If You Could Hear My Heart

"Relax, your husband isn't the kind of man who's blindly arrogant." Shen Chi looked at her, his eyes full of tenderness. "This isn't arrogance, it's confidence."

"You're just praising yourself in a roundabout way." Xu Chaomu sneered.

"Am I not worthy of praise? Hmm?"

"You used Xiaobao as bait, and I haven't even yelled at you yet!" Xu Chaomu said angrily. "How could you use Xiaobao as bait? You could use me, but you absolutely can't use Xiaobao! There were thousands of ways to lure Bai Man out, yet you chose this one! Do you know that if anything happened to Xiaobao, I'd never forgive you for the rest of my life!"

Xu Chaomu had been shocked when she found out about this, and even now, she was still a little upset.

"Let me explain it to you slowly," Shen Chi said. "In this matter, I had to take the initiative. Do you know what they mean by striking first? If I didn't act, Bai Man would have, and I don't like doing anything unprepared."

"If Bai Man gained the upper hand, I'd be caught in a passive position, and the situation would become even more disastrous," Shen Chi explained. "Do you know how bad it could get? She might take advantage of us being off guard to kidnap you and Xiaobao. She could bribe servants to poison us. Maybe she'd even hire assassins, just like last time."

"Think about it—if I hadn't prepared in advance last time, would you and Xiaobao have come out of it unharmed?"

Xu Chaomu fell silent. She admitted Shen Chi was right.

"I had to act first to lure Bai Man out," Shen Chi said.

"But you still shouldn't have used Xiaobao… Using me should've been enough…" Xu Chaomu pouted.

"I coordinated everything with Xiao Mo to ensure there would be no accidents." Shen Chi said. "With the intelligence between the two of us, we've accounted for every possibility."

"Yet you didn't predict Bai Man would plant a timed bomb!"

"Didn't I already say that was within controllable parameters?"

Xu Chaomu thought about it, still shaken with fear. She couldn't achieve Shen Chi's level of rationality; she only knew how to let her imagination run wild.

Perhaps women were just like that—more emotional than logical.

"If you hadn't jumped to rescue Xiaobao today, I might've truly questioned whether you love him or not," Xu Chaomu said.

"Have I not loved him enough on normal days?"

"Totally like a stepdad," she teased.

"…" Shen Chi thought about it. Really?

After all, in his heart, Xu Chaomu ranked first, followed by Xiaobao and Erbao.

"No matter how much you try to explain, using Xiaobao was still wrong," Xu Chaomu muttered.

"…" Shen Chi rubbed his forehead. "Did I just waste all that effort explaining?"

"Well, I didn't understand a word of it."

"You're so hopelessly foolish. Thankfully, Xiaobao didn't inherit your dullness." Shen Chi said. "Relax, I said I would protect you and our son."

"But I was still scared to death. Do you know how terrified I was? I thought something had truly happened to you and Xiaobao. I nearly passed out on the spot, do you know that?" Xu Chaomu punched Shen Chi's chest, her voice choked with emotion.

She was sad. She simply couldn't envision life without him and their son.

In that moment, the entire world seemed a shade of gray.

"I know," Shen Chi pulled her into his arms. "I hurt you—that was my fault."

"It was more than hurt!"

"Hmm… I understand."

Why wouldn't he understand? Seven years ago, when Xiao Mo pointed at a pile of bones and told him it was her, his mood wasn't much better than hers now.

Because of all those big and small experiences, they understood each other's hearts better now.

"Shen Chi, in the future, whatever plans you have, let me know in advance!" Xu Chaomu complained. "Like today—I didn't even know Ayu was pretending to be Xiaobao's teacher."

"That was my fault," Shen Chi admitted.

But he couldn't tell Xu Chaomu, because he was afraid she'd worry.

"Whenever I think about nearly losing you and Xiaobao, I feel so sad…" Xu Chaomu was still shaken.

"Don't feel sad. Xiaobao and I are standing here safe and sound, aren't we?" Shen Chi stroked her long hair. "This matter is over; don't dwell on it."

"Will there be a next time?" Xu Chaomu asked seriously.

"There won't be a next time," Shen Chi said.

"Alright. Anyway, choosing to marry you means choosing to face all this. Otherwise, I might as well still live with Xiaobao in Jin City," Xu Chaomu sighed.

From the moment she decided to stay by his side, she already knew this was something she had to face.

He wasn't an ordinary person, so it would be unrealistic to expect a normal life from him.

His identity, status, and background had long decided his circumstances, and by marrying him, she had to be mentally prepared.

In truth, every marriage involves gains and losses, and in choosing Shen Chi, what she gained far outweighed what she had to endure.

"If you had stayed in Jin City, would you still have a cute little Erbao?" Shen Chi looked at her and teased.

Xu Chaomu thought about the little one at home and blinked her eyes. "Alright, I love them."

"Be honest with me. Do you love them more than you love me now?"

"Probably…" Xu Chaomu said with a cheeky grin.

"It's fine to love them, but don't show favoritism. You have to love me too."

Xu Chaomu pinched his face. "Jealous of the kids? And you don't even feel embarrassed."

Shen Chi tackled her, pinning her onto the bed. "Have you ever seen me embarrassed before?"

"Hey, get up! Get up! This is a hospital!" Xu Chaomu pushed him away, laughing.

"I didn't even do anything…"

After playing around for a while, Shen Chi held her in his arms again.

Outside the door, Xiaobao was playing with the police officers for a while, frustrated that nobody was paying attention to him.

But considering Shen Chi had saved him, he decided to let him off the hook.

After all, during the explosion, Shen Chi had held him tightly, shielding him as they hit the ground—and it was pretty heroic.

Shen Chi had gotten hurt himself, yet Xiaobao hadn't sustained a single scratch. Shen Chi even covered his ears.

"Officer Uncle, do you guys have a lot of one-cent coins? I haven't seen one-cent coins before," Xiaobao asked the officer, blinking innocently.

"…" The officer broke into a sweat. "Uncle doesn't have one-cent coins."

"What? Kids don't find one-cent coins and turn them into you anymore?" Xiaobao tilted his head. That's how the song went, didn't it?

"If you've never seen one-cent coins, it means there are fewer kids finding them nowadays," the officer replied, coaxing him.

Xiaobao thought about it. Fair enough.

After standing at the door for a while, Shen Chi and his mom still hadn't come out.

Just as Xiaobao got bored, he spotted Miao Xiu and Ayu walking to the front desk.

"Uncle Miao, Teacher!" Xiaobao called out.

Miao Xiu turned to look. "Xiaobao? Why are you standing out here alone?"

Xiaobao glanced meaningfully at the hospital room. "Take a guess."

"…" Miao Xiu looked at the room. Well, no need to guess.

"Uncle, can you take me out to play? I'm so bored here by myself," Xiaobao pleaded pitifully.

"Say something flattering to me first," Miao Xiu said.