Gu Zheng himself might not have noticed this small change, but Xia Ran, whose mind was entirely focused on Gu Zheng, did, otherwise the scene of taking Gu Zheng away just now would not have happened.
"Okay, be careful. I'll be at home with the baby waiting for your answer."
"Um."
After Gu Zheng left, Xia Ran dug the little dumpling out of his arms.
"Baby, Daddy's gone. Do you want to talk to Daddy?"
Gu Chen blinked blankly, seemingly understanding Xia Ran's words, but not quite.
"If the baby doesn't want to talk, how about listening to Daddy?"
This time, Gu Chen obediently nodded.
"Actually, what Little Daddy wants to ask is, why do you always say that Big Daddy is bad? Big Daddy isn't bad at all. You must never talk to Big Daddy like that again, okay?"
Gu Chen pouted, nodding as if somewhat reluctantly.
"Cicada..."
"Good baby, you're so great. Both your little dad and big dad are so cute to you."
“Baby… also loves… Daddy.”
Gu Chen snuggled right into Xia Ran's arms, his soft and sweet nature making Xia Ran love him to bits.
After playing with the baby for a while, Gu Chen got sleepy. After coaxing the baby to sleep, Xia Ran took out his phone and started shopping on Tongcheng. He wanted to buy clothes for Gu Chen, as well as a photo frame.
That's Ah Zheng's younger brother, so naturally he's also his brother. Besides, he was the one who broke the picture frame, so he should rightfully buy a replacement for Ah Zheng.
Because they were in the same city, the photo frame arrived quickly. He took it mysteriously to the second floor, intending to put the photo he had seen that day into the frame in Gu Zheng's study.
Strangely, the study door was locked.
He turned around and went down to the living room on the first floor, where he saw Uncle Gu.
"Uncle Gu, do you have a key to A-Zheng's study? I'd like to go in and take a look."
"The key to the study? The young master's study is never locked. If you want to go in and take a look, go ahead, but there are some things inside that you shouldn't touch, because the young master doesn't like others touching his things."
After hearing what Uncle Gu said, Xia Ran was stunned. Never lock the door? Then... he did see the lock just now.
Why is that? Is it because he went in last time? In other words, the study is locked to keep him out?
Xia Ran was filled with disappointment. He had only broken a picture frame, so why did A Zheng have to be so wary of him?
"Young Master Ran, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? You look so pale. I'll have someone fetch the family doctor to take a look."
"No need, Uncle Gu, I'm fine. The baby should be awake by now. I'll go check on him."
Xia Ran forced a smile and went upstairs. However, he did not go back to his room immediately, but went directly to the study to make sure that the study was indeed locked.
Bitterness filled his mouth, and he felt as if all his strength had been drained from his body, leaving him completely weak.
"Ah Zheng, I thought you had started to accept me these past few days."
Xia Ran was muttering to herself at the door of the study.
"Daddy?"
A childish voice rang out from behind Xia Ran. Xia Ran subconsciously turned around and saw Gu Chen looking groggy after just waking up. His heart softened instantly, and he understood some things.
Ah Zheng said from the beginning that he wouldn't like him, and now that only a short time has passed, how dare he presume that Ah Zheng will accept him so quickly?
"Baby, come here, let Daddy hug you."
Upon hearing this, Gu Chen immediately threw himself into Xia Ran's arms.
Holding Gu Chen, Xia Ran thought for a long time. Since the photo frame had already been bought, she decided to wait for A-Zheng to come back before making any decisions.
When evening came, Xia Ran thought Gu Zheng would come back for dinner, but he waited until after seven o'clock and no one came back.
"Young Master Ran, why don't you eat with the young master first? The eldest young master often doesn't come back for dinner."
Seeing the two of them waiting there, Uncle Gu felt a little sorry for them.
Xia Ran glanced down at Gu Chen in his arms before hesitatingly saying,
"I...I'll call Ah Zheng."
"That's fine too."
Xia Ran called Gu Zheng, but no one answered.
"Never mind, let's eat first. Maybe Ah Zheng is really busy."
Xia Ran thought Gu Zheng would be back soon, but to her surprise, he waited until after 10 p.m., when he was about to go to bed, and still hadn't seen him.
He gradually began to worry. Could something have happened to him since he hadn't returned for so long?
Thinking about this, Xia Ran was startled. He stood up abruptly from his chair on the balcony, wanting to find his phone to call Gu Zheng.
However, just as he stood up, a car horn sounded from the front door. He looked up and saw a beam of light shining directly in.
"Ah Zheng!"
