Hearing You Say Love chapter 2

Human Modeling

Zou Beiyuan had moved in next door on the last Thursday of July.

That day, the sun was scorching, and the sky was as blue as a mirror.

Su Ming had already been working for more than ten hours straight to meet his comic update deadline. After lunch, he went to the convenience store at the entrance of the residential complex to buy cigarettes. On his way back, a small truck passed by him and parked under the building.

Following behind the truck was a small car, its color so green it looked like some kind of visual pollution.

Su Ming was curious about what kind of person would have such poor taste, so he slowed down. When he saw someone get out of the car, he stopped in his tracks.

It was a young man, around twenty years old, tall with broad shoulders, long legs, and perfect proportions. It was as if his physique had been calculated with precision, like a model of the human body.

The young man leaned against the door frame and glanced in Su Ming’s direction. The moment their eyes met, sparks seemed to fly in Su Ming’s mind. It was an incredibly brief moment, maybe just a third of a second, but Su Ming quickly captured the dangerous power hidden within the tall young man’s body.

That youthful vitality and strength were exactly like the main character in Su Ming’s comic, the one that had been tormenting him for more than two months.

Su Ming couldn’t describe the feeling—it was like an electric shock, making every pore on his body shiver.

This comic had been giving him a terrible writer’s block; he’d been serializing it for a long time but couldn’t find the right vibe. Every day he sat in front of the screen feeling like he was on trial. To avoid missing deadlines, he forced himself to keep drawing, but only he knew the kind of torture he was going through.

And now, that person stood there, and just by looking at him, Su Ming felt an overwhelming surge of creative inspiration in his chest.

The young man wore a fitted black athletic T-shirt. It was so hot that his chest and back were soaked with sweat.

The midday sun was blinding, and the young man lifted a large cardboard box from the ground, heading toward the entrance. The box blocked his chest and abs, but Su Ming could see his strong arm muscles, and from behind, his waist and back formed a beautiful inverted triangle.

Su Ming had drawn countless human figures, but none of his best work compared to the scene before him.

The young man carried the box into the building, and without much hesitation, Su Ming followed.

….

Their reflections were cast on the elevator doors. On their first meeting, Zou Beiyuan had to turn his head slightly because the box he was carrying at the time was too big, leaving only his sharp jawline visible to Su Ming. But today, they stared at each other in the mirror for a long time.

Zou Beiyuan seemed like he had something to say but didn’t know how to communicate with Su Ming. He just stared at him.

His gaze was very clean. Being looked at like that didn’t feel intrusive, but Su Ming’s heart started to race, and the blood rushed to his face.

He had to lower his eyes first.

He’s too similar, Su Ming thought. He really is just like my “Little Wolf.”

When they reached the 16th floor, the elevator door opened. Zou Beiyuan escorted him to the door of 1602 and thanked him again.

1602 and 1601 faced each other, just a few meters apart. They had bumped into each other in the elevator and hallway more than ten times, but today was the first time they spoke.

Zou Beiyuan, of course, didn’t know that half of those “coincidences” were Su Ming’s doing. Su Ming had watched his habits through the smart peephole’s camera, timing his own trips to take out the trash just to catch a glimpse of him.

After showering and changing into something comfortable, Su Ming curled up on the single sofa in the living room, sketchbook in hand.

The floor-to-ceiling windows were being lashed by heavy rain, and sheets of water slid down the glass. The rain was blocked out, and the only sound inside the room was the faint scratch of pencil on paper.

The elusive fragments of inspiration that he had been chasing were becoming tangible through his interactions with that person, transforming into scenes on paper. When inspiration flowed, the scenes could pour out endlessly.

The rain lasted all night and finally stopped by morning.

Su Ming stood up from his desk and stretched his stiff limbs.

After coming home last night, his creative energy had been overflowing. He had planned to draw a few frames and then go to bed, but once he sat down, he lost track of time and ended up pulling an all-nighter.

It was already morning. He glanced at his phone: 7:04 a.m.

There was an unread WeChat message, from Zou Beiyuan, who had added him as a friend just the night before. He had transferred 500 yuan with the note: “[For the car wash]”.

Su Ming walked to the bathroom, intending to freshen up and get some sleep. He casually replied: “[No need]”.

After sending it, he paused for a moment, then added with a blank expression: “[Just treat me to a meal ^_^]”.

