But if Xia Ran can't even guess what Da Zhuang is thinking after knowing him for so many years, then all their friendship over the years has really been for nothing.
"Dazhuang, what's wrong with this? If you like someone, you like them. What's there to be embarrassed about? Don't you feel bad about suppressing your emotions like this?"
"I..." Da Zhuang was speechless, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Of course he was upset. How could he not be upset? He was fine for the first two days after he got back, and didn't feel anything.
But the more time passed, the more upset he became, feeling his feelings for He Xiu grew stronger. Otherwise, he wouldn't have discovered that He Xiu had blocked all his contact methods last time.
But what good is feeling bad? The other person doesn't like him anymore, so there's no use in regretting it.
Dazhuang felt that he was really being pathetic. When the other person liked him, he ignored her, but now that she was ignoring him, he couldn't let her go.
"Never mind, Xia Ran, it's all in the past now. I'm fine as I am. I'll hang up now and call Grandpa back. We can talk on WeChat if there's anything else. I have to go now."
After saying that, he hung up the phone immediately, as if afraid that Xia Ran would continue to ask questions.
Xia Ran sighed as he looked at the phone that had been hung up. He felt that he and Da Zhuang were practically brothers in misfortune, both of them having equally troubled relationships.
But right now, his most important task is to pretend to be in a bad mood and go to sleep, otherwise his grandpa will give him away when he comes looking for him.
On the other side, Grandpa Xia was indeed a little angry after hearing Dazhuang's words, but he felt more distressed and heartbroken.
Grandpa Xia chatted with Dazhuang for a couple more minutes before hanging up.
Mr. Lin had been watching from the side the whole time, so he asked a question.
"Grandpa, did you get any information from Xia Ran's friend?"
"I found out that she had some arguments with Gu Zheng, so she took her anger out on the child. You know, Xia Ran really makes me angry! This isn't the first or second time she's argued with Gu Zheng, and they're even divorced, yet she's still taking her anger out on the child."
“What does that have to do with the child? My heart aches whenever I think about how my child cried when he left.”
Chapter 386 Mysterious Man
The old man's words made me feel terrible, especially when I thought about how the child cried and called him great-grandfather. My heart ached even more.
Mr. Lin smiled helplessly and said,
"Don't worry, the child was taken away by his father, so he'll definitely be fine. As for Xia Ran, it's normal for him to be in a bad mood after arguing. Let him sleep it off and he'll probably be fine."
"I'll go see him." The old man got up and walked towards Xia Ran's room. "I'll also have a good talk with him and make sure he doesn't drag the child into this."
Mr. Lin knew it was impossible for the old man not to go and speak up, so he let him go. He turned around to go to the kitchen, but stopped in his tracks just as he reached the doorway.
No, there are two young people in the kitchen right now, and if he goes there, he'll probably disturb them.
So in the end, Mr. Lin could only continue sitting in the living room watching TV.
The old man walked to Xia Ran's room, pushed the door open, and went in to take a look. He found that Xia Ran was already asleep.
I originally wanted to talk about Xia Ran's grandfather, but after seeing this scene, I couldn't bear to say anything.
He sighed, then quietly closed the door and left.
Xia Ran felt the old man's footsteps as he left, her eyelids twitched, but she ultimately closed her eyes and continued to sleep.
At first, I pretended to be asleep, but later I really fell asleep completely.
Xia Ran's discovery that Gu Chen was Gu En's biological son greatly surprised Gu Zheng.
He wanted to tell Xia Ran everything about the child, but he never expected that Xia Ran would find out from someone else.
As for who this "other person" is, Gu Zheng doesn't need to think to know.
He originally thought Gu En had truly repented, but he didn't expect her to be holding back a big move.
Gu Zheng glanced at Gu En, who was crying incessantly in the back seat of the car, and his expression darkened even further.
The child will always belong to him, and that fact cannot be changed no matter who comes into the picture.
