Feng's mother came over and hugged Xia Ran with heartache.
“Child, you’ve suffered. Now that the old man has passed away, of course we all have to come.”
Xia Ran now knows the Feng family's identities, but she doesn't know how to interact with them, so she can only say thank you.
"I need to deal with Grandpa's matter first. I know about my situation with you all, but I'm not in the mood to think about it right now. Please give me some time."
“We know, don’t worry, we won’t pressure you, we’ll give you time,” said Mrs. Feng.
Xia Ran felt a little better. If the Feng family insisted on forcing him to say or do anything at this time, he thought he would definitely hate the Feng family.
"Thank you all for coming." Xia Ran bowed deeply to everyone, and in that instant, a tear fell onto the floor, spreading outwards.
Death itself is not frightening; what is frightening is this suffocating separation.
Gu Zheng grasped Xia Ran's hand. "The funeral home has been contacted and they'll be here shortly. Let's go pack Grandpa's clothes now and take them to the funeral home together. The house has already been bought, so I don't need to worry about any trouble. Dazhuang is also on his way and will be here soon."
Their custom here is that if an elderly person in the family passes away, all of the elderly person's clothes must be burned together with the body.
Upon hearing Gu Zheng's words, Xia Ran subconsciously looked up at him, blinked back the tears welling up in her eyes, and replied with an "okay." Then she went into the room to pack up her grandfather's things.
Gu Zheng and Gu Chen followed them inside. The Feng family wanted to follow as well, but Lin's father stopped them.
"Let them take their time to pack up. The old man can go to the funeral home to see the body and say goodbye."
Upon hearing this, the Feng family had no choice but to stop in their tracks.
Xia Ran silently packed his grandfather's things, but as he did so, tears streamed down his face.
It turns out that death really can erase everything a person has in this world, except for the memories of those who care about them.
Grandpa hasn't been staying here long, and he doesn't have much stuff; one suitcase is enough to hold it all.
After packing her things, Xia Ran sat on the edge of the bed, staring intently at the old man without saying a word.
Gu Zheng held the child and stayed with Xia Ran, telling her about how her grandfather had come to see her that night.
“Grandpa came to see me the night before last and talked to me a lot. Now that I think about it, he was saying goodbye then.”
"What did he say to you?" Xia Ran asked Gu Zheng.
"He asked me if I could take good care of you, if I could keep you from getting hurt, and if I could keep you happy. I said yes, no problem. He also mentioned many things you like to eat, do, and don't like to eat or do."
“Aran, you are Grandpa’s deepest bond in this world, but he has his own obsessions. You can’t blame Grandpa. If I were Grandpa, I would also choose this way. The person he is most worried about is you, so you must live well and be happy, so as not to let down all the things he did for you before he left.”
“I know, I won’t blame him. He’s happy. He can finally go to him and finally realize that his feelings back then weren’t in vain. They have always loved each other.”
Xia Ran said with a smile, but tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
“I promised Grandpa I would take him to Liucheng. I’ll be going there tomorrow. Please take good care of the child. I’ll be back in a few days.”
"What are you saying? Of course we're going to take Grandpa back together."
Upon hearing this, Xia Ran opened her mouth, but in the end, she acquiesced.
"Thanks."
"Aran, don't you feel too distant to say thank you to our relationship? I promised Grandpa that I would take good care of you. We are destined to be together for the rest of our lives."
Xia Ran stared at him for a long time before finally looking away and turning her gaze back to her grandfather.
The funeral home staff arrived about half an hour later. When Xia Ran saw them come in to take her grandfather away, she couldn't help but rush up to stop them.
"grandfather……"
"Good girl, Ran." Gu Zheng hugged Xia Ran and coaxed her in a tone that sounded like he was talking to a child.
"Aran, be good. Grandpa is leaving now, it's time for him to go."
"I can't bear to leave Grandpa, I can't bear to leave..."
