The old man hadn't expected things to turn out this way, and sighed, "You've all suffered."
Mr. and Mrs. Feng smiled nonchalantly, "It's nothing, it's fine as it is, as long as the child is safe and sound."
The old man agreed with these words. Indeed, for the Feng family, as long as Xiao Ran is alive and grows up safely and healthily, that's enough.
They talked for a long time, and it was almost four o'clock. Xia Ran and the others would probably be back soon.
"You guys, why don't you go back first? Xiao Ran will be back soon. Come over tomorrow morning, and Xiao Ran will know the truth. I'll have a good talk with him tonight."
Feng Ming and the others were no longer in a hurry and nodded immediately.
"Okay, we'll head back now and come back tomorrow morning. Thank you so much, Grandpa," Mr. Feng said solemnly to Grandpa Xia.
Grandpa Xia waved his hand dismissively, "We're all family, no need to thank me, go back."
"good."
As Feng Ming's family entered the elevator, He Hao, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.
"Mom and Dad, Feng Ming, don't you think this old man is a bit strange?"
"Hmm?" Feng Ming and the others looked at He Hao, somewhat puzzled by his words.
"Well, how should I put it? Given how much the old man cares for and loves Xia Ran, wouldn't it be very sad for him to tell us all this today? Why did I feel like he had finally accomplished something important and seemed to be in a pretty good mood? He also seemed to have a lot of energy. I remember the old man was only discharged from the hospital a couple of days ago."
He Hao voiced his doubts. He genuinely felt that something was off about the old man, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
The other three seemed to sense that something was amiss when they heard He Hao's words.
“You’re probably overthinking it,” Feng Ming said. “Grandpa probably just looks fine on the surface, but he’s upset inside. However, as we just said, we won’t let Xia Ran and Grandpa be separated, so Grandpa probably doesn’t think it’s a problem. But Mom and Dad, should we let Xia Ran change her surname?”
“We won’t change it,” Mr. Feng replied. “If it weren’t for the old man back then, there wouldn’t be a child like Zai Zai today. We just need to find Zai Zai and let him know that we are his family. There’s no need to change his surname. No matter what his surname is, he’s still our child.”
"The old man is all alone, and Zai Zai is his everything. Didn't you hear what he said just now? If it weren't for Zai Zai back then, he probably wouldn't have survived. Zai Zai's name is Xia Ran, which is a good name. You are not allowed to mention changing his name, understand? Also, from now on, you two must call him Grandpa, just like Xia Ran."
The following sentence was, of course, addressed to Feng Ming and He Hao. Feng Ming and He Hao naturally nodded in agreement.
After hearing what Feng's father said, He Hao forgot all the things he had been thinking about.
In the other living room, Lin Ziming and his father were also looking at Grandpa Xia; what had just happened had a huge impact on them.
"Grandpa, so... you didn't get married or have children? Xiao Ran is actually a child of the Feng family?"
Grandpa Xia nodded, sighed, and said,
"Yes, I'm not married. How could I possibly get married? But I'm also glad I'm not married, otherwise, how would I face him now?"
It was obvious who the grandfather was referring to.
Mr. Lin's eyes reddened slightly. "Grandpa, I'll take you to see him in a couple of days. He'll be so happy if he knows you're going to visit him."
"Okay, it's time to go see him. After all these years, I have so much to tell him."
Grandpa Xia took a sip of tea, then suddenly put the teacup down.
"The tea has gone cold."
"Grandpa, I'll go get you some hot water." Lin Ziming took the teacup and went into the kitchen.
Xia Ran and the others returned a little later than Grandpa had expected; it was past five o'clock when they came back.
And there were indeed a lot of things; even Gu Chen was carrying some in both hands.
"Grandpa, I've bought everything you wanted. Please take a look and see if it's what you wanted."
After shopping all afternoon, Xia Ran was so tired that she collapsed onto the sofa, leaving the things she bought on the table unattended.
Gu Chen was also exhausted, so he lay down on the sofa with Xia Ran.
Gu Zheng was somewhat surprised when he first saw Xia Ran like this, mainly because when he married Xia Ran, she had always been very proper at home, so it was really rare to see her like this.
But he knew that this was the real Xia Ran. Today's amount of exercise was nothing to Gu Zheng, so he didn't feel tired. He even went to the kitchen to pour two glasses of milk for Xia Ran and the child, and he specially heated them in the microwave.
"Have some." Gu Zheng took out two glasses of milk and gave them to Xia Ran and the others. Xia Ran had already sat up by then.
Seeing the milk handed to her, Xia Ran hesitated for a moment before taking it.
Grandpa Xia watched with a smile the whole time, while Lin Ziming and his father went to sort the things they had bought.
Most of the things the old man asked Xia Ran to buy were ready-made foods, which could be heated up and eaten later.
Xia Ran drank a cup of hot milk and felt much better.
"Grandpa, you've only been here a few days and haven't gone out much, so how do you know there's food in those alleys?" Xia Ran couldn't help but ask in confusion.
If those shops were all on main streets, in bustling areas, Xia Ran would have thought her grandfather might have seen them on TV. But those shops were all tucked away in alleyways.
"I came here when I was young." Grandpa Xia walked over and looked at some familiar things with some emotion. "I wonder if the taste is still the same after all these years."
Hearing his grandfather's tone, Xia Ran and the others realized that this place must contain memories of his grandfather when he was young, and he had never heard his grandfather mention them before.
"Yes, Grandpa, it will taste the same." Xia Ran walked over and put her arm around her grandfather's shoulder. "In a couple of days, when the weather is nice, we'll go back and visit him with you."
