Because I Cannot Hurt You

An hour earlier.

The whole gang has gathered at the Han villa to celebrate Xinyi's birthday. Since there wasn't going to be a birthday banquet, they came for a quick visit.

Ah Cy said, "Zhiyuan is so sneaky! I don't know what he is planning. Ahhhh can I come with you too, Xinyi?"

Liang grimaced. "Hey, I give your awesome surprises too!"

She rolled her eyes. "I am not comparing you two, dummy. But it will be a special birthday today. Zhiyuan has planned something big, I guess. So I wanna know tooooo," she whined.

Jack Si took a sip of juice. "Zhiyuan wouldn't be so thrilled."

"Hmph. Who cares about him?"

Shuang snickered. "The man himself."

"Duh."

Caihong smiled and remained silent.

She was happy for Xinyi's birthday. But because Xiaosi was still in a coma, she couldn't focus. The past few days had been hectic for her too since she decided to take the reins of S3 Company. 

At first, Zhiyuan and Liang had joint ownership. But S3 was something Xiaosi had built with his hard work and sweat. She appreciated their help, but this time, as his wife, she wanted to be in the frontlines and manage the company just like how Xinyi was the standing CEO of the Han Corps. She would take responsibility until Xiaosi would be back on his feet.

Xinyi saw the light bags under her eyes, and her heart tightened for her friend. She gently put her hand on hers. "How is everything going?"

Caihong was firm. "Dad, Zhiyuan and Liang are helping with the management. I am finally getting the hang of it now. This is Xiaosi's company, and I want to give it my all."

She pursed her lips. "Apart from that...there is no improvement in Xiaosi's condition."

Jack Si was also solemn.

Her gaze shone with resilience. "But I am not giving up. I won't ever."

Xinyi nodded. "Xiaosi needs your confidence more than anything else," then she worriedly asked, "What about Chyou?"

She let out another sigh. "I told her the truth."

Everybody was surprised.

Ah Cy gasped. "Really? Y-you told him about his coma?"

She nodded. "You know Ah Cy. Time flies in the blink of an eye. Chyou has grown so much," her eyes slightly stung as she saw her at a distance, playing with Siying and Leina. "I tried giving all sorts of excuses to her about his absence...But she understood that I was lying to her. She simply asked me if her Dada was in trouble? I was so shocked that I couldn't gather my thoughts. I was really scared to tell her the truth. She is just a child. How will she take it?"

*Flashback*

Chyou saw her mother shocked and hesitating about something after she had straightforwardly asked about Xiaosi. Chyou puffed her squishy cheeks and held her hands. 'Mama. Chyou is a big girl now. I will not cry, I promise. I will help you too! Dada is my Dada. I want to know why he is not back?'

In other words, she simply meant that as his daughter, she had every right to know what was going on.

So Caihong slowly surmised and said that Xiaosi went through an accident, and he is severely hurt. He was unconscious and…

This was the most difficult part for Caihong to tell.

That nobody knew when Xiaosi would wake up...or would he even wake up at all? The possibility of him never coming back was heartbreaking, but this time, Caihong didn't hide anything from her. She didn't give her any false hopes.

Chyou was silent. Caihong anxiously waited. She had imagined her bursting into tears and crying hard. After all, she was closer to Xiaosi than Caihong. Xiaosi had showered her with all his love in the seven years when Caihong couldn't. Naturally, he held a special place in her heart. Caihong had absolutely no idea how she would handle her outburst. She was barely hanging on herself.

But then Chyou pursed her lips. 'Mama should have told me before. That's why Dada is not waking up.'

Caihong blinked her teary eyes. 'W-what?'

Chyou folded her arms and harrumphed as if her mother really missed a very obvious point.

'You meet Dada everyday, but you didn't take me with you! Dada is not waking up because he is missing me, too, like I miss Dada. Dada wants both of us to meet him together!' she seriously nodded.

Caihong almost stumbled on her foot.

'Dada loves Mama, but Dada loves Chyou too. See, I was worried why Dada isn't coming back. So he is also worried why I am not coming with you to meet him.'

'...'

The logic sounded strangely...flawless.

Caihong was speechless. Chyou had an aggrieved expression on her face, 'Dada is sick. You shouldn't make him worry more!'

Caihong's slightly red eyes finally let out the tears. 'But even so...we don't know if he will…'

Chyou furrowed her cute brows. 'Dada not wake up? It will not happen. Dada promised he will take us on a trip. Then he also said that he wants to do a lot of things for me and Mama. Dada doesn't break his promises. So, he will wake up.'

'...How long though?' Caihong had completely relinquished her adult's position and asked Chyou as if she was the adult now between them.

Chyou blinked as if this was also very obvious. 'I don't know. But if we meet him everyday, Dada will know that we are waiting for him. So he will wake up. Till then, we wait for him!'

'It's hard to wait…it's really so hard…' Caihong sobbed.

'Not hard. Dada was always patient with me. Whenever I didn't understand something, Dada always waited for me to get it. He waited for Mama, too, to become lovey-dovey with him! And see? Mama and Dada are so lovey-dovey now!'

Caihong choked in her throat.

Chyou tilted her head. 'Dada waits for us always. So we wait for Dada now!' 

She had a bright and incredible smile on her lips that shone Caihong's heart with hope.

Caihong watched, utterly stunned. She trembled hard.

Dada waits for us always.

She is right, isn't she?

He waited for me for so many years without any hope of things ever going normal between us. So why am I crying now if I have to wait for him?

The worry about Chyou's reaction had been eating her for the past few days. But she never thought that instead of crying, she would be so confident. Chyou didn't shed a single tear in fear.

Caihong hugged her hard and cried. 'You…when did you grow so much?'

Chyou said in an aggrieved tone, 'I always said that Chyou is a big girl. But the adults just don't believe me.'

After so long, Caihong finally burst into laughter with tears in her eyes.

'You are right. Adults are sometimes so stupid.'

Chyou heavily nodded. 'Adults are silly.'

And just like that, from the person Caihong could least expect to get any relief, she finally found her strength and belief that one day, Xiaosi would be back for sure.