Chapter 256: Chapter 256: He Will Hide It from Her Forever

Translator: 549690339

“How would I know what trinket to get you—go play!” he frowned, not even lifting his head.

That day, she walked away disheartened, feeling very unhappy.

Shen Chi held the dress, a sense of helplessness spreading through him.

He hadn’t expected her to remember so well; the casual remark he made, she still kept in mind.

“Mumu, it’s my fault, don’t be angry with me anymore. Take it, go try it on,” he apologized to her.

“If it’s nothing important, you should just go home. I won’t accept it. The clothes and shoes, I know they’re expensive.”

Shen Chi’s temper also flared up, and he grabbed her hand, very dissatisfied, “If I ask you to try, you try. What’s with all the nonsense! Don’t just stand there, take off your clothes!”

“I don’t want to!” Xu Chaomu was stubborn.

“Don’t want to? Fine, I’ll take them off for you!”

Shen Chi was a man of his word, very domineering. Xu Chaomu had really annoyed him; why all the nonsense.

He reached for her coat, not believing he couldn’t handle her.

“If you keep this up, I’m going to yell!” Xu Chaomu glared.

“Yell all you want. If you can’t, I’ll help you yell.”

“You, you, you…”

“Take off the T-shirt, put this on!”

“You, you, you… turn around!”

“It’s not like I haven’t seen it before.”

“Bastard, turn around!” Xu Chaomu stamped her foot.

Only then did Shen Chi put the dress in her hands and turn around. Dealing with Xu Chaomu, force was indeed necessary. This unruly girl, her temper was getting stronger and stronger.

Xu Chaomu quickly changed into the dress, fearful that he would turn back around.

Once she had changed, she was taken aback—such a beautiful dress, and it fit… perfectly.

The piano room had a mirror. She walked over to it, looked at herself from the left and right, enamored.

This was the first time she wore such an intellectual and elegant dress. Although it didn’t match her age, she particularly liked it.

“Put on the high heels as well, I want to see,” he instructed.

Shen Chi turned around and took out red-soled shoes from the shoebox.

Xu Chaomu walked over and sat on a stool, bending down to pick up the shoes.

Shen Chi pressed her hand, “Don’t move, I’ll do it.”

He bent down, lowered his head, and took off the little leather shoes on her feet, replacing them with the high heels.

“Pretty fitting,” he observed after the change.

Her heart warmed; she hadn’t expected Shen Chi to put shoes on for her.

Her nose felt sour as she smiled faintly, “Only my mom has ever put shoes on for me.”

“Your mom?”

“Yeah, when I was a kid, I couldn’t tie shoelaces, so she would do it for me, never getting annoyed. Even after I learned to tie them, she still liked to put shoes on for me.”

Shen Chi’s hand paused, “Then… between your mom and me, who do you prefer?”

“How could you compare yourself to my mom?” Xu Chaomu pouted.

Countless thoughts flashed through Shen Chi’s mind. He remembered a fact he had unearthed years before—his mother, Zhou Ran, was the culprit behind that gas explosion.

It was Zhou Ran who had tampered with the gas cylinder.

That was Xu Chaomu’s most beloved mother.

Shen Chi suppressed the matter, destroying all the clues. He feared that she would learn the truth; he hoped he could hide it from her for a lifetime.

He hoped she could always be happy, carefree.

He couldn’t imagine how she would react if one day she discovered the truth…

It was something he never dared to think about.

“These heels are so high, I’ll walk around and see,” Xu Chaomu said as she stood up, walking back and forth in the red-soled shoes.

Initially unaccustomed, but after a while, she moved with ease.

“Look, I’ve got a real knack for wearing high heels,” she smiled at him.

Under the incandescent light, her smile was pure and beautiful, and he too smiled.

“Mumu, you’re truly beautiful. You have to always be happy,” Shen Chi said as he watched her.

“Of course, I’ve been so happy without you around,” Xu Chaomu said teasingly.

“Mumu, I want to ask you something,” he said.

“Hmm?”

“Eight years have passed. Do you still miss your mom?”

Xu Chaomu’s eyes darkened, and she nodded firmly, “Of course I miss her. She’s my mom, one and only, irreplaceable. She cherished me so much; she treated me the best.”

“What about me? Don’t I treat you well?”

“Pshaw, how can you compare with my mom? You’re a big jerk! If my mom were here, she would never let you bully me.”

Unexpectedly, Shen Chi did not argue with her.

He would hide it from her for a lifetime—he could never let her know the truth.

He might as well be selfish. He loved her, and so he was afraid she would hate him.

Xu Chaomu paced back and forth in front of the mirror, feeling for the first time connected to the word “elegant.”

“Such nice clothes are wasted on me. You should give them to some other girl,” she suggested, pouting.

“Isn’t there a performance coming up? Wear this, you’ll look beautiful,” he pointed out.

“You’re right, there will be so many boys pursuing me then.”

“Is that all you think about? Boys chasing you?”

“Yeah, I’ve got no great ambitions, I’m ill-educated—hit me, why don’t you,” Xu Chaomu retorted cheekily.

“You!” Shen Chi was at a loss.

She knew well enough that he couldn’t bear to hit her.

“Turn around, I’m changing back,” Xu Chaomu boasted.

Shen Chi had no way of dealing with her; in truth, his mind was still pondering that very question he had asked.

What he feared was the truth couldn’t be wrapped up forever. One day, it would be revealed to her.

Xu Chaomu swiftly changed back into her own clothes.

“Chaomu, it’s getting late. You should head back to the dorm and rest. Fourth Brother is leaving, too,” he said.

“Oh, I was just about to kick you out. I’ll keep the gift. I know you wouldn’t want it back, so I might as well sell it,” she said as she grabbed her handbag and backpack and opened the door to the classroom.

“Chaomu, while I’m in South Africa, take good care of yourself,” he urged.

“I know, I’ll fatten myself up nice and plump,” she quipped.

“That’s good,” he smiled softly.

Xu Chaomu, with her back to him, felt a sting in her nose. Once he left for South Africa, she would quietly depart too, and perhaps they really would never meet again.

He would have his family, and she would have hers. They would eventually become nothing but parallel lines.

The youthful days would quietly pass by…

Without looking back, Xu Chaomu walked step by step out of the piano room.

The evening breeze gently blew, insects swarmed all around.

She counted her steps, walking slowly along the pebble path.

Halfway through her walk, she suddenly heard piano music, that same “Summer.”

She blinked her eyes, stopping in her tracks, standing still.

Familiar melody, familiar playing style—she had listened to it so many times, since she was ten years old.

She knew who was playing.

She stood quietly in the dark corner, listening to the melody, reluctant to leave…

The wind tangled her hair; this young love would slowly fade away—he would ultimately not need her after all.

Her departure could satisfy everyone, including herself.