Upon hearing this, Feng's mother immediately looked at Feng Ming, her face filled with disbelief.
"Feng Ming, is what your father said true? Do you really... really know something? Or is the result already in? Is Xia Ran the baby? Is she?"
They were standing near the hotel entrance, where there were many people coming and going, but both Mr. and Mrs. Feng were extremely excited and completely oblivious to the stares of those around them.
He Hao also looked at Feng Ming, waiting for Feng Ming's explanation. He knew Xia Ran's true identity, but he didn't know how to tell his parents, so he could only wait for Feng Ming to speak.
Feng Ming looked at his parents, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke.
"Mom and Dad, let's go back first and talk about it when we get back."
"No, why do we have to go back first? Feng Ming, tell your mother right now, is Xia Ran your brother? He must be, right?" Feng's mother didn't want to go back, so she could only hold Feng Ming's hand tightly, wanting to hear his answer.
However, Feng Ming also had his own ideas and considerations.
"Mom and Dad, I won't tell you if you don't come back with me."
Feng Ming knew his parents well; if he had said it now, they would have caught up with Xia Ran by now.
Feng's parents looked at Feng Ming, clearly not understanding why he was doing this.
But Feng Ming was very insistent and insisted on waiting until they got back to discuss it.
He Hao looked at this scene with a headache and said,
"Mom and Dad, let's go back first. It's not like we'll lose a little more time. No matter what the outcome is, we won't be short of time, right?"
Mr. and Mrs. Feng gradually calmed down and then got into the car to go home.
However, the two remained very silent in the car, their hands clasped tightly together.
He Hao looked back from the passenger seat and noticed that both of their eyes were red.
He sighed, feeling a pang of sympathy for the two of them, but at the same time, he also knew Feng Ming's purpose in doing so.
Meanwhile, in Xia Ran's car, Grandpa Xia was also distracted the whole time. When they arrived home, Grandpa Xia couldn't help but ask a question.
"Xiao Ran, are you close to Feng Ming and his family? Are they being overly enthusiastic?"
As he spoke, the old man glanced at the gift boxes they had just brought back. These were all brought by Feng Ming and his group, and they were obviously not cheap.
Xia Ran paused for a moment before answering.
"I don't know either, but Grandpa, don't worry about it. They're probably just being enthusiastic. It should be fine."
"Really?" Grandpa Xia clearly didn't believe Xia Ran's words. No, it wasn't that he didn't believe Xia Ran's words, but that he didn't believe Feng Ming and the others.
Sometimes, as people get older, they become more accurate in judging others. He had seen the attitude of the Feng family towards Xia Ran, and it was definitely not just a matter of being warm and welcoming. What Grandpa Xia couldn't let go of the most was the slight resemblance between Feng Ming and Xia Ran.
Although at first glance you can't see anything, upon closer inspection you can see that they are somewhat similar.
Xia Ran looked at Grandpa Xia's sudden stunned expression and couldn't help but feel a little strange.
"Grandpa, what's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing." Grandpa Xia smiled, but Xia Ran couldn't help but notice his absent-minded expression.
Not only Xia Ran, but even Lin's father noticed that something was wrong with Grandpa Xia and couldn't help but ask him a question.
"Grandpa, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with the Feng family?"
He felt that the old man's earlier comment about the Feng family being too enthusiastic was a bit much, but upon closer inspection, he realized they hadn't done anything wrong, so he didn't take it to heart.
Grandpa Xia shook his head. "It's nothing, I just felt something was off. Never mind, I guess I was overthinking it. I need to go back and get some more sleep. When you get old, you can't handle even a little bit of exertion."
Upon hearing this, Xia Ran helped the old man into the room.
"Alright, alright, then go and get some rest." After saying that, he looked at Lin's father and said, "Uncle Lin, you should also go to your room and get some sleep. We'll have dinner together tonight."
