If You Could Hear My Heart

Before heading to the police station to see Bai Man, Shen Chi first made a trip to the Bai Family residence.

Bai Xuan was still the same as always. Shen Chi had grown much less guarded against him. After all, no matter what, he was Xu Chaomu's biological father.

Sometimes, Shen Chi would permit Bai Xuan to take a walk outside, but Bai Xuan rarely wanted to. He preferred staying alone in the house.

Maybe it was because of his age, or perhaps the cold weather, but Bai Xuan often liked to sit silently by himself, not even bothering to go to the garden.

When Shen Chi arrived, Bai Xuan was busy practicing calligraphy.

Though Bai Xuan noticed Shen Chi entering, he didn't stop and continued finishing the piece he was working on.

The room was filled with the rich fragrance of ink. At some point, the family portrait that used to hang on the wall had disappeared.

Shen Chi moved closer to see what Bai Xuan was writing. It was a poem—Jiang Jie's "Yu Beauty·Listening to the Rain."

"As a youth, listening to the rain in the high pavilion, beneath dim candles and silken canopies.

In middle age, listening to the rain aboard a guest boat, rivers broad, clouds low, and stray geese weeping in the western wind.

Now, listening to the rain by the monk's brazier, graying hair like stars.

Griefs and joys, separations and reunions, all are heartless. Let the raindrops before the steps fall until dawn."

The brushstrokes were bold and forceful, yet they carried an undeniable air of melancholy and resignation.

Shen Chi stood silently to the side, waiting for Bai Xuan to finish the last character of the poem.

Only after the final stroke was complete did Bai Xuan set the brush down and calmly say, "President Shen, pardon my poor display."

"Chairman Bai's calligraphy remains as prized as ever. Perhaps one day, I'll have the chance to discuss and exchange insights with you."

"President Shen, you flatter me," Bai Xuan replied humbly.

"But since discussing calligraphy is a matter for another day, today I do have something I need to speak to you about."

"President Shen, you're too polite."

The two exchanged idle pleasantries. Bai Xuan knew well that Shen Chi never came without reason—each visit carried weight.

Of course, Shen Chi wasn't there for chit-chat, even though Bai Xuan was Xu Chaomu's father and thus Shen Chi's father-in-law.

Without further ado, Shen Chi reached into his pocket and retrieved a small playback device.

The device contained a recording of the scene from the day the explosion occurred. Shen Chi had someone edit it down to the critical moments.

When Bai Xuan saw Bai Man on the screen, he was stunned. "Manman!"

Shen Chi didn't respond and stood silently, observing the expressions on Bai Xuan's face.

All this time, Bai Xuan had believed that Bai Man would repent, that she would turn her life around. But this video was an undeniable slap in the face.

In Bai Xuan's mind, Bai Man was always his obedient and clever daughter, capable and well-behaved.

And she had indeed brought immense glory to the Bai Family in the past. The Bai Family, in return, had provided her with steadfast support.

But now? Everything had changed.

Bai Xuan stared fixedly at the screen, his eyes wide open and his mouth slightly agape, utterly astonished.

There were things, actions, that he simply couldn't believe his own daughter was capable of.

Yet on that screen, it was undoubtedly his daughter—the girl he had watched grow up.

"Manman…" Bai Xuan called out again, his face filled with grief and heaviness.

Still, Shen Chi remained silent, waiting for Bai Xuan to finish watching.

When Bai Man mentioned the timed bomb in the video, Bai Xuan's heart skipped a beat.

He hadn't been following the news recently—a bomb? Did it harm anyone?!

Before he could process his thoughts, the video erupted with a deafening "boom," followed by Xu Chaomu's anguished screams—calling out desperately for Shen Chi and Xiaobao.

Bai Xuan's chest tightened in pain. Xu Chaomu was also his daughter…

Watching his two biological daughters turn on each other in such a brutal display, his heartache was indescribable.

His pupils contracted, and his hands trembled violently.

The video cut off abruptly at that moment.

Because the recording had been taken from the device in Ayu's pocket, there wasn't much more substance captured afterward.

Bai Xuan set the playback device down, clutching his chest as waves of emotion surged within him.

He held his head in his hands, overwhelmed with an aching sadness that left him unable to cry even when he wanted to.

Shen Chi quietly packed away the device and said in a subdued tone, "I didn't have any other intention—just thought you should see this."

"When did this happen?"

"A little while ago."

"What about Xiaobao? Is Xiaobao okay?" Bai Xuan looked at him with pleading eyes.

"He's fine—I managed to save him."

"Thank goodness… Thank goodness…" Bai Xuan nodded repeatedly, his voice heavy with sorrow.

If anything had happened to Xiaobao, he would never have forgiven himself.

Xiaobao was an adorable little thing. Xu Chaomu had once brought him to the Bai Family residence, and Bai Xuan could still vividly recall the way Xiaobao spoke to him.

"President Shen, I'm sorry," Bai Xuan said apologetically. "I never imagined Manman would become like this… She wasn't like this before…"

Bai Xuan was wracked with regret, clutching his chest in real, physical pain.

"She's always been like this," Shen Chi said succinctly. "You just didn't understand her well enough. Or maybe, you refused to believe in the side of her that wasn't so perfect."

Shen Chi's words were razor-sharp, leaving Bai Xuan speechless.

He was right; Shen Chi was absolutely right.

Bai Man's seemingly perfect exterior masked many imperfections. For instance, one time, a new maid in the household forgot to feed Bai Man's cat. Bai Man ordered that the maid not be allowed to eat for an entire week.

Everyone assumed the young Miss was joking, but she wasn't.

In the end, the maid starved to death. Bai Xuan didn't even hear about it until he returned from a business trip. At the time, Bai Man was still just a child—not more than five or six years old.

Bai Xuan hadn't thought much of it then. After all, she was just a kid—too young to understand right from wrong or bear responsibility.

Looking back now, he realized he had been far too indulgent, far too lenient.

"In the past, both Xu Chaomu and I asked you for Bai Man's address, but you always refused to give it to us," Shen Chi said. "Fortunately, this time, it wasn't too late. Do you realize how long she's been in C City, waiting and plotting revenge?"

Bai Xuan shook his head. "I'm sorry… This is my fault… I truly didn't know…"

"You're a clever man; you don't need me to spell it out for you. If we'd been just a little too late, or if I hadn't been so vigilant, both Chaomu and Xiaobao could have lost their lives."

"I know… I know…" Bai Xuan was consumed with despair.

From the video, he could already see it—how incredibly close it had been. If Shen Chi hadn't rushed over to intervene in time, perhaps… both Shen Chi and Xiaobao would have died.

And if that had come to pass, Bai Xuan knew he would have been irredeemable.

Shen Chi didn't say much more. He only needed Bai Xuan to confront the reality—there was no need for further elaboration. Moving forward, Bai Xuan wouldn't have any opportunities to interact with Bai Man again.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" Bai Xuan's head sank into his arms, his voice choked with emotion.

Of all the words he could utter, they boiled down to these four simple ones.

"Perhaps you should be thankful that you're Xu Chaomu's father," Shen Chi said coldly before turning to leave.

Bai Xuan didn't respond. He understood…

If not for being Xu Chaomu's father, Shen Chi would never have let him off so lightly.

Bai Man's crimes were unforgivable, and as her father, Bai Xuan couldn't escape his share of the responsibility.

As the saying goes, "When a child is unprincipled, it's the father's failure." Bai Xuan was a sinner through and through.

Shen Chi gazed at Bai Xuan. Although resentment still churned in his heart, he temporarily pushed it aside. After all, Bai Xuan was Xu Chaomu's biological father.