Gu Zheng glanced at Xia Ran and found that her eyes were full of longing. Seeing that look, he suddenly thought of the boy from many years ago.
Every time he refused to let the boy eat snacks, the boy would show this disappointed expression in his eyes.
Gu Zheng reached out and took Gu Chen from Xia Ran's arms, while holding Xia Ran's hand with his other hand.
"Let's go."
"Hmm? Where to?"
Xia Ran asked in confusion.
"Didn't you say you wanted to go for a walk?"
"What did you say? Go shopping?"
"If you're not going, then go back."
Seeing Xia Ran looking at him with such a questioning gaze, Gu Zheng suddenly became somewhat annoyed.
Upon hearing this, Xia Ran quickly shook her head.
"No, no, I'll go!"
His smile stretched almost to his ears, making him look somewhat silly.
Gu Zheng snorted coldly again.
"Stop laughing, it looks awful."
It wasn't that he looked bad, it was just that Xia Ran's smile was so bright that he suddenly had a strange feeling.
For a fleeting moment, he wondered if Xia Ran's smile would disappear if she knew the truth.
"Huh? Ugly? Is it?"
Upon hearing Gu Zheng's words, Xia Ran actually touched the corner of her mouth like a fool.
"have."
"Oh, then I won't laugh like that anymore. By the way, let's go take a look ahead. There's often an old lady selling cotton candy there; it tastes really good."
Xia Ran indeed suppressed her smile a little, took Gu Zheng's hand in return, and led him forward.
Seeing Xia Ran's excited expression, Gu Zheng suddenly felt that Xia Ran was too easily satisfied. It was just a stroll, yet she was so happy.
Little did Gu Zheng know that every word he said was very different and had a great influence on Xia Ran.
"Daddy is bad, little...Daddy is good-looking."
Suddenly, Gu Chen, who was in Gu Zheng's arms, muttered something again. Gu Zheng's face darkened, and he questioned,
"Whose son are you, anyway?"
"His...son."
Gu Chen pointed his chubby little finger at Xia Ran, who was walking ahead and holding their hands, his little face full of self-righteousness.
Gu Zheng was speechless for a moment, and even wondered if he had made a mistake in teaching Gu Chen to say those words.
However, considering the changes in Gu Chen these past few days, he didn't say anything more. If Xia Ran's existence could change Gu Chen so much, then his marriage with Xia Ran wouldn't have been in vain.
Xia Ran, who was walking ahead excitedly, was completely unaware of the conversation between the father and son.
The old lady selling cotton candy that Xia Ran mentioned was indeed still there, but there were many people buying it, and the queue was very long. Xia Ran thought of Gu Zheng and gave up queuing.
"Let's go explore the area ahead."
"Didn't you say you wanted to buy cotton candy?"
"I'm not buying it. The line will be so long and there are so many people. You'll get tired carrying the baby."
Actually, this was only one of the reasons. Another, more important reason was that he knew Gu Zheng didn't like crowded places, so between Cotton Candy and Gu Zheng, he naturally chose Gu Zheng.
Gu Zheng's heart suddenly felt as if a small pebble had been thrown in, causing ripples to spread.
However, he still didn't say anything, and just followed Xia Ran forward. After a while, Xia Ran led him into a dessert shop.
"The sweet soup here is delicious, let's try it."
"Um."
After sitting down, Gu Zheng watched Xia Ran place Gu Chen, who was in his arms, into her arms and said, "..."
I'm going out for a bit.
Before Xia Ran could answer, he strode towards the door. By the time Xia Ran realized what was happening, Gu Zheng had already disappeared from her sight.
"Baby, where do you think your big dad went out to do?"
He lowered his head and said something to Gu Chen, whose big eyes were full of doubt. After a while, he hesitated and shook his head.
Xia Ran burst out laughing.
"Baby, how can you be so amazing?"
He had noticed Gu Chen's changes over the past two days, but he dared not bring it up, fearing that if he did, Gu Chen would revert to his old ways.
When praised by his beloved little dad, Gu Chen's face slowly turned red, making him look quite adorable.
The sweet soup they ordered arrived, and Gu Zheng had been gone for over twenty minutes. Xia Ran gradually became a little worried, since Gu Zheng was unfamiliar with the area.
Just as Xia Ran was about to call Gu Zheng, she heard a murmur of conversation at the door. Xia Ran turned around to look.
