Because I Cannot Hurt You

Zizi nervously stood in front of the An residence. Sometimes, she stood still. Sometimes, she would pace back and forth, feeling unsettled. She had declared that she would be coming to meet him.

But now that she was finally here, her forehead broke into cold sweat.

How will I talk to him? What should I even address him as!? Should I continue calling him Uncle?

A guard bowed in front of her. "Miss Han. I will take you inside. Master An is waiting for you."

She jolted and coughed. "Yes."

Entering the villa, she saw An Guoting pacing back and forth in the living room. Hesitation was evident on his face.

Her brow twitched.

I was doing that too a few moments ago. Guess he is just as nervous as me…

She cleared her throat. "Hello."

An Guoting stiffened and faced her. "Zizi. Why are you standing so far away? Come inside."

He called the maid and asked her to bring some refreshments for Zizi.

Zizi quickly said, "I don't want you to take the trouble…"

He smiled. "It's not any trouble. Tian is your father, but I can at least do this much for you, right?"

Warmth spread in her heart, and she slowly nodded.

They sat down, and for the first few minutes, they only remained silent. Zizi was inwardly cursing herself.

I was the one who told him that I would be coming, and now I am only keeping my mouth shut! Come on, say something!

An Guoting saved her from the trouble as he asked, "So…" he coughed, "How is it going on with Yunru? Your relationship is doing okay, right?"

Yunru's mention calmed her heart down. "Oh, yes! Everything is going well," she smiled and proudly said, "He has been promoted to Chief's position and was also given a medal."

He beamed. "I see, I see. Yesterday was his birthday too, right? He must be thrilled with such a pleasant surprise."

Zizi eagerly replied, "Yes, yes! You should have seen his face. He was so speechless, haha. Oh, you actually can see his face. The whole celebration in Shanghai was video recorded. I will definitely forward you the clip. Yunru will also throw a party."

An Guoting chuckled. "Of course, he should. It's a great achievement, after all."

He observed Zizi's expressions, and his gaze softened. "You love Yunru so much."

"Yes, I do. I love him very, very much."

"And Yunru? He also loves you the same way you do, right? He keeps you happy, right?"

Zizi saw him clasping his hands together in concern. She looked straight at him and smiled. "Yes. Yunru keeps me the happiest! Nobody can keep me happier than Yunru. He calls me Princess and treats me like a Princess too. He is fair and doesn't spoil me when I really need a scolding," she chuckled. "He is the only one I want to spend my life with."

An Guoting was satisfied. He knew that the Soo siblings were honest and loyal, but as a father, he still wanted to hear it with his own ears. He could really see it now that Zizi was happy from the bottom of her heart.

"That's good. That's good then. As long as you both are happy…"

He said, "I missed a lot of things in my life. But I am glad that my daughters…" he wondered if Zizi was uncomfortable with him addressing her as his daughter. But she wasn't. 

He continued. "...aren't missing anything in their lives. Caihong and Xiaosi's marriage is finally settled after seven years. Once he wakes up from coma, their life would be filled with happiness again. You have also found such a capable man as your life partner. Once Shuang also finds a good man for her, I can rest easy."

Zizi slightly coughed.

If he knew that Yunru and Shuang were dating in the past, what would be his reaction?

But she didn't want to dwell on it. It was Shuang's choice if she wanted to tell him about her past or not. Though Zizi highly doubted she would. With their breakup and Yunru and Zizi's engagement, there was no point in raking up the past anymore.

An Guoting softly asked, "So, tell me. What did you want to talk about?"

Zizi said, "I wanted to ask why you sounded so low when we talked on the phone?"

He was surprised. "You came here just to ask that?"

"You sounded depressed. It's not a 'just' concern. I thought it was better to talk personally rather than over the phone."

Though Zizi could have easily told this to Caihong or Shuang, and they would have checked on him anyway.

But something in her heart compelled to meet him on her own. Now that the true relationship was known, did she want to act as a stranger to him for her entire life?

Even if she considered Han Tian and Xia Liqin as her parents, she felt it was unnecessary to completely ignore An Guoting.

An Guoting stared at her. His heart couldn't help but be overwhelmed with joy. Zizi was worried about him, and it was enough to make him feel over the moon. He despised Han Zongying and the night that transpired between them.

But he never blamed Zizi's birth for it. He loved her as he loved Caihong and Shuang.

"Thank you…"

Zizi nodded. "So, tell me. What are you worried about?"

An Guoting seemed to hesitate. "I...I don't know how to say it. You will think that I am stupid once you hear it."

Zizi frowned. "Nothing is stupid if it makes you worry. Don't hesitate. I won't judge you."

He found some solace with her encouraging words. "Okay. The thing is...I don't know if it was my hallucination, but I felt as if I saw Yueqin a few days ago."

Zizi rapidly blinked her eyes.

"Yueqin?" She felt as if she had heard the name somewhere before but couldn't recollect it.

An Guoting nodded. "Yes, Yueqin. My late wife and Caihong's mother."

Zizi widened her eyes, shocked. "You say you saw your wife An Yueqin!?"