My Alleged Husband

Chapter 224: Chapter 204: Child, Come Back!_1

Xia Jing had finished speaking to Zhang Zhentian and walked straight toward the front door. She didn’t want to stay here any longer, as Xia Jing felt that standing there would only add to her sorrow, making her soul even more pained. She was already reluctant to leave, and though she had lived here for just a little over a year, to her, it was the happiest time of her life. But it was she who had buried her own happiness, she who had abandoned her own son. How could she possibly come back here, and what face did she have to return?

Zhang Zhentian watched his wife walk out the front door, not looking back even when she closed it behind her. His heart ached profoundly. He wanted to call out to Xia Jing, but his voice seemed to get stuck in his throat and wouldn’t come out. A tear fell down his cheek as he reminisced about the days they had spent together in the United States, so full of joy. Even then, he was always missing his child, always wondering when he might return to his son’s side, to this warm family. How they longed to return, for it would mean their family could be reunited. But when they finally mustered the courage to come back, they were met with their son’s refusal to recognize them and his father’s repeated rejections, leaving them completely unprepared. Just as there seemed to be a chance for reconciliation, for them to return home, some of their past actions caused their son to move out because of their return, which they found even harder to accept. Their son was protesting against them; if they didn’t leave, he wouldn’t come back. The thought of bearing the infamy among their closest of driving their son from his home was unbearable. Better to wander than to stay and face that. Maybe one day, when their son thought things over, he might allow them to come back. But how far off was that day? Perhaps it would never come.

Though Xia Jing left the Zhang Family’s door with a smile on her lips, as soon as she turned around, tears uncontrollably streamed down her face. How could she bear it? This was her husband’s home, where her son had lived for over a decade. Even if her son refused to recognize her, just being able to quietly watch him was a blessing for her. But life is unpredictable, and she had not anticipated his firm resolve—to move out rather than acknowledge her. What could she do?

One hour after Xia Jing left, Zhang Zhentian picked up his phone and called his son.

Zhang Yichen heard the ringtone from his bathroom, rushed out to grab his phone, and saw that the caller ID displayed the number of the father he had been refusing to recognize. He wasn’t sure whether to answer or what his father might want to say. After hesitating for a while, he decided to pick up. After all, it was a matter of basic respect for an elder. If he couldn’t even manage that, then what was the point of all the Book of Sages he had read for over a decade?

”Hey, didn’t I tell you before not to call me again? Are you calling me today with some ’good news,’ or are you still looking to trouble my girlfriend? Rest assured, Zhihan has already cut all ties with me, what more do you want? Do you really want to drive us apart forever, to disappear from this world? Would that finally satisfy you?”

Zhang Zhentian hadn’t expected his son’s misunderstanding of him to be so deep. Had it all become irreparable? If that was the case, what was the point of him staying here, thick-faced? Didn’t he stay, hoping that one day, his son would see all his efforts and forgive him? But considering the current situation, whether he would ever see that day was still an unknown.

”Yichen, Dad told me that he didn’t mean that, and I don’t plan on causing your girlfriend any more trouble either. I just want to tell you to move back home. It’s not safe living outside, and besides, it’s not as comfortable as home.”

”Sorry, I don’t want to come back. I feel like the air at home isn’t very good, so I want to get some fresh air outside before coming back. You guys just stay comfortably at home. Grandpa will be in your care during this time, and I hope you don’t do anything to make him sad. He is getting old and can’t handle any distress. Regardless of what you think about me, what you truly feel, or whatever plans you have in mind, I hope that you can consider things from Grandpa’s perspective. He is your father. He needs your respect, your love, not repeated injuries. That’s all I have to say, live peacefully. I’ve got to go now.”

How could Zhang Zhentian simply let his son hang up the phone like that? He shouted loudly into the phone at Zhang Yichen, ”Son, don’t hang up in such a hurry; I have something to say to you. I know the reason you don’t want to move back in is because of your Mom and me, right? I want to tell you, your Mom has left for abroad to allow you to move back. Isn’t this what you wanted? What else do you expect us, as your parents, to do? Do you want us to spend the rest of our lives alone abroad before you’re satisfied? Son, I guess I know that whatever I say is useless to you because in your heart, it’s ultimately our fault. And true, we must admit, over these years, your mother and I have indeed wronged you and Grandpa. But we’ve also missed you in our hearts, you know. Missing someone is a terrible feeling, and just as you’ve missed us for over a decade, we, as your parents, have missed you for just as long. Can’t you forgive us on the grounds of this longing? Parents aren’t perfect; our mistake was being too selfish, abandoning you, abandoning this home. But we have already been punished. Your repeated refusal to forgive us, Grandpa’s repeated rejections at the door, leaving us with no home to return to—isn’t that revenge enough? I hope you can put yourself in our shoes sometimes. Over all these years, Grandpa must have missed us desperately, and even we have missed you terribly, let alone your Grandpa. He is a father too, and he too misses his own child. But for your sake, he hasn’t said a word. Don’t you think you should consider his feelings more? Your mother has already gone, please move back, I’m begging you. Grandpa is alone at home, not eating or drinking because of your absence. Can you bear to watch Grandpa suffer like this at his age? You’re not unaware of the state of his health; can he withstand such torment? Come back, don’t let a moment of stubbornness cause your Grandpa, who has loved you for over a decade, to endure such suffering!”