But what Xia Ran said next ultimately disappointed them.
"Take this egg tart away." Xia Ran took the bag of egg tarts out of her hand, but still turned her head away from Gu Zheng and the others.
Gu Zheng's heart softened a little. Holding the child in one arm, he took the egg tart with the other and then left with the child in his arms.
Even after the child was gone, Xia Ran still felt as if the child's cries were still echoing in his ears.
He felt terrible, but he didn't intend to tell Grandpa Xia what had happened.
"Yu Wu, I'm sorry, I'm afraid I won't be able to cook for you today. I'll order some food and have it delivered. I'm just feeling a bit down and want to go to sleep."
"Xia Ran, there's no need to order takeout. We already bought groceries, so I can cook. If you're tired, go take a nap," Yu Wu said.
Lin Ziming also said, "Yes, you go and rest for a bit, I'll help you with it."
Xia Ran nodded dazedly and then went into the room.
Grandpa Xia looked worriedly at the door of Xia Ran's room. Lin's father went over and comforted him.
"Don't worry, Xia Ran is an adult now. He's probably just feeling a little unwell. He'll be fine once he calms down."
The old man sighed, "When will this ever end? I'm just worried about what's wrong with the child. I can understand why he's angry with Gu Zheng, but why is he treating the child like this? Something must have happened. I have to go see him."
The old man became more and more worried as he spoke, and was about to go find Xia Ran, but was stopped by Lin's father.
"Grandpa, don't go. Let Xia Ran calm down first, or send a few younger people to check on him. He probably doesn't want you to see him."
Upon hearing this, the old man paused for a moment, and instantly thought of someone.
“Yes, I suddenly thought of someone. I’ll call him and ask him to ask Xia Ran. Xia Ran will be willing to tell him.”
Grandpa Xia thought of Dazhuang. He would ask Xia Ran, but Xia Ran probably wouldn't want to talk about it. However, if Dazhuang went, Xia Ran would definitely be willing to talk about it.
Mr. Lin glanced at it and followed, afraid that the old man might do something rash.
Only Lin Ziming and Yu Wu remained in the living room.
Lin Ziming said to Yu Wu, "How about we go cook?"
All I could do was nod.
Grandpa Xia went back to his room, found Dazhuang's phone number, and dialed it.
Dazhuang was somewhat surprised when he received the call, but also a little worried.
The old man suddenly called him, wouldn't that be...
"Grandpa, what's wrong? Has something happened?"
Grandpa Xia: "No, no, it's nothing serious, don't worry. How have you been lately?"
"I'm fine, how about you? Are you feeling any better?"
"Much better, much better," Grandpa Xia said. "I called you this time because I wanted you to ask Xia Ran. He was in a bad mood earlier, and he definitely wouldn't tell me if I asked him..."
The old man told Dazhuang what Xia Ran had just done. He knew about their relationship, so he wasn't afraid to tell Dazhuang everything.
After hearing this, Da Zhuang also felt that something was wrong. After all, he had seen Xia Ran's affection for Gu Chen. It would be strange if she said nothing was wrong, given the sudden change in her attitude.
"I understand, Grandpa. I'll go ask her later. Don't worry, Xia Ran knows what to do."
"Okay, then go ask him later. If you find out anything, remember to tell Grandpa."
"Okay, I'll hang up now. I'll call Xia Ran and ask her after I hang up."
"good."
The old man hung up the phone, looked at Mr. Lin beside him, and said...
"That was Xiaoran's good friend. The two of them have a very good relationship, so there are some things we're not afraid to let him know."
"Okay, let's go sit in the living room first. Don't overthink it. Xia Ran knows his limits."
“I’m just a little worried. This child used to tell me everything, but since he married and divorced Gu Zheng, he doesn’t want to tell me anything anymore. I often can’t understand what he’s doing, and I’m both worried and upset.”
Grandpa Xia's eyes welled up with tears as he spoke, and Mr. Lin gently patted the old man's shoulder, saying,
“That’s how children are when they grow up. It’s not just you; all children are the same. Besides, Xiao Ran knows he doesn’t want you to worry, so he doesn’t want to tell you. You should be happy to have such a thoughtful grandson.”
After being told off by Mr. Lin, the old man felt a little better.
"Yes, let's go out and see how their cooking is going."
Meanwhile, Dazhuang, who had some free time, also called Xia Ran.
Xia Ran didn't want to answer the phone because he was so tired, both physically and mentally exhausted.
But the phone kept ringing, and Xia Ran had no choice but to answer it.
"Hello."
Just by listening to Xia Ran's tone, Da Zhuang could already sense her exhaustion.
"Why did it take you so long to answer the phone? Were you busy?"
"No, what brings you here today to call me?"
"You have the nerve to say that? It's all because your unusual behavior today worried Grandpa. He didn't dare ask you directly, afraid you wouldn't want to talk to him, so he asked me to come and ask you what happened and why you treated the child that way today."
Xia Ran didn't expect that the old man would send Dazhuang to ask him. But then again, given how unusual his reaction to the child was just now, it would be strange if the grandfather hadn't noticed.
