Hearing You Say Love chapter 50

Milk-Flavored Lollipop

Su Ming didn’t answer that silly question; I mean, after all this, do you think I don’t like you?

Zou Beiyuan asked again, and Su Mo abruptly hit the brakes, causing the two in the back to jolt forward.

“Get out.” Su Mo turned off the car, coldly snapping.

Su Ming let go of Zou Beiyuan’s hand, opened the car door, and got out first.

Zou Beiyuan followed him, looking a bit sullen, his handsome face expressionless, as he bent down to give Su Ming a piggyback ride and walked away.

After a few steps, Su Ming took advantage of Su Mo not paying attention and secretly kissed Zou Beiyuan’s ear. Zou Beiyuan paused momentarily but continued walking without a reaction.

Su Ming then kissed his face, but Zou Beiyuan still didn’t respond, striding forward with a tense expression, so fast that Su Mo had to quicken his pace to keep up with them.

Inside the elevator, with one more person around, Su Ming no longer had the opportunity to act.

It was the first time he realized that his Little Wolf could be so hard to appease.

…..

Not long after dinner, Zou Jingnan arrived, and Fu Ruoqin cut some watermelon and placed it on the coffee table for everyone to eat.

Zou Beiyuan picked the two sweetest pieces, giving one to his grandma and the other to Su Ming.

Fu Ruoqin was slightly taken aback, about to tease him for suddenly being so considerate, but held her words back when she saw his fierce expression.

Then, Zou Beiyuan selected a corner piece, pale in color, and handed it to Zou Jingnan.

Normally, Zou Jingnan would have started a fight with Zou Beiyuan, but unusually, she just looked at the watermelon and shook her head, slumping on the sofa, looking deflated.

“What’s wrong with Nan Nan today?” Song Zhixian asked, taking a bite of watermelon. “Did your professor scold you?”

Zou Jingnan shook her head and let out a long sigh.

“Heartbroken?” Fu Ruoqin asked.

“What? I don’t even have anyone I like.” Zou Jingnan sat up slightly, reached for the watermelon on the table, but then withdrew her hand. “Forget it, I don’t feel like eating.”

Zou Beiyuan ate the less sweet piece himself, glanced at his sister, and stayed silent.

After a while, Zou Jingnan finally muttered, “Next week, I have to meet the anatomy instructor, and I’m a bit scared.”

Su Mo, sitting in a chair, asked, “You’re starting anatomy class so early?”

“Yes, this semester we have a systemic anatomy lab. I don’t have to perform any dissection myself, but we have to observe the specimens.”

Fu Ruoqin said, “Just think of him as a teacher. What’s there to be afraid of?”

“I know, but…” Zou Jingnan furrowed her brows in frustration, “I can’t help feeling uncomfortable… I haven’t been able to eat or sleep well for days.”

Zou Beiyuan said coldly, “If you’re that scared, don’t study medicine. Go back and retake the entrance exams for finance.”

Finance was what their father had always wanted Zou Jingnan to study, and they’d even had a big fight over it. Knowing that her brother was just trying to provoke her, Zou Jingnan snapped back without hesitation, “Shut up, you’ve never even been to college!”

“Oh, is that all?” Fu Ruoqin chuckled, “You’ll get used to it. Your brother used to cry every time he went into the ring, and now he’s perfectly fine.”

Zou Beiyuan glanced at Su Ming. “Why bring me up?”

Zou Jingnan perked up immediately, “Really? I remember him winning awards when I was little. He cried?”

“Yes,” Fu Ruoqin tilted her head toward Zou Beiyuan, “He wasn’t as strong as he is now; he was all skinny and small. Every time he got beaten in the ring, he’d come back crying. Once, he even ran all the way to Grandma’s house.”

“Right, Mom? Do you remember?” Fu Ruoqin asked Song Zhixian. “My sister and I searched for Xiao Yuan everywhere that day. We finally found him asleep on a bench under your building, with a lollipop in his mouth that someone must have given him.”

Zou Beiyuan: “…”

“I remember,” Song Zhixian said, her memory of past events becoming clearer with age. “I was teaching first-year high school then, Su Ming’s year. That day, I called Su Ming over to help him with his homework, and shortly after he left, you both came looking for Xiao Yuan, saying he was missing.”

Su Ming was taken aback, vaguely recalling something like that.

At the time, he hadn’t yet gotten a cochlear implant. He could attend regular high school only because the city’s education bureau had a special program for students with disabilities, and he’d been admitted for his art skills.

In his first year, he struggled to keep up with his classmates, finding the material very challenging. Teacher Song often invited him over for extra tutoring, drawing and writing on paper to explain things repeatedly.

Because of his hearing impairment, his understanding was limited. Even after many repetitions, he couldn’t grasp everything, but each small step forward earned him a milk-flavored lollipop as a reward from Teacher Song.

Although he was a bit old for candy, he cherished it because he hadn’t often received sweets growing up.

That day, he left Teacher Song’s house when it was already dark. As he walked through the dimly lit paths of the old neighborhood, he saw a young child sitting on a bench under a streetlamp, crying.

He couldn’t hear the child’s sobs, but the kid looked devastated. Su Ming watched him for a while. He had never seen someone cry so adorably, with red eyes, brows, and nose under the warm yellow light.

But the kid had a bit of a temper, first shouting “Get lost!” as Su Ming read from his lip and then standing up, ready to throw a punch.

