“Zhijun, get up, get up quickly. Whatever it is, just say it properly!”
Hou Zhixiu had assumed Zhang Zhijun wanted to ask Xie Yuping for help with something.
Even if she racked her brains, she would never have guessed the matter would take this turn.
Xie Jinghu and Zou Weijun were divorcing. How could anyone pin that on Zhang Zhijun?
Xie Yuping remained impassive and joined his wife in urging him to stand, but Zhang Zhijun was resolute. His knees seemed welded to the Xie family floor. It was as if only by kneeling could he properly demonstrate his remorse.
Zhang Zhijun had barely begun when Xie Yuping already had a faint suspicion of what was coming. Hou Zhixiu, however, was completely in the dark.
Thus, in the space of a few short minutes, Hou Zhixiu’s entire worldview was turned upside down.
A single night of passion born of momentary madness, the reason for which nobody could explain.
The shock of discovering Xie Jinghu had rekindled his old flame and cheated with Sara Zhuo.
The repeated desire to warn Xie Jinghu, yet not daring to reveal the truth.
The secret Zhang Zhijun had struggled to conceal for years could finally no longer be hidden, all because of one phone call a few days ago.
“…She told me the child is mine.”
Zhang Zhijun kept his head lowered, every trace of spirit drained from his body.
Hou Zhixiu’s mind went blank for a long time.
What on earth was all this?
The woman surnamed Zhuo was Xie Jinghu’s long-term mistress, and she had also slept with Zhang Zhijun?
The Beijing circles were only so big. Was that woman trying to cast a net over every man in them?
In all her decades, Hou Zhixiu had never encountered such chaotic relationships. She could not even comment, only instinctively blurt out, “She says the child is yours, and you just accept it?”
That single sentence showed what a decent person Hou Zhixiu was.
If she were even slightly more selfish, she would have been delighted to learn Zhuo Yue had turned out to be Zhang Zhijun’s illegitimate daughter.
If she were even more selfish, she would wish Zhuo Chen were his illegitimate son as well.
That way the Xie family would be spared a great deal of trouble. As for how the Zhang family dealt with the mess, well, better them than us.
Precisely because Hou Zhixiu was decent, upon hearing Zhuo Yue was Zhang Zhijun’s illegitimate daughter, her first reaction was not secret glee but scepticism.
Zhang Zhijun was overcome with shame. Hou Zhixiu turned to look at Lu Meishu.
Lu Meishu’s face was deathly pale, as though she were barely clinging to life.
Hou Zhixiu understood at once. The child really must be his, otherwise Lu Meishu would not be this devastated.
A new question immediately filled her mind.
Zhang Zhijun had had a one-night stand with that woman surnamed Zhuo. Now the woman had come knocking, demanding he take responsibility. He ought to apologise to Lu Meishu and explain himself to the entire Zhuo family. Why on earth had he come to the Xie family?
Xie Yuping’s face was grim. “Zhijun, Old Third and you both grew up under my watch. Old Third was muddle-headed, but I never expected you to be muddle-headed too! I can scold and hit Old Third, but I cannot do that to you. After doing something like this, how will you face your old father when he steps outside? How will you face your wife and child? A man’s knees are worth their weight in gold. You should not kneel to me. You should kneel and apologise to those you have hurt!”
Actually, Xie Yuping did not entirely believe Zhuo Yue was the product of one night between Zhang Zhijun and Sara Zhuo.
Even if it genuinely was just one night, Zhang Zhijun had been married with children at the time. That in itself was betrayal.
What was this “momentary madness”? A married man should have his own bottom line, knowing what he should and should not do. From that perspective, there was no difference between one night, ten nights, or a long-term illicit relationship.
Moreover, Zhang Zhijun had kept silent for over ten years. Only after Xie Yuping had forcibly arranged DNA tests between the Zhuo siblings and Xie Jinghu in Shanghai a few days ago, proving Zhuo Yue was not Xie Jinghu’s daughter, did Zhang Zhijun suddenly rush over to confess. That tiny, seemingly insignificant timing gap made it very difficult for Xie Yuping to trust him again.
Of course, Zhang Zhijun had his own explanation. He claimed he had only learned the truth a few days earlier.
If Xie Yuping had not already grown suspicious, Zhang Zhijun’s story would actually hold water.
The woman surnamed Zhuo had been involved with both Xie Jinghu and Zhang Zhijun for years. All this time she herself had believed Zhuo Yue was Xie Jinghu’s daughter, using the girl as a tether to keep Xie Jinghu on the hook.
A few days ago, after Xie Yuping forced Zhuo Chen and Zhuo Yue to take the paternity test and it proved Zhuo Yue was not Xie Jinghu’s daughter, the woman lost her cash cow. She had to find a new one, so she told Zhang Zhijun the truth.
Yes, the logic was flawless.
And because it was too flawless, Xie Yuping did not believe a word of it.
If Zhang Zhijun had come to confess just one day earlier, or even half a day earlier, before Xie Qian woke up, Xie Yuping would have found his story far more credible.
If Xie Qian never woke up, Zhang Zhijun might never have confessed at all. Zhuo Yue was not Xie Jinghu’s daughter, but nobody would ever have imagined she was Zhang Zhijun’s either.
Xie Yuping was extremely good at concealing his thoughts. No matter how stormy it was inside, his face betrayed nothing. He continued to treat Zhang Zhijun exactly as before.
