If You Could Hear My Heart

The entire hotel was booked out by Shen Chi, filled with flowers and balloons everywhere, perfectly resembling a castle.

After Shen Chi got out of the car, he carried Xu Chaomu out with a princess carry.

Xu Chaomu wrapped her arms around Shen Chi's neck, staring at him intently, her heart as sweet as if drenched in honey. Everything she saw seemed so sweet.

Back in the day, this man was so stingy. Just brushing against him slightly would make him grumble endlessly, let alone allowing her to cling to his neck.

Now, it's perfect. She could cling to him as long as she wanted.

"Hubby, hubby, lower your head," Xu Chaomu said to him playfully.

"Hmm?" Shen Chi glanced at her but obliged by lowering his head slightly.

At the exact moment he lowered his head, Xu Chaomu quickly kissed him, giggling afterward.

"…" Shen Chi smiled helplessly yet dotingly.

A photographer captured several photos of Xu Chaomu and Shen Chi, and this moment made everyone's hearts flutter.

Xia Chuqing sat blankly in the car, just staring at Shen Chi and Xu Chaomu. Even when Yu Weiwei called her to get out of the car, she didn't hear.

Yu Weiwei teased her by leaning in and saying with a laugh, "Are you thinking about getting married now?"

Xia Chuqing snapped back to reality, her face flushing: "No, I'm still young."

"Got someone special in your heart?" Yu Weiwei asked inquisitively.

Though she and Xia Chuqing weren't very close, their personalities were somewhat similar, enabling them to quickly strike up a conversation.

Xia Chuqing shook her head, then nodded: "Um, kind of… Weiwei, let's get out of the car and go to the hotel."

"Alright, let's go. Everyone else is already inside." With that, Yu Weiwei opened the car door.

There were a lot of people at the wedding banquet, and what made Xu Chaomu happiest was that most of her close friends were here.

Shen Cexian and Zhou Ran were chatting quietly in a corner, and Bai Xuan was there too.

Bai Xuan couldn't help but remark: "Thirty years have gone by, yet we can still interact like this."

Zhou Ran said: "Indeed. Back in our college days, who would've thought this was possible?"

Zhou Ran's mind wandered to the red-bricked campus with green-tiled roofs, and the ginkgo-lined avenues. She loved autumn best because the campus was most beautiful then, with the golden ginkgo leaves carpeting the ground and swirling in the wind.

She cherished those sunny autumn afternoons, sitting on benches, sometimes reading a book and sometimes watching Shen Cexian playing basketball on the athletic field.

Youthful days could never return. Back then, they never dreamed thirty years later would bring a scene like this.

During that time, Zhou Ran, Shen Cexian, Bai Xuan, and Xu Mengxi were the closest of friends, sharing similar interests and always having plenty to talk about.

However, the love of that era was too naive; liking someone came with an inability to express it aloud.

Pondering this, Zhou Ran pulled out an aged photo from a compartment in her handbag…

Shen Cexian and Bai Xuan froze in surprise. They didn't expect Zhou Ran to carry that old photo around.

The picture had been taken by Bai Xuan, which was why it featured only Zhou Ran, Shen Cexian, and Xu Mengxi.

That day, the sky was a brilliant blue, and their smiles shone as vividly as ever.

A dream it was.

Zhou Ran's fingers gently traced the faces in the photo—from her own to Shen Cexian, then to Xu Mengxi.

"Perhaps there were too many misunderstandings in the past. Looking back now, it all seems like nothing more than a dream," Zhou Ran said wistfully.

No matter the misunderstandings or arguments, none of them mattered anymore.

Shen Cexian's heart was gripped tightly, trembling uncontrollably.

Even Bai Xuan's eyes grew red-rimmed. Though they weren't ones to get sentimental, at the twilight of their lives, no one could escape the pull of their memories.

For a moment, they all fell silent.

"Mengxi, many years ago, we used to be the best of friends." Zhou Ran broke the silence, her tone tinged with both helplessness and sarcasm. "Now your daughter is marrying my son…"

Zhou Ran lifted her gaze, eyes landing on Xu Chaomu off in the distance, standing side-by-side with Shen Chi.

As a child, Xu Chaomu resembled Xu Mengxi greatly, but she grew up to be quite different.

Xu Chaomu's personality was much livelier than Xu Mengxi's. Zhou Ran smiled, unable to fathom how someone as reserved as Xu Mengxi and Bai Xuan could have raised such an outgoing and cheerful daughter.

But this was undoubtedly for the best…

Scene after scene resurfaced in their minds, and Zhou Ran thought of Xu Mengxi.

They had once been roommates, sitting together during lectures and holding hands as they walked to meals—inseparable friends.

But then Zhou Ran fell for Shen Cexian, who had silently loved Xu Mengxi all along, and their relationship grew distant.

Zhou Ran knew Xu Mengxi harbored feelings for someone, always assuming it was Shen Cexian, unaware it was Bai Xuan.

Their relationships had been so delicate, yet everything changed on the day Xu Mengxi's family went bankrupt…

Zhou Ran stopped dwelling on it. Memories always receded into the distance, while the happiness of the present was the real treasure.

She smiled, her gaze shifting toward Shen Chi and Xu Chaomu. The pair stood together, a perfect match.

Xu Chaomu beamed brightly, and so did Shen Chi.

It dawned on Zhou Ran that her son only showed his most heartfelt smiles when he was with Xu Chaomu.

So was it right or wrong to bring Xu Chaomu into their lives back then…?

Time would eventually provide the answer.

As everyone basked in silent contemplation, Xiaobao came bouncing over!

"Grandpa, Grandma, Grandpa on mom's side!" Xiaobao called cheerfully, opening his palm. "Mom secretly gave me lots of candy. I'll share some with you."

Bai Xuan ruffled Xiaobao's hair lovingly: "Little one, you shouldn't eat too much candy. It'll cause cavities, and cavities hurt quite a bit."

"Dad says the same, but I didn't eat too much. I told Dad these are the wedding candies from you and Mom. Eating them brings happiness," Xiaobao explained.

His words elicited laughter from everyone.

"Then Dad stopped bothering me," Xiaobao added triumphantly.

He opened his palm again, earnestly dividing the candies between the three of them.

His focused expression as he counted the candies was utterly adorable—lashes fluttering like tiny fans, his grape-like big eyes sparkling as if they could speak.

"All sorted!" Xiaobao proudly handed each candy to their palms. His keen eyes caught sight of the photo in Zhou Ran's hand.

"Grandma, can I look at this photo?" Curious as ever, Xiaobao asked.

Zhou Ran, seeing his interest, didn't refuse and handed him the photo: "Alright."

With intense curiosity, Xiaobao leaned on Zhou Ran's lap, studying the photo with wide eyes.

"This one looks a bit like Grandma, this one a bit like Mom, and this one a bit like Grandpa," Xiaobao said, pointing one by one.

Zhou Ran chuckled: "That's right. This one is Grandma when she was young, and this one is Grandpa when he was young."

"And what about this one?" Xiaobao pointed to Xu Mengxi.

"That one is your Grandma on mom's side."

"Oh, Grandma on Mom's side!" Xiaobao's eyes lit up. Though he'd never met her, he had heard she passed away a long time ago. "Grandma on Mom's side was so pretty when she was young."