Hearing You Say Love chapter 17

Sleep with him once

Before going to bed that night, Su Ming was lying in bed scrolling through his phone after his shower when he saw that Zou Beiyuan had posted a new update on his Moments. It was the sketch he had drawn of him.

Not sure when Zou Beiyuan took the photo, but he was pretty humble, cropping out the words “super handsome” below.

Their only mutual friend, Chen Muchao, commented below: [This is obviously drawn by Su.]

Zou Beiyuan replied with a grinning emoji.

Su Ming accidentally liked the comment. A few minutes later, Zou Beiyuan messaged him: [Not asleep yet?]

Su Ming: [Yeah.]

Zou Beiyuan: [Insomnia again?]

Su Ming: [Not really, just took some melatonin.]

Zou Beiyuan: [After running with me tomorrow night, you won’t need melatonin. You’ll fall asleep right away.]

Su Ming: [You’re still not asleep either.]

Zou Beiyuan: [I just finished a video call.]

It was so late to be on a video call, Su Ming thought, it must have been with a woman. But soon, Zou Beiyuan sent another message: [The coach in the U.S. called.]

Su Ming: [Oh, were you in the U.S. before?]

Zou Beiyuan: [Yeah.]

Su Ming: [Are you going back?]

Even Zou Beiyuan wasn’t sure. Of course, he wanted to go back; he liked boxing: [I’ll probably go back once the contract issue is sorted.]

Su Ming stared at the message for a while, just as he was about to reply, Chen Muchao messaged him.

Chen Muchao sent a link: [Your little wolf has gone viral.]

Su Ming clicked on it.

Box Wave had posted a video of Zou Beiyuan knocking out Inoue Junya on their Douyin account. In just a few hours, it had already garnered tens of thousands of likes. Many people in the comments recognized him and started leaving messages:

[Isn’t that Zou Beiyuan? His appearance fee must be in the millions of dollars, right? Turns out Box Wave is so rich?] [Ahhhhh, it’s Zou Beiyuan! Those who saw it live are so lucky!]

[Didn’t they say he wasn’t in good shape and postponed the fight with Harrison? Why is he back in the country now?]

[OMG, Zou Beiyuan’s body is amazing.]

[Zou Beiyuan, you’re going too far. Why do you wear pants when boxing?]

[You guys can fight over the white gloves; the green gloves one is mine tonight.]

The one wearing the green gloves was Zou Beiyuan. Su Ming liked that comment and replied to Chen Muchao: [Great body, impressive boxing, it’s no surprise he’s gone viral.]

Chen Muchao: [Apparently, he was already pretty famous in the boxing world, having been in professional matches in the U.S. for some time.]

Boxing was considered a niche sport in China. Unless you won an Olympic gold medal, people who weren’t into it wouldn’t know any famous boxers.

Su Ming: [Yeah, he said he came back because of a contract issue.]

Chen Muchao sent a voice message: “I heard from Xu Jiadi that Zou Beiyuan’s promotion company is owned by his dad. They had a falling out, and now he wants to terminate the contract, but his dad is holding onto it.”

Su Ming: [What caused the falling out?]

Chen Muchao: [No idea.]

Su Ming: [So he fell out with his dad? What about his mom?]

Chen Muchao: [His mom passed away a long time ago.] Then he reminded Su Ming: [You could ask him yourself.]

Su Ming switched back to his chat with Zou Beiyuan and scrolled through their conversation for a while before telling Chen Muchao: [Forget it, I won’t ask. If he wants to tell me, he will.]

[Besides…] Su Ming hesitated, typing and deleting: [He said he’ll go back to the U.S. once the contract issue is sorted.]

Seeing the “typing” indicator for a long time, Chen Muchao’s instinct told him something was off: [So what? You’re reluctant to let him go?]

Su Ming: [Yeah.]

Chen Muchao: [Damn, don’t tell me you’re really falling for him.]

Su Ming: [It’s hard not to like him.]

