Chapter 414 The Truth
Lin Ziming carried Grandpa Xia on his back, with Xia Ran following behind, her face pale. They got directly into Lin Ziming's car, not waiting for Lin's father and the others because of the urgency of the situation.
Xia Ran's mind went blank, and she didn't know what to do next. All she could do was help her grandfather sit in the back seat and keep calling out to him.
Lin Ziming's expression was equally grave, and he drove very fast the whole way. He even called the hospital while driving, so when they arrived at the hospital entrance, emergency doctors and nurses were already waiting there.
"Grandpa, you absolutely must not be hurt, you absolutely must not be hurt."
Xia Ran watched as her grandfather was wheeled into the emergency room; his body was ice-cold.
Lin Ziming pressed Xia Ran down to sit on the bench. "Don't worry, the doctor is already inside. Grandpa will be fine."
Xia Ran trembled uncontrollably. "Yes, Grandpa will be alright, he will definitely be alright, how could anything happen to him?"
His gaze remained fixed on the direction of the emergency room at the entrance, as if afraid of missing even a single detail.
"I'm sorry," Lin Ziming suddenly apologized. "Maybe I should have pretended not to know, so that Grandpa wouldn't have ended up like this."
“It has nothing to do with you,” Xia Ran said. “I shouldn’t have insisted on knowing the truth. If it weren’t for me, Grandpa would never have known. I…”
His voice choked with sobs, and he simply couldn't utter the rest of the words.
He couldn't imagine what would happen to his grandfather if something happened to him.
Lin Ziming patted Xia Ran on the shoulder, "Let's wait for Grandpa to come out together. Grandpa will be alright."
Xia Ran nodded. "Yes, Grandpa will be alright. Grandpa would never want to leave him."
It was fifteen minutes later when Mr. Lin brought Gu Chen over.
"Did the old man ask about it?"
"He's still in the emergency room," Lin Ziming replied.
Mr. Lin put Gu Chen down and gestured for him to go find Xia Ran.
Gu Chen obediently nestled into Xia Ran's arms.
"Little Daddy, don't be afraid. Xiao Chen will always be with you, always and always. Great-Grandpa will be too."
Xia Ran hugged the child tightly, "Yes, Xiao Chen is right, Great-Grandpa will be alright."
He kept talking, trying to calm himself down.
Half an hour later, the emergency room door was opened, and a doctor came out first.
The doctor took off his mask, and Xia Ran recognized him; he was the attending physician her grandfather had been with when he stayed here last time.
"Doctor, how is my grandfather?" Xia Ran asked as she carried the child over.
The doctor's face was very serious. "The patient is out of danger. Now, as long as he wakes up, there shouldn't be any major problems. I remember when this patient was discharged, I told your family that you absolutely had to keep the patient calm. Do you know that if you had arrived two minutes later, this patient would have been completely beyond saving?"
Upon hearing the words "completely beyond saving," Xia Ran swayed and almost fell to the ground, but fortunately Lin Ziming, who was next to her, steadied her.
"Thank you, we'll be more careful this time."
The doctor looked at Lin Ziming and said, "You're a doctor too, so you should know that some things are not jokes. You know your father's health. If he suffers any more shocks, even a miracle worker can't help him."
"Okay, thanks."
The doctor nodded and left.
The nurse quickly wheeled the old man into the ward, and Grandpa Xia sat by the bed, not daring to leave for even a moment.
Gu Chen got down from Xia Ran's arms, walked to the side, and pulled Lin's father's hand, gesturing for him to go out the door with him.
"What's wrong, Xiao Chen?" Lin's father asked, puzzled by his child's behavior. "You should stay by your little dad's side and keep him company, okay? Your little dad needs you right now."
"I know, Grandpa, but I want to call my uncle right now. Could you lend me your phone for a moment?"
Do you know your eldest father's phone number?
"I understand, I've got it."
"Okay." Mr. Lin handed the phone to Gu Chen, who then dialed a number.
Gu Zheng was a little puzzled when he saw the unfamiliar phone number. He usually didn't answer these unfamiliar numbers, but after thinking about it, he answered it anyway.
"Hello, is this Big Daddy? This is Xiao Chen."
"Where did you get this phone? Where's your stepfather? Why didn't you call me using his number?" Gu Zheng was even more puzzled when he heard it was Gu Chen.
"Big Daddy, come to the hospital quickly! Great-Grandpa is sick, and Little Daddy is with him."
"What? I'm coming right now. You stay with your stepfather for now and don't leave, understand?"
"knew."
Gu Zheng hung up the phone, and then Gu Chen returned the phone to Lin's father.
"Thank you, Grandpa."
"You're welcome. Come on in and keep your great-grandfather and your stepfather company."
When Gu Zheng arrived, Grandpa Xia was still asleep, so Xia Ran sat beside him, holding Gu Chen, waiting.
When Lin Ziming saw Gu Zheng coming over, he subconsciously frowned and wanted to shoo him away, but before he could speak, his father gave him a wink, and Lin Ziming could only pretend not to see it.
