My Alleged Husband

Chapter 29: Chapter 29 Stealing Wine to Drink_1

Old Master Zhang continued to rage after going upstairs, never having imagined that the son he had painstakingly raised would use boiling water to scald him, distracted by a woman. He felt a discomfort in his heart, always having believed that his son, no matter how much he loved his wife, would at least know to treat him well and not scald him with boiling water. The more Old Master Zhang thought about it, the angrier and more annoyed he became.

Soon after Old Master Zhang had gone upstairs, Zhang Zhentian brought up another jar of wine to his bedroom, where he kept pouring drink after drink down his throat just like before. He recalled every word he had said to Xia Jing, each one clear in his mind—even he, a forgetful person, remembered them vividly, let alone the proud Xia Jing. Every time he remembered the hurtful things he had said to Xia Jing, it felt as if a knife were slicing through his heart, causing unbearable pain.

Zhang Zhentian believed that only when he was drunk could he see Xia Jing, for only in a drunken state could he escape reality and meet her in his dreams.

Bang...

The jar of wine that Zhang Zhentian was holding slipped from his hands and crashed to the floor, shattering instantly. The loud noise woke him from his stupor, and he blearily opened his eyes. What had been a sleep-hazed stare turned sharp as he saw the broken pieces spread across the floor, swiftly bringing him to his senses. He quickly squatted down to pick up the shards, knowing if Old Master Zhang saw him bringing wine into the bedroom, he would not escape punishment, and his father would certainly discipline him with the family rules.

Zhang Zhentian thought that cleaning up would suffice, but what he didn’t expect was that the loud noise had also awakened his father. At that moment, Old Master Zhang stood at the doorway of his bedroom, just shy of pushing the door open. After Zhang Zhentian cleaned up the pieces and wrapped them in his shirt, he prepared to go downstairs to throw them away, thinking his actions flawless. But how could he have anticipated that his father was standing right at his bedroom door? As Zhang Zhentian was about to step out, a figure suddenly appeared before him, startling him so much that he dropped what he was holding. Recognizing his father, he breathed a sigh of relief, but seeing the dropped items on the floor, his anxiety returned.

”Dad, you, you’re still awake this late?” Zhang Zhentian stuttered as he addressed Old Master Zhang.

Old Master Zhang, seeing the items on the floor, could not suppress his anger, ”Sleep? Aren’t you also not sleeping?”

Zhang Zhentian didn’t know how to respond to his father, and after a moment of silence, he softly said, ”Dad, it’s not that I’m not sleeping, I was going to throw out the trash, the bin in my room is full!”

That only provoked Old Master Zhang more, and he asked carelessly, ”Oh? So the trash bin in your room is full? I thought you had taken a fall in the middle of the night!”

”How could that be, Dad? I just wanted to go downstairs to throw away the trash. You should go to sleep; I’ll be back in a moment!” Zhang Zhentian blurted out, eager to leave, but how could Old Master Zhang let Zhang Zhentian slip away so easily?

Old Master Zhang called out to Zhang Zhentian and calmly asked him another question, ”Wait a moment, Zhentian, I have a question for you, would you be so kind as to answer it for your father?”

Hearing his father speak like that, Zhang Zhentian knew nothing good was coming, but he stiffly replied, ”Of course, Dad, please ask!”

”Zhentian, are you very wealthy?” Old Master Zhang went straight to the point, catching Zhang Zhentian off guard.

”Dad, why would you say that? You know how much I make a month. Doesn’t most of the household expenses come from you? Asking like this makes it awkward for me,” Zhang Zhentian said a bit displeased.

”Oh? How can you not have money? Your old dad here thinks you’re quite wealthy!” Old Master Zhang said, unblinking.

Zhang Zhentian felt his dad’s words were strange, completely irrelevant to the conversation they had at dinner earlier that day, which left him baffled about his father’s intentions.

