He remembered what Gu Zheng had told him from the beginning—that he couldn't give him love. He thought of…
Xia Ran thought of many things, but in the end, she couldn't bear it and took a few steps back.
But he also thought of the first time he saw Gu Zheng, and how Gu Zheng accompanied him in front of his grandfather to persuade him to let them be together.
He also remembered Gu Zheng telling him that they would live a good life together from now on, and he remembered Gu Zheng saying that he would accompany him back to see his grandfather every month.
Those things weren't fake; they all truly existed in his memory, they were all real...
Xia Ran gritted his teeth and forced back the tears that were welling up in his eyes. He looked at Gu En and spoke again.
"Why should I believe what you say? I don't believe it. Ah Zheng isn't that kind of person!"
Xia Ran still held onto a last hope. He believed in A Zheng, he absolutely had to believe in A Zheng.
Ah Zheng had promised his grandfather that he would definitely treat him well in the future.
Gu En seemed completely unsurprised by Xia Ran's reaction. He took the album from her and showed it to her.
"Do you remember when you went back to your home for the Mid-Autumn Festival? Didn't Zheng Ge go out all night and not come back? Didn't you call him?"
"Oh right, when he said he was going out to see a friend, he meant he was going to see me. We met at a hotel."
Xia Ran didn't want to listen to what Gu En was saying, nor did he want to look at Gu En's phone, but he found that he seemed unable to control himself, and his gaze involuntarily fell on Gu En's phone.
In that instant, he suddenly felt the air around him thin, as if he couldn't breathe.
He had seen that back countless times, touched that back many times, and even left marks on it at night.
But now it's in someone else's phone photo album.
Xia Ran seemed unable to deceive himself any longer, but he still refused to believe that Gu Zheng was that kind of person.
Seeing that she had achieved her goal, Gu En put her phone away and slowly spoke again.
"Xia Ran, do you know? Everything you have now originally belonged to me! You were just a substitute for me! Strictly speaking, you're not only a substitute, you're also a mistress. You've taken everything that originally belonged to me!"
"I'm not! I'm not! I'm not a substitute! And I'm definitely not a mistress!"
Xia Ran stared at Gu En with red eyes, her hands clenched into fists.
Gu En chuckled lightly, his sarcasm undisguised.
"Whether you admit it or not, you already are. And do you know that Zheng-ge didn't go out yesterday for anything else? He went to handle the divorce procedures and will come back to sign them for you. Your aunt and the others know about this."
Xia Ran was shocked. Divorce?
"That's impossible. Ah Zheng won't divorce me. You're just talking nonsense."
Gu En: "Xia Ran, if you don't believe me, you can hide in the bathroom here. I'll bring Zheng Ge back, and then you'll know what really happened. Xia Ran, you're just a substitute."
Gu En kept repeating that Xia Ran was a substitute, as if only in this way could he feel that he was much better than Xia Ran.
Xia Ran wanted to refuse Gu En's suggestion, but somehow, he ended up nodding in the end.
He watched as Gu En called Gu Zheng and asked him to come back. He heard Gu Zheng say that he would be back soon.
Xia Ran felt a chill. He took out his phone and saw that he had not received a reply.
He twitched the corners of his mouth, but in the end, he went into Gu En's bathroom without saying anything.
No way, it can't be. Gu En is lying about all of this. A Zheng wouldn't lie to him; he's not a substitute, much less a mistress.
Uncle Wang and his aunt are such good people, they would never lie to him. How could they? Gu En must be lying. When A-Zheng comes back, everything will be clear. He has to believe A-Zheng, he has to believe A-Zheng…
After entering the bathroom, Xia Ran could barely stand. He leaned against the door and sat down, waiting for his last hope and salvation...
Gu En looked in the direction of the bathroom, and the corners of her mouth slowly curled up.
Xia Ran, you enjoyed what should have been mine, so be prepared to accept my revenge. After all, you owe me all of this.
The thought of Xia Ran's impending breakdown filled Gu En with excitement.
Time passed slowly, and then the door to the room was pushed open from the outside.
Xia Ran, in the bathroom, heard the voice he had been dreaming of, but it was just a voice calling out "Xiao En".
Chapter 153 is just a joke.
Xia Ran felt another sharp pain in his heart. That tone, filled with worry, felt like a knife stabbing into his heart.
He seemed to suddenly regret it. Should he not have stayed here? Should he have stayed here to listen to the two of them talk?
But is it too late for him to leave now?
Xia Ran gripped his phone tightly, as if only in this way could he calm himself down.
"Why did you call me back so urgently? Is something wrong?" Gu Zheng walked to the bedside, where Gu En looked worried.
"I guess so," Gu En said. "Zheng-ge, did you not see Xia Ran when you came back?"
"Yes," Gu Zheng replied. "What does it have to do with him? Did he come looking for you?"
He didn't see Xia Ran and the child in the living room when he came back.
Because when he came back, he went straight to Gu En's room and didn't look for her anywhere else.
