Hearing You Say Love chapter 23
 Going to the Hotel
They returned to Tianhe Mansion around 4 p.m. Su Ming invited Zou Beiyuan over for dinner that evening.
While washing dishes after dinner, the water suddenly stopped.
With soapy bubbles still on his hands, Su Ming looked a little clueless as he ran to the living room.
“What’s wrong?” Zou Beiyuan, sitting on a single-seater, looked up when he heard the commotion.
Su Ming gestured with his soapy hands: The water’s out.
Zou Beiyuan, having spent a lot of time with Su Ming lately, could already understand some simple sign language.
He got what Su Ming meant and stood up to check the faucet in the bathroom. “Hmm, it’s stopped.” He came out, filled a cup with water from the dispenser, and said, “Come, I’ll help you wash your hands clean.”
Su Ming walked over, held his hands above the sink, and let Zou Beiyuan rinse off the slippery soap from his hands.
After washing, they walked out of the bathroom together. Zou Beiyuan asked, “Could it be the water bill?”
Su Ming shook his head, dried his hands with a tissue, and wrote in his notebook: I just paid the water bill.
Zou Beiyuan called the property management and learned that the subway construction near the entrance had broken a water pipe, and repairs were underway. But the earliest the water could be restored was tomorrow.
Su Ming: …
The unwashed dishes were bearable, but in the heat of summer, not being able to shower was a problem.
Zou Beiyuan suggested, “How about we stay at a hotel tonight?”
Su Ming looked at him with a calm expression but couldn’t help but let his thoughts stray. He nodded seriously and wrote on the paper: But there’s a convention going on. It might be hard to book a hotel nearby.
“I’ll check online.” Zou Beiyuan checked his phone and found two hotels with available rooms.
One was a nearby Hilton, but it only had one room with a large bed left. The other was a Marriott six kilometers away, which still had two twin rooms.
Zou Beiyuan let Su Ming choose, and Su Ming decisively picked the Hilton with only one room left.
At 10:30 p.m., they arrived at the hotel by car.
Zou Beiyuan checked them in at the front desk while Su Ming stood by, waiting. The receptionist glanced at them several times as they scanned their IDs.
Su Ming thought Zou Beiyuan would blush again, but this time, he remained calm and even confirmed with the receptionist once more if there were any twin rooms available.
After getting a negative answer, Zou Beiyuan calmly said, “Then we’ll take the large bed room.”
They took the elevator upstairs, swiped the keycard, and the room lights turned on.
The room was spacious, with a long sofa by the floor-to-ceiling windows, a desk, and a small coffee table. In the center of the room was a two-meter-wide double bed, neatly covered in white linens.
After closing the door, Zou Beiyuan asked, “Do you want to shower now, or later?”
Su Ming replied in sign language: Now.
The gesture was simple, and Zou Beiyuan understood it, saying, “Okay, you go first.”
Su Ming took off his cochlear implant and placed it on the nightstand, then took a change of clothes from his small travel bag and walked into the bathroom.
Zou Beiyuan noticed his actions and remembered that Su Ming was completely deaf without his cochlear implant. Su Ming seemed unfazed by the temporary silence, but it made Zou Beiyuan feel a pang in his heart.
He couldn’t imagine the absolute silence that Su Ming was so used to.
The bathroom was separated from the room by clear glass. When the lights inside turned on, everything was visible from the outside.
The glass was tinted light brown, like a dark filter, adding a strange sense of intimacy to the scene.
Sitting on the sofa, Zou Beiyuan glanced up from his phone and saw Su Ming slowly taking off his shirt in front of the mirror.
The hem of his black shirt lifted halfway, revealing a pale stretch of waist, soft and beautiful, with no extra fat, and the curve was soft and beautiful, looking like it would fit perfectly in his hands.
Zou Beiyuan’s fingers hovered over his phone screen, forgetting what he had been doing, as he stared at the person inside the glass.
Their eyes met through the large bathroom mirror, and Su Ming pretended to be surprised, then acted as if he had just realized he was being watched. He lowered his shirt and reached to press the button for the automatic blinds.
The blinds on the glass were lowered, blocking the spring light inside.
Su Ming finished his shower and deliberately placed the condom and lube in a conspicuous spot in the bathroom before putting on his pajamas and heading out.
He hesitated for a few minutes before going out, wondering if he should wear just the top.
Since his top was long enough to almost cover his butt, he could expose his legs entirely, and with a bit of intention, even “accidentally” reveal his bottom.
He stood in front of the mirror and, judging by his own aesthetic, thought he looked pretty sexy.
But that felt too deliberate; the intention to seduce would be far too obvious.
Given that last time he acted rashly, scaring Zou Beiyuan off, Su Ming decided to wear his pants this time.
He preferred a subtler kind of seduction, where it would be best if Zou Beiyuan felt like he was the one making the first move, not that he was forcing it.
Even though the bed was wide, it wasn’t a problem. Su Ming had a hundred ways to “accidentally” roll into Zou Beiyuan’s arms.
After all, after drawing five years’ worth of erotic comics, he knew a thing or two, even if he hadn’t personally experienced it.
With everything in place, Su Ming opened the bathroom door, ready to cast his spell.
