Because I Cannot Hurt You

Chapter 539 Jack\'s past (1)

　　Before Shuang could go to strangle him, Jack himself stepped out of his bedroom. With his eyes half open, he saw Shuang in front of him and smiled. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead.

　　There was silence.

　　Shuang - "..."

　　She cleared her throat and gently removed his hands from her waist. "We have company."

　　Jack pouted. "Don\'t lie early in the morning just because you want to run away from me."

　　"..."

　　At that point, Si Min coughed and brought his attention to them. Blinking his eyes rapidly, he stared at his parents, who were staring back at him with complicated emotions.

　　"You…What the hell are you two suddenly doing here? You just landed from New York and didn\'t even tell me!"

　　Daniel glowered at his son. "Can we not even meet our son now!? You have the nerve of not coming back for ten years and are now questioning us!?"

　　Jack\'s gaze darkened. "Wasn\'t it you who threw me out of the house if you might remember? Have you gotten too old now that you have started forgetting stuff?"

　　"Jack!" Daniel exclaimed in a fury.

　　Shuang was about to diffuse the tension when Si Min stood in between them. "Both of you, shut up!"

　　That silenced the father-son pair. 

　　Shuang jolted and watched her in a stupor. She looked so elegant and soft-spoken that her change in her aura seemed too sudden.

　　Si Min glared at Daniel. "What did we decide before coming here, Daniel?"

　　Daniel answered, "Ask him. Not me! He opened his mouth first!"

　　"That was obviously going to happen! We came here, unannounced. What else do you expect from him?"

　　He gritted his teeth and looked away angrily.

　　Si Min then glanced at Jack and pursed her lips. "I am sorry, Jack. We didn\'t inform you before. I insisted to Daniel that we should come to China. I knew you wouldn\'t like it, so I kept it from you."

　　Jack said nothing. 

　　Once again, an awkward silence fell. Shuang gave it some thought and came forward. "Hello. I am An Shuang and Jack\'s girlfriend. I know what you have come here for but with all due respect, I think you should leave."

　　Daniel and Si Min were surprised and so was Jack.

　　"I know you have a lot to talk about because there has hardly been any contact with Jack for ten years, but that is also exactly why it is all too sudden for Jack. If you show up on his door ten years later, it will be hard for him to adjust. Of course, you don\'t have to return to New York. You have all the right to meet your son. Stay in Beijing, but give him some time to sort out his thoughts. I think you need that too."

　　Daniel narrowed his eyes on his son. "Of course, we know what to talk to him about."

　　Shuang smiled. "I really don\'t think so."

　　Si Min looked back at her husband. "She is right. Jack is an adult now. We cannot suddenly barge in like this…"

　　Jack felt his heart lighter. He wasn\'t really in the mood to have a heavy conversation with his parents. 

　　Daniel stared at Shuang once and then at Jack. He only narrowed his eyes and said nothing. He quietly got up and turned to leave without uttering a word.

　　Si Min glanced at the two of them once, and a small smile lifted on her lips. "You can give me a call once you are ready, Jack."

　　They soon left, leaving Jack and Shuang alone in the house. 

　　Jack collapsed on the couch, pressing his head. "What a shock early in the morning…"

　　Shuang sat beside him and saw creases forming on his fair forehead. She held his hand in hers and smiled. "Shocking indeed but you don\'t have to worry about it. Go at your own pace."

　　Jack glanced at her. "Thanks for sending them back. You are so cool," he proudly smirked. "The girlfriend sent back the boyfriend\'s parents on the first day itself."

　　She pinched his ear, and he yelped. "I got a heart attack after seeing them! And I wasn\'t even ready to greet them!"

　　Jack chuckled. "I am sorry."

　　"You better be! Do you understand the awkward silence we had between us at the entrance? I wanted to strangle you," she glared at him.

　　"Hey, you gonna kill your boyfriend so soon?" He pouted. "We just started this beautiful journey of- ow, ow!"

　　"Say more cheesy words, and I will throw you out of this house."

　　Jack sighed and laid his head on her lap. Shuang gently combed her fingers through his hair in silence.

　　"You won\'t ask about the whole situation."

　　"I want to, but I don\'t want to force you to tell me just because I am your girlfriend. Only talk when you are comfortable," she smiled. "It\'s hard to let out your scars even if you love that person. Nobody understands that more than me."

　　Jack stared at her, his heart fluttering and jumping in his chest. "I don\'t want to hide it from you."

　　His gaze then moved towards the ceiling, gathering his thoughts. "I don\'t know how to start…"

　　Shuang gave it a thought and asked, "Hm…let\'s start with how you became a delinquent. Michael told me that you weren\'t troublesome in your middle school days. In fact, you were quite decent."

　　His mouth twitched. "I am still decent."

　　She sneered. "We will do that math later, Mr. Jack."

　　Jack coughed. He rubbed his chin, his gaze felt as if he was looking somewhere at a distance, reminiscing the past.

　　"Around the time I started high school, Dad and I started to have arguments. He is a well-renowned doctor himself. A cardiologist. He loves saving people, that\'s for sure. But he also loved the status that came along with it in society. Naturally, he wanted me to follow his footsteps and become a doctor too. But, I wasn\'t interested to become one. He was very mad at me."

　　"Ah. So your career choice made clashes arise between you two."

　　"That and when I realized I was also attracted to men. When I came out, it only added oil to the already burning fire between us. He thought that I don\'t want to study because I have lost my way."