The old man gave Gu Chen a wink, and Gu Chen understood immediately.
"Well... Little Daddy, I'll take it to Big Daddy and be back soon."
Xia Ran didn't answer, but Gu Chen had already left with the lunchbox.
After the child left, Grandpa Xia spoke to Xia Ran.
"Why are you so stubborn? You ate everything they offered and spent the night with them. Would you have done this if you hadn't already planned to forgive them? As your grandfather, do you think I don't know you?"
"You're just being stubborn and can't get over your own conscience. He's willing to give up his fancy villa to live with you in this place. If he didn't really like you, what do you think he'd be after?"
Xia Ran was speechless after what his grandfather said. He couldn't tell the old man the truth about what happened yesterday, otherwise...
"Grandpa, are you really not opposed to Gu Zheng at all? Are you really not disgusted by him at all?"
"What's so annoying about it? I've come to terms with everything now. Don't bother me anymore. Hurry up, go, go, go to the kitchen and get the food out, or it'll get cold."
Xia Ran watched the old man's retreating figure as he walked towards the kitchen and said helplessly,
"You know the food gets cold? Why didn't you say that when I told you the food would get cold?"
He followed me into the kitchen as he spoke.
As for Gu Zheng on the other side, he also looked at the lunchbox that Gu Chen brought with some disbelief.
"You just said that your great-grandfather asked you to bring these dishes over?"
"Yes, my great-grandfather asked me to take it, but my stepfather wouldn't let me. However, my stepfather couldn't persuade my great-grandfather, so he took it anyway."
Children don't have such good explanatory abilities and can only give a general explanation, but Gu Zheng understood it perfectly.
It was precisely because he understood that he felt even more confused. What did the old man mean by that?
"I'm going back now. My great-grandfather and my stepfather are still waiting for me to have dinner."
Gu Chen jogged towards the door. Gu Zheng couldn't figure it out, so he simply stopped thinking about it. Anyway, it was a good thing for him. At least his grandfather was definitely not as angry with him anymore. Otherwise, why would he let the child bring him food?
Since his divorce from Xia Ran, Gu Zheng felt this was the best and most comfortable meal he had ever had.
When Xia Ran saw Gu Chen return, she didn't say anything more, but instead asked the child to sit down and eat.
Gu Chen was still afraid that Xia Ran would get angry, so he kept secretly glancing at her.
It's fine once or twice, but it's happened many times. If Xia Ran really can't guess what Gu Chen means, then she's a fool.
"Xiao Chen, what are you doing? Eat properly, or your dad will really get angry."
Upon hearing this, Gu Chen immediately understood what it meant.
"I understand, Daddy. I'll eat my food right away. Don't be angry."
Xia Ran sighed helplessly. This little rascal was precocious for his age.
Xia Ran thought Gu Zheng would bring the lunchbox back, but it didn't arrive until before he went to bed. He only bumped into Gu Zheng at the kindergarten gate the next morning when he was about to take Gu Chen there.
"Aran, I'll just take the child to kindergarten, lunchbox."
Gu Zheng handed the lunchbox to Xia Ran, his tone as sincere as a child's.
Xia Ran paused for a moment, silently took the lunchbox, hesitated for a second, and then asked a question.
Who will pick us up tonight?
Gu Zheng was still in shock when he heard this, unable to believe that Xia Ran would actually speak to him.
But he reacted quickly, "You go pick me up. I might not be able to leave work so early this afternoon. It's the end of the year, and the company has a lot of things to do."
"Mmm," Xia Ran responded, patted the child's head, and went back to the living room.
Xia Ran had prepared herself to be lazy for the day, but in the afternoon she went to pick up Gu Chen. However, three more people showed up unexpectedly.
"Auntie, Uncle, He Hao, what brings you here? Please come inside."
The people who came were Feng's father, Feng's mother, and He Hao. He was quite surprised by their arrival.
The group was carrying a lot of things.
"We were just meeting a friend next door, and we thought we'd come up and sit for a while since we were passing by. We hope we didn't cause you any trouble?" He Hao said.
"No, no, come in quickly."
The old man had finally felt a bit better these past two days after not seeing the Feng family, but now that he's suddenly seen them again, he's starting to worry again.
Chapter 410 Suspicion
Seeing that her grandfather looked a little stunned, Xia Ran thought that he had forgotten about the others, so she explained.
"Grandpa, do you remember them? They are Aunt Feng and Uncle Feng who had dinner with us at the hotel that day. This is my friend, He Hao, who is also their son."
Xia Ran felt that He Hao might not really like the title of "daughter-in-law," since he himself didn't like it either, so he called her "son."
Mr. Feng, Mrs. Feng, and He Hao all greeted Grandpa Xia with smiles.
Grandpa Xia looked a little awkward, but he still smiled and told them to sit down quickly while he made tea for them.
"Grandpa, this is just a small token of my appreciation. I hope you won't find it offensive," Mr. Feng said.
Looking at the pile of gifts, the old man felt even more worried.
"Really, you guys are just coming up to have fun, but it's not appropriate to bring so much stuff. Don't bring anything next time. We're all friends, no need to be so polite."
"Okay, okay, we understand. We won't be polite next time," said Mr. Feng and the others.
Xia Ran poured tea for them. Grandpa Xia's attention was always on Mr. and Mrs. Feng, so he naturally noticed that they were both intentionally or unintentionally glancing at Xia Ran.
