novelraw Chapter 238 - 218: What Repayment?_1
Chapter 238 - 218: What Repayment?_1
Time is so merciless. When he arrived at the hospital, an entire hour had already slipped away. He looked at the person in his arms, the blood incessantly flowing out, drenching Ran Zhihan’s clothes and even soaking his own thoroughly. He didn’t know if it was blood or water. How could there be so much blood? As he watched it pour out, he felt an immense pain in his heart—this was blood from the person he loved. He had always been reluctant to let her suffer any harm, yet today, he had allowed the girl he cherished most to suffer the greatest harm in the world, a harm that wasn’t inflicted by anyone else but caused by him. He knew that from now on, his girl would definitely not want to face him. What should he do?
When he reached the hospital, Xia Jing, Zhang Zhentian, and Old Master Zhang also hurried there. Upon arriving, they saw the lights of the operating room already on. They knew that at that moment, all the doctors were fighting to save the life of this kind girl. They were all praying, hoping that she could safely get through this difficult challenge. If only she could get through this, they would be willing to do anything. However, at this moment, Xia Jing didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad. She had finally achieved her goal, ruining the relationship between her son and her future daughter-in-law, but she also had to pay a heavy price. The doors of the prison were opening for her, beckoning to her. What could she do? How she wished that she wasn’t the one behind this, even though the words she had uttered were without regret. But who doesn’t regret after doing something wrong? Who would still savor the taste of their own erroneous decisions?
Old Master Zhang looked at Xia Jing’s bewildered expression and slowly approached her. He gently said to her, "You see, because of just one person, you, so many others are running around in distress. Because of you, many people are suffering together. Why are you so selfish when you do things, never considering the feelings of others? Do you not know that many things, a single decision, a tiny mistake by you, can lead to unbearable pain for everyone? You’re not unaware of what this girl means to your son, are you? Yet you still had the heart to harm her; do you realize what your stab represents? That act of yours has ended all the affections between you and your son for this lifetime. Have you never considered all this?"
Listening to her father speak these words to her, Xia Jing didn’t know how to respond. She knew that what she had done was truly wrong, but she had her reasons too. Even if the law was fair and strict, it would still account for human sentiment. When she was most devastated, she thought she could never escape legal punishment. However, she didn’t know that when the future daughter-in-law woke up, the first sentence she said was not to pursue Xia Jing’s criminal responsibility. Everyone thought that upon hearing Ran Zhihan’s words, Xia Jing would definitely stop, no longer troubling the young girl. But who knew that Xia Jing was not only ungrateful but also thought that the girl was putting on an act, deliberately saying those words to lower people’s guard against her. Her hatred for the young girl grew, and it was for this reason she embarked on a road of no return, not realizing what she was losing, what consequences she would ultimately face, until in the end, she finally understood what true love was.
"Dad, can you please clarify the cause and effect of this incident first? Weren’t you there too? Did you really see me stabbing this girl with a knife? If she hadn’t run towards me, could I have hurt her? Why is all the blame being pushed onto me?"
Even in this state, Xia Jing was still unwilling to admit her mistakes, which truly chilled Old Master Zhang’s heart. He didn’t know what he could possibly do to make his obstinate daughter-in-law realize her errors. He had spoken with such heartfelt concern for so long, yet why had it yielded no results? He was angry, really angry. He had taught so many people; in his entire company, thousands, even tens of thousands of people could easily understand the principles he explained. Why then was it so difficult with his daughter-in-law? Could it be that he was truly a person without knowledge or culture?
...
They were all there, arguing incessantly, one after the other. Zhang Zhentian was incredibly worried, and so was Zhang Yichen. He didn’t want the girl he loved to leave him like this, the girl he had painstakingly waited for ten years. He listened to his mother and grandfather fighting fiercely. He pulled his mother away and roared at her, "What more do you want from me? You’ve hurt me over and over, and I’ve endured it. You’ve abandoned me time and time again, and I’ve forgiven you. Despite all the pain you’ve caused me, all the heartache, I can bear it, I can endure all the suffering you bring. But why, why must you harm the girlfriend I love so much? Do you know? For her, I waited a whole ten years, for her, I was willing to fight to become an economic king. It wasn’t for anything else. It was all for her that I struggled so hard, even skipping grades in my studies. Why do you see her as a calamity? You really know nothing about the process. What right do you have to dictate my life, my own life? Even if you are my parents, you don’t have the right to rule my world. What gives you the right, based on your repeated abandonment, to treat me like this? Can a mere ’I love you’ justify hurting the person I love? Over the years, you abandoned me to stay with Grandfather. He chose to forgive you and advocated for you to me. My beloved girl, who is now in the emergency room because of your actions, repeatedly persuaded me to treat you better. I forgave you for their sake, not having the heart to hurt them, knowing every word they spoke was for my good. For them, I chose to forgive. But what about you? How do you repay their pleas for mercy? Is this how you repay your son’s forgiveness? No, I shouldn’t say that, I am your son; I shouldn’t expect any repayment from my parents. But put yourself in their shoes—Ran Zhihan has respected you so much, treated you like family. Why couldn’t you do the same? She is human too, she feels, and her life was given by her parents. You’ve sent her to the hospital. If she doesn’t make it out of the operating room, how could her parents bear it? How could they accept it? She is their only daughter, their only child, just like I am your only son. What’s the difference? If I were to die suddenly in a car accident and leave this world, would you be able to take it? Could you bear the pain of losing a child? Why can’t you think about others for a moment? If she never comes back, I will never be able to forgive you for the rest of my life, even if you are my mother..."