Because I Cannot Hurt You

A few days later, at the Zhu villa.

"*Cough cough*"

Chyou anxiously looked at her father and felt saddened to see her father sick. "Dada is coughing a lot."

Xiaosi looked slightly pale as he smiled. "I am fine, dear."

"No, you are not," Caihong stepped in, bringing a bowl of warm ginger soup. She narrowed her eyes. "If you had dried yourself after playing with Chyou in the bath last night, then you wouldn't have caught a cold."

Xiaosi averted his eyes. "I was just a little wet…"

She squinted her gaze. "Yet you are coughing right now, aren't you?"

He mumbled something to himself but couldn't retort anything.

"I am sorry."

"You better be."

She sat beside him. "Drink this soup now. You will feel better."

She touched his forehead and pursed her lips. "You have a bit of fever."

Chyou was on the verge of crying. "Dada sick because of me."

"No, no!" They quickly said. Caihong took her in her lap and patted her head. "It's not your fault. It's okay to play in the water, but your Dada was irresponsible and didn't properly dry himself up. So he got sick."

Chyou puckered her lips and puffed her cheeks as she glared at him. "Dada is bad. You should have listened to Mama!"

Xiaosi felt helpless. "Mother-daughter is ganging up against me…"

Caihong snorted. She put Chyou down and said. "Chyou. Go in your room and play. We don't want you to catch Dada's cold."

Xiaosi seriously nodded.

"I want to be with Dada…" she sadly pouted.

Xiaosi chuckled. "You will be when I get all better. Then we will play a lot."

As she left, Caihong said, "Drink the soup now."

Xiaosi looked at the soup that had an ugly color. "It doesn't look tasty."

"Medicines aren't supposed to be tasty. Don't complain and drink up. You should have nothing to say when you brought this cold upon yourself," she sternly said.

Xiaosi stiffened. "Caihong. Have you ever thought of becoming a teacher?"

"No. Why?"

"Or maybe you must have been a teacher in your past life."

"Why?"

"Because you are scolding me like I am a child."

"Aren't you after how you got sick?"

"..."

Xiaosi insisted. "This soup seems really bitter."

Caihong said, "I only care about the effects, not the taste."

"But I have to drink it."

"Blame yourself for not drying up properly."

His mouth twitched. Then he peeked at her and fiddled with his fingers. "Caihong. Will you feed me?"

She blinked her eyes.

He scratched his chin. "I have the feeling it would taste less bitter with you feeding me."

"Y-You you…" she coughed and blushed. "It's not going to change the taste…"

He smiled. "I am pretty sure it will. Why not try?"

With a tinge of blush appearing on her cheeks, she brought the soup spoon near his lips. "Here."

Xiaosi grinned and drank it. Though it was bitter, the sight of her beautiful face turning red as she fed him made it taste sweet.

"En. I was right. It does taste a whole lot better now."

"You are sick. J-Just drink this and go to sleep."

"Wait, feed me the whole thing, or it won't go down my throat."

"You…"

Even though she seemed annoyed, it was just a way to hide her embarrassment. 

Xiaosi inwardly checked an item in his mind.

I should get sick more often so she can feed me like this.

As he finally finished it, Caihong said, "I will take this back to the kitchen. You rest now."

"Wait."

She stopped and turned. Xiaosi pulled her wrist, and she gently collapsed on top of him. "W-What…"

She felt her heart skip a beat.

Xiaosi smiled. "I should thank you for taking care of me."

He leaned and pecked her cheek. "Thank you for everything."

She blushed hard. His lips were there only for a second, but she could still feel their softness. His gaze filled with love and warmth made her tremble.

Xiaosi thought that she would run away, feeling embarrassed. Instead, she kept standing there, much to his surprise.

He couldn't help but tease her. "You want a kiss on the other cheek too?"

She coughed. "N-Not that!"

Caihong felt her heart drumming so hard that she thought it would come out of her chest. She lifted her eyes and stared at him. Then she leaned in too but instead of his cheek, she kissed his lips.

Xiaosi stared at her unblinkingly.

Huh? Huh?

Caihong's emotions behind the kiss were simple. He thanked her for taking care of him, but to Caihong, Xiaosi had done much more for him that she couldn't be able to thank by mere words.

He protected her that night. He kept her loving for all these years, no matter how much she hated him. He was ready to abort Chyou and lose his daughter to save his wife's life. Even though she loved Zhiyuan, he never once came between them to steal her. 

For her sake, he had hurt himself time and again, but his love for her always kept burning like the strongest flame that had weathered every storm and all hatred.

The kiss still wasn't enough, but she wanted to let him know that she appreciated every single thing he did for her.

Caihong parted away and stared at him, who looked at her, dumbfounded.

"This is my thank you. You don't remember it now, but you have done a lot for me that I could never repay for even if I took care of you for my whole life. It will still be too short," her eyes stung in tears. "Thank you for everything, Xiaosi. Thank you for coming into my life, and thank you for loving me so much."

He shook upon hearing her heartfelt words. In a stupor, he pulled her and fiercely pressed his lips over hers. Caihong was spellbound for a moment, but she quickly regained her senses and kissed him back with the same passion. Their heated kiss lasted for a long time until they felt breathless.

Their faces were bright red and breaths haywire as they stared into each other's gazes.

Xiaosi pressed his forehead on hers. "You don't need to thank me. Yes, I don't remember anything, but whatever things I did, I know it was out of my own selfishness. I want to see the woman I love always happy, or I will feel bummed out, won't I?"

Caihong trembled. "You... Don't tease me. You are far away from the word selfish!"