Qin Hao found it quickly. Gu Zheng sent a message to Feng Ming because he was afraid that if he called, he would run into Xia Ran, who had suddenly returned.
Grandpa Xia was very persistent about this matter, and he seemed to only breathe a sigh of relief after watching him send out the message.
Gu Zheng was very puzzled, but since his grandfather had said he would tell him later, he could only refrain from asking any further questions.
When Xia Ran returned, he was carrying two servings of wontons. He had asked the doctor, who said it was fine for the child to eat. There was also another serving for the baby. They had already eaten dinner, but Xia Ran was worried the child might be hungry. As for discharge, the doctor said that if the grandfather didn't have any other problems, he could be discharged the day after tomorrow morning.
Just after Grandpa Xia finished eating the wontons, Lin Ziming returned, carrying a small iron box in his hand. The iron box looked very old.
Grandpa Xia's eyes welled up with tears again when he saw the tin box. His hands, covered in age spots, trembled as he touched the box, and he asked...
"This metal box is his too, isn't it?"
Mr. Lin nodded. "Yes, this is his too. The diary and pocket watch are inside the box."
Grandpa Xia touched it for a while before looking up at the other people in the room.
"Xiao Ran can stay with me, you all can go back."
"Grandpa, I'll stay," Lin Ziming said.
"No need, you can all go back. Just let Xiaoran stay. Gu Zheng, you take the child back with you too."
Grandpa Xia's tone was very firm, and Xia Ran knew that Grandpa Xia needed to calm down, so she persuaded the group to go back.
Gu Chen initially wanted to stay, but Xia Ran coaxed him to go back.
Before leaving, Gu Zheng looked at Xia Ran and said, "If anything happens, be sure to call me immediately."
This time, Xia Ran didn't treat Gu Zheng coldly, but nodded and agreed.
After they all left, only Xia Ran and Grandpa Xia remained in the ward.
Xia Ran sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Grandpa Xia who was still stroking the iron box, and said...
"Grandpa, open it and take a look."
Grandpa Xia opened it with trembling hands, and Xia Ran saw what was inside.
A pocket watch, and a book of days wrapped in kraft paper.
Grandpa Xia couldn't help but shed tears when he saw the pocket watch. Xia Ran knew that perhaps it would be best to leave Grandpa alone at this time, but Grandpa's health wouldn't allow it, and he didn't want to leave the ward unattended.
"Grandpa, I'm going to sleep on the cot for a bit. You can take your time looking at it. Just call me if anything happens."
Grandpa didn't respond to Xia Ran, he just nodded. Xia Ran quickly lay down on the cot next to him, her back to Grandpa.
Xia Ran soon heard his grandfather's suppressed sobs behind him, but he pretended not to hear anything.
Chapter 415 Fulfilling a Wish
It was the first time he had seen his grandfather so vulnerable, and he felt terrible. But all he could do was stay by his grandfather's side and let him vent his pain.
Grandpa's sobs continued, accompanied by the rustling of pages turning. Xia Ran pretended to be asleep for a long time; she didn't know how much time had passed before the sobs finally stopped.
However, Xia Ran didn't know what her grandfather's current situation was, so she could only pretend not to know.
"Xiao Ran, pour Grandpa a glass of water."
Xia Ran only dared to open her eyes after hearing her grandfather's voice.
"Okay." He sat up and poured his grandfather a glass of warm water as if nothing had happened.
He looked his grandfather up and down and found that his grandfather's eyes were a little red, but otherwise he was no different.
Moreover, Xia Ran noticed that her grandfather seemed quite happy, but Xia Ran always felt that she was seeing things. How could that be? How could her grandfather be happy?
"Xiao Ran, I never thought that at this age I would still know the truth. I am content with my life."
"Grandpa." Xia Ran felt that her grandfather's words were increasingly strange.
Could it be that Grandpa still can't let go of the man from back then? Then... what about his grandmother?
Xia Ran really wanted to say something, but she didn't dare, afraid that her grandfather would be upset if she did.
"Grandpa is fine. Let's get discharged tomorrow. Grandpa is much healthier now. It's almost Chinese New Year, and Grandpa doesn't want to spend it in the hospital, okay?"
"No. The doctor said I can't be discharged until the day after tomorrow. Grandpa, don't be stubborn." Xia Ran immediately refused her grandfather's words.
Grandpa Xia wasn't annoyed; he still had a smile on his face.
"Grandpa knows his own body. Tomorrow, have the doctor come and check me out. If the doctor says there's nothing wrong, you have to let Grandpa be discharged. You can't ask me to stay in the hospital, understand?"
Xia Ran paused for a moment, then nodded helplessly.
"Okay, fine. As long as the doctor says you can be discharged, I will definitely let you be discharged. But if the doctor says no, you can't go back on your word."
"Okay, okay, Grandpa will listen to you. It's getting late, go to sleep."
"Okay, go to sleep, I'll turn off the light." Xia Ran helped Grandpa Xia sit down.
The metal box never left Grandpa's side. After Xia Ran helped Grandpa lie down, she saw that he had placed the metal box next to his pillow, but Xia Ran could only pretend that she hadn't seen it.
The next morning, Gu Zheng and Gu Chen were the first to arrive. They arrived before seven o'clock, and Xia Ran had just woken up.
"Why are you here so early?" Xia Ran, who had just woken up, was still a little groggy, and her voice was quite soft. She also had no intention of continuing to be indifferent to Gu Zheng's actions.
"I was worried you'd be hungry when you woke up, so I had some food prepared at home. Go wash your face first, and eat with Grandpa," Gu Zheng said.
