My Alleged Husband

Chapter 231: Chapter 211 Xia Jing’s Plan_1

Ever since Xia Jing found Ran Zhihan and was rebuffed by her, Xia Jing hadn’t sought her out again. She had been planning this whole time how to drive the girl away from her son. She was ready to carry out her plan, one that was ruthless and unsympathetic. For the sake of her son, she had already thrown caution to the winds regarding her own life and death—how could she spare any thoughts for motherly love? For her son, she had given up her chance to return to the Zhang Family, so she had no choice but to drive this girl away from her son. The moment she made her determination, it became inevitable that her future life trajectory would be what it was, yet she never imagined that on the day she eventually returned home, it would be the guilt stemming from the girl she had pressured time and again that weighed heavily upon her.

Zhang Yichen had tried to contact Ran Zhihan several times at home but to no avail. He had no idea where his beloved had gone—it was as if she had vanished from the face of the earth, leaving no trace behind. How he wished someone could tell him where his beloved girl was, but the world can be so cruel, with not a single soul knowing her whereabouts, including the three brothers Lei Jian, Lei Kai, and Lei Shao in the United States. They had no clue where Ran Zhihan had gone, since she had moved out from their home over two months ago to live alone. They had thought about searching for Ran Zhihan, but the world is so vast—if she intended to hide, who could possibly find her? Finding a person in such a big world is like searching for a needle in the haystack, certainly not an easy feat. In the end, Zhang Yichen could only ask his friends abroad to discreetly inquire around, to see if they could locate his beloved. He was searching for the person he loved, but he was unaware of the act his mother was on the verge of committing. To him, it might be a heartbreaking matter, but to others, it would be earth-shattering, for such situations are indeed rare...

After the confrontation with Xia Jing, where Ran Zhihan had mustered all her strength to refute her, she had been living in constant fear and trepidation, terrified that Xia Jing would indeed harm her parents. How could she be so unfilial? Because of this, she often hid in her bedroom and wept secretly. She wanted to tell her parents about her situation, but she couldn’t bring herself to—she didn’t want to burden them or make them worry about her life abroad. She wanted her parents to live happily. During her months overseas, she worked while studying, determined to earn back her tuition fees to repay Old Master Zhang. She didn’t want to owe him a favor. Even though in her heart she had come to regard Old Master Zhang as her biological grandfather, she still wished to settle their accounts clearly. After all, even blood brothers settle accounts with one another, so how could she possibly use someone else’s money without clarity? It was not the way she was brought up. Her parents had always taught her to be an upright and honorable person, someone who could stand with integrity under heaven and on earth.

After the incident involving Zhang Zhentian, Old Master Zhang had also been feeling quite troubled. He didn’t know what he could do to make his son understand that there were some things one must never do, and that family bonds should never be lost. Yet, he couldn’t fathom why his son had taken such actions—was he, the father, so insignificant to his own son? In his unhappy moments, he often thought of his grandson’s girlfriend, as he believed her to be a very kind and upright person, the very epitome of integrity—precisely the type of daughter-in-law he liked. If he couldn’t ensure that his daughter-in-law became such a person in this lifetime, he at least took joy in the fact that his grandson could marry such a woman. At least, when the time came for him to depart for the netherworld in half a year, he wouldn’t feel that he had failed his ancestors of the Zhang Family.

Zhang Zhentian had been solely focused on mending his relationships with his father and his son here, but he had forgotten about his wife, Xia Jing, who was wandering outside. He didn’t have the time to contact Xia Jing during this period, and it was precisely because of this that Xia Jing felt increasingly aggrieved. She believed that after Zhang Zhentian returned to the Zhang Family, he had completely forgotten about her existence as his wife. She blamed all her troubles on Ran Zhihan. This time, she truly had no intention of letting Ran Zhihan off. She prepared a pistol, grenades, and reviewed all the training she had undergone, demonstrating it once again. She was going to find Ran Zhihan’s parents. No matter what, she was absolutely not going to give up easily this time. She really regretted her earlier weakness, her easy persuasion. If she hadn’t been so weak and easily swayed, she might not have ended up in this situation. She wished time could flow backward, at least back to a few months ago. If she hadn’t chosen to come back here at that time, would all of this have happened? Would she not have continuously lost face time and again? Could she have been living happily abroad?

Xia Jing was now truly feeling sentimental. Why was the world so cruel? Why did plans never keep up with changes? She had planned everything meticulously in advance, yet when everything came to pass, it turned out to be completely different from her plans, leaving her at a loss and leading to the situation she faced today. If not for the cruelty of the world, how could she have been reduced to this state? How could she let her husband return home and forget that she, his wife, was still wandering outside? In this moment, she suddenly felt a bit of hatred for Zhang Zhentian. Why hadn’t Zhang Zhentian tried to hold on to her more? Why hadn’t he insisted on leaving with her?

Although Xia Jing hated Zhang Zhentian at this moment, she was glad she had left the Zhang Family. Otherwise, Old Master Zhang would have surely criticized her again. That was just like her, never considering whether the issue might be her fault or whether she had done something wrong, always blaming the mistakes she made on others. In her eyes, every fault was related to others’ actions, which brought about her own heartache. She was blind to the sorrow of others, perpetually aware only of her own pain. It was precisely because of this that Old Master Zhang had never truly liked Xia Jing, even though he had optimistically agreed to Zhang Zhentian being with her after Xia Jing saved Zhang Corporation. Now, recalling these things, her heart still ached faintly. She regretted the decisions she had made in the past. If not for them, her family wouldn’t be such a mess, her life wouldn’t have turned out this way, and her grandson wouldn’t have been abandoned by his parents for nearly twenty years. This was a pain for Zhang Yichen, and how could it not be a pain for Old Master Zhang as well? But what could they say? On one side were their parents, on the other, their son!