But... so what? In the end, it was that person who broke their promise first.
"Forget it, let Xia Ran make her own choice. I'm too old to interfere anymore, but I'm still a little worried about her being with Gu Zheng. Would it be better if it were someone else?"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Lin understood that the old man was still hurt by what happened when he was young.
"But Grandpa, will Xia Ran be happy with someone else? If I'm not mistaken, Xia Ran still has some feelings for Gu Zheng, right? I think Gu Zheng is genuinely apologetic. Why don't we just let him choose for himself? As for you, just take good care of yourself."
What Lin's father said was true. Although he thought Gu Zheng was somewhat unqualified, he heard from Ziming that he probably still liked Xia Ran.
So why not give them a chance?
“Grandpa, we can’t really talk to Xia Ran about this. If you have time, talk to him. Sometimes, people miss out on a lot because of their stubbornness and their desire to prove a point.”
The old man nodded. "I understand. Thank you, Xiao Lin. If it weren't for your encouragement, I would have been really suffering keeping all this inside."
"It's about Ziming talking about becoming godparents. I'm still thinking about what to do. I was originally planning to do it when I got home and invite some old friends, but with my health like this, it would take a few months to get here. So if you don't mind, I'd like to do it here. What do you think?"
Mr. Lin: "What's the big deal? Grandpa, we're not the kind of people who care about those rules. As long as we're family, that's fine. Let's skip all the formalities."
“That won’t do. That’s the rule. We can’t treat Ziming unfairly. If you don’t mind, then we can do it here. There aren’t many people here. I’ll wait for Xiaoran to come back and discuss it with her.”
"Alright, whatever you say goes, we'll do as you say." Mr. Lin smiled and didn't argue with the old man.
Or rather, no matter what the old man does or says, they will not refute him.
"Okay, okay, let's discuss it together when Xia Ran comes back tonight. How about we have dinner here tonight?"
"Okay, Ziming should be able to come over this afternoon."
The kindergarten's parent-child activities are about to reach their final competition.
However, Xia Ran felt something was strange when she heard about the competition, because the teacher said that the competition had nothing to do with parent-child relationships.
This activity involves the parents of the child interacting. The father holds the mother while standing still, and whoever stands still the longest wins.
This competition is quite strenuous; some of the more voluptuous mothers probably won't be able to keep going for long.
However, Xia Ran's attention was not on that, but on the fear of being held by Gu Zheng.
However, Gu Zheng was not surprised at all when he heard about the event. Instead, he even curled the corners of his mouth, looking confident.
Xia Ran was resisting the activity, so she didn't notice Gu Zheng's emotions.
"What's wrong? You look so pale. Are you worried that your Gu Zheng can't carry you?" He Hao walked up to him without him noticing. "Don't worry, I think your Gu Zheng is in very good shape. Even if he can't get first place, he can still get into the top three, right?"
Hearing this, Xia Ran finally came to her senses, gave a dry laugh, and didn't know what to say.
"I...no, I was just thinking about some things."
He Hao smiled, thinking that Xia Ran was only worried about Gu Zheng's physical exhaustion and had never thought of anything else.
After all, He Hao never imagined that Gu Zheng and Xia Ran were already divorced. Gu Zheng's eyes were shining when he looked at Xia Ran, so how could they be divorced? At most, they might have had some arguments, and the two of them just seemed to be in a bad mood.
Gu Chen, who had been standing next to Xia Ran, glanced at her worriedly after hearing their conversation.
He Hao quickly walked over to Feng Ming's side, while Gu Chen directly pulled Xia Ran's hand and asked,
"Little Daddy, are you not very happy?"
"No." Xia Ran looked down at the child. "Nothing like that. Don't overthink it. Daddy was just thinking about some things. He's not unhappy. Daddy is very happy to have spent so much time with Xiao Chen today."
"Really?" Gu Chen's eyes lit up uncontrollably.
"Of course it's true, why would your dad lie to you?" Xia Ran ruffled Gu Chen's hair.
Gu Zheng, who was standing nearby, also walked over and said to the two of them,
"Don't worry, we'll definitely win the championship this time."
Upon hearing this, Xia Ran instinctively wanted to say that it wouldn't take that long, but the words remained unspoken.
After all, how hurt would the child feel if these words were said?
"Is it really possible?" Gu Chen looked up at Gu Zheng. "Can we really win another championship?"
He was already very satisfied with winning a championship today, but who would complain about having too many first-place finishes?
"Of course," Gu Zheng said firmly, his gaze fixed on Xia Ran.
Unfortunately, Xia Ran still didn't look at him.
Gu Zheng wasn't disappointed; he was only thinking that he should hold Xia Ran for as long as possible later, as this was a rare opportunity.
"Parents, please move to the competition area. Children, please be seated. Our last activity for today is about to begin."
As soon as the host announced the start of the competition, the parents began to walk forward one after another, while the children, led by some teachers, took their seats. The children sat right in front of the parents, allowing them to see their parents.
Even though Xia Ran didn't want to go, she was still forced to follow the group forward.
Gu Zheng was right next to Xia Ran. He noticed that Xia Ran had been in a very low mood ever since she learned about the show.
Gu Zheng couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable. Was Xia Ran so resistant just because he was in contact with her?
Once everyone was in position, the teacher blew his whistle, and everyone started hugging their partners.
The moment Gu Zheng reached out his hand, Xia Ran subconsciously took a step back, but Gu Zheng forcibly pulled her into his arms and picked her up.
"Ranran, don't be afraid, I won't do anything, don't worry or be scared."
