Because I Cannot Hurt You

Xinyi felt chilly as Zhiyuan lifted his head that was buried in her neck, kissing and biting her. His lips traveled from her neck to her chin that impatiently settled on her lips. He kissed her hard until the very last semblance of her consciousness began to fade away. 

With an intense urge to make her his, his warm and wistful lips glided across hers, wanting to claim every inch of her luscious lips. He grabbed the back of her head and deepened the kiss, forcing her to dive into the depths that swept her off her feet. Xinyi felt as if she was floating in the clouds.

His overwhelming passion rendered her helpless and in ecstasy at the same time. She couldn't help but want more of this heat that invaded her all her senses, making them go haywire.

Sensing her defeat, Zhiyuan effortlessly entered his tongue and hurriedly swirled it around her tongue like a moth who was attracted to flame. Soft, wet sounds echoed in the air that made Xinyi blush hard. He slurped and tasted the remnants of sweet juice on her tongue. Their saliva mixed as his tongue easily gained the dominance that explored her mouth he wanted to for a long time.

He parted away and peppered soft kisses on her forehead, nose, cheeks and chin. The heat within him was growing at an alarmingly dangerous rate that threatened to gobble her up. Their bodies rubbed against each other, trying to find comfort and satisfaction. Zhiyuan felt that if he went any further, his little brother would not seriously not be able to stop himself from devouring her. 

With exercising extreme control, he was finally able to tear himself apart from her. It took so much energy to fight his desires and instinct that he felt breathless for a long time as if he just fought a war.

Xinyi, who was still delirious, looked at him questioningly. "Hmm? W-what happened? Why did you stop?"

A sharp shudder ran through his spine, looking at her inviting expression. He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. At this point, he really had the urge to throw her on the bed and make a beautiful mess out of her.

"Don't tempt me, Xinyi, or I won't stop myself…"

The bubble burst and Xinyi finally snapped into reality, hearing the growl in his voice. She rapidly blinked her eyes and remembering what she asked earlier, made her face flush hard.

Zhiyuan gently but firmly tugged her hair and squinted his eyes. "I hope you got my answer. I feel jealous because I love you, Xinyi. A lot. So much so that I wish to kidnap you and…" he left it unsaid. "I think you understand the next part."

Her brow twitched.

"As a man, I have already understood Liao Yuan's feelings. Trust me. He hasn't given up on you. And when he looks at you the way 'only' I am supposed to look at you, it drives me crazy and insane. Feel lucky that I didn't dump him from this bridge."

She choked.

"Xinyi…" He wrapped his around her and lowered his head. "There can be only Zhiyuan in your life, okay? I know…I know that you love me. That's why you stuck with me for all these years. But I have made some huge mistakes that make me insecure. I feel that you would really... really get tired of me one day. I don't want that."

Xinyi looked at him, taken aback.

"That's why I'm chasing after you. I want you to look at me and think of only me and I will do that as long as it takes for you to believe me that I really really love you the most."

He chuckled. "I will make you accept it soon enough whether you want it or not."

"Y-you…" she felt at a loss of words.

"And once you do…" Zhiyuan's voice suddenly had a tinge of mischief in it, "we can start working hard on giving Siying his sister."

She looked at him, aghast. "You! You are so shameless!"

"Only for you," he cheekily smiled and pecked her cheek.

She pursed her lips and pushed him away. She cleared her throat.

As she turned, she saw An Guoting quietly walking away from the pond and she suddenly remembered.

"Zhiyuan. Do you know about your Aunt?"

Zhiyuan blinked his eyes in confusion. "Aunt?"

"Yes. Dad's younger sister."

"Huh? Younger sister? No. Grandpa doesn't have a daughter. He only has one son, my father."

Xinyi didn't know how to say this to him.

"But I just heard that he had a daughter who is...no more in this world," her gaze dimmed.

Zhiyuan widened his eyes in shock. "Where did you hear this?"

She said about the conversation that she heard between Liao Junjie and An Guoting. Then Liao Yuan also said a few things about his mysterious daughter.

"He said that Grandpa hates Uncle An a lot and it seems that...he had something to do with her death."

Zhiyuan was seriously puzzled. "Why would Grandpa hide his daughter? I really had no clue. He never said anything about his daughter. Never. It was only Dad. But…" he squinted his eyes, "this feels that this is connected to why he tried to ruin Caihong seven years back?"

She nodded.

"I think so too! There is really some deep hatred Grandpa has for Uncle An. Do you remember that he always goes somewhere on the same day every year? He did before we left for Siying's school picnic."

He blinked his eyes. "Is that place...her grave?"

"En. At least that's what Yuan said. Grandpa Junjie also visits her grave every year. Seems like only he knows about Aunt."

Zhiyuan was in deep thought.

"Grandpa is hiding something really important from us. How can we not know that we had an Aunt? His biological daughter…"

"But I don't think Grandpa will say anything about her even if we ask."

He sighed. "That's true. We can ask Grandpa Junjie but I am not sure if he will say anything either. Wait. There is one storeroom on the fourth floor, right? Grandpa has never allowed us to go in there?"

Her eyes widened in realization. "Could there be some things about Han Zongying in that room?"

"I strongly feel so. Grandpa always used to get mad if Zizi or I were even seen anywhere near that room when we were small.. We can start from there to know who Han Zongying was."