My Alleged Husband

Chapter 80: Chapter 78 Recalling the Past_1

Zhang Zhentian had no other option but to shut down his computer as well. He went to the study to see Old Master Zhang because he wanted to ask what he should do.

”Dad, I have something I want to ask you.”

Old Master Zhang looked at Zhang Zhentian and said to him, ”Zhentian, what’s wrong? Your complexion doesn’t look very good. Did you have a fight with Xia Jing?”

Zhang Zhentian sighed, spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness and said, ”Ah, she said she envies Xiao Wei for formally confessing his feelings to Li Jiayuan, and now she wants me to do the same for her, otherwise she won’t marry me. She let out a bunch of nonsense and even asked if ’common folk were suitable for the son of a wealthy family’. Dad, do you think Xia Jing took the wrong medicine today? I feel like she’s not acting normal at all. Or am I hallucinating? In the end, she kept talking to herself whether Xiao Wei confessed or not; what does that have to do with me? Why does she keep repeating those words to me?”

After hearing what Zhang Zhentian had said, Old Master Zhang smiled at him and replied, ”Zhentian, do you know why Xia Jing is saying these things? She wants to know if you also think that commoners are not a match for the sons of wealthy families, and how you view marriages where the participants are from different social standings. Fortunately, your response didn’t disappoint her, although the first part of what you said was indeed a bit hurtful. But thankfully, you clarified with those additional sentences. Otherwise, based on what I know about Xia Jing, she definitely would have been unsatisfied. She’s telling you this because she hopes you’d formally confess to her, too. How could you not figure out something so simple?”

Zhang Zhentian couldn’t understand why his father was calling him foolish since he had come to ask his dad what to do. Why had it turned into his father giving him a lecture on politics? He responded to Old Master Zhang, ”Dad, I came to ask you what I should do, not for a political lesson. Is it really so bad that I didn’t immediately understand the purpose behind Xia Jing’s words? Now that I know, can’t you just tell me directly what to do? Do you actually expect me to give her a formal proposal?”

Looking at his clueless son, Old Master Zhang felt his head grow heavy. With an offhand question, he asked, ”Why shouldn’t you? Are you really willing to let the woman you pursued all the way from the UK slip away?”

It must be said, Old Master Zhang was indeed experienced. But Zhang Zhentian directly replied, ”I sure don’t want that. The wedding is just around the corner, why on earth should I bother with a proposal now? Isn’t that just looking for trouble?”

”Zhentian, do you want to know what your dad looked like back then?”

”Of course, I do. Please tell me!” Zhang Zhentian was eager to know what his father had been like when he was younger.

”Listen well. Back in the day, your dad was imposing and handsome, debonair and dashing. I was truly one of those rare beauties in the world!”

Zhang Zhentian couldn’t help but laugh. He said to Old Master Zhang, ”Dad, you’re still thinking about the past. Listen to me, back then, I was a guy everybody loved, a charmer that made flowers bloom. But now, I’m an adult, ha ha ha...”

”Stop right there, let me finish. Back in the day, your dad was a well-known tall and handsome man in town, just without any money...”

”But now you’re a middle-aged man over fifty, and those days are long gone!” Zhang Zhentian cut in before Old Master Zhang could finish his sentence.

Old Master Zhang was displeased. He banged the table and exclaimed, ”Zhang Zhentian, do you have any idea what respect means? Couldn’t you wait for me to finish before you speak? Don’t you know that interrupting others is very impolite?”

Zhang Zhentian replied with a smile, ”All right, all right, I got it. Go on, I assure you I absolutely won’t interrupt you this time.”

Old Master Zhang continued where he left off, ”Back in the day, to pursue your mother, I racked my brain and sacrificed my youth...”

Zhang Zhentian tried to hold back his laughter on the side. He found it difficult to suppress his urge to laugh and said, ”Dad, could you start your sentences without ’back in the day’? How many ’back in the days’ could you possibly have? Don’t you know there’s a saying ’a brave man never talks about his past courage’? No matter the past, it’s already gone; why not just keep it as a memory? What do you think?”

”Zhentian, I didn’t tell you all this just to boast about how great I was. I just want you to understand that when it comes to the one you love, you’d do anything, even if it costs you your life, and that would make you happy because making the person you love happy is your true happiness. If you can’t make the person you love happy, then do you still consider yourself a man? A man should be flexible; bowing down once for the happiness of the one you love doesn’t matter. A relationship isn’t about who gives more to get more in return. Love doesn’t sustain on the effort of just one person. Husband and wife, since they are together, no matter what happens, one must bend for the relationship to last. Never feel that you’re giving more and receiving less; being together is truly not easy. Amidst the crowd, to meet is hard, and to stay together for a lifetime is even harder. Do you understand what you’re supposed to do now?” Old Master Zhang said to Zhang Zhentian, ”Zhentian, I trust you understand my heartfelt concern. Trust your dad. I’m not wrong about people, and Xia Jing is someone worth guarding with your life. You must realize, no woman doesn’t envy those who live a better life than hers. If you want a lifelong partnership, then you need to make her life better than anyone else’s. And this ’better’ isn’t about money; it’s about love. Being there for her is the most enduring confession.”

Zhang Zhentian nodded as if he understood, then shook his head. Old Master Zhang wasn’t sure if his son had really grasped the concept and asked, ”Did you understand or not? Why do you nod and then shake your head?”

”Dad, do you mean that I should go and propose?”

”Exactly, a proposal is just a matter of saying it, but if you don’t treasure her, you’ll regret it deeply later.”

”I understand, thank you!” Zhang Zhentian suddenly realized what Old Master Zhang meant. He turned and ran out the door; he too wanted to go to Stardust Legend to give Xia Jing a proper proposal. He intended to make Xia Jing the happiest woman in the world!