Hearing You Say Love chapter 25

Seems To Be In Love

The next two days were busy. Su Ming met the deadline to update his latest comic, and soon it was Teacher’s Day.

Early Thursday morning, he set off to visit his teacher in Yishi, and after breakfast with Su Ming, Zou Beiyuan went to the boxing gym.

During this time, lacking the constraint of a coach, and with Su Ming’s delicious cooking, Zou Beiyuan had somewhat indulged himself, causing a slight increase in his body fat percentage.

Although there were no competitions coming up, he decided to increase the intensity of his training.

The boxing gym he frequently visited was owned by his friend Jiang Zufan. He had served as a technical consultant during the preparation phase, so while the facilities weren’t on par with American training bases, they were sufficient for basic daily training.

Now, his life in Rong City consisted of training at the gym every day, occasionally showing up at his bar, and spending the rest of his time with Su Ming.

Previously, Zou Beiyuan thought he would feel quite depressed after leaving the boxing ring, but now it seemed that this kind of life was actually quite good.

As he was pushing a barbell, someone walked up behind him and said in English, “I thought you would slack off after coming back.”

Hearing that familiar Brooklyn accent, Zou Beiyuan knew who it was without looking back. He kept his breathing and muscle exertion steady and replied in English, “I thought that after I left, you would slack off.”

The person behind him laughed, “I did slack off for a while because getting a visa to come to your country is quite troublesome.”

Zou Beiyuan ignored him until he finished his fourth set of barbell pushes and then turned to look at the person behind him.

It was his coach, Joyce.

Joyce was about the same height as Zou Beiyuan, with a beer belly, abundant body hair, curly blond hair and a beard.

“It’s been over a month since we last met, Zou,” Joyce said.

Zou Beiyuan’s voice turned a bit cold: “Did my dad send you?”

Joyce didn’t deny it.

“I’m not going back,” Zou Beiyuan said as he put down the barbell and walked towards the boxing ring, adding to his coach who was following behind him, “As long as my contract is still in my dad’s hands, I won’t go back to fight.”

Joyce didn’t discuss this with him but instead asked, “I saw the video of your match against Inouei on the internet. You did well, but there was one mistake that shouldn’t have happened. Do you know what it was?”

Zou Beiyuan reached the edge of the boxing ring, pulled open the ropes, and leaned in, “In the first round, I threw a lot of single heavy punches. That’s what you’re referring to, right?”

Joyce shrugged.

“I know the opponent weighed more than me and could take a hit better, but that was an exhibition match,” Zou Beiyuan said as he moved around the ring, preparing to practice his jabs. “In an exhibition, it’s all about looking good.”

Joyce stepped into the ring as well. “You used too much energy in the first round, which is risky. What if you hadn’t managed to knock him out in the second round?”

Zou Beiyuan laughed nonchalantly, “But I did knock him out.”

After saying this, he delivered a clean punch.

Joyce stepped back, crossing his arms, and watched. Clearly, his prized student hadn’t slacked off during this time; both his speed and strength had not diminished.

At that moment, others in the gym also recognized Zou Beiyuan and spontaneously gathered around the boxing ring to see how a real expert trains.

He threw punches consecutively, showcasing an astonishing strength with each strike. The tight muscles in his arms exuded a beauty sculpted from countless repetitions in training.

Joyce had to admit that although this kid had a bit of a temper, in terms of physical fitness and technique, he was undoubtedly a genius.

No boxing coach would not love such a fighter.

Joyce had been training Zou Beiyuan for three years, essentially guiding him into the world of professional boxing. This time he came, besides the task assigned by Zou’s dad, it was also because he couldn’t let go of this kid.

After all the training was done, Joyce grabbed some water and handed it to Zou Beiyuan like before, saying, “Sometimes a change of environment is good; I’ll be staying here with you to train.”

Zou Beiyuan took the water and coldly repeated the earlier question, “Did my dad send you?”

“Is that what you think?” Joyce said, showing a look of disappointment, his fingers waggling between Zou Beiyuan and himself, “Do we not have enough of a bond for me to come to China with you? It’s been three years; I thought our relationship was quite deep.”

Zou Beiyuan raised an eyebrow, feeling a hint of subtle emotion, only to hear Joyce add, “It really was your dad who sent me.”

Zou Beiyuan: “…”

“I’m being paid by your dad,” Joyce added.

