Xia Ran shook her head. "No need, I'm fine. Let's go there quickly. The sooner we get there, the sooner I'll feel at ease."
Seeing Xia Ran's stubbornness, Gu Zheng ultimately did not force her to rest, and the group set off for the cemetery.
The cemetery is located in the suburbs, surrounded by beautiful mountains and clear waters, with a very pleasant environment.
As soon as Xia Ran got out of the car, he felt that his grandfather would definitely like it here. He touched his backpack and whispered,
"Grandpa, we've arrived."
Since Lin Ziming and his father had already been here once, they were familiar with many things. Xia Ran and the others followed the father and son to a tombstone, next to which was an empty tombstone.
“This is a newly developed cemetery, and not many people have bought it yet. There happened to be a spot next door, so I called yesterday and had someone buy this place for my grandfather,” Lin Ziming said.
They placed the flowers and fruit they brought in front of the tombstone.
Xia Ran glanced at the photo on the tombstone and found it to be a black and white photo of a young man in his youth. The young man in the photo had a carefree and unrestrained smile on his face, and his eyebrows and eyes showed his happiness.
Xia Ran was somewhat stunned. It wasn't the first time he had seen this person's face, but this smile was the first time he had seen this photo.
Mr. Lin noticed Xia Ran's gaze and spoke up.
"This photo was left by him. It was a group photo, and your grandfather was on the other side. I asked Ziming to have professionals separate the two people in the photo and make two individual photos. I think both he and the old man were very reluctant to part with this photo."
After finishing speaking, Mr. Lin took out a black and white photo from his jacket pocket and gave it to Xia Ran.
“I think Grandpa also wanted to use this photo to put on his tombstone. I heard him say that this was the first photo they ever took. They had just earned a little money and went straight to take photos. They said they actually wanted to take a photo with a red background, as a wedding photo, but the photo studio was unwilling to take it for them, so this was the only photo they could take in the end.”
Listening to Lin's father's words, Xia Ran took the photo. It was a picture of her grandfather when he was young, with a smile on his face that was both unrestrained and joyful and shy. Perhaps her grandfather and his family had long regarded this photo as their wedding photo.
"Grandpa, I've sent Nanfeng to his side. From now on, you two must take good care of each other, hold each other's hands tightly, and never lose each other again."
Hearing Xia Ran's words, the others couldn't help but feel a little sore.
Xia Ran squatted down in front of the tombstone, took her grandfather's urn out of her backpack, and placed it in the small pit behind the tombstone.
At this moment, Xia Ran couldn't help but shed tears. He didn't know how he managed to put his grandfather's photo on the tombstone; he only knew that he was in tears after he finished.
He looked at the two adjacent tombstones, the same black and white photos, different people, the same smiles, and inexplicably started crying and laughing at the same time.
"Grandpas, have you met yet? Have you held each other's hands?"
Xia Ran, disregarding the others present, sat cross-legged in front of the two tombstones and muttered to herself,
“I will live a good life from now on, so you don’t need to worry about me or be concerned about me. I’m not alone anymore. I have Dazhuang, my child, Ziming and my uncle, Yuwu and my friends, and… Gu Zheng. They will all take good care of me.”
When Gu Zheng heard Xia Ran mention his name, he was startled and seemed to understand something. He also squatted down and looked solemnly at the two photos on the tombstone.
"Grandpa, don't worry, I will take good care of Aran."
He doesn't say many nice things, but his words "Don't worry" are very reassuring.
The weather was lovely today; the warm sun felt wonderful on my skin, and a long time had passed.
"Ziming, Uncle, Dazhuang, and Gu Zheng, you should take the children back to the hotel first. I want to stay with Grandpa a little longer."
Everyone frowned.
Dazhuang: "We'll go with you. We'll have nothing to do back at the hotel anyway."
"No need, you can go back." Xia Ran's tone was firm.
Gu Zheng: "You all go back. The child and I will stay with him."
This time, Xia Ran didn't say anything more, and Lin Ziming and the others simply went back to the car to wait instead of returning to the hotel.
After Lin Ziming and the others left, Gu Zheng, unconcerned about the dirt on the ground, sat down cross-legged with the child, just like Xia Ran.
Xia Ran glanced at him and said softly, "The ground is dirty."
"I'm not afraid." Gu Zheng only said these two words.
Xia Ran smiled gently at him. Although she didn't say anything, Gu Zheng already understood what Xia Ran meant.
“My child and I will always be with you. We can come to Liucheng often in the future. If you like this city, we can move here to live.”
"Okay." Xia Ran only responded with an "okay," without answering whether she wanted to move to this city.
Gu Zheng turned his head to look at Xia Ran, but Xia Ran was resting her chin on her hand, looking at the photos on the two tombstones, with the child sitting between them.
Gu Zheng didn't know why Xia Ran had suddenly changed her attitude, but he was very happy and relieved.
Time passed quickly, and it was almost six o'clock. Winter nights fall early, and the cemetery, being in the suburbs, could be a little frightening, but Xia Ran wasn't afraid. He simply stood up, looked at Grandpa Xia's photo on the tombstone, and said…
"Grandpa, we're leaving. We're going home tomorrow, back to our hometown. There's so much stuff at home, I need to tidy it up properly. It's almost Chinese New Year, and this is the first time I'll be spending it without you by my side. I feel a little unaccustomed to it."
Xia Ran smiled as she spoke, and then gently shook her head.
"No, you said you'd be watching over me from another world, so I won't be spending the New Year alone, right? You and the other grandpa will be watching over me too, keeping me company, right?"
“We’re still here,” Gu Zheng said from the side.