However,
The moment he stepped out, he saw that Zou Beiyuan had, at some point, requested an extra blanket from room service. Zou Beiyuan was now bending over, carefully arranging the bed so that the two blankets were clearly divided, with enough space between them for a third person.
Su Ming: …
Well played, Zou Beiyuan.
A sense of defeat washed over him. He thought, “Good thing I wore pants; otherwise, if I had taken them off and you still didn’t make a move, I’d have been even more humiliated.”
Su Ming calmly walked over, picked up his cochlear implant from the bedside table, and put it back on. He heard Zou Beiyuan ask, “You’re done showering?”
Su Ming nodded, his face expressionless.
“Then I’ll go shower,” Zou Beiyuan said.
Su Ming, now devoid of worldly desires, signed: “Go ahead.”
..
When Zou Beiyuan came out of the shower, Su Ming was lying against the headboard, looking at his phone, the blanket pulled up to his waist. He was wearing glasses and looked very serious.
He had his cochlear implant on his right ear, which meant at night he could only sleep on his left side unless he lay flat. So if Zou Beiyuan slept on his right side, he wouldn’t be able to see Su Ming’s face for most of the night.
Zou Beiyuan walked to the bedside and asked, “Do you have any sleep habits?”
Su Ming shook his head and typed on his phone: [None? Do you?]
“I’m used to sleeping on the left side of the bed. Otherwise, I can’t fall asleep,” Zou Beiyuan said.
Su Ming lifted the blanket, scooted over to the right side of the bed, and draped the other blanket over himself.
Then, the bed dipped slightly as Zou Beiyuan sat down. Su Ming typed and asked him: [Do you snore?]
Zou Beiyuan replied, “No, I sleep pretty quietly.”
Su Ming typed: [How do you know? Have you slept with someone before?]
“My health manager did a sleep test on me. The report says so. Want to see it?”
Su Ming, satisfied, shook his head and wrote: [No need. If you snore, I’ll just take off my cochlear implant and sleep.]
Zou Beiyuan chuckled, “That mute button ability of yours is quite handy.”
His voice, lower when he laughed, came from deep in his chest, with a magnetic quality.
Given that they were sitting on the same bed, his voice now carried an intimate, damp warmth, like the whispers of a devil, easily pulling in anyone who heard it.
Su Ming really wanted to hear him pant.
Too bad they weren’t sharing the same blanket.
Su Ming sighed inwardly, put down his phone, and lay down.
Zou Beiyuan asked, “Going to sleep?”
Su Ming buried the lower half of his face in the blanket, leaving only his pretty eyes visible, and nodded at Zou Beiyuan.
“Then I’ll turn off the light.”
Zou Beiyuan turned off the main light, and the room became dark, except for a dim nightlight under the hallway cabinet.
Su Ming lay on his side, facing Zou Beiyuan. Zou Beiyuan didn’t seem sleepy yet, sitting on the bed and scrolling through his phone. Noticing that Su Ming was still watching him, he asked, “Am I bothering you?”
Su Ming shook his head.
Not bothered, just feeling a little heartbroken.
“Go to sleep,” Zou Beiyuan said softly.
After a while, he saw Su Ming close his eyes, seemingly asleep.
In reality, though, Su Ming, with his mischievous heart still active, was making one last attempt…
Pretending to be asleep, he kicked his blanket off the bed, then tried to pull at Zou Beiyuan’s blanket. However, instead of taking the bait, Zou Beiyuan got out of bed, picked up Su Ming’s blanket, and tucked it back around him.
Su Ming: …
No point continuing this act, so he gave up.
Resigned, he tightly wrapped himself in the blanket, his frustration kept hidden deep inside.
Zou Beiyuan, seeing Su Ming kicking off the blanket one moment and wrapping himself tightly the next, wasn’t sure if he was hot or cold. Worried he might catch a cold, Zou Beiyuan turned up the air conditioning by two degrees.
For someone who usually appeared aloof and composed, Zou Beiyuan was surprisingly restless while sleeping. He lay down, his gaze landing on Su Ming’s peaceful profile.
Su Ming slept deeply, his breathing light and steady. Having used the hotel’s bath products, he didn’t carry his usual citrusy scent, but he still smelled nice.
Zou Beiyuan suddenly thought of the condoms and lube placed so obviously on the bathroom sink and felt a sudden, inexplicable restlessness.
A sense of impending loss of control pulled him down.
This wasn’t right, he scolded himself. Stop thinking impure thoughts about Su Ming!
He turned over, accidentally making the bed creak. He saw Su Ming’s eyelashes flutter slightly, his brows furrowing just a bit.
Afraid to move again, he stayed still. After a moment, Su Ming unconsciously rolled over, pulling his blanket with him as he snuggled into Zou Beiyuan’s neck, resting his head on Zou Beiyuan’s shoulder.
Feeling the slight rise and fall of Su Ming’s breathing, Zou Beiyuan held out for a while, but eventually couldn’t resist. He leaned his head over too, resting his cheek against Su Ming’s forehead.
Su Ming stopped moving, and his breathing rhythm returned to being long and steady.
Zou Beiyuan slowly and carefully turned his face and kissed Su Ming’s forehead.