Hearing You Say Love chapter 59

A Clichéd Move

Zou Beiyuan paid for the items with an unyielding expression, carelessly stuffed the lubricant and condoms amid the fruits and vegetables, and walked out with a stoic look.

The cashier mentioned to a coworker, “I’ve never seen anyone buy the extra-large size.” The coworker replied with a sigh, “I thought they’d never sell.”

Zou Beiyuan pretended not to hear but couldn’t stop his ears from turning red.

The parking lot was right outside the supermarket. He put everything in the trunk, then got into the driver’s seat.

Su Ming was in the passenger seat, gazing out the window, cold and radiating a clear “I’m not happy” and “I don’t want to talk to you” vibe.

Zou Beiyuan’s mind was completely devoid of any “How to Comfort Your Upset Partner” experience to draw from, and he was at a bit of a loss.

Thinking carefully, he realized this seemed to be Su Ming’s first time genuinely getting mad at him. Before, Su Ming was usually the one comforting him.

Su Ming didn’t talk to him on the way, and though Zou Beiyuan glanced at him several times, Su Ming showed no intention of responding.

Zou Beiyuan started to panic, not knowing what had made him so upset.

Wasn’t everything fine at the restaurant? And we didn’t have any conflict in the supermarket either—Su Ming had been focused on picking out ingredients. I barely even talked to him.

Thinking back further, that morning they’d been playful; he’d even kissed Su Ming until his eyes turned red, and Su Ming had clung to him, panting, pulling him close.

…Wait a minute. Considering the two items Su Ming had tossed into the cart at the last moment, Zou Beiyuan thought he might know why Su Ming was upset.

He glanced at him again. Su Ming had shifted his position, leaning back in the seat and looking at his phone with no expression.

The dashboard showed it was 3:35 PM; it would take 25 minutes to get home. From 4 to 8, they’d have four hours—plenty of time for… things.

But…

From their first kiss, Zou Beiyuan had already considered this. He’d gone through Shu Yu Ming Jin’s column, studying every detail of the “bottom’s first time.”

He came to one conclusion: the first time was genuinely painful for the receiving partner.

The comics depicted the bottoms as vulnerable, with one even breaking up with his partner because of the pain.

Only Rabbit Zhen didn’t seem to suffer, but he wasn’t human, so it wasn’t applicable.

Zou Beiyuan hesitated. He doubted Su Ming would break up with him over the pain, but the idea of causing Su Ming pain filled him with dread.

He couldn’t bear to.

Imagining those painful experiences in the comics replaying with Su Ming made his heart ache.

The thought of Su Ming in pain took away any desire he might have had.

But if he avoided it, Su Ming would likely be unhappy.

How could he make Su Ming happy without causing pain?

It wasn’t the kind of thing you could ask others about, or else he would have consulted Xu Jiadi or Jiang Zufan.

But Xu Jiadi and the others hadn’t been with men, and their experiences with women weren’t very applicable.

Zou Beiyuan sighed, tightly gripping the steering wheel.

Hearing him sigh, Su Ming glanced at him, catching the serious, furrowed-brow expression on his face.

Once again, Su Ming felt he didn’t understand what Zou Beiyuan was thinking.

Back at the supermarket, he had deliberately tossed those two items into the cart. Shouldn’t the intent have been clear?

Isn’t this little wolf excited yet? Isn’t it better for everyone to take off their clothes and talk openly?

What’s with the long face… 

Is there something you’re unhappy about that you can’t tell me?

Even if my ears are just for decoration, I have a cochlear implant!

If you don’t use your mouth, you can donate it to someone who needs it!

If you don’t use your… you can also donate it to someone who needs it!

So frustrating!

When they arrived at the underground parking garage of the community, Zou Beiyuan had just parked the car when Su Ming pushed the door open and stormed out, looking angrier than before.

Zou Beiyuan grabbed some things from the trunk and hurried after him, but Su Ming had already entered the elevator. The elevator doors were closing, and Zou Beiyuan quickly pressed the open button, causing the doors to slowly reopen. Su Ming didn’t even glance at him.

Inside the elevator, it was just the two of them, but Su Ming still moved to the side as if he were a stranger.

Zou Beiyuan: “…”

No one spoke.

The elevator’s mirrored walls reflected their figures. Zou Beiyuan watched Su Ming while Su Ming stared at the elevator’s electronic display.

