If You Could Hear My Heart

“Do you like him?” Zhou Ran looked at Xu Chaomu.

Xu Chaomu’s heart skipped a beat, and a sweet feeling unfurled within her.

Did she like him? Did she like Shen Chi?

Of course, she liked him!

She liked to see his furrowed brows, she liked to see his smile, she liked to hear him speak. His every movement, everything about him, she liked it all…

She knew this liking was different from other kinds of fondness.

But Xu Chaomu still smiled, “I like it! I’m also quite fond of Uncle Shen and Third Brother.”

A flicker of something different passed through Zhou Ran’s eyes as she spoke faintly, “Achi is about to get married, you know that, right?”

A few days ago, she didn’t know; now, she did.

The heart that had just been basking in the warm sun was suddenly replaced by a sour and astringent feeling.

She lowered her head, staring at her shoelaces.

The laces were still tied by him, but now, he was truly about to be married.

She didn’t understand why Zhou Ran would ask her this, so she nodded, her eyes also losing their bright luster.

“I know.”

“It’s good that you know,” Zhou Ran said. “The Shen Family has taken you in for eight years, and you’re nearly eighteen now, and Achi is getting married. Once you’re eighteen, you should leave the Shen Family!”

Zhou Ran’s tone was light, but to Xu Chaomu, it struck like a bolt from the blue!

Xu Chaomu felt the sunlight dazzling, her mind going blank.

She stared at Zhou Ran for a long time—yes, the woman before her was Zhou Ran, the same Zhou Ran who had taken her from the orphanage. And now, she was telling her she should leave the Shen Family…

“Why?” she asked defiantly.

If the reason she was brought here was just to be discarded after eight years, she would have preferred never to have come to the Shen Family, would have preferred… to never have met Shen Chi!

“There’s no reason. The Shen Family is not obligated to keep you forever,” Zhou

Ran said in a detached tone.

“What if I don’t leave?”

In her eyes, Zhou Ran had once been like a fairy, gentle and amiable, speaking to her like a mother and leading her out of the orphanage by the hand.

But now, she didn’t recognize the woman before her.

Could it be that the prettier the flower, the more thorny it is, just like a rose?

“Once Achi is married and leaves the Shen Family, will you still choose to stay?” Zhou Ran looked at her, countering with a question.

Xu Chaomu felt a fierce stab in her heart—right, if Shen Chi got married, would she still stay?

She lowered her head, no longer speaking.

Zhou Ran could see that Xu Chaomu liked Shen Chi; it was just that she was too stubborn to admit it.

Delusional infatuation…

Just like Xu Mengxi from years ago.

Seeing Xu Chaomu bow her head, Zhou Ran said nothing more; she seemed to sigh, then turned and left.

Her retreating figure slowly dissolved into a blue speck in Xu Chaomu’s eyes, blurring out of focus…

Xu Chaomu stood in place, unaware of how long she had been there.

Zhou Ran’s words echoed in her ears: Once you’re eighteen, you should leave the Shen Family!

No, she wouldn’t leave unless Shen Chi didn’t want her anymore.

“Chaomu, what are you doing standing here? Is there treasure on the ground?” Yu Weiwei had come to school, and it was rare to see Xu Chaomu arrive so early.

As soon as Xu Chaomu heard Yu Weiwei’s voice, she snapped back to reality and walked forward with her bag on her back, “Yeah, there are treasures on the ground, lots of them, you should hurry and pick them up!”

“Eh, not happy? Did the date not go well?” Yu Weiwei caught up to her.

“Am I not happy? I’m clearly very happy!’

“If you have something on your mind, talk to me about it, I can help you solve it! I brought new magazines today, you’ll have something to read during class!”

“I’m not reading them!”

“Huh? Not even looking at the magazines? That doesn’t sound like Xu Chaomu. Let me tell you, the ones I brought today are really good, full of handsome men and beautiful women, everything you’d want!”

“All the good-looking ones are trash,” Xu Chaomu blurted out.

“Could it be that Lou Yanli has made you angry?

“No, he’s great,” Xu Chaomu continued walking.

Arriving in the classroom, Xu Chaomu sat alone and picked up a math book to read. Shen Chi had said that if she ranked in the top ten on the mid-term exam, there would be a reward.

She was actually a bit expectant inside, wondering what that reward could be…

He hadn’t given her a gift for so many years, and if he was about to get married, at the very least, before he got married, she could make one last profit from him.

Yu Weiwei tried various ways to tempt Xu Chaomu, “Look at this ice cream, it looks so delicious! Look at this handsome guy, he’s your type! And this beauty, hey, isn’t this the popular movie star Bai Man from last time…”

Xu Chaomu immediately snatched the magazine from Yu Weiwei. In these magazines, Bai Man dominated most of the pages, her popularity sky-high.

“Is she pretty?” Xu Chaomu asked Yu Weiwei, pointing at Bai Man.

