"I have no idea."
He doesn't dare to always side with his older father anymore, otherwise what if his younger father gets angry and abandons him? So he should still side with his younger father.
Gu Zheng was surprised that Gu Chen was being so uncooperative, and his face darkened. He didn't know what to say and could only drive in silence. Xia Ran wanted to go back and ask, but she couldn't. She told him that U-turns were not allowed on this section of the road.
However, after driving for a while, he didn't hear Xia Ran say anything to make him turn around or refuse. Instead, she took the child to look at the scenery outside the window and told the child what those things were.
Gu Zheng breathed a sigh of relief; he suddenly seemed to understand something.
Perhaps Xia Ran is willing to go, but just doesn't want to admit it to him. If that's the case, then things will be easier.
The cake shop was in a very busy area. Xia Ran knew that Gu Zheng wouldn't buy things cheaply, and now that she saw the place, she knew he was right.
How can something that can be sold in the city center be cheap?
"The cake shop is over there, I'll park first," Gu Zheng said.
Xia Ran didn't even nod before getting out of the car with the child and waiting for Gu Zheng.
Gu Zheng quickly parked the car and very consciously walked to the other side of the child and took the child's hand.
Xia Ran glanced at it, but ultimately said nothing.
Gu Zheng, who already had a suspicion in his mind, was now even more certain of his thoughts, which caused the smile on his lips to never stop.
The cake shop is located on the first floor of the mall. It has a large and good location, and the decoration is also very nice, making it clear at a glance that it is definitely not the cheap kind.
The store was quite crowded, and all the servers were young, both men and women, and they were all quite good-looking.
The variety of desserts and cakes was overwhelming, and Xia Ran couldn't help but start looking at them.
The cashier was a young man. He wore gold-rimmed glasses, was fair-skinned, and very handsome. In particular, his demeanor was refreshing and pleasant.
But this same person, upon seeing them approach, stepped out from behind the cashier and smiled at them.
Xia Ran knew he had always liked good-looking people, but ever since he met Gu Zheng, he felt that no one else, no matter how good-looking, could move him anymore, since Gu Zheng was just that good-looking.
But the person in front of me has a smile that makes people feel very friendly.
"Young Master Gu, what brings you here today? Bought cakes again? Are these your child and your partner?"
When the man came up to them, Xia Ran was a little surprised to hear these words. She didn't expect that this person knew Gu Zheng.
Gu Zheng nodded, "Yes, this is my son Gu Chen, and this is my wife, Xia Ran."
Xia Ran, who was standing next to him, felt a little strange when Gu Zheng introduced him so openly.
"Aran, this is the son of my mother's childhood friend. He just returned to China recently, and he owns this cake shop."
"Hello, my name is Yu Yang."
Yu Yang extended his hand to Xia Ran, and Xia Ran shook it.
"Hello, your name is Xia Ran."
"Xiao Chen, call him Uncle."
Hello, Uncle.
"Hey, hello." Yu Yang patted Gu Chen's head, but Gu Chen dodged it immediately. His hand froze in mid-air, but he quickly withdrew it and said to the others,
"Go pick out some things you want to eat first. It's my treat today. I offered to treat you last time, but you refused. So now you've brought your wife and kids to rip me off."
Xia Ran felt a little embarrassed when he heard this, but he didn't know how the two of them got along, so he didn't dare to nod.
“I don’t lack this little bit of money,” Gu Zheng said. “I’ll take them to choose first, you go about your business.”
This was the first time Xia Ran had seen Gu Zheng treat someone like this, and she couldn't help but be a little curious, but she pretended not to know anything.
Yu Yang responded, and since there were indeed many people around, he said to pick whatever he wanted and then went to get busy.
Gu Zheng brought over a basket. "Let's go, pick out some of your favorites."
Xia Ran hesitated for a moment, "Remember to pay them later. They're in business; we can't take advantage of them."
He lowered his voice as he spoke, afraid that Gu Zheng might really not pay him later.
Gu Zheng was surprised that Xia Ran would care about him so much. The corners of his mouth instantly turned up a little more, and he said, "Okay, I'll listen to you. I'll definitely pay you later."
The words "I'll listen to you" were so gentle that Xia Ran felt she couldn't quite handle them.
He took the child straight to pick out what they wanted; since they were already there, they might as well pick out something they liked.
Gu Zheng followed behind them like a dutiful waiter.
After finishing his work, Yu Yang took a moment to glance at them and was quite surprised by Gu Zheng's actions.
Tsk tsk tsk, as expected of an iron tree that never blooms, but once it does bloom, it does all sorts of things. Indeed, everyone has a weakness.
After Xia Ran and the others made their selections, they went straight to pay the bill. Yu Yang initially refused to accept the money, but Gu Zheng's words, "I have plenty of money," infuriated Yu Yang, who then angrily overcharged Gu Zheng. However, Gu Zheng later brought them a box of mochi from the table behind them.
"I made this for myself, and it tastes pretty good. It's a secret recipe, so you can take it home and try it."
"Thank you," Xia Ran said.
"Don't mention it, we're all friends. Come and buy it next time you want to eat it, I'll give you a 50% discount, but you can't bring Gu Zheng with you, otherwise I'll charge you more, after all, he has more money than he can spend."
Yu Yang's tone made Xia Ran feel that the distance between them had shortened considerably, and she immediately smiled.
"Okay, we'll be going now, goodbye."
"goodbye."
The group returned to the car. Gu Zheng, seeing that Xia Ran's mood had clearly improved, was also in a good mood.
