Because I Cannot Hurt You

"What should I do with you?" Xiaosi eerily smiled as he pulled the leader's hair so harshly that it was tearing off his scalp.

"Ahhh! Ahh! Stop!" He yelled loudly.

Caihong shut her eyes as she couldn't watch it anymore. Xinyi, too, hid behind Zhiyuan's back.

"Xinyi!" He grabbed his shoulders and checked up and down. He held her cheeks and pulled her into his arms. "Xinyi you are fine right? You are not hurt right?"

Xinyi quietly shook her head and hugged him back. "No. I am fine. You came back in time otherwise…"

"Ssh," Zhiyuan hugged her tighter and placed a gentle kiss on top of her head. "Nothing bad would have happened."

If not for his instinct, Xinyi and Caihong would be in great trouble now. When he got pricked by the thorn, he couldn't shake off the feeling that Xinyi was in danger. He wanted to see her safe and so he dragged Mia and Xiaosi back with him to the village.

On the other side, Xiaosi smashed the leader's face on the ground until blood spilled out. The villagers jolted.

Xiaosi laughed. "Yesterday I broke your nose, right? Hm...what should I break today? Oh! Should I gauge your eyeballs out? That will be fun."

Caihong shuddered by how he seemed to enjoy the torture. She slowly got up and hesitated at first, but then gently put her hand on his shoulder. "Xiaosi, forget it. We-we will hand them over to the cops in the town…"

He chuckled and quietly said, "That is not enough for me."

"Why not?"

"Because he-" he raised his voice and turned to face her when he stopped midway. He couldn't figure it out, but she was looking at him strangely. It was a gaze with which she had never looked at him before. 

"Because he?"

Xiaosi grappled his fingers into a tight fist.

"Zhiyuan! Xiaosi!"

Suddenly, they heard Liang's familiar voice and as they turned to look, they saw him coming with dozens of rescue officers marching towards them.

The officers surrounded the village while Liang hugged his friend. "Zhiyuan! Finally! Gosh, we looked everywhere! Who knew there was a small in the forest!"

Xinyi brightened. "Liang!"

He grinned. "Hey, Xinyi. Help is here!"

Zhiyuan smiled and hugged him back. "Hey, buddy."

Liang looked around and asked, "Why are these villagers huddled together like that? And what's with these men here?"

Zhiyuan's gaze turned cold in fury. "They are the bandits here who were troubling the villagers here and…" he gritted his teeth, "and dare lay hand on Xinyi."

His eyes widened and he looked at them in horror. "You bastards! Thank your stars that my wife is not here or else you would be dead meat!"

The commander of the rescue team stood straight in attention. "Mr. Han. Apologies for being late. But the storm had completely blocked our way last night and even this morning with trees fallen all around our path. There was a landslide on the other end that took time to clear."

He smiled. "It's okay. I understand. I appreciate your efforts for coming to help us even against such odds."

"It's our duty, Mr. Han!"

Then his voice turned icy. "First things first. I want you to take away these bandits and hand them over to the cops. I will personally see to it that they get the worst punishment ever. Their terror ends now."

Xinyi nodded.

"Yes!"

The villagers were confused by this force who suddenly arrived. Mia's grandfather slowly approached them and asked, "Son who are these…"

He smiled. "He is my friend, Xu Liang and he brought the rescue team with him to get us out of here."

Liang said, "Don't worry now! We will see to it that there are no more bandits in this forest to trouble you."

The villagers urgently whispered among themselves and the joy and relief was evident in their eyes. "Really? They won't come back here?"

Elder Sun got emotional. "That would be a big help to us, dear. Especially for our daughters…" he wiped his tears. Mia and the other women couldn't help but cry in happiness. Every day was a threat to their dignity as long as the bandits were around. But now they could live in peace.