This is a one-bedroom, three-living-room apartment, so one of the rooms is always empty. It's fine for Mr. Lin and his family to rest here and stay overnight occasionally.
Mr. Lin didn't stand on ceremony and readily agreed.
"Alright, alright, let's all rest for a bit, and then we'll have dinner together tonight."
"good."
After helping Grandpa Xia into the room and watching him fall asleep, Xia Ran went out and returned to his own room.
However, Xia Ran was unaware that after he left, Grandpa Xia secretly got up, locked the door, and took a small box from the drawer.
If Xia Ran were here, she would definitely recognize that this little box is the one that the old man wouldn't let her touch when she was in the hospital.
Grandpa Xia opened the box, and as he looked at the contents, his eyes slowly welled up with tears.
Actually, the contents are quite simple; it's just a longevity lock with the character "封" (Feng) engraved on it. This is why he was so wary of Feng Ming's family.
If Feng Ming and the others really are looking for Xia Ran, then what will happen to his old bones? Will he be able to hold on any longer?
The old man couldn't help but shed some tears, I don't know how long he looked at the longevity lock.
As soon as Feng Ming and his family arrived home, his parents urged him to speak. Feng Ming knew that things could no longer be kept secret, so he sighed and took out his phone.
"Take a look, the results are all in there."
Feng's mother couldn't wait to take a look, and she burst into tears when she saw the result in the photo.
But perhaps because the shock was too great, she could only shed tears silently, unable to cry out loud. She could only hold her phone in one hand and her father's arm beside her with the other, sobbing continuously.
Mr. Feng had already foreseen the outcome. This grown man, disregarding whether he was in front of his son, couldn't help but burst into tears.
For the couple, waiting for this result had been far too long.
Feng Ming thought he had calmed down, but seeing his parents hugging and crying, his eyes also reddened.
He Hao didn't know how to comfort him, so he could only hold Feng Ming's hand and stay by his side silently.
After a long while, Feng's mother suddenly seemed to come to her senses and said impatiently,
"Let's go, let's go! Now that we know that Zai Zai is Xia Ran, we have to hurry up and find him. Let's go, let's go!"
She tried to pull her father, Feng Ming, up, but Feng Ming stopped her.
"Mom and Dad, we can't go look for my brother now. Have you forgotten how he got lost?"
Upon hearing this, both Mr. and Mrs. Feng stopped, and Mrs. Feng's tears, which she had managed to hold back, began to fall again.
"Waaaaah... My poor child. No, no matter what, I have to find Xia Ran now. I have to tell Xia Ran that I am his mother."
As she spoke, Feng's mother walked toward the door without paying attention, but was stopped in time by Feng Ming and He Hao.
"Mom, can you calm down first? Are you sure Xia Ran will believe what you're saying if you go there like this? You'll scare him if you go there like this. The most important thing for us now is to figure out how Xia Ran became Xia Ran."
"Yes, Mom, don't worry, Xia Ran won't disappear. We should calm down and think through everything." He Hao also comforted Feng's mother.
They are fathers themselves and understand how Mrs. Feng feels right now.
Chapter 399 On the Eve of the Truth
“But…” Feng’s mother couldn’t help but say, “I really can’t bear it anymore. I’ve been searching for him for so many years, and now that I’ve finally found him, I can’t even go and acknowledge him. I… I’m so heartbroken!”
Her tears fell and she wiped them away, but they kept falling again. In the end, she could only lean on He Hao and sob uncontrollably.
He Hao's nose also felt a little sore. He didn't know how to comfort his mother, so he could only look helplessly at Feng Ming and ask him to comfort her.
It's not that He Hao didn't know what to do; it's mainly because from the first time he met Feng's mother, he had never seen her so timid.
Even though he had seen Feng's mother's anxiety when searching for her lost child, he had never seen her so disheveled.
In his mind, Feng's mother had always seemed to be a strong woman, but these past two days had allowed him to see Feng's mother clearly, or rather, to understand what a mother who had lost her child was like.