With Xie Yuping firmly telling him to stand and Hou Zhixiu pulling at his arm, Zhang Zhijun finally rose, his face full of shame.
He glanced back at his pale wife and was consumed with regret and guilt, wishing he could end it all right there.
“Big Brother Xie, I know my mistake can never be forgiven. This mistake has tormented me for over ten years. I once harboured the wishful thinking that I could hide it forever and spare my family the pain… I was too cowardly. I have let down your trust and I have let down Jinghu. If I had confessed earlier, he and Weijun might not have divorced. I am the one who destroyed Jinghu’s family. I am the sinner!”
Hou Zhixiu sighed. “More than ten years ago, when Old Third rekindled his old flame with that woman surnamed Zhuo, he kept it from all of us. You didn’t even know they had restarted their affair, so who could you have confessed to? For you it was just one mistake, and of course you would hide it if you could. Later, when you found out about Old Third’s cheating and that he already had a son and daughter with that woman, it was too late to speak up. In my view, whether Old Third and Weijun divorce has nothing to do with whether you confessed. The fact that Zhuo Yue is your daughter only proves your mistake. It does not erase Old Third’s!”
Hou Zhixiu did not feel some sympathy for Zhang Zhijun, but she felt far more for Lu Meishu, who had not uttered a word.
Even Hou Zhixiu knew Lu Meishu’s health was poor. She had been in and out of illness these past two years.
Any woman who encountered this would be skinned alive. The better the marriage, the harder it was to let go, just like Zou Weijun before her.
Depression. Suicide attempt.
Forcing herself to keep going by throwing herself into work.
It had taken years to pull herself together, to find the courage to face a failed marriage and to ask for a divorce so she could start a new life.
As the eldest sister-in-law, Hou Zhixiu knew how hard that journey had been for Zou Weijun… Now it was Lu Meishu’s turn, and it might be even harder for her.
Would the Zhang family support Lu Meishu the way the Xie family had supported Zou Weijun?
Would Lu Meishu’s son stand by his mother as unwaveringly as Xie Qian had?
Hou Zhixiu felt like sighing yet again. She supported Lu Meishu’s arm. “This has nothing to do with you. You have done nothing wrong. Just sit and rest.”
Lu Meishu felt weightless, like a paper kite with its string cut. Hou Zhixiu’s kindness finally broke her. Tears poured down her face. “How can it have nothing to do with me? The child is already a teenager. I can’t even deceive myself anymore! I used to feel sorry for Zou Weijun. Now we are in the same boat. The same woman has destroyed both our marriages. Once the crack appears, it only ever grows. No craftsman, however skilled, can mend it… I hate her so much…”
She really did hate her!
People say the opposite of love is hate.
Without love, how could there be hate?
What made Lu Meishu despair most was that she could not accept her husband Zhang Zhijun’s betrayal, could not come to terms with the sudden appearance of his illegitimate daughter. She was furious, yet she loved him so deeply. That was why she had forced herself to bear the pain and accompany him to the Xie family to apologise.
Xie Yuping and Hou Zhixiu would never make things difficult for Lu Meishu.
Yet that only made her feel worse.
Watching Lu Meishu cover her face and sob, Zhang Zhijun panicked like an ant on a hot pan.
Xie Yuping frowned. “Zhijun, I don’t know how you plan to handle this, and I won’t blame you for your ‘moment of confusion’, because ultimately this is your own emotional mess. But I do think you should tell Old Third yourself. Paper can’t wrap fire. It will hurt him far more if he hears it from someone else.”
Xie Yuping had long wanted Xie Jinghu to take a severe beating.
Years of smooth sailing in business had made Xie Jinghu arrogant.
The paternity test results a few days ago had been his first heavy blow.
The divorce was probably the second.
Now, learning that Zhuo Yue’s real father was his good friend Zhang Zhijun would be the third!
Before Zhang Zhijun could refuse, Xie Yuping had already dialled Xie Jinghu’s number.
“Come home… Why would I scold you for no reason? It’s something else…”
Xie Jinghu really had been battered by recent events.
After finalising the divorce, he had been thrown out by Zou Weijun. He could only keep in constant contact with the doctors.
There was a deal in Beijing that required his signature in person, so he had flown back. Upon hearing Xie Qian had woken up, he booked a flight for the next day to Shanghai. He wanted to visit the hospital himself.
When Xie Yuping called, Xie Jinghu was actually in quite good spirits. But the moment he heard he was summoned home, his mood turned to unease.
All the way there he racked his brains trying to guess what it could be, yet even if he cracked his skull open he would never have guessed that his childhood friend Zhang Zhijun had personally woven a green hat and placed it on his head.
At the Xie family home, after listening to Zhang Zhijun describe his “one-night mistake”, Xie Jinghu’s fist crashed heavily into Zhang Zhijun’s face.
Xie Yuping and Hou Zhixiu were reasonable people. They believed that Zhang Zhijun’s improper relationship with Sara Zhuo did not affect whether Xie Jinghu and Zou Weijun divorced or not. Zhang Zhijun being wrong did not make Xie Jinghu right.
But Xie Jinghu saw it very differently!
He believed that if Zhang Zhijun had confessed earlier, he could have ended things with Sara Zhuo before the affair was exposed!
If the affair had never come to light, Zou Weijun would never have known about his cheating, and they would not have divorced.
At most he would have paid some money to compensate Zhuo Chen. He and Zou Weijun could still have been a loving marriage, and their family of three could still have lived happily together!