"Xiao Ran, go cut some fruit and bring it over," Grandpa Xia said.
Xia Ran didn't think much of it and went straight into the kitchen. He Hao glanced at her and followed her into the kitchen, leaving only the old man, Mr. and Mrs. Feng chatting and drinking tea in the living room.
"Xia Ran, I'm so sorry. I originally planned to come over after the kids' school break, but this time I'm accompanying my parents to visit a friend. We just happened to be passing by, so we decided to stop by. My parents really like the atmosphere at your place, so I..."
"It's okay, I'll be here a lot of time, so you can come up anytime if you want to."
"good."
He Hao breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that Xia Ran would keep asking questions, otherwise he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to explain himself clearly.
After all, they didn't just happen to run into each other. His parents couldn't sit still at home and kept talking about Xia Ran, so he had no choice but to bring the two of them over.
These past two days, he hasn't dared to leave his parents' side, fearing that the old couple might not be able to resist secretly coming to find Xia Ran, and then things would get complicated.
Judging from Grandpa Xia and Xia Ran's expressions, the two clearly have a very deep relationship. If Xia Ran were to find out the truth, she would be devastated.
In the living room, Feng's mother couldn't help but glance into the kitchen, and Grandpa Xia's heart sank.
He really didn't believe that she had come here by accident.
Besides, why would they come to visit for no reason? Their two families aren't exactly on good terms.
But knowing something was wrong in her heart was one thing, while maintaining a calm expression on her face.
As long as these people don't ask or speak, he's unlikely to take the initiative to ask or speak.
Mr. and Mrs. Feng were very eager to know about Xia Ran, but they didn't know how to ask. They could only try to get some information from Grandpa Xia indirectly.
"Grandpa, this Xia Ran...he...where are his parents from? I feel like I know him very well. I wonder if it's because I know his parents."
Mr. Feng asked in a low voice, as if afraid that Xia Ran in the kitchen would hear him.
The old man, who already had suspicions about the Feng family, knew most likely what was going on when he heard this, and he felt a sense of panic.
“They passed away a long time ago, not long after Xiaoran was born, so… I hope you won’t talk about this in front of Xiaoran anymore, otherwise I’m afraid he will be sad.”
Mr. and Mrs. Feng exchanged a glance, wanting to say something, but Xia Ran and the others came out of the kitchen, so they could only leave the matter alone.
"Xiao Ran, I'm going to my room to take a nap. I'm a little tired. You can keep the guests company, but don't forget to pick up the child. It's only half an hour until it's time to pick up the child, so as not to make the child upset if we miss it."
"I understand, Grandpa," Xia Ran replied.
The old man stood up, nodded to Mr. and Mrs. Feng, and then turned and went back to his room.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Feng noticed the change in the old man's mood, which further confirmed their own thoughts.
Judging from the old man's expression, it seemed as if he had guessed why they had come.
They knew this couldn't be rushed, so they didn't ask any more questions. Now that they knew Xia Ran's identity, they could take their time. So after sitting for another twenty minutes, Mr. and Mrs. Feng left. Since they were going to pick up their child later, they planned to leave with them.
Not long after Feng's parents left, Grandpa Xia came out of the room with three red envelopes in his hand.
“Here, this red envelope is a small token of our appreciation. You brought so many things over, but you don’t have anything to give back to your family. I didn’t notice your parents had left earlier, so please take this back to them.”
Grandpa Xia handed the red envelope to He Hao, but He Hao refused to accept it. After several rounds of polite refusals, He Hao finally accepted it.
"Then thank you, sir."
"I should be thanking you. You brought so many things; it's too much trouble for you."
He Hao smiled, feeling somewhat guilty.
When they went to pick up the child, the two took the bus together. He Hao didn't ask about Zhai's background anymore. He just talked about fun places to visit, good places to eat, and some things about the child. The two had a very harmonious conversation.
After picking up the child, the two parted ways, but just as Xia Ran was about to take the child home, she saw Gu Zheng's car.
"Aran, get in," Gu Zheng said, rolling down the car window.
Xia Ran frowned, her face full of doubt. Didn't Gu Zheng say he didn't have time to come?
Gu Zheng saw through Xia Ran's thoughts at a glance, but he wouldn't say it. Otherwise, why would he let Xia Ran sit in the same car as him?
“I didn’t have time originally, but Qin Hao has been very free these past two days. He didn’t plan to go home and has been helping out at the company, so he has time. Come on up, there are a lot of cars here, and if we don’t move soon, we’ll get stuck in traffic.”
Upon hearing this, Xia Ran didn't hesitate and silently led Gu Chen to the back seat of the car.
Gu Zheng smirked and started the car.
"Aran, I know a place that makes really good cakes. Let's go buy one. It's the same shop where I brought some back for you last time."
Xia Ran immediately thought of the tiramisu from last time. She shouldn't have thought about it, because once she did, she actually felt a little craving for it.
However, he didn't want Gu Zheng to take him, nor did he want to submit to Gu Zheng.
"No need," he said casually.
"But I've already changed my mind, just this once, okay, Ran?" Gu Zheng's tone was filled with anticipation. "And the child definitely wants to eat there too, right, Xiao Chen?"
Suddenly called upon, Gu Chen glanced at Gu Zheng, then at Xia Ran, before finally lowering his head and speaking.