Because I Cannot Hurt You

The same evening, there was Zizi, who had finally settled in the Soo house. The room - which was Xinyi's room before - hardly looked like it anymore. Everything was filled with Zizi's latest clothes, apparel, makeup and heels.

This was officially her first day in Yunru's house, which was spent organizing her room itself. But she wasn't tired at all. Instead, she was energized by thinking of tonight's dinner.

Soo Enlai knocked. "Zizi? You must be hungry. I will make a super-duper welcome feast for you! Tell me, what do you want to eat?"

Zizi opened the door and beamed. "Uncle!"

He pursed his lips. "Call me Dad. Uncle feels distant."

Zizi slightly blushed. It really felt as if she became the daughter-in-law of this family. "Dad."

He brightened and patted her head. "Good, good. That's more like it. Now, tell me about your choices."

"Oh! You don't have to cook, Dad. I will make tonight's dinner," she grinned.

Soo Enlai blinked his eyes. "Ah? No! Today is your first day in our house. I want to welcome you with a grand feast. How can I make you work on the first day itself? Daughters-in-law shouldn't work at all," he cutely harrumphed.

She laughed. "Then who will?"

"What are sons for? I also never used to let my wife work," he proudly said. "So much so that she used to get annoyed with me and would lock me up in the room until she did all the work…" he coughed.

Zizi laughed more heartily. "Ahahaha. That's so cute."

"That wasn't cute at all…" he grumbled.

She shook her head. "But I really want to cook," she shyly said, "I want Yunru to eat my food and praise me."

He snorted. "Don't give him so much attention and spoil him. But if that's what you really wish, then I will respect it."

"Thank you!"

A few minutes later…

The kitchen was filled with smoke. Zizi was coughing, and her eyes were stinging. She had insisted on cooking alone and wanted to impress Yunru and her father-in-law. She thought that sweet and sour pork was a really easy dish.

But as someone who had hardly stepped into the kitchen and never for cooking anyway, even a simple dish was a big challenge.

"*Cough cough*"

Soo Enlai anxiously popped his head from behind the entrance. "Are you okay, Zizi? Should I help you?"

Zizi lacked tears to shed.

Come on! Why is it so difficult to cook the pork!? Am I that hopeless?

"N-No, Dad, I can manage it!" She bravely said.

But a few minutes later, she almost had a fire accident, and Soo Enlai had to pull her out of the kitchen, or she would have blasted the whole house.

Soo Enlai coughed. "Stay here, dear. Let me check."

Zizi burst into tears. "I am sorry, Dad."

"Aiyooo, why is my daughter apologizing? Your sentiments are more important, and I am more than touched by your gesture."

"Dad…" Zizi was emotional.

So Soo Enlai ventured into the kitchen to clean up the mess, but somehow...Zizi felt that there was more smoke than before.

"Dad?"

She heard him coughing. "I-I am fine, dear. You stay put."

Then she heard rapid crashing and breaking noises of crockery shattering into pieces.

Just then, she heard somebody loudly banging on the door. "Dad? Zizi!?"

It's Yunru!

Before she could reach the door, he already broke it and barged inside. "What is happening? Why is there a fire-"

Yunru was speechless seeing the smoke in the house, and then more as he heard breaking noises from the kitchen.

"Dad!"

He rushed into the kitchen and mercilessly kicked his own father out of it. As he saw all the mess, he didn't know where to start. The pot was burning on the stove. The plates were broken on the floor. But first, he quickly opened the windows to let out the smoke.

"Stay right in the living room, you two! Don't step in until I come out! Especially you, Dad."

Silence.

"Daaaaaad?" He warned.

"Okay."

After almost forty-five minutes, Yunru was finally done with the cleaning. He apologized to the neighbors. "I am really sorry for all this. Thank you for informing me. I appreciate it."

The elderly women in the neighborhood really liked Yunru, and one of them even felt bashful. "Oof. What is there to thank for? We were just worried why your house seemed to be on fire all of a sudden. It would be such a shame to see you shift places because your house got burned down."

His brow slightly twitched.

"Oh, oh! By the way! Who is that woman inside?" Everybody eagerly asked. Their gossiping mode was switched on. "Your girlfriend?"

Yunru scratched his chin. Not like his father was going to stay quiet about it anyway. "Fiance."

The neighbors gasped. "Oh my! So you finally found someone!"

"I am so happy for you."

"She is so beautiful."

"I definitely want to meet her."

"How did you two meet?"

"Who proposed first?"

"Was it love at first sight?"

The chatty women started firing questions like bullets, which even cop Soo Yunru couldn't handle.

"*Ahem.* Sure, I will answer them all. But right now I need to deal with Dad," he flashed a polite but troubled smile.

They nodded. "Yes, yes. Scold that old man. Why doesn't he ever learn?"

"Indeed."

They bade him goodbye while excitedly whispering and muttering about Yunru and his fiance as they left.

Yunru shut the door and turned towards the culprits. He folded his arms and narrowed his eyes at the two perpetrators, kneeling on the floor, who guiltily lowered their heads.

He squinted his eyes at his father. "Dad, can I ask you what you were doing in the kitchen?"

Soo Enlai was indignant. "What are you accusing me for!? I was just helping Zizi!"

"Which you know you shouldn't," he dryly said, "Why do you think Mom and then sis used to lock you up in the room?"

His mouth twitched.

Zizi blinked.

Xinyi too?

"It's because you ADD more to the work rather than SUBTRACTING it. You are clumsy. That's why we keep you away from work."

Soo Enlai just grumbled to himself. "This is not how you should talk to your aging father…But it's okay. I am not feeling bad at all even if I have a delicate heart."

Yunru's brows twitched heavily. He sighed and looked at Zizi. "What did he mean by helping you?"

Zizi averted her gaze. "...ing...ner…"

"Ah? Say loudly. I didn't hear you."

"HsjsJkdk.."

"Are you muttering some curse?"

Zizi glared at him. "Cooking dinner!"

Yunru was stunned. "Why were you cooking?"

"I just wanted to surprise you! I didn't know it's so hard! I didn't even know when the smoke started to come out," she said in her defense.

"Did you not lower the gas flame while cooking?"

Zizi frowned. "We have to lower the flame too?"

Yunru choked.

"You cannot just always cook on a high flame!"

No wonder the house was almost on fire!