Indeed, it's good to get out and about more often; it can even strengthen a relationship.
When they arrived home, Gu Zheng didn't dare go inside; he simply watched them enter the living room.
When Grandpa saw that they had bought so much bread and desserts, he naturally asked a question. Xia Ran didn't want to answer, but Gu Chen answered for him first.
Sure enough, he received another "Just as expected" from his grandfather.
Xia Ran was too lazy to explain, so she simply let her grandfather misunderstand on his own.
Chapter 411 Tool
When it was time for dinner, the old man asked Gu Chen to deliver the food again. Xia Ran saw this but turned a blind eye and pretended not to know.
But Grandpa Xia saw all of this, and his smile towards Xia Ran was even more meaningful.
"You're still being stubborn and lying to your grandfather. If you really want to get back together with Gu Zheng, you should do it sooner rather than later. It's not good for the two of you to be acting so awkwardly like this."
"Grandpa," Xia Ran called out helplessly, "I've already said I really have no intention of getting back together with Gu Zheng right now. Can you please stop making assumptions? Let us handle this ourselves, okay?"
Grandpa Xia: "I did all this for you, didn't I? And you don't even appreciate my kindness, humph."
Grandpa's mood has been quite volatile lately. He's become incredibly optimistic, as if he's gone back to how he was before he knew about his marriage to Gu Zheng, laughing and joking like a playful old man.
Xia Ran liked seeing his grandfather like this, which made him feel much more at ease. What he feared most now was that his grandfather would be unhappy.
The child has one last day of kindergarten tomorrow, so he went to bed early.
Xia Ran had nothing to do and was thinking of going back to his room to lie down, but unexpectedly, Grandpa Xia said he had something to ask him.
For some reason, Xia Ran felt a little nervous whenever she saw the old man's expression.
"Grandpa, why are you so serious? Did something happen?"
"You child!" Grandpa Xia glared at Xia Ran. "What nonsense are you talking about? What could possibly be wrong right now? I just have something very strange that I wanted to ask you!"
Because of Xia Ran's words, Grandpa Xia knew that his expression was too serious, so he tried his best to calm himself down.
But he knew that even if he tried to ease the situation, it probably wouldn't be much better. Just the thought that the matter might be discovered made him extremely worried.
This meant his complexion was unlikely to be good, but in order to prevent Xia Ran from noticing, he could only pretend that nothing had happened.
"Then tell me, what exactly is it you want to say? Your serious expression is frightening me."
Xia Ran and Grandpa Xia sat on the sofa.
Grandpa Xia looked at him and asked,
"Xiao Ran, don't you think the Feng family is too good to you? Are you very familiar with them? I think they really like you, and they always bring so many things with them."
The old man spoke to Xia Ran in a cautious tone, which made Xia Ran think of many things.
"Indeed, their family is just too enthusiastic, but I think it's just their personality. I asked Xiao Chen, and their child is the same way with Xiao Chen, constantly wanting to play with him. That child is fair-skinned and has a sweet tongue; he's so lovable."
Thinking of Feng Nianhao, the chubby boy from the Feng family, Xia Ran couldn't help but find it a little funny.
Looking at Xia Ran's smile, Grandpa Xia felt a pang of sadness in his heart.
It seems that Xiao Ran really likes the Feng family.
"Really? Of course, don't you think they're being a bit too nice? They always bring so much stuff every time they come over, which makes me feel a little uneasy."
"Actually, Grandpa, after hearing what you said, I also feel quite strange."
In fact, Xia Ran also thought of Lin Ziming and the others. For some reason, he felt that the Feng family and Lin Ziming and the others had a similar attitude at the beginning.
However, at the time, Ziming said it was because his grandfather looked like his deceased grandfather. Later, he learned from Gu Zheng about Lin Ziming and the others' true identities and felt that their motives were also justified.
But what is the reason for the Feng family's current situation? Could it be another debt from Grandpa's youth?
Xia Ran realized she had overthought things and quickly brought her thoughts back to normal.
"But Grandpa, I don't think we need to think too much about this. Although they are so good to us, it seems like we don't expect anything in return. They are probably just being enthusiastic. Anyway, we haven't lost anything, so don't worry about it."
Grandpa Xia felt bitter upon hearing these words. How could they not have something to gain? They wanted you as a person.
But Grandpa Xia didn't dare tell Xia Ran these things; he could only keep them to himself.
"Xiao Ran, I... I think I'm all better now. Why don't we go back? The New Year is just around the corner, and I still want to go home."
Grandpa Xia thought about it for an afternoon and decided that he should just go home. Maybe if he got away from here, the Feng family wouldn't look for him anymore.
However, this made Grandpa Xia feel extremely guilty and troubled.
If he really thinks Xia Ran is a child of the Feng family, then have the Feng family been searching for Xia Ran for a long time? He can't bear to part with Xia Ran, and the Feng family must be reluctant to part with her too, right?
"What? No way." Xia Ran rejected the idea without even thinking. "Grandpa, we can't take our health for granted. The doctor said it's not a good time for long-distance bus travel. Why won't you listen?"
“But I feel really fine now. I really want to go home. The house has been empty for so long, I don’t know what it’s like now. Besides, we can walk slowly, right? We can find a car ourselves, go slowly, or take the high-speed rail if we’re not afraid. Grandpa really wants to go back.”
"No, nothing I say will do." Xia Ran said firmly. "Grandpa, stop making a fuss. Even if you're in a hurry to go home, a little more time won't make a difference. Besides, Xiao Chen and I are here with you, so it's the same when we go home, right? But the child can't come with us when we go home."