Qin Hao felt extremely wronged. "Mom, why can my brother come back but I can't? Besides, it's dinner time now. You can't expect me to skip dinner, can you?"
"Or are you trying to starve me to death, a white-haired person burying a black-haired one?"
"You!" Aunt Gu was furious with Qin Hao, but she didn't say anything more.
Qin Hao could only quickly sit down at the dining table, afraid that if he was any later, his mother would change her mind again, and then he wouldn't even get to eat.
Gu Zheng then sat down next to Gu Chen and asked,
"What else did your stepfather say to you today?"
Since he couldn't go to Xia Ran himself, he could only find out about her from other sources.
Gu Chen's eyes darted around a little. "No...nothing much, just that I came back to urge you to take the photos."
Gu Chen poked at the rice in his bowl. He didn't want his uncle to know that he had cried today, because his uncle would definitely be angry.
Gu Zheng noticed that something was wrong with the child, but he didn't force the child to talk. He just looked up at Aunt Gu with a questioning look in his eyes.
Aunt Gu gently shook her head, indicating that she would talk about it later.
Children have their own reasons for not wanting to talk, and as family members, all we can do is respect that.
Gu Zheng looked away, watching the child poking at his rice with his head down. He picked up his chopsticks and placed a piece of sweet and sour pork rib on the child's plate, saying,
"Eat up, didn't you say your favorite food is sweet and sour pork ribs?"
Gu Chen had never told Gu Zheng that he liked sweet and sour pork ribs, but he had told Xia Ran about it, and Gu Zheng often overheard it.
Looking back on the time before he divorced Xia Ran, it was truly the happiest and most joyful period of his life.
Unfortunately, I don't know when those days will return.
Gu Chen suddenly looked up at Gu Zheng, as if he couldn't believe that Gu Zheng would serve him food.
The father and son exchanged a glance, and finally Gu Zheng looked away first, picking up another piece of carrot for the child.
“Your stepfather said you can’t be a picky eater, you have to eat some vegetables too.”
Gu Chen nodded heavily.
"I understand, Daddy. I will definitely eat it, but you can't be picky about food. You have to eat vegetables too."
Gu Zheng curled the corners of his lips slightly and gave a soft "hmm".
Qin Hao and Aunt Gu sighed inwardly as they watched the interaction between the father and son.
The father and son couldn't stop talking about Xia Ran, which shows how much they missed her.
However, they dared not say these things, since the relationship between Gu Zheng and Xia Ran was far from good.
After dinner, it was Gu Zheng's turn to take photos. Qin Hao didn't know what was going on at first, but Aunt Gu told him.
After listening, Qin Hao was at a loss for words and could only sigh heavily.
However, he quickly rallied.
"Mom, who can help take my brother's picture? Is it you? Are you sure you can do it? Or I can do it, I promise it will look good!"
After all, this is one of the few opportunities he can give his brother orders!
Aunt Gu glanced at Qin Hao indifferently, and a gentle smile suddenly appeared on her face.
"Honey, who were you saying was no good? Have you forgotten? Your mom took all the photos of you when you were little, and they turned out great, didn't they?"
Seeing the sudden gentle smile on his mother's face, Qin Hao's body stiffened instantly, and he even felt goosebumps.
"No, no, Mom, how could that be! How could I say you can't do it? I'm just worried you'll get too tired. Taking photos is tiring too, so let me do it."
He went up to the person and massaged their shoulders, his forehead covered in a thin layer of sweat.
He must have lost his mind just now, daring to say that his mother was no good.
Aunt Gu gave a soft hum, which was her answer to Qin Hao.
Of course, she didn't really want to be angry with Qin Hao.
Gu Zheng quickly changed into the clothes that his aunt had prepared for him, a gray casual sportswear set.
Perhaps it was because of the change of clothes, but she seemed to look much younger.
However, Gu Zheng is not actually that old; it's just that he usually wears a formal suit, which makes him seem much older and more mature.
Qin Hao saw Gu Zheng come down and immediately went over to him.
"Brother, don't worry, I'm a really good photographer, I'm sure I can take a really good picture of you."
Chapter 343 A Gentle Person
Gu Zheng glanced at Qin Hao. Although he didn't say anything, Qin Hao could see the distrust and suspicion in Gu Zheng's eyes.
Qin Hao immediately exploded, "Don't look at me with such suspicion! I'm serious! I participated in a club when I was in college, it was photography, and I even won an award at school!"
"Hmm?" Aunt Gu asked, somewhat puzzled. "Did you win any awards in college?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Hao's lips twitched.
Now, he seriously doubts that he is his parents' biological son. He even called his mother himself to tell her back then!
"Forget it, you wouldn't remember even if I told you." Qin Hao had already figured out where he was in the house. "Let's hurry up and take a picture and send it to Xia Ran, otherwise I'm afraid he won't have enough time, since we need to give the picture to Chen Baobei tomorrow."
"How could Xia Ran know such a capable professional? And she even confidently said that she wouldn't be discovered. Given Xia Ran's personality, she wouldn't say something like that unless she was absolutely certain."
