If You Could Hear My Heart

“Come on, wear this.” The man bent down to button her up.

The clothes still carried his warmth. When they wrapped around Xu Chaomu’s slender figure, suddenly, a surge of warmth welled up from the bottom of her heart.

Xu Chaomu held a flashlight, while the man held an umbrella.

One tall, one short, they walked side by side in the rain.

The umbrella was always tilted towards Xu Chaomu’s side. In the dim light, Xu Chaomu felt particularly funny wrapped in that oversized clothing.

Now the man was left with only a white shirt, and in this weather, it was false to say he wasn’t cold.

“Handsome, are you cold?” Xu Chaomu looked up at him.

The man smiled, “Not cold, I’ve walked a lot, and I feel rather hot.”

“Oh, then I won’t be polite with you.” After saying this, Xu Chaomu wrapped the clothes even tighter around herself.

She had just taken a nap, and upon waking, she felt exceptionally cold.

“Little girl, aren’t you afraid I’m a kidnapper who will abduct you?” The man thought the girl was too naive.

“If you really were a kidnapper, you’d be prepared, and I couldn’t escape anyway.”

“What’s your name?” the man asked, squinting.

“Xu Chaomu. Xu as in ‘Xu Nuo,’ and Chaomu as in ‘morning and dusk.’

Finally, she stopped saying the “Xu” of “Xu Chaomu,” the “Chaomu” of “Xu Chaomu,” the “Chaomu” of “Xu Chaomu.”

Once, someone had taught her how to say her name; once, someone had written her name on paper with a fountain pen.

Looking at it, looking at it, all was joy.

However, paper will eventually yellow, and handwriting will blur, just like time marches on, and emotions fade.

“Chaomu, morning and dusk,” the man whispered softly, “If love lasts for a long time, would it really matter if it’s morning or night? It’s a lovely name.”

“It was my mother who named me, so of course it’s good.”

Whenever Xu Chaomu spoke of her mother, she was always full of pride; she loved her mother dearly.

The man laughed out, “Hmm.”

“How about you? What’s your name?”

“I’m Nie Chenglang.”

After saying this, the man took Xu Chaomu’s small hand and wrote three characters: Nie Chenglang.

The temperature in his palm was like the warmth from his clothes, like a warm breeze in early spring, everything was excellent, and time was incredibly slow.

When he came close to her, she caught the scent of his sharply sweet woody-fruity fragrance, refined and intimate.

Looking up, she met his smiling face.

In the interplay of light and shadows, amidst the hazy drizzle, his smile melted slowly in her heart like honey.

She smiled too, showing off her pearl-like small white teeth, “So how should I address you? Handsome, Mr. Nie Handsome, or Mr. Nie Super Handsome?”

“Call me Chenglang. If you call me handsome, I’ll become vain.”

“Then why do you still look so good?”

“To not unduly affect the city’s aesthetics.”

When Nie Chenglang laughed, Xu Chaomu laughed along.

“Chenglang, why are you out alone so late at night?” Xu Chaomu was quite curious.

Nie Chenglang lifted his wrist and glanced at it, “It’s just ten o’clock. I went to buy plane tickets at the airport. I have to go back to Paris in a couple of days.”

“Paris? Is your home in Paris?”

Xu Chaomu’s eyes dimmed, Paris was so far away…

Since childhood, she had never left C City; no one had taken her out.

“No, I study in Paris. I’m about to graduate. This trip here is to sponsor a charity event for the orphanage.”

“That’s nice.”

“I’ve been here for a while, and although the conditions are tough, being with those kids every day is still joyful.”

“I was sent to an orphanage when I was ten,” Xu Chaomu said.

“Oh? What happened after that?”

“Well, afterward I went with Sun Wukong to visit Mount Huaguo.”

“Haha.” Nie Chenglang laughed.

“Chenglang, can I be with you for the next few days, go to the orphanage?”

“Sure, but I’ll say it again, you’ll have to help with chores.”

“I’m not doing any chores for you. Hey, let me tell you, if I go to the orphanage, I’ll probably end up fighting with those kids. Really. I used to fight with my friends a lot, and they couldn’t beat me.”

“Look at you, so high-spirited.” Nie Chenglang looked down at her.

When he first met Xu Chaomu, he thought she was a stubborn and quiet girl, but he discovered that she was an outright little troublemaker.

“Big handsome guy, I want to ask you a question.” Xu Chaomu twinkled her eyes, a sly smile playing on her lips.

“Hmm?”

“If I end up fighting with the kids, whose side will you take?”

Nie Chenglang thought she had some profound question. He was first taken aback, then slowly curved his lips into a smile, saying seriously, “Neither. I’ll have both of you stand under the sun as punishment!”

“Annoying, so no use trying to curry favor.” Xu Chaomu pursed her lips.

They crossed the narrow lane, accompanied by the gentle rain and breeze.

At that moment, a small ditch appeared in front of them. Not deep, but quite wide.

Xu Chaomu timidly took two steps back, looking bewildered at the ditch, then looked up at Nie Chenglang.

“Can’t make it across.” Xu Chaomu remembered that there wasn’t a ditch here before.

Truly, what a shifting world, so much can change over time. Eight years, neither long nor short, yet enough to change so much.

The place that was once bustling was now nearly deserted.

“Here, take this.” Nie Chenglang handed the umbrella to Xu Chaomu.

He rolled up his trousers, bent over, and patted his shoulder, “Come on, I’ll carry you on my back.”

Xu Chaomu’s nose tingled for some reason.

But seconds later, she grinned, “Big handsome guy, I’ll walk by myself. Your clothes seem pretty expensive.”

“No more nonsense. Do you really want me to carry you?”

“Oh, then you better carry me.”

As soon as she said that, Xu Chaomu leaned on his shoulder. She opened the umbrella overhead, and that’s when she realized that half of Nie Chenglang’s shoulder was damp.

He was only wearing a thin white shirt, and when she touched it, she found that much of it was wet too.

“You’re so nice to me, it will touch my heart,” Xu Chaomu said softly into his ear.

“Then be touched for a bit.”

Xu Chaomu was truly moved, the atmosphere of the night lending itself to sentimentality. Just as she was about to say something, Nie Chenglang spoke first, “You’re quite heavy.”

Sadness and melancholy instantly turned into bemusement.

“Do you know, when you say that, it hurts my feelings. Don’t talk to me for three minutes! Humph.” Xu Chaomu pretended to wipe away tears.

Then, she turned her head away, closed her eyes, and ignored him.

“Quite the temperament,” Nie Chenglang chuckled, “I haven’t even asked you yet, why did you run out all alone in the dead of night?”

“The king sent me to patrol the mountain.”

Xu Chaomu had a poor memory; she had just told him not to speak for three minutes, yet here she was answering his question.

They had long crossed the little ditch, but Nie Chenglang hadn’t put her down.

The girl was light and thin, hardly heavy on his shoulders.

Nie Chenglang was amused by her again, “So what did you find on your patrol?”

“You! Mr. Nie Super Handsome.” Xu Chaomu giggled.