If You Could Hear My Heart

The location was excellent, not only shielded from the sun but also offering a view of the scenery below.

The tea house wasn’t tall, just two stories, but from the second floor, one could almost see the entire view ahead.

For instance, the high school classroom building, which seemed so close, made it feel like one could touch it just by reaching out.

On the redwood table they had chosen, there was a lush pot of gentleman orchids. The breeze that came through the window carried a faint scent of grass and trees.

Filled with the fragrance of summer, she liked it very much.

In front of this wooden window, there hung a string of retro-style bronze wind chimes. When the wind blew, they twirled continuously like little fairies dancing, ringing with a clear “ding-a-ling, dong-a-dong.”

The tea house was beautiful, the entire building fashioned in a classical garden style.

The tinkling of crystal curtains as the breeze picked up carried with it the fragrance of roses, filling the courtyard.

Xu Chaomu rested her chin on her hand as she watched the view downstairs, not feeling the heat at all.

Soon, the proprietress brought over the Longjing tea they had ordered.

Lou Yanli graciously poured Xu Chaomu a small cup and smiled, “Try this, it’s pre-Qingming Longjing.”

No sooner had the tea been poured into the white porcelain cup than the intoxicating aroma began to waft subtly into the air…

The green color of the tea complemented the white cup just perfectly.

Xu Chaomu propped her cheek, her bright eyes staring at him.

She smiled, “Great talent, you know, it’s wasted on me when you talk about these things.”

“Then you still dare to invite me to the tea house?” Lou Yanli chuckled.

“To show that I have taste.”

“So, what have you been doing these past five years?” Lou Yanli asked with a calm demeanor.

Xu Chaomu scratched her head and came clean.

There were many things she didn’t want to say in front of Shen Chi, didn’t dare to say in front of Yu Weiwei, but she told it all to Lou Yanli.

For example, when she first arrived in Paris, she had been so destitute that she nearly had to beg on the streets.

That half a year was truly the darkest half a year of her more than two decades of life.

She had never told Shen Chi, nor had Shen Chi ever asked her.

As for Yu Weiwei, she was afraid Weiwei would worry, so she didn’t say anything.

But now, having said it all, she felt much more relieved.

Lou Yanli truly hadn’t expected this; he felt very sad.

He hadn’t imagined Xu Chaomu’s life abroad was like that.

“Great talent, now it’s your turn. What have you been doing these past five years?”

“Right after high school graduation, I went to study in Washington and returned to the country earlier this year.”

“Not bad. So, did you date any girlfriends in college?”

“There were mostly foreigners there, nothing much to speak of,” Lou Yanli laughed.

“Dating a foreigner isn’t bad, you know. Foreign girls are beautiful, blue eyes, high nose bridges, not too crafty.”

“We’ll talk about that later,” Lou Yanli fell silent.

“Which company are you working for now? Why did I see you at Shen’s yesterday?”

“My father’s company, I’m mainly responsible for the design. Our family has had a longstanding partnership with Shen’s, and our relationship has been pretty good. I was personally delivering the design drafts to Shen’s yesterday.”

Xu Chaomu was taken aback: “Isn’t your family in the doll-making business?”

Xu Chaomu hadn’t forgotten; back in the day, Lou Yanli made a doll for her.

“I was just kidding you,” Lou Yanli laughed, remembering the incident.

“Then, what was with that doll you gave me back then?”

“Just to make you happy. But that doll was personally designed by me.”

“So, you studied design too?”

“Yes.”

“Me too! Well then, great talent Lou, it looks like you can teach me again. I look forward to learning from you, a lot.”

“I haven’t asked you yet, how come you were at Shen’s yesterday?”

“Didn’t I just tell you, Shen Chi caught me and brought me back home.”

“What does that have to do with you being at Shen’s yesterday?”

“I said I wanted to work, so he told me to give Shen’s a try. So yesterday, it just happened.”

Lou Yanli sighed. As expected, Xu Chaomu still couldn’t escape from Shen Chi’s grip. It was the same five years ago, and it still was now.

“God, since your family owns a company, does that mean you’re quite wealthy?” Xu Chaomu asked slyly.

“Not as wealthy as Shen’s.”

“God, how about I come work for your company?”

“No, that won’t do,” Lou Yanli seriously refused her, “If I were to shelter you, my family’s company probably wouldn’t be able to continue operating in C City.”

Xu Chaomu thought about it and figured he was probably right.

She picked up the tea cup in front of her, gently swirled it, and sniffed the dissipating fragrance of the tea, feeling especially good.

“Chaomu, you don’t know, after you left five years ago, the Lou Family and Shen’s had a big fallout,” Lou Yanli said lightly.

He turned his head to look out the window, his gaze somewhat distant.

Recalling the past, it felt as if everything had happened a long time ago…

He had thought he wouldn’t see Xu Chaomu again, but now in his lifetime, they had met once more.

Seeing her was the best thing.

“Huh?” Xu Chaomu was puzzled.

What did he mean by a big fallout?

“The Lou Family and Shen’s have been partners, and our relationship has always been quite good. After your disappearance, I heard it was because of Shen Chi, so I was really angry with him during that period, wondering why he couldn’t treat you well.”

Lou Yanli spoke calmly, while Xu Chaomu laughed.

“I know, you loved him, but he didn’t give you his true heart. During that time, I was furious. Once, I went to my dad’s company and destroyed the latest design drafts we made for Shen’s.”

Xu Chaomu’s eyes widened in surprise. To her, Lou Yanli always seemed to be a composed person.

She hadn’t expected him to be so impulsive.

“Chaomu, you don’t know, back then, the school was spreading rumors that you had passed away. The feeling of never being able to see you again in this lifetime was one of despair, and I really hated Shen Chi. If he was going to keep you so possessively, why couldn’t he protect you?”

“But by destroying the design drafts, wouldn’t that mean you had to pay a hefty penalty fee?” Xu Chaomu blinked.

“Yes, I had considered it at the time; the Lou Family just had to pay a penalty fee. But Shen’s was different – if the designs were ruined, Shen’s wouldn’t be able to deliver on time, resulting in both financial losses and a hit to their reputation.”

“Lou classmate, that’s pretty ruthless,” Xu Chaomu said with a smile.

But she liked it.

“Later, it was confirmed that Shen’s suffered a direct loss of over a hundred million due to the design drafts problem of the Lou Family. That was secondary, though. The main thing was that the project was one Shen Chi had struggled to secure, and he was counting on it to reestablish his authority and prestige in the group. In the end, it crumbled into nothing.”

“Well done, Lou classmate,” Xu Chaomu was pleased to hear this.

“No,” Lou Yanli shook his head, “wait until you hear the full story, then you won’t feel the same.”

“Huh?” Xu Chaomu looked at him curiously.

“At the time, I felt just like you do now, very happy, and it felt like I was avenging you. During that period, I heard Shen Chi was under immense pressure. He failed to secure the diamond mine in South Africa, and now the big project had been destroyed by my hands.”