Because I Cannot Hurt You

A month later, Caihong finally decided to visit the Han villa with a purpose set in her mind. Until now, she used to go to spend time with a pregnant Xinyi, who was delighted to have her. The big baby bump had restricted her movements, making her feel easily tired nowadays.

So to cure her boredom of being cooped up in the Han villa for the whole day, Caihong accompanied her at times. Naturally, Zhiyuan was working from home to take care of Xinyi. But the more the merrier.

Today, Caihong had another reason apart from meeting Xinyi.

Ever since Jinhai told her about Han Huizhong's involvement in rescuing An Yueqin, she and An Guoting both - found themselves in a pickle.

The Han family in one way or the other had hurt the father-daughter pair tremendously. After the reunion night, there was no hope that their differences with Han Huizhong could ever be sorted.

But how could Caihong stay silent now when he was the major reason of An Yueqin coming back to their life? If he hadn't contacted Jinhai, Jinhai would have eventually wiped out Liao Yun, but she would have lost her innocent mother too.

Inside, the maid kindly bowed and greeted her. "Mrs. Zhu. Madam Xinyi is in her room like usual. Should I bring refreshments?"

"No. I will meet Xinyi later…For now, is Grandpa at home?"

"Oh, yes. He is in his room too, resting."

"Resting? Is everything okay?"

The maid sighed. "Master Han stubbornly ate some sweet cookies that young master Zhiyuan bought for Madam Xinyi. He still has to completely recover to be able to eat anything sweet, but he didn't listen. Last night, he was coughing a lot. The doctor came over and handled it. Now, he is resting."

"Oh."

"But it's okay. You can meet him. He is not sleeping."

She smiled and thanked the maid. Standing in front of Han Huizhong's room, she took a silent breath and knocked on the door.

"I am telling you, I am not taking that bitter medicine! Bring me tea! I want Xinyi to make me tea! I don't want any other tea! Tell Zhiyuan to bring me those cookies too!" 𝙛r𝚎𝐞𝑤𝚎𝗯𝗻𝗼𝐯e𝚕.𝒄𝐨𝓂

Her mouth twitched.

Clearly, he is cranky from the medicine and treatment.

She softly opened the door and stepped in. Han Huizhong's attention was on a book, trying to distract himself from his suffering.

Caihong folded her arms and sternly stood before him. "Xinyi is pregnant, Grandpa. You shouldn't demand her to do these things anymore. She needs rest."

He choked and looked up. Caihong's sight made him visibly stiff.

"Also, Zhiyuan cannot bring any more cookies for you. You landed yourself in this trouble because you didn't listen."

Han Huizhong would have usually given a snarky comeback, but he was strangely quiet in front of Caihong.

"This is not Xinyi's room."

"I know."

"Then why are you here? You are at the wrong place."

She was silent for a moment. She pulled a chair and sat beside him.

"I came here to talk to you."

He shrugged. "There is nothing you have to talk about to this old man."

Caihong stared at him. "Why…Why did you ask Liu Jinhai for help?"

Han Huizhong sat upright. He narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me?"

"He told me everything. It was supposed to be a secret, but he said it anyway. I agree. There have been enough secrets anyway. I think it's time to face it headlong."

Han Huizhong leaned back, mumbling curses at Jinhai.

"You don't have to think too much. An Yueqin was from the Underworld. I figured Jinhai might be able to help because of his position. That's all."

"It wasn't necessary for you to get involved. Yunru was there with us anyway."

Silence.

Han Huizhong looked away. Caihong noticed his fingers brushing back and forth along the book's pages as if he was trying to figure out what to say.

"I am not good at this," he confessed.

Caihong smiled. "I can see that."

"I could never apologize to Xinyi too in all these years. She went through a lot because of my stubbornness."

"Hm."

A long time passed by, and Han Huizhong seemed to have made up his mind. He slowly met her eyes, who was patiently waiting for him to speak. She could see the trace of his age through his tired eyes.

It always seemed as if Han Huizhong was like an invincible monster. But right now, he looked human like anybody else.

"I am sorry."

He took a pause after that to gather his thoughts.

"It's not enough for what you had to suffer. The night and the needless hatred towards Xiaosi and Chyou - an apology isn't enough to compensate for your seven lost years. Helping to bring your mother back wasn't a way to compensate for it. I never thought that way. It was just something I thought would make you happy. Even if it might be a little bit. My daughter ruined Guoting's life, and I destroyed yours. I felt An Yueqin was a link to lessen the burden off my shoulders and bring a smile to your face. Both yours and Guoting's."

Caihong ever so softly nodded.

"It doesn't mean you or him have to forgive me. I don't want you to force that conclusion. It's just that after years of tragedy my family brought upon yours, I felt I could do something to rectify it. Before I kicked the bucket, I hoped the Han family would do something nice for you and Guoting to dissolve the hatred even by a tiny margin. That's all. You don't have to feel in debt or the compulsion to forgive me."

Han Huizhong suddenly felt a ton lighter. He finally expressed all his bottled up feelings and more importantly, apologized to Caihong which he wanted to do for a long time. He even felt the pain from his chest melt away and the crankiness dissipate.

Caihong gently took his hand in hers. "I don't know if I can forgive you. It's a nightmare for any woman. But at the same time, things led in such a way that Xiaosi and Chyou came into my life. I met a man who always loved me wholeheartedly even in exchange of my hatred. You ruined that night for me, but you also brought them into my life. In a way, I could forget Zhiyuan and move on. I don't know what would have become of me after seeing Zhiyuan and Xinyi married. But Xiaosi's presence made me overcome it. It's because of that night that I have such a beautiful daughter. I don't know if I am even mad at you anymore," she sighed.

"The only thing I can say is that we can let the past be where it was. We have come a long way from that. Me too and so has Dad. Let's just move on, shall we?"