If You Could Hear My Heart

Chapter 401: Chapter 401: How Did It Go Wrong?
In such a summer night, memories turned into yellowing ginkgo leaves that, once touched by the fragmented sunlight piercing through the clouds, would faintly turn pale.

The sound of the air conditioner was very soft, and Xu Chaomu, with eyes closed from exhaustion, slowly fell asleep.

However, when Mo Shuifu was pulled back by Shen Shihan, his face remained stern throughout.

“Mo Shuifu, why didn’t you report to me when you came to the Shen Family today?”

“I have my freedom,” Mo Shuifu said indifferently.

“Is it freedom, or can’t you stop thinking about him?”

Shen Shihan’s voice was deep and gloomy, sending shivers down one’s spine in the pitch-dark car.

Mo Shuifu instinctively shrank to the side of the passenger seat, afraid to stir up the man’s temper.

This man’s mood was as fickle as the weather in June, changing at a moment’s notice.

One second, he could confess his love to you in front of everyone, building you a dream of love; the next second, he would personally destroy that dream.

She knew that Shen Chi was his bottom line. It wasn’t that she deliberately wanted to touch that line, but rather that he had become overly sensitive.

“You’re still so unreasonable.” Mo Shuifu didn’t want to deal with him.

The light inside the car went out and Mo Shuifu rested her head, sighing.

“Mo Shuifu, sometimes, I really want to ask you a question,” Shen Shihan said in a low, hoarse voice.

“What?” Mo Shuifu grew wary.

“If one day, both Shen Chi and I were in trouble at the same time, who would you feel sorry for?”

He had wanted to ask her this question a long time ago.

But he feared her answer, feared the disappointment.

His low voice echoed in the confined space of the car, and also in Mo Shuifu’s ears.

In trouble… how could they be in trouble?

Mo Shuifu felt her heart race, her hands twisting together, her face reflecting her unease.

“What trouble? Shen Shihan, don’t curse yourself,” Mo Shuifu said coldly.

“Why won’t you answer me…”

No expression could be read on Shen Shihan’s face. He didn’t know whether to feel disappointed by her words or not.

“What do you want to hear?” Mo Shuifu turned her face away.

She glanced at him, but it was too dark in the car to see the expression on his face or the joy and sorrow in his eyes.

“Forget it, you don’t have to say anything,” Shen Shihan pressed his lips together and looked ahead.

Many things, especially love, cannot be forced.

“Shihan, you should be happier. If you like, I can go travelling with you. We could go to the beach or hiking,” she suggested.

Mo Shuifu had been married to him for over two years, having known him for five, and she rarely saw him smile.

His face was always shrouded with sorrow, as if no amount of sunlight could ever lift it away.

“I don’t have the time,” Shen Shihan rejected the idea.

Mo Shuifu sighed internally without further comment, uncertain if he was just being moody.

Their car drove from the splendid world towards their villa, passing through the bustling area. Mo Shuifu opened her eyes and looked outside through the window.

The lights outside were brilliant, throngs of people moving about; she was rather envious of those arm-in-arm couples, laughing and chatting freely.

A faint smile formed on her lips as she rested her head and quietly watched the world outside the window.

“Shuifu, don’t visit Shen Chi at the Shen Family behind my back anymore,” Shen Shihan spoke up again.

“You are being unreasonable again. I didn’t come to see Shen Chi; I came to see Chaomu,” Mo Shuifu said flatly, looking out the window.

“You really have to provoke me.”

“It’s your own wishful thinking,” Mo Shuifu’s tone was also laced with displeasure. Just mentioning Shen Chi would tighten every nerve in this man.

Even after so many years…

“If you want to come to the Shen Family in the future, you can come with me. Otherwise, you’re not allowed,” he dictated.

“If you don’t trust me, so be it.” Mo Shuifu didn’t want to argue anymore.

Shen Shihan didn’t speak again. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, but rather… their love was too fragile.

He was genuinely fearful that if the day came when he and Shen Chi inevitably clashed, she would sympathize with Shen Chi instead of him.

Even imagining such an outcome made his heart wrench every time.

About half an hour later, Shen Shihan’s car entered the driveway of their villa.

It wasn’t too late at this hour; the servants were still tidying up the villa, and the lights were bright everywhere.

As soon as Shen Shihan’s car stopped in the garage, Mo Shuifu reached for the door, eager to get out.

She had drunk a bit of alcohol that evening, her head ached a little, and she had argued with Shen Shihan all the way; now, all she wanted was to sleep.

After parking the car and unbuckling his seat belt, Shen Shihan leaned over her.

“Shuifu, listen to me, please listen to me?” he implored, his usually composed face showing emotion.

The garage was dim, lit only by a faint light.

Mo Shuifu pushed against him with force, “Obedience has its limits; I’m your wife, not your pet.”

“I know; it’s often my impulsive actions, but deep down, I don’t want you to see Shen Chi.”

“I can tell, which just proves you don’t trust me.”

“Shuifu, how can I not trust you?”

Shen Shihan became frantic and, with a swift move, leaned down and kissed her lips.

Her slightly alcohol-tainted lips were irresistible, assaulting all his reason, yet his mind was filled with the scene of her standing with Shen Chi when he pushed open the living room door of the Shen Family house.

Sometimes he was jealous, because she rarely looked at him with such tender eyes, seldom smiled at him.

Inside, jealousy made him want to possess her even more.

Kissing her lips fiercely, Mo Shuifu could hardly bear it.

She tried to push him away, knowing what he would want to do next.

“Hmm… Shi, Shihan…” she dodged his kiss.

But he wouldn’t let her escape, kissing her more domineeringly, nibbling her lips.

He clamped down her flailing hands and flattened the passenger seat.

“Don’t… don’t do this,” Mo Shuifu’s cheeks flushed.

Panic-stricken, she resisted him strongly. But he never allowed her to get the upper hand in such matters, and he quickly subdued her restless body again.

By the dim light, she saw the possessiveness in his eyes.

She closed her eyes, giving in, and stopped resisting.

Resistance was futile anyway.

Only when she became compliant did his actions soften.

His fingers undid the buttons on her cheongsam, and his cool kisses followed on her pale skin.

In the dusky light, the car was filled with the scent of lavender and an ambiguous atmosphere…

It was uncertain how much time passed before Shen Shihan let her go.

He dressed himself and adjusted her wrinkled cheongsam, which his force had creased beyond recognition.

Finding no alternative, he took a suit jacket from the back seat to drape over her.

Mo Shuifu’s face was still flushed, her neatly coiffed hair now loosened and falling over her shoulder.

Wrapped in the suit jacket, with lingering pain on her body from his lack of gentleness in these matters, she sat still.