Because I Cannot Hurt You

"Is Zizi back?" Xinyi hurriedly asked as she entered the villa with Zhiyuan. As soon as she knew about it, she left Ah Cy with Caihong and rushed back home.

Soo Enlai, who was already there, was on the verge of tears. "Xinyi! Zizi isn't back yet. What should we do now?"

"Mama!" Siying hugged her legs. His chubby cheeks pouted. "Where is Aunt Zizi? Aunt Zizi promised me that she will take me to play today!"

"Siying."

Xinyi picked him in her arms. He felt a little heavier than before, and she couldn't help but smile. Siying was growing up well.

"Aunt Zizi promised you?" 

Siying nodded hard.

Zhiyuan ruffled his head. "Don't worry, champ. She will be back. In fact, she is out to bring some new toys for you so that you can have a blast."

Siying blinked his eyes. He was four now and understood the world a little better than when he was three. He was growing more observant. Earlier, he would have jumped in excitement without a doubt.

But now, he couldn't help but ask, "Then why is Grandpa crying? Both Grandpas are sad!"

Yunru looked at Soo Enlai, who guiltily coughed.

"I saw Grandma crying too. Uncle Yunru was also walking so fast here and there that I got dizzy watching him!"

Then Soo Enlai looked at Yunru, who looked away.

Xinyi and Zhiyuan fell in a spot. They coughed. "Well, Grandma and Grandpa fought, so they are sad."

"Fighting is bad!" Siying harrumphed. "Grandma and Grandpa shouldn't fight!"

"You are right," they nodded.

"Then why is Grandpa Soo crying?"

"..."

Soo Enlai quickly said, "I am crying because of my idiot son! He is so troublesome. He is not like your Mama at all, so I am crying."

Yunru was dumbfounded.

Don't bring me in between!

"Anyway," Xinyi kissed his cheek. "Until Aunt Zizi is back, why don't you play in your room?"

He suspiciously looked at her but then nodded. "En!" Siying hopped down and ran away.

Adults are strange! He harrumphed to himself.

Everybody sighed in relief, except Yunru. He was growing more and more uneasy. "I am not waiting anymore."

Xia Liqin quickly said, "Yes, I think we should look for her now."

Han Tian gravely nodded. Everybody thought she would be back, but the afternoon was turning into evening, but there still wasn't any sign of Zizi.

Xinyi asked, "Does Grandpa know…"

Soo Enlai shook his head. "He has been resting. We don't want him to know under these circumstances in ill-health."

She nodded.

Zhiyuan said, "I will check all her favorite places. She must be there in one of them."

Yunru replied. "Yes. The possibility is low, but I will check with her friends too."

Han Tian worriedly said, "I will come with Zhiyuan too. I cannot sit still when Zizi hasn't returned yet," he wiped the sweat off his forehead. "She has no money and phone. Where could she have gone with nothing on her?"

Soo Enlai offered to come too, but Yunru advised him to stay home.

Yunru lowered his head and quietly stared at the ring on his ring finger. It was the ring Zizi made from a plant's stem that she wound around and put on him at the reunion gathering when she confessed her love for him. It was getting withered, but he never threw it away.

"I don't know. But I will find her at any cost. It's a promise."

---

It was almost eight in the evening, but nobody had found Zizi yet. Yunru had used all his resources to find her, but he found nothing. She didn't have her phone with her, so there wasn't a call trace. She didn't have her wallet either, so there was no credit card trace either. Without a card or cash, she couldn't have afforded any mode of transport anyway.

Then where was Zizi?

The cold wind brushed past Yunru. His heart was drumming loudly in extreme anxiety. He could hardly keep his calm now. The night was growing thicker, and it would become more difficult to find her.

Princess, don't make me worry like that…

Then he shut his eyes and forced himself to take a deep breath. Anxiety won't take him anywhere.

Okay, let's think this through. Where will Princess go?

She is sad. She is devastated. She wants some time alone. Where can she go with no money on her? Or even if she did take a cab or bus, how did she pay?

Yunru had his eyes closed. He thought about many things, not particularly about any clues related to finding her. Just random things and random memories he spent with her ever since she declared to chase after him.

Then he opened his eyes.

He had found his answer.

---

Yunru stood at the entrance of a beach. He looked ahead and saw the sea waves gently overlapping against each other. The sound of the waves hung in the night, cold air. The sky was dimly lit with the half-crescent moon.

He glanced around the sandy beach and finally found the figure he was looking for, sitting with her knees closer to her chest and her arms hung around her legs, staring at the seashore.

Yunru let out a deep breath. He was relieved. The tension finally released from his stiff shoulders. His heartbeat was back to normal again. He dropped a quick message to Zhiyuan that he found her, and he will bring her back soon.

Zizi, who was quietly staring at the sea, felt something warm over her shoulder. Her brows ever so slightly twitched. The warmth remained, and she broke out of her daze. She saw herself draped in a jacket.

"It's cold, Princess. You don't want to get sick, do you?"

She slowly lifted her gaze and saw Yunru smiling and looking back at her. They stared at each other like that for a few moments. Then he sat beside her on the soft sand with his legs folded.

"Life is so mysterious, right? Sometime ago, it was me sitting here all crying and drunk in grief, staring at the sea. At that time, you were beside me to hear me out.. Today, I am here to do the same."