Or perhaps, they simply didn't want to discuss this topic with Grandpa Xia.
Grandpa Xia sighed, but ultimately said nothing.
Because he doesn't know what to say right now.
Looking at his unhappy grandson, he feels nothing but heartache every day.
Qin Hao returned to the company, where Gu Zheng was already waiting in his office.
Upon seeing Qin Hao enter, a cold gaze immediately fell upon him, instantly making Qin Hao, who hadn't been nervous at all, tense up.
"Um...brother, why are you looking at me like that? Your gaze always makes me a little scared..."
Qin Hao carefully closed the door before daring to walk over, and he didn't even dare to sit down. Instead, he stood in front of Gu Zheng, just like a subordinate reporting to his superior.
Gu Zheng did not answer Qin Hao's question, but Qin Hao understood what Gu Zheng wanted to say, so he immediately told him about his conversation with Xia Ran.
After he finished speaking, Gu Zheng's face grew even more gloomy, and Qin Hao could even feel a chill creeping up his neck, even though the office was heated.
Qin Hao nervously swallowed, wondering if his brother hadn't quite understood what he was saying. Should he summarize it again?
Qin Hao thought about it and felt that it was indeed necessary.
"Hey bro, I didn't talk to Xia Ran for long today, but I could still feel that he trusts Lin Ziming a lot. As for whether they're in that kind of relationship, I'm really not sure, because it seems like Xia Ran is deliberately trying to keep me from finding out."
"Brother, could it be that we're overthinking things? Maybe Lin Ziming really doesn't have any ulterior motives, and even if he does, it's probably just that he likes Xia Ran. But if he only likes Xia Ran, I don't think you need to panic at all. Don't forget, what was Grandpa Xia's reaction when he found out you and Xia Ran were together? Do you really think Grandpa Xia, who opposed you and Xia Ran back then, would accept Lin Ziming?"
Qin Hao analyzed the situation for Gu Zheng, but it still didn't make Gu Zheng's expression any better.
Just as Qin Hao was wondering whether he should say something more to comfort Gu Zheng, Gu Zheng finally spoke.
"Go out first."
"Yes!" Qin Hao answered impatiently and quickly left the office.
After Qin Hao left, Gu Zheng lit a cigarette and smoked it, the smoke swirling around his face, still immersed in what Qin Hao had just said.
He was thinking about what Qin Hao had said at the end. Indeed, when Grandpa Xia found out that he and Xia Ran were together, he was strongly opposed. If Xia Ran hadn't begged Grandpa Xia so desperately, and even knelt down to beg him, how could Grandpa Xia have agreed?
Thinking of the scene of Xia Ran kneeling and begging her grandfather, Gu Zheng felt a pang of pain in his heart.
How blind could he be to hurt Xia Ran so deeply and push her so far away?
Gu Zheng took a deep drag on his cigarette, but it did nothing to ease the pain in his heart; in fact, it seemed to hurt even more.
Qin Hao was right just now, but what Qin Hao didn't expect was that, despite Xia Ran's earnest pleas, Grandpa Xia still agreed to let him and Xia Ran be together and accepted him.
What if... what if it's the same this time? What if Xia Ran also kneels down and begs her grandfather for Lin Ziming? Would her grandfather agree then?
Just thinking about Xia Ran kneeling down for someone else made Gu Zheng feel as if a piece of his heart had been ripped out, leaving him with a bloody, agonizing pain.
"Ranran, please don't do anything that makes me lose control of myself, please, please don't..."
Gu Zheng muttered to himself. He could tolerate Xia Ran's lack of forgiveness now, but if Xia Ran got together with someone else, he really wouldn't be able to control himself and was unsure if he would do something that even he himself couldn't control or predict.
Fortunately, tomorrow is Gu Chen's kindergarten parent-child activity, so he can see Xia Ran again and have contact with her.
Just then, the door to his office was suddenly pushed open from the outside.
Gu Zheng frowned and looked over. Qin Hao, who had just pushed open the door, could only bite the bullet and say...
"Um... Brother, today is Grandpa Xia's discharge day, so you should go and make your presence known. Leave the company matters to me. And isn't there a parent-child activity at Chen's kindergarten tomorrow? Pick up the child this afternoon and drop him off there so he can stay at Xia Ran's place. Then you can pick them both up tomorrow, which will give you another chance to get to know each other, right?"
Qin Hao didn't want to say it, but he felt that if he didn't, his brother might never know what to do.
In that case, who knows when Xia Ran will forgive him?
Although Xia Ran doesn't want to forgive Gu Zheng right now, making your presence felt in front of Xia Ran more often might just make her forgive you out of a moment of emotion.
A strange glint flashed in Gu Zheng's eyes as he asked,
"Should I go directly to the house he rented behind?"
"Otherwise what?" Qin Hao's eyes widened. "When I got there, they had already started packing up. By the afternoon, they would have definitely left the hospital long ago."
"If you go to the hospital, will you even be able to see anyone? Besides, you have to wait until the afternoon to go. Bring the child with you then, so Xia Ran won't be able to easily kick you out. Although using the child is really shameful, it's the only way we can do it."
Gu Zheng paused for a moment, then said, "Xia Ran said he doesn't want to see me, and he gets angry every time he sees me."
Upon hearing this, Qin Hao was so angry that he laughed.
"Are you... not..."
Qin Hao took several deep breaths before finally managing to swallow the words, "Are you stupid?"
