Because I Cannot Hurt You

Chapter 314 - Where No One Can See

That afternoon, Xinyi was lost in a daze as she helped with the cooking. Her thoughts were still revolving around Han Zongying, An Guoting and Xia Liqin. She tried to think of all the possible outcomes and scenarios that might have happened. But she couldn't conclude anything.

'It must have been so painful for him to see his daughter take her own life.'

Her gaze dimmed in sadness. She couldn't even imagine what he must have gone through. Seeing Siying get even a tiny scratch on him would make her feel hurt and depressed.

Just how painful it must have been for Han Huizhong to see his child die?

Suddenly, somebody switched off the gas knob, and she jolted out of her stupor.

"Where are you so lost in your la-la land that you didn't see the milk boiling all the way up?"

Xinyi heard the familiar gruff voice and looked at Han Huizhong, who was suspiciously staring back at her.

"Ah?"

She lowered her head and widened her eyes. She quickly said, "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

He sneered. "I can see that. I am curious what made you that way?"

Xinyi cleared her throat. She couldn't exactly tell him that he was thinking about his daughter.

"Nothing," she smiled.

Han Huizhong said nothing.

"Well, if you don't want to talk to me like Zhiyuan and Zizi openly don't, then you can do that. Han Huizhong doesn't need anybody's forced company."

She widened her eyes. "What? I didn't mean that."

He snorted. "It's alright, granddaughter-in-law. I am a shameless man who has committed a horrible crime. I don't expect you to show any sympathy, nor do I need any."

Xinyi pursed her lips in disappointment. "Grandpa. Do you really think that I think that way?"

As she looked at him, she noticed how thin he had become for a few days. He wasn't eating properly, and he would stay locked up in his room for almost the whole day.

It felt as if he was purposely not coming to spare everybody the trouble and not the atmosphere awkward.

At first, she thought not to intervene and give him a little space. But now, his behavior was hurting him because she knew how painful he must be feeling in turn for isolating himself from everyone.

Xinyi held his hand and smiled. "Shall we go for a walk, Grandpa? It's been a long time."

Han Huizhong shook his hand off. "I don't need it."

"But I do. I want to spend time with you. But I refrained until now because I thought you needed some time alone."

"I still need a lot of time alone."

"So let's go."

"Did you just ignore me?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

Han Huizhong's mouth twitched. "You and your brother are the same. Stubborn as hell! That night too, I wanted to go home alone, but Yunru didn't let me. He was insistent on dropping me off."

"En. I am proud of him," she nodded.

"..."

Xinyi gently held his hand and pulled him along. He wanted to shake it off again, but somehow he couldn't. He grumbled and let her do as she pleased.

Siying came hopping towards them in the garden. "Mama! Grandpa! Look! It's such a pretty flower!" He beamed.

Han Huizhong looked at him in disdain. "You disappoint me. Look for a thorn, not a flower. Flowers are weak."

Xinyi - "..."

Siying's shoulders drooped in sadness. "Flowers are pretty…"

He sneered. "What is the use of beauty if it gets trampled under someone's foot? Even if a thorn came under someone's feet, it wouldn't rest until it stabs the other person. You ought to fight, not fall for delicate beauty."

"Grandpa…"

He shrugged.

Xinyi sighed. She kneeled on the ground and kissed Siying's cheek. "En. The flower is really pretty. How about you try to draw it?"

Siying's gaze sparkled. "En! I will draw this flower and color it too!"

"Draw a thorn instead. You will be done in a second. Why waste time in a flower?" Han Huizhong insisted.

Xinyi coughed. "Go and draw over there. Mama and Grandpa are on the bench here."

"En!" Siying eagerly ran away.

Xinyi looked up at him. "Grandpa. Sometimes, I really wonder how you impressed Grandma."

Han Huizhong raised his brow. "What do you mean? She fell for my charms right away."

"Which says to choose a thorn over a flower?"

"Hey, I don't have any enmity with flowers, alright?"

Her brow twitched.

It looks that way...

"Appreciate flowers all you want, but in the end, you should be sharp and merciless as a thorn who nobody dares to mess with and who nobody wants to come anywhere near it."

"So, how did Grandma come so close to you?"

"Because I know when to switch between a thorn and a flower," he smirked.

Xinyi choked.

Grandpa and acting like a delicate flower?

Somehow even the thought made her shudder.

Han Huizhong narrowed his eyes. "How dare you! I have a romantic side too. It was reserved for my wife. How else do you think I married her? If I had stabbed her like a thorn, then wouldn't she have run away?"

She coughed and sat beside him. It felt good to talk to him, just like how it was before. She missed his snarky comments.

There was a beat of silence.

"How are things between you and Zhiyuan?"

Xinyi paused. "I forgave him for reading my diary."

Han Huizhong grimaced. "What was there to forgive for? For once, that brat used his head and did something I felt proud of."

"..."

"H-How could you? It was my diary!" Xinyi said indignantly.

"So? If you want your feelings to remain a secret, then don't write a fucking diary. It's just an invitation to fall in someone's hands one day. If I knew you kept a diary, I would have already given it to Zhiyuan to read it long back and let him know the blunder he made!"

Xinyi bit her lip.

She couldn't believe that Han Huizhong would say that!

"It shouldn't be on a paper. Your feelings should be kept tightly locked and secured in your heart where no one can see," he smiled.