If You Could Hear My Heart

“Put on the hat, or you’ll get sunburned later,”

Nie Chenglang took out a hat and placed it on Xu Chaomu’s head.

The sun was indeed lovely, Xu Chaomu squinted his eyes, feeling very satisfied.

The air still carried the scent leftover from last night’s storm, and the spot they chose was quite dry, particularly suitable for a picnic.

Xu Chaomu looked at the carefree children and saw himself at ten years old.

As Nie Chenglang was tidying up, Xu Chaomu suddenly asked him, “Mr. Nie, can I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you think it’s a good thing or a bad thing for these kids to be adopted by wealthy families?”

“It’s not so straightforward,” Nie Chenglang said. “Good or bad isn’t just about material things; there has to be spiritual fulfillment too. If that family can treat these kids as their own, then it’s definitely a good thing.”

Treating them as their own.

Xu Chaomu’s eyes dimmed again.

She didn’t continue with the question and went to help Nie Chenglang.

By noon, an array of food was grilling on the rack. There were chicken legs, wings, clam, sausage…

The aroma was enticing.

The little rascals couldn’t wait anymore and swarmed over for food.

Xu Chaomu stood in front of the grill and glared at them, “Don’t touch!”

Intimidated by Xu Chaomu, they thought of her as the Big Bad Wolf.

One with more courage sucked his fingertip and pointed at the chicken legs, “Mrs. Xu, I’m hungry.”

“You weren’t complaining about being hungry while playing,” Xu Chaomu scoffed.

The little rascals immediately ran to Nie Chenglang with a “whoosh,” clinging to him, “Mr. Nie, I want food.”

“Mr. Nie, Mrs. Xu is too scary.”

“Mr. Nie, don’t take Mrs. Xu anymore, she’s a very bad wolf, worse than the Big Bad Wolf.”

“Mr. Nie, we’ve divided up the food, don’t give any to Mrs. Xu.”

They were all talking at once, mainly badmouthing Xu Chaomu.

Xu Chaomu was so angry she could spit fire; these little rascals were really hard to manage.

Nie Chenglang bent down, very patient, “Your Mrs. Xu is just teasing you all, don’t make a fuss, go wash your hands. Everyone will get their share, no snatching.”

The rascals immediately beamed with joy and began to flatter, “Mr. Nie is so nice.”

“Mr. Nie, I love you.”

Xu Chaomu felt like she had become a thoroughly wicked villain.

Nie Chenglang, while the kids were washing their hands by the river, handed food to Xu Chaomu, “Are you hungry? Eat something quickly, once they come back, you won’t get the chance.”

“Leave it for them, I won’t stoop to arguing with children, I’m going to catch fish in the river.”

Xu Chaomu gave a sly smile, rolled up her sleeves, and walked towards the riverbank.

“Chaomu, be careful, do you want me to come with you?”

“No need, you stay here and entertain the kids. I think you have a real knack for being a dad,” Xu Chaomu said, laughing so hard she was bending forward and backward.

She hated looking after kids the most; left to care for them, she would likely end up quarreling with them.

Nie Chenglang was different; he was gentle and attentive, capable of managing the challenging task of entertaining children effortlessly.

Just then, Nie Chenglang’s phone rang.

He looked down; it was a call from his mother.

“Mom.”

“Chenglang, are you busy?”

“Yes, I’m out doing research with my mentor.”

“Oh, are you still in Paris?”

“Yes.”

“When do you plan to return home? There’s a lot going on in the group recently, and Mom really can’t manage it all alone.”

The voice on the other end sounded weak, and Nie Chenglang fell silent for a long time.

“Mom, you know I’m not interested in the jewelry industry.”

“You always say that. Forget it, I’ve managed your father’s business alone for half my life. If you don’t want it, I won’t force you. Shen Group has been eyeing Feili Group with greedy eyes; let’s just give it to them. I can’t hold on any longer.”

Nie Chenglang furrowed his brows deeply, clutching his phone, seemingly unwilling to speak for a long time.

Xu Chaomu noticed Nie Chenglang on the phone and blinked at him, “Chenglang, I’ll go catch fish first!”

Nie Chenglang nodded, but the woman on the other end frowned, “Is there a girl with you? Your girlfriend?”

“No, just a classmate,” Nie Chenglang said flatly.

“Oh, remember to bring your girlfriend home for me to meet.”

“Yeah, Mom, if there’s nothing else, I’m going to hang up.”

Xu Chaomu had already run off. She arrived at the small river at the foot of the mountain, took off her shoes, and went down to catch fish.

The river, warmed by the sun, was comfortable; stepping into the water, she recaptured the feeling from before she was ten.

Before the age of ten, she often played in the river like this.

After the age of ten, upon arriving at the Shen family, with its strict household rules, especially Shen Chi’s, who would often prohibit her from doing this or that. Thus, after ten, she never went into the river again.

Randomly recalling the overbearing man, Xu Chaomu curled her lips and muttered softly, “Bastard.”

She bent down, the sunlight spilling over her, making her smile as radiant as a sunflower.

Shen Group.

Shen Chi received one call after another, but they all had the same message, “Mr. Shen, we haven’t found her.”

After a day and night without sleep, his eyes were bloodshot.

He lay exhausted in his chair, his grip on his phone slowly loosening; with a “clang,” the phone fell onto the desk, tracing a desolate arc before dropping to the floor.

His face wore exhaustion, unable to lift his eyes.

“Chaomu…” he called her name, sounding lost.

The usually commanding Mr. Shen was gone; the current Shen Chi was dejected and forlorn.

His head throbbed; he pressed his forehead, frowning deeply.

After a while, he reached out, grabbed a bottle of liquor from the shelf.

Skilfully removing the cork, he poured the liquor into a glass. With the fragrance filling the air, he drank one glass after another.

No matter how good his alcohol tolerance was, it couldn’t withstand his current rate of drinking; soon, his head grew heavier and terribly painful.

He took out a photo from the drawer; Xu Chaomu’s face gleamed like a flower in the picture.

As his fingertip traced her face, his vision blurred…

“Mumu, Mumu…”

Xiao Mo knocked numerous times, but there was no response from inside.

“Mr. Shen, please open the door.” Xiao Mo knew Shen Chi had been sitting inside for half a day and was worried.

With no response, Xiao Mo knocked harder, “Mr. Shen, Mr. Shen!”

Finally, Shen Chi weakly pressed the button, and the door slowly opened.

Upon entering, Xiao Mo was momentarily stunned. The room was filled with the smell of alcohol, and Shen Chi was clearly drunk.

“Mr. Shen, there’s news,” Xiao Mo said.

Shen Chi looked up bleakly, put down his glass, and at last glanced at Xiao Mo.

“Where is she?”

“Back in her hometown.”

Shen Chi was stunned; he had searched all over C City but did not expect her to return to her hometown.

Maybe that place could no longer be considered her home, because there, nothing remained.

He suddenly remembered driving her past a traffic light not long ago, and she had gazed out the window, lost in thought.