Hearing You Say Love chapter 53

Sneaking Around

Su Ming held his gaze for a moment, then pulled out a lollipop from his pocket, unwrapped it, and held it to Zou Beiyuan’s lips.

Zou Beiyuan turned his head away, frowning, “No, don’t treat me like a kid.”

Fine, suit yourself. Su Ming popped the candy into his own mouth.

The dim lighting in the underground garage made people hurry along, but Zou Beiyuan’s tall figure was hard to ignore. And with their strange posture, passersby couldn’t help but glance back at them.

Su Ming ducked under Zou Beiyuan’s arm, opened the back seat door, and pulled him inside with a firm tug on his clothes.

The car interior was dark, so dim that it was almost pitch black, and Su Ming could barely make out Zou Beiyuan’s silent silhouette by the faint light from the garage.

The polo shirt he wore that day was picked out by Su Ming. He usually didn’t like wearing clothes with collars, which gave him an unfamiliar, serious look.

Even though he couldn’t see his facial expression, Su Ming knew Zou Beiyuan was angry.

He reached for the hand Zou Beiyuan had resting by his side. Zou Beiyuan didn’t react much, just opened his palm for Su Ming to hold. Su Ming removed the candy from his mouth and leaned in to kiss him, and Zou Beiyuan remained still, letting Su Ming kiss him.

It wasn’t until Su Ming’s tongue slipped into his mouth that he reacted. Maybe he tasted something sweet, as he gently sucked on Su Ming’s tongue for a bit, but then, as if snapping out of it, he pushed Su Ming slightly, leaned back, and put a bit of distance between them.

In the darkness, Zou Beiyuan called Su Ming’s name, raised his hand to grip Su Ming’s chin, and rubbed his lips with his thumb, saying, “In real life, people usually wait until they’re in a relationship to do this sort of thing, you know that, right?”

Su Ming: …

What did he mean by “in real life”?

Zou Beiyuan’s words sounded strange, but Su Ming nodded along.

“So,” Zou Beiyuan said, “I’m your boyfriend now.”

No problem there.

Su Ming blinked and nodded again.

Zou Beiyuan gently shook Su Ming’s chin with a firm grip, but his words sounded hurt. “If that’s the case, why can’t you tell others about our relationship? Are you ashamed of me?”

This silly wolf…

It was too dark to sign, so Su Ming took out his phone to type:  [Nan Nan can’t keep a secret. If she finds out, then Auntie and Grandma will find out. Do you want them to know you’re gay?]

The phone screen illuminated Zou Beiyuan’s stern profile, his lips still glossy from the kiss. He stared at the words for a while, silent and tense.

Su Ming suspected he hadn’t even thought about this before, and was about to take the phone back to keep typing when Zou Beiyuan spoke. “I’m not gay.”

He repeated solemnly, “I’m not gay.”

“I’m just into you,” Zou Beiyuan said. “I don’t have feelings for other men.”

He declared this so expressionlessly that Su Ming’s heart skipped a beat.

After a brief silence, Su Ming typed out a follow-up: [So you want to tell Grandma and Auntie that you’re my boyfriend?]

Zou Beiyuan glanced at the screen, then replied as if it were obvious, “What, are we supposed to hide it forever? What does that make us? Secret lovers just sneaking around?”

Su Ming kept typing quickly: [They’re hoping you’ll find a girlfriend, you know that, right?]

“Which is why we should tell them,” Zou Beiyuan didn’t understand Su Ming’s concerns. “Once they know we’re together, they won’t push me to get a girlfriend anymore. Isn’t that a good thing?”

Su Ming typed swiftly: [But either way, being a man’s boyfriend makes you gay in their eyes. They might not be able to accept that. You used to feel the same way, remember?]

He reminded him: [You used to say you didn’t like gay people. They’ll feel the same if they find out about us.]

“Su Ming,” Zou Beiyuan said softly, “I don’t care about labels. I just want to introduce you to my family as my partner.”

His pitiful tone softened Su Ming’s heart, making him consider just letting him do it. But…

Su Ming typed: [Has Teacher Song ever told you? My cochlear implant was funded by a charity she helped me find, and she stayed with me during the surgery. She’s not just your grandma; she’s my family too. We shouldn’t, and can’t, betray her.]

Zou Beiyuan looked down at the screen and asked, “You think us dating would betray her?”

Su Ming: [Isn’t it? Would she be happy about it?]

