If You Could Hear My Heart

The first time she watched him write, he was writing her name.

Xu Chaomu.

The ‘Xu’ from ‘Xu Nuo’, and ‘Chaomu’ from ‘day and night’.

“This writing is so ugly, it devalues the jade,” Xu Chaomu lifted her head to glance at him, pouting her lips.

“With this writing, it becomes the one and only in the entire world,” Shen Chi wasn’t annoyed either, caressing her hair.

After a while, he added softly, “Just like you.”

Yes, she was Xu Chaomu, one of a kind.

“Then I’ll reluctantly accept it, but remember to give something more valuable next time. With your wealth, Shen Chi, giving a jade pendant is hardly justifiable.”

“You little rascal,” Shen Chi chuckled softly.

This jade was a rare treasure to begin with, and with her name carved on it, it became priceless.

These two small characters were personally carven by him after seeking the advice of a jade carving master.

During their recent argument, he almost wanted to stow the jade pendant away forever, but then he thought that life is long and one cannot avoid bumps along the way.

He, Shen Chi, was destined to be no good, so lowering his head was of no consequence.

“Chaomu,” he called her name, staring into her eyes, “The jade wasn’t given for free.”

“Hm? What do you expect as a return gift?” Xu Chaomu tilted her head to look at him, always knowing this man would never settle for a loss.

“Let me kiss you.”

He stared at her, and as soon as the words left his lips, his own followed, kissing her.

He held her little head, not letting her move, and the kiss landed steadily on her lips.

Xu Chaomu was completely stunned, her mind blank.

How many times had he kissed her now?

Why hadn’t she managed to kiss him in eight years, yet he had kissed her so many times in succession? Why was she such a failure?

Was this the difference between successful people and failures? Was this the legendary cunning of businessmen?

The kiss muddled Xu Chaomu, and her brain couldn’t catch up.

It felt like an eternity, like a lifetime.

Only when he had his fill did he let her go, satisfied, and whispered in her ear, “Chaomu, Chaomu, I offer you a lifetime, day and night.”

He didn’t know when it started, but he couldn’t live without her anymore.

“Shen Chi, you’re shameless. I don’t want your jade pendant!”

Xu Chaomu, fuming, tried to remove the necklace, her face burning red.

“Don’t move,” Shen Chi held her hand, “I’ve already kissed you, wouldn’t I be at a loss if you gave it back now?”

Xu Chaomu thought about it and realized he wasn’t wrong.

“It’s late, let’s go upstairs to sleep,” Shen Chi took her hand.

“Shen Chi, I have something to ask you.”

Xu Chaomu refused to leave; she had many, many questions for him. For instance, why he had kissed her.

In his eyes, was she just a mistress clinging to a wealthy man, and he, having that need, naturally led to them sneaking around?

She always remembered that he was about to get engaged.

So in his eyes, she was still that contemptible.

“We can talk about it another time,” Shen Chi frowned, not giving her a chance to speak.

“I want to talk now! You don’t seem to be drunk tonight, so let me ask you, did you bring me here just to relish the thrill of an affair? As the saying goes, ‘A concubine isn’t as good as a wife, and a thief isn’t as good as a concubine,’ do you enjoy this?”

“Stop making a fuss.”

What wife or concubine, what theft. Shen Chi was helpless.

“Shen Chi, you’re utterly shameless! You might be rich, but I won’t be your lover, go and find someone else.”

“Go to your room and sleep!”

Shen Chi, with a dark expression, yanked her into a neat and tidy small room. He had especially kept this room for her.

It had been furnished to her liking, which had taken a lot of his effort.

After letting go of her hand, he was ready to close the door.

“Isn’t this like soliciting? I can’t accept such a nice room,” Xu Chaomu rushed over.

Just as she intended to chase after him, Shen Chi casually closed the door.

“Bang, bang, bang,” she kicked the door forcefully several times.

“Scumbag! What do you take me for!”

He had said before that all she could do was seduce men, was just a gold digger. Now, after giving her a little something and showing some kindness, she was supposed to let him kiss her.

It felt like a transaction of money and sex, which felt horrible. Because she wasn’t that kind of woman, and she didn’t want to be that kind of woman.

“Bastard, what do you take me for…”

The more she thought, the more uncomfortable she felt, slowly she crouched down, sitting on the floor with her knees hugged.

She took a deep breath trying not to cry…

She wasn’t that kind of woman, she wasn’t his toy.

She had seen many times on TV shows and magazines, rich young men who have wives but still keep mistresses.

Typically, such mistresses do not have good endings.

And now, she felt a chill down her spine.

Wasn’t her current situation indistinguishable from being a mistress?

She also recalled the incident involving Wang Yu, Ning Kang, and Ju Shuya at the hospital. Ju Shuya was pitiful, as she couldn’t even keep the child. But no matter how pitiful, she was still the other woman.

An other woman, despised by everyone.

Xu Chaomu would not be the other woman.

With that thought, she forcefully tore the necklace from her neck.

Even if it pained her to part with it, even if she liked him, she still had her dignity.

As long as he didn’t love her, she wouldn’t cling to him. It was his affair if he wanted to fool around, but she wouldn’t be the one he did it with.

And so, Xu Chaomu spent the entire night awake.

She thought about Nie Chenglang and wondered if his flight had reached Paris.

Nie Chenglang refused to take her with him; if only he had been willing, how nice that would have been…

The night was quiet, the moonlight gentle.

At the Shen Family villa, Shen Shihan was on the balcony making a call to Xiaoma.

“Mhm, go ahead, I’m listening,” he said.

Shen Shihan’s voice was crisp and cold, becoming more profound in the chilly night breeze.

“Third Young Master, I’ve been investigating Xu Chaomu’s background and couldn’t find anything. I suspect Fourth Young Master has blocked the information.”

“I know, nobody else has the means to do that but him.”

“Third Young Master, Fourth Young Master seems very determined to keep Xu Chaomu’s background a secret. So, it’s not just us, other parties can’t find any information either.”

“So the reason you called me is to indicate there’s something out of the ordinary, right?” Shen Shihan said with a faint smile.

“Yes. Recently, someone let it slip that Xu Chaomu’s mother might have been harmed by Madam Zhou.”

“How widespread is this rumor?”

“It’s not widespread, I had to go through a lot of trouble just to hear a bit about it.”

“It doesn’t stray far from my suspicion,” Shen Shihan scoffed coldly.

He had been wondering, to what degree was Shen Chi’s affection for Xu Chaomu? Now it seems, if Shen Chi knew the truth all along, then this affection was nothing but atonement.

It’s just a pity for Chaomu, loving him wholeheartedly.

“Is there anything else?” Shen Shihan inquired.

“No, Third Young Master. The rumor lasted only a few days before it was suppressed.”

“It’s not hard to guess who suppressed it,” Shen Shihan stated flatly.