Hearing You Say Love chapter 22
Is it sweet?
“…Where are you guys going?” Su Mo asked.
Zou Beiyuan looked at Su Ming. “Where are you headed?”
Su Ming took back his phone and typed: [Take me to the train station. I’m taking a train back to Rong City.]
Zou Beiyuan was surprised. “Right now?”
Su Ming nodded.
Zou Beiyuan said, “Then I’ll go with you. I’ll take you home.”
Su Mo chimed in, “Take my car. I’ll drive you!”
After that, both he and Zou Beiyuan exchanged a glance, each reading a bit of annoyance in the other’s eyes.
Su Ming shook his head, pointed at the words he had just typed, and once again asked Zou Beiyuan to take him to the train station.
But Zou Beiyuan was firm: “I’ll go back with you. I have to leave tomorrow anyway, so leaving a day earlier won’t matter.”
He then looked toward the backseat and, with a firm tone, told Su Mo, “Your brother is coming with me.”
Su Mo wanted to ask, “Why? What’s your relationship with my brother?” But when Su Ming gave him a look, he didn’t dare ask.
Su Ming signed to Su Mo: You should go back. Mom and Dad are still at the restaurant.
Su Mo muttered quietly, “But they’re your parents too.”
Seeing Su Ming’s expression becoming somewhat impatient, Su Mo had no choice but to pat Zou Beiyuan on the shoulder. “Give me a call when you arrive in Rong City.”
So, Su Mo and Zou Beiyuan exchanged names and phone numbers.
Su Mo glanced at Su Ming again, hoping he would change his mind and go with him. However, it was clear Su Ming had no such intention, so Su Mo opened the door and got out of the car by himself.
Zou Beiyuan saved Su Mo’s number, but didn’t start the car immediately. He looked at Su Ming and asked, “Were you just on a blind date?”
Su Ming pursed his lips and typed on his phone: [My brother tricked me into it.]
Zou Beiyuan looked at him for a while, then turned back to grip the steering wheel. “Yeah, it makes sense, since you already like someone.”
Su Ming: …
Isn’t it you?
Zou Beiyuan continued, “Alright, let’s go. I’ll head home to get my luggage first.”
About ten minutes later, the car stopped at the entrance of an upscale residential area that was quiet despite its busy surroundings. Su Ming realized that Zou Beiyuan’s grandmother lived in the same complex as his teacher.
…This must be a special kind of fate.
“Wait for me in the car,” Zou Beiyuan said, undoing his seatbelt and handing the car keys to Su Ming. “I’ll grab my stuff and be right back.”
Su Ming nodded.
While waiting for Zou Beiyuan, Su Ming received a message from Su Mo.
Su Mo: [Ge, I talked to Mom and Dad. I told them not to interfere in your life anymore.]
Su Mo: [But I didn’t lie to you, Grandma is really sick.]
Attached was a photo of the hospital.
Su Mo: [Send me a message when you get to Rong City, okay?]
Su Ming didn’t reply.
About twenty minutes later, Zou Beiyuan returned, carrying a small black suitcase. He went around to the back of the car, placed the luggage in the trunk, and then handed Su Ming a box as he got back into the driver’s seat. “Here, something for you to eat on the road.”
It was a box filled with fresh, plump cherries, still glistening with water droplets, clearly just washed.
Su Ming was a bit surprised; he hadn’t expected Zou Beiyuan to be so thoughtful.
As the car started and they drove off, Zou Beiyuan noticed Su Ming looking somewhat down and tried to start a conversation. “Are you and your brother close?”
Su Ming opened a text-to-speech app on his phone and replied, “No.”
“Then how did he trick you?”
Su Ming typed quickly, venting his frustration to Zou Beiyuan: “My parents had Su Mo tell me Grandma is critically ill to get me to come here. Unbelievable.”
Though the phone emitted a flat, emotionless AI voice, Zou Beiyuan could still hear the frustration in Su Ming’s words. “You don’t get along with your parents either?”
Su Ming: “I see them maybe once or twice a year.”
This was the first time Zou Beiyuan had heard Su Ming talk about his family, so he pressed on, curious to know more. “Why?”
Su Ming had always felt that talking about it made him sound overly sentimental, so he rarely shared his feelings, even with Chen Muchao, who only knew a bit about it. But now, he had an impulse to tell Zou Beiyuan all the grievances he usually kept to himself.
“Because I was born deaf,” Su Ming typed.
Zou Beiyuan frowned deeply. “That’s not your fault.”
