"Nonsense, why would I ask you if I didn't want to know?"
He was probably really anxious, so his tone wasn't very nice, but this time Gu Zheng surprisingly didn't hold it against him.
Do you remember the few playmates you had during the summer before you came back to China with your aunt when you were seven years old, in preparation for starting school there?
"Hmm? When I was seven? I've forgotten everything from that time, how could I remember so much? But I think I can roughly remember the names, but I don't think there was anyone with the surname Lin back then, right?"
"Yes, but you've never remembered their names and have always called them by their nicknames. Your aunt often beats you for that," Gu Zheng said calmly.
Upon hearing this, Qin Hao seemed to remember something, and his eyes widened.
"Brother, you're not talking about that chubby little kid, are you? The one who doesn't eat much but is still so fat, right?"
"No, no, how could it be him? That fat guy was really, really fat back then. I got beaten by my mom a lot for calling him by his nickname. And that fat guy was so timid back then, he would start crying if I said anything. How could it be the Lin Yi we know now!"
Qin Hao was starting to doubt himself, because he simply couldn't reconcile the image of the chubby, always-crying Lin Yi from back then with the serious, well-built Lin Yi of today.
But no matter how much he denied it, what Gu Zheng said next chilled him to the bone.
"That's right, it's him."
"..." Qin Hao was speechless for a moment. "Brother, do you know what you're saying? This is really not funny at all."
"Does my tone sound like I'm joking with you?" Gu Zheng's tone remained indifferent.
Qin Hao took a deep breath, and without bothering to answer Gu Zheng's question, he hung up the phone and lay on the bed, questioning his existence.
Everyone says boys change a lot as they grow up, but he never expected it to turn out like this! This chubby kid, and now Lin Yi? Holy crap! This isn't just eighteen changes! It's a hundred and eighty!
Qin Hao found it unbelievable, and at the same time, he felt a little flustered. He didn't understand why Lin Yi would suddenly be so nice to him. He had never understood why Lin Yi was so different from the taciturn and unapproachable persona that outsiders described. Now he finally understood!
Damn! Lin Yi must be holding a grudge against him for always bullying him when they were kids, so he's here to get revenge. He's probably thinking of building a good relationship with him first, and then giving him a good beating.
The more Qin Hao thought about it, the more certain it seemed, completely oblivious to why Gu Zheng, knowing Lin Yi's true identity, hadn't told him.
Qin Hao felt that Lin Yi was only pretending to like him to lower his guard. What a disgusting thought!
Lin Yi had no idea that in less than an hour, he had completely changed in Qin Hao's eyes.
Gu Zheng had no idea that Qin Hao would imagine such a thing on his own; he was currently preparing to go find Gu En.
Gu En had actually sent him a lot of messages yesterday, wanting to meet him, but he kept putting it off until now because of that plan.
Gu En's matter will soon be over.
He went straight up to Gu En's place, where Gu En was already waiting.
When he saw him coming, Gu En's eyes lit up immediately, but they quickly turned cold.
"Why did it take you so long to come? Gu Zheng, aren't you really afraid I'll tell everyone about the child?"
"Do you think anyone will believe you if you say it out loud? Gu En, I can also make a paternity test report like that, and I can even make it look like Xia Ran's. You can try it if you don't believe me."
Gu Zheng wouldn't have come if it weren't for the need to ensure the plan could be completed smoothly.
Gu En was stunned when Gu Zheng said something like that.
Gu Zheng continued, "Gu En, if we release these reports at the same time, who do you think they will believe?"
Gu En was truly flustered when she heard this.
"Gu Zheng, do you know what you're saying? If we release him together, do you know what people will say about Gu Chen? Aren't you afraid he'll be ridiculed?"
Gu Zheng sneered, "What do I have to be afraid of? He's not my biological child. If you, as the child's biological father, don't care, why should I? It's just a child. If I want him, someone else can have him for me anytime. Didn't you say you wanted to take the child back? Well, I agree. You can take the child away whenever you have time."