”Dad, you clearly know I’m not as wealthy as you. Why would you talk this way—is it to flaunt your wealth over me or is there another reason? You might as well speak plainly. Why beat around the bush?” Zhang Zhentian said, raising his voice slightly.

”How could I be bragging about being wealthier than you?” Old Master Zhang said with a look that was more mocking than smiling.

”Then what do you mean?” Zhang Zhentian said, growing impatient.

”Fine, since you want me to be forthright, I will be.”

”Alright, go ahead.”

”Zhentian, since you constantly claim to have no money, let me ask you, would someone who has no money wrap their trash in a shirt that cost thousands to have tailored?” Old Master Zhang’s face, which had always been kind and friendly, turned deathly serious.

Zhentian heard the words that his father had spoken, and he stood there as if he had been struck by lightning on a rainy day, motionless.

Before Zhentian could recover, Old Master Zhang spoke again, ”Zhentian, tell me, what exactly is wrapped inside your shirt?”

Upon hearing this, Zhentian cursed silently, ”Not good!”

Even though Elder Zhang was already in his fifties, his hearing was incredibly sharp. He could hear even the faintest sound clearly. No sooner had Zhentian finished speaking than Old Master Zhang retorted.

”What did you say? What’s ’not good’? Could it be that there is some secret hidden inside your shirt?” Old Master Zhang asked, then bent down to pick up the shirt. How could Zhentian let his father get hold of the shirt that was wrapped around the fragments of a wine jar?

Old Master Zhang hadn’t yet reached the shirt when Zhentian suddenly bent down and picked up the object. Seeing Zhentian’s frantic reaction, Old Master Zhang grew even more suspicious that there was something fishy about the shirt. With a spread of his hand, Zhentian realized that Old Master Zhang was demanding him to hand it over.

Zhentian was anxiously at his wit’s end. He didn’t know whether to hand it over or not. He was well aware that if he did, his father would never spare him once he saw what was inside. But if he didn’t, his father would be convinced that there was a secret hidden in the shirt, leaving Zhentian caught between a rock and a hard place.

Addressing Old Master Zhang, Zhentian said, ”Dad, there really isn’t anything inside here, I was just using this unwanted shirt to wrap garbage.”

Old Master Zhang didn’t believe him.

”If there’s just garbage inside, then let me throw it away for you. I’m headed out for a bit anyway,” Old Master Zhang said, extending his hand toward Zhentian again.

”Dad, it really is just garbage,” Zhentian explained.

”I know it’s garbage, that’s why I said I’d throw it away for you,” Old Master Zhang insisted.

Zhentian grew even more panic-stricken.

”Dad, there’s no need, how could I let my own father throw out my rubbish? Right?”

”What’s the issue? I’ll just toss it for you on my way out. Saves you a trip,” Old Master Zhang said, reaching for the shirt in Zhentian’s hand, but Zhentian instinctively moved away, displeasing Old Master Zhang.

”Zhentian, what’s the meaning of this? Why are you avoiding me?” Old Master Zhang inquired.

”Dad, it’s getting late. You should get some sleep. I’ll throw this away and be right back,” Zhentian said, turning to run. Old Master Zhang called out to stop him.

”Hold it! Zhentian, no more acting. Don’t think I don’t know what’s inside. Have you been bringing wine into the bedroom to drink again?” Old Master Zhang was tired of beating around the bush and confronted him directly. As soon as he heard this, Zhentian realized that his father had been deliberately playing a cat-and-mouse game with him.

Flinging the object on the ground, Zhentian confessed, ”Since you already know, then I’m not afraid to tell you. Yes, I was drinking wine in the bedroom. Punish me however you want.”

”That’s the spirit. You haven’t forgotten the family rules, have you?”

”I haven’t!” replied Zhentian crisply.

”Good, then deal with it yourself.” After speaking, Old Master Zhang left without a backward glance, and Zhentian hadn’t expected that he would ultimately be discovered by his father.