Hearing You Say Love chapter 69

The Proper Way to Give Rewards

Zou Beiyuan had recently discovered in the bathroom that when Su Ming couldn’t hear, he made all kinds of unexpected sounds.  

He lifted Su Ming by his hips, holding him face-to-face so that Su Ming’s pale legs rested on his tanned arms.

Suspended in mid-air, Su Ming’s slender feet stretched taut, his toes curling and faintly pink. From his calves to his toes, his posture formed a curve that Zou Beiyuan found irresistibly captivating.

This position seemed to make Su Ming feel insecure, so he clung tightly to Zou Beiyuan, whispering soft, clinging sounds in his ear that he normally wouldn’t make.  

Zou Beiyuan enjoyed when Su Ming bit his shoulder hard, and he loved it even more when Su Ming, with a dazed expression, clung to him coquettishly  

Worried about hurting him, Zou Beiyuan didn’t go too deep. Su Ming seemed dissatisfied, his eyes half-closed, his lips slightly parted, searching for Zou Beiyuan’s in a drunken-like daze.  

Zou Beiyuan adored this side of Su Ming—so disoriented and completely captivated by him. He kept at it until Su Ming’s voice became hoarse and he was too exhausted to hold himself up, weakly hanging onto him, then carried him to bed.  

As soon as Su Ming touched the bed, he fell asleep.  

Zou Beiyuan, ever dutiful, dried his hair for him, put his cochlear implant back on, and applied ointment to the areas that had turned red and swollen from their earlier intimacy.  

Once all the aftercare was done, Zou Beiyuan finally lay down next to Su Ming, pulling him into his arms and nuzzling his sleeping face with the tip of his nose.  

When Su Ming was asleep, he looked so well-behaved, his long, thick eyelashes lightly resting on his cheeks. His face was calm and innocent, completely unlike the difficult-to-read expression he always had while awake.  

The mission for the day however, was a failure, Zou Beiyuan concluded while holding Su Ming in his arms. The main reason for the failure? When Su Ming called him to help wash his hair, he lost control and couldn’t resist.  

No, it wasn’t about losing control—it was a complete lack of it.  

But honestly, could any man claim to stay in control under such circumstances?  

Thinking of this, Zou Beiyuan felt a bit annoyed. The protagonist in that comic, after all, was a tentacled demon king—not a man. Hardly a relatable example.  

He didn’t have tentacles, after all.  

Relieved, Zou Beiyuan concluded that the issue wasn’t his own inability, but rather that he hadn’t followed the right “guide.” He resolved to try again tomorrow.  

He tucked Su Ming in carefully, then opened a sign language learning app and started his lesson for the day.  

…..

The next morning, Zou Beiyuan drove Su Ming to the therapy center. By chance, they arrived at the same time as Cheng Jianyun, pulling into the gate one after the other.  

Cheng Jianyun parked in the front courtyard while Zou Beiyuan stopped briefly at the building entrance to let Su Ming out.  

Before getting out, Su Ming held Zou Beiyuan’s hand briefly in farewell. Since there were people around, it wasn’t appropriate to show any further displays of affection.  

As Zou Beiyuan drove around the garden in front of the building toward the exit, he glanced in the rearview mirror. Su Ming stood still by the glass door, waiting until Cheng Jianyun parked his car and joined him before they entered the building together.  

For some reason, Zou Beiyuan felt inexplicably irritated the entire morning.  

At lunchtime, Su Ming messaged him, saying he missed him, which lifted Zou Beiyuan’s spirits. But when he arrived at the therapy center and saw Cheng Jianyun walking Su Ming downstairs, chatting and laughing, his mood instantly soured.  

When they returned home to Tianhe mansion, Zou Beiyuan parked the car at the community gate, unlocked the doors, and told Su Ming, “You go up. I need to head back to the gym.”  

Since Zou Beiyuan had hired a caregiver for his grandmother, he’d rescheduled his training sessions to daytime so he could spend more time with Su Ming in the evenings.  

Su Ming glanced at him, thinking Zou Beiyuan was still trying to “train” him by being cold like yesterday. Feeling that this was tiresome, he refused to humor him and reached for the car door.  

But just as his fingers touched the handle, something felt off. They had agreed that morning to have lunch together, and Zou Beiyuan wasn’t one to break such plans lightly. So, Su Ming used sign language to ask: Didn’t we say we’d have lunch together? 

Zou Beiyuan replied, “Not anymore.”  

Su Ming pulled out his phone, showing the grocery order: I already bought everything.

Seeing all his favorite foods in the order, Zou Beiyuan relented, “Fine, let’s eat before I go to the gym.”  

Back home, the groceries had already been delivered to the doorstep. Su Ming carried them to the kitchen and got busy preparing food, delegating simple tasks like washing vegetables to Zou Beiyuan.  

Watching Su Ming move about in a green apron, skillfully handling these everyday tasks, Zou Beiyuan’s heart swelled with warmth and affection. For a moment, he even thought, Forget it. Who needs the gym? I’d rather stay here and spend my days with him.

Su Ming was so good to him—what if he left and someone else took advantage of the opportunity?  

After all, there had been Zhao Shengpei before.  

Who knows if there’d be a Li Shengpei or Zhang Shengpei in the future?  

He couldn’t possibly fight every man who got close to Su Ming.  

Rationally, Zou Beiyuan knew someone like Cheng Jianyun was just part of Su Ming’s normal social circle, and out of respect, he shouldn’t overthink it. But still… What if?  

