Aunt Gu's words undoubtedly caused Xia Ran a pang of pain in her heart, making her even more hesitant.
Indeed, Xiao Chen's condition has finally improved a bit. If he leaves, will Xiao Chen revert to his old ways?
Xia Ran pursed her lips, unsure of what to do.
Seeing this, Aunt Gu quickly gave Gu Zheng a meaningful look, but Gu Zheng acted as if he hadn't seen her look and didn't say anything.
Aunt Gu was so angry with Gu Zheng that she could only give her son meaningful glances. At this moment, she finally realized how good her son was.
At least he's not a silent type like Gu Zheng, otherwise he could really drive people crazy at crucial moments!
Upon receiving a meaningful look from his mother, Qin Hao immediately understood and quickly spoke up.
"That's right, Xia Ran, don't worry, we won't give ourselves away. We won't be happy if you don't spend the holiday here, so we might as well go back together and keep Grandpa company."
"Treat Grandpa well, make him have a better impression of my brother and Chen Baobei. That way, if things are discovered later, Grandpa might not be able to bear being angry with you because of his feelings for you."
Qin Hao's words hit the nail on the head, and Xia Ran was quite tempted.
He glanced at Aunt Gu and the others' expectant eyes, then lowered his head again, still crying. Gu Chen, whose little hand was still clutching his clothes, looked at Gu Zheng beside him and asked,
"Zheng, what do you think?"
The fact that he asked that question already meant that he agreed.
However, he still wanted to ask Gu Zheng's opinion, in case Gu Zheng was unwilling.
Hearing Xia Ran's question, Gu Zheng's expression remained unchanged. He just kept looking at Xia Ran without saying a word, making it impossible to know what he was thinking.
Aunt Gu and the others were all watching Gu Zheng, afraid that he would refuse and say it was different.
Even Aunt Gu wanted to speak up for Gu Zheng, but just as she was about to speak, Gu Zheng answered.
"I'll do whatever you say. If you tell us to go, we'll go; if you tell us not to go, we won't go."
Gu Zheng completely handed over the decision-making power to Xia Ran; he didn't want to force Xia Ran.
Gu Zheng's actions touched Xia Ran, but also deepened her sense of guilt.
He gritted his teeth and said,
"Then we'll go back together. It'll be a bit of a hassle for you, though, as we still need to keep it from Grandpa. But don't worry, I'll find a chance to talk to him about it soon."
In fact, Xia Ran had already thought it through. He would find a time to confess everything to his grandfather. At worst, he would be scolded or beaten by his grandfather, and then he would stay by his grandfather's side for a while, and his grandfather's anger would subside.
Chapter 101 Let's go back together.
Upon hearing this, Aunt Gu immediately smiled and said,
"What's there to feel wronged about? We're overjoyed. This year's Mid-Autumn Festival is sure to be very lively. By the way, you guys enjoy your meal. I'll go prepare some things and head back early."
Aunt Gu spoke in a flurry of activity, and then went directly to Uncle Wang to discuss it.
A hint of helplessness appeared in Qin Shi's eyes as he spoke to Xia Ran and the others.
"You guys eat first, I'll go check on things."
"I need to pack my clothes!" Qin Hao stopped eating and excitedly went back to his room to pack his clothes.
Oh my god, I can finally rest for a few more days.
Don't think he doesn't know; his brother has been trying to get him to work at the company for the past two days. The main thing is that he's actually in charge of Lin Yi's project!
Damn! He thought he couldn't escape it, but he didn't expect to have such an unexpected gain.
Given his brother's personality, he might make him go and discuss the project with Lin Yi on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival!
Seeing how happy they were, Xia Ran felt touched and warmed.
He turned his head to look at Gu Zheng beside him and whispered.
"Ah Zheng, thank you."
Thank you for your understanding.
Gu Zheng glanced at him and sighed silently.
"No need to thank me. Eat up, and after you finish, pack your things and head home early to avoid traffic jams."
Now that everyone is going back, of course they'll be driving themselves.
Moreover, despite it being a holiday, they didn't plan to have a driver take them there; instead, they intended to drive themselves.
Xia Ran nodded heavily, looked down at Gu Chen in his arms, and said,
"Xiao Chen, don't cry. Daddy didn't abandon you. Let's go see Great-Grandpa together in a little while, okay? Do you remember Great-Grandpa? He's the old man who went to see Daddy last time, do you remember him?"
Xia Ran wiped away Gu Chen's tears. Actually, what he said was just a casual remark. After all, several months had passed, and Gu Chen was still a child, so it was normal for him not to remember.
To Xia Ran's surprise, Gu Chen actually nodded.
"Xiao Chen, you mean you remember?" Xia Ran asked in surprise.
Even Gu Zheng, who was standing next to him, was looking down at Gu Chen.
Gu Chen did not disappoint his two fathers, nodding again under Xia Ran's expectant gaze.
Xia Ran was overjoyed and gave Gu Chen a big kiss on the cheek.
"Xiao Chen is awesome!"
