Because I Cannot Hurt You

An residence.

"Caihong!"

An Guoting brightly smiled and hugged his daughter. His eyes slightly teared up as he looked at her up and down.

He worriedly said, "Caihong, are you eating well? You look so thin."

An Meiying gently smiled. "Caihong, it's not to ignore your health like that. But don't worry. Now that you have come here, I will make all of your favorite dishes and fill you up."

An Guoting smiled, satisfied.

"How was the cruise ship, dear? I hope you enjoyed it a lot. Oh, and did you meet Shuang? She was there too."

An Meiying quietly observed her. She wanted to know what happened on the ship and how she was humiliated.

She inwardly grimaced.

That stupid daughter of mine. I don't know where she disappeared. She is not even picking my phone!𝑓𝗿𝐞𝘦𝘄ｅ𝘣n𝘰𝘷eƖ.c𝘰𝗺

Caihong raised a brow at her.

Before Shuang left, she had asked Caihong to pretend to be furious at her. If An Meiying knew that Shuang didn't trap her as she wanted, it would be a mess for her.

Such a pain, Caihong thought.

She was in no mood to act all angry, but then again, Shuang had honestly exposed her own mother and minded her own business, causing no trouble to her. So, she agreed that she owed at least this much to Shuang.

Hmm...but wait a minute. I don't want Dad to misunderstand her and affect their relationship.

Caihong narrowed her eyes at An Meiying. "...Yes we met. We had fun."

With the way she looked at her, An Meiying thought that something definitely happened.

An Guoting smiled and nodded. "That's good. I am so happy that you sisters are living so well together," he looked around. "Where is Chyou?"

Caihong said, "Why should I bring her here?"

An Meiying anxiously said, "Dear, it's not good to ignore your child like that. She is your flesh and blood."

Caihong snickered.

Yeah, like you took a lot of care of me in the past…

"I don't want to hear it again from you," she glared at her.

An Meiying trembled. "I-I am sorry. I just don't want you to resent Chyou. She is my dear granddaughter. But I guess I am meddling in your affairs…" she lowered her head and sniffled.

An Guoting quickly said, "Of course not, Meiying. Caihong, she is just thinking about you and Chyou's well-being. Please don't be angry at her."

"It's alright, Guoting...I don't mind. Perhaps to Caihong, I will always be a step-mother," she pitifully wiped her tears.

At that moment, Caihong seriously wondered how Shuang turned out to be so different from her mother.

An Guoting pursed his lips. "Caihong…don't be like that."

She shrugged. "I am tired and going to rest."

He sighed. He got a call and he left. "I will be back."

Caihong glanced at An Meiying who feigned to jolt under her gaze.

"By the way. I did meet Shuang. How can she be not there wherever I am?" Caihong smiled. "After all, it's a step-sister's job to ruin her sister."

An Meiying widened her eyes and gasped. "C-Caihong... W-what are you saying?"

"Sure. A sister who plots to humiliate me in front of everyone. A sister who was standing in a corner and sneering at me from afar. Some good sister I have and a good mother too."

Her eyes watered. "Caihong, you must be misunderstanding something. Shuang would never do anything like that."

"Your and your daughter's acting isn't gonna work on me. So save it for Dad. You will need a lot of it."

"How can you talk like that? I am your mother. And what did she do? I am sure there has been a mistake…"

But Caihong's job was done. She didn't want to delve into fake details.

"Ask that to your lovely daughter herself."

She didn't wait for a second more and left.

An Meiying wiped her fake tears and smiled.

Seems like Shuang finally did something useful. But why is that idiot not picking up her phone!

As Caihong walked, she heard her phone buzz. She frowned when she saw a recording sent by Han Guang.

What is this?

She downloaded it and began playing.

---

At the hospital, Zhiyuan was turned cold and furious on seeing Xiaosi with Xinyi. If Chyou had not been there, he would have already punched him hard in retaliation.

"Get away from her. How dare you show your face here?"

Xiaosi said, "Oh it's my dear friend, Zhi. Why do you look so mad? I just came to meet Xinyi as her friend. How can I not be worried when I hear that she is hurt?"

It took a lot of strength for Zhiyuan to not react to his provocation.

"We were just reminiscing old times. Actually, I was sharing a secret with her."

Xinyi stiffened.

Xiaosi naturally understood what she was fearful of. He kept a decisive pause, making her fluster and panic even more.

"How I always thought to ask Xinyi out as my girlfriend in those days," he chuckled. "You know sharing the same sentiments of-"

The last thread of his patience snapped and Zhiyuan clutched his collar. He hit his back on the wall and was about to pound his fist on his face.

The gentle Zhiyuan was enraged by his insulting words. Talking that way about Xinyi erupted a fury within him that he couldn't control anymore.

Chyou was startled and her eyes teared up. "Dada…"

She kept her drawing book aside and ran towards his side.

"Zhiyuan, stop," Xinyi quickly said and tugged his coat. He stopped his fist just a few centimeters away from his face.

Xinyi urged. "Zhiyuan, please... Chyou is here too."

She looked down at the frightened girl who was tightly clutching onto Xiaosi with tearful eyes.

"Don't hit my Dada…"

Zhiyuan pursed his lips. His gaze slightly softened, seeing the little girl. But it didn't diminish the storm in his heart for Xiaosi.

"Don't cross your limits, Xiaosi. Don't forget that you are talking about my wife. I will not tolerate your shit just because we had been good friends at one time."