Because I Cannot Hurt You

And he inwardly was even sure that it might be today…

—

An Yueqin stepped out of a car, wearing a scarf around her mouth and nose. The man in the driver\'s seat looked at her. "I will be back in exactly two hours."

"I can come back by myself."

"It\'s the protocol. If you have anything to say about it, you know who you should talk to."

She gave him a cold glare.

The man left with his car while An Yueqin headed towards the mountain. She walked through the soft grass and the wind gently blew across her face. The mountain was not too steep, so it didn\'t take much time for her to reach the cliff.

The sun was already setting, and the night was growing darker. Beneath her, she watched Beijing city\'s breathtaking view. She sat on the soft grass and just silently stared at the view.

She slowly shut her eyes, and she heard a voice invading her mind.

*Flashback*

"You like this place?"

An Yueqin took in the fresh air of the mountain and then turned back. Behind her stood An Guoting who was around twenty-seven at that time.

She raised her brow. "Yup. I must say that I didn\'t expect the CEO of a company would have such a good taste in places."

"Being a CEO has got nothing to do with it. Everybody wants peace and some alone time," he smiled.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"You didn\'t look so comfortable last night. Did you have a bad dream?"

Her gaze slightly dimmed and a faint smile lifted her lips.

"Was it related to that world?" He slowly asked.

"You can say that," She shrugged it off. She stared at him for a long time until An Guoting couldn\'t help but ask, "What?"

"Nothing. Let\'s sit."

He nodded.

They sat on the soft grass and silently watched Beijing City in front of them. Then An Yueqin asked, "Do you still think about her?"

"Who?"

She chuckled. "Who else would I ask about?"

"Oh…" An Guoting looked back at the city and smiled. "Not really. There was a time when she was in mind every second of the day. It was painful because I hated her, yet I kept thinking about her. All my love for her already vanished that night. It was thanks to you that I was able to truly move on. I am glad I met you. I don\'t think about her anymore."

"I see…"

There was silence again.

An Guoting asked after a couple of seconds, "Why do I think that you have something else in your mind too?"

"I have. I asked you about her because I wanted to be sure."

"Sure? About what?"

An Yueqin tapped her finger on her palm. "Well…we met under unusual circumstances. You took me to your house in some unusual circumstances, and we got married for some unusual reasons too."

"That\'s too many unusuals in our life."

"I know. So, that\'s why I wanted to do something that is \'usual\' for a couple."

"Like?"

"Do you want to kiss me?"

"*Cough cough cough!!*" An Guoting choked so hard that it took him five minutes to properly calm down. He felt as if he was hearing things. "Huh?"

She furrowed her brows. "What\'s so shocking about this? Technically, it shouldn\'t be a problem because we are married."

"N-No…I mean you just…said it out of the blue…"

"Well, if I had waited for you to say it, my hair would have turned gray."

He coughed.

An Guoting adjusted his shirt\'s collar. "What brought this so suddenly?"

She blinked. "It\'s not sudden. You are tall, handsome, earn well enough, capable and responsible and above all, you have a good heart. What else does a woman really want from her husband? At first, I indeed married you to hide my identity. But you are a nice man to spend my life with and then well…it\'s not really rocket science to get attracted to you."

An Guoting felt his cheeks heat up. He liked her direct, upfront and no nonsense nature.

She waved her hand. "It\'s alright if you don\'t wanna kiss me. I understand it\'s too sudden."

Then she asked, "Is it because I am not a virgin?"

"Huh? It doesn\'t have anything to do with it."

"I thought it bothered you."

An Guoting frowned. "Well…even though it went all wrong and I didn\'t want that night with her, I am not any virgin either. Does it bother you?"

"No. It wasn\'t your fault."

"Likewise. It was your choice."

A pause.

"Okay."

Then there was another silence.

An Guoting said after an hour or so, "S-shall we head back? It\'s getting dark."

"Yup."

They got up and dusted their clothes.

An Guoting said, "Let\'s go-"

Suddenly, his lips were blocked by another pair of soft lips that kissed him for a few seconds. An Yueqin withdrew. "I gave it a thought and figured a small kiss should be fine. We are not teenagers to get so awkward around each other. Neither we are strangers anymore. Let\'s go."

An Guoting stood dumbfounded at his spot.

"Aren\'t you coming with me?"

He snapped out of his daze. He still felt a little lingering sensation on his lips. "Y-you…"

"You didn\'t like it?" She tilted her head.

He coughed hard. "I-It\'s not like that…You are right! It\'s a small kiss…Let\'s go!" He walked past her in a hurried pace making her chuckle.

*Flashback end*

At present, An Yueqin broke out of her daze. She looked at the time and there was still some time left. She decided to take a walk along the path and got up.

As she turned, she bumped her face into someone.. She raised her head and froze.