If You Could Hear My Heart

Chapter 32: Undressing Her

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

They hadn’t been inside long before the ball began.

Xu Chaomu chose the darkest corner to sit alone, while Liu Rumei had already joined Shen Yanrou in the most glamorous spot.

After a little while, Xu Chaomu indeed saw Shen Chi.

Old Cheng had also deceived her with his talk of working overtime when he clearly was here to attend the ball.

She felt a twinge of sadness, wondering if the Shen family had always considered her, Xu Chaomu, an outsider for the past eight years. After all, her surname was Xu, not Shen.

Shen Chi was dazzling today, dressed in a black suit that made him look mature and sharp, exuding a powerful presence. As soon as he appeared, Xu Chaomu spotted him.

Different from the usual Shen Chi that Xu Chaomu saw, the Shen Chi at the ball looked more like a business elite, with sharp eyes, a slightly cold face, and lips that wore a smile that was not quite a smile.

Under the lights, he held a wine glass, toasting with a group of well-dressed men. Perhaps because the light was somewhat dim, Xu Chaomu always felt that the Shen Chi at that moment seemed more and more like a person from a different world than hers.

Her hands nervously intertwined; she wanted to flee.

The sound of the piano filled the hall as someone began to play on the piano at the forefront.

Before long, Xu Chaomu also saw Shen Cexian, Shen Shihan, and Li Beiting.

All along, she didn’t even know what the Shen family’s business was, just that they were very wealthy.

One after another, people came to toast to Shen Chi, and several women clad in very sensual attire approached as well. They were mostly enchanting and seductive, with their cleavage fully exposed, a single glance from them had the power to captivate all life.

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Shen Chi didn’t refuse the newcomers; his face always held a faint smile.

Xu Chaomu felt out of place among them and began to feel that her presence was superfluous.

Of course, had it not been for this ball, she would not have discovered that Shen Chi had such a good tolerance for liquor.

Usually, when Shen Chi was at home, he barely drank; she even thought he didn’t like alcohol.

She began to doubt whether she really knew him, despite having lived with him day and night for eight years.

As the ball progressed past the halfway mark, the initial formality waned, and everyone started to mingle more freely. Quite a few women came to invite Shen Chi to dance; he refused some and accepted others.

It was her first time seeing this man dance with other women, and she watched without blinking until the dance ended and then she lowered her head.

No matter who stood by his side, they seemed well-matched with him.

Head down, she cradled her glass of lemonade, silent and sitting quietly.

Maybe she drank too much lemonade because midway through the ball, she wanted to go to the restroom. She stood up, made her way through the crowd, and periodically looked around for the restroom.

Just as she was about to reach the entrance, someone stepped on her dress, and she suddenly lost her footing, her body tipping forward unstably!

Right when she was about to fall to the floor, she grabbed a pillar nearby.

But her movement was too abrupt, and a young woman’s glass next to her got knocked to the ground, shattering with a crash!

The red wine from the goblet spilled onto the young woman’s yellow dress, looking like a blooming red rose.

Xu Chaomu wasn’t spared either; some of the red wine stained her white dress, leaving her with an embarrassed expression.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, it wasn’t intentional.”

Xu Chaomu took out a tissue, trying to wipe the wine stain clean.

“Don’t you look where you’re going? What are you wiping for, can it even be cleaned? Do you have any idea how much my dress cost? How did you even get in here?”

The woman stamped her foot, losing all composure. Initially, she had thought Xu Chaomu might be someone important and held back, but when Xu Chaomu knelt down, she saw the label on Xu Chaomu’s clothes—a cheap knock-off found at some street stall.

Xu Chaomu knew the stain wouldn’t come off, so she could only stand up.

“Take it off, I’ll wash it for you.”

“What are you going to wash it with? Don’t tell me laundry detergent! Let me tell you, even if you send it to the laundry, this dress is ruined! With such a big wine stain, how can I wear it again?” the woman harped on relentlessly.

“Sister Lin, calm down, it’s probably just a server delivering drinks. She can’t afford to compensate for your dress!” Someone started to mediate.

“I will wash it carefully for you, whether it can be cleaned or not, we won’t know until I’ve tried,” Chaomu said lightly.

“I don’t want you to wash it, pay me and I’ll let you go,” the woman scoffed with disdain, convinced that Chaomu couldn’t afford to pay.

“How much?” Chaomu glanced at her.

“Fifty thousand!” the woman held up a palm.

Chaomu was taken aback. Was the dress that expensive?

“I don’t have that much money, but I can wash the dress for you.”

Truth be told, although Chaomu’s surname was not Shen, after she turned ten, the Shen Family had never let her wash a single piece of clothing or a dish.

“I told you, I don’t want you to wash it. Since you can’t afford to compensate, what do you suggest we do?” the woman looked at Chaomu with a mocking gaze.

At that moment, Yanrou walked over, glanced at Chaomu, and whispered into the woman’s ear, “Sister Lin, I saw her sitting alone in a corner for a long time, it looks like she snuck into the ball. Since she’s so keen to climb into our high society circles, why not take her out, strip her clothes, and let her serve some rich old men? How about that? She looks a bit green, but her figure is quite delicate.”

Chaomu didn’t hear what Yanrou was saying, but she was certain it wasn’t anything good.

The woman thought it was a good idea and moved a step closer to Chaomu.

After Yanrou finished speaking, she blended into the crowd, taking advantage of the many people around.

“I’m asking you one more time, are you going to pay or not?” the woman demanded arrogantly.

“I’ve already apologized to you. I can wash the dress for you, but I don’t have that much money,” Chaomu felt the woman was being unreasonable.

“Sorry? Is an apology that useful? If I hit and killed your mother, would ‘sorry’ be enough?” the woman’s words were venomous.

“The hell gives you the right to talk about my mother! What status do you have!”

Chaomu lost it, and she slapped the woman right across the face!

With a “smack,” the chattering around them suddenly stopped!

In less than a second, the surroundings exploded into an uproar!

“This girl has eaten the guts of a leopard, she even dares to hit Sister Lin!” “Oh my gosh, Sister Lin is bleeding…”

“You guys, pin her down for me!” A bright red handprint appeared on the woman’s fair face, the five fingers clearly defined, and blood was even flowing from the corner of her mouth.

Chaomu hadn’t fought in many years, almost forgetting that she used to be a little thug.

She never belonged to the circle of the wealthy, and it was fate that had mysteriously brought her to the Shen Family. She was out of place with all of this.

“Damn it, pin her down, I have to teach her a lesson today!” the woman cursed vulgarly, her poise completely gone. She was shaking with anger, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably!

The woman’s two male assistants, seeing their boss mistreated, came over, forcefully grabbed Chaomu’s arms, and pinned her down!

Chaomu struggled fiercely, but how could she match the strength of two men. Her butterfly knot fell to the ground, her long black hair now loose over one shoulder.

“I swear I’m not a Zheng if I don’t beat you to death today! Strip her clothes off!” Zheng Lin’s eyes blazed with anger, her face throbbing with pain.

Someone hurried to hold back Zheng Lin, “Sister Lin, today’s ball is hosted by the Shen Group. Creating such a scene might affect the ball, and the Shen Family might be embarrassed.”

“I’m almost cousin-in-law to President Shen, what do I have to fear!” Zheng Lin pushed away the peacekeeper, furiously pointing at Chaomu, “Strip off her clothes for me! Completely!”