"good."
At dinner, the table was full of food, most of which Xia Ran and the others had bought, while a few dishes were cooked by Xia Ran and Gu Zheng.
Grandpa Xia ate quite a lot that night. Xia Ran thought that Grandpa was just missing the food and that it was a rare treat, so he had a big appetite.
That night, Grandpa asked Lin Ziming and his father to stay at the hotel, and the two of them did not refuse. However, there were not enough rooms, so Lin Ziming stayed at Gu Zheng's place.
Xia Ran and Gu Zheng washed the dishes after dinner. Gu Zheng felt like it was all a dream these past two days, and this kind of life made him feel like he and Xia Ran were getting a divorce.
In the living room, Grandpa Xia held Gu Chen in his arms and affectionately stroked Gu Chen's head.
"Xiao Chen, can you promise your great-grandfather something?"
"Great-Grandpa, you said it, Xiao Chen will definitely help you do it."
"Alright, alright, great-grandfather knew Xiao Chen was a good child. Actually, great-grandfather just wanted to ask you if you could continue to be this good to your stepfather? Just think of it as taking care of your stepfather for great-grandfather, okay?"
Chapter 419 Grandpa Xia's Farewell
"Of course, Grandpa, don't worry, I will always take good care of Daddy and you too."
Hearing the child's words, Grandpa Xia felt incredibly satisfied. Lin's father, standing beside him, also smiled broadly.
"If it were me, I would also love this child dearly. It's a pity that I don't know when Ziming will be able to find me such a lovely and sensible grandson."
Lin Ziming, who was standing to the side, suddenly had a look of helplessness on his face when he was mentioned.
"Dad, why are you bringing this up again? Didn't you say you wouldn't rush me?"
"That was before. Before, we hadn't found Xia Ran and the others. So naturally, our first priority was to find Xia Ran and Grandpa. Now that we've found them, it's time to set the wedding date. But don't worry, I'm open to both men and women."
When Lin Ziming heard the last sentence, he instinctively knew that his father must have noticed something.
But since there's still no resolution, he won't admit it.
"Okay, I'll try my best to find one for you, but it's definitely not possible this year. You'll have to look forward to next year."
"Okay, next year it is, but you absolutely mustn't go back on your word."
Lin Ziming shook his head helplessly. It seems that the older generation likes to urge people to get married.
When Xia Ran and Gu Zheng came out of the kitchen, they saw the group of people enjoying themselves immensely. He stopped and looked at the scene, feeling an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.
This scene is so captivating that it's impossible not to become immersed in it.
“It will always be like this.” Gu Zheng suddenly said from the side, and Xia Ran turned her head to look at him.
This time, Xia Ran, unusually, did not refute, but silently shifted her gaze and walked towards her grandfather and the others.
"What are you talking about? You seem so happy."
"We were talking about getting your son Ziming married soon. That's my only wish now. As long as your son Ziming gets married, I'll have no regrets in this life," said Mr. Lin.
Xia Ran laughed too, "Yeah, it's time to start dating, Ziming."
"I'm working on it too," Lin Ziming said directly.
Xia Ran suddenly thought of Lin Ziming's attitude towards Yu Wu, but in the end she said nothing.
Forget it, let them handle this themselves. Maybe he's mistaken.
“You’re all getting on in years. It’s time to settle down and start a family. Only then can your families rest assured. Your families are getting old, and what they want most is for you to enjoy your youth.”
Grandpa Xia's tone was full of emotion, which made Xia Ran pause for a moment.
He didn't know if his grandfather was saying these things on purpose, but he knew that his grandfather really wanted him to get married.
The family is not short of money, and Grandpa doesn't expect him to earn money; he just wants him to live a good life.
Xia Ran glanced at Gu Zheng beside her and sighed silently in her heart.
Give him a little more time. Give him a little more time and he'll be able to convince himself. Right now, he seems to be resisting a bit.
Grandpa Xia asked everyone to sit and chat with him in the living room, drinking tea. He usually goes to bed around nine o'clock, but today it was already eleven o'clock and he hadn't mentioned going to bed.
Xia Ran was a little confused and couldn't help but say something.
"Grandpa, it's already past eleven o'clock. Why don't we all go to sleep? Everyone's tired."
Grandpa Xia only looked up at the time after hearing this, and muttered to himself,
"Oh, it's already past eleven o'clock."
"Yeah, it's already past eleven o'clock, so let's all go back to sleep."
"Alright, go to sleep, all of you go back to sleep." Grandpa Xia glanced at the group. "You all need to remember what I said. We are all family. Sometimes we need to discuss things with each other. The most important thing in life is peace and happiness. These four words are more important than any other words."
The group was completely confused by what Grandpa Xia was saying, but they all nodded nonetheless.
They all thought it was just that Grandpa Xia was old and liked to nag them, and they didn't think of anything else.
Lin Ziming and Gu Zheng went back to Gu Zheng's place. As soon as they entered Gu Zheng's house, Lin Ziming clicked his tongue twice.
"It will probably be very difficult for you to get back together with Xia Ran in the future."
Upon hearing this, Gu Zheng narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"It's nothing," Lin Ziming shrugged with a smile. "You'll find out tomorrow anyway; I guarantee it'll be a big surprise!"
He realized today that the Feng family was very opposed to Xia Ran and Gu Zheng being together, and Gu Zheng would be in for a lot of trouble.
However, the thought of Gu Zheng being humiliated by his family made him feel incredibly satisfied.