My Alleged Husband

Chapter 278 - 258: Don’t Come Back Again! _1

"Grandfather, please go and call my parents back. I have something to tell them..." Zhang Yichen said to Old Master Zhang.

When Old Master Zhang heard his grandson say this, he thought it was some good news that his grandson wanted to tell his son and daughter-in-law. But when he cheerfully went to call them back, he realized that this matter was not as simple as he had imagined.

"Alright, you just wait here for Grandpa. I’ll go call your dad and mom right now, and have them come back home!"

"Thank you, Grandpa. Sorry for the trouble!"

"Zhentian, come back quickly. Yichen has asked me to call you. He said he has something to tell you and wants you to come back home right away!"

Zhentian, hearing his dad tell him that his son had asked him to call him back home, felt overjoyed. He knew his son still had a conscience and believed, no matter what, that his son wouldn’t deny him as his father. He happily returned home with his wife. However, when he arrived, he didn’t see his son’s smiling face, but rather a very serious expression.

"Yichen, you were so anxious to call us back, is there something you want to tell us?" Zhentian asked.

Zhang Yichen stood up slowly. He really didn’t want to tell his dad the cruel decision he had made, but he had no choice but to do so. If he kept indulging his parents, allowing them to hurt him, then that pain would become endless, with no day of respite. He didn’t want his wife to suffer any more because of these matters.

"Dad, Mom, you’re back? You’re right, I indeed have a lot to tell you, but I don’t know if I should. It might make you very unhappy!"

How could Zhentian have imagined that his son meant something else by these words; he thought that his son was just being modest. He cheerfully said to his son, "It’s alright, child. Whatever you have to say, just say it directly to dad. Dad won’t blame you. I believe you make every decision for a reason, and I will support you unconditionally!"

"Since you’ve put it that way, Dad, then I’ll be blunt. Today I called you both here because there’s indeed something very important I need to tell you. I’ve decided. From today on, you must leave City A immediately and can never return here, because your coming back here has caused us endless harm!" Zhang Yichen mustered his courage to utter these harsh words to his parents, enduring the pain in his heart. He helplessly said these words to his mom and dad. As he looked at them, their expressions hardened as his sentence fell, and he knew that he had thoroughly hurt his parents.

It took Xia Jing a good while to respond, realizing what her son meant. She asked Zhang Zhentian, "Zhentian, we must have heard wrong, right? Our own flesh and blood actually daring us, his parents, to leave this place and never to return—is my hearing playing tricks on me? Or did he truly speak these harsh words?"

Zhang Zhentian also doubted his own ears. He thought that by bringing him back home, his son intended for him to stay in the Zhang Family home forever, never to leave, wanting him to stay by his side. But why was the outcome so different from what he had imagined?

Old Master Zhang was also flustered; he hadn’t expected his grandson to utter such heartless words. Now he didn’t know whether to feel grateful or regretful. He should be thankful for having raised his most beloved grandson into someone who wouldn’t be soft-hearted because of anything. Yet, he regretted it because it meant that his son and daughter-in-law couldn’t stay by his side, let alone live with him to take care of him in his old age.

"Yichen, did Grandpa hear wrong? You called your parents back only to drive them out of the house? You’ve said it yourself that you wouldn’t hate your mom and dad because you believe they had their reasons too. But why then did you still make such a ruthless decision?" Old Master Zhang said.

"Grandpa, it was you who taught me that those who aspire to achieve great things must be ruthless and decisive, not soft-hearted towards anyone or anything because of personal feelings. This is what you taught me; have you forgotten?" Zhang Yichen retorted.

How could Old Master Zhang forget his own words? Indeed, he had once said such things to his grandson when he was young. He hadn’t anticipated that he was digging a hole for himself back then and now he had fallen into it. He was at a loss for words.

"But they are your parents after all. Kinship can’t be bought with money, nor can it be traded for status. Do you really think that your affection for your mom and dad doesn’t measure up to money?"

"Grandpa, you’re right; family ties indeed can’t be bought with money or traded for status. But you are wrong about one thing. In my eyes, it’s not that my feelings for my mom and dad can’t measure up to money. It’s because they have no love for me. All they want from me is profit. If profit is so important in their eyes, without a thought for their son’s feelings, then why should I, as their son, consider their feelings at all? People reciprocate feelings. How they treat me will determine how I treat them. If they are heartless toward me, why should I lay bare my heart to them?"

"Child, we are still your parents. No matter how much you hate us, you have no right to kick us out of our home. Legally, you don’t have that power. No matter what, your father and I are still a married couple, and we have every right to return to our own home," Xia Jing said to Zhang Yichen.

"Yes, you are right. Currently, you and my dad are indeed still legally married. Over the years, he has worked hard for you, but you’ve never once considered what he really wanted. He desired very little, only hoping to stay by his dad’s side and to live with his son. Even living outside was fine with him. But in your eyes, you always believed he didn’t love you enough. Yet you didn’t realize that his love for you has long surpassed your own understanding. Others may not show what you recognize as love, but in their eyes, they have given their all to you. And you? How have you reciprocated? I know you’re behind those things. I’ve always chosen to remain silent because I believed one day you would repent and start anew. But I can’t wait any longer. I’ve lost the woman I loved the most, and I can no longer tolerate you hurting my family time and time again. I once hoped you would return to my side and give me the motherly love I’ve never received. But now, I don’t feel that way because your motherly love is far too selfish. I can’t bear such love. Please leave, and never come back!"