Especially during therapy, where therapists might touch Su Ming’s hand, his neck, or be alone with him in a room.  

…It wasn’t a good idea to dwell on such thoughts. The more he thought about it, the more he felt surrounded by hidden dangers.  

Under the running water, Zou Beiyuan held a leaf of lettuce but didn’t move for a long time. Su Ming glanced at him several times before finally tapping his arm, signing: What’s wrong?  

Zou Beiyuan threw the lettuce aside and, with wet hands, hugged Su Ming from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder. He wanted to say, I can’t bear to leave you. I don’t want to go. Or even, Did Cheng Jianyun touch your hand?

But all he asked was, “How was therapy today?”  

Su Ming paused, set the knife down on the cutting board, and signed: Not great.  

Zou Beiyuan’s voice was heavy. “It’s all my fault for not helping you practice.”  

Su Ming froze, surprised that Zou Beiyuan took it so seriously. Turning, he kissed him on the cheek and signed: It’s not your fault. It’s my issue.

Zou Beiyuan asked again, “Did Cheng Jianyun help you?”  

Su Ming signed: A little.  

“Oh,” Zou Beiyuan muttered. “He helped you a little, while I couldn’t help at all.”  

Su Ming: …  

Just then, the water in the pot started boiling. Su Ming turned to lower the heat and began preparing the ingredients.  

Zou Beiyuan stayed glued to him, arms wrapped around his waist, moving wherever Su Ming moved, doing nothing as Su Ming finished washing the vegetables.  

After more than an hour of effort, they finally had three dishes and a soup. But Su Ming, now exhausted with a “clingy little wolf” stuck to his back, signed for Zou Beiyuan to take the food to the table. Instead, Zou Beiyuan hugged him tighter, nibbling on his ear and murmuring, “You’re so sexy when you cook.”  

Su Ming: … Is he flirting with me?

Progress.  

Su Ming turned and kissed Zou Beiyuan on the lips, his tongue brushing against Zou Beiyuan’s canine tooth before Zou Beiyuan pinned him against the counter for a long kiss.  

As his fingers slipped into Su Ming’s apron, Zou Beiyuan suddenly recalled a scene from Su Ming’s comic: a strong, shirtless male protagonist wearing only an apron. Inspired, he thought this reward would be irresistible to Su Ming.  

Running his hand down Su Ming’s waist, he whispered in his ear, “Listen. Next time, I’ll wear the apron and cook for you.”  

As Su Ming melted under his touch, Zou Beiyuan’s voice dropped even lower. “I won’t wear anything else. Just the apron.”  

Unaware that he was speaking into Su Ming’s left ear—where the cochlear implant couldn’t pick up the sound—his words went unheard.  

Su Ming, breathless and clinging to him, grabbed at his chest muscles and nibbled on his chin, grinding against the hard, heated part of him…  

When they came out of the kitchen, the dishes had already cooled down. Zou Beiyuan reheated them in the microwave before he and Su Ming sat down for a not-so-serious lunch together.

Zou Beiyuan started clearing the table and was about to do the dishes when Su Ming grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the sofa.

“What’s up?” Zou Beiyuan asked.

Su Ming signed: Let’s do it.

Zou Beiyuan froze mid-step, raising an eyebrow slowly. “Didn’t my hands satisfy you earlier? But your body isn’t fully healed yet. If we go at it again, you’ll get hurt.”

Su Ming’s face turned red as he bit his lips, smiling shyly. He grabbed a notebook from the coffee table and wrote: What are you thinking? I meant voice training practice.

Zou Beiyuan raised his eyebrows higher, his lips curling into a smile. “Alright.”

Earlier, when he used his hands on Su Ming, Su Ming had prepared himself mentally for this practice. He intentionally made louder sounds, even managing to produce some unusual noises he wouldn’t normally dare to. But Zou Beiyuan didn’t mind at all, kissing him deeply and passionately as he encouraged him.

As he pleasured Su Ming, he whispered things like “You’re amazing, baby. I really like you.”

Feeling loved, Su Ming thought perhaps it was worth trying to let Zou Beiyuan hear the less-than-perfect tones of his voice. Since Zou Beiyuan cared so much about helping him, he might be understanding, right?

Following the instructions from the teaching material, the practice surprisingly went smoothly.

Zou Beiyuan’s large hand rested on Su Ming’s throat, radiating warmth and reassurance. Even when the occasional sharp pain stopped Su Ming from continuing, Zou Beiyuan softly encouraged him, stroking his Adam’s apple with his thumb and giving him the courage to push through.

After the practice, Su Ming felt pretty good and told Zou Beiyuan they did better than at the therapy center.

Zou Beiyuan seemed genuinely pleased. “I knew you’d like this kind of reward.”

Having grasped the right approach, Zou Beiyuan decided that training Su Ming wasn’t about control—it was about fulfillment. He wanted to satisfy all of Su Ming’s desires.

Su Ming, however, thought the “reward” Zou Beiyuan referred to was their earlier kitchen activity. He wanted to say, That wasn’t a reward—I wanted you. But then again, treating it as a reward added to their playful dynamic, so he nodded.

Zou Beiyuan, looking slightly shy, said, “Alright, I’ll fulfill your reward tomorrow.”

Su Ming widened his eyes in surprise. Another reward tomorrow? he signed. I’ll be sore. Let me rest for a day.

“Fine, the day after tomorrow then,” Zou Beiyuan agreed. Besides, Su Ming’s apron might be a bit too small for him, so he needed to buy a larger one tomorrow.