Because I Cannot Hurt You

As the hands of the clock came back to the present, the earth-shattering truth had silenced everybody. The horrifying secret that was buried seven years back finally resurfaced, shedding off the mask from Han Huizhong's face.

During the whole time as Xiaosi recalled that nightmare, he was absolutely silent. He didn't say anything in his defense nor tried to stop him from spilling the truth. He felt everybody's stunned gazes in which their disbelief was clearly evident.

Caihong stared at Xiaosi for a long, long time. She felt devoid of any thoughts. Her mind was blank but her eyes kept on shedding tears. She didn't know that the reality behind that night of her ruin had such a dark truth to it. 

It was a simple graduation party. But two people had plotted to destroy her.

One was her own stepmother. 

An Meiying…

Caihong somehow realized her motives and not that she ever loved her or felt closer to her, yet it hurt her to realize that she was behind it. She had no idea that An Meiying hated her to this extent. Being a woman herself, she could go this far…

And then there was Han Huizhong.

Caihong's gaze shifted towards him and she looked at the man who hated her no less than An Meiying.

She understood where An Meiying came from. But Han Huizhong?

Why did he hate her so much? What did she do to offend him that he had to do this to her too? Was loving Zhiyuan and wanting to live her life with him that bad and unacceptable to him?

Her empty gaze then fell upon Shuang. The stepsister was always a mystery to her. She wasn't like An Meiying who hated her. She wasn't the typical stepsister. But she wasn't fond of her either. The day she felt that they were stepsisters in the truest sense was when she asked An Guoting for her to marry Xiaosi after what he did.

In her heart, Caihong had always expected such words from An Meiying. But when Shuang was the one who uttered them, she felt as if she lost that last family too. She thought that Shuang was just like her mother, too, who hated her existence, the difference being that she hid it well. When the chance came, she jumped on it and threw her out of the family.

That day, she lost her faith in everything - friendship, fate and family.

But now…

To know that she did it only because Xiaosi had begged her; Caihong was clueless about what to feel about it. She had misunderstood her. She was utterly wrong about her.

When she looked back at Xiaosi, her tears gushed out even more as if somebody had mercilessly twisted her heart. Suddenly, everything became crystal clear. She felt as if a curtain was raised from the life she lived with him in the past seven years. The man who ruined her never wanted to ruin her at all.

And more than her, it was he who had suffered the most.

"Come on Grandpa! Why are you keeping silent!?" Xiaosi's angry voice roared. "Won't you stop me!? Won't you threaten to kill me like you did that night! Speak up! Face your family now God damn it! Just look at how they are staring at you. They have a million questions in their minds. Go on. Answer them!"

His chest heaved, taking furious breaths as sweat formed on his forehead. He felt a dull ache gripping his head and slowly felt his vision turn blur. But he ignored it and went on, lunging at him in pure hatred.

"Fucking say something!!!"

"Xiaosi!" Liang stopped him from attacking Han Huizhong and pulled him back.

"Don't stop me tonight Liang! Because I am gonna kill him tonight!"

Zhiyuan slowly faced Han Huizhong. His trembling lips parted to ask, "Grandpa. D-Don't stay quiet like that…" he laughed, "Don't you hear how much Xiaosi is accusing you? He is nuts, isn't he? He is just spouting nonsense-"

"He is telling the truth."

He froze.

Han Huizhong's admittance rang a deep silence in the air. He raised his head and his unapologetic gaze met his eyes. "I was the one behind that accident seven years back. I plotted everything and hear me out, Zhiyuan. I don't regret it nor do I feel guilty whether it was then or now. You have no right to accuse me of anything. I did what I did, and I don't have to explain myself to anybody."

"Hell you have to!" Xiaosi screamed. "I will not let you get away with this!"

"You cannot be serious Grandpa…" Zhiyuan said, "You cannot do this," his smile faltered as he whispered, "You are the one who raised me and you taught me to...to always respect women. How can you do this yourself? There has to be a mistake…"

Xinyi held his hand and softly said, "Grandpa, I-I am sure there has to be a misunderstanding," she wiped her tears, "The Grandpa that I know would never do something like this. Please, Grandpa…"

He was afraid to look at Xinyi because he knew there would be nothing but disappointment in her eyes. She adored him as much as he adored her, but now he knew that her trust in him would forever crumble.

Zizi shook his shoulders as tears spilled out. "Grandpa please! Don't say it like that. Y-you are my strong Grandpa who would never hurt anybody! Grandpa... you didn't do it, right? You cannot hurt Caihong."

She was shivering as she spoke. She desperately wanted to hear him say at least once that he was innocent.

"Grandpa…just once... say it just once that you weren't behind that accident. I will believe you! No matter what Xiaosi says, I will believe you. He is lying, right? He hates us and so he-he is framing you to break apart our family…" she wiped her tears but they kept falling, "I am right, right? I-I am listening. Just say it once please."

She was only met by his silence. She blankly stared at him, waiting and waiting. But his denial never came.

"Grandpa…" 

Zhiyuan tiredly leaned back on the wall, his mind completely empty. He stared at the ceiling thinking of the past and his childhood. All his memories that he spent with Han Huizhong came flashing in front of his eyes.

In Zhiyuan and Zizi's parents' absence, Han Huizhong had raised them by himself. He was their mother and father who took over their responsibilities. So for them, he was the only family they had. He was the only support system that held everything together.

He had a sharp tongue and he wasn't easy to please at all. Even now he remembered how much he and Zizi had to listen to his sour words if they made any mistake. He was strict and disciplined and he never praised them, but they knew that he loved them nevertheless.

He was one of those men who had a hard time expressing his emotions or simply a man who didn't like sweet talk at all. He never held back his punches and his words could cut someone right through their hearts. But Zhiyuan and Zizi had learned to love him like that.

But now, the only thread that bound them as a family together had cruelly snatched everything from them. This truth crumbled everything. Their trust and faith shattered.

Who were they supposed to believe in now? Without their grandfather, where were they supposed to go?

Their parents had already left them first. Now, did they have to lose their grandfather too?

Ah Cy couldn't help but cry too. She leaned in Liang's hug as she softly broke down. 

Xiaosi burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Look what you did, Han Huizhong. Didn't you always claim that you cannot ever lose? But look at your family now! You are the reason behind their condition now! You are the reason behind everything! You ruined Caihong! Just because you hated her for Zhiyuan, you crossed all your limits! You...you made me hate myself."

He ignored the increasing pain in his head.

His hands trembled as he looked down at them. "You made me loathe myself. You destroyed everything for us! Your one decision smashed everything into smithereens! Caihong's life, her dignity, everything was snatched away from her and only because of you!"

He picked a vase and crashed it hard on the floor.

Caihong jolted. She covered her mouth as she burst into tears. She lifted her gaze and she saw the outraged Xiaosi for the first time. His fingers were tightly clenched into a fist. His breaths were angry and rapid. Veins popped on his forehead as he accused Han Huizhong.

"See? Even these pieces…" Xiaosi stammered, looking at the broken vase, "There is hope that at least these pieces could get back together and form that vase again. But what you did was beyond repair, Mr. Han Huizhong! You have destroyed lives here that could never go back to how they were before! You-"

Suddenly, a sharp pain coursed in his head and everything went black in front of him. He clutched his head hard.

"AHHHHHHH!!!"

He let out a loud, painful scream before he collapsed on the floor with a thud, unconscious.

As Caihong saw him fall, her eyes slowly widened and she exclaimed in horror.

"Xiaosi!!!"