If You Could Hear My Heart

“Zhou Peitian, do you not have a brain of your own? The person Shen Chi is getting engaged to is Bai Man, and moreover, you should have heard, he took the initiative to go to the civil affairs office to sever our adoption relationship. He and I, we have nothing to do with each other anymore!”

“Don’t worry, to make sure that everything goes perfectly, Bai Man, I will not let her go either. Shen Shihan and I are making a bet, we’re betting on who Shen Chi loves the most, after all.”

“Does that answer still need to be verified?”

“Without verification, Shihan won’t give up.”

“Then deliver a message to Third Brother for me… tell him, from today onwards, he will never be my Third Brother again.”

“Little girl, when you grow up, you’ll understand. Your Third Brother, he has instructed me not to hurt you.”

“Then also tell him, deceit, that’s the greatest harm. Moreover, when a family slaughters each other.” Xu Chaomu bit her teeth.

“If you want to hate, then hate. You don’t understand what’s most important in a man’s heart.”

“Interest, right? I understand. Therefore, your biggest mistake was kidnapping me. In Shen Chi’s heart, I don’t even register.”

“Fine, come with me to the warehouse. Stay there nicely, I won’t do anything to you.”

Zhou Peitian’s tone softened a bit as he took Xu Chaomu into the warehouse.

This warehouse was much cleaner. After Zhou Peitian threw her in there, he took special care to inspect the doors and windows, ensuring there were no gaps, before he felt comfortable shutting the door.

After Shen Shihan took Mo Shuifu away, he drove straight on.

Mo Shuifu lay quietly in the back seat, completely unresponsive.

Shen Shihan occasionally turned to look at her a few times; she looked thinner than before and was even more tranquil than usual.

So tranquil that it made him feel an immense sense of distance.

He was clad in a black shirt, even the hairband for his tied-up hair was black.

Having not seen her for so many days, he thought she had already left C City.

He sighed heavily in his heart.

Soon, Shen Shihan drove the car to a small villa registered under his name.

After parking the car in the garage, Shen Shihan opened the back seat door and carried Mo Shuifu out.

Zhou Peitian had been too heavy-handed; Mo Shuifu was still unconscious up to this point.

Carrying Mo Shuifu into the house, where it was deep into the night and all the servants were asleep, the only sound was that of his footsteps.

He carried her into a small room and gently laid her down.

Under the lights, she looked very peaceful, as if she was merely asleep.

“I won’t let you take risks. If you want to hate me, then hate me,” murmured Shen Shihan with his lips barely parting.

He covered her with a blanket and bent down to gaze at her face, unwilling to leave for a long time.

His fingers traced her face, from forehead to chin, outlining the contours of her face with his own fingertips.

Gradually, he bent down and planted a kiss on her cold lips.

This kiss was gentle and shallow, pure and beautiful.

He just… missed her.

Missed her so, so much.

Mo Shuifu still showed no reaction, and Shen Shihan sat beside her for a while before reluctantly standing up.

He locked the door of the room; these days, he wouldn’t let her leave through that door.

As soon as Shen Shihan left, he called Zhou Peitian.

“Peitian, how are things on your end?”

“No issues, but the girl asked me to deliver a message to you, of course, it’s nothing pleasant. So, do you want to hear it or not?”

Shen Shihan fell into silence.

After a long time, he spoke faintly, “Let’s hear it.”

“She said, from today on, you are no longer her Third Brother.”

Even though he had braced himself, Shen Shihan’s hand still shook slightly.

He gripped his mobile phone, lips pressed tightly together.

In front of him, the image of a pure and lovely smiling face suddenly appeared.

In her childhood, her face was always filled with limitless charm. She would lie next to him listening to his stories, very obedient, just like a little kitten.

Although she didn’t cling to him, their relationship was also quite good.

When Shen Chi ignored her, she would run to his side to complain. Every time, with just a little bit of cajoling from him, she would forget everything.

There was also the last time they said goodbye after a barbecue, she came back and tiptoed into his embrace.

In the sunlight, her smile was the most beautiful scenery.

Yet, he ultimately wasn’t as good as she imagined.

“Once the project is secured, I will compensate her, you take good care of her,” Shen Shihan spoke calmly.

“Afraid you’ll never be able to compensate her in this lifetime.”

“I hope she can be happy,” said Shen Shihan, his voice hoarse.

“Can she still be happy?” Zhou Peitian said.

Another long silence ensued.

“Peitian, the main sources of Shen Chi’s funds in South Africa right now, do you know?”

“From what I see, a portion from Shen Cexian, and from Bai Xuan of course, and he himself still has a chunk.”

“What if we withdraw Bai Xuan’s funding?”

“Then it’ll be about the same as us.”

After finishing, Shen Shihan lowered his voice and gave Zhou Peitian a few instructions.

The night grew deeper, and before long, a white mist began to rise in the air. Droplets condensed on leaves, and when birds passed by, a tremble of the leaves would send the droplets rolling down along the foliage.

As dawn approached in C City, it was just turning night in South Africa.

Without any news of Xu Chaomu, Shen Chi became increasingly restless.

He sat in the chair of his suite, his eyes never leaving the doll placed on the bed.

He wanted to hear her voice, badly wanted to.

But now, even this desire had become a luxury.

He was unable to sleep, sitting silently, his features sculpted, still as a statue.

All night, Xiao Mo called countless times, yet the content was the same; Xu Chaomu had not been found.

Pressing his fist against his forehead, Shen Chi’s brow furrowed deeply.

“Mumu…”

To his dismay, the next day, just as Shen Chi was preparing to meet with the mine owner to negotiate the diamond mine so he could return home to look for Xu Chaomu personally, another crisis emerged back home.

Bai Xuan personally called Shen Chi.

“Shen Chi, Manman is missing.”

Shen Chi responded gravely, “What?”

“Early this morning, I received a call from the kidnappers, saying Manman is in their hands, and they need fifty million for her release.”

“Fifty million? They sure have quite the appetite.”

“Initially I didn’t dare raise an uproar and secretly sent people to look for Manman, but there was no trace. The kidnappers also said, if the money isn’t provided, they will harm her.”

“Uncle Bai, what are you getting at?”

“I just wanted to discuss with you, Manman will soon be engaged to you; she must be very important to you, right? So, I plan to deliver the money to the kidnappers first; I can’t risk Manman’s safety.”

“Fifty million is no small sum.”

“Yes, and I don’t have a spare fifty million at hand. I’d have to take it from the funds allocated to you.”

“It’s not that simple, Uncle Bai, have someone keep an eye on Shen Shihan!”

“I can’t gamble Manman’s life, and besides, you don’t need that fifty million urgently, so I’m just giving you a heads up.”

“Without that fifty million, my project in South Africa will be postponed.”