If You Could Hear My Heart

“Really? Xu Chaomu, don’t you remember the nice things you said about me last time you went to Weiyang?”

Shen Chi’s voice was hoarse as he deliberately lowered his head. His hot, ambiguous breath brushed Xu Chaomu’s cheek, tickling her.

With a twitch of her eyelid, Xu Chaomu suddenly wanted to run away.

Weiyang…

She indeed had said quite a few “nice things” about him at Weiyang…

When facing trouble, meet it squarely. With a giggle, she said, “Weiyang? I don’t remember. Oh, I remember now. That night, I told you to scram, was it that?”

“I won’t hold it against you for telling me to scram, but I’m not so forgiving about certain things,” Shen Chi countered without missing a beat.

“Hehe, hehe…” Xu Chaomu’s laughter was uglier than crying as she seized the chance to escape.

“Xu Chaomu, do you really think I’m that incapable?”

Damn it, how was she supposed to know?

But she had climbed into his bed so many times, and hadn’t he always been indifferent?

“I also heard them say that you claimed to be the active one all night,” Shen Chi shamelessly said.

“I didn’t say that, I didn’t say anything. Big Brother, isn’t this considered leading a minor astray?” Xu Chaomu vehemently denied.

“Now you’re denying it, feeling shy?” Shen Chi lowered his head and rubbed his cheek against hers.

“Shen Chi, let’s talk this out properly, stop being handsy!” Xu Chaomu snapped.

She elbowed him, but who was he, and effortlessly dodged it.

“Xu Chaomu, don’t make up stories about me in the future, or I’ll let you experience firsthand what ‘capable’ really means,” Shen Chi said sternly, putting on a serious face.

“Big Brother, is it really okay for you to talk to your sister like this? I’ve been corrupted by you!”

“Who’s corrupting who? Who was it that at ten years old was reading restricted comics?”

“It was you!” Xu Chaomu insisted confidently.

“Little rascal.” Shen Chi smiled indulgently, his eyes narrowing.

He took her hand to wash the dishes, though in reality, it was mostly him doing the washing.

But he just loved that feeling, as if time slowed down to a crawl.

Finally, when the dishes were done, Xu Chaomu was visibly reluctant. She shook her hands and left the kitchen.

Shen Chi went upstairs to fetch two coats, draping one on Xu Chaomu and donning a black trench coat himself.

“Come on, I’ll take you to the rooftop,” Shen Chi said, taking her hand.

From beginning to end, this man exuded dominance, leaving no room for Xu Chaomu to refuse.

If he wanted to hold her hand, she had to comply obediently; if he wanted to sit beside her, she couldn’t move away; if he told her to look at the stars, she couldn’t look at the moon instead.

“Shen Chi, will you ever stop? Is it very cold today? Can you not lean so close to me?”

So, as Shen Chi moved closer once again, Xu Chaomu erupted.

“It’s not cold, but I am.”

Having said that, he allowed her no chance to speak further. He hugged her tightly, bringing her into his arms.

On such a good day, wasn’t it okay for him to hold her?

“Shen Chi!” Xu Chaomu burst out again. How could a man be so shameless, “What exactly do you think of me? You have a fiancée yourself, why are you still being so ambiguous with me?”

“What do I think? Of course, I think of you day and night,” he replied.

Xu Chaomu knew she couldn’t outplay this man.

“Stop arguing, just quietly watch the moon for a while.”

Shen Chi held her in his arms, his chin resting on her head, and he could smell the elegant fragrance she emitted.

A thought turned into a disaster, one that couldn’t be avoided.

The rooftop was very quiet, the clear and light moonlight pouring down like flowing water, onto the rooftop and onto them.

The wind rustled the bamboo, casting shadows in motion, and the flowers carried their fragrance on the breeze.

Xu Chaomu fell silent. Though her heart was not at ease, in this moment, she found herself unable to reject him.

When could she stop loving this man? Love was one thing, marriage another. She could not marry him, but she could not convince herself to stop loving him.

As she was held in his arms, tears began to flow.

He did not belong to her and never would.

She was willing to let go because he did not love her. Clinging on would have no meaning.

Sensing her distress, he lowered his head to cradle her face: “Why are you crying?”

His brows furrowed, pained by the sight.

“Why would I cry? It’s just the wind being too strong; my eyes hurt a little.”

“That’s just you being stubborn with me,” sighed Shen Chi.

Having said that, he hugged her even tighter: “My dear, don’t cry. I can’t bear to see you cry.”

Xu Chaomu said nothing more. His care for her was still that from a brother to a sister. He always made the boundaries clear.

For instance, once he had a fiancée, he would never touch her again.

The last time she accidentally drank wine laced with drugs and was in such distress, he still did not lay a finger on her. He was determined to stay pure for his fiancée.

“Right, didn’t you have something you wanted to give me? Let me see if it is valuable,” Xu Chaomu broke the quiet.

“Close your eyes,” Shen Chi’s voice was deep.

Under the moonlight, his eyes grew even brighter and alluring—especially when he looked at her, filled with indulgence and depth. It was like fine wine: once inebriated, there was no waking up.

Xu Chaomu obediently closed her eyes.

The light shone on her face, her fair complexion tinged with a faint blush, her delicate and proud nose, her slightly pursed lips.

Shen Chi repressed the urge inside him; he truly wanted to take her face in his hands and kiss her senseless.

Silently, he watched her, just like that, for a long, long time.

He took a platinum necklace out of his coat pocket, hanging at the end of the chain was an immaculate emerald pendant.

In the moonlight, the jade pendant emitted a soft green luminescence, like a beautiful green sprite.

The pendant was diamond-shaped, naturally carved, its beauty arresting and inescapable.

“Don’t move.” He stepped closer to her, lifting her hair to put the necklace on for her.

Xu Chaomu felt a cold touch on her neck, so she opened her eyes.

As soon as she did, she met his deep, dark eyes.

Touching the jade pendant, she found it cool and smooth to the touch, extremely pleasant.

A sudden warmth welled up in her eyes, and she looked down at the necklace in silence.

“Do you like it?” he asked tenderly.

She pouted, lifting her clear and pure eyes, and tilted her head playfully: “How much is it worth? If I don’t want it one day, it would be nice to sell it for a good price.”

“If you don’t want it one day, just sell it,” he said.

Shen Chi stroked her face, his fingertips gliding over her brows and eyes, over and over.

She fell silent then, expecting him to warn her dominantly, “You dare.”

“The characters on this, are they my name?” Xu Chaomu squinted in the moonlight and noticed, for the first time, two small characters on the jade pendant.

The characters were so tiny they were nearly invisible without a close look.

“Don’t you recognize your own name?” Shen Chi smiled, finding her naivety increasingly endearing.

Xu Chaomu looked down at the two characters. Indeed, they were “Chaomu.”

If love lasts a long time, what matter is it if we’re not together every moment?

The characters looked very much like Shen Chi’s handwriting. His writing was beautiful, firm and strong; she would not forget it with just one glance.