Hearing You Say Love chapter 7

Strange Things

Fifteen minutes to seven, the doorbell rang. Su Ming was busy in the kitchen and went to open the door when he heard the noise.

He was wearing a light green apron, half-frame glasses, and had his slightly long hair tied back low, making him look younger than usual.

Zou Beiyuan was tall, and the light from the corridor behind him cast a shadow around Su Ming.

“I brought wine,” Zou Beiyuan said, holding a bottle of red wine. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I asked the bartender to recommend one.”

Su Ming nodded, took the wine, and bent down to get a pair of spare slippers for him from the shoe cabinet.

Apartment 1602 was a one-bedroom unit with a square living room. The large floor-to-ceiling windows made the space appear spacious.

The aroma of food wafted through the air, and the sound of the kitchen exhaust fan could be heard.

The whole place wasn’t large, but it was very tidy, so tidy that Zou Beiyuan found it hard to believe that a man lived alone here.

He suddenly became curious if Su Ming had a girlfriend, and discreetly observed the place. There were no women’s shoes under the shoe cabinet, and there were no signs of female use in the living room; everything was as clean as Su Ming himself.

Su Ming placed the red wine on the dining table and typed on his phone for Zou Beiyuan to see: [Please sit for a moment; it’ll be ready soon.]

Zou Beiyuan agreed, and Su Ming set his phone on the table and turned back into the kitchen.

The beef brisket was tender, and the tomatoes were flavorful. Su Ming turned off the heat and used a large porcelain bowl to serve the dishes; next, he just needed to pan-sear the salmon.

The living room was very quiet, and Su Ming couldn’t hear any sounds from Zou Beiyuan. He didn’t know what Zou Beiyuan was doing. He thought that since the computer and the drawing tablet were turned off, and he had put away the comic books in the living room beforehand, there wasn’t much to expose his profession…

Thinking of this, he suddenly froze, hastily wiped his hands on a towel, and quickly walked out.

Zou Beiyuan was sitting on the single sofa by the floor-to-ceiling window playing on his phone. On the small black walnut side table next to the sofa, his sketchbook was indeed lying quietly there.

Su Ming casually walked over, naturally standing beside the small side table and pressing his hand on the sketchbook.

Zou Beiyuan asked him, “Ready?”

Su Ming shook his head, picked up the sketchbook, turned around, and walked into the bedroom. When he came out again, he was holding a spiral notebook.

Su Ming wrote in the notebook: Can you help me with something in the kitchen?

This time, his handwriting was quite elaborate but still very beautiful, with a unique flair.

“Okay,” Zou Beiyuan stood up, casually placing his phone on the small side table, and looked down at him, “What do you need me to do?”

Even though there shouldn’t be anything overlooked, it was still safer to lure him into the kitchen. Su Ming thought this and tilted his head, signaling Zou Beiyuan to follow him.

Actually, there wasn’t anything he needed help with; all the ingredients had long been prepared, and he was just waiting for the salmon to finish marinating before putting it in the pot.

Su Ming had no choice but to temporarily add a dish. He took a handful of greens from the vegetable basket and handed them to Zou Beiyuan to wash.

Zou Beiyuan rarely entered the kitchen, so he didn’t understand Su Ming’s intention and was unsure what to do with the greens.

Su Ming found it amusing and gave him a colander basket, placing the greens inside it under the tap. Zou Beiyuan realized what to do and turned on the faucet to wash the greens.

Seeing that the time was almost right, Su Ming lit the stove and put a small piece of butter into the hot pan.

The kitchen was already small, and with Zou Beiyuan’s height, it felt even narrower. Su Ming thought that if he took a step back, he might bump into Zou Beiyuan.

This was Zou Beiyuan’s first time working in the kitchen with someone, and the feeling was a bit subtle—though they weren’t that familiar, these everyday tasks brought a sense of closeness.

The butter melted quickly, and Su Ming added the ingredients to fry until fragrant. The dish required no skill, just simple and quick, ready in just over a minute.

