Hearing You Say Love chapter 47
Try Again
The tall figure pressed down but quickly pulled back. Su Ming closed his eyes, and before he could react, a grape was suddenly stuffed into his mouth.
The fruit was sweet, smooth to the touch, and still carried the warmth from Zou Beiyuan’s mouth.
The sound of running water filled the air, and Fu Ruoqin said something from the other side. Su Mo and Teacher Song laughed in response.
The sounds of water, laughter, and footsteps in the hallway all pounded in Su Ming’s heart like a drum.
He widened his eyes, barely daring to breathe, afraid that this small secret in the washroom would be exposed.
He propped himself up on the sink counter, leaning sideways to peek outside. He saw Teacher Song sitting by the bed, her view perfectly blocked by the blue curtain. Finally, Su Ming sighed in relief, turned off the water, and lifted the grapes to drain them.
Zou Beiyuan was still teasing him, tapping his finger on his cheek, which was puffed up from holding the grape. Su Ming turned his head away, shooting Zou Beiyuan a reproachful look.
The grape, now warmed up, was bitten into, its sweetness lingering in an intimate and ambiguous way.
…
While eating the grapes together, Fu Ruoqin brought up the girl whose mother was a leader in their brother unit again. She said that the girl’s mother had seen Zou Beiyuan’s photo and was very satisfied, suggesting the two add each other on WeChat and chat before meeting up if they got along.
“Auntie,” Zou Beiyuan frowned, “Why did you send out my photo without asking?”
“What do you mean ‘without asking’? You can find your photos online if you search. I just sent a more casual one,” Fu Ruoqin said, unconcerned.
“I don’t want a girlfriend,” Zou Beiyuan said impatiently. “Stop introducing people to me, okay?”
Fu Ruoqin paused, holding a grape in her hand. “Why not?”
Song Zhixian overheard and grew anxious. “Why wouldn’t you want a girlfriend?”
“No reason,” Zou Beiyuan glanced at Su Ming out of the corner of his eye. “I just don’t want one. Don’t bother. I won’t add her, I won’t chat, and I won’t meet her.”
Fu Ruoqin, sensing that Zou Beiyuan was a bit upset, thought maybe he was just shy because there were too many people around. She nudged Song Zhixian, who was about to continue, and forced an end to the topic. “Fine, if you don’t want one, that’s fine. Saves me a red envelope. Stay single then.”
Zou Beiyuan: “Mm.”
Song Zhixian, surprised by her daughter’s sudden shift, stopped eating grapes in frustration and stood up as if about to leave. “You won’t have children and now you’re supporting Xiao Yuan not finding a partner. Are you here to take care of me or just to upset me?”
Fu Ruoqin pulled her back, making her sit down. “Mom, we’ve been arguing about whether I’ll have kids for ten years now. Let’s not do this in front of so many young people today. If you want to argue, wait until they leave, then we can fight all you want.”
Song Zhixian, dragged back by her daughter, sighed and said, “If only you were as easy to deal with as your sister.”
Su Ming remembered that Zou Beiyuan had once told him that his mother had passed away when he was very young. Hearing this, his heart skipped a beat. He turned to look at Zou Beiyuan, who was still in his usual lazy posture, no longer eating grapes, just on his phone.
Suddenly, Su Ming’s phone buzzed, indicating a new WeChat message. He opened it and saw:
Zou Beiyuan: [Should we head back?]
Su Ming noticed that Zou Beiyuan had changed his profile picture. The color looked familiar. When he zoomed in, he realized it was the signature from the oil painting he had given Zou Beiyuan.
Zou Beiyuan hadn’t saved the “Happy Birthday” part, just “Su Ming” and the date below.
The handwriting was a bit messy but still recognizable.
That afternoon, his profile picture had still been the green boxing gloves, so he must have just changed it.
Su Ming: [Change your profile picture back.]
Zou Beiyuan: [?]
Su Ming: [The name is too obvious. It’ll be easily recognized.]
At this point, Fu Ruoqin had already shifted the conversation away from her sister and was now praising Su Mo for being good at picking fruits, saying the grapes he bought were particularly sweet.
Su Ming sneaked a glance at Zou Beiyuan’s phone screen and saw him zoom in on the picture and re-crop it.
After a while, he checked Zou Beiyuan’s profile and saw that only the string of numbers remained in the picture, making it impossible to tell what it originally was.
Zou Beiyuan sent another message: [Let’s go.]
Su Ming turned off his phone screen and slowly stood up. Signing to Teacher Song, he indicated that he was leaving.
Song Zhixian immediately said, “Xiao Yuan, go see him off.”
Before she even finished speaking, Zou Beiyuan had already stood up.
“Teacher Song, Auntie Fu,” Su Mo also stood up, politely saying, “I’m leaving too.”
Once outside, Zou Beiyuan picked Su Ming up on his back, with Su Mo following behind, carrying their belongings.
There was no one else in the elevator with them. Su Mo and Su Ming exchanged a glance before Su Mo signed: Are you going to his place to shower again today?
Before Su Ming could respond, Zou Beiyuan spoke first. “Yeah, do you have a problem with that?”
Su Mo: “…”
What the heck? He can understand sign language now too?
Su Mo scratched his nose. “No problem, but my brother’s foot is still hurt.”
Zou Beiyuan turned to look at the head resting on his shoulder and noticed Su Ming’s face was a little red, looking very cute.
“I know,” he said, and as they reached the basement, the elevator doors opened and Zou Beiyuan stepped out first. “I won’t do anything until your brother’s foot heals.”
Su Ming’s head shot up: ???
My foot is injured, not something else. What does that have to do with anything?!
