Because I Cannot Hurt You

An Guoting pursed his lips. "I know that it's unbelievable. Even now, I feel as if I was mistaken…"

Zizi hastily waved her hands. "Wait, wait, wait! Let's start from the beginning. Where did you see her?"

He sighed. "It's okay. I don't think there is any point of talking about this. Maybe, I am missing her too much these days, so my eyes played tricks on me."

"Oof. Why are you already being so depressed about this? In all these years, you never hallucinated about her before, but now you feel as if you saw her. If I was in your place, I would have dug the whole history and geography of that place," she harrumphed.

An Guoting couldn't help but laugh. But soon, his gaze slightly dimmed. "It's impossible, Zizi. Yueqin... Yueqin is no more…"

He subconsciously clenched his fists in pain. He felt as if his heart was stabbed with a million pieces.

Zizi said, "I understand that it seems impossible. But if it's really a hallucination, then why is it troubling you so much? Why can't you just forget about it?"

An Guoting could say nothing to that.

"Because somewhere in your heart, you still feel that you weren't mistaken. So, you cannot get it out of your mind. Just tell me. Maybe we can do something about it. Yunru can help you in investigating too! He is an awesome cop!"

Zizi didn't forget to praise her fiance at this chance.

An Guoting softly chuckled.

"Did you tell Caihong about this?"

"No, no. She is already occupied with Xiaosi and taking care of Chyou. I don't want to trouble her over something which might turn out to be just my misunderstanding."

Zizi nodded in understanding.

"Shuang?"

"Not her either."

"Then why are you letting everything in your heart?" She complained. "If it's really a misunderstanding, then so be it. But at least, your heart would be at peace."

An Guoting thought about it and concluded that Zizi's words made sense.

"Okay. It was a few days ago. Exactly ten days back. I was in my car, and I saw Yueqin exiting a building."

"Did you clearly see her face? Or was it covered in some hoodie or scarf?"

"I clearly saw her face. I admit my car was a little far, but... but there is no way I won't recognize her. How should I explain...I felt as if the earth swallowed me. She just suddenly came into my sight, and I could only just stare at her in a daze. She looked left and then right and walked away. When I came into my senses, she was already far away. I dashed out of my car without a second thought and chased after her. But I couldn't find her. I ran far enough in the direction in which she went, but I never saw her again."

Zizi asked, "Did you ask the people around the area if they saw her?"

"I did. I showed some of them her picture, but everybody said the same thing. They never saw such a woman."

There was a long beat of silence.

"I did ask my assistant to investigate, but he too came up with nothing. That's why I thought... Maybe I was really mistaken. But the scene of her exiting the building is still etched into my mind so clearly that I cannot shake it off."

Zizi now noticed the faint dark circles under his eyes. She could see that he didn't have a decent sleep in days now.

"What about the building from where she came out? Somebody from inside that building would have definitely seen her."

He shook his head. "That's what my assistant investigated, and I personally went over there too to check it out. But nobody saw her."

What, is she a ghost? How can anybody not see her?

An Guoting saw Zizi deeply thinking over it. He patted her hand and smiled. "It's okay. I have already decided to let it go."

Zizi touched her chin. "No! We cannot give up so soon. Maybe, we are missing something. You shouldn't come to a conclusion without being thorough. I will ask Yunru to check on this."

He hesitated. "Let it be. It will be unnecessary trouble. And...if I be too hopeful, and it turned out to be a false chase, then it would only hurt me."

"Don't worry. If it really turns out to be a misunderstanding, I will be here to console you."

An Guoting suddenly coughed hard. He was speechless.

Console….

"You cannot fear disappointment. Hope is what makes people live on. If everybody gave up so easily, then we would miss so many things in life. Just think for a moment. If your wife is indeed alive by some miracle, then won't it be your loss if you gave up? You could miss your chance of reuniting with her!"

He stiffened. That was indeed a frightening thought. On one side, there was disappointment, and on the other side there was a tiny hope of seeing his wife again.

It still seemed unbelievable to him, but…

Yueqin...

He nodded. "Okay. Let's do it. Let's find out about Yueqin."

---

After Yunru got the information from Zizi, he felt dumbfounded for a long time.

Mrs. An still alive? How is it possible?

Yunru was an officer, so he couldn't help but have his suspicions on An Guoting's claim. Not that he lied, but maybe it was an illusion.

But, he cleared his mind of all such thoughts. He had to be unbiased to investigate.

As he went through An Guoting's assistant's file, where he had jotted down all his findings, Yunru came across an important point.

He blinked his eyes.

Huh?

He picked up his phone and called Zizi. "Yunru! Did you find anything about Mrs. An?"

"Not yet. But first answer my question. Is Grandiose really the building where Uncle An saw her exiting from?"

"Yes. It's in the assistant's file too. Grandiose. What is wrong with it?"

"It's weird. You know I am investigating the accident that happened with sis, right? Where the light equipment almost fell on her and brother-in-law got hurt while saving her."

"Of course, I remember."

"I don't know if there is a connection.. But Grandiose is the same building where sis and brother-in-law had their business conference a few days ago."