My Alleged Husband-Chapter 22 Firm Attitude_1
Zhang Zhentian watched as his father’s retreating figure grew distant, filled with shame. He thought to himself that after all these years, he had not been able to help his father with anything and had only caused him trouble time and again. It was tough on his father to keep fixing his messes. He truly hoped that one day he could be of help to his father instead of always being the one who required cleaning up after.
Zhang Zhentian understood what his father was thinking and decided to respect his decision. Now, he could only go and ask Xia Jing for her opinion.
"Knock, knock, knock." Persistent knocking sounds came, as Zhang Zhentian knocked on Xia Jing’s door, but there was no response. He called Xia Jing, only to hear the ringtone sound inside the room but nobody picked up.
"Xia Jing, I know you’re in there, open the door for me," Zhang Zhentian was getting a bit upset, "If you don’t open the door, I’m going to kick it down."
......
Bang! Zhang Zhentian kicked the door open and charged in, angry, to find Xia Jing leisurely sitting on the sofa watching TV. Xia Jing, knowing he had arrived, didn’t even lift her head, which only made him more upset.
"Xia Jing, what’s the meaning of this? Clearly, you’re home, so why didn’t you open the door?" Zhang Zhentian yelled at Xia Jing.
Xia Jing ignored Zhang Zhentian.
"Are you going to talk? Why are you not saying anything?" Zhang Zhentian asked again.
Xia Jing casually picked a few grapes from the coffee table and fed them to herself, ignoring Zhang Zhentian entirely as if she hadn’t heard him, which only infuriated Zhang Zhentian further.
"Xia Jing, I’m talking to you, are you mute? Say something," Zhang Zhentian rushed over and grabbed Xia Jing’s hand. Xia Jing tried to pull away, but Zhang Zhentian’s grip was too strong. The more she resisted, the harder he held on, pulling at her hand vigorously. Seeing her wrist turning red, she realized that Zhang Zhentian was truly angry this time.
"Let go of me," Xia Jing shouted back at Zhang Zhentian ungraciously.
Zhang Zhentian came to his senses and, seeing that he had gripped Xia Jing’s hand so harshly, his heart couldn’t take it, and he let go of her hand.
"What do you want with me? Speak up," Xia Jing asked Zhang Zhentian.
Zhang Zhentian heard Xia Jing finally speak and was just about to express his reason for seeking her out, but Xia Jing interrupted him.
"Hold on, you’re not here to talk about Li Jiayuan again, are you?" Xia Jing accurately guessed Zhang Zhentian’s intention.
Zhang Zhentian felt uneasy hearing Xia Jing bluntly state his purpose.
Xia Jing, seeing Zhang Zhentian stand still, knew she had hit the mark.
"Haven’t I said it already? There’s nothing more to discuss about Li Jiayuan, please leave!" Xia Jing bluntly issued an eviction order. Zhang Zhentian hastily tried to explain.
"Xia Jing, let me finish what I was saying," he looked at her with pleading eyes.
Xia Jing couldn’t bear to see Zhang Zhentian looking so pitiful.
"Okay, go ahead."
"Xia Jing, I want to ask you again, can you please go and apologize to Li Jiayuan?" Zhang Zhentian regretted asking as soon as the words left his mouth, and he just gazed at Xia Jing.
"Ah, Zhentian, it’s not that I won’t apologize. I just don’t understand why I need to apologize when I’ve already knelt before your father. I even promised your father that I would go and apologize to Li Jiayuan and Li Haixiao. Why are you here, telling me again to go apologize to Li Haixiao and his daughter?" Xia Jing aired her frustration.
Zhang Zhentian didn’t understand what Xia Jing was getting at: "Xia Jing, what are you saying? I didn’t quite catch that."
"Ha, you’re actually telling me you don’t understand?" Xia Jing scoffed.
"Zhang Zhentian, oh Zhang Zhentian, tell me, what kind of person do you think I, Xia Jing, am in your eyes?"
Zhang Zhentian hadn’t expected Xia Jing to suddenly ask him this question, and he didn’t know how to answer for a moment.
Xia Jing sighed as she looked at Zhang Zhentian standing before her, "Well, perhaps in your eyes, Zhang Zhentian, I, Xia Jing, am a woman who will stop at nothing to achieve her goals."