Despite the comforting words, Xia Ran didn't relax at all. She kept her eyes down, trying her best to imagine that the person holding her wasn't Gu Zheng.
However, Gu Zheng kept looking down at Xia Ran and was still speaking softly to her.
You've lost weight.
Upon hearing those three words, Xia Ran stiffened, but still ignored Gu Zheng.
How could he not lose weight? At first, when he got divorced, he didn't want to eat anything. Later, when he finally calmed down, his grandfather had an accident. He stayed with his grandfather in the hospital, worried and scared. Even though he ate three meals a day, he didn't eat much. Over time, he lost some weight.
Gu Zheng hugged Xia Ran even tighter, his heart aching for her. He suddenly realized that this was a rare opportunity to talk to Xia Ran properly, but with other people around, he couldn't say anything even if he wanted to, and could only wait for them to give up.
Fortunately, these people didn't last long at all. In less than five minutes, people started to leave one after another. In particular, several people around Gu Zheng and his group left, which left the area around them empty. In other words, they didn't have to worry about being overheard talking.
"Ranran, I was really wrong. Please give me another chance. Let's get along well. I promise I won't hurt you again this time, and Gu En will never bother us again."
“I admit that what happened before was my fault, but apart from initially thinking that you resembled him, I didn’t think that way afterward. Later, I clearly realized that you and Gu En are different, and that the person I like is you, but I just didn’t want to admit it, or rather, I didn’t realize my own feelings.”
Gu Zheng spoke in a low voice, and Xia Ran really didn't want to listen, but he had no choice; he was forced to listen.
But listening to Gu Zheng's words, he felt no emotion; he simply didn't want to listen.
Gu Zheng didn't expect Xia Ran to give him any response; he was just very grateful that Xia Ran was listening to him quietly like this.
“I really didn’t want to divorce you. It was Gu En who said he didn’t have much time left and that he wanted to be with me, so he forced me to get married. And it was for a special reason that I had no choice but to agree to him.”
"But I can't tell you this now. I'll have to wait until we get back to tell you. So please give me another chance when we get back, and let's sit down and talk it over properly, okay?"
Gu Zheng wanted to tell Xia Ran Gu Chen's identity, hoping that this would make Xia Ran forgive him.
Moreover, Xia Ran cares about the child, and this matter cannot be kept from Xia Ran forever, otherwise it would be unfair to Xia Ran.
Xia Ran didn't believe Gu Zheng's words at all; he thought Gu Zheng just wanted him to forgive him.
But how can some things be forgiven so easily?
Xia Ran's silence was within Gu Zheng's expectations. He didn't force Xia Ran to answer him, but he was thinking that he must find a time to make things clear with Xia Ran.
The parents gradually began to give up and leave the field, leaving only a few people still persisting, including Gu Zhengxia, Feng Ming, and He Hao.
Among the group of children, Feng Nianhao sat next to Gu Chen, chattering away.
"Gu Chen, Gu Chen, do you think our dad will be the one to win in the end?"
Gu Chen's gaze had been on his fathers, but upon hearing this, he turned to look at Feng Nianhao and said coolly,
"Not our fathers, but my fathers."
"Huh?" Feng Nianhao stared wide-eyed in shock, not understanding what Gu Chen meant.
"But...the results aren't even out yet, how can you be so sure it will be..."
The chubby boy stopped abruptly because Gu Chen's gaze at him was terrifying.
Waaaaah, how could Gu Chen do this! My stepfather said that Gu Chen's actions are clearly a threat!
"I... okay, I believe you."
The chubby boy immediately chickened out. Oh well, what could he do when the one threatening him was Gu Chen?
Gu Chen withdrew his gaze with satisfaction and continued to look at his fathers.
His great-uncle said he would win the championship and he definitely would, and he believed his great-uncle.
As time passed, only Gu Zheng and Xia Ran, and Feng Ming and He Hao remained.
The host was still encouraging them, and some parents were cheering them on.
Feng Ming glanced down at his wife, and He Hao blinked and said,
"Or maybe we should just let it go. Maybe they really want to win. Let's just let them win. They let us win in the last running race too."
Feng Ming had the same idea, so he nodded and put He Hao down.
Now the championship is definitely Gu Zheng and Xia Ran's. Gu Chen's eyes lit up when he saw it, and his face was full of excitement no matter how you looked at it.
Feng Nianhao, standing beside him, remarked with the maturity of a young adult.
"Oh dear, Gu Chen, you were right. Your fathers won. It's a pity that my two fathers were so weak and didn't try to hold on a little longer."
Gu Chen only glanced at Feng Nianhao before continuing to stare at Gu Nanfeng and the others, but they soon found it very strange.
Logically speaking, the championship should belong to Gu Zheng and his team 100% now, so why doesn't Gu Zheng give up on Xia Ran?
He Hao and Feng Ming exchanged a glance. They had initially thought the two just wanted to win, but now it seemed that wasn't the case at all; this was clearly just their little flirtation!
And! It's clearly a public display of affection!
He Hao and Feng Ming exchanged a smile and went downstairs. They had thought there was a problem in their relationship, but it seemed that everything was fine now.
While being held by Gu Zheng, Xia Ran could see the surrounding environment but not how many people were still on the field. However, he could hear the host's commentary, so he knew that the championship was definitely theirs now.
However, Gu Zheng's continued refusal to put him down made him very unhappy.
"Put me down right now!" Xia Ran finally spoke her first words since the start of the show. "We've already won, and you've given the child an explanation, so put me down right now."
Xia Ran didn't dare to speak too loudly, afraid that others would hear her, and only dared to warn her in a low voice.
Gu Zheng looked down at Xia Ran, completely unfazed by her warning.