Hearing You Say Love chapter 79
Some Challenging Positions
The two of them returned home at around 4 a.m., showered, and slept curled up together for five hours. Then Su Ming escorted Zou Beiyuan to the airport.
Joining them for the farewell were Zou Beiyuan’s grandmother, his aunt, and Zou Jingnan.
Su Ming had expected to feel heartbroken, but perhaps because there were so many people present, the atmosphere wasn’t as somber as he’d imagined.
Especially with Zou Jingnan grinning at him the entire time, giving him a slightly eerie feeling.
While accompanying Zou Beiyuan through the check-in process, Su Ming held his hand the entire time. At that moment, he no longer cared about appearances; Every extra moment of contact counted.
Teacher Song stood nearby, watching them with a mix of relief and heartache. The thought of the long-distance separation and the uncertainty of when they’d meet again brought tears to her eyes.
Zou Beiyuan comforted her patiently, eventually getting Su Ming to promise to visit her often. Only then did she calm down. She hugged her grandson, then Su Ming, wishing them happiness.
Su Ming, too, teared up. Zou Beiyuan pulled off his jacket, draping it over both their heads. In the bustling airport, he carved out a small, dark, intimate space for a fleeting kiss.
As Zou Beiyuan walked through the security checkpoint, he waved to them repeatedly, glancing back every few steps until he disappeared from view.
Su Ming felt a heavy tightness in his chest, like a ball of steel wool scraping at his throat. He stood there dumbfounded, unable to fully grasp that Zou Beiyuan had truly left.
“Let’s go,” Fu Ruoqin said, patting his shoulder. “It’s almost noon. Let’s head back to the city. I’ll treat everyone to lunch.”
Although Su Ming had no appetite due to his bad mood, he couldn’t refuse her invitation and nodded in agreement.
The four of them walked to the parking lot outside the terminal. Song Zhixian got into Fu Ruoqin’s car, while Zou Jingnan climbed into the passenger seat of Su Ming’s car with a large backpack.
Su Ming: ?
“Hehehe,” Zou Jingnan grinned at Su Ming, her smile almost reaching her ears, and called him, “My dear in-law!”
Su Ming raised an eyebrow, feeling a vague sense of foreboding.
Zou Jingnan could barely contain her excitement. Lowering her voice teasingly, she as asked, “It’s you, isn’t it? Shu Yu Ming Jin?”
Su Ming’s eyes widened slightly, feigning confusion, and he shook his head in denial.
That day, he had Zou Beiyuan deliver a signed book to Zou Jingnan, claiming it was from a friend at the publishing house. Since she knew Su Ming had illustrated children’s books before, the excuse was foolproof. She had happily accepted the book and left.
But something must’ve gone wrong for her to now suspect him.
Determined to deny it, Su Ming typed on his phone: [It’s really not me.]
“Don’t pretend,” Zou Jingnan said. “The ink from the signature wasn’t even dry that day—it smudged on my hand!”
Su Ming: …
She pulled the book from her bag, opening to the title page and pointing to the smudged signature. “See? I accidentally smeared it.”
Sure enough, Su Ming sighed inwardly. He should’ve used a pen instead of ink.
But spending so much time with Zou Beiyuan had taught him the art of shameless denial. Keeping his poker face, he typed: [It’s from a friend.]
Zou Jingnan gave him a knowing look, not pressing further but asking instead, “So, can your ‘friend’ personally sign all future editions of their books for me?”
With no way to outmaneuver her, Su Ming put away his phone and nodded reluctantly.
Zou Jingnan burst out laughing, her earlier sadness about her brother’s departure completely forgotten. Her contagious mood even lifted Su Ming’s spirits.
After lunch, Zou Jingnan hitched a ride back to school with Su Ming. Before getting out, she handed him a stack of comics from her bag, asking him to get them “signed by his friend.”
Su Ming agreed, saying he’d let her know when they were ready.
“And this!” she added, pulling out a sealed paper box. “My brother told me to give it to you. He said it turned out so ugly he didn’t dare give it to you himself, afraid you’d laugh at him.”
Su Ming shook the box curiously, his eyes questioning.