Xia Ran nodded, first washing her face and brushing her teeth in the bathroom of the ward. Her grandfather had gotten up earlier than her, so she had already gotten up to brush her teeth and wash her face.
After Xia Ran went to the restroom, Gu Zheng placed the food on the tray on his grandfather's hospital bed.
“Grandpa, the Feng family sent a message yesterday saying they will come again the day after tomorrow.”
What Gu Zheng didn't say was that Feng Ming called him directly and even came to his home. It took him a long time to calm the Feng family down.
Seeing the reactions of Feng Ming and the others, Gu Zheng became even more certain that they had some designs on Xia Ran. Moreover, his grandfather probably knew about this matter, but he was unwilling to tell him now, probably because the time was not right.
"good."
When Xia Ran came out of the bathroom, she saw Gu Zheng setting out breakfast, Gu Chen sitting on the bed with his grandfather, and his grandfather talking happily with the child.
Xia Ran paused slightly upon seeing this scene.
He never imagined that such a scene would appear before his eyes one day, especially the way his grandfather was all smiles, which made him feel particularly unreal.
Grandpa was so upset yesterday, but he's so happy today. Xia Ran felt a little unreal and uneasy.
"Little Daddy, come and have breakfast." Gu Chen called out to Xia Ran from the bed, immediately pulling her back to reality.
"Okay, here it is." He walked over, and Gu Zheng took out all the things and handed him a spoon.
Xia Ran paused for a moment before taking it. "Thank you."
"Eat quickly, it'll get cold soon," Gu Zheng said, his sticky eyes never leaving Xia Ran.
Seeing this, Grandpa Xia felt a little more at ease. This way, he could leave in peace.
"Gu Zheng, don't stand there, sit down and eat."
Gu Zheng felt a little pleased, knowing that the old man's words meant he had already forgiven him.
"Grandpa, I ate at home, you guys eat."
"I see, then alright." Grandpa Xia didn't insist.
When Lin Ziming and his father arrived, they had already finished breakfast. Lin's father kept regretting that he hadn't come earlier, but after being comforted by his grandfather, he felt relieved.
The doctor came to check on the patients after starting work and also checked on Grandpa to see if he could be discharged.
The doctor examined Grandpa Xia and found that he was indeed ready to be discharged from the hospital.
"The old man seems to be recovering well and has a lot of energy, but I suggest he stay in the hospital until tomorrow morning. After all, he is getting old and needs to take better care of his health."
Xia Ran had originally planned to have the old man discharged from the hospital tomorrow, but after hearing the doctor's words, she felt relieved.
"Okay, thank you, doctor."
You're welcome. Feel free to contact me anytime if you have any questions.
After the doctor left the ward, Xia Ran looked at her grandfather and said,
"See? We agreed last night that we would listen to the doctor. Since the doctor said it would be best for you to stay in the hospital until tomorrow, then you should stay in the hospital until tomorrow. It won't make a difference if you stay one more day. I'll stay here with you, so I won't be too bored."
"That's right, that's right. Grandpa, you should stay here and not worry the children."
Grandpa Xia knew he couldn't persuade him otherwise, so he agreed.
"Then you can go do whatever you need to do. Just let Xiao Chen and the child stay here with me. Don't let it interfere with your work."
“Yes, Ziming, if you’re busy, go ahead and do your thing. I’ll keep an eye on things here. It’ll be fine. Otherwise, with a bunch of people in this ward, the doctor will probably start complaining.”
Xia Ran also spoke to Lin Ziming, and after he finished speaking, he looked at Gu Zheng, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke up.
"You go ahead and get busy, don't let it interfere with your work."
Gu Zheng was surprised that Xia Ran would talk to him like that, and he was so excited that he could only keep his emotions in check with so many people around.
"I do have some things to take care of at my company, so I'll go there first and come back this afternoon. I'll have someone bring lunch over, so you don't need to go out and buy any."
He figured that since the old man was fine now, there was probably no point in them being there. It would be better for Xia Ran and the child to stay with the old man while he finished dealing with his business and then came over.
Xia Ran nodded. Finally, Gu Zheng and Lin Ziming left, but Lin's father stayed.
That day, Xia Ran and Lin's father paid extra attention to Grandpa's mood. However, they found that Grandpa was in a good mood the whole time, as if nothing had happened yesterday, except that the iron box had never left his side.
Because of his grandfather's request, Lin's father kept telling his grandfather about that man.
At first, Xia Ran was worried that his grandfather might not be able to handle it, but later he found that his grandfather only had some red eyes and nothing else, so he felt a little relieved.
In the afternoon, Gu Zheng indeed came over, around four or five o'clock, bringing some fruit and two small cakes.
Xia Ran recognized the two cakes as the ones they had bought from the same bakery they visited last time, and the fruit had already been washed, cut, and placed in a box.
"The fruit was bought by my aunt from a friend. It's all homegrown, so there won't be any problem for Grandpa to eat more."
Hearing Gu Zheng's words, it would be a lie to say that Xia Ran was not moved at all. However, no matter how much he was moved, he couldn't give Gu Zheng any additional response on his face and simply said thank you.
"Do we need to say thank you for our relationship?" Gu Zheng couldn't help but add, since he had heard Xia Ran thank him twice today.
Xia Ran paused for a moment, then silently looked away without answering.
Grandpa Xia and the others remained silent when they saw this scene.
Gu Zheng couldn't help but sigh in disappointment. It seemed that it would take some time before A Ran completely forgave him.