He turned to look at Su Mo, who flashed him a proud “family approval” smile and said goodbye to them before heading to his car…
Su Ming clenched his teeth in his mind. Damn it, this little brother of his and getting in the way .
The car exited the hospital’s underground parking lot, and the sky had fully darkened, with a velvet-blue canopy dotted with starlight.
As the car merged into the flow of red taillights, Zou Beiyuan asked, “Are we heading straight home?”
Su Ming nodded, pulling out a pack of gum from his pocket and popping two pieces into his mouth.
He couldn’t help but wonder why he felt the need to chew gum the moment they talked about going home, as if the only reason he was eager to get back was for kissing.
A hand reached out next to him, with a flat tone saying, “I want some too.”
Su Ming turned to see Zou Beiyuan, one hand on the steering wheel, eyes focused on the road ahead, jawline sharp, and Adam’s apple protruding like a little mountain. If it weren’t for that hand stretched out in front of him, Su Ming would’ve thought he’d imagined it.
The metal gum tin rattled as two pieces rolled into Zou Beiyuan’s palm.
Watching as Zou Beiyuan pulled his hand back and ate the gum, Su Ming was suddenly reminded of the time he’d taken a ride back from Yishi City in Zou Beiyuan’s car. When he’d held out his palm to catch Zou Beiyuan’s fruit pits, Zou Beiyuan had made the same motion, almost as if he’d kissed his palm.
Familiar scenery flashed by outside the car window, and Su Ming leaned his head against the seat, the sweetness of the gum on his tongue making his heart flutter.
When they got home, it was still early. Su Ming told Zou Beiyuan he wanted to spend some time drawing.
Finishing the line work would take two days, and he had a meeting on Tuesday at Chen Muchao’s studio to discuss the Journey to the West project. If he didn’t work overtime that night, he’d have no time to do the coloring later.
Zou Beiyuan agreed, lifting him up onto his work desk, hands on either side, and silently looking at him for a while.
These past few days, this kind of gaze usually meant they were about to kiss.
But remembering Zou Beiyuan’s earlier words about “not doing anything,” Su Ming intentionally turned his head away and reached for the pack of cigarettes on the desk.
Zou Beiyuan held his hand, sliding his fingers between Su Ming’s just like when they were washing grapes.
The pack of cigarettes lay just two centimeters away from their hands, but Su Ming forgot about smoking. Zou Beiyuan grabbed his chin, turned him back, and kissed him a bit aggressively.
The kiss was intense, but Zou Beiyuan’s lips and tongue were soft, sweet, and tinged with mint.
No matter how many times it happened, Su Ming found himself helplessly falling under his spell.
When he finally let go, Zou Beiyuan said, “When you’re ready to sleep, send me a message, and I’ll come over and hold you.”
Breathless and slightly dazed, Su Ming barely heard what he’d said but nodded obediently.
….
Back at his place, Zou Beiyuan showered and changed into a soft white T-shirt to make it more comfortable for Su Ming to hold onto him later.
He sat in the living room, turned on the TV as background noise, and opened the only muted group chat on his WeChat.
The group had only three members: him, Ling Shanshan, and Chen Muchao.
The group had been created the day before, and because he’d spent the entire afternoon and evening with Su Ming, he’d muted the group to make sure Su Ming didn’t accidentally see any messages.
There were no new messages yet; just a dozen old ones remained in the chat history.
Ling Shanshan: [Why add Chen Muchao? He’ll only mess things up.]
Chen Muchao: [?]
Ling Shanshan: [Just practice the daily lessons on that sign language app. If you have questions, ask me, and when I’m unavailable, @Chen Muchao can answer.]
Chen Muchao: [Weren’t you just saying how I’m useless and would only mess things up?]
Zou Beiyuan: [Thanks, Chao Ge and Ling Jie.]
Ling Shanshan: [But you’ll need to be patient if you want Su Ming to speak. You’ll have to encourage him a lot.]
Chen Muchao: [Forget it. Just give up.]
Ling Shanshan: [@Chen Muchao, shut up.]
Zou Beiyuan: [Chao Ge, I know it’s difficult, but I’m worried that one day he’ll encounter danger and won’t even be able to call for help.]
Zou Beiyuan: [I started boxing at age six. I cried every time I stepped into the ring. Even my coach said I wasn’t cut out for it. I cried from six to nine, but I still became a pro boxer in the end.]
Chen Muchao: [That’s different.]
Ling Shanshan: [Why are you always so discouraging? @Chen Muchao Don’t you want Su Ming to speak?]
Chen Muchao: [You don’t know him. If he could talk, he would’ve already.]
Chen Muchao: [Forget it. Try anyway, maybe you’ll pull it off, @Zou Beiyuan.]
Ling Shanshan: [Start with simple words, and once he can say individual words, he’ll slowly progress to phrases and sentences.]
Zou Beiyuan went over the chat again, realizing that his approach that afternoon had probably been wrong.
Ling Shanshan had suggested he use more encouragement.
Reflecting on it, he’d been imitating a scene from a manga, trying to push Su Ming to speak in a somewhat forceful way.
And he’d ended up making Su Ming cry.
And then he had completely backed off.
Zou Beiyuan: “…”
It seemed that just following the comics wasn’t enough; he needed to improvise.
….
Around midnight, Zou Beiyuan had learned several encouraging phrases from the “Sounds of Rain” manga.
Things like “Baby, you’re amazing,” “Baby, you sound so nice,” and “Baby, try again.”
These lines were repeated throughout the manga, so he figured Su Ming must like them.
Determined to try again that night, he vowed to use only encouragement this time.