Her precious grandson being led astray.

And the one who led him astray was her beloved student.

Feeling guilty, Su Ming put the lollipop back in his mouth, turned off his phone, and darkness returned to the car.

After a long silence, Zou Beiyuan spoke. “If Grandma supported us, would you be okay with it?”

Realizing what he intended, Su Ming quickly unlocked his screen: [Don’t.]

Su Ming: [Don’t make her sad.]

Su Ming: [Please.]

“I’ll talk to her. She won’t make it difficult for us.”

Su Ming: [You think that because you’re certain of her love, but don’t use that love to force her to support us. Okay?]

Zou Beiyuan read this, frowning. “Force her? Why are you so sure she’ll oppose us? Couldn’t she truly support us because she believes we’d be happy together?”

Su Ming: [That’s impossible.]

In a cold voice, Zou Beiyuan asked, “Are you saying our relationship is impossible, or that her support is impossible?”

Su Ming didn’t want to argue, so he turned to look out the window, sighing softly.

After a while, Zou Beiyuan squeezed Su Ming’s fingers and started speaking slowly. “When I compete in a boxing match, I never assume the outcome, even if my opponent seems much stronger. I just focus on training and preparing for the match.”

Su Ming felt a tug in his heart and looked at him. Zou Beiyuan sat in the darkness, his eyes shining like stars.

“Su Ming,” he said, “don’t assume the outcome of our relationship either. No matter what the future holds, we need to be ready for this match, together. Give it everything you’ve got, understand?”

Looking at Zou Beiyuan, perhaps it was his years of boxing experience that gave him an almost godlike aura.

Hearing these words from him was incredibly convincing.

Zou Beiyuan held Su Ming’s hand, his voice low and almost enchanting: “Will you work hard with me, boyfriend?”

Usually lacking confidence about the future, Su Ming was briefly enchanted by him and couldn’t help but nod.

Zou Beiyuan took the lollipop from Su Ming’s mouth and put it in his own, saying, “Then I’m off.”

Despite saying this, he didn’t move, as Su Ming was still gripping his hand tightly.

Su Ming agreed with Zou Beiyuan’s idea to put in effort without assuming the outcome, but deep down, he couldn’t be as optimistic and open as Zou Beiyuan.

He typed on his phone for Zou Beiyuan to read: [I agree with everything you said, but unless we have to, let’s not tell Grandma just yet, okay?]

Zou Beiyuan held Su Ming’s chin firmly, pinching his face a little as he mumbled around the lollipop, “So, Cousin Su, you just want us to always be sneaking around?”

Su Ming couldn’t reason with Zou Beiyuan; his logic was “better.”

Su Ming admitted he was a bit of a coward. The two boldest things he’d ever done were choosing to pursue a career in writing comics and trying to win over Zou Beiyuan.

While he couldn’t say he’d put his whole heart into comics, he was more than willing to go all-in on pursuing Zou Beiyuan.

Su Ming leaned in to kiss him again.

He first brushed his lips against the corner of Zou Beiyuan’s mouth and, seeing no rejection, lifted his hand to remove the candy from Zou Beiyuan’s mouth. He traced his tongue along Zou Beiyuan’s lips, over his teeth and tongue, skillfully finding that slightly sharp canine tooth and gently grazing it with his tongue.

Zou Beiyuan didn’t respond as enthusiastically as he usually would, but he leaned in slightly to make it easier for Su Ming.

Gradually, the sweetness in their mouths blended, creating something even sweeter than the candy.

Outside the car, people walked by, and voices and footsteps could be heard. Occasionally, a car would pass by, and its headlights would momentarily illuminate the car’s interior.

They seemed like two people truly sneaking around, kissing silently in the backseat.

When the light filled the car again, Su Ming pulled away, rested his forehead on Zou Beiyuan’s shoulder to catch his breath, and checked the time on his phone.

It was past eight, and Zou Beiyuan was already nearly fifteen minutes late for his training. If he didn’t let him go now, it would be unreasonable.

But Little Wolf still hadn’t been fully comforted, as he hadn’t even responded passionately during their kiss, clearly still upset.

Panting lightly, Su Ming typed on his phone: [Take me to your boxing gym.]

“What for?” Zou Beiyuan’s voice was still tense, sounding a bit cold. “I’ll be training until late. If you come, you’ll just be…”

Halfway through, he stopped, looking down to see Su Ming’s phone screen displaying:

To sneak around.