My Alleged Husband

Chapter 37: Chapter 37 Encounter_1

Zhang Zhentian didn’t wait long after Xia Jing left before he prepared to return to the Zhang Family.

Zhang Zhentian booked a flight back to City A, and as he took off, he gazed out at the whole of the UK. When he saw Cambridge, a surge of emotion overwhelmed him; he had not expected that even after coming here, he would still fail to bring Xia Jing back to his home, ultimately letting down his father’s expectations. He felt uncomfortable and didn’t know when Xia Jing might come back to his side.

Zhang Zhentian was flying back to his hometown, yet Xia Jing was alone in the United States.

Xia Jing wandered around New York when suddenly, she heard someone behind her, a man in a white casual suit, calling her name. She secretly hoped it might be Zhang Zhentian who had found her, but when she turned around, she was disappointed. The man calling her was not Zhang Zhentian. Xia Jing approached the man and asked, ”Sir, may I help you with something?”

The man gave a small smile and said to Xia Jing, ”Miss, you dropped this.” He handed her a wallet.

Xia Jing realized it was her wallet and quickly expressed her gratitude, ”Sir, you are such a good person, thank you, this is my wallet.”

The man smiled awkwardly at Xia Jing and asked her, ”Miss, may I have the honor of knowing your full name? Could we perhaps become friends?”

Xia Jing thought there was no harm and responded to the man, ”Meeting is fate, of course we can become friends, especially since you found my wallet. My surname is Xia with the given name Jing, and may I know your name, sir?”

”Xia Jing, what a nice name. Hello, Miss Xia, my surname is Luo with the given name Haoran, and I’m pleased to meet you.” Luo Haoran extended his right hand to Xia Jing.

”Luo Haoran, Mr. Luo, your name is nice too, and I’m also happy to meet you.” Xia Jing reached out her hand to Luo Haoran, and their hands came together.

Luo Haoran, noticing Xia Jing’s face was not looking great, asked her, ”Miss Xia, are you feeling down?”

Hearing Luo Haoran repeatedly address her as Miss Xia, she felt awkward and said to Luo Haoran, ”Mr. Luo, please just call me Xia Jing.”

”Then you should also call me by my name!”

”Alright, Haoran.”

Luo Haoran felt happy hearing Xia Jing call him ”Haoran” and asked her again, ”Are you feeling upset? Why are you here on your own?”

Xia Jing knew that avoiding the problem was not a solution, and thought sharing with someone might ease her sorrow. She told Luo Haoran, ”Haoran, to be honest, I had a fight with my boyfriend.”

No sooner had Xia Jing finished speaking than she lowered her head and began to cry, feeling an immense heaviness in her heart. Seeing Xia Jing like this, Luo Haoran could only inquire cautiously.

”If you don’t mind, or if you consider me a good friend, you could share with me what happened with your boyfriend. I could give you some perspective, what do you think?”

”Of course, I can.”

”Then please do tell, I’m all ears.”

Xia Jing was amused by Luo Haoran’s serious demeanor. As she looked at him looking back at her, she felt embarrassed and quickly said, ”But you mustn’t laugh at me.”

”Alright, please go ahead.”

”My boyfriend’s name is Zhang Zhentian, and the thing is with my boyfriend... I never expected the misunderstanding between us to be so serious, Haoran, do you know how much I love Zhentian? I never thought he would get mad at me, and even if he did, I never thought he’d look at me that way. Do you think I really went too far? When he came to the UK to find me, I was both happy and sad. My heart ached whenever I saw the messages he sent me. Finally, when I plucked up the courage to meet him, I didn’t expect to see him lashing out at strangers. I thought he was being petty, and then I just...” Xia Jing confided to Luo Haoran the pressure she felt within her heart. Suddenly, Xia Jing found that speaking her mind was quite relieving. She took a deep breath and looked at Luo Haoran, waiting for his analysis. Luo Haoran couldn’t help but laugh out loud when he saw her expectant gaze.