Xia Ran turned her head to look at him and curled the corner of her mouth slightly.
"Let's go."
"Okay." Gu Zheng grasped Xia Ran's hand.
Xia Ran stiffened for a moment, but in the end she let Gu Zheng lead her.
Goodbye, Grandpa.
Gu Chen obediently said goodbye to his great-grandfather. At the same time, a gentle breeze blew by, not cold, but rather making people feel quite comfortable.
Xia Ran paused for a moment, closed his eyes and felt it. Suddenly, he felt that the wind was stroking him and comforting him, just like his grandfather used to pat his head when he was a child.
Xia Ran was surprised that Da Zhuang and the others hadn't left yet.
However, Da Zhuang was also very surprised when he saw him and Gu Zheng holding hands as they walked over.
"you………"
"I'll talk to you later. Didn't I tell you to go back to the hotel first? Why are you still waiting here? It must be tiring." Xia Ran interrupted Da Zhuang.
Upon hearing Xia Ran's tone, Da Zhuang knew that Xia Ran had let go of her grandfather's matter, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that Xia Ran would have a mental breakdown and be stuck on her grandfather's death.
“We can’t go back without you all coming out, but now that you’re out, hurry up and get in the car, I’m starving.”
Xia Ran smiled and got into the car behind. He rolled down the window, looked into the cemetery, and silently thought, "Grandpa, I will live a good life. Look, I have so many kind people around me."
They returned to the hotel after 7 p.m., and the group ate dinner on the second floor as they had at noon.
Xia Ran's appetite returned immediately, and he ate quite a lot. Seeing him like this, everyone knew that Xia Ran had let go of the past.
"Brother Ziming, Uncle, Dazhuang, I'm going home tomorrow, back to my hometown."
The three people named by Xia Ran all nodded in unison.
“Okay, let’s go back together and celebrate the New Year together. Didn’t we agree before that we would celebrate the New Year together this year?” said Mr. Lin.
“I’ll go back with you too,” Dazhuang said. “I told my parents before I came here. They told me not to rush back and to stay with you for a while longer. They also gave me a lot of money and said to ask them for help if I need anything. Besides, I also have something important to do.”
Xia Ran felt a warmth in his heart after hearing this. He looked at the group and showed the most relaxed smile he had seen in the past two days.
"Okay, then let's celebrate the New Year together this year."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Gu Zheng beside him.
What about you? Want to come along?
"Of course," Gu Zheng replied with a smile, "Wherever you are, that's where the child and I will be."
"Okay." Xia Ran's smile deepened.
Gu Chen had been sitting next to his two fathers. Seeing their expressions, he suddenly seemed to understand something. He widened his eyes slightly, wanting to say something but afraid of upsetting Xia Ran, so he decided to pretend he knew nothing.
The conversation between the two made Da Zhuang and the others guess something, but Xia Ran had said at the entrance of the cemetery that she would tell them later, so they could only wait patiently.
When everyone went back to their rooms to sleep, Xia Ran realized that Gu Zheng had booked a double room for them, which meant that he would have to share a room with Gu Zheng and the child.
Xia Ran stood silently at the door. Although his mood had changed, it didn't mean he could accept living with Gu Zheng right away. He still needed time.
"I'll go sleep with Dazhuang." Xia Ran made her decision quickly, but how could Gu Zheng let her go?
"I booked a double room so we can stay separately. I booked it this way just in case you need someone to stay with you at night. I'm just worried about leaving you alone in a room. I don't have any other intentions."
Upon hearing this, Xia Ran suddenly thought of how Gu Zheng had curled up on the sofa last night, and finally couldn't help but nod slightly.
Chapter 425 Let Me Lean On
Dazhuang had been watching Xia Ran the whole time, thinking that she would probably live with him, but now that he saw Xia Ran nod, he shook his head helplessly and went into the room next door without saying a word.
Gu Zheng booked four rooms in total: one for Dazhuang, one for Lin Ziming, one for Lin's father, and one for him and Xia Ran with their child.
Lin Ziming and his father quietly returned to their room.
They had all seen Xia Ran's reaction today and roughly understood what she meant.
Now that they understood Xia Ran's intentions, they decided to leave the matter to Xia Ran to handle himself. They simply needed to stay behind Xia Ran and prevent Gu Zheng from bullying him.
Xia Ran sensed Da Zhuang and the others' reactions and felt a little uncomfortable, so she could only lead the child inside.
Gu Zheng closed the door from behind, unable to suppress the upward curve of his lips.
Xia Ran led Gu Chen into the room, which was a suite. He also noticed that his luggage, which he and Da Zhuang had originally left in the same room, had been moved here at some point.
Xia Ran paused for a moment, and Gu Zheng immediately began to explain.
"Aran, this is what I had someone bring over in advance. You must be tired after a long day. Go take a hot bath first. There's a bathtub here, so you can soak for a while."
Xia Ran looked at Gu Zheng, whose face still looked calm and innocent. He felt a little relieved. Gu Zheng probably wouldn't do anything, right?
"Okay," Xia Ran replied, taking out a change of clothes from her luggage.
He is indeed quite tired today, both physically and mentally. A bath should make him feel better.
Xia Ran told the child and went into the bathroom. Gu Chen watched Xia Ran go in, and then immediately pulled Gu Zheng's hand.
"Uncle, I have something I want to ask you."
Upon hearing this, Gu Zheng immediately squatted down.
"What's wrong?"
Gu Chen glanced at the closed bathroom door first, then cautiously whispered in Gu Zheng's ear, "..."
"Big Daddy, is Little Daddy not angry with you anymore? Has he forgiven you? Can we live together again from now on?"