My Alleged Husband

Chapter 304 - 284: Searching the Ends of the Earth (Part 1)_1

After bidding farewell to his father, Zhang Zhentian was ready to set out on his journey, with the first destination being the place where he and Xia Jing had their first argument, where they met in the UK.

When Zhang Zhentian returned home, he hastily packed his carry-on luggage. He reached the airport and purchased a ticket to fly to the UK. He so wished that when he turned around in that instant, he would see his beloved woman standing behind him, smiling at him, and then she would run towards him. However, he looked back time and time again but never saw a glimpse of his beloved. That was when he realized that his fantasies were, after all, just bubbles that burst—fantasies are fantasies and would not transform into reality in the blink of an eye.

"The flight to the UK is about to take off, please prepare to board..." The airport’s announcement sounded, and he knew that his journey to find his wife was officially beginning. This day wasn’t brought upon him by anyone else; it was the outcome of his own actions.

After completing all the boarding procedures at the gate, he had boarded the plane. On the plane, as he gazed at the white clouds outside and the blue sky, he remembered how his beloved one was always beside him on previous flights, with her warm hand resting on his own. This time, however, when he reached out his hand, all he encountered was the icy cold air, devoid of any warmth. In that moment, he suddenly felt a profound sense of desolation. This feeling was too bleak, and he disliked it. He wanted his wife by his side.

The plane flew for several hours and finally arrived in the UK. When he took his luggage to Cambridge, he found a place to leave his belongings and then set off in search of his wife. But no matter how much he searched, he never caught sight of his beloved woman. His heart grew even heavier with sadness.

He dialed Xia Jing’s mobile number over and over again on his phone, but all he received in response was a mechanical female voice.

Zhang Zhentian believed that Xia Jing had changed her number to avoid him. Indeed, she had bought a new number precisely to evade Zhentian, dismantling the SIM card she used to frequent. She didn’t want her husband to find her; she wanted some time alone to cool down and contemplate whether to sign the divorce agreement they had made.

Zhang Zhentian searched the entirety of Cambridge several times but could not find Xia Jing. He then gave up and planned to move on to his next destination. However, it was already late, so he could only find a hotel to rest for the night. While he was resting in the hotel, his phone rang—it was a call from Xia Jing’s number.

"Xia Jing, where are you? Where on earth are you? Can you just tell me where you are?" Zhang Zhentian yelled into the phone, extremely agitated.

Xia Jing, hearing the urgency in Zhang Zhentian’s voice, felt a bit unsettled, but having thought it through, she knew she had to tell her husband, Zhang Zhentian!

"Don’t worry about where I am right now. The reason I called you today is that I have something I want to tell you," Xia Jing feigned a calm demeanor as she spoke to Zhentian.

Zhang Zhentian thought Xia Jing was about to share some good news. He was beyond excited and didn’t care about anything else, hurriedly agreeing to listen.

"You say it, anything you say I’ll agree to!"

"I’ve thought about it for a very long time, and I’ve finally come to terms with it. Since you’ve decided not to love me anymore, since there is no longer any trust between us as husband and wife, and since there is no love left, I can understand why you would decide to divorce me. Similarly, since you’ve now decided to divorce me, I won’t shamelessly cling to you. I think it’s of no benefit to either of us. After thinking it over for so long, I’ve made a decision. That is, if you choose to divorce me, and you’ve requested a divorce from me twice, it proves that you truly don’t love me anymore. Continuing to live on reluctantly has no meaning. A marriage without love cannot be happy. So, under these circumstances, I agree to your divorce. I will send you an address later, you can send the divorce agreement to me, I’ll sign it, and then send it back to you. Once I have calmed down after some time and returned here, we will go to the civil affairs office and complete the procedures. I won’t hold you back!"

Zhang Zhentian was shocked to hear Xia Jing say such words to him. He never expected that the woman he loved most would say something like this. After so many years of marital affection, could she really let it go just like that? He realized that when a woman hardened her heart, she could be even more ruthless than him!

"Heh, I really didn’t expect that. It turns out your heart is even more venomous than mine, and you’re even more ruthless in your actions. If that’s the case, then why didn’t you agree when I proposed divorce to your face?"

"Because at that time I thought that, no matter what, deep inside you would be reluctant to let go of me. After all, I have been by your side through all these years of trials and hardships. But your resolute decision to divorce me has made me understand completely. I, Xia Jing, can survive perfectly well without you, Zhang Zhentian. The more I can’t bear to divorce you, the more you will think I can’t leave you, and that only makes you want to hurt me more, to do as you please. The decision I’m making today is to let you understand that I’m not a pushover, I’m not someone you can just knead at will. From the day we met, you should have known the thing I, Xia Jing, value the most is my self-respect, my pride. I may have nothing else, but I cannot be without my self-respect and pride. Yet, for you, I’ve given up my self-respect, and even my pride. And you? You have always believed that this is what I owed you. Until now, I’ve come to realize there’s no point in continuing to live with you. Perhaps leaving me is a good thing for you, you can follow your wishes and find a woman who will accommodate you in every way to spend the rest of your life with, because I am not such an easygoing person. The reason I chose to be with you at first was because of your character, but it’s not until today that I’ve realized it was all just my own wishful thinking. My initial faith in you was my own blindness. You don’t need to think about me anymore. The world is so vast, you won’t be able to find me, and even if you do find me in the end, I will not continue to live with you!"

"What if I find you, you won’t be allowed to bring up divorce ever again, how about that?"

"Since you want to use reverse psychology on me, then I’ll play along. If you do manage to find me in the end, then I agree not to divorce you. If you don’t find me, then we shall be strangers if we ever meet again in this lifetime, not recognizing each other!"

"Fine, as long as you’ve agreed, that’s all I need. Just wait and see, even if I have to search to the ends of the earth, I will find you!"

"Do you think there’s no time limit? The time limit is three years. If after three years you haven’t found me, then we’ll go to the civil affairs office to process the divorce agreement..."

"Fine!"

In fact, Xia Jing truly did not want this to happen, but she no longer had any other options left. Perhaps this was the only way to leave a way out for both of them. If after three years he indeed found her, then not only would she not lose the marriage, but she would also preserve her self-respect and pride. Why not do it?