My Alleged Husband

Chapter 33: Chapter 33 Escape_1

Xia Jing crouched on the ground alone, crying all night, even as dawn broke she was unaware. Now Xia Jing felt very conflicted. She didn’t know what to do; she still didn’t want to forgive Zhang Zhentian. She thought if Zhang Zhentian’s love for her was sincere, then no matter what, he wouldn’t have said such hurtful words. Recalling the hurtful things Zhang Zhentian said to her made her heart ache so much. She believed she had given a lot for Zhang Zhentian, she couldn’t accept it, couldn’t accept that after giving so much, all she got in return was a scolding. The more she thought about it, the sadder she became, the more she thought, the more her heart ached, and finally, she decided to sleep on it before pondering these matters again.

After pouring herself a glass of water and drinking it, she went to the bed and lay down. She gently closed her eyes and soon, the room filled with the sound of her snoring; Xia Jing had fallen asleep.

Xia Jing entered into her dreams, but Zhang Zhentian was still hustling about trying to find her. Upon arriving in the UK, Zhang Zhentian found a place to stay and asked around for Xia Jing’s whereabouts to no avail. Exhausted from the search, he returned to his residence to ponder.

”Xia Jing, oh Xia Jing, where exactly are you? Do you know that I’ve already arrived in the UK? At home, I had no news of you, I longed to hear from you. Now that I’ve received your news and have come to where you are, but this place is so vast, where should I begin looking for you? Please come out, I don’t know where to find you,” Zhang Zhentian muttered to himself.

While Xia Jing slept soundly and sweetly at home, Zhang Zhentian, on the other hand, tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Ding-ling-ling, ding-ling-ling. The phone at Old Master Zhang’s house began ringing. Aunt Xu was about to answer it when Old Master Zhang stopped her.

”Aunt Xu, let me take it. It’s quite late already, you go rest,” Old Master Zhang told Aunt Xu, ”You’ve been hard-working for so many years. Go get some rest.”

Aunt Xu said to Elder Zhang, ”Old Master, don’t talk like that, it’s what I should do. I have no relatives left, you took me in and even gave me a job. I work for the salary you provide, eat the food from your house, live in your house... You’ve been so good to me, yet I have nothing with which to repay you.”

Feeling a bit embarrassed by her words, Old Master Zhang said, ”Aunt Xu, you better go rest, I’ll take the call now, otherwise, the caller might hang up.”

Aunt Xu, not wanting to say more, nodded at Old Master Zhang and went to sleep.

Old Master Zhang picked up the phone and asked, ”Hello, may I ask who you are looking for?”

Recognizing his father’s voice, Zhang Zhentian spoke up, ”Dad, it’s me. Haven’t you gone to bed yet?”

Hearing that it was Zhang Zhentian on the line, Old Master Zhang asked, ”Zhentian, how have you been doing in the UK? Have you found Xia Jing?”

”Dad, I called to ask if you know which area Xia Jing is in? I forgot to ask when I left, and it only occurred to me after boarding the plane that I didn’t know exactly where Xia Jing was.” Having searched in vain, Zhang Zhentian decided it was best to call his father.

”Zhentian, I have something to say, but I’m not sure if I should,” said his father.

”Dad, just tell me anything you have to say,” replied Zhentian.

”Zhentian, the day you went to the UK, which was yesterday, shortly after you left, Xia Jing made a phone call.”

”Dad, what did Xia Jing say? Please tell me quickly,” Zhang Zhentian asked eagerly after learning from his father that Xia Jing had called.

”She called just to let us know she’s safe. Xia Jing said she doesn’t want to see you right now, and she doesn’t want me to tell you where she is,” Old Master Zhang relayed what Xia Jing had told him.

”Did she tell you exactly where she is?” Zhang Zhentian asked, not giving up hope.

”No, she doesn’t want to see you yet, so you’ll have to figure it out yourself,” Old Master Zhang told Zhang Zhentian.

”I understand, dad. If there’s nothing else, I’m going to hang up.”

”Zhentian, remember the promise you made to dad.”

”I remember.” Zhang Zhentian hung up the phone abruptly.

Zhang Zhentian sat in the chair, staring into space, thinking, ”Xia Jing, I know I was wrong. How much longer until you can come back to me? How much longer will you avoid me? Please get in touch with me soon.”

With his eyes closed, Zhang Zhentian slowly drifted off to sleep, and in his dreams, he met Xia Jing.

After several hours, Zhang Zhentian slowly entered dreamland. Just as he drifted off, Xia Jing hazily opened her bleary eyes.

Staring at the ceiling, Xia Jing silently pondered: Zhang Zhentian, oh Zhang Zhentian, what do you expect me to do? After saying such hurtful things to me, why bother coming to the UK to find me? Aren’t you just making it hard for me to save face, putting me in an awkward position?

After musing for a while, Xia Jing fell asleep again.

In the early hours of the next morning, at about three, Zhang Zhentian heard a beep from his phone. He woke with a start, filled with hope as he checked to see if it was a message from Xia Jing. But when he picked up his phone, he was disappointed. It wasn’t a message from Xia Jing; instead, the phone had made a sound because the battery was dead. He looked at the time, thought it was early, and planned to go back to sleep, but he couldn’t fall asleep no matter how hard he tried. In his heart, he kept thinking about Xia Jing, reminiscing every day they had spent together. How he wished Xia Jing would appear by his side right now, immediately, but these were all his one-sided feelings. He didn’t know if Xia Jing, who was in the UK just like him, shared these thoughts. He couldn’t be sure.

As dawn began to break, the newly risen sun, red as fire, shone into Xia Jing’s eyes. She gradually opened her eyes and rubbed them with her hands. Looking out at the sun outside, she felt blissful. She cheerfully got ready to go out for breakfast, while Zhang Zhentian had hardly slept during the latter half of the night and was dead tired.

Xia Jing walked around for most of the day and saw a restaurant. She walked in, ordered a few small dishes from a waiter. As the waiter brought the dishes to the table, the phone at the service counter rang.

”Hello, how can I help you?” the waiter answered the call.

”I’d like a few small dishes delivered up.”

”Alright, what is your name, sir?” the waiter courteously inquired.

”Zhang Zhentian.”

”Mr. Zhang Zhentian, is that correct?” the waiter repeated.

Upon hearing the waiter say the name Zhang Zhentian, Xia Jing inadvertently dropped her chopsticks on the floor. Xia Jing called the waiter over and asked, ”Excuse me, did you just mention a ’Mr.’”

”Yes, do you need anything?”

”No, thank you,” Xia Jing replied and let the waiter go. She took out money from her bag and put it on the table, left without eating, afraid of seeing Zhang Zhentian, so she chose to escape.