Zhang Zhentian never imagined that one day his grandson would hold such deep prejudices against him. What had he done wrong?
Deep down, he felt increasingly unable to grasp his family mbers’ opinions of him. Again and again, no matter what he did, he never achieved a favorable outco. Despite the unknown tally of his life’s wrongdoings, deep in his heart he truly regarded them as his family. Why did his father not treat him like a son, his own son not treat him like a father, and now his grandson not regard him as a grandfather? Has his life really been such a failure?
All he wanted was for his family to forgive him, to allow him to stay in this household, never to leave again, and to give him the chance to accompany them and make up for all the wrongs he had done over the years.
But why do they act as if they’ve forgiven him on the surface, yet deep down they really haven’t? They don’t truly consider him part of the family. Why choose to treat him this way? If this is really the case, then why did they choose to forgive him and let him return to the family ho? Isn’t this embarrassing for him?
"Child, if you really did not want to forgive us, did not want us to co back to this family, then you should not have pleaded for our return. Now that you have chosen to let us return, why do you treat us this way? Do you think treating us like this is right? Do you think treating us like this is fair? What we wanted was just a stable and harmonious family; we simply wanted everyone to be happy and live well together, but how exactly do you see us with the way you’re treating us? As beggars? Where do you think your sympathy places us?"
You should know, since we have chosen to co back to this family, it ans we sincerely want to be part of it, to be part of a larger family unit, to eliminate the barriers that used to exist. But with what you are doing, what are you turning us into? Isn’t this just deepening our divisions?
Perhaps in your eyes, all of this is insignificant, not even worth ntioning, but in everyone else’s view, it’s not a good thing. You might truly not care about what we value. I am a child, we are the adults; we should not be petty like this. Yet the words you said today are truly hurtful. You’ve chosen to forgive but then treat us in such a manner. You are the ones being duplicitous, appearing generous and forgiving on the surface, but in reality, you are still pressing us hard, still wanting us to leave this house on our own initiative, never to return. Is that what you really think? Do your parents know about this? Does your great-grandfather know? How will they see it when they find out the truth?"
Zhang Zhentian couldn’t believe that his grandson would be so calculating over a trivial matter. Why had it escalated to this point? He simply wanted to be part of this family, but now, his grandson chooses to confront him with these words, clearly forcing him to leave. Unless he leaves on his own, his grandson couldn’t bear to ask, in front of everyone, to kick them out.
Zhang Ni laughed helplessly.
"My dear grandfather, when did you hear say I wanted to drive you out? When did you hear say that you’re not welco in this ho? When did you hear pressuring others? All I want is a fair and just answer. Just give an explanation. Why, instead of telling everyone, must you keep it hidden at any cost, refusing to explain? Can you tell what that explanation is? Can you reveal the truth behind this matter?
Even if my father naively believes the explanation you gave him, I do not. I do not believe that sothing so simple can be resolved so easily, as if it never happened. Do you really take us for fools?
My father chooses to believe because deep inside, over the years, he has longed for his parents’ company. But throughout these years, even without you, my parents have never left my side. The company of grandparents is important, but it cannot outweigh a parent’s love. I have the love of my parents, the care of my great-grandfather; with or without you makes no significant difference to !
Don’t you understand why I am asking you these questions? I just do not want things to get out of hand later on. All I want is an answer.
No matter what that answer might be, even if it surprises in the end, I just want a clear response. It might be easy for you just to utter so words, but I want a true answer. Why can’t you fulfill this small wish of mine? On the contrary, you accuse of pressing you. Have I pressured you?
You should stop and think: if I wanted to pressure you, I wouldn’t have let you return. As a child, my words are without malice. If I really didn’t want you back, I wouldn’t have pleaded on your behalf. What I did was simply going with the flow, to make everyone feel indebted to , Just to make his grandfather lose face. My actions were not for you. You should stop flattering yourselves, thinking everything I’ve done was for you to return. It’s utterly laughable!"
Xia Jing and Zhang Zhentian suddenly felt that this child had changed completely from how he was outside, so calm, so composed, never showing this aggressive side. But suddenly, it’s like he has beco soone else, a transformation they find hard to adapt to.
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