If You Could Hear My Heart

He knew his “I love you” was ill-timed. Could she still believe him now?

Xu Chaomu resisted, her small hands pushing him with force.

Her big eyes stared at him, truly wanting to take one more look at him.

The man in front of her, she had loved him for so many years…

Her hand brushed his brows; he always liked to furrow them, yet when he smiled, he was so handsome.

“Fourth Brother… listen to me until the end… Maybe you’ll never hear me speak again. Fourth Brother… even if you hate me, can you listen to me this last time… I know you find me annoying…” Her voice was very weak.

Rain fell on her face, and he hugged her even tighter into his arms.

“Mumu, I don’t find you noisy. Just live well, come back home with me. Even if you talk in my ear every day, I won’t find it noisy. Do you still remember what I said? I want to take you to the amusement park, wherever you want to go, I’ll take you…”

“I remember… but I don’t want it anymore. All your kindness towards me is out of guilt, even now it still is. I don’t want it, not one bit.”

Xu Chaomu’s eyes were still filled with despair, endless and boundless.

“Fourth Brother, the eight years of indebtedness I owe the Shen Family, I’ve now repaid.” Xu Chaomu said calmly, and as soon as she finished speaking, a faint smile spread across her lips.

That smile, it stung Shen Chi’s eyes.

Eight years of indebtedness, repaid…

“No, Mumu, I’ve never wanted you to repay anything. My kindness to you was never out of guilt; it was because I care about you.”

He kissed the back of her hand, and his tears fell onto her face.

Xu Chaomu felt her eyelids growing heavy; her back hurt so much…

Her voice grew fainter and fainter: “Fourth Brother… let me say one last thing… just one last thing, okay?”

“Mumu, I’ll take you with me!”

Even if she refused to go, he would still take her.

He dominantly grabbed her arm, lifting her off the ground.

She lay on his shoulder, close to his ear.

“Fourth Brother… just one last thing… if I die… please bury me next to my mom… and later… when your baby grows up… let her visit me… she must be very pretty… let her call me ‘Auntie’… I like… like little girls…”

As she spoke, her strength waned; her voice as fragile as a thread.

“Xu Chaomu, you listen to me goddammit, I love you, I won’t let you die! And besides, if we’re having a daughter, you’re the one who’s going to bear her!”

Xu Chaomu closed her eyes, weakly lifting the corners of her mouth…

This man, always so overbearing, not even in this moment, would he indulge her.

Forget it, she wouldn’t argue with him anymore, she was leaving…

This time, she was leaving him forever and ever.

Her head grew heavier and heavier; she no longer had the strength to speak, her eyelids too heavy to lift, only feeling rainwater on her face.

Her hands, which had been wrapped around his neck, slowly… she was so tired, so tired…

“Fourth Brother… Fourth Brother…”

She called out in her heart, her head hanging heavily.

“Mumu! Xu Chaomu! You wake the hell up, don’t sleep!”

Shen Chi shook her body, he couldn’t let her fall asleep.

Xu Chaomu’s mind was muddled, now she only felt pain in her chest and back. Which hurt more, she did not know.

Closing her eyes, about to fall deeply asleep, she was shaken awake again.

This man was so annoying…

“Xu Chaomu, don’t sleep! Open your eyes! Don’t you like telling stories? Tell me a story to listen to.”

Fear filled Shen Chi’s eyes; he was afraid that once she fell asleep, she would never wake up again.

No… he still had a lifetime to spend with her.

Eight years had passed, and he was so accustomed to having her every goddamn night, he couldn’t bear to imagine what life would be like without her.

Xu Chaomu’s head ached, subconsciously hearing his calls, wanting to open her eyes, but no matter what, she couldn’t manage it.

Her whole body hurt so much…

Shen Chi held her tightly in his arms, walking toward the cabin.

Outside, the sound of gunfire was relentless; shattered glass littered the ground!

The crowd was full of screams, some even grabbed lifeboats and left the cruise ship.

Men, women, in utter chaos, shouting everywhere. Thankfully, the power had been restored, though the lighting remained dim.

“Chaomu, you mustn’t sleep, do you hear me? I’m talking to you, do you hear me?”

Xu Chaomu wanted to speak, but her consciousness was growing blurrier; she desperately tried to open her eyes, only catching Shen Chi’s profile.

She saw the urgency in his eyes, his facial lines tense.

While he carried her to the suite, she suddenly lifted her hand, pointing at something.

Initially, Shen Chi didn’t realize what she meant, just frantically carrying her.

Xu Chaomu got anxious; she tried to speak but hadn’t the strength, tried to lift her hand higher but still had no energy.

Her eyes fixed on that place, she moved her lips.

Finally, she weakly squeezed out two words: “Baby… baby…”

She saw her little doll; the doll was smiling at her, its eyes seemingly blinking. She so wanted to hold her…

Shen Chi finally understood what she wanted, looked in the direction she pointed, and saw the doll sitting in the chair at the café.

In the recent gunfight, he had almost left that doll behind.

He walked into the café with her in his arms, grabbed the doll from the chair, and tucked it into her arms.

Indeed, Xu Chaomu smiled, her lips sweetly curving up, holding the doll tightly, refusing to let go.

Seeing that she finally stopped trying to sleep, Shen Chi’s anxious heart relaxed.

“Hold her nicely, tell her a story. Okay?”

Shen Chi lowered his head, rubbing his chin against her forehead.

As he did so, he smelled the blood from her body, and his heart clenched suddenly.

That bullet just now… how much it must have hurt her.

She, who even feared tooth extraction, took a bullet for him without hesitation.

This foolish girl…

When Shen Chi left with Xu Chaomu, Bai Man was still hiding in the café. She watched him leave with Xu Chaomu, her teeth clenched in resentment.

Xu Chaomu rubbed her doll, the doll still carried a faint scent of lavender.

Just that, she had somehow made it onto the cruise ship…

She wanted to speak, but her eyelids grew heavier and heavier…

She had no idea how much longer she could hold on…

“Chaomu, don’t sleep, we’re almost there. Hold on. Does it hurt? If it hurts, bite me!”

Xu Chaomu’s ears rang; she could barely hear what he was saying…

Suddenly, a large mouthful of fresh blood gushed from her mouth!

The blood splashed onto Shen Chi, shocking him; he hurriedly carried her toward the suite.

“Mumu, you absolutely can’t let anything happen. If you do, I’ll just have to shoot myself in the head.”