"Stop crying. Your stepfather is just in a bad mood. He'll be able to send you back in a couple of days. If you keep crying like this, he might say you're being naughty next time. Do you want him to know you're being naughty?"
Gu Chen sobbed, looking like he wanted to cry but dared not after hearing Gu Zheng's words.
"But...he doesn't want me anymore, he doesn't want me anymore."
"How could he not want you? If he really didn't want you, how could he still remember your favorite egg tarts? He's just in a bad mood and needs to be alone for a while."
Upon hearing this, Gu Chen's gaze fell on the bag he was clutching tightly in his hand, which contained a whole box of egg tarts, his favorite.
"Will he... really not abandon me? Will he still call me baby in the future?"
"Yes, it will," Gu Zheng said confidently.
He believed in Xia Ran's love and affection for the child. If Xia Ran really didn't want Gu Chen anymore, she would probably ask him to take back Gu Chen's things as well.
Furthermore, it's impossible for her to give the egg tarts to the child. Since Xia Ran hasn't done those things, she must still be thinking about the child. It's just that the sudden realization of this matter was too much of a shock for her, so she can't accept it.
"Okay, I believe you, and I believe he will never abandon me!"
"Okay, let's go home first. I promise you, he will definitely come to pick you up. Aren't we going to Little Fatty's house tomorrow? Your little dad won't break his promise."
"Mmm." Gu Chen touched the red string bell on his wrist again, thinking that his little dad would definitely not abandon him.
Gu Zheng took Gu Chen home and happened to run into Uncle Wang and Aunt Gu, who were pruning flowers and plants in the garden.
When they saw Gu Chen return with red eyes, the two of them were immediately startled.
"What's wrong? Why are your eyes red? Did you cry? Oh, my darling, who bullied you? And why are you back? Shouldn't Xiao Chen be with Xiao Ran? Or did Xiao Chen miss his grandma and want to come back to see her?"
Gu Chen, who had already stopped crying, started to shed tears again after hearing Aunt Gu's words.
Aunt Gu felt even more heartbroken upon seeing this.
"Oh dear, what's wrong? Don't cry, don't cry, your grandma is here. Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, it's okay."
Aunt Gu was comforting Gu Chen, but her eyes were fixed on Gu Zheng beside her, asking what had happened.
"It's nothing, Xia Ran is just in a bad mood and asked me to bring the child back first. He needs to calm down by himself. I have other things to do, so I'll go out for a bit."
After saying that, Gu Zheng turned and left without giving Aunt Gu a chance to reply.
"Hey, hey, hey, why are you just leaving like that?"
Aunt Gu called out to Gu Zheng's back, but Gu Zheng ignored her and got into the car and left. She could only pick up Gu Chen and go back into the house. Even Uncle Wang was in no mood to trim the flowers and plants and went straight into the house.
Gu Zheng drove directly to Gu En's place.
Gu En was not surprised at all by Gu Zheng's arrival. He had already expected Gu Zheng to come the moment he went to find Xia Ran. Anyway, he had nothing to be afraid of now, so when he opened the door for Gu Zheng, Gu En's face was calm and relaxed.
Gu Zheng glanced coldly at Gu En, then went straight inside.
Gu En slowly closed the door and followed him inside, seemingly unafraid of what Gu Zheng might do to him.
"Gu En, it seems you haven't taken my previous words to heart."
Gu Zheng sat down on the sofa, his tone very cold.
Gu En shrugged and said, "What are you talking about? I don't understand."
"Don't understand? Then you should understand about Gu Chen's matter, right? Gu En, I've told you before, you're not allowed to go to Xia Ran anymore. Now you've not only gone to him, but you've also told him about the child. Haven't you thought about how Xia Ran will treat the child after he finds out about this?"
"Even if you don't care about other people's feelings, don't you care at all about the child's feelings? Do you know what Xia Ran represents to Gu Chen?"
"What does that have to do with me?" Gu En said bluntly, without feeling that there was anything wrong with what he said.
Even Gu Zheng found it hard to believe that Gu En would say such a thing.
