My Alleged Husband

Chapter 970: Chapter 863: Let Them Go!

Old Master Zhang heard Zhang Yichen say these words, and deep inside his heart, he felt an immense sense of comfort. This is the heir he had cultivated with his own hands, and this is what it means to be a true man of iron will—this is the descendant of the Zhang Family.

All the years and effort he had poured into nurturing this talent were not in vain. Seeing Yichen achieve today’s success made him truly happy. No matter what the final outcome would turn him into, at the very least, he had reached a state of inner peace. He could now lead his life joyfully without being consumed by pain.

”Child, don’t make things difficult for your father and mother anymore. Since they want to leave, just let them go. The fact that Grandpa can hear you speak such words today has already made my heart completely satisfied. I won’t demand excessively like I used to because I’ve come to understand that excessive demands bring no benefits to myself. In the end, I may neither achieve my expected goals nor obtain the outcome I desire, and it might even backfire.

Looking back over all these years, Grandpa’s love for you wasn’t wasted; raising you wasn’t in vain. You didn’t suffer all those pains for nothing either. Your achievements today, your magnanimity, have made Grandpa see you in an entirely new light. Your horizons have broadened so much that Grandpa finds himself unable to describe them. I also know that often you suppress yourself because you want to make me happy and don’t want your emotions to affect my mood. But do you know? When Grandpa sees you suppress yourself time and again because of me, the depths of my heart are neither happy nor joyful. No matter what, you are my child, and I hope you can live happily. Each time you hoped your parents would stay by your side, yet at the same time hoped my son would learn from me and admit his mistakes—do you have any idea how thankful I am toward you?

That gratitude is beyond words. These past years, you must know better than this old man what kind of person your father has been, what he has done—you’re not unaware of these things. Yet you’ve never blamed him. Because you know he’s your father, you believe you have no reason or right to blame him. You feel that blaming him would only bring internal torment, societal pressure, and condemnation to your heart.

But think about it: have they ever truly cared about our feelings? Time and again, they’ve treated us like something they can summon or discard at will. In those moments, did you truly not feel any pain deep inside? I can’t comprehend that feeling; I’ll never forget what it feels like to be despised by one’s own flesh and blood—the one you painstakingly raised yourself.”

Zhang Zhentian listened to his father’s words and lowered his head in shame. Over the years, what had he been doing? He had angered his father to such an extent. Were any of his actions over the years right or wrong? Looking back on his years of mediocrity, his wasted time, he had thrown everything away—including his youth. He had left his father abandoned time and again, subjected his own son to repeated ridicule and sneers, and allowed this family to be repeatedly invaded from the outside. Every member of the family felt as though the household had fallen apart, destroyed, leaving no joy behind, and certainly no happiness.

Was this truly the outcome he wanted? When he heard his father utter the words, ”Let them leave,” why did he feel such a heavy sense of loss within him? Did he truly want to leave this family? If he left, when would he ever set foot through the door of this home again—one year, two years, ten years, or perhaps never again in his lifetime? He had no way of knowing what the final outcome would be. Regardless of how it turned out, could he truly claim to have a clear conscience?

If he truly had a clear conscience, he would feel no trace of reluctance—no hesitation—in leaving this home. But his attachment to this house was so profound, and yet he still had to make such a cruel decision. While they all claimed no one was forcing anyone to leave this household, Zhang Zhentian couldn’t bear it. Why did he feel compelled to fight against his family in this manner? This decision to resist only brought more pain to every member of his family, leading everyone to despise him—to see him as nothing but a manipulative liar, treating his every word as deceit. Was this outcome truly good or bad for him?

Perhaps from the very beginning, he should never have entered this family’s home. That might have prevented everything from spiraling out of control, leaving him unable to manage it all. Everything had already exceeded his expectations. What could he possibly do now to ensure that none of his family members suffered any more harm? How could he atone for all the mistakes he had made in the past, and how could he let everyone live happily? Every action he had taken—what could he do to make everyone see him differently?

”I never wanted to leave this home. I don’t know why, but when you told me to leave, I felt a deep sense of loss within. That wasn’t a pretense. I know my heart is reluctant to part from everyone in this family. Yet the decisions I’ve made compel me to leave you. Can you understand how much I love each and every person in this family, how much I care about my wife? I can’t bear the thought of my wife leaving on her own. The moment she turned away, as I saw her back, my heart shattered—it hurt to the point where I couldn’t breathe. Can you stand in my shoes for once and feel how deeply I love my wife—my sincerity? If you can understand, you’ll realize that what I’m doing isn’t truly excessive!”

Zhang Yichen never thought his father would say such things. What does it mean to not be excessive? Does the family need to cry their hearts out from his departure for it to be considered excessive? Does everyone in the family need to suffer insomnia from their sorrow to make it excessive?

He couldn’t comprehend the thoughts deep inside his father’s heart, nor could he understand what was on his father’s mind. This outcome, this approach—what benefit did it bring to anyone? Why did his father remain so stubborn, hurting every single person time and again, treating them as collateral damage? Did he feel satisfied only when everyone and everything was ruined by his actions?