My Alleged Husband

Chapter 2348: Chapter 2181: When in Rome

”Grandpa, is it because she’s not used to living in my home that she keeps not coming back?”

”Grandma, I’m not going to keep talking with you right now. I have to hurry home, otherwise my mom and dad will start to worry. My mom and dad love me so much, I can’t let them worry about me. They should live happily, they shouldn’t have to live every day on edge because of their son. If that happened, my heart would be ill at ease!”

”You really are a sensible child. I believe your mom and dad must feel that having you as a son is their greatest pride. You’re the person they care about most in their hearts, aren’t you? Little friend, you still haven’t told me your name, and what your mom and dad are called.”

”Grandma, I’m really sorry, but when it comes to my mom and dad’s names, I can’t just casually tell outsiders. That’s my family’s privacy. I can’t reveal my family’s private matters to people I don’t know, so I hope you won’t be angry. It’s just that I can’t tell you that easily. After all, we only just met. If I easily told you everything about my family, what would I do if you turned out to be a bad person? My mom and dad would definitely get hurt. I can’t take that risk. I want my mom and dad to live safely and peacefully. I can’t let them get hurt just because I was careless. If that ever happened, how painful and sad would my heart be? I can’t let that kind of risk happen because of me!”

Xia Jing had never expected that this little boy, at such a young age, could already think through so many reasons, weighing all kinds of dangers, even thinking so much for his own parents. If only she could have such a good grandson—how wonderful that would be.

But Xia Jing didn’t know that the child standing right in front of her actually was her own grandson. What she could never have imagined was that this person was the precious grandson she wanted most in the world. Yet in the end, when he learned the whole truth, none of this—none of it—would earn anyone’s forgiveness. Everyone knew that back then she had just up and abandoned them, completely ignoring her family’s objections, making it impossible for anyone’s heart to accept that such a thing had happened to them. Only when everyone had already left did they realize what it was they had truly missed, what they had truly lost. But in the end, does that really still have any meaning? By then, hasn’t everything already changed beyond recognition?

”Child, you really don’t want to chat a little longer with Grandma? I feel like talking with you is really congenial. If you just go home like this, Grandma will be so lonely here all by herself. Would you stay a bit longer to keep Grandma company? Grandma truly hopes to have your companionship. Listening to you talk about your mom and dad moves me deeply. I never thought you’d be such a considerate child. Your mom and dad are truly blessed to have you!” Xia Jing said to Zhang Ni.

”Grandma, I really can’t. I have to go home right now. If I stay here chatting with you, my mom will be terribly anxious waiting at home for me to come back. I can’t make my mom worry because of me. My mom has already given too, too much for me. I want my mom to live the life she wants, happily, and not be scared and on edge because of me, her son. Grandma, can you understand how much I care about my mom? Actually, I don’t care about that many things. I only hope my mom can happily stay by my side and watch me grow up. That’s enough for me. I know that in this life, people can’t have too many extravagant hopes. If you hope for too much, in the end it all becomes aimless. I won’t be that greedy. As long as my mom and dad can accompany me all my life, that’s already enough for me. Why go longing for things that were never yours to begin with, and that you can’t obtain anyway? Sometimes I don’t understand either why some people are so greedy. At the beginning I was very greedy too—I wanted not only my mom and dad’s love, I also wanted my grandparents’ love. But in the end I discovered that if you’re too greedy, you might end up with nothing at all. Maybe not being greedy is the best outcome. Being able to see the people you care about happily staying by your side—that’s the happiest, most joyful thing in this life. Grandma, I believe one day you’ll also experience the joy of family bonds. For my great-grandfather, his generational happiness right now is having me by his side. He treats me so well, I can’t let him be saddened because of me. He’s already old and can’t withstand even the slightest shock. I’m afraid that if I shock him because of something I do, he might suddenly pass away. Then the burden of guilt on my conscience for the rest of my life would be too heavy. I would never be able to forgive myself. Hurting the person who loves me most—that would be the greatest sin of my life.”

Xia Jing had never imagined that this little boy could understand so many principles. Hearing these words made her feel utterly ashamed. Why, in all her life, had she never grasped such truths? Why could she never understand these feelings? If one day she could think as clearly as this child, how wonderful that would be. If she hadn’t done those things back then, would she not be facing today’s kind of ending?

”All right then, go home. If I force you to stay here, you wouldn’t be happy, wouldn’t be cheerful. I can’t make your mom worry about you like that, can I? You really are such a deeply filial child. Everything you do is for your family’s sake. There aren’t many good children like you in the world. Your mom and dad’s greatest pride in this life must be having you as their son. Actually, I understand what is most painful in a mother’s heart. Back then I abandoned my son. That kind of grandma was just like the way you described your own biological grandma—aimless, throwing away her own son for the sake of her own freedom. And you know, for a mother, doing that is extremely difficult, isn’t it?”

”I don’t care what reason she had for choosing to abandon my whole family. I just want to know what exactly made her able to make that decision back then, to cast off all of us. In her heart, were we really nothing? Was there really nothing we deserved to have? Why was my grandma so selfish? I just want to understand clearly why my grandma made that decision, a decision that has left my heart unbalanced for my entire life. Maybe it’s because my desires are too many that my feelings can never settle down. But I believe that one day I’ll understand all of this. All right, I should go home now...”

”Child, you’re overthinking it!”