My Alleged Husband

Chapter 201: Chapter 181 Opportunity!_1

Over the next few days, Zhang Yichen locked himself in his bedroom at home, mulling over the words Ran Zhihan had said to him.

He suddenly felt that he didn’t hate his parents as much as he thought he did. Maybe his girlfriend was right—that he couldn’t let go of his pride and lose face. It was because of his pride and his concern for face that he chose to hate his parents. Even after this realization, he still found it hard to accept them easily. After all, they had abandoned him for over a decade, which was always a wound for him. Perhaps one day he could forgive them for abandoning him, or perhaps never, but compared to his previous hatred, he didn’t hate his parents as much anymore. He just hoped they would stop opposing his relationship with his beloved. If they continued to do so, it would be hard for him to guarantee he wouldn’t start hating them again.

He had already decided to give his parents another chance to start anew and return to Zhang Family, but he didn’t know that his parents were arguing over this matter. Then, he made a phone call to them.

Zhang Zhentian saw his son’s name on his phone and was excited. His son had just had a fight with him but still called, showing that Zhang Yichen still cared about his father. He excitedly answered the call and said with emotion, ”Son, what made you think of calling dad? I’m sorry, it’s my fault for not taking good care of your mother, Dad let her do things that hurt your girlfriend. But rest assured, son, such things will never happen again. Your girlfriend will be safe studying in the United States, and you don’t have to worry about your mother causing her trouble. I will keep an eye on her. If you have nothing else, then dad will hang up now—your mom’s still arguing with me about this matter...”

Zhang Yichen thought: Am I having ringing in my ears, or did I hear wrong? What did my dad just say to me—that my mom is still arguing with him about this issue? Could it be that my dad never knew about it from the start? Did I really misunderstand my dad?

”Wait a second, don’t hang up, I have something I want to talk to you about alone. Move away from your wife,” said Zhang Yichen.

Zhang Zhentian stepped away from Xia Jing and said to Zhang Yichen, ”Yichen, go ahead and speak.”

”Actually, the reason I’m calling this time is not to say anything that would make you sad. I just want to tell you that, after thinking it over, I believe it’s too cruel to banish you from the Zhang Family forever. Of course, don’t think this means I don’t hate you anymore. My decision is entirely because my girlfriend has been persuading me. I don’t want my mother to cause any trouble over trivial matters for my girlfriend in the future. If I ever discover such behavior happening again, I will definitely kick her out of the Zhang Family without any mercy. By then, she can forget about acknowledging me as her son for the rest of her life. I’ve put it quite bluntly now, and I hope you can understand how I feel. Don’t keep pushing my boundaries because it benefits neither you nor me!”

When Zhang Zhentian heard these words from his son, he was too stunned to react. If only he could hear his son say these words to him in person, how happy his heart would be. Why is his son saying these things to him now? It’s truly thanks to his son having found such a good girlfriend, who has brought him a wonderful daughter-in-law. If Xia Jing knew this, would she agree to that young girl being with her son?

”The things I told you today, I hope you won’t tell Xia Jing. Because I want to know, without my forgiveness, whether she would still treat my girlfriend badly. I hope you can advise her more, to stop opposing me, as there is no point. I can cut off all her financial resources at any moment, but I don’t want to. After all, she gave me life; although she didn’t raise me these years, she gave birth to me, allowed me to see the beauty of this world, and to find my kind girlfriend. For this, I am grateful to her. However, this doesn’t mean I can forgive you now. It’s not easy for me to forgive you just like that. I am human too, with my own dignity and the need to save face. When Mom and Dad abandoned me, I endured mockery and derision. Back then, I received nothing, holding back tears and crawling my way to where I am today. I hope you understand how hard the journey was. Don’t force me to make any decisions or to forgive you right now, as it’s just too hard for me!”

Zhang Zhentian felt truly pained upon hearing these words from his son. He had never expected that his abandonment would cause so much hardship for his child. He would rather endure all that hardship himself than have his child grow up safely and happily. But it was their heartlessness that caused his child’s lifelong defect. How could he not hate himself? In that moment, Zhang Zhentian suddenly understood why Zhang Yichen hated him. Indeed, who wouldn’t hate their parents for abandoning them?

”Yichen, I hope you can thank your girlfriend for me, and also apologize to her on my behalf. I am deeply sorry for causing your mother to trouble your girlfriend because of me. But Yichen, I truly thank you for finding such a good girlfriend. Do you know how happy it made me to hear what you just said? It’s been more than ten years. Do you know how Mom and Dad have suffered through these years? Day and night, missing you. But when we left, we were already banished from the Zhang Family, erased from the family records. We couldn’t go back, you know? Dad often dreams of holding you in his arms. But when I open my eyes, I find nothing but emptiness, no warmth at all. Do you know how much that hurts? There are things that I shouldn’t tell you, but I want to say them because keeping them to myself is too painful. Even your mother doesn’t know this – after we abandoned you, every night as I lay in bed, I would secretly shed tears. I so wished to have my child beside me, just to feel his warmth, even if only for a second, I would have been content. But having made that choice, I could only endure the pain of missing you. In my life, I really haven’t made many regretful decisions, but abandoning you is the one I regret the most. Do you know how it hurt your grandfather? I understand how hard these years have been for Grandpa. When I returned and saw his hair turned white, do you know what I felt? It was a pain that came from deep inside. At that moment, I thought I was truly unfilial. Why did I abandon my father and leave him? He not only gave birth to me, but also raised me for over twenty years, and I... I abandoned him. What kind of son does that make me? I myself think I’m extremely unfilial. In my heart, you are much better than I am. So I don’t blame you for hating Dad, and I want to thank you for taking care of Grandpa all these years, for letting him live happily.”

Zhang Yichen never expected that his father didn’t love him. He suddenly realized his father missed him deeply as well. He felt that he really shouldn’t hate his Dad, but what about his Mom? If it weren’t for her caprice, would his Dad have chosen to leave, abandoning him and Grandpa?