If You Could Hear My Heart

“Are you really not just brushing me off?” she asked, tilting her head.

“When it’s a question that deserves a serious answer, why would I brush you off? Besides, I promised you that I would treat this child as if they were my own,” Shen Chi looked at her.

“How exactly will you treat them as your own?”

“Hmm…” Shen Chi pondered for a few seconds, “I’ll make money for their milk powder.”

“…” Xu Chaomu’s mouth twitched, “Is that it?”

“If he wants to chase after little girls, I will teach him how to be a hooligan.”

“…” Xu Chaomu gave him a look, “You can get lost now.”

“I haven’t finished yet. I will also give him a bunch of brothers and sisters to play with.”

“Get lost!”

“That’s still not enough?” Shen Chi looked aggrieved.

As he spoke, his hand lying on her stomach moved up a few centimeters.

“Mumu, promise me two things.”

“What?” Xu Chaomu pushed his hand away.

“After this child is born, let them take my surname, and also, let them call me Dad.”

“Isn’t it fine for them to call you Fourth Uncle?”

“Of course it’s not!” Shen Chi’s voice deepened.

“We’ll see.” Xu Chaomu’s eyes suddenly dimmed.

Who can say what will happen in the future? If she really got together with him, how many people would bless them…

Even without the incident between Zhou Ran and her mother, they… were not suitable for each other.

He was an aloof corporate president, from a good family, talented, powerful, and commanding. Sometimes, when she saw him on TV, she felt inferior.

She wasn’t worthy of him; she couldn’t help him in any way. After all, she was just an orphan with no parents.

In the face of reality, love tends to falter.

Perhaps, she and he were destined to part ways…

“What’s wrong, Mumu, not happy?” Shen Chi lowered his head and tousled her hair.

Had his tone just now scared her?

“Not at all.” She lowered her head, her voice flat.

“If you’re really unhappy about him calling me Dad, then he doesn’t have to. As for the surname, it’s up to you, okay?” Shen Chi was a bit panicked; he hated seeing Xu Chaomu like this.

He would acquiesce to anything as long as she was cheerful.

The heart-wrenching pain of the past five years had made life almost unbearable for him.

Xu Chaomu moved her lips, wanting to speak, but didn’t know what to say.

His arms tightened around her, and as Xu Chaomu pressed against his chest, she extended a finger and quietly traced circles on the fabric of his shirt.

“Can I marry whoever I want too?” she asked.

“Not that.” Shen Chi’s tone left no room for negotiation.

“Oh.” Xu Chaomu responded faintly.

“What’s wrong with marrying me? Your husband has looks, money, physique. Tell me, what’s not to be satisfied with?”

Xu Chaomu moved her lips but ultimately didn’t speak.

Probably because he was so perfect, it all seemed like a dream to her.

The imperfect her beside the too perfect him inevitably felt disgraceful.

She was no longer the fearless, bold little girl she once was…

“Why won’t you speak again?” Shen Chi felt her head, expecting that she should be blushing and calling him “shameless” according to her usual habit.

“I’m speechless with you, that’s all.” Xu Chaomu forced a smile.

“Tired? I’ll carry you to the bedroom to sleep,” Shen Chi whispered in her ear as he lowered his head.

His warm breath lingered near her ear, and he tickled her ribs again with his hand.

“So annoying.” Xu Chaomu giggled and quickly dodged him.

Seeing her laugh eased his heart; he loved to see her smile and wanted her to be smiling like this every day.

He knew she was pregnant and could be moody sometimes; no problem, he’d indulge her.

The corners of his mouth lifted into a smile, and with one long arm, he swept her up in his arms sidelong.

As the world seemed to spin, Xu Chaomu quickly clung to his neck.

“Play the piano for me again tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

“Nurturing an artistic cell should start from childhood,” Xu Chaomu said with a smile.

“You’re finally acquiring some taste.”

“What’s with that? Shen Chi, do you have any other skills besides being a smart aleck?”

Xu Chaomu thought, when her baby was born, they must not take after his sharp tongue or she’d be driven mad by the big and small at home.

“I can also kiss you.”

“Then I can bite you too!” Xu Chaomu exhaled angrily.

“You sharp-tongued little wild cat, one of these days, I must train you into a well-behaved little house cat.”

…

Shen Chi carried Xu Chaomu from the piano room, through the garden, into the living room, and up the spiral staircase towards his bedroom.

Passing Xu Chaomu’s room, she protested anxiously: “We’re here, here, my room is here. Put me down.”

Shen Chi, however, paid her no mind, opened his bedroom door, and carried her straight inside.

“I want to go back to my room,” Xu Chaomu complained.

But Shen Chi wouldn’t listen to her and firmly closed the bedroom door.

“Sleep here, I can take care of you. Besides, what kind of young couple sleeps in separate beds? Hmm?”

“It means you’re not man enough,” Xu Chaomu muttered.

“…” Again, Shen Chi’s mouth twitched, thinking he would need to prove himself to her soon.

“Shen Chi, you sleep on the sofa, I’ll take the bed,” Xu Chaomu commanded.

“No, we’ll sleep in the same bed.”

“No way, you have to listen to me!”

“Listen to me,” Shen Chi was uncompromising.

“No! If you don’t sleep on the sofa, I’ll sleep on the floor!” Xu Chaomu threatened.

That tactic worked. Shen Chi begrudgingly placed her on the bed: “Fine, fine, I’ll sleep on the sofa, you take the bed.”

Xu Chaomu happily rolled over, hugging a pillow and batting her eyelashes at him: “Good.”

Shen Chi was exasperated with her, but sleeping on the sofa didn’t mean he wouldn’t “sleepwalk” to her bed in the middle of the night…

In any case, he felt Xu Chaomu was very easy to please.

“You go take a shower first. I want to read, tell our baby a story,” Xu Chaomu told him.

After speaking, Xu Chaomu lay down at the head of his bed and started flipping through his books.

All of them, what are these? Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Monetary Studies, Stock Market Research…

How could he be interested in these things?

Xu Chaomu flipped from cover to cover, with no interest in any of them.

Shen Chi chuckled: “I’ll bring you some storybooks tomorrow. For tonight, just make up a few stories to soothe our baby. If you can’t do it, I’ll take over.”

“No, no, no, you just go take a shower,” Xu Chaomu balked.

She had had enough of his storytelling; the last story about the little bunny was lurid and violent, enough to corrupt a child.

“Fine, I’ll go shower.”

Shen Chi curved his lips, offering her a reluctant glance before heading into the bathroom.

Xu Chaomu simply lay on her side, one hand on her stomach, slowly closing her eyes.

Shen Chi’s bedroom always had a subtle and enchanting fragrance, a scent that was soothing to the soul.