Because I Cannot Hurt You

Everything appeared to go in slow motion, yet it had happened in only a matter of seconds. 

Xiaosi collapsed on the floor, clutching his head as a sharp seizure made him feel as if his head was being torn apart. It was excruciating and unbearable. From blurry to everything black, the transition happened in just a moment when he felt that he was losing his consciousness. But in that state, not only consciousness, he felt as if he was losing something else, too, that brought tears to his eyes.

"Cai...hong…" he weakly whispered before his eyes shut themselves and he fainted.

"Xiaosi!!!"

Caihong rushed and stumbled to his side. She bent on her knees and lifted his head in her hands. "Xiaosi!"

It happened so suddenly and unexpectedly that everybody else was frozen to their spots for a moment.

One moment, Xiaosi was standing there and the next moment, he was suddenly on the floor with a loud scream.

"Xiaosi!"

Zhiyuan, Liang and Yunru rushed towards him too. Xinyi covered her mouth with a sharp gasp while Zizi looked at his unconscious figure wide-eyed. Ah Cy was aghast, too, just like the others and even Han Huizhong jolted in shock.

The one whose face turned deathly pale as if she saw a ghost was Shuang.

Xiaosi…?

Her heart jumped in her chest and that moment when she saw him shut his eyes, she ran towards him as tears filled her eyes.

"Xiaosi!"

Caihong patted on his cheeks. An ugly feeling arose in her chest as she saw his face turning paler and paler. "Xiaosi... Xiaosi, w-why are you…? What happened? Xiaosi, wake up…"

Zhiyuan held his hand and furiously rubbed his palm. "Xiaosi? Wake up. Liang! What's wrong?"

Liang checked his pulse and he widened his eyes. "His pulse is getting hell weaker. I don't know what happened so suddenly…"

Yunru quickly stepped up on his feet. "I will call for an ambulance right now!"

"But the signals are still jammed!"

He cursed.

"Phone is the fastest option, but I will have to make the call outside of this hotel. No choice."

Liang said, "Wait, I will come with you too. I know one hospital that can get here the quickest."

Ah Cy stood up. "Go, you two. I will do my best to wake him into consciousness even if it's for at least some time…"

He nodded.

Yunru and Liang sped off. The panic rising within her gave a very bad signal. "Ah Cy…please help...He-he isn't waking up at all…"

Xinyi quickly brought a jar of water and splashed a few drops on his face. "Xiaosi?"

Everybody was doing their best, but nothing seemed to work on him. Shuang's hands trembled as she nudged him. "H-Hey, wake up already. What nonsense crap are you pulling off right now? Is this another one of your dramas because if it is, I am going to beat you up so badly! And you know how cruel my punches are so wake up, you bastard!"

Caihong gently placed his head on her lap. A tear from her quivering eyelashes fell upon his pale cheek. "Xiaosi…"

Her trembling fingertips were softly patting his forehead in an attempt to ease his pain. "I-It's your headache again, right…? This time it's a bit severe but don't worry...you will be fine like always, okay? So just hold on. We are getting help right away!"

Xinyi asked in shock, "Wait a minute. What do you mean by again? This has happened before?"

Zizi said, "What? Are you serious!?."

Zhiyuan was just as stupefied. "Since when, Caihong?"

Caihong shook. "I don't know much about it, but…" she broke down, "I saw him getting frequent headaches. I saw his medicine once and had asked Ah Cy about it too that time at the picnic. But Xiaosi got really mad and stopped me."

Ah Cy froze.

"You had asked that... regarding Xiaosi?"

She cried and nodded. Ah Cy froze and her mouth opened in a wide O. She covered her mouth in disbelief. She looked down at Xiaosi and turned pale.

Impossible…This cannot be...

Caihong looked at her in a daze. "Ah Cy... What's wrong?"

Her mind suddenly rang in alarm and that uneasy feeling intensified within her.

Shuang grabbed her arm. "Ah Cy...wh-why are you looking like that? What have you realized? You know something right? Tell me!"

"That medicine…"

Just at that moment, Yunru and Liang came rushing in. "The ambulance is here!"

Zhiyuan got up and held Xiaosi by his shoulders. "Caihong, Let me."

Shuang anxiously looked at the nurses rushing towards the room. "Come faster! We have already lost a lot of time!"