He thought that if Little Fatty got lost, he would go crazy too.
He took a deep breath and said to Madam Feng.
"Mom, please don't be like this. I promise I will make sure you and Xia Ran recognize each other, but let's calm down and go through everything from the beginning."
"Look, you've been looking for your child for so many years, and now you've finally found him. Isn't it enough to see that he's alright? It's better than knowing nothing at all, right?"
“That’s right, honey, Ah Hao is right. We’ve found Zai Zai now. Even if we want to acknowledge him, there’s no need to rush. Let’s think things through first. The first thing we need to do is find out how Xia Ran was adopted by Grandpa Xia and whether it has anything to do with the woman who took the child away back then.”
Mr. Feng also comforted Mrs. Feng, and with their words of comfort, Mrs. Feng's emotions finally calmed down.
Feng Ming went to the kitchen and brewed a pot of tea. The four of them sat together and drank a cup of hot tea. Only after seeing that everyone's emotions had calmed down did he speak.
"What we need to know now is whether Xiao Ran knows he is not Grandpa Xia's biological son. If he knows, it's simple for us to bring him back, and everyone will be happy. But if Xiao Ran doesn't know he was adopted and has always thought he is Grandpa Xia's biological grandson, do you think he can handle it if we suddenly tell him the truth?"
"Putting aside whether it's Xia Ran or not, do you think you can handle this? If it were me, and I found out that the family member I've lived with for over twenty years isn't my biological child, I think I would probably collapse. I don't need to tell you how close Xia Ran and Grandpa Xia are, right?"
"If acknowledging Xia Ran makes her suffer and break down, do you think there's any point in doing it? It would be better to let Xia Ran and the old man live happily and joyfully. Why make him suffer and break down?"
When Feng Ming said this, everyone fell silent. Even Feng's mother, who had been the most emotional just now, quieted down, though her eyes became increasingly red.
Mr. Feng took out a cigarette from under the drawer next to him and started smoking. Normally, Mrs. Feng would have thrown the cigarette away long ago, but this time she ignored Mr. Feng and let him chat.
She understood her father; at this moment, his mood was no less calm than hers, which was why he was smoking like that.
Feng Ming frowned at his father's smoking, but ultimately said nothing, and the living room fell into a heavy silence.
After a long while, He Hao finally spoke.
"Mom and Dad, don't worry. Leave the matter of testing Xia Ran to me and Feng Ming. We will find out the truth. But before that, don't alert her, so as not to make Xia Ran feel uncomfortable later."
Feng's mother and father nodded; it seemed that this was the only way now.
"Now that we've found Xia Ran and know he's grown up safe and sound, isn't that much better than when we hadn't found him? Back then, we also... we also made the worst-case scenario plan, didn't we?"
Upon hearing Feng Ming's words, Feng's mother and father were immediately shaken, and this time even Feng's father's eyes reddened.
"Okay, okay, okay, I'll leave this to you. As long as our baby is safe and happy, that's enough..."
He Hao and Feng Ming exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.
Now that they know Xia Ran's identity, their investigation will be much easier.
Around 5 p.m., Xia Ran went to pick up Gu Chen, but unexpectedly ran into He Hao at the door again.
However, it can't be said that it was unexpected. After all, Feng Nianhao attends kindergarten here, and it would be quite normal for He Hao, Feng Ming, or any member of the Feng family to appear here.
He Hao smiled at Xia Ran and asked casually,
"Xia Ran, there's something I've been curious about at the banquet today, but I've been too embarrassed to ask."
"Hmm?" Xia Ran was a little puzzled. "It's okay, just ask me anything, it's fine."
He Hao rubbed his nose. "Well... it's actually very simple. It's just that, is it only you and your grandfather in your family? Don't misunderstand, I don't mean anything by it. I'm just curious and wanted to ask."