Because I Cannot Hurt You

Caihong cleared her throat. "Yeah, I did...Did you find anything about it?"

Xiaosi froze on his spot. He couldn't hide the horror on his face that turned him completely pale. He blinked his eyes several times to understand and to confirm if he really heard it right.

Caihong has asked Ah Cy about my medicine!?

He was utterly shocked and aghast. He never imagined that she would bother looking into it. She didn't care about him at all. So there was no need to get curious and suspicious. Fear gripped his chest hard, and he started panicking. A dull pain started to course through his head once again under the stress.

Ah Cy nodded. "I did. I talked to Liang about it and he contacted the foreign company that manufactures this medicine. Nothing is impossible with Xu Pharmaceutical's connections," she proudly said.

Caihong's heart skipped a beat. She slowly asked, "What do you know about it?"

"Unlike you said, It's not a simple painkiller to relieve headaches. It is used to-

"Caihong!" Xiaosi's sharp voice cut through their conversation.

Xiaosi uttered her name so loudly that the other parents and tourists besides them looked at him in surprise.

Caihong jolted and looked back. She stiffened on seeing him behind her as she slightly widened her eyes.

Did he hear our conversation?

Xiaosi stormed towards her and narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you doing here?" He coldly asked.

"Huh?" She furrowed her brows.

His face was marred with danger and threat. "Why is Xinyi taking care of Chyou while I am gone? I think her biological mother is still alive here, isn't she?" 

She froze. His voice was sharper and pointed than usual. He never spoke that sternly to her.

"You don't care about your image, but I do. If others saw that Chyou's mother doesn't care about her own daughter, then they would start talking which I don't want to hear neither do I want to let Chyou hear that. You seem to have too much time gossiping. Why don't you use that time and pay attention to your daughter?" He gritted his teeth.

Ah Cy fumed and glared at him. "You are taking this too far Xiaosi! You are shouting at her for no reason! Can't we have a chat? Even Leina is with Xinyi so what? Do you mean to say that I don't care about her?"

Xiaosi said, "This is personal between us. Don't interfere."

"I will! This is not how you talk to your wife!"

Caihong quickly said, "Ah Cy. Let it go. I don't mind. I don't expect anything from Mr. Zhu other than for him to speak disrespectfully."

She narrowed her eyes. She was taken aback by the sudden change in his behavior, and she couldn't help but wonder if he heard their conversation. That's why he got all riled up.

That day too he seemed really zoned out and afraid for some reason when I showed him his medicine. What is going on?

Caihong awkwardly smiled and left while Ah Cy shot death glares at him. Xiaosi stared at her and silently took a deep breath.

She shouldn't tell Caihong about the medicine…

"Ah Cy. As you know my poor daughter is already lacking a mother's love. Don't engage Caihong in useless chatter and make her stay away from Chyou."

Ah Cy gritted her teeth. "I will seriously beat you into a pulp! How dare you tell me what I should do? Don't forget the reputation I had in college!"

He snickered. "It will be better for your own good. Stay away from Caihong. She only needs to focus on her daughter, and I forced her to come to this picnic exactly for that reason. The more she spends time with Chyou, the better for my daughter."

Xiaosi didn't say a word more and left. Ah Cy rained curses on him as she stormed her foot hard.

---

On one side where a sour confrontation took place between Xiaosi and Caihong, Zhiyuan and Xinyi were outside, enjoying the view. The scenery was breathtaking. Xinyi held Siying in her arms and cautiously walked up to the edge while still keeping a safe distance between them and the railing. She slightly bent to show him the bottom of the hill.

"See Siying? That's the waterfall down there. Isn't it so beautiful? That stream divides the forest into two parts."

Siying furiously flailed his hands in front. "Careful Siying. Don't bend too much."

"Mama! Why does the waterfall do that? Water is so soft! When the water falls from my bottle in school, it does not make the ground in half!" He pouted.

She giggled at his innocent question. "Well because the waterfall is something that falls continuously. It doesn't stop like the water from your bottle does after some time. Its flow has great power. Just like your superman!"

Siying beamed. "Superman!"

"Yes. With its super great power and never-ending journey, eventually, water will crush through anything from rocks to forests. That is water's nature," she smiled, "It can stay calm and still, but it has also a force too that nobody can match."

Siying was fascinated to learn about water dual's nature. Something so soft and seemingly harmless can turn ferocious too when needed.

"So what does water teaches you?" She asked.

Siying knitted his brows and touched his chin in deep thought. "I don't know!" He confessed.

Xinyi burst into laughter. 

"It teaches you not to give up," They heard Zhiyuan's voice. He smiled as he walked towards them. He ruffled his head.

"You never thought that water could break through something as big as a forest right?"

"En!" Siying nodded hard.

"That is the lesson. Water always finds its way. It may have to cut through, go around, overflow, or trickle down, but in the end, it does find its way. Water is soft just like you said. But it is persistent. That means it doesn't give up. So if you also face any difficulty in life, you should try to find its answer as water does. Maybe you cannot find it immediately, but there is always an answer. You just have to stay at it long enough and look around until the day you find it for sure."