Xia Ran couldn't help but cry again, and Feng's mother and the others at the door couldn't help but have tears in their eyes as they watched.
But no matter how reluctant Xia Ran was, they eventually got into the hearse.
The hearse was all black, with a wreath around the roof. The interior was small, so Xia Ran, Gu Zheng, and Gu Chen could sit together. The others followed in their cars.
Gu Chen was always very well-behaved. Because Gu Zheng had to look after Xia Ran, he would stay by Xia Ran's side and be extremely obedient. Even if Xia Ran and Gu Zheng couldn't take care of him, he wouldn't cry or make a fuss, but would just follow along obediently.
We arrived at the funeral home. Grandpa was placed on a specially made platform, and when the time came, he would be taken directly to be cremated.
Xia Ran, Gu Zheng, their child, and Lin Ziming's father knelt on both sides as family members. The others came up one by one to kneel and pay their respects to the old man.
From the moment she entered the funeral home, Xia Ran stopped crying.
Gu Zheng is right. He is the person Grandpa is most worried about. He must be happy and cheerful so that Grandpa can go and see the people he wants to see.
Grandpa's cremation was scheduled for the afternoon, so everyone stayed with Xia Ran the whole time.
Knowing that Xia Ran hadn't eaten anything, Gu Zheng asked Qin Hao to bring her some food.
In fact, funeral homes nowadays are very humane, with dedicated rooms set aside for the deceased's relatives and friends to pay their respects.
Xia Ran only ate a couple of bites before she couldn't eat anymore. Gu Zheng knew that Xia Ran wasn't in the mood to eat, so he didn't make her eat more. He just made her drink a bottle of milk, which she obediently drank.
Da Zhuang arrived two hours after they had been at the funeral home.
He walked directly to Xia Ran's side and knelt down with her.
"I'm sorry, Xia Ran, I'm late. I didn't even notice that Grandpa was calling me to say goodbye."
Dazhuang looked guilty and distressed. It was clear that he had come in a great hurry and was covered in dust from his journey.
He Xiu, who was standing to the side, had seen Da Zhuang as soon as he entered, and his gaze still involuntarily fell on Da Zhuang.
Xia Ran was also taken aback when she heard Da Zhuang's words, and asked,
"You just said that Grandpa called you too?"
"Yes, just the day before yesterday, I was quite surprised when Grandpa suddenly called me. He said a lot to me, that I am your best brother, and that if possible, I should visit you often. He also said that you don't have many friends, and that I am the person you trust the most. He asked me to take good care of you in the future."
"At the time, I was quite puzzled and asked Grandpa why he said those things. Grandpa was smiling the whole time and just said that he was suddenly bored and wanted to find someone to chat with, so he came to me. I didn't think much of it at the time, but I never expected that Grandpa would say that today..."
After hearing this, Xia Ran's tears, which he had managed to stop, started falling again. He looked at Grandpa Xia lying there and felt a pang of sadness in his heart.
"It's alright, it's Grandpa's own decision. He's just going to see the person he likes, I can understand."
Dazhuang knew about his grandfather's situation, so he roughly understood what Xia Ran meant by those words.
He patted Xia Ran on the shoulder, offering silent comfort.
When it was time for cremation, Xia Ran couldn't help but break down and cry as she watched her grandfather being taken away. She cried her heart out.
Gu Zheng held Xia Ran tightly, and the others also had tears in their eyes.
Death can happen in an instant. Xia Ran broke down in tears and fainted when the staff handed him a box containing ashes.
When Xia Ran woke up again, he was in his room at home. He stared blankly at the ceiling, tears silently streaming down his face.
Plans after Chapter 422
"Awake? Is anything bothering you?" Gu Zheng immediately stood up when he saw Xia Ran open her eyes and touched her forehead with his hand.
Xia Ran stirred, trying to sit up, but then noticed someone next to him. He turned his head and saw that it was Gu Chen sleeping next to him.
"The child was worried about you, so he stayed with you and then slowly fell asleep."