“No idea what it is,” she said. “Open it and find out. See you later, Shu Yu Ming Jin!”
The little whirlwind darted out of the car and into the school, her excitement radiating even from her back.
Su Ming stared at the box for a few seconds, unable to resist his curiosity. Turning off the engine, he tore open the packaging.
Inside was a hardcover notebook with a plain cover, likely purchased casually from a stationery store.
Opening the first page, there was a title: “The Story of the Mermaid and the Prince.”
Below it, Zou Beiyuan had solemnly written:
-By User 7115646.
The second page began the story, illustrated as a four-panel comic drawn by Zou Beiyuan. To ensure Su Ming understood, each panel was carefully numbered.
Zou Beiyuan’s artistic skills were evidently lacking—all the characters were stick figures. The only distinction was that female characters had a bow on their heads, while male characters did not.
The mermaid, being male, was bald, with a simple fishtail drawn below.
The plot was borrowed from Andersen’s tale: the mermaid fell in love with a prince on land and sought out a witch, depicted with a bow on her head, to gain legs.
The witch told the mermaid: “I can give you legs, but you will never be able to speak again. If you do, you’ll turn into sea foam unless a human loves you more than they love themselves.”
The witch added, “But that’s impossible, because no one in this world loves another more than themselves.”
The mermaid agreed and promised never to speak again.
The mermaid, now with legs, arrived at the prince’s palace.
The palace wasn’t filled with balls or beautiful maids; instead, it housed soldiers in training.
As it turned out, the kingdom had just been at war with a neighboring nation, and the prince was gravely injured and unconscious. The king offered a great reward to anyone who could heal the prince.
Unable to speak, the mermaid blended in with the crowd of healers and finally sneaked into the prince’s room late at night.
The prince, wrapped in bandages, appeared to be in terrible shape. Zou Beiyuan had drawn the bandages as messy spirals.
In the silence of the night, the mermaid climbed into the prince’s bed and kissed him.
Although the prince didn’t open his eyes, his body reacted in a strange way. Then the mermaid used both his “upper mouth” and his “lower mouth” to do things that could only appear in spicy comics.
True to his preferences, Zhou Beiyuan chose a “riding” position for their first time, even if he couldn’t last forty minutes in real life.
The next morning, the prince recovered completely.
Overjoyed, the king ordered the prince to lead an army for revenge against the neighboring country. The prince brought the mermaid along.
The story then showed pages of the prince demonstrating bravery in battle, while the mermaid cheered him on from the sidelines each time, waving his hands enthusiastically. At night, they would sleep together in increasingly creative positions—some of which Su Ming and Zou Beiyuan hadn’t even tried yet.
Su Ming couldn’t help laughing, amused by how Zhou Beiyuan had secretly imagined such scenarios.
However, some positions seemed impractical to attempt, such as suspending the mermaid from a tree, both of them doing it while riding a horse, or having the prince hold the mermaid upside down by the legs.
Su Ming was almost laughing out loud, wondering what state of mind Zou Beiyuan was in while drawing these ideas.
Eventually, the prince and the mermaid reached the capital of the neighboring kingdom, only to find it guarded by a fearsome monster.
The monster resembled Godzilla, and even had boxing gloves, as Zhou Beiyuan added this detail for comedic effect.
Despite its fearsome appearance, the monster adhered strictly to boxing rules and refrained from breathing fire, making it easy for the prince to defeat it.
However, just as the prince was about to win, the mermaid noticed a soldier on a nearby statue aiming a bow and arrow at the prince. They planned to assassinate the prince if he won!
Unable to get closer to the ring, the mermaid began crying and shouting the prince’s name to warn him.
He spoke!
The mermaid would soon turn into sea foam!
Devastated, the mermaid cried, knowing he couldn’t bear to part from the prince.
The prince dodged the attack thanks to the warning and defeated the monster.
Running to the mermaid, the prince embraced him, asking why he was so upset.
The mermaid replied, “I’m not supposed to speak. If I do, I’ll turn into sea foam unless someone loves me more than they love themselves.”
The prince kissed him and said:
“You fool, I love you more than I love myself!”