Su Ming, already fifteen and much taller, gently patted the kid’s head before he could swing at him.

The child glared with a fierce expression, but the raised fist dropped.

Su Ming took a lollipop from his pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into the kid’s mouth.

The little one, though teary-faced, just accepted it, looking at Su Ming in confusion, not sure what to do.

Su Ming remembered wiping the kid’s face. Though he couldn’t recall if he used his shirt or hand, the child was indeed skinny and small, with a dirty face and barely reaching his shoulder.

Su Ming turned to look at the person next to him now, realizing that the small child had grown so tall.

Thinking back, that year Zou Beiyuan must have been nine.

At nine years old, one could start remembering things, but who knows if he still remembered.

“Xiao Yuan, do you really not remember?” Fu Ruoqin and Song Zhixian couldn’t stop laughing. “After that incident, every time you went to sleep, you demanded candy; you wouldn’t sleep without it, and your dad had to give you a spanking before you finally stopped.”

“But after that, you didn’t cry when you got in the boxing ring,” Song Zhixian added.

“I don’t remember,” Zou Beiyuan said blankly. “That never happened; you two made it up.”

It was the first time Zou Jingnan had heard of her brother’s embarrassing childhood story, and she laughed, patting Zou Beiyuan’s strong back hard enough to make a slapping sound. Finally, she said, “Got it. I’ll go find someone to give me some candy, too.”

Zou Beiyuan replied, “You should go to Dad and let him give you a spanking instead.”

Talking about their father, Fu Ruoqin couldn’t resist asking, “Xiao Yuan, what’s going on with you and your dad? Are you still planning to compete?”

“I’m negotiating to terminate my contract with him,” Zou Beiyuan said, irritated as he ran his hand through his hair. “He’s coming back next month, and I’ll talk to him then.”

“Maybe it’s a good time to quit,” Song Zhixian said, holding her chest, “This sport is too dangerous, and you’re always hurt after every fight. Every time you go into a match, I feel anxious.”

Zou Beiyuan lowered his head, silent. Zou Jingnan punched him on the shoulder, saying, “Boxing is his life. If he stops fighting, he might as well be dead.”

“It’s about time,” Zou Beiyuan said, checking his phone. “I’ll take Su Ming home now and I’ll come back to relieve Auntie at seven tomorrow morning.”

“No need to come that early,” Fu Ruoqin replied. “Eight is fine. I can go straight to work; it’s a forty-minute drive.”

“Alright.” Zou Beiyuan got up and instinctively extended his hand to Su Ming.

Su Ming grabbed onto Zou Beiyuan’s arm for support and signed to Teacher Song, I’ll come visit you again tomorrow.

As he signed, Zou Beiyuan supported his waist to help him stand, and Su Ming leaned against him naturally.

Sitting nearby, Zou Jingnan watched them, feeling something seemed a bit off. Not wrong, exactly—too harmonious. Strangely harmonious.

Last time, she thought they didn’t get along. Had she been mistaken?

…

Su Mo drove them to the entrance of the complex, didn’t turn off the engine, and pressed the door button with his foot on the brake.

Su Ming patted him and signed, Come with me to the convenience store.

“What do you need?” Su Mo put the car in park. “I’ll get it for you.”

Su Ming signed, You won’t know which one to buy.

Seeing Su Ming intended to go shopping, Zou Beiyuan got out of the car, holding the door frame. “I’ll carry you.”

Su Ming shook his head, insisting that Su Mo go with him instead.

After they bought what they needed and left the store, Zou Beiyuan waited at the entrance to the complex, his face colder than when they had gone to the hospital that afternoon.

Su Ming walked over with Su Mo’s help, and without a word, Zou Beiyuan picked him up onto his back, nodded to Su Mo, and carried Su Ming inside.

Zou Beiyuan was silent all the way. As they entered the lobby of the building, someone suddenly popped a lollipop into his mouth.

It was milk-flavored, just as he remembered.

The deep furrow in his brow relaxed suddenly, and with the candy in his mouth, he mumbled, “I’m not nine anymore.”

The memory from when he was nine had grown distant. He only remembered that one day, an older boy gave him a milk-flavored lollipop. He didn’t remember the details or the reason he’d fallen asleep on a bench below his grandma’s building.

That older boy had a very handsome face, which had blurred over time.

Hearing his aunt tell the story had somehow reawakened his memory. Though the boy’s face was still indistinct, he was certain it had been Su Ming.

It turned out they had met thirteen years ago.

Su Ming kissed his ear, and he turned his face. Su Ming kissed his cheek as well.

In the elevator, with the candy in his mouth, Zou Beiyuan looked at the reflection of the person on his back. That person was smiling with eyes squinting happily and signed in the mirror: Little one.

Raising an eyebrow, Zou Beiyuan moved the lollipop to one side, his cheek puffing out, and said, “I’m not a kid anymore; I don’t need you to coddle me.”

Su Ming smiled, wrapping his arms around Zou Beiyuan’s neck, resting his face on his shoulder, and thought, I’m willing to coddle you, little one.

I’m willing to coddle you forever.

I like you.

And I hope one day I can tell you that out loud.

Author’s Note:

Raise your hand if you misunderstood the title. (*ﾉωﾉ)

(Whispers): This kind of play isn’t entirely off the table…