My Alleged Husband

Chapter 180: Chapter 163 Role Reversal_1

Zhang Yichen looked at his grandfather and finally felt his heart settle. It was true that he harbored some resentment towards his parents for having abandoned him, yet deep down, he wished for their well-being. Upon learning of the serious car accident his parents had in Los Angeles, a part of him wanted to visit them. However, his hatred outweighed the love he felt for his parents in his heart. The very thought brought him great pain; rather than facing his parents without knowing what to say or potentially uttering words that would hurt them, he preferred to stay away, not to care, not to enquire. Perhaps his absence would be kinder to his parents’ feelings?

Old Master Zhang didn’t know what was going through the mind of the person before him. His heart was only filled with concern for his great-grandson; he couldn’t be bothered with the other matters, as they only served to trouble him without providing any relief.

Sitting alone on the living room sofa, Zhang Yichen was lost in thought. He reflected on what the stranger had told him—that his parents had been involved in a serious car accident in the United States, in Los Angeles, and hoped that their next of kin could handle the necessary formalities. He didn’t know what to do, realizing that he, too, could feel lost and out of his depth. He wished someone could stand by his side to advise him, so he would know what to do. But the only child who understood him, the love of his life, wasn’t here. He looked up at the ceiling, and a hot tear rolled down his cheek. Elder Zhang saw it but said nothing; he knew the child still cared for his parents, yet was torn between choosing to forgive or to continue harboring resentment. Forgiveness could lead to a second hurt, while ongoing resentment only harmed others. Even Old Master Zhang, who had weathered many storms, didn’t know which path to choose. Perhaps only the person involved could understand which choice was best for themselves.

”Yichen, it’s getting late, Grandfather won’t sit here and keep talking to you,” Old Master Zhang said to Zhang Yichen, preparing to leave. ”I just hope that you understand, now that your parents have met with an accident, no matter how they treated you or whether they abandoned you, after all, they are your parents; they brought you into this world. You ought to visit them now that they’re in trouble, even if you don’t say a word. It would still make them very happy to know you cared. I understand you might feel Grandfather is meddling too much, but my only wish is for you to appreciate the meaning behind ’the child wishes to support, but the parent is gone.’” After finishing, Old Master Zhang turned to leave, but Zhang Yichen called out to him.

”Grandfather, I understand all that you’ve said, but I can’t bring myself to be content. I have my pride. Since they chose to abandon me, they shouldn’t expect forgiveness; I owe them nothing. After repeatedly enduring their hurt, did they once stop to consider what I would face? Did they think that I might come to hate them? When they left, did they realize it would sever any connection with me? Please, don’t tell me they thought about it—if they really had, they wouldn’t have decisively left here, left the Zhang family, left City A. Without their leaving, I wouldn’t have gone through so much, nor met the girl I love at first sight. For all this, I should actually thank them,” Zhang Yichen conceded. ”Grandfather, I want you to tell me what I should do to not disappoint you, to make you feel proud of me. You know I’ve worked hard to earn your approval, so I don’t want to let you down. But I’ll do anything except visit or call them.”

Old Master Zhang was genuinely pleased when he heard his grandson reluctantly agreed to do something for his parents. As long as his grandson didn’t hate them completely, he didn’t feel like a total failure as a grandfather. He softly told his grandson, ”Yichen, good boy, you don’t have to do anything. If you don’t want to call or visit them in person, you can simply make a phone call. Leave a message with the nursing staff there. Just saying that you are their son and want to check on their condition is enough. Such a simple sentence means the world to your parents and is a great happiness to them!”

Zhang Yichen smiled at Old Master Zhang and said, ”Grandpa, I’m afraid you’ve thought about these things a long time ago, haven’t you? Since you already had a strategy in place, why bother telling me all this? Do you think this is fair to me? Why can’t any of you put yourselves in my shoes, just for once? I’m only a child, a child who has just turned ten. Is this how you’re going to treat me? When I turned ten, something happened to my mom and dad, and you tried every means to make me forgive them, to forgive the fact that they abandoned me. But do you really know, Grandpa? The fact that they abandoned me is something that can never be erased from my heart. Those facts are like the devil’s needles, constantly reminding me every day. They remind me that I’m the child that my mom and dad abandoned, the child they brought into this world but didn’t wish to raise!”

As Elder Zhang listened to his grandson’s words, his heart truly ached. He couldn’t help but introspect. He wondered, had he really been wrong? Had he ever truly considered things from his grandson’s perspective? If he himself had been abandoned by his own parents from a young age, could he easily forgive them over one incident? Probably not. Since he could not do it himself, why force someone else to? Sigh, perhaps he truly had been wrong.

”Yichen, I’m sorry. It’s Grandpa’s fault for not considering things from your perspective. I understand that now, so I won’t force you to make any decisions anymore. If you want to know about your mom and dad’s situation, you can choose to ask, or you can choose to avoid the topic. However, I hope you understand that there is no parent in this world who doesn’t love their child. Even if your parents really have failed you, as their child, you should still uphold your responsibilities and not escape from the mistakes your parents have made. Avoiding the responsibilities you should bear is the act of a coward, not befitting a man.”

”Grandpa, I know you do these things for my sake. I spoke too harshly just now, without considering your feelings. Perhaps, I really was a bit too extreme. Actually, everyone has a jealous streak, even me as a boy. Right now, I don’t want to think about anything else. All I wish for is to realize my dream of becoming an emperor, to marry the girl I love, and to spend the rest of my life with her. Then, to give you a few great-grandchildren, that would be the greatest joy for me. As for my mom and dad, since they chose to abandon me, whether or not I will forgive them, I’ll decide on that in the future. Right now, I don’t want to think about these things, nor do I care about their health. Of course, I won’t object to you keeping an eye on their health. In your heart, you’ve never hated them. So, I still hope that you will follow your heart and not lose touch with my mom and dad because of me.”

Old Master Zhang’s eyes were filled with tears upon hearing this.

Zhang Yichen turned around and left. He didn’t want to continue discussing the subject; he felt very tired and uncomfortable about it.