Because I Cannot Hurt You

"Caihong. Here, I brought some juice for you," Zizi softly whispered.

They were in Xiaosi's ward where Caihong was seated on a chair beside Xiaosi's bed. The doctor allowed her to stay in the ward, seeing her insist on being with him.

Her gaze was focused only on Xiaosi, who lay on the bed, unconscious. His breathing was calm and normal and his face had regained some of its lost color too.

Caihong slowly shook her head without leaving her gaze off him. "I don't want it, Zizi."

It felt as if she had lost all her strength. Her voice sounded weak and vulnerable. 

Zizi pursed her lips and put her hand upon hers. "Caihong, I understand your condition. But you will become sick if you stay like this."

Silence.

"Tomorrow when Xiaosi will wake up, you wouldn't want him to see you in such a weak state, right?"

She trembled. "I am sorry, Zizi. But I am really not in the mood. I just want to stay beside Xiaosi for now."

A soft sigh escaped her lips. She didn't want her to force herself. She quietly kept the glass on the table. "I am keeping it here. If you feel like it, do drink it."

As Zizi opened the door, she suddenly bumped into a figure who was coming inside. She was startled to see An Guoting standing in front of her.

"Uncle An."

Caihong stiffened.

Dad?

An Guoting was taken aback as well to meet a Han here. He didn't acknowledge much and plainly nodded at her.

Zizi made way and quickly left the ward. Outside, Xinyi anxiously asked, "How is Caihong now?"

She sighed. "She doesn't want to eat or drink anything. It's better not to force her for now. But tomorrow morning, we will have to pull for breakfast!" She harrumphed.

Xinyi and Ah Cy felt helpless. 

"Oh, and did you see Uncle An coming?"

Xinyi nodded. "I saw him at the entrance a few minutes ago."

Ah Cy said, "He must be knowing the truth too, right? What happened tonight and about Grandpa Han...Now that he knows that Grandpa is behind it, this will definitely stir another bag of huge problems," she pressed her brows in distress. "The relations between the Han and An family were already a mess and now…"

Xinyi was worried about it too. The matter didn't just end here after the truth came out. What An Guoting would do now was a source of huge concern as well.

Inside the ward, An Guoting slowly walked up to Caihong and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Caihong…"

He hesitated and sat beside her. His eyes were slightly red and with a shaking hand, he held her hand in his. "I... got to know everything. That…"

"Dad, I don't want to talk about it anymore," She said without much emotion.

He clenched his fist and shut his eyes. "Caihong, I am sorry. I shouldn't have married that witch. I cannot believe that Meiying could go this far. I-I really thought she loved you, but I was wrong. Caihong, I ruined your life by marrying her. I am sorry...But-but I really thought you needed a mother's love and somebody to fill that space in your life. Trust me, Caihong. I didn't marry her for myself. I just wanted you to have a mother's love."

Caihong took a breath and finally turned to look at him. "Dad, it's okay. I never loved that woman as lmy mother so there is no point in feeling betrayed for what she did."

Her unperturbed expression made him feel even more guilty.

"Caihong, I promise I will make that woman rot in hell! She is already in jail, but I will make her life even more miserable than before," he clenched his jaw in anger.

Caihong didn't respond to that.

An Guoting went silent after that. He hesitated and he felt his mind was in a mess.

"I won't spare Han Huizhong either," his hands shivered and his voice faltered as he spoke, "He...he had no right to-"

Caihong immediately said, "Dad, please. I don't want you to do anything to Grandpa Han."

An Guoting froze and widened his eyes. "What? How can you say that?"

"Dad."

Her quiet, determined voice coupled with her serious gaze startled him.

He thought that Caihong would be gravely affected by the truth, but as opposed to what he expected, she seemed calm for some reason. Her eyes expressed how she had cried a lot but at this moment, she was placid.

"Please let the matter go. Don't say or do anything to Grandpa. I don't want any fight or revenge anymore. I…" A tear slid down her cheek, "I just want Xiaosi to wake up and be alright. I want him to be just fine. I don't want anything else other than this. Please...if you love me even a little bit, then please listen to me."

"Caihong…" His heart clenched in pain seeing how broken she looked right now. She was forcing herself to stand strong even though she was afraid like hell.

He helplessly nodded.

"And," Caihong added. She stared straight at him and parted her lips, "I won't divorce Xiaosi."

Silence.

"Not because I know the truth now. Even before the gathering when you asked me about it, I was hesitant to do it. I didn't know why, but my heart opposed your decision. I was supposed to feel happy that I will finally be from this man. But I only felt dreaded. Ever since the picnic, I... came to see a lot of sides to Xiaosi that I never knew before. Those sides conflicted with what he did to me that night. Then I couldn't hate him anymore like I used to. I felt like something was missing and now I know what it is."

An Guoting stared at his daughter. 

"Dad. Xiaosi was there for me when I needed someone to protect me. He bore the brunt of it for seven years now, without any hesitation and without any complaint. And now when I think about it, I am glad…" her shoulders trembled, "I am really glad that it was him who slept with me and not that disgusting bastard who Grandpa hired."

She wiped her cheeks and lifted her gaze. "Now, Xiaosi needs me. It's my turn to protect him and I will. As his wife Mrs. Zhu Xiaosi, I will do whatever it takes to do it. I will stay with Xiaosi as his wife. Always."

He faintly smiled and patted her head. "I know you would say this. That's also why I came here to tell you that I canceled the divorce agreement."

She slightly widened her eyes in surprise.

"I didn't mean to hurt you when I asked you to divorce Xiaosi. I just wanted to see you happy and I... felt guilty for pushing you to marry him at that time," he lowered his gaze. "That's why, I wanted you to come back to my side. I felt horrible all these years. As your father, I should have supported you, but I forced you to live with the man who ruined you. That weighed heavily on my heart."

Caihong gently held his hand and smiled. "I know you did it only to protect me from society. Everything happened so suddenly and you only did what you thought was best for me at that time. I know how much you love me. That's why, I couldn't stay mad at you for long. An Meiying had ulterior motives in making me marry Xiaosi and send me away, but you didn't. Please don't blame yourself anymore."

His eyes teared up and he broke down into soft sobs. "Please forgive me, Caihong. I have been a terrible father."

She gently hugged him and softly patted his back. "Everything is in the past now."

He held her hands and said, "Now that I know that Xiaosi protected you, I am in his debt. I still cannot believe that a man could go to such lengths and bear everything all alone. I actually came here to convince you to change your decision if you had made up your mind about divorcing him. But I don't need to do that anymore."

Caihong faintly smiled.

He shifted a little in anxiousness, "Caihong. Xiaosi's condition…He said that he doesn't want to treat it."

He felt crushed at the news. After so long, Caihong and Xiaosi's relationship had a chance to improve. But Xiaosi now didn't have much time to live. If something happened to Xiaosi, Caihong would completely break down.

She smiled seeing his concern. "Dad. It will be alright. That is what I have to do now to protect him. Whether he wants the treatment or not now cannot be his decision alone. He has a wife and a child. And even if our relationship was sour, he has no right to die like this, leaving his daughter heartbroken. I will handle it, Dad."

He slowly nodded.

"His friend is coming back to China too. Jack Si. He was his doctor when we stayed abroad. He knows a lot about his condition better than the doctors here. I trust that he will definitely find some way to save him."