If You Could Hear My Heart

Time ticked by, second after second, and the sun’s rays refracted through the glass window onto her face.

For a long, long time.

Instead, she grew less anxious, finding a lot more calm within herself.

If he didn’t believe her, so be it. Once not believing, twice not believing, time would make even the most abundant love between them sour.

With such thoughts, the sorrow in her heart lessened quite a bit.

Yet inexplicably, the rims of her eyes still reddened.

The reflection in the mirror didn’t look very pretty anymore.

She rested her head on her hand, sniffled, and closed her eyes.

The air conditioning was quite comfortable on her body, and soon, she dozed off in the vehicle.

She was very hungry, having hardly eaten anything in the morning, and now, the hunger faded into the background.

One hand propped up her head, the other lay on her stomach, and she remained in this position as she slept.

In the institute, Shen Chi had smoked a pile of cigarette butts, and after a long while, he turned around and walked downstairs.

Beneath the building, the crowd had all dispersed, and even the security guards seemed to have gone out for lunch and were nowhere to be seen.

The institute was very quiet at this time, and outside, it was equally silent.

When he arrived at the Maybach, he saw Xu Chaomu asleep with her head propped up. Glancing at his watch, he realized he had indeed been away from her for quite some time.

But now, underneath his feet were all the things from inside the car.

Even the ornaments he favored the most on normal days, she had thrown them out!

He didn’t bother with them, opened the driver’s side door, and got in.

Whether his voice was too soft or she was sleeping too soundly, Xu Chaomu didn’t wake up.

Her hand had slid down from her abdomen, and at this moment, Shen Chi stared at her stomach for a long while.

He placed his large palm gently on her stomach, feeling the slight bulge.

Still submerged in deep sleep, Xu Chaomu instinctively opened her eyes and reflexively swatted Shen Chi’s hand away.

Seeing it was him, she only let down her guard a little.

Suddenly, her brow furrowed; the smell of smoke on Shen Chi was very intense.

She shifted to the side in distaste, but there was no more space to move away.

Seeing her protective expression, Shen Chi’s eyelids dropped, and the displeasure that welled within his eyes was concealed.

Turning his head back, he started the car and pressed the accelerator.

Neither spoke; Xu Chaomu and Shen Chi silently measured each other’s resolve.

Shen Chi drove in the direction of Splendid World, but Xu Chaomu had no idea where they were going.

Right then, Nie Chenglang called back.

Xu Chaomu answered, calling out, “Chenglang.”

Shen Chi, who was driving, heard Nie Chenglang’s name and once again felt turmoil within the calm seas of his emotions.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened, and a surge of impulse flooded through him.

“Chaomu, Weiwei’s wound has been properly tended to, and I am just about to take her for a meal. You don’t have to worry,”

“Where are you guys? I’ll come by,” Xu Chaomu said anxiously.

“The First Hospital.”

“Okay.”

“Yeah, be careful on the road.”

After hanging up, Xu Chaomu began to unfasten her seatbelt. She turned to Shen Chi and said, “I want to get out of the car.”

Shen Chi did not lift an eyelid or say a word, continuing to drive.

Xu Chaomu paused in her actions, turned to look at Shen Chi, and raised her voice, “Shen Chi, I said I want to get out of the car.”

“If you have the guts, jump out yourself,” Shen Chi finally spoke blandly.

The speed of the car didn’t decrease; it continued to glide steadily on the main road.

“You…” Xu Chaomu didn’t expect him to say such a thing.

But then again, when this man was displeased, he could say anything, couldn’t he? What she needed to do was to endure, to stay silent, to get used to it?

But she too was stubborn; why should he lash out at her for no reason? This wasn’t the first time.

She pressed the button, lowering the passenger side window all the way down!

Throwing off her seatbelt, her hands gripped the edge of the window.

The car’s speed was quite quick, the wind blowing through and tousling her hair.

Shen Chi braked hard and quickly pulled the car over to the side of the road!

“Xu Chaomu, are you seriously thinking about jumping!” Shen Chi burst out, grabbing her shoulders, his eyes, as sharp as a cheetah’s, filled with bloodshot fury.

Xu Chaomu’s shoulders ached from his grip; she pursed her lips, knowing full well she wouldn’t jump.

She was just bluffing, having thought that Shen Chi really wouldn’t care about anything.

However, the smell of smoke on Shen Chi was too strong; she frowned, feeling quite uncomfortable.

Especially when he got close to her, she would frown even more deeply.

Had he gone off to smoke just a while ago?

Five years ago, he didn’t smoke.

“Stay away from me,” she said instinctively, repelled by the smoke on him, speaking indifferently.

“Xu Chaomu, do you think I care too much about you, so you take liberties?” Shen Chi furrowed his brows, his voice raspy.

Xu Chaomu had thought he would reflect on where he went wrong, but it turned out he had no intent to repent.

“Shen Chi, I’m just asking you to stop the car so I can go to the hospital to see Weiwei. Why are you being so unreasonable?”

“To rekindle old flames with Nie Chenglang?”

“What nonsense are you talking about!”

Xu Chaomu became agitated; she hadn’t expected his jealousy to still be so intense.

She hadn’t said much to Nie Chenglang that day, nor anything explicit, and questioned the reason for his jealousy.

“Xu Chaomu, you probably don’t even realize it, but when you call Nie Chenglang’s name, you do it so tenderly. When you look at him, your eyes are filled with reluctant longing and adoration…”

Shen Chi extended a hand and tenderly caressed her lips, cheeks, tracing and stroking gently.

The movements were gentle, but his eyes held a ferocity as if he wanted to devour her.

“I truly had no idea!”

It was clear he was being unreasonable, and an unreasonable man was also frightening.

“Heh,” Shen Chi scoffed coldly, seemingly in self-mockery, “Xu Chaomu, I know, I’ve been imposing on you. Five years later, I kept you by my side, yet your heart never lingered on me. It was I who tore you from Nie Chenglang, causing your family to be torn apart. You resent me deeply, right?”

Xu Chaomu froze, taken aback that Shen Chi would say such a thing.

Her dark eyes stared at him, this unfamiliar Shen Chi making her feel estranged.

His fingers continued to caress her lips, outlining the contours of her face.

“And what if I say yes?” Xu Chaomu asked him.

“Then I truly… cannot hold onto you.”

The tone of Shen Chi was so faint, like a breeze gently passing by, carrying endless melancholy.

For the first time, Xu Chaomu saw such an expression in this man’s eyes. He was such a confident person, the most dazzling man in C City.

Seeing him like this, she wasn’t sure if his heart was in pain, but at the moment, Xu Chaomu had no sympathy for him.