If You Could Hear My Heart

Once the wound was fully treated, a subdued black Porsche slowly entered the small garden.

Shen Chi fastened the buttons of his shirt, then put on his trench coat.

He strode towards the Porsche, a cold smile playing on his face.

In the darkness, Shen Chi was like an indifferent statue, radiating an icy chill from head to toe.

The Porsche’s driver was from Shen’s, he hopped out of the car and nodded at Shen Chi, “No problems at all, everything’s under your control, President Shen.”

“Then bring him down,” Shen Chi gestured at the car.

His eyes were frosty; in the dark, he remained calm and composed, his gaze firm and resolute.

The wind blew up the tails of his long coat, making him seem even more like a monarch disdainfully surveying the world.

“Okay,” the driver responded and signaled to the two bodyguards inside the car.

Soon, the people in the car brought a man down.

The man was none other than Master Zuma.

Zuma was not proficient in Chinese, rambling on in South African vernacular.

Fury and anger were apparent on his face; he was almost huffing and puffing with rage.

He was still wearing the same black robe, but now it seemed less suave and more defeated.

His hair was a messy tangle, and the cherished string of agarwood beads he often fiddled with was nowhere to be seen.

Shen Chi understood the curses thrown at him by Zuma in his broken language.

Shen Chi’s lips curved up faintly as he asked, “Master Zuma, where is your female translator?”

“Shen Chi, do you have no business principles? This is kidnapping! I—I could have you arrested,” Master Zuma was furious and ignored his question.

“Arrest me? I’m right in front of you, and I’m not running away,” Shen Chi’s smile deepened.

“You! You! You!” Master Zuma found himself at a loss for words.

At that moment, he was under Shen Chi’s control, completely immobilized, unable even to save himself.

“Master Zuma, since you’re already here, shall we talk business?”

Although it seemed like a consultation, the way Shen Chi said it was sharp and unquestionable!

“You—first let me go, Shen Chi, you are despicable, a shameless scoundrel. I shouldn’t have chosen to do business with you. I’d rather give the diamond mine to someone else than to you!” Master Zuma was indignant and quite upset.

“Despicable? Speaking of that word, I think, Master Zuma, you outdo me there. Oh, and let me teach you another phrase, ‘all’s fair in war.’”

Shen Chi’s arm still throbbed with pain; the recent gunshot had thankfully missed its mark—if not, what he would be demanding now would be his own life.

“Do you know that kidnapping is illegal, Shen Chi?”

“And do you know that robbery is illegal, Master Zuma?”

“You!” Upon seeing his crimes exposed, Master Zuma became even more blustery and shaky with anger.

“Enough, I won’t waste words with you, let’s talk business.”

Shen Chi found a place to sit, took out the private seal and contract from his clothes, and of course, a pen as well.

“Master Zuma, we agreed on three hundred and fifty million, but the thing is, I don’t have that much money. So, what do you think about lowering the price?”

Again it sounded like a negotiation with Zuma, but the tone left no room for Zuma to question.

“Shen Chi, you scoundrel! Shameless! If you’ve got no money, then what contract are you talking about!”

Last time, with his female translator, Zuma was still strutting, thinking he could easily deceive and bamboozle Shen Chi.

“Don’t get angry; anger can cause wrinkles,” Shen Chi tapped on the table and smiled, “Didn’t I say earlier that I wanted to sign a contract with you? You were the one who refused to sign, so now we might as well take this opportunity to do it.”

Previously, Master Zuma held the upper hand, but now the tables had turned.

“I won’t possibly sign with you, you know that I, Zuma, do not engage in Losing deals!”

“I’ll give you one hundred million, and not a penny more. That’s not a losing deal, right?”

Master Zuma immediately went into a frenzy, punching and kicking, cursing in his limited Chinese, “Shen Chi, you vile scoundrel, you want to take my diamond mine for one billion, are you utterly heartless? Impossible! I will never sign with you!”

The two bodyguards held him down and cautioned, “Show some respect to our president!”

Shen Chi remained unflustered, his long fingers tapping on the table, smiling like a gentle spring breeze, “Too much? How about fifty million? You like cash, right? I just happen to have fifty million in cash.”

“Shen Chi! You are a black-hearted bastard, I’m telling you, I won’t sign a single word! Not signing!”

“Black-hearted? When you sent men to steal money, didn’t you realize your heart was black as well?”

“Which eye of yours saw me stealing money? Words alone prove nothing, you need evidence! I, Zuma, am an honest man; how could I engage in filthy misdeeds like you?”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you, all the money in those armored vehicles was counterfeit. If you want, keep sending men after it. Of course, that’s if you’re not afraid to lose a few of your men,” Shen Chi said nonchalantly.

The words were spoken lightly, but they carried a resolute force.

Under the night sky, his features became even more severe, his face sharply contoured.

“Shen Chi! You truly are shameless and vile! How can someone like you do business? You’re a disgrace to the principles of our business community. A person like you will have a day of downfall and disgrace!”

Shen Chi chuckled, “Master Zuma, your Chinese has improved, knowing even ‘downfall and disgrace.’ Calling me vile and shameless? I own it.”

Zuma was at a loss whether to laugh or cry; he had no leverage in front of Shen Chi.

“Stop the nonsense and come here to sign. One billion, take the money and be content.”

Shen Chi’s tone was icy, and he emphatically slapped the pen down on the stone table.

“I will not sign, I just won’t sign!”

“Not signing, is that so? Then I’ll chop off one of your fingers and see if you sign,” Shen Chi’s face suddenly grew colder, his tone as sharp as winter ice.

The bodyguards knew when Shen Chi’s temper flared up, there would be no more sweet-talking.

Master Zuma instantly cowered; he calmed down, his shrewd eyes whirling.

“President Shen, you see… perhaps we could negotiate further. You’ve kidnapped me here; aren’t you afraid I might call the police when I get back, preventing you from leaving the country?”

“Cut the bullshit, sign!” Shen Chi frowned, his decisions were beyond discussion.

He had already considered everything; he wanted to see if he wouldn’t be able to leave the country!

“You know, Shen Chi, one must not act like you. We all…”

“You fucking won’t sign, will you? Come on, chop off one of his fingers for me! I want to see how much more bullshit he can talk!”

Upon hearing Shen Chi’s order, the bodyguards immediately restrained Zuma, dragging him to the table.

One of them took out a dagger while dragging him, placing the shiny blade on Zuma’s finger!

Under the cold moonlight, the dagger glinted with a chilling brightness, sending shivers down one’s spine.

Frightened into trembling, Zuma immediately started wailing, “Murder… there’s murder… help…”