My Alleged Husband

Chapter 171: Chapter 155 Zhang Yichen! _1

Even Xia Jing never imagined that Zhang Zhentian would be so resolute in dragging her away. With his departure, he could never return to the grand doors of the Zhang Family in this lifetime. Was she truly worth such a sacrifice? Xia Jing suddenly felt that Zhang Zhentian was a fool – for her, he gave up his own home, his own father. Deep inside, she wondered if she had made a mistake. Had her appearance destroyed the peace of their family? Was this really the right thing – her unreasonable demands causing the family to be torn apart, with each at opposite ends of the world? Could her heart really be at peace with this?

As Zhang Zhentian pulled her along the road, they arrived at the lakeside. Xia Jing forcefully freed herself from his grip and asked, ”Zhentian, do you think what you’re doing is right? You’re separating from your father because of my fuss, and you won’t be able to see your beloved son anymore. Because of me, you’re now leaving the home you’ve lived in for decades, to move to an unfamiliar place with me. Do you resent me in your heart?”

Hearing Xia Jing’s words, Zhang Zhentian didn’t know how to answer. After pondering for a while, he slowly said, ”Fool, what’s there to talk about worth? In love, there is no right or wrong; it’s enough just to love. True, you can be willful, but I love that side of you. It’s because of your willfulness that we can be together, and it’s exactly because of your willfulness that we have such a wonderful son. Now it’s my turn to take care of you. You gave up your freedom for me, as well as the life you longed for, and now it’s my turn to make it up to you. From now on, let me accompany you and always be together. Since I’ve left the doors of the Zhang Family, I can never go back in this life, but that’s alright. One day, when we want to return, our child will plead on our behalf, and we will still be able to return to the Zhang Family!”

Xia Jing didn’t expect Zhang Zhentian to say such things to comfort her. How could she not understand that Zhentian was consoling her? Who would want to leave their home, to abandon the hometown where they’d lived for decades, or to leave the father who had raised them since they were infants? But Zhang Zhentian had no choice. For his love, he gave up his home, for his wife, he left his father, for his child, he abandoned everything in his hometown. Eventually, he might regret, regret the foolishness of the decisions he had made. In others’ eyes, he and Xia Jing’s actions were outrageous. Yet, in Zhang Zhentian and Xia Jing’s eyes, all they saw was endless loneliness, and it was this that drove them to such extreme decisions!

”My dear, I’m sorry. Because of me, you’ve given up so much. If one day you no longer wish to be with me, or if I’ve done something to bother you, hurry back to your home. I believe that by then, your father will surely forgive you. From the beginning, I never intended to take you away from here, to make you leave your father’s side. But, I truly couldn’t stand the pain of not being able to hold my own child at home; you know how excruciating that pain is for a mother. To have them close by, yet unable to hug them, hurts more than injures oneself. So please forgive my selfishness, my love. If there is a next life, let me be the man and you the woman, and let me marry you and be at your beck and call, alright?”

”How could I bear to boss you around? In the next life, I still want to be your husband and let you order me about.”

...

As they whispered sweet nothings by the lake, Old Master Zhang’s days were far from pleasant since the moment Zhang Zhentian led Xia Jing out the door of the Zhang Family home. He fainted, and when he came to, it was already night. Gazing upon the empty room, he realized that aside from him, only the child and Aunt Xu remained. His heart ached unbearably. His son, whom he had raised for over twenty years, had left with an unrelated woman. The child he had dearly loved for over two decades had abandoned him, his father. How could there be such heartless people in this world? This was outright unfilial.

”My dear grandson, your parents don’t want you anymore. From now on, you can only suffer along with Grandpa. But don’t worry, as long as Grandpa is alive in this world for one more day, I will make sure you have clothes on your back and a smile on your face as you grow up. I will even have you undergo devilish training to ensure that you can take over Zhang Corporation smoothly. I hope you won’t resent Grandpa when the time comes!”

Aunt Xu, seeing Old Master Zhang holding the child and crying as he spoke, quickly interjected with a reasoning to steer away from the sorrowful topic. She said to Old Master Zhang, ”Old Master, the young master’s name—have you decided on one for him yet? It’s been quite a while; he needs to know his own name.”

”Yes, yes, how could I forget? My dear, your parents have abandoned you, and so I will name you Zhang Yichen, hoping that you live a happy and spirited life, not ungrateful like your parents.”

The child heard the name Zhang Yichen given by Old Master Zhang and smiled happily, carefree. He was still unaware of what it meant to be abandoned by his parents. Only when he grew up would he understand whether he should hate his parents or respect their decision at the time.

Old Master Zhang also worried that the child would grow up hating his parents. Although he was very dissatisfied with Zhang Zhentian and Xia Jing’s actions, he still did not wish for their child to hate them. After all, the pain inflicted on the parents by the hatred of their child is immeasurably deep.

While he secretly harbored these thoughts, when Yichen grew up, knowing that his parents had abandoned him when he was very young, he felt an immense hatred for them. He hated, and he could never understand why other children were accompanied by their parents as they grew up, while he had only his lonely grandfather taking care of him. Once Yichen became sensible, he made an oath to himself: he would never allow his parents to return to the Zhang Family; he would never permit anyone to hurt his beloved grandfather again. He was determined to fulfill a grandson’s duty. He would protect his grandfather, who had struggled to raise him to this day. Growing up, no matter how hard it was, his parents had never once appeared, inflicting a profound and deep pain upon him. He felt that, had his parents already decided not to want him, they shouldn’t have gone through the trouble of giving birth to him. Was he born only to be abandoned? If so, he would rather not have come into this world. But at the same time, he was grateful to his parents for giving birth to him. Without being born, without being abandoned, how could he have such an exciting life, or meet such a wonderful girlfriend, or look forward to such a happy family in the future? Of course, that’s a story for later. The one he was most grateful for was his grandfather, who had painstakingly looked after him for nearly twenty years. He felt the love his grandfather had for him surpassed even the kindness of his parents’ rearing.