He exclaimed in surprise and rushed downstairs in his pajamas to find Gu Zheng.
As soon as Gu Zheng entered the living room, Xia Ran also ran barefoot to the top of the stairs.
"Ah Zheng!"
What are you doing, all flustered? You're not even wearing shoes, what kind of appearance is that?
Seeing Xia Ran's expression, Gu Zheng immediately frowned and scolded her.
However, Xia Ran was not afraid of him at all and ran straight to Gu Zheng. He originally wanted to hug Gu Zheng, but for some reason, he stopped.
"It's okay, it's not cold, and it's very comfortable to walk barefoot."
"Comfortable? Let's see if you're still comfortable if you get sick."
Gu Zheng bent down and picked her up. Xia Ran instinctively wrapped her arms around Gu Zheng's neck, shocked yet delighted.
"Don't worry, I won't get sick."
His face flushed red; being held by A-Zheng made him feel really safe.
"You think you can just say you won't? If you get sick, who will take care of the little brat? If I see you not wearing shoes again, you know what will happen."
As Gu Zheng spoke, he walked upstairs, carrying Xia Ran, who was over 1.7 meters tall, in his arms without showing any signs of panting. He walked as steadily as ever.
Xia Ran felt a warm glow inside as Gu Zheng showed her such care, even though he was just worried that no one would take care of the baby.
Chapter 19 Finding Candy for Yourself
Gu Zheng carried Xia Ran back to her room.
Xia Ran nestled quietly in Gu Zheng's arms the whole time without saying a word.
Such moments are rare for him, and he must cherish them and savor them fully.
Gu Chen was already asleep in the room.
Gu Zheng gently put Xia Ran down and said in a low voice,
"You should go to sleep early. I'm going back to my room to take a shower first."
"Wait a minute." Just as Gu Zheng turned around, Xia Ran grabbed his hand.
"Is there anything else?" Gu Zheng frowned.
He was exhausted from work today.
Xia Ran immediately noticed the weariness in Gu Zheng's eyes, and the words he was about to say changed.
"It's nothing, are you hungry? I'll go cook you something to eat, okay?"
Gu Zheng instinctively wanted to refuse, but when he saw Xia Ran's expectant eyes, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue and nodded slightly.
Xia Ran's eyes suddenly brightened many times over, reminding Gu Zheng of the eyes of an animal.
The deer's eyes are just like that—clean and bright. When they look at people, they evoke a protective instinct and make you feel reluctant to refuse them.
"I'm going now. You don't need to go down so early. You can come down in five minutes."
Gu Zheng nodded, and then Xia Ran quickly turned and left.
After he left, Gu Zheng stared blankly in the direction Xia Ran had left through the door for a while before turning his gaze away.
Is this the life of mutual respect that Wang Bo described?
Xia Ran was especially happy because he was cooking for Gu Zheng. He hid the newly bought photo frame under the pillow on the living room sofa, planning to give Gu Zheng a surprise when he ate noodles later.
Chop the tomatoes into small pieces, add salt, and stir-fry until they become mushy. Then add boiling water and bring to a boil. Put the noodles in the boiling water, and when the noodles are half-cooked, add a few bright green vegetables.
In another pan, fragrant eggs are being fried.
Once she felt the noodles were almost cooked, Xia Ran added salt, soy sauce, and other seasonings.
Since it was the first time he had cooked for Gu Zheng under such circumstances, he even took a spoonful of soup to taste it.
Hmm... the taste is just right.
After tasting it, he subconsciously put the spoon into the pot and stirred it.
Xia Ran realized what was happening almost as soon as she put the spoon down.
He swallowed nervously, his face flushing slightly.
He... he just tasted it with this spoon, so his lips naturally touched the spoon.
So... he put the spoon back into the pot now, and the noodles in the pot are going to be given to Gu Zheng later. So, rounding it up, does that mean he's going to indirectly kiss Gu Zheng later?
"Is it ready?" Gu Zheng's voice rang out from the kitchen doorway. Xia Ran instantly snapped out of her daze and turned to look at Gu Zheng at the door.
"Okay...okay, you can go sit down first, I'll take the noodles out right away."
Gu Zheng gave another indifferent "hmm," then turned and left.
As he turned around, Gu Zheng's brows furrowed again. He turned back once more and said,
"Isn't there air conditioning in the kitchen? Why aren't you turning it on? Your face is so red, people might think you're sick, and it wouldn't be good if you scared the child."
Xia Ran's hand holding the spoon trembled, and the spoon fell into the pot.