Qin Hao muttered to himself as he went to find his phone, and also asked Uncle Wang to get a white cloth to decorate the area.
Since it's a composite photo, the simpler the background, the better.
Gu Zheng, however, took to heart what Qin Hao had just said.
Does Xia Ran know any professionals? Then why did that hacker who broke into their company last time do nothing, as if he was looking for some kind of evidence?
Considering Xia Ran's questioning later, could Gu Zheng boldly speculate that the hacker was Xia Ran's friend?
If he really is Xia Ran's friend, he's not afraid.
But the Lin family is different...
He really wanted to know if Lin Ziming was actually from the Lin family.
It wasn't just for the company, but also because of Lin Ziming's attitude towards Xia Ran.
He feared that Lin Ziming might have ulterior motives and do something bad to Xia Ran.
When Qin Hao came over with his phone, Gu Zheng asked, "How's the investigation with Lin Yi going?"
"Huh?" Qin Hao, who had just come over with his phone, was stunned for a moment before realizing what Gu Zheng was talking about.
"There shouldn't be any news yet, otherwise he would have called already."
It's no wonder Qin Hao thought that way, because he always felt that Lin Yi seemed to regard him as a good friend, and recently he always liked to share things with him.
Gu Zheng nodded, not doubting Qin Hao's words. He knew Lin Yi's feelings for Qin Hao. If she really had any ideas, how could she resist taking this opportunity to find Qin Hao?
Just like now, he desperately wanted a reason to get closer to Xia Ran, but he didn't have that reason.
Qin Hao: "Alright, brother, Lin Yi will definitely tell us if there's a result. You should hurry up and take the photos and send them over, so the child won't be late for kindergarten tomorrow."
“Yes.” Gu Chen nodded vigorously. “Big Daddy, hurry up, don’t keep Little Daddy waiting.”
Gu Chen's words pleased Gu Zheng somewhat, although he knew that it wasn't what Gu Chen had in mind.
Uncle Wang quickly set up a spot in the living room, and Qin Hao directed Gu Zheng to stand there. His tone and attitude made Gu Zheng frown.
"Qin Hao." He called out to Qin Hao with a warning tone.
However, Qin Hao was not afraid of death, and taking advantage of the current situation, he began to pretend to be innocent.
"Brother, don't move around. I'm doing this so that we can take good photos. After all, you're going to composite the photos, and there can't be the slightest mistake. So you have to be careful about your expression later."
"It's best to imagine that Xia Ran is right next to you. Otherwise, if you stare coldly at the camera, anyone will find it strange and might even doubt your relationship."
Hearing Qin Hao's words, the coldness on Gu Zheng's face slowly faded, replaced by a hint of doubt and contemplation.
Qin Hao felt a sudden sense of relief when he saw that Gu Zheng believed him.
Thankfully, his brother is thinking about Xia Ran right now and has no time to pay attention to him.
But this is good, hehehe, at least there's a chance for him to boss his brother around.
Qin Hao positioned himself in front of the camera and said, "Brother, don't be so stiff. You need to think about how you're taking pictures with your wife and kids. It looks weird standing there like that."
Qin Hao was right; Gu Zheng was standing very upright, which looked very strange.
Gu Zheng frowned and tried to relax his body.
But even though his body was relaxed, his facial expression wasn't quite right, and Qin Hao started rambling on again.
"No, no, bro, can you stop looking so tense? People who don't know better will think you're taking a picture with your enemy. You need to think clearly that you're taking a picture with your wife and kids, so you should be as relaxed as possible, both physically and mentally."
"If all else fails, just imagine Xia Ran standing right next to you. That way you won't feel anything, right?"
"Big Daddy, hurry up!" Gu Chen urged Gu Zheng from the side.
Gu Zheng took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and Xia Ran's face appeared in his mind.
This was the first time he took the child to see Xia Ran, and the scene was at Xia Ran's doorstep.
When Xia Ran saw him and the child, the shock and surprise on her face caught Gu Zheng's eye.
Gu Zheng opened his eyes, turned his head slightly to look at the seat next to him, and a very subtle smile appeared on his lips, making him seem much gentler.
Upon seeing this, Qin Hao quickly pressed the shutter button.
Looking at Gu Zheng's appearance in the camera, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Just from this shot, he could tell how much Gu Zheng liked Xia Ran, or rather, it couldn't be described as just liking, but rather as expressing his feelings through writing.
The affection and tenderness in his eyes were simply breathtaking, especially for those of them who had known Gu Zheng since childhood.
"Are you done?" Gu Zheng had already looked at Qin Hao without him noticing, but Qin Hao was so engrossed in looking at the photos on his phone that he completely forgot about Gu Zheng.
"Alright, alright," he quickly said. "Why don't you come and take a look? If there's nothing wrong, I'll have my mom send it to Xia Ran."
Gu Zheng walked over and glanced at the photo.
Upon seeing this, he himself seemed slightly stunned. Was this gentle person really him?