Su Ming continued typing: “Maybe it wasn’t at first, but when one twin is perfectly healthy, I became the ‘defect.'”
There was no need to explain further.
A family with limited means, a domineering and snobbish grandmother, a selfish father, and a weak mother—that was Su Ming’s entire childhood.
A hollow sadness filled Zou Beiyuan’s heart as he glanced at Su Ming, unsure of how to comfort him.
“So I don’t like them, and I don’t want anything to do with them. I’ve basically cut off contact with my parents.” He asked Zou Beiyuan, “Do you think I’m being too cold?”
“No,” said Zou Beiyuan. “Sometimes, a person’s family isn’t a safe harbor but a cage. Just because someone gave birth to you doesn’t mean they know how to be a parent. Some parents are terrible at it but still think they can control their children’s lives. If you have parents like that, cutting ties is the best option.”
Su Ming looked at his serious expression while saying this, and then typed on his phone, “You speak like you understand this deeply. Do you not get along with your parents either?”
“My relationship with my dad is complicated. My mom left when I was ten, and my dad started forcing me into the boxing ring with a stick.” He paused and glanced at Su Ming a bit shyly. “Don’t laugh at me, but I didn’t go to school much. My dad spent all my time training me.”
Su Ming recalled what Chen Muchao had told him.
Zou Beiyuan’s contract was in his father’s hands, and he wanted to break it, but his father wouldn’t let him go. This hinted at the conflict between them.
It seemed like his father viewed Zou Beiyuan as his cash cow.
From this, Su Ming realized that Zou Beiyuan hadn’t had an easy childhood either.
“Do you like boxing?” Su Ming asked him.
“Yeah, I do. If it weren’t boxing but some other sport, I wouldn’t have stuck with it. But my dad interferes way too much in my boxing. I’m trying to find a way to cut ties with him, too.”
He smiled a brilliant smile, and despite the casual way he spoke, his words carried an undeniable determination.
Su Ming was infected by his smile, feeling a bit lighter inside.
He wasn’t that timid little deaf boy anymore, but he still didn’t have the kind of confidence that Zou Beiyuan had.
That’s why he admired him.
The car sped onto the highway under the scorching sun, the light so bright it was almost blinding.
Zou Beiyuan took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on, then said to Su Ming, “There are wet wipes in the glove compartment. Wipe your hands before you eat.”
Su Ming obediently followed his instructions.
After cleaning his hands, he popped a cherry into his mouth. Without much thought, he mused to himself that if same-sex marriage were legal, and if the person he was being set up with was Zou Beiyuan, he’d probably marry him without hesitation.
He once drew a comic with a similar plot. The male lead in the comic was handsome too, but not as heart-stirring as Zou Beiyuan.
Zou Beiyuan glanced at him eating seriously out of the corner of his eye and casually asked, “Is it good? Is it sweet?”
Su Ming took a cherry, stretched his arm, and fed it to Zou Beiyuan’s lips.
Zou Beiyuan was visibly stunned for a moment, moved aside a little, and said, “I’m okay, you eat.”
Su Ming still held the cherry near his lips, so Zou Beiyuan had no choice but to open his mouth and take a bite.
The sweet flesh burst between his teeth, and the juice instantly filled his mouth, with no hint of sourness. Zou Beiyuan nodded and said, “Hmm, it’s good.”
Su Ming ate one himself, and after finishing it, he saw that Zou Beiyuan still had the cherry pit in his mouth. Without hesitation, he reached out to take it.
Zou Beiyuan felt this was too intimate and felt a little embarrassed. But since he was driving, it was indeed inconvenient, and Su Ming kept holding out his hand.
So, Zou Beiyuan lowered his head slightly and carefully spat the pit into Su Ming’s palm. His lips brushed against Su Ming’s warm skin, as if placing a kiss in his hand.
Su Ming casually withdrew his hand, but Zou Beiyuan’s heart began to race uncontrollably.
His grip on the steering wheel tightened involuntarily, and he started to let his imagination run wild about Su Ming.
He even imagined what Su Ming would taste like.
If they kissed now, it would definitely taste like cherries.
He slightly turned his face, sneaking a glance at the person beside him.
Su Ming’s lips were stained red from the cherry juice, moist and full, just like the ripe fruit held between them now.
Zou Beiyuan coughed awkwardly and sat up straight, not daring to let his gaze wander toward Su Ming again.
Author’s Note:
Zou Beiyuan—A straight guy who fantasizes about kissing someone just from eating a cherry.