Chen Muchao sent two voice messages: “Su, lust leads to danger. Calm down. Zou Beiyuan is straight!”

“And let me tell you, I’ve heard that he supposedly has a childhood sweetheart.”

Su Ming sat up straight: [Girlfriend?]

Chen Muchao: “Not a girlfriend, but apparently that girl is really close to him.”

At that moment, Zou Beiyuan messaged again: [Asleep?]

Su Ming: [Not yet, was just talking to Chen Muchao about work. Are you going to sleep?]

Zou Beiyuan: [I was waiting for your reply.]

Su Ming paused for a moment and asked him: [When are you going back to the U.S.?]

Zou Beiyuan: [Probably not anytime soon.]

Su Ming then asked: [Do you like any girl?]

Zou Beiyuan: [? Why ask that all of a sudden?]

Su Ming made something up: [Chen Muchao asked me to. He wants to introduce his sister to you.]

“I don’t like any girl,” Zou Beiyuan sent a voice message, “but don’t introduce a girl to me either. I don’t want to date.”

Su Ming lay back down and switched to his chat with Chen Muchao: [Never mind, childhood sweethearts don’t stand a chance against fate.]

Chen Muchao tried to reason with him: “Su, she’s a woman. How can you compete with that? You’ve already lost biologically.”

Su Ming: [Actually, I don’t think Zou Beiyuan is that straight.]

Chen Muchao: [??? What gives you that impression? It’s definitely a misunderstanding!]

Chen Muchao: [I asked around while drinking with Xu Jiadi tonight. Zou Beiyuan is as straight as they come!]

Su Ming: [If I try hard enough…]

Chen Muchao: [No, if you get too attached and he goes back to the U.S., what will you do then?]

Su Ming thought for a moment, then reopened the chat with Zou Beiyuan: [Why don’t you want to date?]

Zou Beiyuan’s voice sounded lazy, as if he was already lying down. His voice was low, with a particular magnetism, “Someone like me, who doesn’t even know where I’ll be in the future, shouldn’t waste a girl’s time.”

Su Ming: [You really think things through.]

Zou Beiyuan didn’t continue the topic, instead asking Su Ming, “Ge, do you have a girl you like?”

Su Ming replied: [I have someone I like.]

This time, after a few minutes, Zou Beiyuan finally sent a message: [Who’s so lucky? Does the person know?]

Su Ming: [That person might leave here in the future, and I haven’t decided whether to tell them. What do you think?]

Zou Beiyuan felt like Su Ming was teasing him, but he didn’t think that was what Su Ming meant.

Ignoring the strange emotions in his heart, he replied seriously: [If it were me, I would tell them. Because if you don’t, you might never have another chance. Wouldn’t that be regretful?]

Su Ming: [Hmm, you make a good point. I’ll find the right time to tell them.]\

Zou Beiyuan originally wanted to chat with Su Ming a bit longer, but for some reason, he suddenly lost the desire to continue. He read Su Ming’s message twice and said: [I’ll head to bed now, see you tomorrow.]

Su Ming: [Goodnight, see you tomorrow.]

On the other side, Chen Muchao had sent several messages advising him.

Chen Muchao understood Su Ming—he wasn’t the impulsive type.

Though they often joked around with each other, Su Ming had never been in a serious relationship. This was the first time he’d told Chen Muchao that he liked someone, so Chen Muchao couldn’t help but worry about him.

In their circle of friends, there were more than a few who shared Su Ming’s orientation, but those who got involved with straight men never ended up well.

People might just be seeking a fleeting thrill, but when it’s time to settle down, they would still look for a woman. The one who truly invests is bound to get hurt.

Straight men know straight men best; it’s hard for people to resist their instincts.

Su Ming didn’t know whether he was being stubborn or calm, and he simply replied: [I know.]

Chen Muchao: [What do you know?]

Su Ming: [Before he leaves, I’ll sleep with him once.]