My Alleged Husband

Chapter 226 - 206 Reluctant Heart_1

Zhang Zhentian heard his son hang up the phone angrily, and he knew that the matter was not going to be that simple. Perhaps it would turn out even worse than before. Last time, Xia Jingyi repeatedly threatened Zhang Yichen’s girlfriend without his involvement, but this time, he was directly involved. If his son found out, would he be thrown out of the house by his own flesh and blood, just like his wife had been? The thought was painful for him, yet what could he do now? What’s done is done, and one can only kneel and move forward step by step. It’s not his style to give up halfway through.

Immediately after his son hung up on him, he turned around to see his father standing behind him. Old Master Zhang knew everything but chose to stay silent. However, silence didn’t mean approval. At his wit’s end, Old Master Zhang said to Zhang Zhentian, "Zhang Zhentian, Yichen is your own son. How could you do this to him, and how can you allow your wife to hurt his beloved over and over again? Don’t you realize how painful this is for Yichen? You are his parents! What kind of parents destroy their child’s happiness for their selfish gains? I’ve never seen parents like you in my life. Do you only think about yourselves and not your son? Your actions are downright selfish. In the past, whatever you did, I stayed silent as if nothing happened, but that doesn’t mean I was unaware of your doings. Many times, he concealed your actions in front of me, but have you ever truly considered his feelings? He is human, he has a heart, and his heart can hurt, especially since the hurt is not from strangers, but from his own parents. Do you understand how cruel this is for a child? You should know, you lost your mother when you were young, and you should empathize with the pain of a child who lacks a mother’s presence. Having experienced such pain yourself, do you want your descendants to feel the same? I’m not here to speak of fairness or unfairness, for the world knows no such thing, nor can anyone treat everyone equally. But one should strive for fairness, not always look for shortcuts, thinking their actions go unseen. In truth, everyone knows what you’ve done, and they’ve chosen to be silent, leaving you an out. If you can’t appreciate this out, then who else can help you? You both have been so selfish in your deeds, repeatedly hurting me, your father, but I could endure that. However, he is your child, and I can’t fathom how you parents could commit such cruelty. I used to hope that your child would not disown you, but now I see, if I were Yichen, I too would want to drive you away. Your actions grow more heartless with each offense, leaving me feeling colder and colder. If that’s the case, having you here means nothing to me. It would be less painful to never see you again than to stay and endure deeper wounds. Whether you’re here or not no longer matters to me. Instead of honoring me, your father, you chose to hurt your own child. How can I accept this? He is my grandson, whom I’ve cherished for over a decade, afraid he might face the slightest injustice—yet have you spared him any? Your inflicted pains equal all the hardships he’s faced over the years. Do you truly hate him that much?"

Listening to his father speak these words, how could Zhang Zhentian’s heart be at ease? Were all these things truly his fault? He was not unwilling to admit that these mistakes were related to him, but he couldn’t just stand there and be worthless in his father’s scolding. After all, this was his biological father. How could he speak like this? Although Elder Zhang had raised him for over two decades, he was now an adult. How could his father still talk to him as if he was a child?

"Dad, even though I am your biological son and you’ve raised me for over twenty years, I am now an adult. How can you still talk to me as if I were a child? Don’t you realize that you’ve left me without a shred of dignity?" Zhang Zhentian was somewhat resentful that, even as an adult, he was still being belittled by his own father, "All these years, I’ve grown accustomed to it. I don’t want people, especially not worthlessly, criticizing me; it upsets me. So, I hope that in the future you will respect me and refrain from speaking to me as if I were a mere child..."

"So I, as a father, can’t educate my own son anymore? Don’t you know what Oslovsky once said? ’A person should control their habits, not be controlled by them. If a man can’t rid himself of his bad habits, he is truly worthless’! And to think you’ve studied for so many years, not even knowing this saying. It’s as if your education was in vain, not even getting close to one ten-thousandth of your son’s capabilities. In fact, you should really be thankful for your life; you abandoned us early on, yet you left me with a genius grandson, with an unmatched intellect. Today, let’s pretend I haven’t heard a word of this, and that I haven’t said anything to you, but remember this: if I ever find out that you’ve done anything to wrong your own child, I won’t wait for him to drive you out, I’ll do it myself, because you don’t deserve to stay in this family. Our Zhang family has been honorable for generations, and we don’t give birth to children like you. You think after raising you for over twenty years, I have no right to speak to you, but have you ever considered how you’ve repaid me for raising you these twenty years? The things you’ve done, one after another, have been heartbreaking. How have you treated me? How have you repaid your father? You’ve defied me time and again for the sake of your wife—I bore with it. You abandoned your child and me for her freedom—I still bore with it. But now that you’re back, to treat your child this way, I simply cannot tolerate it any longer. Anyone can insult me, say any disrespectful words to me, and you don’t have to show me any filial piety, but remember this: No one can talk about my grandson. He is my treasure, my genius; nobody is worthy of him, and certainly, no one has the right to speak of him, including you, his parents..."

Zhang Zhentian had never imagined that one day he would end up in such a confrontation with his own father, abandoned by his son, warned by his father—with a heart full of reluctance but utterly helpless!