A tall, handsome man was walking towards them, holding a handful of pink cotton candy.
Xia Ran was stunned. It wasn't until Gu Zheng took Gu Chen away from his arms and stuffed the cotton candy into his hand that he came to his senses.
“Ah Zheng…”
He looked at the cotton candy in his hand, his eyes getting a little hot.
"I didn't know what color you liked, so I just bought a pink one."
Gu Zheng remained expressionless, but Xia Ran found this more captivating than any sweet words could evoke.
"It's okay, I like pink."
His eyes curved into crescent shapes, and he stuck out his tongue to gently lick the marshmallow, the sweet taste instantly filling his mouth.
Looking at Xia Ran, Gu Zheng suddenly felt a sense of satisfaction that he couldn't quite explain.
It seems like raising Xia Ran as Xiao En would be a good idea. I had so many regrets about Xiao En before, and now I can only leave them to Xia Ran.
"Daddy! I want it!"
Gu Chen, who was in Gu Zheng's arms, stared wide-eyed at Xia Ran, or more accurately, at the cotton candy in Xia Ran's arms.
Xia Ran smiled and handed over the cotton candy. Gu Chen immediately imitated Xia Ran's earlier action and stuck out his tongue to lick it lightly.
"Ah Zheng, you should try some too, it's very sweet."
"It's too greasy, I won't eat it."
Gu Zheng frowned; he had never liked sweets.
Xia Ran stubbornly held the cotton candy to Gu Zheng's lips, pouting and saying...
"No, you should try it, it's really sweet and delicious."
This was the first time Xia Ran had acted so affectionately towards him since they had known each other for so long. In a daze, Gu Zheng saw the boy sweetly calling him "brother" again, and in the end, he even tasted the cotton candy as if possessed.
"Isn't it delicious?"
"Um."
Gu Zheng lowered his head, concealing the emotions in his eyes.
After the three finished their sweet soup, they went back. Grandpa Xia had been waiting for Xia Ran and was quite surprised to see the three of them return together.
"Grandpa, we met at the door just now."
Xia Ran immediately noticed Grandpa Xia's surprise.
"I see. How did your chat with Grandpa Sun's granddaughter go?"
"What else can we do? It'll just stay that way."
Xia Ran spoke somewhat guiltily, already sensing the icy aura emanating from Gu Zheng beside him.
Chapter 15 The Beautiful Granddaughter-in-Law
"What do you mean by 'that'? Did the two of them have an inappropriate conversation?" Grandpa Xia asked, puzzled.
"Grandpa, she and I are really not a good match. She also said that I'm not her type, so don't worry about it. I promise to bring you a granddaughter-in-law as soon as possible, and she'll be as beautiful as a flower, okay?"
When he mentioned how beautiful she was, he secretly glanced at Gu Zheng beside him.
Yes, she is indeed very beautiful!
Sensing Xia Ran's gaze, Gu Zheng gave him a cold look, then left after uttering a single sentence.
"Grandpa, I'll take the child back to the room first."
Xia Ran's lips moved, but she held back from speaking. Only Grandpa Xia smiled and said "okay".
However, after Gu Zheng and the others returned to their room, Grandpa Xia's expression changed.
"Ranran, it's not that Grandpa is forcing you, it's just that Grandpa is getting old and only wants to see you settle down and start a family. Your parents passed away early, and if this old man like me dies too, you'll be all alone. Grandpa can't bear that."
"Pah, pah, pah! Grandpa, what nonsense are you talking about? Don't worry, you'll be fine, and I promise I'll find you a granddaughter-in-law soon."
"Okay, then Grandpa will believe you. It's getting late, go to sleep."
Grandpa went back to his room, and Xia Ran stood there for a while before walking to his own room, feeling a pang of sadness in his heart.
Isn't it incredibly unfilial of him to deceive the grandfather who raised him like this?
Xia Ran reluctantly pushed open the door, but was immediately pressed against the wall, and the door had already been closed due to inertia.
"Find a beautiful granddaughter-in-law? Xia Ran, are you ignoring what I said?"
The cold, clenched tone, coupled with gritted teeth, revealed the owner's extreme rage.
Xia Ran looked at Gu Zheng's face so close to hers, nervously swallowed, and her face turned bright red.
The two were very close; he could even feel the warmth of Gu Zheng's breath on his face and the faint scent of shower gel emanating from his body.