My Alleged Husband

Chapter 54: Chapter 53 Meeting with Li Jiayuan_1

Xia Jing had indeed planned it that way, and she was determined to have Zhang Zhentian help her bring Li Jiayuan and Xiao Wei together.

Old Master Zhang looked at Xia Jing and said, ”Xia Jing, from now on, you must get along well with Zhentian, no matter what misunderstandings you might have in the future. Do not act impulsively. A harmonious family is the foundation of success. Family members must help each other out, not take advantage. Do you understand?”

Xia Jing knew Old Master Zhang meant well, and she believed that since Old Master Zhang had accepted her, he would not deliberately find fault with her!

”Uncle, you can rest assured. You know how hard I’ve tried to be with Zhentian. I understand that family is not meant to hurt each other, let alone be used for achieving one’s goals. The reason why people are called family is because they trust each other and can entrust their lives to each other. Family members naturally accept each other’s flaws. With family, you don’t need to think about how to get along; it just happens naturally as long as you are sincere. Uncle, don’t you think I’m right?” Xia Jing asked Old Master Zhang with a cheerful smile.

After hearing Xia Jing’s words, Old Master Zhang truly felt that he had recognized the right daughter-in-law, and he said to Xia Jing, ”You are absolutely right. It seems that you have genuinely understood the true meaning of ’family.’ Now I can rest easy.”

Old Master Zhang looked at Xia Jing with tearful eyes, then turned to Zhang Zhentian, patted his shoulder softly, and whispered, ”Zhentian, Xia Jing has grasped the true meaning of ’family.’ Have you understood it yet?”

Zhang Zhentian was taken aback by his father’s sudden question, stuttering in response, ”What, what true meaning?”

Seeing Zhang Zhentian’s clueless expression, Old Master Zhang became inexplicably angry. How could a grown man not grasp a concept that even a woman could understand? It was utterly embarrassing.

Old Master Zhang sighed deeply and shook his head, feeling profound disappointment in Zhang Zhentian.

Perhaps Xia Jing sensed Old Master Zhang’s disappointment in Zhang Zhentian; she quickly spoke up, ”Uncle, I know the Zhang family is a large family. So I wanted to ask you, are there any family rules or anything like that?”

Old Master Zhang was pleased to hear Xia Jing say this. He hadn’t expected her to ask about the family rules before he mentioned them, making him like his daughter-in-law even more.

”Xia Jing, I must say you are very astute. You’re right, the Zhang family does have its rules. But I’m a bit tired today, so let’s talk about the family rules another time, shall we?” Old Master Zhang didn’t want to discuss the family rules with Xia Jing in front of Zhang Zhentian, fearing he might overthink things.

Xia Jing knew Old Master Zhang had his reasons, so she tactfully agreed to his suggestion.

”You have the final say, Uncle!” Xia Jing responded to Old Master Zhang with a cheerful laugh.

Xia Jing stayed at the Zhang family house for a while, catching up with Aunt Xu and somehow managing to get her to laugh heartily, something she didn’t often do. Even Old Master Zhang, upstairs in his bedroom, could hear Aunt Xu’s laughter, and he lay in bed, silently contemplating: He hadn’t expected Xia Jing to be so remarkable, able to make the usually reserved Aunt Xu laugh like this. The house would be lively from now on.

”Oh, I didn’t realize how late it’s gotten. Xia Jing, you must be hungry. Aunt Xu will go cook something delicious for you. Just wait here for Aunt Xu.” After chatting with Aunt Xu for a while, well into the late night, Aunt Xu, not wanting Xia Jing to go hungry, offered to cook for her.

Looking at the time, Xia Jing thought she had misread it. She rubbed her eyes and checked again, only to find it really was quite late. She said to Aunt Xu, ”Aunt Xu, there’s no need. It’s already very late, so I’ll head back now. You should also get some rest. I’ll come to visit you when I have time!”

Aunt Xu was reluctant to let Xia Jing leave and tried to persuade her, ”Why don’t you stay? If you don’t mind, you could share a room with Aunt Xu.”

Hearing Aunt Xu’s words, Xia Jing knew Aunt Xu didn’t want her to leave. While she, too, wanted to talk more and keep Aunt Xu company, she felt it wouldn’t be appropriate to stay with Aunt Xu at the Zhang residence, right after formally accepting Zhentian’s proposal. Taking Aunt Xu’s hand, Xia Jing said, ”Aunt Xu, it’s not that I mind sharing a room with you or that I don’t want to talk more, but just think about it, staying at the Zhang family home the very night I’ve officially gotten together with Zhentian might lead to gossip. Besides, I will come to visit you when I have the time.”