Yunru froze for a moment as his gaze landed on her. He stared at her panicked state before he quietly looked away.

The hospital staff along with Zhiyuan and Liang carried Xiaosi out of the hotel.

The nurse said, "Mam, we cannot let you inside."

Caihong exclaimed as she glared at her. "I am not leaving him! I will be with Xiaosi in the ambulance too!" She had tightly held onto Xiaosi's hand that she refused to leave even for a moment.

"But Mam…"

Liang signaled the nurse and shook his head. "It's alright. Caihong will be with Xiaosi."

Shuang was about to say something when Zizi held her wrist. She whispered. "Shuang. Everybody is worried about Xiaosi, so I understand your concern too, but any more than this is not required because Caihong is there with him. Don't forget that she is his wife."

Zizi gritted her teeth in anger. "And you are doing this in front of Yunru who has been watching everything from the beginning. You just rejected him, and you are already showing so much concern for Xiaosi. Do you have any idea what he might be feeling right now? I cannot believe that you could be this pathetic!"

Shuang froze and suddenly she realized what she had done. She glanced at Yunru who was busy managing the ambulance. 

Zizi shook off her wrist and went away.

Xinyi hurriedly went over to Zhiyuan's side and said, "Let's go as well."

He stared at her. "You want to go even after what he did to you?"

She pursed her lips. "Indeed, I am angry at Xiaosi for kidnapping me. And I will give him an earful, too, for scaring me like that once he wakes up. But... right now, I cannot find myself to ignore him when he is in that condition. Caihong also needs all our support."

Zhiyuan shook his head. As they passed from beside Han Huizhong, he froze. Zhiyuan clenched his fingers and walked away without looking at him.

"Grandpa-"

"I don't think he would want to come with us, Xinyi. Nothing of this is his concern," he coldly said.

He pulled her hand and went away with her.

Han Huizhong quietly stood at his spot, not saying a word. Zizi, too, ignored him as she tearfully looked away and joined Zhiyuan and Xinyi in the car.

Yunru silently stepped beside him and said, "Grandpa, let's go. You need to be at the hospital, too, after your attack."

He blinked his eyes and looked at him. He faintly smiled. "It's okay, Yunru. You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to."

He ignored him. "Let's go."

"Take me home, Yunru."

"No, Grandpa. You need a checkup. What if you get an attack again at home and you faint?"

He gave a tired smile. "I am fine, Yunru. I already felt better when I saw Xinyi safe. So, please...take me home."

Yunru was silent. Then he nodded. "Okay."

---

The red bulb of the Operation Theatre switched on as Xiaosi was rushed inside. Through the small window on the door, Caihong fixed her wet gaze at Xiaosi. The doctors and nurses already began attaching tubes on him and giving him injections.

She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and she looked back. Xinyi whispered, "Xiaosi will be fine, Caihong. Don't lose heart."

Ah Cy, who was watching them in silence, urgently tugged Liang's arm. "Liang. Remember, I asked you about that foreign medicine one day?"

He nodded. "I do. Why do you bring that up now?"

She hesitated. "It turned out that Caihong had asked for it regarding... Xiaosi."

His eyes flew open. "What!?" He exclaimed in a hushed tone. "Ah Cy...you know what that medicine is for, right?"

She bit her lip.

"And you are saying that Caihong saw that Xiaosi take that medicine?"

She nodded.

Liang went into a shock. "Ah Cy if it's true then Xiaosi…how are we supposed to break it to Caihong?"

A nurse came to Caihong and said, "Mam, Mr. Zhu's phone is ringing for quite a while now. The same person is calling him."

Caihong took his phone and saw an international number on it. The caller's name was Jack Si.

She picked it up.

"You idiot, Xiaosi! Why aren't you picking up my calls!"

Caihong heard a distinct Mandarin dialect mixed with a foreign ring to it.

"Hello?" She softly said.

Jack Si, on the other side, went silent. Then he said, "Umm you…"

"I am Zhu Caihong."

He coughed hard. "Sister-in-law! Greetings! I am Jack Si, Xiaosi's good friend. How are you? Sorry for my rude tone, but that stupid Xiaosi haha…"

Sister-in-law?

"I am sorry but Xiaosi is…" her eyes teared up and she choked.

Jack Si straightened up. "What's the matter?"

"He got a sudden attack and now he is in the hospital…"

"What!"