He spoke so casually, as if he truly didn't care about Gu Chen anymore, which caught Gu En off guard.
"Gu Zheng, do you know what you're saying? Aren't you the one who cares most about Gu Chen's child? How can you say you don't want him anymore?"
Gu Zheng maintained a nonchalant expression throughout.
"That's because before, no one came out to cause trouble. I only needed to provide him with food, drink, and shelter. But now that there's another person causing trouble, I'm really getting annoyed. Why don't you take the child away? You know, I hate trouble the most."
Before Gu Zheng arrived, Gu En had considered many possible responses from him, but he never expected Gu Zheng to say that he didn't want children, which made it impossible for him to continue.
He looked at Gu Zheng's expression, trying to find a trace of lying on Gu Zheng's face, but no matter how he looked, Gu Zheng's expression was serious, and he couldn't find any flaws at all.
No, absolutely not. How could Gu Zheng not want the child? He was clearly very reluctant to part with the child before.
"You're lying!" Gu En suddenly shouted. "You're absolutely lying! How could you not want the child? How could you!"
The child is the only thing he can use to keep Gu Zheng. What if Gu Zheng really doesn't want the child? What other means can he use to keep Gu Zheng?
Gu En was completely panicked.
Gu Zheng sneered, "Why do you think it won't happen? After all, it's not my child. If you want to take him back, then take him back. Anyway, I'm never short of people who will have children for me. If you want to pick him up, you can take him away directly after he gets out of school tomorrow afternoon."
With that, Gu Zheng stood up, preparing to leave.
When Gu En saw him like this, she immediately grabbed Gu Zheng's hand, her face filled with barely concealed panic.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could you not want a child? Zheng-ge, did Xia Ran say something to you? He must have said something to you, right? You must not be willing to give up the child, right?"
Gu Zheng coldly withdrew his hand. "This has nothing to do with anyone else, it has to do with you. You said yourself that if I don't marry you, I'll take the child back. Since that's the case, then take the child back. After all, I really don't want to marry you."
Gu Zheng walked so fast that Gu En couldn't react in time to chase after him.
He sat there, stunned, never expecting this outcome. He had imagined Gu Zheng would have a huge fight with him and reject him, but he never imagined Gu Zheng would abandon the child.
If Gu Zheng really doesn't want children, then what can he use to blackmail Gu Zheng?
No, that's impossible! How could Gu Zheng not want children? Absolutely impossible!
The door to the room opened, and the man who had gone to see Gu Zheng that day came out. He looked at Gu En, who was sitting blankly on the sofa, with a helpless expression.
"Why don't you take the child back and raise him yourself? Gu Zheng doesn't want to marry you anyway. That child is still your own; can you really bear to see something happen to him?"
"Impossible!" Gu En refused without even thinking. "Why should I support him? Why?"
"Just because he is your biological son, even if you were forced into it at the time, he is still your biological son, that is an undeniable fact."
"Impossible! I will never raise him! Absolutely not!" Gu En shouted, looking like he had gone mad.
However, the man showed no fear. He knew, of course, that Gu En didn't want to raise the child, but he insisted on saying it. Only by saying it could he get Gu En back on the right track.
"If you don't want to raise him, then leave here and never come back. Pretend this memory never existed. You live your life, and he lives his. With Gu Zheng in his life, he'll be fine. If you insist on destroying the child, can you really bear it? Can you bear to see him go down a path even more painful than yours?"
The man pressed Gu En with his words, and Gu En gradually began to waver, as if the man's words had touched him.
But just when the man thought Gu En was willing to leave, Gu En shouted loudly again.
"Impossible! I absolutely do not believe that Gu Zheng would abandon the child! Gu Zheng must be faking it for me, no doubt about it! I know him, he would never abandon the child. Since that's the case, then don't blame me for using this last method. I didn't want to either, Gu Zheng forced me to do it!"
The man sighed almost imperceptibly.