Yu Weiwei nodded, “She’s pretty, I think she has a lot of class, not like those heavily made-up beauties. She’s very fresh and elegant!”

“I think she’s pretty too,” Xu Chaomu said, looking at Bai Man in the magazine, “what do you think men’s reaction would be when they see a woman like this?” Yu Weiwei gave a mischievously evil smile, “Obviously the normal reaction of a man, you know what I mean!”

“Then what if she were lying in a man’s arms, do you think he’d be able to control himself?”

Yu Weiwei loved discussing these R-rated issues; her eyes lit up and she smirked wickedly.

“If such a beauty were in his arms and the man could still control himself, chances are he can’t perform!” Yu Weiwei declared.

She had recently been researching this issue; for men who can’t perform, there are actually many treatment methods. The most important thing is not to deny the disease, but to discover the problem in time and treat it properly.

Xu Chaomu thought back to that time in the bathroom when she took the initiative to throw herself at Shen Chi, yet even though he had reacted, he pushed her away in one move.

“So what do you think it means if a man has a reaction but still controls himself?” Xu Chaomu felt that she needed to consult an expert like Yu Weiwei for such questions.

“It’s either that the woman is too ugly, or he doesn’t love her!”

“Do you think I’m ugly?” Xu Chaomu asked.

Yu Weiwei turned Xu Chaomu’s face to hers, clicking her tongue, “Our Chaomu is a standard beauty, look at this little face, long eyelashes, and high nose bridge, all tender and soft, who can compare to our Chaomu!”

“Oh!” Xu Chaomu brushed off Yu Weiwei’s hand.

So it’s the latter, Shen Chi… doesn’t love her.

Thinking about it, it made sense. How could Shen Chi possibly love her? Any normal guy wouldn’t like a little ruffian, of course, except for Lou Yanli, who hadn’t yet discovered her ruffian nature.

And Shen Chi was as normal a guy as they come. If he liked her, she herself would find it abnormal.

“Chaomu, what’s wrong with you? Oh… you didn’t force yourself on Lou Yanli, did you?” Yu Weiwei drew out her words and widened her eyes.

“What are you imagining, look at your magazine!”

That day was particularly boring for Yu Weiwei because Xu Chaomu actually didn’t join her in reading magazines during class.

There was no helping it, she had to study her Male Health Manual by herself, hoping to bring good news to more men in the future..

Chapter 48: The Man Who Seduces Me

Xu Chaomu was suffering from a terrible toothache after school, and she wasn’t sure if it was because she caught a cold. To make matters worse, there was evening self-study that night, so she had no choice but to endure the pain and read.

By nine o’clock in the evening, self-study finally ended, but Xu Chaomu still had to do cleaning duty.

It was like misfortunes never come singly. Watching as all her classmates left one by one, she was left to continue sweeping the floor with a broom and wiping the blackboard with the eraser.

The surroundings were pitch-dark and completely silent, Yu Weiwei had been picked up by Li Beiting to go home, leaving her alone to silently endure the toothache while on duty.

The broom hitting the floor made a “swoosh” sound. The floor was really dirty; those boys would throw trash on the ground after eating.

Just as she finished sweeping and was about to close the windows, suddenly, the classroom door was kicked open.

A burst of cold air rushed in, and Xu Chaomu looked towards the door.

The girl leading the group was Yao Yue!

It was said she had been chasing after Lou Yanli for a long time.

Following her were several delinquents with tattooed bodies and cigarettes hanging from their lips, acting tough and unruly.

“Are you Xu Chaomu?” Yao Yue walked over.

Xu Chaomu glanced at her. She was dressed very skimpily, and her hair was dyed yellow. No wonder Lou Yanli didn’t like her. Rumor had it that Yao Yue came from a wealthy and powerful family and never took anyone seriously. She had to have whatever she wanted.

“I’m not, who are you?” Xu Chaomu gave her a disdainful look.

She was considered a small-time hooligan herself, not afraid of anyone!

But, they had more people.

“Kun Ge, go ahead, beat her to death for me, see if she dares to flirt with my man again!” Yao Yue stood aside with her arms crossed.

Xu Chaomu’s tooth still ached, which really affected her fighting back.

“Miss, there are levels to being disabled. So, with this girl, are we making her a first-grade disability or…” one of the delinquents said disdainfully.

“What’s all this talk for a fight? Just beat her to death, get it?” Yao Yue yelled.

“Yao Yue, look at what you’ve become, do you still expect Lou Yanli to like you?” Xu Chaomu said coolly.

Hisss—her tooth really hurt, even speaking was painful.

“What are you waiting for, hit her, hit her hard!” Yao Yue was furious.

Ever since she was a child, she got whatever she wanted, and everyone bowed down to her. She liked Lou Yanli, so he had to like her back!