”May I speak frankly?” Luo Haoran asked gently as he looked at Xia Jing.

”Of course.”

”To be honest, after hearing about what happened between you and your boyfriend, I think both of you are at fault. Your boyfriend doesn’t understand you well enough, and from what you’ve told me, it’s clear he doesn’t trust you enough. No matter what, I believe your boyfriend shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. It felt a bit insulting to me. But I also think you were somewhat excessive. You must feel that your boyfriend doesn’t trust you enough, right?” Luo Haoran said to Xia Jing.

”I admit, sometimes I really feel that Zhentian doesn’t trust me enough, and I also feel that he doesn’t understand me, or what I really want,” Xia Jing said to Luo Haoran.

”So, let me ask you, you say your boyfriend doesn’t understand you, but do you understand him? Do you know what he truly wants? Trust is something that is built up gradually, it’s not something you have from the start. Understanding requires delving into his heart, only then can you know whether he truly loves you.” Luo Haoran addressed Xia Jing, ”If you don’t mind, let me tell you a story.”

”Of course, go ahead.”

”Actually, I have a girlfriend, too. I fought with her, and our situation is similar to yours and your boyfriend’s. In our relationship, I played your role, and she played your boyfriend’s role. You know, the issue between me and my girlfriend is just like yours—I used to think that my girlfriend would do anything for me, but in the end, I found out I was the only fool standing still.”

As Luo Haoran recounted his own story, Xia Jing couldn’t help but ask, ”What’s your girlfriend’s name? She must be very beautiful, right?”

Luo Haoran looked up at the sky, holding back his tears, and said to Xia Jing, ”Her name is Xiao Lian. She’s no longer with us.”

Xia Jing, feeling embarrassed, said, ”I’m sorry, Haoran. I didn’t know.”

”It’s okay, Xia Jing. You know, you’re much luckier than I am. At least your boyfriend is willing to lay down his life for you. I thought Xiao Lian didn’t care about whether I lived or died, but unexpectedly, she got into an accident trying to save me and never woke up. She was still tightly clutching the engagement ring I gave her when she died. It’s been five years since Xiao Lian passed away, and I still love her, because I believe she loved me too, if only she’d had the chance to say so. It’s not easy having someone who truly loves you. Sometimes you shouldn’t be too strong-willed because your toughness can hurt the one who loves you deeply. Sometimes it’s far better to choose forgiveness than to live in agony,” Luo Haoran said with tears streaming down his face.

Seeing Luo Haoran in such pain, Xia Jing thought to herself, ”Did I really make a mistake? What if Zhentian left me too, what would I do?”

Luo Haoran knew Xia Jing had taken his words to heart, so he said to her, ”Stop always thinking that others are in the wrong; sometimes you have to see if you made mistakes yourself. It’s getting late; you should head back.”

Knowing Luo Haoran was sincere, Xia Jing told him, ”Haoran, thank you. I know what to do now. Zhentian has done so much for me, now it’s time I do the same for him. I’ll go back to China as soon as I can and tell him loudly how much I love him.”

Hearing Xia Jing say this made Luo Haoran happy, ”That’s the right attitude. Don’t end up like me. On the surface, I might seem successful, but who knows the struggle, the exhaustion, the pain I endure? Talking with you freely today has been a relief. I hope you consider me a confidant of yours.”

With a faint smile towards Xia Jing, Luo Haoran added, ”Having a confidant like you makes me very happy. I truly thank you for helping me think things through so quickly about what I should do with Zhentian. Your friendship is valuable.”

”If you have any troubles, feel free to talk to me about them. Here’s my business card,” Luo Haoran offered his card to Xia Jing, who took it and placed it in her bag.

”Alright, until we meet again,” Xia Jing smiled at Luo Haoran, turned around, and prepared to leave.

”Until we meet again!”

Having listened to Luo Haoran’s words, Xia Jing had already resolved much of her misunderstanding with Zhang Zhentian. She went back to where she was staying and booked a ticket to return to China. She was ready to go back and find Zhang Zhentian.