The fish was beautifully fried to a pink color, and Su Ming wanted to use a nice plate to serve it.

He had bought a plate the last time he went out with friends, and it had never been used because he usually ate alone and didn’t think to use beautiful tableware. Today was just the right occasion to bring it out.

Things that are rarely used were stored in the top cabinet, so Su Ming opened the cabinet door and tiptoed to reach for it. The plate was at the very top, just out of his reach by more than an inch.

Su Ming: …

Would it be a bit embarrassing to get a stool to stand on?

Zou Beiyuan suddenly spoke up from behind, “What do you need? I’ll help you.”

Su Ming lowered his heels, turned to look at him, and pointed upwards.

Zou Beiyuan probably didn’t understand what he wanted, so he simply wrapped his arms around Su Ming’s armpits and lifted him up.

Su Ming was surprised when his feet left the ground. Zou Beiyuan’s hands were large and strong, and it felt like he could easily break him, but he still calmly reached out and grabbed the plate he wanted.

After finishing preparing the last added dish, the two of them sat down at the dining table.

Su Ming took a bottle opener to open the wine. Since he didn’t have wine glasses at home, he used two clear glass cups instead.

The sense of ritual was somewhat lacking, and the dishes were all home-cooked meals.

However, Zou Beiyuan had spent most of the past years either living at the training base or in hotels for competitions, rarely having the chance to eat home-cooked food. He found this home-style flavor very endearing.

Su Ming raised his cup and clinked it with Zou Beiyuan’s. He made a fist with his right hand, bending his thumb forward twice.

Zou Beiyuan laughed, “Is that a way of saying thank you?”

Su Ming nodded.

Zou Beiyuan mimicked the gesture and said to Su Ming, “And thank you for giving me a ride home that rainy day.”

Su Ming signed to him: You’re welcome.

Zou Beiyuan didn’t recognize the gesture but understood Su Ming’s meaning. “But I might not be able to host you at home; I can’t cook.”

He was referring to the dinner he planned to treat Su Ming to on Thursday. Su Ming smiled, tilted his head slightly, and looked at him as if to say: I know you can’t.

This expression made him seem mischievous and innocent. Zou Beiyuan looked at his face, paused, and picked up his chopsticks to eat.

The two of them ate quietly for a while, and Zou Beiyuan asked him again, “How long did it take to prepare all this food? Didn’t you say you were very busy with work?”

Su Ming stood up and grabbed a spiral notebook from the side table, writing on the paper: It’s okay, I made it tonight.

“You often stay up late,” Zou Beiyuan also put down his chopsticks. “Sometimes when I come back in the middle of the night, I see the light in your living room still on.”

Su Ming nodded and wrote: I can’t sleep, I often have insomnia.

“Why?”

Su Ming: Sometimes I sleep too much during the day, and sometimes it’s too much work pressure.

Zou Beiyuan then asked, “Is it the pressure of drawing? What do you draw?”

Su Ming wrote: Comics.

Zou Beiyuan understood: “For kids?”

Su Ming suddenly felt relieved; this kind of comment was clearly from someone who didn’t read comics and didn’t care about them at all.

He didn’t explain comic classifications to Zou Beiyuan but nodded, agreeing with Zou Beiyuan’s perception of him.

Since he still had work to do later, Su Ming only drank half a glass of red wine, and Zou Beiyuan didn’t drink much either. Su Ming felt a bit apologetic and wrote on the paper: Is it boring being with me?

“Not boring,” Zou Beiyuan said.

In fact, being with Su Ming was very comfortable, like covering oneself with a thin quilt in an air-conditioned room during summer.

They chatted and ate dinner, finishing around nine o’clock.

Zou Beiyuan helped Su Ming clear the table, then Su Ming walked him to the door and watched him walk to room 1601, smiling with his eyes bent, waving his right hand by his cheek.

Zou Beiyuan knew he was saying goodbye, but the gesture seemed like something one would do to a child. Paired with that green apron, it looked adorably naïve.

