If You Could Hear My Heart

After he finished speaking, Shen Chi didn’t wait for Nie Chenglang to say anything more and hung up the phone.

Soon after, he made a call to Xiao Mo.

“Xiao Mo, help me look into a man named Nie Chenglang. Also, follow the vine to the melon, and check what Xu Chaomu was up to abroad during those five years.”

“Okay, I will give President Shen a response soon.”

“Mhm.”

After hanging up the phone, Shen Chi closed his eyes and sat in the passenger seat lost in thought.

“President Shen, I heard that Jian Sisi’s suicide has caused an uproar. Some shareholders are demanding an explanation from you,” Old Cheng said.

“No need to bother with it.”

“Then, President Shen, are we going to the A City Exchange soon?”

“Yes, drive there now, and we won’t pass by the corporation.”

“Okay.”

Listening to the instructions, Old Cheng drove the car straight towards the direction of A City.

The trees outside the car were lush with greenery, and the sun blazed down fiercely. Cicadas in the tree tops were buzzing incessantly, the scent of summer particularly intense.

The Maybach drove on, slowly leaving C City behind.

By the time Xu Chaomu woke up, Shen Chi’s car had long since left C City.

She felt groggy all over, as if she could never get enough sleep. When she opened her eyes and glanced at the clock, it was already ten in the morning.

She sat up lazily and started to get dressed. Lately, she had been getting lazier and lazier, sometimes too lethargic to even get out of bed in the morning.

Her eyelids were heavy, and she still felt particularly sleepy.

Just as she casually put on a loose T-shirt and was about to leave the room, the baby in her belly suddenly became extremely restless.

“Ugh…” She covered her mouth and ran to the bathroom.

She turned on the tap and bent over the sink, vomiting repeatedly.

This baby was particularly troublesome. Others might vomit occasionally during pregnancy, but she had to endure violent nausea almost every day. Especially in the morning, it was rare for her not to vomit.

At the moment, she leaned over the sink, the water wetting her hair.

“Baby, mom is about to be worn out by your antics,” Xu Chaomu said, touching her belly helplessly, but her brows and eyes were full of indulgence.

How did she end up carrying such a troublesome child? Would it start kicking her in just a few months?

She wondered whom this child took after… Could it be… her?

She propped herself up on her waist, washed her face weakly with a towel, but she had just thought about straightening up and going downstairs when a wave of turmoil hit her belly again.

Xu Chaomu could only bend over once more, leaning against the sink as she vomited again.

“This is so uncomfortable…” Tears were almost spilling out as Xu Chaomu held onto the edge of the sink, wishing she could just die.

She had never imagined that being pregnant could be so difficult…

Feeling weak all over and unable to lift her eyelids, she had no choice but to slowly make her way along the wall and back to lie down on the bed.

“Ah, this is so miserable… Baby, can’t you settle down a bit… if you keep this up, mom might not want you anymore…”

Xu Chaomu stroked her belly, her small face full of pain, with beads of sweat the size of soybeans on her forehead.

However, the child didn’t listen to her at all. Xu Chaomu had just lain down for a while when she felt the urge to vomit once more.

She hastily climbed out of bed again and ran to the bathroom.

She was vomiting so intensely that bile was nearly coming up. Xu Chaomu clung to the towel rack, hanging like a rag doll.

“If you don’t behave, baby, wait until you’re born. I’ll spank your bottom,” Xu Chaomu snorted, looking down at her belly.

She stood in the bathroom for quite a while. Only when the urge to vomit subsided did she return to bed to lie down.

Outside the window, the summer breeze rustled the sycamore leaves, making a “shushing” sound. Cicadas chirped on top of the leaves, filling the air with the taste of summer.

Xu Chaomu turned on the air conditioner and lay quietly on the bed, closing her eyes to listen to the sounds outside the window.

All of this felt like a long, long dream. When the dream ended, she was still lying in her own bed.

It’s just a pity that when she woke up from the dream, she was no longer eighteen.

The wind passed without stirring any dust from memories.

The sunlight shone through the half-drawn curtains into the room. Occasionally, Xu Chaomu would sluggishly lift her eyelids and feel that everything was just delightful.

She lay back, looking out the window.

Outside there were mountains, waters, and splendid flowers, dragonflies skimming over the surface of the water, and lotuses swaying gracefully.

At eleven o’clock, Butler Ling, seeing that Xu Chaomu had not come downstairs, hurriedly went up and knocked on her bedroom door.

“Chaomu, are you awake?”

Xu Chaomu hadn’t fallen back asleep. Hearing Butler Ling’s voice, she lazily turned over: “Butler Ling, I’m not feeling well.”

“Where does it hurt? May I come in?”

“Okay…”

Butler Ling, her face filled with concern, got Xu Chaomu’s permission and turned the doorknob to her room.

As she came in, she saw Xu Chaomu lying on the bed, her eyes half-closed, her complexion pale.

One hand was on her belly, the other propping herself up on the bed.

“Sigh…” Butler Ling shook her head and sighed.

Having not seen Xu Chaomu for five years, she truly had changed a lot. Perhaps it was because of this child; now, she no longer seemed as playful and willful as she used to be.

Just like at this very moment, she was becoming even more like a mother, quietly protecting her own child.

“Chaomu, what’s discomforting you? Shall I call the doctor for you?”

“No strength, just feel like vomiting… this baby is a real handful…” Xu Chaomu’s head drooped, her voice weak.

“It’s alright, it’s alright. It’s your first pregnancy, all of this is normal. If the vomiting is too severe and uncomfortable, I’ll have the doctor prescribe some antiemetic medication.”

“Butler Ling, taking medicine is bad for the baby, isn’t it?”

“The doctor will be very careful. They definitely won’t prescribe anything with side effects.”

“Let’s not, then. I’ve heard it’s mostly just the early stages when you vomit, it gets better later, right?”

“Yes, once your baby grows a bit, you won’t vomit anymore.”

“When he’s bigger, he’ll start kicking me,” Xu Chaomu said with a smile.

“Chaomu… A question I shouldn’t ask, but when you feel better, are you going to take this child to find his father?”

“His father is very good at taking care of people. I’m only reassured with him by my side.”

“You could stay with the Shen family, and I would take care of you too. I’ve taken care of many children, and I’ve got experience.”

“A father’s love is different,” Xu Chaomu said softly.

Butler Ling fell silent, knowing that Xu Chaomu was right.

Both mother’s love and father’s love are indispensable.

But in this way, what would happen to the Young Master Shen in the future…

Young Master Shen was stubborn; having set his heart on Xu Chaomu, he would not fall in love with anyone else. She had seen everything that had happened over these five years.

Now, Xu Chaomu was not dead; she had come back. Could he really let go?

“Chaomu, I’ll go and get you something to eat. You must be hungry?”

“Yeah, a bit hungry, but I’m afraid I’ll vomit after eating.”

“You still need to eat, otherwise, you won’t get enough nutrition.”

Xu Chaomu nodded obediently and gave Butler Ling a smile.

Butler Ling truly felt sorry for Xu Chaomu, unsure of how she had managed these past five years on her own.

Accustomed to a life of luxury at the Shen family, what had her days been like during the five years away?