If You Could Hear My Heart

The trees along the perimeter green belts were bent by the wind, branches and leaves flying everywhere, accompanying the dense rain that swept through every corner.

Bai Man held her phone in one hand while extending the other out the window, maintaining this position motionless.

Despite the howling wind outside, the leaves rustling wildly, and the cold dampness and chill brought by the windblown fallen blossoms, Bai Man seemed unaffected by the cold. She faced the wind, letting it whip through her hair.

Xiaofeng, her manager, carried a cup of milk upstairs and saw Bai Man with her hair in disarray, the big wind causing papers to fly around the room.

“Miss Bai, it’s too cold. Let me help you close the window, or you’ll catch a cold. If you do, Shen Chi will be worried,” Xiaofeng said with a smile, half-joking.

Bai Man didn’t insist on keeping the window open. She smiled faintly and turned her head, pulling her shawl closer.

“He’s so busy, how could he find the time to worry about me?” Bai Man joked back.

“Even if Shen Chi is busy, as long as you make a call, he will always take it to heart,” Xiaofeng insisted.

“I called him this morning, and he didn’t answer. His car wasn’t in the garage either. Tell me, where is his concern?” Bai Man sighed.

“Shen Chi is a busy man, please be understanding,” Xiaofeng replied.

“I know, Xiaofeng, am I that unreasonable?” laughed Bai Man.

“Miss Bai, drink this milk while it’s warm. After you have your breakfast, we’ll head to the set,” Xiaofeng suggested.

“The rain is pouring so heavily today, I don’t want to go. Please let the director know. I’ll stay at the Shen Family home, waiting for the young master to return,” Bai Man said languidly as she sat down in a chair.

She pulled out the chair, took the cup of milk from Xiaofeng, and drank absentmindedly.

The milk was warm. With a sip, warmth spread through her heart.

“Sure, I’ll call the director right away,” Xiaofeng replied.

“How’s that newcomer doing?” Bai Man asked nonchalantly, her eyelids fluttering slightly.

Xiaofeng’s mind raced: “The newcomer who was ‘kicked out’ last time? I gave her a handsome compensation. She said she would never set foot in C City again. ”

“What do you think Shen Chi would think if he found out about my doing this?” Bai Man mused.

“You did nothing wrong. If it wasn’t for your pushing Shen Chi last time, how could he have discussed marriage with Mr. Bai so quickly, how could he have gotten engaged to you so soon? Ultimately, he still cares about you,” Xiaofeng reassured her.

Bai Man’s lips moved slightly, and she remained silent, shaking the milk glass in her hand.

After a long silence, she lifted her eyelids, “I want you to listen to a recording.”

Having said that, she took out her phone, and her fingernails, painted with nail polish, slowly slid across the screen.

It was the same recording she had played for Shen Chi last time.

In it, Chaomu was emotionally saying, “Yes, if I could marry him, I wouldn’t have to worry about anything, so I like him. No, so I’m clinging to him, sticking to him. As long as I can marry him, what do I need ‘face’ for?”

After listening, Xiaofeng looked up, “Miss Bai, you should let Shen Chi hear this recording.”

“I did.”

“What was his reaction?”

“He seemed quite angry.”

“Chaomu really overestimates herself, how can she compare to you.”

“Xiaofeng, he doesn’t even believe that Chaomu stole the necklace, so why would he believe this recording of mine…” Bai Man said.

Xiaofeng had no answer; indeed, how clever Shen Chi was.

Bai Man gave a bitter smile, her gaze becoming hazy, “I think, he cares too much about Chaomu. The more you care, the more you fear. So even the slightest doubt, he will amplify it countless times, even to the point of madness, of being lost.”

“Miss Bai, don’t overthink it. Who needs to boost someone else’s morale at the expense of their own pride? Focus on your upcoming engagement next month. I heard from the Shen Family they’re already arranging it. It will be grand, and Shen Chi values it highly,” Xiaofeng rushed to say.

“I don’t want to think about it, but there’s still more than a month until the eighth of next month, right? A lot can change in a month. Who can tell?” Bai Man replied.

Xiaofeng, perhaps thinking Bai Man had a point, fell into thoughtful silence. The room became quiet for a moment.

After a while, Xiaofeng lifted her head, a glint in her eyes, “Miss Bai, you’ve driven away all those women who hooked up with Shen Chi before. Now, it’s just Chaomu; many methods can still be applied, right?”

“Indeed, you are right,” Bai Man responded with a gaze that couldn’t hide her lingering sadness.

“Miss Bai, such matters are simple if you think about it. Leave it to me. You can be at ease and become the bride, at ease entering the Shen Family,” Xiaofeng offered.

Bai Man didn’t respond this time, simply taking another sip of milk. She lowered her head, and when she did, the white milk swayed in the glass cup, and she just silently watched it…

The rain above continued relentlessly. In the garden, a cat with its drenched body arched suddenly jumped into a bush.

The shadow flickered and vanished in an instant.

But the bushes quivered, the surrounding plants shook as well, and droplets splashed, scattering the newly bloomed crabapple flowers to the ground.

The red petals scattered on the ground and on the green leaves, creating extreme beauty.

When Chaomu woke up early in the morning, she found that Shen Chi was gone, and she didn’t know when she had fallen asleep in the bed.

Fortunately, her clothes were all intact.

But she thought Shen Chi wasn’t interested in her anyway. That kind of man, so ordinary, looked down on her.

Her neck no longer hurt, but remembering how Shen Chi nearly strangled her to death yesterday, she felt waves of fear. Such a devil, it’s better to stay away from him in the future.

She hadn’t noticed before how bad his temper was.

Thinking about it, her saying “Shen Chi, get lost” yesterday must have completely angered him. He didn’t strangle her; he must have shown mercy.

After washing up, Chaomu hurried out of the hotel. She hadn’t expected the rain to be so heavy.

Everything in front of her was a blur of grey mist, hazy and white to the point where she couldn’t even see the floors of the building opposite.

Wind mixed with raindrops lashed against Chaomu’s face, a bit cold, prompting her to wrap her arms around herself.

She stood outside the hotel for quite a while, without an umbrella, unable to see any taxis.

Raindrops splashed at her feet, slowly soaking the hem of her pants.

Just then, a black Maybach slowly pulled up in front of her.

The smooth lines, the commanding black, combined with that stern face, turned this spot into a striking scene.

“Get in!” commanded a voice with thin lips, softly issuing two words.

How could she encounter him no matter where she went? Chaomu jumped back two steps and shook her head repeatedly.

After several shakes that weren’t emphatic enough, she shook her head several more times until she stopped, as if she had taken an ecstasy pill.

Shen Chi narrowed his eyes at her antics, and murmured under his breath, “What kind of tantrum is this now?”

His words were uttered softly, so Chaomu naturally didn’t hear them.

Last night, after he left the hotel, he didn’t return. Instead, he sat in his car, spending the entire night away from home.

Having thought through the night, he suddenly realized that the first person he wanted to see each morning was still her.

He thought he was crazy.

Completely and utterly crazy..