If You Could Hear My Heart

"Where did that little kid come from? Can't be Mr. Xiao's son, right? Aww, so cute."

"Doesn't look like Mr. Xiao though, more like Mr. Shen."

"Right, right, looks like Mr. Shen, must be our Mr. Shen's son, right?"

"Wow, Mr. Shen's son is already so big."

"What are you all thinking about? I heard Mr. Shen's second child is about to be born."

"Really? But Mr. Shen has never even had a wedding!"

"Cough cough cough, weren't we discussing Mr. Xiao? Why did it switch to Mr. Shen again, hey, Mr. Xiao left."

The group's gossiping voices were a bit too loud, Xiao Mo and Xia Chuqing both heard them, Xiao Mo just smiled faintly, without saying anything. He was used to such idle chatter.

Xia Chuqing, on the other hand, was a bit anxious; she quickly distanced herself from Xiao Mo, deliberately walking behind him and Xiaobao.

She's not his girlfriend, but the chocolate and flowers in her hands...

She quickly tucked her hands behind her back again. Really, what was she thinking giving him flowers! And roses at that! Even if they were on sale, that's no excuse!

"Uncle Xiao Mo, I don't want to go upstairs." Xiaobao lingered at the elevator entrance, refusing to move.

"Why?" Xiao Mo asked, looking down.

"Mommy and Daddy are not good people."

Xiao Mo chuckled: "Mommy and Daddy love you the most."

"That's not true, they hit people."

"Did you do something wrong?" Xiao Mo simply squatted down to eye level with the little guy, patiently waiting for an answer.

"No." Xiaobao denied.

"A child who lies is not a good child, did you do something wrong?"

"I..." Xiaobao fell silent.

"If you do something wrong, of course Mommy and Daddy have to scold you, as long as you're obedient, they will love you very much, you know?" Xiao Mo explained.

Xia Chuqing, observing the squatting Xiao Mo, felt a warmth in her heart. She hadn't expected a man like him to have such patience.

"Baby is angry." Xiaobao still refused to go.

"Alright, don't be angry." Xiao Mo stroked his little head, "Uncle has already bought you chocolate. Aren't you happy?"

"Mmm..." Xiaobao looked at the chocolate in his hand and stopped talking.

"Come on, we won't go to Mommy and Daddy's, Uncle will take you to play in the swimming pool." Xiao Mo stood up.

Xiaobao compromised and obediently followed Xiao Mo upstairs.

Standing in the stairwell, Xia Chuqing felt awkward, she lightly said: "I've been out for quite a while, I'm planning to head back to school."

"Are you avoiding me, or Xiaobao?" Xiao Mo asked, his expression composed.

"I!" Xia Chuqing didn't know how to respond.

Xiao Mo gently tugged on Xiaobao's hand, coaxing him: "Your godmother is going home."

"No, no, let's play together." Xiaobao urgently protested.

"Did you hear that?" Xiao Mo glanced at Xia Chuqing and stepped onto the elevator.

"Godmother..." Xiaobao called out again.

Xia Chuqing had no choice but to board the elevator, complaining to Xiao Mo: "Using a child, what kind of man does that make you."

"And what do you plan to do with me?" Xiao Mo remarked indifferently.

"..." Xia Chuqing glanced at Xiao Mo, his face wore a hint of smugness and roguishness, leaving her feeling indignant with nowhere to vent her frustration. She had never encountered anyone like him.

He himself had said that he saw her as a sister, and now here he was giving her chocolates and flowers, and saying a lot of ambiguous things many times over. Xia Chuqing just couldn't figure him out.

Xia Chuqing always felt that Xiao Mo was used to flirting with women, that he probably quite enjoyed the sensation of being liked by women.

She did not like such people!

When they reached the swimming pool floor, Xiao Mo was explaining things to Xiaobao while they walked along.

The place was really huge; the hallway was decorated with Western oil paintings, exuding a rich artistic atmosphere.

Xia Chuqing had no interest in watching, and she bluntly said, "Brother Xiao Mo, I'm going to play with Xiaobao a bit more before leaving."

Xiao Mo's footsteps halted abruptly, the address 'Brother Xiao Mo' sounding particularly grating to his ears.

"Hmm." Xiao Mo's expression darkened, and he said nothing more.

Xia Chuqing walked around the poolside with Xiaobao, who was delighted: "It's bigger than the swimming pool at my house!"

"This is also your home," Xia Chuqing said with a smile.

As Xia Chuqing walked away with Xiaobao, Xiao Mo followed behind them.

Soon, a man dressed in a suit approached and whispered a few words to Xiao Mo.

Xiao Mo stopped in his tracks, not following any further, and asked with a frown, "When did it happen?"

"Last night."

"I see."

"Hmm."

The subordinate hastened off, leaving Xiao Mo to watch Xia Chuqing in the distance, silently contemplative.

After walking for a while, Xiaobao was too tired to continue and refused to walk. Xia Chuqing had no choice but to sit down with him.

Xiao Mo also sat beside them, watching the people swimming back and forth in the pool.

"Which place in C City do you most want to visit?" Xiao Mo suddenly asked Xia Chuqing, his eyes deep.

"Nowhere," Xia Chuqing responded indifferently.

"Boring," Xiao Mo commented disdainfully.

"..." Xia Chuqing turned and gave him a puzzled look—wasn't he the most boring one?!

"I'm not very busy recently. If there's anywhere you want to go, I can take you around," Xiao Mo said, "I've been wanting to go out and explore myself."

"Why take me?"

"Because you talk a lot."

"How is that a reason!"

Xiao Mo curved his lips: "You insisted I give you a reason."

"Then I want to go to Lavender Field in the outskirts of C City, will you take me there?"

"Okay."

"Great, see you Saturday."

"Hmm."

Xia Chuqing didn't expect Xiao Mo to answer so readily. She had long wanted to visit Lavender Field, but during her university years, she always missed the opportunity due to various reasons and has never made it there.

Lavender is very romantic; she had dreamt of visiting it with someone she liked.

Now, Xiao Mo was someone she liked, it's just that he didn't like her back.

No matter what, she truly did like him. To be able to visit Lavender Field with him would at least be a memorable experience.

Nowadays, almost every time she saw Xiao Mo, he seemed to administer an anesthetic to her, numbing her to the fact that he did not like her, and temporarily making her forget that she had said they should not come into contact with each other again.

In the past, she didn't believe that women said one thing and meant another. Now, she believed it.

Not only do they say one thing and mean another, but they also like to deceive themselves.

Xia Chuqing sat shoulder to shoulder with Xiao Mo, neither speaking again.

Xu Chaomu talked with Shen Chi in his office for a while, then prepared to go find Xiaobao.

However, after making a phone call to Xiao Mo, Xiao Mo told her that Xiaobao did not want to leave and still wanted to play.

Xu Chaomu, feeling helpless, sat for a while longer in Shen Chi's office.

Shen Chi had several meetings that afternoon. While he was in the meetings, she played games on his computer.

When the third meeting ended, Shen Chi finally finished his work, closed the door of his office, and saw that Xu Chaomu had already fallen asleep.

"You can sleep anywhere," Shen Chi said with a helpless smile, draping his suit jacket over her.

The jacket still carried his warmth, startling Xu Chaomu awake.