“What does this have to do with you? Gu En, have you never thought that Gu Chen is your biological son? Even if you have never lived with him, you shouldn’t say such things.”
Gu En's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this.
"So what if I thought about it? He's not calling me 'Little Daddy' now. So what if I feel sorry for him? If you want me to be good to him and feel sorry for him, then fine, it's simple. You marry me and give me a chance to be with him openly and honestly and develop our relationship."
"Is this your ultimate purpose in going to find Xia Ran?" Gu Zheng asked coldly, immediately guessing Gu En's thoughts.
Gu En didn't mince words and readily admitted it.
"Yes, that's my ultimate goal. After all, I can't let my son keep calling someone else 'little dad,' especially someone who took everything from me and whom I really dislike."
Gu Zheng's expression grew increasingly grim as he looked at Gu En, who was speaking so confidently.
"Impossible. My only partner is Xia Ran, and I only love him. Besides, he didn't take anything from you, because those things never belonged to you in the first place."
"Really? In that case, there's nothing I can do. I have to get back custody of my child and I will never let my child call someone else 'little dad'."
"Of course, you don't need to threaten me or do anything to me, like killing me to silence me. I was prepared for everything when I made this decision. If I don't contact my friend for more than two days, he will release the information, including the paternity test results between me and Gu Chen."
Gu Zheng's thoughts were all blocked by Gu En's words. He did have the idea of letting Gu En leave, but if it was really as Gu En said, he didn't dare to take action.
If the matter were to be made public, it would be extremely harmful to the child.
Moreover, he couldn't guarantee how his aunts would react to Gu Chen after learning the truth, or whether they would still be able to accept him.
Gu En understood Gu Zheng; seeing Gu Zheng's silence, he knew Gu Zheng had taken his words to heart. His expression softened slightly, and he continued,
"Actually, Zheng-ge, what's wrong with marrying me? We've known each other for so many years, how could Xia Ran possibly know you better than me? Besides, I'm the child's biological father, and I would never do anything to harm the child. But Xia Ran is a different story, because no matter what, he's not the child's biological father. What if he treats the child badly one day?"
"Besides, Xia Ran doesn't like you now, does she? Brother Zheng, only I like you. We've always liked each other, haven't we? You've just been away from me for too long, so you've been misled by Xia Ran."
Gu En's voice was different from her initial aggressive tone; it even carried a hint of seduction.
Gu Zheng was initially somewhat clear-headed, and even felt disgusted after hearing Gu En's words.
But for some reason, a fragrant aroma suddenly wafted up, and his mind became quite confused. He even almost nodded unconsciously, but thankfully he came to his senses in time.
"Do you think you can raise a child well with your personality? Does it really matter if he is your biological child or not? Even though the child is young, he can distinguish between good and bad, and he can tell who loves him the most. So Gu En, your idea is completely impossible."
Listening to Gu Zheng's words and looking into his completely clear eyes, Gu En's eyes showed disbelief. Why, why would Gu Zheng...?
"Impossible? Why is it impossible? I am the child's biological father. Why can't I be good to him? As long as our relationship is aboveboard, it is possible for me."
"Brother Zheng, I'm giving you one last chance. Whether you're willing to marry me or not, I'm going to get my child back. I will never let my child call someone else 'Dad'."
Hearing Gu En's words, Gu Zheng knew that his visit to Gu En this time would not achieve the result he wanted.
"If you have even a shred of conscience, even a shred of awareness as the child's biological father, you'd better not do anything, otherwise you'll only hurt the child. Of course, if you do do something, I guarantee I'll make you wish you were dead. At worst, we'll both suffer heavy losses. Try me if you don't believe me."
After Gu Zheng finished speaking, he left. Gu En did not chase after him, but just smiled sarcastically.
A lose-lose situation? Does Gu Zheng think he'd be afraid?
He was initially worried that this method might not achieve the desired effect, but now it seems that it won't; Gu Zheng's concern for the child is indeed deeper than he imagined.
If that's the case, then things will be much easier.