Where did Xu Chaomu come from? Yao Yue had to beat her until her head was split open to show her might!

A few delinquents blocked the doorway, and one of them rushed towards Xu Chaomu, aiming a punch at her!

Xu Chaomu dodged to the left and swung a chair from the floor at them.

Bang bang clang clang, the classroom was suddenly filled with chaos.

Xu Chaomu regretted not learning Taekwondo when Shen Chi had asked her to

as a child.

The few delinquents had been in plenty of fights, and one of them reached out to grab Xu Chaomu’s arm!

No matter how quick Xu Chaomu was, she couldn’t jump out of the way, and her arm was seized!

“Stop fighting!” Lou Yanli appeared at the doorway out of nowhere, pushing aside Yao Yue and rushing towards Xu Chaomu.

Xu Chaomu was pushed to the ground by one of the delinquents, scraping off a patch of skin, and her blood flowed without stopping.

Her tooth hurt, her arm hurt…

Hisss—

Xu Chaomu took in a sharp breath of cold air.

Just as the delinquent was about to hit Xu Chaomu again, Lou Yanli blocked in front, taking a vicious kick from the delinquent!

“Stop, stop!” Yao Yue saw Lou Yanli.

“Lou Yanli, when did you get here? Does it hurt?” Xu Chaomu was a bit flustered as she helped Lou Yanli up.

“It’s okay, I’m okay, what about you? Why are you bleeding? Did they hurt you?” Yanli went to examine Chaomu’s wounds.

Yao Yue was grinding her teeth with rage beside them, daring to show off their affection right in front of her?

“Miss, what should we do?” a young man asked Yao Yue.

“Pull the guy away and continue to beat them up for me! I’m determined to make her leave horizontally today!” Yao Yue was not convinced, no, she was getting angrier and angrier, furious!

“Who do you want to leave horizontally?”

Just as Yao Yue finished speaking, a tall figure appeared at the doorway.

The man had a powerful aura, with sharp eyes that scanned the room.

Good, he spotted Xu Chaomu in the corner; the girl glanced at him and then lowered her head to care for Lou Yanli.

“And who are you? But I don’t care who you are, I’ll take on anyone who shows up!” Yao Yue pointed at Shen Chi.

The young men also prepared for a fight, they had the numbers, who would be afraid?

Shen Chi let out a cold chuckle and said softly to his driver, Lao Cheng, “One, two, three, four, five, a total of five. Whether to beat them to death or not, you decide.”

Lao Cheng nodded: “Yes, Mr. Shen.”

Shen Chi walked in, and the young men even held knives. One of them lunged with a knife!

Before the blade could touch Shen Chi, Lao Cheng’s large palm grabbed the young man’s wrist and delivered a punch right to his chest!

Ding—

The knife fell to the ground, bouncing a few times, and the young man screamed in pain.

As Shen Chi walked toward Xu Chaomu, Yanli covered Chaomu’s eyes: “Don’t look…”

Chaomu obediently closed her eyes, making Shen Chi pause his steps.

Crrack, snap—the sounds of violence erupted at the entrance. Lao Cheng, who had retired from the military and was handpicked by the Shen Family, was of course very skilled.

Although the young men had the numbers, they were no match for Lao Cheng. Before long, they were beaten black and blue.

Yao Yue stood trembling by the doorway; she couldn’t fight and had only boasted with her lips.

Now, seeing her people beaten up like this by a middle-aged man, the situation was surely turning against them!

“Let’s go! We’ll settle the score another time! Xu Chaomu, you little bitch, how dare you seduce my man, you fucking wait!” Yao Yue was extremely vicious, her mouth still unrelenting.

Just as she was about to walk out, Shen Chi spoke in a deep voice, his face cold as he looked toward Lao Cheng: “For what she just said, beat her to death!”

“Yes, Mr. Shen.”

Chaomu, realizing that Shen Chi had arrived, felt fearless. For many years, as long as she saw him, she was afraid of nothing.

At that thought, her heart still ached.

If Shen Chi were to leave her one day, what should she do…

He couldn’t possibly stand by her side forever…u pdat? by п?w?o??l.?R?

“Chaomu, does it hurt a lot?” Yanli took out a tissue to wipe the blood off her arm.

“Why haven’t you left so late?” asked Chaomu.

“I was on duty tonight. I happened to pass by your classroom and saw you being bullied,” Yanli said.

He looked down and carefully wiped the wound for Chaomu; it was quite serious, with a large patch of skin scraped off.

“Hiss, it hurts…” Chaomu bit her lip.

Her teeth hurt, her arm hurt, Chaomu felt uncomfortable all over.

“It’s my fault for bringing you trouble. I didn’t know Yao Yue would come for you, I’m sorry, Chaomu,” Yanli apologized to her.

Chaomu looked at him and smiled: “It’s not your fault, don’t worry, they can’t beat me..”