Xia Ran regretted it as soon as she finished speaking, but the words were already out and couldn't be taken back. She could only grit her teeth and wait for Gu Zheng's reply.
He thought that Gu Zheng would refuse, given his dislike of sweets. But to his surprise, Gu Zheng not only didn't refuse, but also opened his mouth and ate the cake.
"Yes, it tastes really good."
His tone still carried a hint of amusement, while Xia Ran froze, staring blankly at Gu Zheng, unsure of what to say.
"You...you said...you don't like sweets, right?"
“But I like the sweets you feed me,” Gu Zheng said seriously.
Xia Ran's face flushed instantly, especially when he saw Gu Chen staring at them with his eyes open. He glared at Gu Zheng directly.
"The child is still here! What nonsense are you talking about!"
Gu Zheng glanced at Gu Chen, who looked completely bewildered. Xia Ran was at a loss for words and could only lower her head and devour her cake.
But even with his head down, he couldn't escape Gu Zheng's attack...
"Eat slowly, you've got cake all over your mouth."
As he spoke, he reached out and wiped the crumbs from Xia Ran's mouth with his finger, and Xia Ran's fever, which had finally subsided, suddenly flared up again.
"Gu Zheng!" Xia Ran couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed and angry. But Gu Zheng still looked completely innocent.
"What's wrong?"
"You!" Xia Ran was so angry that she stopped paying attention to Gu Zheng.
Gu Zheng also knew that Xia Ran wasn't really angry at the moment.
"Don't be angry, have some lemon water, it'll help cut through the grease."
Xia Ran ignored him, but picked up the lemonade and took a sip. Indeed, the sweet and sour lemonade was very refreshing.
Gu Chen, biting his spoon, kept looking at his two fathers. For some reason, he felt a little superfluous at that moment.
But Little Dad talked a lot tonight, so he and Big Dad no longer have to worry about Little Dad being sad alone.
Just as Gu Zheng had thought, Xia Ran wasn't really angry at this moment; he just felt a little uncomfortable, but he managed to suppress that discomfort in the end.
There's really nothing to be uncomfortable about. After all, it's not the first time they've done this. It's just using the same spoon, what's the big deal?
Xia Ran sleeps with the child, while Gu Zheng sleeps alone.
Gu Zheng originally wanted the child to sleep with him, saying he was afraid the child would make Xia Ran sleep poorly, but the child refused, so in the end he had to sleep alone.
Gu Zheng watched as Xia Ran and the child lay down before turning off the light.
"Aran, goodnight," Gu Zheng whispered in the darkness.
Xia Ran's heart trembled slightly. "Okay, goodnight."
Xia Ran slept fairly well that night, but perhaps because he had been thinking about it during the day, he dreamed about it. In his dream, he saw his grandfather and his grandfather's lover.
Chapter 427 Dating or Marriage
Xia Ran didn't realize it was Grandpa Xia and his family at first, because the two looked like they were when they were young.
"Xiao Ran, Grandpa has come to see you. I'm sorry, Grandpa knows I shouldn't say goodbye to you this way, but Grandpa also can't bear to say goodbye to you in person, so please forgive Grandpa, okay?"
As Xia Ran listened, her eyes reddened, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
"Grandpa, I don't blame you, but you must take good care of yourself. Did you find him? Did you meet him?"
Grandpa Xia smiled, then turned his head to look at the person who had been accompanying him.
"Okay, I found it. Xiaoran, be strong, be happy, be blessed, and cherish the happiness you have now, understand?"
Xia Ran was crying and couldn't speak, she could only nod vigorously.
“Grandpa, I’ll call you Grandpa too.” Xia Ran looked at the young man next to her grandfather. The young man’s gaze was fixed on her grandfather, and even Xia Ran, an outsider, could see the tenderness in his eyes.
"Although I wasn't involved in your and Grandpa's past, I've heard Grandpa talk about you. I know you'll take good care of Grandpa, so I won't give you any more instructions. Just don't let go of Grandpa's hand so easily this time. He loves you very much."
The young man nodded to Xia Ran; his voice was quite pleasant.
"Yes, we will. You take good care of yourself too, and don't worry us."
Before Xia Ran could answer, the two people disappeared in front of him. Xia Ran panicked and kept calling out for Grandpa Xia, but there was no response.
"Aran, Aran, wake up, what's wrong? Aran..."
"Little Daddy, Little Daddy, waaaah... Little Daddy, what's wrong? Wake up, Little Daddy..."
Two voices rang in Xia Ran's ears, and someone was shaking his body.
Xia Ran groggily opened his eyes and immediately saw Gu Zheng and Gu Chen looking at him with anxious expressions.
"What's wrong with you guys?" Xia Ran asked.
"We should be asking you what's wrong. Were you having a dream? You kept crying and calling for Grandpa."
Xia Ran was stunned for a moment, and the dream he had just had immediately came to mind. He raised his hand to touch his face and found that he had been crying without realizing it.
So...did he really dream about his grandfather and the others just now?
"Ran, did you really dream about Grandpa?"
Xia Ran nodded gently. "Yes, I dreamt of Grandpa. But this time, Grandpa came to tell me that he was very happy and joyful, so I'm at peace now. I'm not sad anymore. Maybe this is the best thing for Grandpa."
Xia Ran sat up, wiped away her tears, and a rare smile appeared on her face.
