Because I Cannot Hurt You

She nodded.

Xinyi quickly said, patting his head, "Grandpa is not angry. He is just... acting haha…"

Siying pouted. "Grandpa playing?"

"Yup, yup! He is playing with Grandma and Grandpa."

Xinyi picked him and went inside. 

Zhiyuan warned. "Like I already said, there is Siying here too. I don't want any arguments here either from Mom or Dad or from Grandpa that will affect him."

Han Huizhong looked at him in disdain. "Since when did you start telling me what I should do and what I shouldn't?"

"Ever since I learned that I lost the last person in my life who was everything for me until now," Zhiyuan shot back at him mercilessly.

Han Huizhong said nothing.

Zhiyuan left the dinner table, leaving the three elders alone.

There was a long beat of silence. Han Tian placed his chopsticks on the table and stared at his father. "Dad, why did you have to... bring An Caihong into this?"

Han Huizhong glared at him. "Who the fuck do you think you are to question me!"

"Because you went too far, Dad! There was no need to drag An Caihong into this."

"Shut up!"

Xia Liqin clenched her fist and faced him. "Dad, to punish An Caihong for what happened is too cruel."

"Oh I am cruel? Sure. Whatever you think," he sneered.

Han Tian glanced at Xia Liqin and smiled. "Do you feel that way because Dad is really wrong? Or because you cannot bear to see that your best friend's daughter suffered?"

She stiffened.

"It's because you and An Guoting share such good friendship that you couldn't help but feel sorry for him, right?"

Xia Liqin gritted her teeth. "Han Tian. I am telling you not to cross your limits," she coldly warned him.

"Of course, when it is about An Guoting, how will you not stop me? I don't understand that if you had such a good friendship with him, why did you bother to marry me?"

Xia Liqin got up in anger. Her chest huffed and puffed, taking furious breaths. "You...you still haven't changed, right Han Tian? Even after all these years, you don't fail to poke at my and...An Guoting's relationship."

He wryly smiled at her. "And neither do you fail in always defending him."

"I am not defending him!"

"Isn't that why you are feeling bad for An Caihong? I am opposing Dad because I truly feel that he shouldn't have crossed that line but you? I cannot say the same about your intentions."

"Hah! You were and still are nothing but an insecure prick!"

"You are the last person to say that to me, Xia Liqin."

Han Tian looked back at his father and stared at him. "Dad, what did you get by doing this? Whatever happened, An Caihong or any child of this generation is innocent."

He smirked. "That's why you disappoint me, Tian. Sometimes I even wonder if you are my biological child, but my late wife in heaven will curse me to doubt our kinship."

"Dad, are you not seeing how Zhiyuan and Zizi hate you now!?" He burst into a sad chuckle. "It's fine if they hate me. I deserve every bit of their anger and hatred. But you? You have raised them. Dad, they are heartbroken. Do you want to bear this for the rest of your life?"

Han Huizhong smiled. "I have borne much more than just hatred in this world. Did you forget about it?"

They stiffened.

"There are a lot of people already who hate Han Huizhong. What does it matter if two more get added into it?"

"They are your grandchildren, not some strangers, Dad! And it's not just you who is getting affected by this. It's hurting them to hate you too. How can you let this go on?"

Han Huizhong stomped his foot and got up. "My ex-son and ex-daughter-in-law, you don't need to worry about anything. What happens between me and my grandchildren is my concern. You don't have to interfere with it."

He stormed off without saying a word further.

---

As Zhiyuan patted Siying to sleep, Xinyi softly asked, "Zhiyuan, are you angry at me?"

He looked at her, surprised. "Why will I be mad at you?"

She coughed. "That I...said to Mom and Dad about how you told me about their achievements."

He touched his chin. "I was a little shocked, yes. But I am not mad. I can never be angry at you, Xinyi. I know what you want to do. But honestly, I don't know if things will resolve between us at this point."

Xinyi pursed her lips. "Are you uncomfortable by their return?"

Zhiyuan was silent. "...I do feel wronged that they only cared about fighting and nothing else. It was a hard time for Zizi and me. She even ran away from home one day."

She widened her eyes. "Huh?"

He nodded. "Yes. Mom and Dad had a huge fight that day. Even for me, it was difficult to handle all those emotions. When I checked in Zizi, she was not in the room and then I found out that she ran away. With her disappearance, the situation became serious. But Grandpa was able to find her somehow."

She was shocked to know this part. She knew that Zhiyuan's parents didn't have a good relationship, but she never thought that things were this serious.

"Zizi came home crying and blamed Mom and Dad a lot. It was then that Grandpa threw them out of the house. He was extremely furious that their fights forced Zizi to run away and…" he clenched his fingers, "She was small. Anything could have happened to her if Grandpa hadn't found her out on time. That was the last straw."

She shuddered. It was the same when Siying had disappeared too.

"I am sorry…"

He widened his eyes. "No, don't be sorry. I know you meant well."

Zhiyuan's gaze dimmed. "In the end, they are still my parents. I thought I wouldn't care about them, but I couldn't help but look out for what they were doing in all these years."