His grandfather loves children so much, so this trip will definitely allow Xiao Chen to develop a relationship with his grandfather. That way, when his grandfather finds out, he won't be so angry.
Xia Ran originally planned to go back alone and booked a high-speed train ticket for the afternoon, but since everyone had gone back, she didn't wait until the afternoon and boarded the train after having lunch around 11 a.m.
I even drove two cars back this time.
Xia Ran was dumbfounded when she stood at the door looking at the things in the trunks of the two cars.
"Auntie...Auntie, you're carrying so many things, are you going to take them all to my house?"
Inside were top-quality medicinal wines, fine teas and teaware, as well as various foods suitable for the elderly, and of course, mooncakes.
But these two large carts are just too many. Even if we take them back, Grandpa probably won't accept them.
Xia Ran told Aunt Gu and the others about her concerns, but Aunt Gu waved her hand dismissively, not caring at all.
"Don't worry, I have a way to get Grandpa to accept it. You can rest assured. As in-laws, it's not enough for us to bring these things on our first visit, but you said you can't let Grandpa know yet, so Xiaoran, I'm sorry to trouble you."
"Don't worry, once Grandpa agrees to your relationship, we will definitely bring the betrothal gifts back to your home and then pick a date to hold a grand wedding for you."
Aunt Gu spoke with a smile, but Xia Ran was stunned.
Should we have a big wedding in the future? He had only thought about marrying Gu Zheng before. He was willing to do anything as long as he could be with Gu Zheng, so he hadn't thought about having a wedding.
Seeing Xia Ran's stunned expression, Aunt Gu felt a pang of sadness for some reason.
This child only got the marriage certificate and didn't do anything else; he really suffered a lot.
Thinking of this, Aunt Gu glared at Gu Zheng again.
"Get in the car." Gu Zheng didn't react to the glare from his aunt, but simply told Xia Ran to get in.
Xia Ran snapped out of her daze, glanced at Gu Zheng, and then carried Gu Chen into the car.
He was still thinking about what Aunt Gu had just said, and he was in a daze.
However, he couldn't help but look at Gu Zheng, and when he found that Gu Zheng's face was still expressionless as always, he couldn't quite describe his feelings.
He thought Ah Zheng would at least say something, but he didn't expect...
"If you want to have a wedding, we'll do it after you tell Grandpa. Then we can bring Grandpa over to live with us so you won't have to travel back and forth between the two places."
Xia Ran heard this as soon as she got into the car.
The person who said this was Gu Zheng, who had just gotten into the driver's seat.
Xia Ran looked up at Gu Zheng, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Gu Zheng also turned to look at Xia Ran, "I'm serious, we'll do it if you want."
He might not have thought about having a wedding with Xia Ran before, but when his aunt brought it up just now, he realized that he did indeed owe Xia Ran a lot.
This time, Xia Ran heard it clearly, very clearly.
"Okay!" Xia Ran's smile widened, and Gu Zheng smiled slightly as he sat down, ready to leave.
Aunt Gu was going to ride in the same car as Xia Ran and the others, while Qin Hao was going to ride in the same car as his father, Qin Shi.
Actually, one car would have been enough for them, but Aunt Gu had so much stuff to bring that they had to use two cars.
They said goodbye to Uncle Wang and left; Uncle Wang couldn't go with them.
Because it's Mid-Autumn Festival, relatives, friends, and business partners will be coming to give gifts to the Gu family, so Uncle Wang has to stay home and look after them.
With the holiday approaching, the roads were still quite congested, and a journey that should have taken more than three hours ended up taking almost five.
Fortunately, the adults here all know how to drive, including Xia Ran and Aunt Gu, so they take turns driving, which makes it less tiring.
Xia Ran had actually told his grandfather what time his high-speed train ticket was. If it were according to the ticket, Xia Ran should have arrived home by now, but he hadn't come yet, so his grandfather called to ask.
Xia Ran felt a little guilty when she answered her grandfather's call.
"Hey Grandpa, umm, I'm almost there. I'm a little late because I've been running a bit. Just wait for me at home. I'll be there soon, and I have a surprise for you this time."
Xia Ran almost misspoke and said "shocked" when she was talking about the end.
Chapter 102 Gu Zheng's Thoughts
Grandpa Xia was a little puzzled, but he didn't think much of it, so he just said "okay" and hung up the phone.
Aunt Gu maintained her smiling expression.
"Don't worry, Xiao Ran, we will definitely not give ourselves away."
She noticed Xia Ran's nervousness, which is why she said that.
Xia Ran took a deep breath. "Yeah, I know. It's okay. Even if Grandpa finds out, it doesn't matter. He'll tell us sooner or later anyway."
Xia Ran didn't want Aunt Gu and the others to worry, so she said this with a smile.
Actually, he was quite afraid that his grandfather would find out. Although his grandfather was still in relatively good health, he was getting old.
Aunt Gu could easily tell that Xia Ran was trying to comfort them, so she smiled, patted Xia Ran's hand, and said,