Hearing You Say Love chapter 4

Pure and Proper

On the second floor of the bar, past the private rooms and a short hallway, was a large office with a sign on the door that read, “Staff Only.” The decor was simple and bright, quite different from the rest of the bar.

Two girls who appeared to be office workers were seated by the windows in the large office, while a few other seats were vacant, the desks cluttered with documents and promotional booklets. On the left side of the room was an entire wall of screens showing live surveillance footage of the bar.

Hearing someone enter, the girls turned their heads. The security guard explained, “Yuan Ge asked me to bring this guest up here to rest.”

One of the girls curiously looked Su Ming up and down, and her eyes lit up when she saw his face. She gave her colleague a knowing glance, but Su Ming pretended not to notice, calmly following the security guard to a small lounge area behind the office.

A while later, one of the girls came in to pour Su Ming a glass of water, asking in a small voice, “Are you Yuan Ge’s friend?”

Su Ming looked up at her, smiling warmly with his eyes, giving off an innocent yet strangely disarming charm. The girl blushed and quickly left.

About twenty minutes later, Zou Beiyuan pushed open the door to the lounge and walked in.

“It’s settled,” he said, as if reporting on work or perhaps reassuring Su Ming. “That guy’s been kicked out. He won’t be coming back.”

He sat down next to Su Ming, his gaze falling on Su Ming’s flushed face from the alcohol. Due to his extreme sensitivity to alcohol, Su Ming’s neck and chest were also flushed, his shirt damp and clinging to his skin, faintly revealing the color beneath.

Zou Beiyuan suddenly recalled the words the man had said earlier—He’s such a tease, but no one’s allowed to flirt with him?

Was this what teasing looked like?

Zou Beiyuan’s eyes shifted from Su Ming’s open collar back to his face. Before, he couldn’t understand how there could be sexual attraction between men, but now, he was starting to get it.

Yet he still couldn’t associate the vulgar term with Su Ming. Su Ming was attractive, but it was a pure and proper kind of attractive.

Su Ming shook his head, unconsciously moving the hand he had used to punch the guy earlier. He had struck with force, and since it was his first time hitting someone, his hand still hurt a little.

Zou Beiyuan noticed the small movement and took his right hand to examine it.

Su Ming’s hand was pale, thin, and long. He spread his palm out, and there was a red patch on his second knuckle. Zou Beiyuan gently massaged it with his thumb, carefully checking the bones and joints. Su Ming didn’t pull away or resist, allowing himself to be held, calm and compliant.

His hand was fine, and Zou Beiyuan finished checking it, still holding on to it. Su Ming looked at Zou Beiyuan, his heartbeat quickening, and the warmth returned to his face.

“You shouldn’t hit people using this part,” Zou Beiyuan said, lifting Su Ming’s hand to help him form a fist. His large palm wrapped around Su Ming’s fist, his thumb rubbing over the surface and knuckles. “You should hit with this part to pack the most punch.”

Zou Beiyuan’s palm was hot, with calluses on his hand and fingers, rough against Su Ming’s skin, making him feel uneasy. Su Ming felt both burned and ticklish, curling his fingertips, wanting to pull his hand back. But Zou Beiyuan quickly let go of him. “Also, don’t hit people in the cheekbone. The cheekbone is really hard; you could hurt yourself instead.”

Though Zou Beiyuan had once broken an opponent’s cheekbone in a match, Su Ming clearly seemed like the kind of person more likely to hurt himself.

Su Ming stared blankly at Zou Beiyuan, wanting to explain that he wasn’t someone who frequently got into fights. Zou Beiyuan, still engrossed in teaching him, reached out and touched Su Ming’s cheek. “Hit here.” He then touched his nose. “Hit here.” Finally, he touched his eyes. “If it comes to it, hit here.”

When Zou Beiyuan touched his eye, Su Ming instinctively closed his eyes. His long eyelashes trembled, his eyelids reddened by the alcohol, looking like a petal of a peach blossom. As Zou Beiyuan watched Su Ming’s eyelids quiver as if startled, he felt a bit short of breath for some reason. After a pause, he finally said, “But of course, it’s best if you don’t get into fights.”

Su Ming opened his eyes, pointed at himself, then gestured with both hands, tapping his temple twice with his index and middle fingers before making a fist and mimicking a fighting motion.

Zou Beiyuan didn’t understand sign language, but he got the message.

Suddenly, he stood up and left the room. Half a minute later, he returned with a notebook and pen, handing them to Su Ming. “This might be easier for you.”

Su Ming took it and wrote on the paper: This is the first time I’ve ever been in a fight.

His handwriting was beautiful, with a personal flair, and watching him write stroke by stroke was almost a pleasure. Zou Beiyuan, normally lacking patience, found himself willing to have such slow, leisurely conversations with Su Ming.

After Su Ming finished writing, Zou Beiyuan said, “Next time you come to hang out, I’ll go with you.”

Su Ming was about to write again when Zou Beiyuan continued, “With me around, those gay guys won’t bother you.”

There was a tinge of disdain from a straight man in his tone. Su Ming held the pen in his palm and nodded.

“There are just too many gay people in Rong City,” Zou Beiyuan consoled Su Ming. “When I first got here, I ran into them too. After rejecting them a few times, they stopped bothering me.”

Su Ming wrote on the paper: Do you hate gay people?

“It’s not that I hate them, but they keep coming after me, and it’s kind of annoying.”

Su Ming’s pen paused, and Zou Beiyuan pulled out his phone to check the time. “Sit for a while, wait a few minutes, and I’ll take you out for a late-night snack.”

Su Ming wrote again: No need, I’m going with my friends.

“Bring your friends along, I’ll treat.”

Su Ming wrote: Forget it, one of us is gay.