Hearing You Say Love chapter 31
 Hold Me Tight
The next afternoon, at 7:30, Zou Beiyuan came out of the gym and went to the mall to buy a non-slip mat. On his way home, he saw a suspicious man standing in front of Su Ming’s door.
It was the height of summer, yet the man was wearing black suit pants and a long-sleeved shirt. He was quite tall, about the same height as him.
As he got closer, Zou Beiyuan noticed the man was holding a large bouquet of bright red roses.
The man had been pressing Su Ming’s doorbell for a while, but Su Ming wasn’t home.
Zou Beiyuan remembered Su Ming had told him he was going out for dinner with friends and would be back later.
The man heard footsteps, turned around, and locked eyes with Zou Beiyuan.
Seeing Zou Beiyuan walk toward the door across the hall, the man asked, “Excuse me, does Su Ming live here?”
Zou Beiyuan was guessing the man’s relationship with Su Ming but paused—so this guy doesn’t know Su Ming well? Then why was he here with roses?
After a moment of hesitation, Zou Beiyuan decided to play dumb: “Hmm?”
“He’s a young guy in his late twenties,” the man gestured, “about this tall, very good-looking, with a cochlear implant in his right ear. Have you seen him? Does he live here?”
Very good-looking???
Zou Beiyuan’s alarm bells rang. Could this guy be Su Ming’s admirer?
He actually dared to openly bring flowers to Su Ming??
A wave of thoughts raced through his mind, and his mouth spoke before his brain could catch up: “I haven’t seen him; an old lady lives here.”
The man looked surprised, took out his phone to confirm the information, and muttered, “Isn’t this the right place? Did I take a wrong turn?”
Zou Beiyuan ignored him and silently placed his finger on the fingerprint lock of his door, preparing to go inside.
At that moment, the elevator arrived at the sixteenth floor, and with the sound of the metal door opening, Su Ming walked out of the elevator.
Zou Beiyuan: “…”
As Su Ming exited the elevator, he first saw Zou Beiyuan and what he was holding, a smile appearing in his eyes. But before the smile could fully form, he noticed another person.
Zhao Shengpei stood there, dressed smartly, and happily called out Su Ming’s name.
Su Ming was surprised for a moment, but he quickly returned to his cold demeanor. When he noticed the flowers in Zhao Shengpei’s hand, his expression turned even colder, and he stopped in front of the elevator doors without moving.
The fingerprint lock for Room 1601 was already open, but Zou Beiyuan also didn’t go inside. The three of them stood at their respective doorways, forming a strangely tense triangle.
After half a minute of this standoff, Zhao Shengpei broke the silence first. He stepped in front of Su Ming and said, “I’m holding an exhibition at the Rong Art Museum on Tuesday, and I’d like to invite you to come.”
After speaking, he held the flowers out toward Su Ming, a card stuck in the blooms, which was the invitation to the exhibition.
Su Ming didn’t take them and coldly signed: I don’t have time.
Zhao Shengpei seemed not to understand and continued holding the flowers, insisting, “I’ll pick you up at nine on Tuesday morning.”
Su Ming frowned, glanced at the flowers, and then turned to Zou Beiyuan. Zou Beiyuan took the hint and acted as a translator: “He said he doesn’t have time.”
“It won’t take long,” Zhao Shengpei persisted, still holding the flowers. “You just have to show up for a bit.”
Su Ming shook his head, but Zhao Shengpei forcibly shoved the flowers into his arms.
The bouquet was too large, and Zhao Shengpei’s push made Su Ming step back a little. Zou Beiyuan immediately stepped in and shoved the flowers back at Zhao Shengpei, raising his hand to shield Su Ming, speaking in an unfriendly tone: “He said he doesn’t have time. Didn’t you hear me?”
Zhao Shengpei looked fiercely at Zou Beiyuan and raised his chin, asking arrogantly, “What does this have to do with you?”
Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Su Ming quickly grasped Zou Beiyuan’s wrist and shook his head. Then he bypassed Zhao Shengpei and pulled Zou Beiyuan back into his apartment.
The door slammed shut with a bang, and Su Ming didn’t even glance at the person outside.
The two stood in the entryway inside the apartment, staring at each other for a few seconds. Su Ming bent down and took out their slippers from the shoe cabinet, placing them on the floor.
While changing shoes, Su Ming was contemplating how to explain his relationship with Zhao Shengpei to Zou Beiyuan.
They were college classmates, and Zhao Shengpei had pursued him.
When he was young and naive, Su Ming had also been attracted to Zhao Shengpei’s talent, and they had interacted for a while with the intent of dating.
However, later on, Su Ming found out by chance that Zhao Shengpei was engaged to the daughter of the dean of the Academy of Fine Arts, so he ended their interactions. When Zhao Shengpei later tried to pursue him again, Su Ming slapped him.
Su Ming didn’t have any feelings for him, so this incident didn’t cause him any real harm. He just found Zhao Shengpei’s actions extremely despicable.
He didn’t want to tell Zou Beiyuan about his naïve past experiences at all.
Zou Beiyuan, unaware of the tumult of thoughts in Su Ming’s mind, raised the items in his hand and said, “I bought the non-slip mats; I’m going to lay them down in the kitchen first.”
He had measured the dimensions yesterday, so they fit perfectly, and the color and pattern matched the kitchen’s décor style well.
Su Ming liked it very much and signed a thank you to Zou Beiyuan.
While washing his hands, Zou Beiyuan finally asked Su Ming, “Who was that person just now?”
Su Ming stood shoulder to shoulder with him at the sink, typing on his phone to show him: [A college classmate.]