After entering the ward, Gu Zheng subconsciously slowed his pace. He tiptoed over, grabbed a stool, and sat down next to Xia Ran. He then brought the baby over, and only then did Xia Ran notice him.
Xia Ran glanced at Gu Zheng, but ultimately said nothing. His grandfather was still asleep; he didn't even feel like talking.
Gu Zheng didn't say anything to Xia Ran, but just sat silently by her side. He didn't know what had happened to his grandfather, but at this moment, being there for him was the best thing to do.
Grandpa still hadn't woken up by 1 p.m., so Lin Ziming went to buy lunch, but Xia Ran said she didn't want to eat.
Gu Zheng placed the lunchbox in Xia Ran's hands, "Eat something. If you don't eat, how will you have the strength to take care of Grandpa when he wakes up? You can't let yourself starve before Grandpa wakes up."
Xia Ran, who originally couldn't eat anymore, slowly started eating after hearing these words.
"Why don't you take the child and have some too? He's starving."
Although Xia Ran didn't specify who it was, Gu Zheng knew that Xia Ran was talking to him.
"Don't worry, I'll take the kids to eat right now."
"Hmm." Xia Ran gave a soft "hmm," having lost all motivation to deal with the child.
Gu Zheng wouldn't bother Xia Ran at this time, so he took the child to the table next to them to eat.
Everyone was in low spirits, and the atmosphere in the ward remained very heavy.
When Grandpa Xia woke up, it was already past three in the afternoon. When Xia Ran saw Grandpa Xia open his eyes, her eyes immediately turned red.
"grandfather."
"Old man."
Xia Ran and Lin's father called out at the same time, and Gu Zheng and Gu Chen also came to the bedside. Lin Ziming immediately pressed the call bell to call the doctor.
The old man looked at the people gathered around the bed and gave a weak smile.
"Don't worry, it's just that you're getting old. You'll be fine after lying down."
"You're one to talk! You almost scared me to death. What would I do if something really happened to you?"
Xia Ran finally felt relieved. The doctor said that as long as her grandfather woke up, everything would be fine.
“You’re over twenty years old, a father yourself, why are you still acting like a child?”
Grandpa Xia looked at Xia Ran and said.
Xia Ran: "No matter how old I am, I will always be your grandson."
The doctor arrived quickly and, after the examination, found that there was nothing wrong, except that her health was definitely not as good as before. He just told Xia Ran and the others to be more careful.
Lin Ziming sent someone to bring some food to the old man, which was chicken porridge. That was all he could eat now.
After eating, Grandpa Xia took another nap, and only felt more energetic when he woke up in the evening.
"Xiao Lin, is there anything he wants to give me? Or is there anything he left behind?" Grandpa Xia asked Lin's father.
After Grandpa Xia fainted this time, Lin's father and the others didn't dare to mention it at all. Now, when the old man asks them, they hesitate and dare not say anything.
"Go ahead and tell me. I'm fine now. I was just a little upset before. It's okay. If you're hiding something from me, I'll start to overthink things."
"Grandpa." Xia Ran held Grandpa Xia's hand with some concern.
Gu Zheng listened from the side and seemed to understand what had happened.
Mr. Lin sighed and said, "He only told us to come and look for you, and that as long as you were doing well, that was enough. He didn't say he would give you anything. But he did leave behind two things: a pocket watch and a diary. I've kept them all this time. If you want them, I'll go get them for you tomorrow."
"No need for tomorrow, let's go get it now. Let Ziming go get it. If I don't get it back, I'll feel uneasy and probably won't be able to sleep well tonight."
After thinking about it, Mr. Lin and his family decided to let Lin Ziming go back and get it.
After Lin Ziming left, Grandpa Xia looked at Xia Ran again and said,
"Xiao Ran, go ask the doctor when I can be discharged from the hospital, and then ask the doctor if I can eat wontons now. If so, please buy me a serving while you're at it."
"I'll go," Gu Zheng said, "Let Aran stay here with you."
"No need, let Xiao Ran go, you can stay here." Grandpa Xia refused Gu Zheng's request.
Xia Ran hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'll go now. If you feel unwell anywhere, you must tell me, okay?"
"Don't worry, don't worry, Grandpa isn't a child. He knows his own body."
Grandpa Xia said with a smile. But Xia Ran was still a little worried.
Mr. Lin: "Go ahead, I'll stay here, nothing will happen."
“Yes, I will keep an eye on Grandpa,” Gu Zheng said.
With the assurances of the two people, Xia Ran breathed a sigh of relief and turned to leave the ward.
After Xia Ran left the ward, Grandpa Xia looked at Gu Zheng.
"Gu Zheng, do me a favor. Tell the Feng family not to come looking for Xiao Ran for the next two days. Tell them to come on the third day, and I will tell them everything they want to know then."
Gu Zheng asked, puzzled, "Grandpa, what do you mean? Do they have something going on with Aran...?"
"Don't ask anymore. I'll tell you when the time comes. But you absolutely mustn't let Xiaoran know about this, understand?"
Gu Zheng and Lin's father both nodded. Gu Zheng sent a message to Qin Hao, asking him to help find Feng Ming's contact information.