My Alleged Husband

Chapter 336 - 316 Discussing the Bride Price_1

"Since you’ve said that, I see no need to continue pestering you with my presence and debase myself, for that would cause me to lose the dignity I ought to maintain. Maybe I no longer hold any importance in your heart, but I still want you to know that you’ve always been in the deepest parts of mine. From the start, you’ve had my whole heart, and that will never change. For the rest of my life, I won’t be with anyone else; I’ll wait for you forever. I’ll wait for the day when you come to realize that you’re willing to be with me again, and when that day comes, we’ll be together. In the meantime, I won’t press you, nor will I force you or grovel for you to come back to me. I won’t let you trample on my self-respect any longer."

"Honestly, there’s no need for you to give up the entire forest for one tree like me. You’re still young, only in your forties; you can find a woman who suits you and spend the rest of your life with her. You don’t need to live alone for me. Being alone is scary, and who knows? Maybe I’ll find a man who’ll walk through the rest of my life with me. What point is there for you to wait alone then? Why sacrifice so much for me?"

"Whether you accept me is your business, and whether I wait for you is mine. If you don’t accept me, I have nothing more to say, and no right to interfere with your choice, or force you to accept me. But by the same token, you have no right to tell me not to wait for you..."

......

While they were locked in argument, exchanging sentence for sentence, on the other side, Old Master Zhang was discussing the dowry with his grandson for visiting the family of his future granddaughter-in-law.

"Yichen, what should we take for the proposal visit to her family? We can’t bring too little; that’ll look stingy. But we can’t bring too much either. That would make it uncomfortable for her parents, like we’re showing off our wealth and looking down on them. It really is a dilemma. Now I finally understand that being wealthy truly isn’t easy, it comes with its own set of troubles. I just want my grandson to marry a kind-hearted wife, but I have to consider so many things to avoid making her parents feel bad. Yet, I can’t bring too little... This really leaves me at a loss!" Old Master Zhang said to Zhang Yichen.

"Grandpa, you’re overthinking it. We just need to bring something casual. Ran Zhihan’s parents aren’t greedy, they don’t care about money. They just want someone who will treat their daughter well!"

"You naive boy, do you think you can show up empty-handed to propose? How could you expect her family to agree to marry their daughter to a stingy man like you?"

"But Grandpa, as you said, bringing too much is bad, and so is bringing too little. If we bring too little, it seems like we’re not generous enough, but if we bring too much, it might upset her parents, making them think we’re using our wealth to belittle them. This really is a tough spot for me!"

Ran Zhihan couldn’t stand to see the man she loved and her future grandfather arguing over the dowry, so she stepped forward and said to Old Master Zhang, "Grandpa, you really don’t have to bring that much. My parents are not greedy for wealth. Just bring something simple and assure them that my beloved man will treat me well for a lifetime, and that’s enough for my parents! What parents truly value isn’t their future son-in-law’s wealth or his good looks; it’s his character and whether he’s sincere in treating their daughter well. That’s already sufficient for any parent. They don’t care about the amount of the dowry; they care about whether their daughter and future son-in-law can live a happy and peaceful life together!"

"Zhihan, I understand that’s not what you mean, but I hope you can understand too. It’s not about how much the dowry is. We’re the ones who are proposing to your family, and we’re aware that your parents aren’t after money; that’s why we dare to discuss like this. We’re just uncertain how to communicate with your parents. You’re both in your twenties, and we’re already discussing marriage with them, thinking of the past harm our family caused you. Do you think your parents would agree so easily to let you marry into our family? That’s our biggest concern. We know how parents feel; they fear their daughter might get hurt again if she marries into our family. Which parent doesn’t love their child? That’s why we must take this seriously and be cautious. We can’t make your parents feel uneasy, nor can we seem too stingy."

"Grandpa, the dowry really doesn’t matter. As long as the man I love and I truly love each other, my parents will definitely agree. Even if they don’t, I’ll still steadfastly be with the man I love most. No one can stop me from being with my beloved. I know you’re worried about the past, about what my aunt did. Yes, my parents were hurt, and I was pressured by my aunt as well. But haven’t we all reconciled? My relationship with my aunt is getting better every day. If my parents know I get along so well with my future mother-in-law, they’ll be happy too. They’ll also feel reassured because my future mother-in-law has finally accepted me, and she won’t harm me over anything anymore. That’s the best dowry for my parents!"

"Yichen, look how considerate your future wife is, thinking about everything so thoroughly. Even I, at my age, haven’t thought about these things. It’s you youngsters who are insightful. But this matter cannot be taken lightly; we must handle it carefully and responsibly. We’ll take care of it!"

"Got it, Grandpa. So now your future granddaughter-in-law matters more to you than your own grandson, huh? You praise her every time, never complimenting me. I’m still your successful business-minded grandson!" Zhang Yichen said to Elder Zhang with a hint of jealousy.

"Hahahaha..."

The three of them were now laughing heartily in the living room...