"Do you know the consequences of doing this? If you really do this, not only will it hurt the child, but you might even get yourself killed. Are you really so heartless as to treat a child who has the same blood as you like that?"
"What do you mean?" Gu En looked at the man. "You don't want to help me? You don't want to help me either! Fine, if you won't help me, then I'll find someone else. I have money! I can find someone else!"
He was about to get up to look for someone when the man grabbed him.
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t help you, I just want you to know the consequences of doing these things. Once you do them, you’ll know there’s no turning back. Besides, Gu Zheng has said he won’t have any more children. Are you sure you really want to do this?”
Upon hearing this, Gu En looked at the man with a determined expression.
“I would never regret it. Why would I regret it? I know Gu Zheng. He is definitely not the kind of person who would abandon his child. He must have said those things on purpose to discourage me.”
"I won't fall for his tricks, and I've never considered turning back. The worst that can happen is death. But even if I die, I'll drag Xia Ran down with me! He stole everything from me!"
The man looked at Gu En's frantic state and sighed silently.
"Xiao En, why did you turn yourself into this? Do you like Gu Zheng that much? Do you like him as a person, or are you unwilling to lose his family background? Unwilling to lose the halo that the Gu family brings you?"
Gu En was taken aback. "This has nothing to do with you. Just do your own thing and take the money I give you."
Do you think I'm only helping you for the money?
"What do you mean?" Gu En sneered. "Aren't you just after the money?"
The man gave a wry smile. "Yes, you're right, I'm doing this for the money."
"Then why don't you hurry up and go find someone?"
"Don't worry, the person has been found. I just hope you won't regret it, because it will be too late if you do. Of course, you can still back out before tomorrow afternoon. I just hope you won't hurt an innocent child. Don't forget, that child is also your own son. You may not love him, but I hope you won't hurt him."
“I can also help you with this. If it gets discovered, I will take the blame for you. But after that, you will have to walk your own path. I won’t be able to protect you anymore.”
After he finished speaking, he left the house to go find someone. Of course, on the surface, he was telling Gu En to go find someone, but in reality, he just wanted to catch his breath.
Gu En was stunned by the man's words and stood on the sofa. This was the first time he had ever heard a man speak such a long passage, and in such a way.
Why would a man take the blame for him? What does he have that would make a man take the blame? Is he worth it?
A rare look of confusion appeared in Gu En's eyes, but it quickly disappeared when he thought of Gu Zheng and Xia Hou.
He did nothing wrong. What did he do wrong? He just wanted to take back what was his, what belonged to him.
How dare he take away what Xia Ran had built up over a decade of his life just because he'd been gone for a few years? How dare he!
After the man walked out, he went straight to Gu Zheng's car. Gu Zheng's car was in a blind spot, so no one could see him. He knocked on the car window.
Gu Zheng rolled down the car window and looked at him with a questioning gaze.
Man: "Tomorrow afternoon."
Gu Zheng nodded in agreement and then drove away.
Chapter 404 The Child is Kidnapped
The man watched Gu Zheng leave, his expression gradually turning indifferent.
If it doesn't work out tomorrow, then he really will have to take the blame for Gu En.
Now their only gamble is on Gu En's last bit of blood ties with the child. If Gu En is really that heartless, then they have no idea what the consequences will be.
Gu Zheng returned to the house opposite Xia Ran's. He looked at Xia Ran's tightly closed door, then at the things he was carrying and the cotton candy, and then went to knock on the door.
Although it wasn't the first time he'd knocked on the door, Gu Zheng still couldn't help but feel a little nervous for a moment, afraid that Xia Ran wouldn't come to open it.
But shortly after he pressed the button, someone opened the door, but it wasn't Xia Ran who opened it; it was Gu Chen.
"Why is it you? Where's your stepfather?"
If Gu Chen could understand Gu Zheng's tone, he would definitely be able to hear the disdain in Gu Zheng's voice at this moment.
“My dad was cooking, and my great-grandfather asked me to open the door.” Gu Chen’s gaze fell on the cotton candy in Gu Zheng’s hand.