My Alleged Husband

”A woman like you, do you really think I would have been so keen on you? Being with you was just for a bit of novelty and to play around with you, that’s all. I never expected that a woman like you would actually be naive enough to believe I sincerely loved you, and foolish enough to give up everything for me. What can I say? You’re just too naive and foolish, or should I say hopelessly stupid?”

”And you have the nerve to berate me with your venomous tongue. Do you think you have the right? If you have no right, then why speak at all? Words spoken without right are just wasted breath, aren’t they? You always thought I couldn’t manage without you, but what you don’t know is that without you, I still have others. I can find another wife, a wife a thousand times more perfect than you. A woman like you, who knows nothing but how to go against her own husband, and only wants her husband to submit to her—do you think you have any value? If a woman acts this way, a man will only grow to despise her more, and will not be moved by her at all. When I was moved by you, it was truly just to play with you; I never took you seriously. But who would have thought that in the end, you would shamelessly insist on marrying me? I had no choice but to agree. Who would’ve imagined that, after all these years, we’d end up living together for decade after decade as if we were playing at being husband and wife? To me, it’s just child’s play!”

Zhang Zhentian was infuriated by Xia Jing and started to speak off the cuff. He originally thought that after saying these things, his wife would surely be weeping bitterly, but to his surprise, not only did she not cry, she stood there grinning, which only irked him more.

”Why don’t you keep talking? Do you think your words have any effect on me? Since I’ve decided to leave you for good, I won’t care about a single word you say. No matter why you were with me at the start, even if I shamelessly clung to you for marriage and to live with you, I don’t care. No matter what you say or do, from today forth, we’ll have nothing to do with each other; we’re nothing but strangers. Why should I care about a stranger’s remarks?”

”You’ve made mistakes and let others bear the consequences. Why should others be fools, time and time again paying for your errors? Do you really think everyone else is clueless and incompetent? You always think you’re right, but you don’t realize how ridiculous and juvenile you look in everyone else’s eyes. Every other man knows that with a wife, he should learn to take responsibility. People grow up slowly, but not only did you not grow, your actions chilled many hearts even more. This is the real you, isn’t it? The real you was worthless, and now you’ve even sunk lower. That’s why your father was so angry he ended up in the hospital, and you, his heartless son, instead of going back, you come here, seeking my sympathy, hoping I’ll reconcile with you. Do you think that’s possible? There’s no son as conscienceless as you in the world, no husband as irresponsible as you, no father as unwilling to care for his own son as you. Your existence is an insult to all humanity.”

Zhang Zhentian turned and walked away, but unexpectedly, Xia Jing suddenly called out to him.

”What, you want to leave just like that? Can’t win an argument, so you run away—is that what a man should do? Don’t you even have the basic courage? Aren’t you unfit to be a man? It seems everything I said before has come true—you simply don’t deserve to be a man!”

”Whether I’m fit to be a man has nothing to do with you. *We’re strangers now, and from now on, let’s never contact each other again. What does it matter to you what I become?

”When you speak, you should accumulate some virtue; don’t be so absolute in your words. Beware the repercussions that might fall on your own head one day. You know what you’ve done; you don’t need me to spell it out. Since neither of us has love for the other anymore, wouldn’t it be better not to entangle each other?”

”Hahaha, you really have some nerve. Who is clinging to whom here? Am I using my father’s safety to gain your sympathy? Am I the one who abandoned my wife for selfish gains?

”You twist truth and lies when you talk; how can you do it without blushing or getting out of breath? Have you become so accustomed to wrongdoing that you can be callous and manipulate emotions without a second thought? Are others really so insignificant in your eyes? As if you’re the only one that matters in this world? You’re too narcissistic, too arrogant. The world isn’t just about you—there are many kind and superior people out there, people you couldn’t even measure up to. What right do you have to raise your voice at me? When father’s company was collapsing, I exhausted all I had to keep it afloat amid his scorn, all to be with you, and what did I get in return? Your betrayal of my love?”

”Sometimes, I really want to ask you, are you made of stone? Doesn’t it hurt you to do such things? Why do you hurt me, does it really make you that happy? I didn’t ask for much; all I wanted was to be with you, and yet in the end, I realized that no matter how I tried to please you, I could never achieve the outcome I wanted!”

Neither of them had anticipated that a couple who had once been the happiest would end up this way: initially inseparable in life and death, and ultimately estranged like strangers. No one would have expected their relationship to end in such mutual hurt and verbal assaults.

But upon reflection, can one truly say they were without fault? If one had devoted oneself to nurturing the marriage, would it have collapsed to this degree? If there were no lies from the start, would the truth have been as painful as it is now? Everything was undoubtedly intertwined with one’s own actions, so why the perpetual refusal to confront one’s mistakes earnestly?