"Brother, does that mean whatever Xia Ran says goes? Although listening to Xia Ran is definitely the right thing to do, you have to consider the situation. Xia Ran keeps telling you not to bother him anymore and not to see him anymore. Are you really going to never see him again?"
"That's definitely impossible, right? So you have to consider the situation. In your case with Xia Ran, you should shamelessly appear in front of Xia Ran and make your presence known to her so that she'll be moved. That's the only way you can have a future."
"Of course, these are all things that require you to put aside your pride. If you can't let go of your pride, then I can tell you with 100% certainty that there will be absolutely no possibility between you and Xia Ran again."
After Qin Hao finished speaking in one breath, Gu Zheng's face showed a thoughtful expression.
"I understand, you can go out now."
Qin Hao: "...Okay."
He uses it and then throws it away, just like his brother!
After closing the door and returning to his work station, Qin Hao couldn't help but take out his phone and complain to Lin Yi.
'I've noticed that my brother's IQ sometimes really isn't up to par!'
Lin Yi picked up his phone almost the instant Qin Hao sent the message.
Seeing Qin Hao's吐槽 (tu cao, meaning to complain or criticize), he slightly raised the corners of his mouth, typed a line of text, and sent it to Qin Hao.
'He's not lacking in IQ, he's lacking in EQ.'
"Pfft!" Upon seeing Lin Yi's answer, Qin Hao couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Thinking about it carefully, it seems that Lin Yi is indeed right; his brother really has no emotional intelligence!
Chapter 360 Breaking the Window Paper
The two talked for a long time, and Lin Yi kept smiling as he looked at his chat history with Qin Hao.
Perhaps Qin Hao himself didn't realize that he was becoming increasingly less guarded with Gu Zheng; otherwise, why would he be complaining about Gu Zheng to him like this?
This is a good sign, but Gu Zheng's matter is still unresolved. Even if he were to reveal the truth, Qin Hao probably wouldn't agree.
Therefore, his most important task now is to help Gu Zheng and Xia Ran get back together.
Lin Yi twirled his pen in his hand, his mind racing with thoughts.
He didn't know much about the relationship between Xia Ran and Gu Zheng; he usually learned about it from Qin Hao.
When the two got married, Gu Zheng didn't seem to like Xia Ran. But they developed feelings for each other over time, and then Gu En appeared.
Gu En and Xia Ran look very similar. Judging from the information Qin Hao unintentionally revealed a few times, Gu Zheng initially regarded Xia Ran as a substitute.
Even when Gu En came back, she divorced Xia Ran and even let Xia Ran know that she was a substitute.
If it were him, he probably wouldn't accept it either, so Xia Ran's hatred for Gu Zheng is understandable.
In that case, there is still a lot that needs to be done to get Xia Ran to forgive Gu Zheng.
Qin Hao also said that Xia Ran had liked Gu Zheng for many years, so it's impossible for her to stop liking Gu Zheng so quickly.
So now all we need to do is help Xia Ran get over the hurdle of being used as a substitute.
But he couldn't do it alone; it seemed he needed to find a helper.
Lin Yi thought for a long time, and could only think of He Xiu.
As far as he knew, He Xiu and Gu Zheng had known each other since they were very young, but they weren't good friends; rather, they were rivals and opponents.
Such people often understand each other better, and He Xiu is also a psychologist.
Lin Yi had someone find He Xiu's phone number and then called him. The two talked for quite a while.
Lin Ziming also came to the ward, where Xia Ran had already packed everything.
Having stayed in the hospital for so long, Grandpa Xia was eager to go home.
But since the doctor hadn't come to sign the consent form yet, Grandpa Xia could only wait.
"Grandpa, Xia Ran, have you packed everything? I'm sorry, I wanted to come earlier, but something came up and I was delayed."
"It's okay, the doctor hasn't arrived yet, so there's no rush," Xia Ran said.
Grandpa Xia: "That's right, that's right, no rush. It's already troubled enough that you came to take us back. It's just that the doctor hasn't come to sign the papers for so long."
Seeing Grandpa Xia's anxious expression, Lin Ziming smiled helplessly and said,
"Grandpa, we're all family now, why are you being so polite? If you keep being so courteous, I'll really start to think that you don't really consider me your grandson."
"No, no, I didn't," Grandpa Xia tried to explain. "I just... sigh, I just haven't gotten used to it yet, I haven't gotten used to having such a good grandson."
Lin Ziming: "Then get used to it slowly, starting by not being so polite."
"I... okay, okay, Grandpa will definitely be more careful from now on, I will definitely be very careful."
Grandpa Xia spoke with a smile, and Xia Ran, standing beside him, didn't interrupt, also happy to see Grandpa Xia like this.
The doctor arrived shortly after, and after signing the papers, they packed their belongings and prepared to be discharged.
Lin Ziming carried most of the items, while the old man carried a small bag containing his wooden box.
Xia Ran had long been curious about this box.
"Grandpa, how about I carry this?"
"No need, no need, I can do it myself." Grandpa Xia shook his head, but held the bag even tighter in his hand.
He didn't trust anyone else to take the things inside, especially Xia Ran.
The more Grandpa Xia acted this way, the more curious Xia Ran became.
What exactly is inside that wooden box? Why is Grandpa so insistent on it? Is he afraid Grandpa will find out?
Xia Ran had once wondered if it was her grandfather and that man from back then, but since her grandfather had already told her everything that happened back then, why were there still some things he didn't dare to tell her?
Xia Ran was filled with doubts, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions, because he was afraid that his grandfather would be unhappy.
Never mind, Grandpa will eventually be willing to tell him about this.