"What... happened to me?" Xia Ran asked softly, sitting up with Gu Zheng's help. Of course, he moved very gently, afraid of waking the child.
"You fainted from excessive grief. Lin Ziming said there was no need to take you to the hospital, so he brought you home. After you got back, you kept having nightmares, and later you even had a fever. It was He Xiu who went to the hospital to get some IV fluids and gave you an injection, and you slowly recovered."
As Gu Zheng spoke, he helped Xia Ran cover herself with the blanket.
Xia Ran watched his actions, and her nose couldn't help but sting with tears again.
"Actually, before I married you, I didn't know that Gu Chen existed. I used to kick off the covers when I slept. And whenever I was home, my grandfather would cover me with a blanket almost every night. Gu Zheng, I don't have a grandfather anymore. I don't have a grandfather anymore."
Gu Zheng felt a pang of heartache as he listened, and he took Xia Ran's hand in his.
"I'll cover you with a blanket from now on, for the rest of my life. And you haven't lost your grandfather; he'll be watching over you from another world."
"I'm just a little sad. Why can't he spend the rest of the year with me? The New Year is almost here. Why can't he spend some time with me, even just for this last New Year?"
"But Grandpa might also want to go down and spend the New Year with the person he loves. Ran, Grandpa has spent more than 20 years of New Year's with you, but he also missed the New Year when he and the person he loves couldn't spend it together. Let's forgive Grandpa and understand him this once, okay?"
Gu Zheng spoke very gently, as if he were coaxing a child. There was no impatience or lack of understanding. He was simply trying to soothe Xia Ran's distress over and over again.
Xia Ran knew that Gu Zheng was right and understood what he meant, but he just couldn't do it. He just couldn't bear to part with his grandfather.
He simply couldn't accept that his grandfather was still here at this time yesterday, still talking to him, still smiling at him, and that he was gone in less than a day. How could he accept it?
"Grandpa is already so worried about you. If you continue like this, he won't be able to stop worrying about you even in the other world. Can you bear to let him keep worrying about you?"
"Aran, this is Grandpa's choice. As the person he loves most, you should learn to understand him."
Listening to Gu Zheng's words, Xia Ran kept crying, but she felt a little better.
He glanced at Gu Zheng, then took a deep breath to calm himself down as much as possible, and asked,
Where are Grandpa's ashes?
"In the next room."
"I'll go see him and say a few words to him." Xia Ran said, getting up, but Gu Zheng helped him up.
Perhaps because of his emotional ups and downs today, and because he hadn't eaten much, he swayed slightly when he put his feet on the ground, and his head felt a little dizzy. Gu Zheng was there to support him, otherwise he would have fallen to the ground.
“You haven’t eaten much today, and your emotions have been so volatile. Your body can’t take it. How about I go get you something to eat before you go see Grandpa?” Gu Zheng said.
"No need, I don't have an appetite right now," Xia Ran said. "I just lay there for too long and couldn't recover for a while, but I'm fine now."
Gu Zheng wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing, only helping Xia Ran out of the room. Xia Ran didn't need his help at first, but Gu Zheng insisted on helping him. Xia Ran wasn't in the mood to argue with Gu Zheng, so he could only let Gu Zheng help him out.
Everyone was in the living room, but they were all in low spirits and didn't say a word, so Xia Ran thought there was no one else at home. Now that he suddenly saw everyone, he felt a little touched.
“Why are you all here? It’s so late, you should go home,” Xia Ran said to them.
“We’re not in a hurry to go back, we’ll stay here with you.” Feng’s mother walked to Xia Ran’s side.
"I..." Xia Ran didn't know how to talk to them for a moment, but Gu Zheng spoke up in the end.
"Aran, let them stay here. I'll make arrangements. They won't feel comfortable sending you back at this time."
“Yes, we are all family, so of course we should keep vigil for Grandpa for a day,” said Feng’s mother.
Xia Ran opened her mouth, but in the end she only said thank you.