Zhang Zhentian knew that Xia Jing was angry. He hurriedly said to her, "Xia Jing, it’s not what you think, you are perfect in my eyes. I have never thought of you as a woman who will stop at nothing to achieve her goals. You hold a very important place in my heart..."
Xia Jing felt even worse when she heard what Zhang Zhentian had said.
"Zhang Zhentian, do you know that if you had said these words to me before, I would have been very moved, but now you are saying this to make me go and apologize to Li Jiayuan, I can only think you’re doing it to make me bow down and say sorry."
"Xia Jing, you can’t just stop trusting me because of this." Zhang Zhentian was incredibly nervous; he feared Xia Jing would no longer trust him.
"Zhang Zhentian, is it that I don’t trust you, or you don’t trust me?"
"Xia Jing, I do trust you!" Zhang Zhentian explained.
"How can you dare say you trust me, Zhang Zhentian? If you trusted me, why would you bring up the matter of apologizing to Li Jiayuan again after I had agreed to your father’s request? Is this what you call trust? If you trusted me, would you come to me over and over again because of Li Jiayuan’s matter? Are you like your father, thinking that someone from a Mercenary Group like me is not worthy of marrying into a Wealthy Family? Do you also think I’m not as good as the daughters of these wealthy families? Do you also feel that being with me would disgrace the Zhang Family?" With each question Xia Jing asked, she took a step closer to Zhang Zhentian, stepping forward aggressively until she backed him into a corner before stopping.
Seeing Xia Jing about to turn away, Zhang Zhentian reacted instantly, wrapping his arms around her from behind, and he softly said to her, "Xia Jing, it’s not like that. I never thought that way, will you please believe me?"
"Let me go," Xia Jing struggled forcefully, trying to break free from Zhang Zhentian’s hold.
"I won’t let go, I’d rather die than let go. In my eyes, Zhang Zhentian, you, Xia Jing, are better than all the daughters from Wealthy Families. I have never felt that you were unworthy of me, nor have I ever felt that being with you would disgrace my Zhang Family. All I know is that you are the woman worth loving for a lifetime, the woman worth cherishing for a lifetime," Zhang Zhentian said breathlessly, pouring out his heart, which left Xia Jing somewhat at a loss.
"First, let me go; I have something to say to you," Xia Jing’s tone became much softer.
Zhang Zhentian feared that if he let go of Xia Jing, she would leave.
"I won’t let go, say whatever you have to say like this."
"Can you tell me why you’ve come to me time and again to apologize to Li Jiayuan? Is it your idea or your father’s? Or does your father simply not trust that I would go and apologize to Li Jiayuan?"
Zhang Zhentian finally understood—it wasn’t that Xia Jing was unwilling to apologize, but that she thought they did not trust her to do so.
"Xia Jing, this was my mistake, I..." Zhang Zhentian told Xia Jing everything he had said to Old Master Zhang that day.
Upon hearing this, Xia Jing felt uncomfortable. She had thought that Zhang Zhentian understood her well, but the man she loved not only didn’t trust her, he didn’t understand her either, which pained Xia Jing deeply.
"Zhentian, I want to know, do you understand me?" Xia Jing asked deliberately.
"Of course, I understand you!" Zhang Zhentian answered Xia Jing confidently.
"Ha, I never expected you would dare to say you understand me. If you really understood me, how could you not know my character? I, Xia Jing, always correct my mistakes. Do you understand that? If you truly understood me, how could you not know that I would speak frankly with your father?" Xia Jing said through a bitter smile as she pried open Zhang Zhentian’s fingers that were wrapped around her, one by one, looking face-to-face with him.
Xia Jing’s questioning left Zhang Zhentian speechless.
"Zhang Zhentian, if you don’t even understand me, Xia Jing, why would I kneel down for others because of you? You can go. Let’s not bring this matter up again, otherwise, we’ll have to part ways," Xia Jing issued an ultimatum.
Zhang Zhentian knew he was in the wrong, so he could only silently turn around and walk away.
As Zhang Zhentian walked, he thought to himself, "Sigh, now that I’ve decided to respect my father’s decision, and Xia Jing is unwilling to lower her head, I can only apologize to Li Jiayuan myself."
