you are loved, you don't really need anything special.
Things didn't expect to develop in this direction; could it be considered that he achieved his desired goal?
He got into the car, checked the time, and then turned around and went back to the company.
Xia Ran is definitely explaining things to the old man right now, and if he goes over at this time, it will only cause trouble for Xia Ran.
Just as Gu Zheng thought, Xia Ran was indeed explaining to Grandpa Xia, but Grandpa Xia didn't really believe him.
"I didn't say I disagreed. You're both adults, isn't it normal to spend the night out? Just don't bring the child next time, you have to bring the child back."
"Grandpa, how many times do I have to tell you before you believe me? Nothing really happened between us yesterday. We just had to spend the night outside because we were forced to. Can you please stop overthinking things?"
Xia Ran looked helpless. He didn't understand why his grandfather had become so gossipy after talking to him openly.
The old man looked completely disbelieving, and Xia Ran didn't bother to explain further.
"Okay, okay, whatever you want. But I need to change my clothes now to take the kids to kindergarten. They've already missed all morning classes. I don't want to cook later. What do you want to eat? I'll get takeout."
"Either is fine, I can just grab something to eat. But how about I take the kids to school? You look a little tired, did you not sleep well?"
"No need, I'll go. You stay home and rest."
Xia Ran changed clothes with the child and then sent Gu Chen to kindergarten. When she returned, it was almost noon, so she packed two servings of wontons to take home.
Lin Ziming called me as soon as I got home.
Xia Ran thought of Lin Ziming and the others' identities and subconsciously looked at her grandfather beside her.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Answer the phone! Ziming might be calling you because it's urgent."
"Oh." Xia Ran answered and picked up the phone. Lin Ziming's face immediately appeared on the screen.
"Why did it take you so long to answer the phone? Is everything alright? When I called Grandpa last night, he told me that you and Gu Zheng spent the night out?"
Hearing Lin Ziming's gossipy tone, Xia Ran felt even more helpless and said,
"We're just forced to spend the night outside. And have you forgotten something? I'm divorced from Gu Zheng. He hurt me both physically and emotionally back then. Shouldn't you be on my side?"
"Aren't we on your side now? We're just asking out of curiosity because you went out."
Lin Ziming said with a smile, and Grandpa Xia next to him also looked on in agreement.
Xia Ran didn't want to pay much attention to the two who had suddenly betrayed them, and simply said,
"Brother Ziming, when are you coming back?"
"What's wrong? Is there something you need us for?"
Lin Ziming was just joking when he said it, but Xia Ran actually nodded.
"Yes, I have something I want to tell you."
"What can't be said on the phone?" Grandpa Xia chimed in from the side. "They're out running errands, why are you rushing them? As long as they can come back for the New Year, that's enough."
Xia Ran didn't speak, only staring at Lin Ziming on her phone screen. Lin Ziming sensed something was wrong with Xia Ran; he paused, and after a long while, he spoke.
"I can go back the day after tomorrow."
"Okay, then I'll cook you something delicious and give you a welcome feast." Xia Ran said with a smile.
The group talked for a while longer before hanging up. Two days later, he would ask Lin Ziming about the specifics of what had happened.
When I went to pick up the child in the afternoon, Gu Zheng picked him up and even called Xia Ran.
Xia Ran was still a little scared about what happened last night, so she made sure several times that it really was Gu Zheng who picked up the child before hanging up the phone.
When they went to open the door, Xia Ran and Gu Zheng exchanged a glance and then let the child into the house.