My Alleged Husband

Chapter 294: Chapter 274 Persuasion_1

Old Master Zhang felt that Xia Jing’s words made a lot of sense. Even though he was utterly unwilling to help his daughter-in-law, he still had to do it, as after all, the harmony of a family depended on mutual support, ”Alright, I will try to persuade him for you, but I can’t guarantee the outcome...”

Xia Jing, hearing that her father was willing to talk to her husband, was overjoyed, not caring about the potential outcome, she happily agreed with her father, ”It’s okay, just give it a try!”

After Xia Jing and Old Master Zhang hung up the phone, Old Master Zhang called his son, Zhang Zhentian, instructing him to hurry back home, as he had something very important to tell him. Zhang Zhentian, upon hearing that his father had something vital to share with him, dropped his work and rushed home, anxious to know whether the news from his father would be good or bad.

”Dad, I’m back. Just speak openly, you called me home in such a hurry, you must have something urgent, right?” Zhentian said.

Watching his son hurry back, Old Master Zhang knew what his son was anticipating, yet he couldn’t fulfill his son’s expectations by saying what Zhentian hoped to hear.

”You haven’t been working for so many years, why are you so busy today? Can you tell me what you’ve been occupied with?”

Zhentian hadn’t expected his father to ask about this straightaway. He really didn’t know how to respond. Indeed, he hadn’t been engaged in any work for many years, and he didn’t know how to work without any experience. Wherever he went, he received no one’s regard. Besides, was he busy with work? He was dealing with a divorce agreement—he didn’t want to treat unfairly the woman he had spent over a decade with. He planned to give all his assets to his wife so that, even after leaving him, she could live comfortably.

Seeing his son remained silent, Elder Zhang felt certain his son was hiding something from him. He addressed his son directly, ”What’s the matter, is there something you can’t tell me? You’re not keeping something from me, are you?”

Zhentian heard his father utter those words and knew the matter couldn’t be so simple; it must have been his wife who told his father. But how was he to resolve this now?

”That’s right, I’m not busy with work—I’m processing divorce papers. I plan to give all my properties in my name to my wife. She said that after our decade-long marriage, I must not treat her unfairly. I want her to live a worry-free life even after leaving me, to live out the rest of her days without any hardships. I can’t let her suffer any grievances!” In the end, Zhentian honestly disclosed to his own father what he was truly busy with.

”Have you really thought this through? Over a decade of marital affection, do you really regard it as so fragile? I don’t understand what she did, but I especially want to know what could make you so furiously angry that you would give up your wife, the one you desperately strived to be with. Perhaps I don’t understand the emotions between young people, but I still hope you realize that marriage is not easy to come by. The fact that two people could spend over a decade together is even harder. You should know that it takes ten years to cultivate a relationship to cross the same boat, a hundred years for shared slumber. The affection you two have accumulated over the years must be the result of countless lifetimes of fate. Why would you abandon it over some trivial matter?” No matter what, Old Master Zhang still wished his son to continue living a happy and joyful life, regardless of what his son had done to him. He didn’t want his child’s marriage to be unhappy; perhaps this is what it means to be an elder.

Zhentian listened as his father continued to persuade him, and he felt more and more remorseful. For over a decade, he hadn’t shown filial piety to his father nor fulfilled his responsibilities as a father. But due to his return, he had caused his son and his father to suffer so much hurt, yet he was powerless to protect them even in the most basic ways, which made him feel very inferior.

”You should stay out of this matter. She told me such a big lie this time; I truly can’t bear it. Do you know? What I care about the most is that she doesn’t get even the slightest injury. Yet for the sake of deceiving Xiao Wei, she actually used her own body to fabricate lies. A wife who’s always been like this, how could I possibly continue living with her? Over the years, she’s told me so many lies, and I’ve endured them all. But today, I can’t endure it anymore. No matter what lies she uses to deceive me or others, I could pretend it was nothing, but I cannot accept her using her own health as a lie to deceive others!”

”Are you really going to give up your wife of over ten years over such a small matter? Is this a decision a man should make? A man needs a constantly clear mind, but what about you? Can you say you weren’t acting rashly when you made this decision? Don’t you have a shred of regret after making it? Treating your wife this way, won’t you regret it one day? When you cast her out of your home, when you completely sever your relationship with her, won’t you miss her? Marital affection truly doesn’t come easily, and I can see she’s sincerely devoted to you. Even if she hasn’t fulfilled any filial duties to me, her father, I still hope the two of you can live happily. I’ve already raised your child for you; he doesn’t need you to take on any more responsibilities. You could go on leading the life you want, so why make such a fuss over such a minor issue? I shouldn’t interfere in this matter, but since Xia Jing came to me, I can’t ignore it. The fact that she thought to seek me out proves that she truly has you in her heart, and that she doesn’t want to destroy this marriage with you. How can you hurt her like this? Even if she made so many mistakes that hurt your son and his fiancée, and they can overlook them, why can’t you? Lying is her fault, her unwillingness to be honest when dealing with people is her insincerity; you can’t blame others for that. Everyone’s character is different, their experiences too. Sometimes when someone’s personality changes so much, it might be due to their experiences. Often, you should try to empathize with her instead of being confrontational. If you break up with her and divorce her, will your heart really feel no pain? She’s been your wife for over a dozen years, the woman you once determined to be with at all costs. If you give up on her like this, you will only make everyone look down on you, making everyone think that you’re a man who easily discards his wife, a useless coward...”

Zhentian fell silent!