My Alleged Husband

Chapter 28: Chapter 28 Father and Son Quarrel_1

Zhentian had gotten completely plastered at home, and by the time he woke up, it was already the third day.

That morning, Zhentian groggily opened his eyes, feeling dizzy. He stumbled to his feet and realized he had been lying on a chair, now covered with an extra blanket. He thought Xia Jing must have come to his house and put the blanket on him. Picking up the blanket that had fallen to the floor and tossing it back onto the chair, he hurriedly dashed downstairs, all the while calling out Xia Jing’s name. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Old Master Zhang was having breakfast and mistook the noise of Zhentian coming downstairs for an earthquake.

Looking around downstairs, Zhentian didn’t see Xia Jing anywhere. He saw his father, eating breakfast, staring blankly at him. Step by step, he approached Old Master Zhang and said, ”Dad, what’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Old Master Zhang responded to Zhentian with a smile, ”You finally decided to wake up?”

Zhentian didn’t quite understand what Old Master Zhang meant and asked again, ”Dad, what do you mean by that? What’s this about me finally deciding to wake up? Didn’t I just get drunk and sleep for a day?”

Old Master Zhang looked at his foolish son and was at a loss for words.

”Are you sure you only slept for one day?” Old Master Zhang asked.

Hearing his father say this, Zhentian thought, ”Could it be that I slept for more than one day? Maybe two days?”

Old Master Zhang, watching his son’s daydreaming expression, slowly said, ”You’ve been asleep for three days, you really didn’t know?”

”I didn’t know!”

Old Master Zhang looked at Zhentian, his face a mixture of amusement and disbelief, shaking his head from time to time. Seeing his father’s expression, Zhentian realized his father definitely didn’t believe him and immediately insisted, ”I really didn’t know!”

”You really didn’t know?” Old Master Zhang asked back.

”Dad, can’t you trust me a little more? I really didn’t know I slept for three days; I only remember going to see Xia Jing, only to find her apartment already empty. Then, I learned from Xia Jing’s landlord that she had gone abroad days ago. After that, I went to the lakeside, and then I came home, drank, and fell asleep. That’s about all I know.”

After finishing, Zhentian looked at his father, who nodded and shook his head as if not quite understanding. Zhentian, exhausted by his father’s expressions, asked, ”Dad, did you actually get what I was saying or not?”

”Somewhat,” Old Master Zhang replied unabashedly, facing his son’s question with decisive candor.

Hearing this response from his father left Zhentian unsure of what to say next.

Old Master Zhang, finding amusement in his son’s speechlessness, said, ”Zhentian, I have a question to ask.”

Upon hearing this, Old Master Zhang thought Zhentian must have discovered something and eagerly anticipated his son asking that question; once Zhentian asked, he would reveal everything to him.

”Go ahead,” Old Master Zhang said, expectantly looking at Zhentian. But Zhentian’s question was a disappointment.

”I heard from Xia Jing’s landlord that she went to the company on the day she left, did that really happen?”

Old Master Zhang’s expectations were dashed, and he replied without enthusiasm, ”Yes, that’s true. You weren’t at the company at that time.”

”So Xia Jing really did go to the company. Was she there to say goodbye to me or to make up with me?” Zhentian mused to himself.

Hearing Zhentian talking to himself, Old Master Zhang couldn’t help asking, ”Zhentian, what are you mumbling about over there?”

Snapping back to reality, Zhentian said, ”Dad, was Xia Jing looking for me that day?”

Zhentian gazed at his father with eager eyes, hoping his father would say ”yes,” yet at the same time, he dreaded the affirmation.

Faced with Zhentian’s question, Old Master Zhang also found it difficult to answer. He knew exactly what his son was thinking. If he said ”yes,” then Zhentian would surely blame himself for missing the only chance to retain Xia Jing. But if he said ”no,” Zhentian would be heartbroken, believing that it was because of him that Xia Jing had left without notice. What a dilemma, what should he say?

Zhentian looked at his father, who was hesitating, and hurriedly rushed over to clasp Old Master Zhang’s shoulders with both hands. He kept shaking Old Master Zhang, incessantly asking, ”Is it? Is it? Tell me, is it?”

Old Master Zhang, faced with Zhentian’s frantic state, was even more at a loss for what to say.

”Dad, tell me, did Xia Jing really come to the company looking for me?” Zhentian persisted, relentlessly questioning his father.

”Zhentian, let go first, I’m getting dizzy from all the shaking. Alright, alright, I’ll tell you,” Elder Zhang, dizzied by Zhentian’s shaking, asked him to release his hold first.

Upon hearing his father say he would tell, Zhentian immediately let go, urging Old Master Zhang, ”Please tell, hurry and tell me.”

Old Master Zhang shouted at Zhentian without any courtesy, ”What’s the rush? I’m dizzy from your shaking. At least let me catch my breath and stop feeling dizzy before I can tell you!”

Zhentian, upon hearing this, realized it was true. He approached Old Master Zhang with an eagerness to please, saying, ”Alright, alright, Dad, take your time. I’ll pour you a glass of water.”

”That’s more like it!” Old Master Zhang, as always, wanted to enjoy the feeling of being tended to by his son first.

Zhentian dashed toward the kettle, quickly pouring a glass of water and delivering it to Old Master Zhang.

Old Master Zhang took the glass of water from Zhentian and drank a sip. He would have been better off not drinking it at all; the sip scalded his tongue, causing blisters to form. He looked up at Zhentian, roaring furiously, ”What are you doing? Are you trying to scald me to death?”

Zhentian apologized to Old Master Zhang, saying, ”Dad, I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you—the water was just boiled; I didn’t add any cold water when I poured it for you.”

Furious, Old Master Zhang stood up ready to go upstairs but was stopped by Zhentian grabbing him.

”Dad, you haven’t told me yet? That day, Xia Jing...”

Zhentian hadn’t finished his sentence when Old Master Zhang cut him off.

”No more talk. You treat me this way even though you need my help? Even if you didn’t need anything from me, I’m still the father who gave birth to you and raised you—you shouldn’t be scalding me with boiling water either.” Old Master Zhang turned and walked away.

Zhentian watched his father’s receding figure and shouted at the back, ”Dad, can’t you show me a little understanding? I’m Xia Jing’s boyfriend. Now that she’s gone abroad and I can’t contact her, shouldn’t I be worried as her boyfriend?”

Zhentian might have been better off not saying anything, as his words only managed to stoke the flames of Old Master Zhang’s anger even higher.

Upon hearing what Zhentian said, Old Master Zhang couldn’t help but turn back and scold him, ”You’re her boyfriend, and you should be worried if you can’t contact her. But as for me, who has raised you for so many years, should you scald me with boiling water for her sake? Is this what you should do as a child?”

Zhentian was left speechless by Old Master Zhang’s rebuke. Seeing his son fall silent, he continued, ”You’d defy your father for a woman, you’d do anything for her—I can understand all that because I am your father. But what you did today has truly disappointed me. Are you so absent-minded? You even forget to tell me about the boiling water? Do you not have a place for me, your father, in your heart?”

As Old Master Zhang spoke, tears started glittering in his eyes. Zhentian, seeing his father so disappointed because of him, noticed for the first time the white hairs beginning to appear on his father’s head, realizing how little attention he had paid to his father.

Old Master Zhang turned and went upstairs. Zhentian watched his father’s departing figure, wanting to speak but finding the words wouldn’t come. He felt a pang of guilt for not living up to his father’s upbringing, his heart filled with remorse.