If You Could Hear My Heart

She struggled forcefully: “Mr. Shen, this has nothing to do with you.”

Tears of restraint filled her large eyes, but in front of him, she did not let a single one fall.

“If you’re short of money, just tell me. What’s there to be embarrassed about? Whether you owe eight hundred thousand or a million, you still owe!”

“The earlier eight hundred thousand, I will pay you back. Just give me a little time.”

“Then why are you here in this villa area? Who are you planning to borrow money from?” Shen Shihan was relentless.

“It has nothing to do with you.”

“It seems you managed to borrow the money?” Shen Shihan sneered.

Mo Shuifu couldn’t possibly tell him that she had made a fruitless trip. Gritting her teeth, she met his gaze: “Yes, I’ve borrowed it. You needn’t worry about it any longer, Mr. Shen.”

“Is that so? I didn’t expect Mo Shuifu to have an acquaintance who’s a sugar daddy in this villa area. Someone you met in Weiyang?”

“What’s it to you?”

“Was it a bank card or a cheque? Let me see it.” Shen Shihan didn’t believe her at all.

“You’re crazy.” Mo Shuifu collected her things, muttered softly, and brushed past him.

Shen Shihan quickly reached out and grabbed her wrist, holding it tightly.

Before she could resist, he took all the papers from her hand.

He checked them one by one.

Hospital stay, surgery fees, medication fees, nursing costs… He roughly added them up and it already amounted to more than two hundred thousand.

There was also a final notice from the hospital: if she couldn’t gather the funds for the surgery, they couldn’t proceed with future operations.

“The deadline is tomorrow afternoon,” Shen Shihan murmured softly.

Mo Shuifu clenched her teeth even harder. Yes, tomorrow afternoon, the last chance.

“Mo Shuifu, are you sure you’ve raised the money? If so, then I’ll back off. You better think carefully about tomorrow afternoon.”

Shen Shihan handed the papers back to her, let go of her wrist, and turned to leave.

Mo Shuifu bit her lip; Shen Shihan was right.

She didn’t know any wealthy friends; rich people disdained to befriend someone like her. By tomorrow afternoon, she definitely couldn’t raise more than two hundred thousand.

Missing the treatment would cost her mother’s life.

Owing eight hundred thousand or a million, it’s still a debt.

He was not wrong.

Finally, Mo Shuifu made up her mind and said, “Mr. Shen, would you be willing to help me?”

“Willing to lower your head?” He didn’t turn around, giving her a stiff back to talk to.

“Yes,” she said through gritted teeth.

What else could she do, what else could she do.

“It’s not that I want to make things difficult for you. I’ve said it many times; you can treat me as a friend, or even… never mind. Get in the car, I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Shen Shihan didn’t look back and headed straight for the car.

Mo Shuifu opened the back door of the car, ready to get in.

Shen Shihan pointed to the passenger seat: “Sit here. I’m not going to eat you up!”

“Oh.” Mo Shuifu had no choice but to open the passenger-side door.

Sitting next to him, she felt somewhat uneasy. After all, she had never been in such a nice car before.

Her head lowered, a strand of her hair dangled beside her ear.

Shen Shihan really had no way of dealing with her, driving with frustration, he turned the car around and headed towards the hospital.

Such an ungrateful woman.

The car drove smoothly, and Mo Shuifu, with her head down, remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.

“How’s your mother’s surgery doing?”

“The major surgery is fine, but there are a few more minor ones to do. The medication is quite expensive.”

“I told you, if you’re short of money, just borrow from me. Why are you so stubborn?”

“I don’t want to owe you.”

“Then tell me the truth, who exactly did you come to this villa area to find?”

Shen Shihan largely knew the residents here, and he was quite curious as to whom Mo Shuifu had come to see.

Mo Shuifu bit her lip and remained silent. She had promised Shen Chi that she wouldn’t cause him any trouble.

Actually, she should never have come here in the first place, acting out of sheer desperation.

“Why are you suddenly mute?” Shen Shihan was quite displeased.

“Nothing.”

“What do you mean nothing? I’m asking you a question!” Shen Shihan raised his voice.

“I didn’t come to find anyone.”

“You really have a tough mouth,” Shen Shihan sneered.

She had said, she wouldn’t cause any trouble for Shen Chi. Since Shen Shihan and Shen Chi were brothers, she really shouldn’t have said it.

If Shen Shihan told Shen Chi, it would only cause trouble for him and Xu Chaomu.

She fell silent, and the car was suddenly quiet.

Shen Shihan turned off the light, plunging the car into darkness, making it nearly impossible to see each other’s faces, and they stopped talking to one another.

The drive to the hospital went on, and after an indeterminate amount of time, they finally arrived.

When Shen Shihan followed Mo Shuifu out of the car, it seemed she did not reject him, but tacitly accepted his presence.

Shen Shihan went to the front desk and paid all of her mother’s overdue bills, even prepaying for half a month’s hospital stay.

Mo Shuifu watched quietly from the sidelines, without saying a word.

After paying all the bills, Shen Shihan went to fetch the medication for her mother.

Mo Shuifu didn’t say anything, quietly took off her scarf, and went back to the ward.

The aunties in the ward were all asleep as was her mother.

Her mother, who had just undergone major surgery, looked very frail, with many strands of white hair visible on her head. Mo Shuifu touched her mother’s face and leaned her head in close.

“Mom, your daughter is useless, I can’t earn the money…”

Of course, her mother did not respond, and a tear from Mo Shuifu fell onto her mother’s face.

Her mother’s hands bore calluses; Mo Shuifu held her mother’s hand in the palm of her owns, caressing it.

“Mom, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. This man, he gave me so much money, and I have no way to repay him. Mom, I can only…” She swallowed the words before they could leave her mouth.

She couldn’t tell her mother, it would make her unhappy.

But the decision she made, she wouldn’t change it.

Tonight, she was willing to offer herself to Shen Shihan if only he would agree.

The money she owed him, she could no longer repay…

If she could repay it, she wouldn’t need to sell herself. She had preserved herself for so many years, always wanting to give herself to the man she loved most.

Yet, it would never be possible now. Nevertheless, she had no regrets.

Besides, the man she had longed for day and night was reportedly about to get married.

She was out of Shen Chi’s league, just as she was out of Shen Shihan’s league.

She sat beside her mother’s bed in the quiet room, listening only to the uniform breathing of the other aunties.

The dim light cast shadows as Mo Shuifu sat there, waiting for Shen Shihan to enter the ward.

At last, he arrived. Against the light, he slipped into the ward quietly.

Carrying a large bag of medicine, he placed the handbag on the sofa and softly told Mo Shuifu, “Take the medicine according to schedule; it’s all clearly written on the labels.”

“Mr. Shen, thank you.” Mo Shuifu also lowered her voice in response.

“Do you really have to be so contrived when you address me? Can’t you just call me Shihan?” Shen Shihan was annoyed.

But considering they were in a hospital ward, he refrained from getting angry.

Mo Shuifu shook her head: “Mr. Shen, we are of different statuses.”

“You!” Shen Shihan was exasperated.