"Hey? Xia Ran? Why aren't you saying anything? What's wrong?" Da Zhuang wasn't that worried at first, but now he's extremely worried.
"It's nothing." Xia Ran came back to her senses, wondering whether she should tell Da Zhuang about Gu Chen.
"Actually, Dazhuang, I'm feeling very lost right now." Xia Ran decided to talk to Dazhuang and ask for his opinion.
He really doesn't know what to do now, and he seems completely lost.
"Hmm? Confused? What happened to you? Tell me."
"Actually... do you know? Gu Chen is Gu En's son, his biological son. I only found out today, and I asked Gu Zheng about it, and he admitted it."
"So now I don't know what to do, I feel particularly lost and upset. I feel like God really likes to play jokes on me."
Da Zhuang was completely taken aback and was stunned for a moment.
"You just said... Gu Chen is Gu En's son? What's going on? Isn't Gu Chen Gu Zheng's son? How did he become Gu En's son?"
"I don't know either, but there's a paternity test and Gu Zheng's own admission."
The thought of that paternity test made Xia Ran's heart ache.
This feeling stems from his genuine regard for Gu Chen as a son.
Da Zhuang's thoughts gradually returned to normal.
"And what about you? What are you thinking? Are you planning to abandon Gu Chen? You're not going to let him call you 'Little Daddy' anymore? Is your relationship just over like this?"
"I..." Xia Ran wanted to say something, but couldn't say anything.
So he's just going to abandon Gu Chen like that? Can he really bear to? But if he can't, that's Gu En's biological son...
Having known Xia Ran for so many years, how could Da Zhuang not know what Xia Ran was thinking? So he spoke directly.
"You're reluctant to part with it, aren't you? If you were really willing to part with it, you wouldn't feel this way right now."
Upon hearing this, Xia Ran gave a wry smile and said,
"Indeed, I really can't bear to part with him. He's the son I raised as my own. How can I just give him up like that?"
Xia Ran's eyes reddened as she spoke.
Dazhuang sighed, "Since we can't bear to part with him, what does it matter whose son he is? As long as he's nominally Gu Zheng's son, that's enough. If word gets out, everyone will think he's Gu Zheng's son. Who would believe he's Gu En's son?"
"Anyway, Gu En is now despised and disliked by everyone. You just need to make sure that Gu Chen's heart is with you and that he only recognizes you as his little father."
Xia Ran was shocked, Da Zhuang's words struck a chord with her.
Yes, why is he worrying so much? As long as the child is still willing to acknowledge him, what does it matter to him whose children are?
It seems he really did get stuck on something he was thinking about.
Seeing that Xia Ran hadn't spoken for a long time, Da Zhuang assumed that Xia Ran hadn't figured it out yet, so he said something else.
"Of course, if you really can't get over that hurdle in your heart, you can take this opportunity to return the child to Gu Zheng. That way you can be done with it all and won't have to worry about Gu Zheng using the child to get close to you anymore."
"I've been overthinking it all along." Xia Ran chuckled. "How should I put it? I think it's because of my bad relationship with Gu En from the beginning, and my prejudice against Gu En, that I've been unable to let go of things."
"Well, like you said, as long as the child is still willing to acknowledge me as his father, it doesn't matter whose son he is. He's my biological son now, and that's enough."
Da Zhuang was surprised that Xia Ran had figured it out so quickly, and after the surprise came helplessness.
"You, really, what can I say to you? You change your mind every minute, you're scaring Grandpa."
Hearing this, Xia Ran suddenly remembered that she couldn't let her grandfather know about this.
"By the way, Dazhuang, don't tell Grandpa about this. Just pretend you don't know anything. If Grandpa asks you why I'm unhappy, just say that I had some arguments with Gu Zheng and then inexplicably took my anger out on the child."
"Are you sure you want to say that?" Dazhuang asked. "If you say that, Grandpa is afraid he'll scold you."
Dazhuang also knows Grandpa Xia very well.
"Let him scold me, it's better than him finding out something I can't explain away."
"Okay, then I'll tell him that later."
Xia Ran: "Mhm. By the way, how are you doing? Is everything going smoothly?"
"Things are going smoothly, it's just that we're quite busy with the New Year approaching. And..." Dazhuang seemed a little distracted, as if he was thinking about something.
"And what?" Xia Ran pressed.
"It's nothing," Dazhuang said, not wanting to continue.
Xia Ran guessed for a moment, and seemed to have guessed Da Zhuang's thoughts, so she said,
“I saw He Xiu that day, and he looked completely different from before.”
"What? How can it be different? Why would it be different? How could it be different?"
Upon hearing Xia Ran's words, Da Zhuang completely lost his composure and rattled off a whole bunch of questions.
Upon hearing this, Xia Ran understood everything.
"Dazhuang, are you still hung up on He Xiu? Has that little bit of feeling you had for him back then started to spread?"
"No!" Da Zhuang said excitedly, as if afraid that Xia Ran would notice something.