"I promised Grandpa that I would live a good life."
"Yes, it's good that you understand. Your child and I will always be with you, don't be afraid."
Gu Zheng patted Xia Ran's head. Gu Chen then snuggled against Xia Ran.
"Little Daddy, Big Daddy and I will always be with you, don't be afraid, don't be afraid."
Xia Ran looked down at the child, then at Gu Zheng.
"Okay, Daddy got it. By the way, what time is it now?"
"It's past seven in the morning, do you want to sleep a little longer?" Gu Zheng said.
"No, I'm not sleepy anymore. I'd better get up and have some breakfast first, then go back early. I want to go back."
After dreaming about his grandfather, he couldn't wait to go home and tidy up the house. Only after resolving everything could he finally feel at ease.
"Okay, let's go have breakfast first. I've already arranged the people and the car. We can go back after breakfast and get home tonight."
"good."
"No, that's not right." Xia Ran suddenly remembered something. "Da Zhuang and the others can't possibly be up that early. Why don't we go downstairs for a walk first, and then talk to them when they wake up?"
"Okay, whatever you say."
While Xia Ran and the others were planning to go back, Qin Hao and Lin Yi had arranged to chat at the coffee shop downstairs from the company.
They had originally agreed to meet during lunch break, but Qin Hao felt very uncomfortable and lingered at the entrance of the coffee shop, unwilling or perhaps afraid to go in.
The thought of having a face-to-face conversation with Lin Yi later made him feel uneasy. He wondered what Lin Yi would say to him.
"Huh? Mr. Qin, what are you doing here?" Suddenly, a person appeared in front of Qin Hao. It was the receptionist from their company. "Mr. Qin, are you going in for coffee? I saw Mr. Lin inside just now. He asked me where you were and told me to call you down. If you didn't come down, he would come up to find you."
"What?" Qin Hao was startled. "N-nothing, it's alright, it's alright. You go back to the company first. I'll go find him right now. Don't worry about me, go ahead."
The receptionist seemed a little confused, but eventually nodded and left.
After encountering the receptionist, Qin Hao knew he could no longer hide and could only straighten his back and walk into the coffee shop.
Perhaps it was Lin Yi's outstanding temperament that made Qin Hao spot her sitting by the window at a glance.
At the same time, Lin Yi saw him and waved to him. Qin Hao's heart skipped a beat and he became nervous instantly. However, he knew that he couldn't keep running away from this, so he could only bite the bullet and walk towards Lin Yi.
"Hi." Qin Hao greeted Lin Yi, trying to appear calm.
Lin raised an eyebrow at him. "I thought you were going to stay hidden by the door and not come in."
"Huh?" Qin Hao was taken aback. "You...you saw me just now?"
Lin Yi smiled but didn't say anything. He simply pointed to the glass window next to him. Qin Hao looked over and realized that he could see Lin Yi's actions at the door from where he was sitting.
Qin Hao: "..." I wonder if it's too late to switch to another Earth now!
Perhaps sensing Qin Hao's discomfort, Lin Yi changed the subject.
"Sit down, I've ordered you a coconut latte."
Since things had come to this point, Qin Hao had no choice but to sit down opposite Lin Yi.
As soon as he sat down, a waiter brought him a coconut latte. He whispered a thank you and kept stirring the coffee in his cup with a spoon.
"You just told the receptionist to call me down, but you clearly saw me a long time ago..."
"If I don't say that, when can you come in?"
"I..." Qin Hao was speechless.
Lin Yi looked at Qin Hao like this, sighed, and said,
Now that you know who I am, is there anything you want to say to me?
"I..." Qin Hao looked up at Lin Yi, then quickly lowered his head again. "I...I'm sorry. I was young and ignorant before. I shouldn't...I shouldn't have treated you like that. I shouldn't have called you Little Fatty. I...I was young then. Now I know I was wrong, so..."
"So what? So I'll let you go?" Lin Yi continued Qin Hao's question. Qin Hao nodded quickly.
"Yes! I can apologize to you. Anyway, so many years have passed, and I don't think there's any need to keep dwelling on the past, right?"
"Is this all you want to talk to me about? Nothing else?" Lin Yi's face turned cold. "Qin Hao, do you dare say you have no idea what I'm thinking right now?"
"I..." Qin Hao, who was already nervous, became even more nervous because of Lin Yi's stern and pressing tone.
"I...I don't know how to tell you. To be honest, I'm really conflicted right now. I don't know how to face you. It feels kind of weird."
After thinking about it, Qin Hao decided to tell Lin Yi what he was thinking, otherwise the two of them would be stuck in this awkward situation for who knows how long.
Lin Yi was not surprised by Qin Hao's answer at all. If Qin Hao had said that he had no problem facing him, he would have been worried, since that would have proven that Qin Hao had no other thoughts about him.
“I understand, but Qin Hao, we’ve spent quite a bit of time together, and I’ve already told you directly, do you want to be with me, for life?”
Lin Yi appeared calm and collected, but he was actually quite nervous inside. He wasn't sure if what he was saying was right, but based on his understanding of Qin Hao, if he spoke too emotionally, Qin Hao might feel even more embarrassed and at a loss.
Qin Hao was taken aback by Lin Yi's directness. He looked up at Lin Yi blankly for a while before finding his voice.