Xia Ran, who was in the bathroom, turned pale when she heard this.
Does A-Zheng mean that he's come to cause trouble for Gu En?
Is that how A-Zheng sees him?
"Yes, he came to find me. He questioned me about why I deliberately told you that he intentionally let go and pushed me down."
Gu En looked distressed and aggrieved, but inwardly she was extremely pleased with herself.
"And then?" Gu Zheng frowned. "What else did he say?"
He knew Gu En; if Xia Ran hadn't said something, Gu En wouldn't have let him come back.
Gu En hesitated for a moment before nodding. "He...he asked me why I look so much like him. I didn't know how to answer. Brother Zheng, do you think...he might suspect something?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Zheng's heart tightened subconsciously.
But Xia Ran hasn't contacted him yet, so she probably doesn't suspect anything.
"No, it's okay. Don't worry, just focus on recovering."
"But... I'm still very scared." Gu En's face was full of complicated emotions. "If he finds out about our relationship and you still treat him as a substitute, won't he be able to accept it?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Ran in the bathroom almost forgot to breathe. He wanted to hear Gu Zheng's answer, but he was also very afraid of Gu Zheng's answer.
But is it really necessary for him to wait for Gu Zheng's answer now? Since Gu En has asked this question, does that prove that what Gu En said before was true?
The bathroom floor was very cold, making Xia Ran feel icy cold all over.
If it weren't true, how could Gu En dare to say these things to Gu Zheng?
Gu Zheng paused for a moment, then said, "I will explain it to him."
He didn't sleep well all night, just thinking about how to explain things to Xia Ran.
However, he couldn't come up with a suitable reason all night, so he didn't dare to come back and face Xia Ran.
The moment he closes his eyes, all he can see is Xia Ran's image...
Gu Zheng's words shattered Xia Ran's last hope. His face turned pale, and he felt as if he were immersed in an ice cellar, his hands and feet were freezing cold.
Gu En was overjoyed to finally get Gu Zheng to say those words.
He glanced subtly in the direction of the bathroom.
Xia Ran inside must be on the verge of a breakdown by now, right?
"Brother Zheng, what if Xia Ran doesn't want a divorce?"
Gu En felt that he could make Xia Ran suffer even more, directly shattering her last illusions.
Gu Zheng fell silent again. He knew Xia Ran's feelings for him. Indeed, just as Gu En said, Xia Ran would never want a divorce.
But... he has no choice now. Gu En is back, and Xia Ran has to leave.
“We said it when we got married: I can’t give him love.”
Gu En struggled to suppress the upward curve of his lips, and said with a feigned insincerity,
“Brother Zheng, you must give him some compensation this time you get divorced. No matter what, he has taken care of the child for so long. Even if he has done something great, he has worked hard.”
"Yes, I'm ready. I'll make it up to him."
"That's good." Gu En looked relieved. "Then, Zheng-ge, when do you plan to talk to him and make things clear? I think Auntie is right, we should talk to him and make things clear soon, otherwise I'm afraid..."
Auntie likes Xia Ran a lot, right? Then he'll let Xia Ran know how everyone conspired to keep this from him. Only in this way will Xia Ran hate everyone and despise everyone.
Gu Zheng paused for a moment, "I'll tell you today. The divorce agreement is in the car. I'll go get it first."
After saying that, Gu Zheng left in a hurry, as if he were running away from something.
Only after Gu En was certain that Gu Zheng had left did he call out towards the bathroom.
"What? Still not enough? Want to hear more? If you want to hear more, I can grant your wish, but I don't know if you can handle it."
Gu En's tone was filled with undisguised smugness.
Xia Ran gritted his teeth and leaned against the wall as he came out of the bathroom. His mind was a mess, filled with the conversation between Gu En and Gu Zheng.
It turns out he was just a stand-in, just a stand-in...
Xia Ran looked at Gu En with a pale face, and tried to force a smile, but couldn't say anything.
Gu En was a little afraid that Gu Zheng would come back, so she directly asked Xia Ran to leave.
"Looking at me is useless. You're the one who stole what was originally mine. You're not only a substitute, but also a mistress that everyone hates. So you'd better get out of here now. Didn't you hear? Brother Zheng wants a divorce."
Upon hearing Gu En's words, Xia Ran couldn't help but sway slightly, as if she might lose her balance and fall over at any moment.
This time, he had no way to refute Gu En. He was just a substitute for Gu En, so what right did he have to refute others?
It turns out that looking alike wasn't a coincidence, but a conspiracy from beginning to end, and he was a joke from start to finish.
Xia Ran left Gu En's room as if he had lost his soul. He didn't go back to his room or to the living room, but sat on the stairs, his eyes fixed on the direction of the stairwell.
Gu Zheng said he went to get the divorce agreement, he should be coming up from here later, right?
Xia Ran's phone rang, but she acted as if she hadn't heard it, staring intently at the stairwell.