Mia's grandfather held his hand bowed. His shoulders trembled as he spoke, "Son we don't know how to thank you. You-you solved our biggest problem for us. We didn't care if they stole our money or crops, but we always feared about the women in our village…"

"Grandpa please don't! Don't now in front of me. It should be me bowing before you. You and everyone here helped my wife a lot in our tough times. Without your help, I don't know what I would have done. Maybe I could have lost her forever…" his eyes glistened in tears and gratitude.

"And the good news doesn't end at that," Zhiyuan smiled. "I run a hotel chain business. I know that no matter what I do, it wouldn't be enough to repay your kindness. But I want to help you in any way I can. This is a famous tourist spot because of the ancient temple here and Han Corps was planning to build a hotel here for quite some time. Food and dining is a major part of any service industry, and I would like to contract your village to provide my hotel with the freshest vegetables and raw ingredients that you grow here to prepare the food if you don't mind. Terms and conditions will be at your discretion and you will be handsomely paid for your services."

Xinyi brightened. "That's a great idea!"

The elders were stunned. "You...you want to work with us?" They looked at each other in disbelief.

"Why not? We loved the dinner you cooked for us last night and that just said how hard you work in fields."

Xinyi nodded hard. "It was delicious!"

Liang cleared his throat. "Also, I heard about how Elder Sun was instrumental in treating my friends and saving their lives. I feel that he shouldn't be just restricted to practice medicine in the village. So, I have decided that Xu Pharmaceuticals will set up a hospital at the tourist spot and in the village where Elder Sun will be the head doctor. You will lead the hospital and also train the interns. I will take care of your official medical license. The medicines you concocted worked like a charm and so Xu Pharmaceuticals would also like to work with Elder Sun to develop more herbal medicines, free of side effects and problems. Of course, money won't be a problem."

Elder Sun was stunned. "I-I as the head doctor…? Work with me? But I just made basic medicines...I-It's really not something so big…"

Liang smiled. "Trust me, Grandpa. I know when I see quality stuff. My eyes cannot deceive me."

He felt embarrassed being praised so much.

Zhiyuan said, "Han Corps will also help in rebuilding your village. Your homes are currently vulnerable to storms and landslides that are dangerous. We will help in giving you sturdier and more comfortable homes that can weather any bad condition and with good facilities like electricity and water. We will also create a safe path in the forest from village to the town so it's easier for you to go back and forth."

The villagers were getting back-to-back shocks. "Th-this is too much as compared to our help son…"

Xinyi smiled. "No, elder. This is the least we can do in helping you get a safer and independent life for all the villagers here."

Xiaosi's stern voice came from behind. "S3 Company will take care of your security. I will deploy a base here for the guards to protect your village from any more bandits barging in this forest. Secondly, S3 will also look into it that all the villagers, especially women, learn self-defense and martial arts to protect themselves. Thirdly, S3 will bear all the education fees of your children from school until college."

The villagers got startled as he suddenly spoke in the conversation. Caihong grimaced. "Speak a little warmly."

He snickered. 

The villagers wanted to faint from shock. These three men were practically making their lives so much better than before and in exchange for giving them shelter and treatment for just one night.

Mia's grandfather tremblingly asked, "W-who are you three? How can you do so much? W-will it not cost you a fortune?"

Zhiyuan blinked his eyes. "Who am I? I am Han Zhiyuan. CEO of the Han Corps."

Liang happily chirped. "I am Xu Liang. CEO of Xu Pharmaceuticals."

Xiaosi plainly said, "Zhu Xiaosi. CEO of S3 Company."

The villagers - "..."

They looked at them in disbelief.

CEOs!!! All three of them are CEOs!? Aren't CEOs like the biggest boss of any company!? Aren't they filthy rich!?

The three looked at the villagers as if saying, 'So you see, money isn't a problem for us.'

The villagers wanted to cough blood.

So this whole time, we gave food and shelter to two CEOs!? They lived in a small hut and ate our average food and they said nothing!?

"C-CEOs…" Elder Sun wanted to faint.