Zou Beiyuan wanted to look a little longer, but Su Ming quickly went inside, and only the door of room 1602 closed in front of him.

….

The next day, he had to meet a promoter for a boxing event in the country. Zou Beiyuan took a flight to Ninggang in the morning and returned in the afternoon. By the time he arrived in Rong City, it was already evening.

The sky was dark, and the city’s nighttime glamor cast an orange-red glow on the sky.

When Zou Beiyuan arrived at the bottom of the building, he instinctively looked towards Su Ming’s window.

The living room light was on; Su Ming was home, and the light filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows looked warm.

He had met many people and discussed various matters that day, feeling exhausted. He really wanted to go to Su Ming’s house to sit on the couch and chat with him using paper and pen.

He considered whether to text Su Ming first or go directly to knock on the door.

He took out his phone and decided to send a message first when a call from Zou Jingnan came in.

“Ge!” Zou Jingnan shouted loudly on the other end, “Have you picked up my package yet?”

Zou Beiyuan frowned and asked, “What package?”

Zou Jingnan complained, “I sent you a message the day before yesterday asking you to pick it up for me. Did you forget?”

Zou Beiyuan really had forgotten. “Oh.”

“But that’s a signed edition I fought hard to get,” Zou Jingnan said tearfully. “It’s still in the delivery locker. Hurry up and get it out for me.”

Zou Jingnan was Zou Beiyuan’s biological sister, and this year she graduated from high school and got into C University Medical School in Rong City. She went on a graduation trip to Japan with her classmates and had bought some things online during this time, all sent to Zou Beiyuan’s place, asking him to collect them for her.

Zou Beiyuan didn’t take the task of picking up his sister’s package to heart; after all, it was just some unimportant little things.

However, the delivery locker was conveniently located on the elevated floor next to the building entrance, so after hanging up, Zou Beiyuan went to pick it up.

It seemed the delivery truck had been affected by the heavy rain a few days ago, as one corner of the cardboard box was damaged, revealing the contents inside, which appeared to be a book.

When Zou Beiyuan returned home and changed his clothes, he took a photo to report to Zou Jingnan: [The delivery box is damaged.]

Zou Jingnan immediately called back in a panic. Zou Beiyuan couldn’t help but wonder if he had broken a leg, his sister might not have reacted this strongly.

“Please open it and check for me! This volume is so hard to get! I asked eight friends to help me grab it, and if it’s damaged, I’ll really cry.”

Zou Beiyuan wanted to go find Su Ming and didn’t have time to help her open the package. He took a quick look through the hole, “The book inside is fine; it’s still sealed.”

“Take it out and check for me!” Zou Jingnan directed him remotely. “Shoot a video so I can see!”

Zou Beiyuan thought it was troublesome. “Just come back and check for yourself.”

“If you don’t do it, I’m going to make a scene! I’m really going to make a scene!” Zou Jingnan started to scream from the other end.

Zou Beiyuan’s ears hurt from the noise, and he conceded, “Alright, alright, I’ll shoot a video, but you better shut up.”

After hanging up, he ripped open the delivery box. The book inside was fine, but the plastic wrap was inexplicably damaged, hanging precariously from it.

Once he took the book out, the plastic wrap fell off.

Zou Beiyuan casually shot a video to send to Zou Jingnan, picking up the book to take a look.

It appeared to be a comic book. The cover featured humanoid wolf and rabbit characters, with the rabbit sitting in the wolf’s embrace, leaning back against the wolf’s chest, stretching its arms back to hook around the wolf’s neck in a seductive pose.

The wolf had a flushed face, while the rabbit looked ambiguous.

Although the characters were animals, their bodies were clearly drawn with human proportions. The small white rabbit sat in the broad embrace of the gray wolf, the stark contrast in size and color providing an intensely striking visual impact that was hard to describe.

Zou Beiyuan’s heart skipped a beat—what kind of weird thing was this?