Zou Beiyuan smiled indifferently and turned to walk towards the independent VIP lounge, with Joyce following him.

Once he closed the door, Zou Beiyuan took his bag out of the locker but didn’t unzip it, standing there in a daze.

After a while, he took a deep breath and straightforwardly questioned Joyce, “Was it because you took my dad’s money that you injected me with banned substances?”

Joyce, who had initially sat down on the sofa, immediately stood up upon hearing this: “I was not aware of that matter beforehand.”

The matter of injections was something medical personnel handled, and it was very possible Joyce didn’t know either. Zou Beiyuan had been telling himself this all along.

But hearing Joyce deny it with his own mouth, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Joyce never lied to him.

“I don’t support winning the match this way,” Joyce said, “but to be fair, you don’t need to react so strongly to the use of drugs.”

Zou Beiyuan looked at him coldly.

Joyce continued, “Besides, when your dad had you take that medication, it wasn’t on WADA’s banned substances list, so you don’t need to have a psychological burden. Haven’t you heard the saying in the sports world? What gets caught is called doping, and what doesn’t get caught is called technology.”

Zou Beiyuan asked in a deep voice, “So you think he was right?”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I mean you don’t have to withdraw from the competition because of this. You didn’t violate any rules, Zou. You know, there are plenty of athletes at the Olympics who legally use drugs, and they still win gold medals. Why are you being so hard on yourself?”

His consolation seemed to make Zou Beiyuan even angrier. With a loud bang, Zou Beiyuan slammed the metal cabinet door shut and said, “I’m not interested in what others do. I just want my fists to be clean!”

“Nobody will say your fists aren’t clean. There’s a saying in China: ‘The victor is the king, the loser is the bandit.’ As long as you win and haven’t been judged for violating any rules, who will say you’re not clean? That match solidified your footing in the professional boxing arena; your dad wasn’t doing it just for himself.”

That match with Pereira indeed made Zou Beiyuan famous overnight.

But,

“I can win without injections, but right now I’d rather lose!”

Zou Beiyuan took off his sweat-soaked shirt and threw it onto a chair, then turned and walked into the bathroom.

When he finished showering and came out, driving Joyce out to dinner, neither of them spoke a word.

When Zou Beiyuan was in a bad mood, he wouldn’t talk to anyone. Joyce had been with him since he was nineteen, so he was used to his temperament and wasn’t in a hurry.

Following Zou Beiyuan into a Chinese restaurant, Joyce watched him order his dishes, then saw him chatting with someone on his phone for a while.

Then the boy’s mood improved.

It was a feeling like an iceberg gradually melting, and Joyce couldn’t help but suspect that Zou Beiyuan seemed to be in love.

In the U.S., Zou Beiyuan had no shortage of admirers, both men and women, but none of them caught his eye.

In the world of professional boxing in America, especially for those young stars, it’s hard to escape the temptations of a life of pleasure. Women, marijuana, gambling can ruin their careers.

Zou Beiyuan was an exception.

His extreme self-discipline was something Joyce, who had been a coach for many years, rarely saw.

So Zou Beiyuan was a gem that he would never give up on.

But who was the one who could melt this iceberg?

“Your dad went to Europe,” Joyce said casually, “I’ve scheduled to meet him next month to discuss your contract.”

Zou Beiyuan shifted his gaze from the phone screen and said, “Hmm.”

Joyce added, “If you terminate, I’ll go with you.”

Zou Beiyuan was a bit surprised, “You’re also terminating your contract?”

Joyce had been poached from a top club by Zou’s father, and his salary was definitely among the highest in the industry. Zou Beiyuan had never thought Joyce would be willing to join him in terminating his contract.

Dishes were served one after another, and Joyce asked the waiter for rice in broken Chinese, then said to Zou Beiyuan, “I’ll help you find a new company in the U.S.”

Looking at Joyce’s expression, Zou Beiyuan felt he wasn’t joking: “Will this work? I mean, what about my dad’s side?”

“Leave it to me,” Joyce replied briefly.

This meant he had a lot of confidence.

Next month, huh?

At that moment, Zou Beiyuan wasn’t thinking about boxing.

What he originally thought would take half a year to resolve had made significant progress due to Joyce’s unexpected arrival.

So the time to leave China would come sooner.

He suddenly felt a bit nauseous.