When they reached the sixteenth floor, the elevator doors opened. Su Ming walked out with a cold expression, and Zou Beiyuan tugged at his shirt.

Su Ming turned back, and Zou Beiyuan said, “You dropped something.”

Instinctively, Su Ming looked down. A hand with a black rubber band on the wrist was stretched out in front of him as Zou Beiyuan’s voice chimed, “Remember to take your boyfriend with you.”

Such a clichéd move.

But Su Ming grasped Zou Beiyuan’s hand and pulled him to his apartment.

Zou Beiyuan: “!”

This was something he had read in a comic a few days ago!

It actually worked!

Author Shu Yu Ming Jin wasn’t drawing comics; he was creating a guide to dating Su Ming!

So touching; not even video games are this friendly to beginners.

After changing shoes and entering the apartment, Zou Beiyuan helped Su Ming organize the groceries. There were a lot of items, some needed to be packed in plastic bags for the fridge, while others had to be arranged in the vegetable rack in the kitchen.

Su Ming had a bit of OCD about this. If things weren’t tidily organized, he would feel uncomfortable.

As they finished organizing, there were still two items left in a bag—a bottle of lubricant and a box of condoms.

Both of them paused, and Su Ming, his face flushed, took the items out and hurriedly walked into the bedroom.

Zou Beiyuan was about to follow when his phone rang.

It was his dad calling.

“I’m back in the country,” Zou Hanming said concisely, “Come to my house tomorrow at three.”

This was the first time his dad had called him personally since their argument.

Zou Beiyuan didn’t ask why the meeting had been moved up. He simply replied, “Okay,” in a businesslike manner.

When he entered the room, he saw Su Ming bending over to put the two items into the drawer of the bedside table. Zou Beiyuan hung up and rushed over, lifting Su Ming and tossing him onto the bed.

It was still bright outside, with evening sunlight pouring through the window and casting a warm glow on the white bedspread, illuminating the fine fuzz on Su Ming’s face.

His cheeks were a bit red, resembling a ripe peach.

Zou Beiyuan placed his hands on either side of Su Ming’s body, leaned down, kissed his lips, and asked in a low voice, “Do you want to use them now?”

The wording was a bit ambiguous, but Su Ming understood. He blinked rapidly, his heart racing.

Zou Beiyuan’s handsome face hovered just above him, and Su Ming felt he truly couldn’t stay mad at him. He nodded and lay quietly on the bed, appearing open to whatever Zou Beiyuan wanted to do.

“I need to tell you something first,” Zou Beiyuan kissed his lips again, “I’m going to Ninggang tomorrow.”

Su Ming’s heart sank. He signed, Are you going to see your father?

“Yeah.”

Su Ming looked at him, thinking, You’re finally willing to talk about this. He asked, When are you leaving?

“Tomorrow,” Zou Beiyuan repeated. “I just got the call to meet him tomorrow afternoon. I’m planning to take the morning flight; there are some other things to take care of once we meet, and I should be back in about a week.”

Su Ming focused intently, but his expression betrayed a lot of worry. He signed, I’m not asking when you’re meeting your dad; I’m asking how long you’re leaving for.

Seeing Su Ming sign the word “leave,” Zou Beiyuan paused and said, “It’ll be a while.”

Su Ming: How long? Tell me the exact time.

“If everything goes smoothly here, I should leave soon. But I want to discuss with the agency in the U.S. whether I can just go for the training camp. Since we haven’t met yet, the details haven’t been finalized,” Zou Beiyuan said lightly. “That’s also why I haven’t told you about it until now.”

Su Ming responded with an “Mm,” accepting the explanation, and tilted his face to kiss Zou Beiyuan.

Zou Beiyuan moved slightly out of reach, looked at Su Ming very seriously, and said, “If I have to be away for a long time, I want you to come with me.”

Su Ming’s eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t expected Zou Beiyuan to say such a thing. He hadn’t even considered leaving Rong City for another place or even another country to live.

He had known for a long time that Zou Beiyuan was leaving. So when he decided to be with him, he had already prepared himself. As long as Zou Beiyuan didn’t change his mind, he could wait.

However, he never entertained the idea of leaving with Zou Beiyuan.

The places in the world where he felt safe were very few. He had spent many years finally settling down here. He didn’t have much mental resource to explore the unknown and disliked wandering and change.

His instinct was to refuse, but Zou Beiyuan held his hand to stop him from signing. “Don’t answer me now; you can think about it slowly until I come back from Ninggang.”