The sound of running water filled the air as Zou Beiyuan glanced at the phone screen, nodded, and asked, “Why did he send you flowers?”
Su Ming typed slowly on his phone: [He wants me to go see his exhibition.]
While it seemed like he had answered the question, he was actually evading it.
If he wants you to see his exhibition, why does he have to send you flowers?
Su Ming’s rejection and that person’s insistence both felt awkward.
It didn’t feel like the dynamic of college classmates; it felt more like they had a past connection.
This awkwardness made Zou Beiyuan feel somewhat uncomfortable.
What made him even more uncomfortable was that Su Ming now looked very upset.
And Zou Beiyuan didn’t know how to cheer him up.
The two walked out of the kitchen, and seeing it was still early, Zou Beiyuan suggested they go out for some exercise.
Su Ming signed in agreement, pointed to his shirt, and then pointed to his room, indicating that he wanted to go change clothes first.
“Okay,” Zou Beiyuan replied. “I’ll head home for a bit too. Let’s meet at the elevator in twenty minutes.”
After he left, Su Ming immediately took out his phone and messaged Chen Muchao: [OMG! Zhao Shengpei actually came to find me!]
Chen Muchao: [????]
While looking for his sportswear in the closet, Su Ming quickly typed: [I was terrified! He brought a huge bouquet of roses to my door, and just so happened that little Wolf was here too! I almost died on the spot!]
Chen Muchao: [!]
Chen Muchao: [Is he still trying to pursue you???]
Su Ming tossed his shirt onto the bed: [Pursue my ass! Isn’t he getting married?]
Half a minute later, Chen Muchao sent a voice message: “He divorced two months ago. A few days ago, I saw he was coming to Rong City for an exhibition, and I was wondering why he would choose Rong City. Turns out he’s here for you!”
After hearing this, Su Ming opened his browser and searched for news about Zhao Shengpei, and sure enough, he found the news about him divorcing the daughter of the dean of the National Academy of Fine Arts.
Su Ming: [Marrying for money, that fucking bastard .]
After finishing the text, he threw his phone onto the bed and put on a sports T-shirt. Chen Muchao quickly replied: [What are you planning to do?]
Guessing that twenty minutes had already passed, Su Ming stopped looking at his phone, quickly changed, tied his hair with a black elastic band, grabbed his sports water bottle, and headed out.
Zou Beiyuan was waiting at the elevator, texting someone on his phone. When he saw Su Ming come out, he turned off the screen and put his phone in his pocket.
He wasn’t wearing his usual running clothes but was dressed casually, holding car keys in his hand.
Su Ming looked at him, puzzled: ?
“I’m taking you somewhere fun,” Zou Beiyuan wrapped his arm around Su Ming’s shoulder as they walked into the elevator. He explained, “There’s a new sports center that hasn’t officially opened yet. I’m taking you to check it out.”
After getting into the passenger seat of Zou Beiyuan’s car, Su Ming resumed texting Chen Muchao: [He came to invite me to his exhibition today, but I refused.]
Chen Muchao: [He didn’t continue to pester you?]
Su Ming: [Little Wolf was there.]
Chen Muchao: [You should go. Little Wolf can pretend to be your boyfriend, and Zhao Shengpei will back off. If he doesn’t, then he’ll get beaten up until he does.]
Su Ming stole a glance at Zou Beiyuan, who was driving seriously, and replied to Chen Muchao: [… I don’t want to drag Little Wolf into this.]
Chen Muchao: [What if Zhao Shengpei keeps bothering you?]
Su Ming: [Then I’ll slap him again.]
After more than twenty minutes, the car pulled into the underground parking lot of a newly built mall.
Zou Beiyuan took Su Ming up to the eighth floor by elevator, where the entire level was the sports center they had come to visit.
The sports center was huge, with an indoor golf range, a bowling alley, a billiards room, and an ice rink.
Zou Beiyuan didn’t tell Su Ming that he was one of the shareholders. Entering through the VIP entrance, he gave Su Ming a tour before asking what he wanted to do.
Su Ming wasn’t good at golf, bowling, or ice skating. In fact, his billiards skills were also poor, so he blinked at Zou Beiyuan, feeling a little lost.
“Do you know how to skate?”
Su Ming shook his head and showed a somewhat fearful expression.
Zou Beiyuan laughed. “Then let’s go with ice skating. I’ll teach you.”
Su Ming signed no with his hands, but Zou Beiyuan pretended not to see and dragged him toward the ice rink.
Zou Beiyuan had Su Ming sit on a sofa in the ice rink’s lounge area while he went to the front desk to fetch two pairs of skates. When he returned, Su Ming insisted and typed that he couldn’t skate and didn’t want to try, fearing he’d fall.
However, the more nervous he became, the more excited Zou Beiyuan seemed.
Kneeling on one knee, Zou Beiyuan said he would help him put on the skates.
Su Ming couldn’t refuse, but he swatted away Zou Beiyuan’s hands, trying to change his shoes on his own.
But Zou Beiyuan firmly grasped Su Ming’s ankle.
“It’s your first time. If the shoes aren’t put on properly, you could sprain your foot,” he said.
Zou Beiyuan’s large, warm hands completely encased Su Ming’s slender ankle. Su Ming stopped resisting, biting his lip as he watched Zou Beiyuan take off his sneakers.
Once the skates were on, Zou Beiyuan helped him to his feet and led him toward the ice rink entrance, reminding him, “If you don’t want to fall, make sure to hold on to me tightly.”
Su Ming nodded, walking cautiously. Even though he could stand steadily, he pretended to struggle with balance so that Zou Beiyuan would hold him even tighter around the waist.
Author’s Note:
A crafty straight man and a gay guy with a hundred schemes