While Su Ming was sleeping, Zou Beiyuan was woken up by a call from the insurance company. They told him they had sent someone to tow the car last night, but they couldn’t reach him by phone, and the car had already been taken to the repair shop. The staff would assess the damage in the morning.

Zou Beiyuan wasn’t too concerned about the unlucky car anymore, telling them to handle it according to procedure. He would go check it out in the next few days.

But it was still worth posting about his car being flooded on social media.

He selected two of the most pitiful-looking photos from last night and posted them without a single word.

His friend Xu Jiadi called soon after: “Beiyuan, did you call me last night from underwater? Why didn’t you tell me? Are you okay?”

Zou Beiyuan, still lying in bed, lazily answered only his last question: “I’m fine, but the car might not be. The engine took on some water.”

“Shit, and you just bought that car,” Xu Jiadi felt his pain. “But as long as you’re okay. You can use my car in the meantime.”

Zou Beiyuan made a sound of agreement, then got up and walked to the window to check outside. Water still covered the street, emergency vehicles were at work, and fallen tree branches had been cleared away. Traffic was mostly restored, but the sky remained gloomy, with large clouds hanging over the city.

Xu Jiadi asked him again, “Are you going to Box Wave today?”

Box Wave was the boxing bar they co-owned, It had been open for several years. Zou Beiyuan had been in the U.S. most of the time, just holding the title of major shareholder without actually managing it much. This time, after he returned, Xu Jiadi told him that he was busy with other companies and asked him to take on more responsibility with the bar.

Zou Beiyuan looked at the sky and said, “You go ahead, but if it starts pouring rain again, let them know we won’t be open today.”

“Okay,” Xu Jiadi replied. “Not that we’d have many customers in heavy rain anyway.”

Aside from letting customers book the venue for their own matches, they often invited professional players to perform exhibition matches, so “Box Wave” was one of the most popular bars in Rong City. After chatting for a while about who they should invite next, Zou Beiyuan hung up the phone, his screen still on the WeChat Moments feed.

In just a few minutes, his post had received over forty likes, and the comments section was buzzing like it was New Year’s.

Tian Kai: [Whoa… Is that the 1.5 million M5 you just mentioned???!]

Yu Dian: [Only you could pull this off! You’ve even got an amphibious vehicle lined up.]

Zhang Xian: [As expected, Yuan Ge never posts on Moments, but when he does, it’s something big.]

Jiang Zufan: [Hardcore car wash.]

There were many more comments and replies. Stifling a laugh, Zou Beiyuan scrolled through the comments before returning to his WeChat chat window. He noticed two messages sent earlier that morning by Su Ming.

Su Ming: [No need.]

Su Ming: [Just treat me to a meal ^_^]

Zou Beiyuan stared at that smiley face for a moment, then sent an invitation: [Sure, when are you free?]

But Su Ming didn’t respond for the rest of the day.

By evening, the sky had cleared, and “Box Wave” opened as usual.

Zou Beiyuan arrived at the bar around nine. There weren’t many customers, but it wasn’t completely empty either. The boxing ring was vacant, and a few stylishly dressed girls were taking pictures nearby.

The lighting and decor in this bar were inspired by professional boxing arenas, with the ring prominently placed and lit in blue and red. When there was a match, they’d turn on the brightest lights, making the atmosphere feel just like a professional boxing event.

The bar’s office was on the second floor, and you had to walk across the entire hall from the entrance to get there. As Zou Beiyuan passed through the seating area, he casually glanced around and paused. A man in a white shirt looked oddly familiar—it was Su Ming, who had given him a ride home yesterday.

Today, Su Ming looked quite different. He wasn’t wearing glasses, his hair was half-tied in a wolf tail style, and his shirt was unbuttoned deeply, revealing his collarbone and part of his chest. He wore a silver necklace, the rectangular pendant reflecting the bar’s lights. In the bar, this outfit was considered conservative, but Su Ming’s striking face made him stand out in any crowd.

Zou Beiyuan had never imagined he would run into Su Ming at the bar. His first reaction was that he had mistaken him for someone else, but a second glance confirmed it was Su Ming—he was wearing a cochlear implant on his right ear.

Zou Beiyuan took a few steps toward him, but then saw Su Ming stand up and head towards the restroom.