073 | (Seventy-two) Ears

Her heart was pounding hysterically inside her chest, a stark contrast to her indignation.

Su Xingmao's emotions froze along with the rain. He uttered vulgar words with gusto, but because he was so indifferent and almost heartless, they didn't sound erotic.

"Besides, do you think I'm having a good time? Su Xingmao, you're not so confident that you think you're really good at it, are you? It's purely a coincidence that you and I are together."

Xie Qingyan firmly believed that she was just unlucky and that he had accidentally caught her red-handed—that was all, and it was definitely not because she absolutely had to be Su Xingmao.

Absolutely not!

Words rushed out of his mouth as if to prove something, and Xie Qingyan finished speaking in one breath.

The pent-up frustration in his chest hadn't subsided when he saw a gloomy look creep onto Su Xingmao's face, which was damp with water.

On this wretched, damp, and humid rainy day, she finally felt a sense of relief. This was so rare, as if the resentment she felt from being neglected by her mother was finally being vented. Her lips moved faster and faster as she spoke, almost as if she were stabbing him with knives, using her words to stab him and add fuel to the fire: "Besides, so what if I slept with you? Don't think you can use that to control me. Without you, I can find other people. There are plenty of people willing to play with me."

A person with thorns always hurts with their words; even the most stubborn rock will feel pain.

He felt a dull, numb pain again, his legs felt like they were walking on clouds, his body felt light, his soul felt like it was floating, and he felt like he was in a vacuum. His head exploded in a chaotic mess, but he couldn't hear anything else.

Only her lips, uttering each word like a pearl, opened and closed.

Was it because they were in the rain? Her voice vibrated with distorted Hertz, indistinct and unclear, as if she were speaking through water, so unreal.

He didn't want to listen.

But ears are not like mouths and eyes; you can't close them when you're unhappy, you can't look at them, you can't talk about them, and you can pretend you don't know.

The ear is the most pitiful organ; it is always listening, hearing the harsh noises from the outside world, and the buzzing of its owner's emotional instability.

Ears can't speak, but they always let sadness know first.

Watermarks silently spread across the dark blue school uniform. Su Xingmao's forearm muscles tensed as he listened silently to Xie Qingyan's declaration, his lips pressed tightly together.

"Are you finished?" Su Xingmao asked calmly.

He suddenly looked up at her, his gaze fixed on Xie Qingyan with a deep, cold intensity.

"Who do you want to play with?" His voice changed, and the short sentence seemed to be repeatedly pushed and squeezed in his throat, as he uttered a few words with difficulty, almost like an interrogation.

She spoke before she could say anything, her body already shivering with cold. Her fingers trembled, and she withdrew, but her mouth still managed to defiantly say, "None of your business. Why should I tell you?"

Su Xingmao's tone was frighteningly deep. Xie Qingyan was a bully who preyed on the weak and feared the strong. She was a little scared, slowly swallowed her saliva, and took a step back.

That's absurd.

She must be out of her mind to discuss bedroom matters with him on the street.

Fortunately, the two had already moved into Chajie Park, where there were few pedestrians, thus avoiding being surrounded by onlookers.

Being alone isn't all good. Right now, with no one around and the rain pouring down, his eyes were a gloomier gray than the overcast sky. Being stared at like that was truly frightening.

Suddenly, her wrist was gripped tightly, causing her to lose her balance and lean forward. In the blink of an eye, Su Xingmao pulled her to the eaves of a small pavilion. Thousands of silver threads, like crystal curtains, separated the rain from her.

The damp, heavy air pressed down on her, and his unnaturally crimson lips hovered before her cheek. The rain was cold and still, but his breath was scalding hot, brushing against her face as if it could burn her skin. He firmly grasped her hand as she tried to struggle, smiled coldly, and stared at her: "There won't be anyone else."

He spoke with certainty as he read the verdict.

In that instant, the gentle exterior vanished, and the good temper was extinguished by the rain.

For the first time, Xie Qingyan truly saw undisguised anger on Su Xingmao's face. His dark eyes were so deep that she could not see the end, and she felt as if she were about to fall into them. Her shoulders trembled slightly uncontrollably.

"You're shivering." The boy's calloused fingertips gently rubbed her cheek, brushing away the raindrops and rubbing the strands of hair clinging to her face. His movements were gentle, but his tone was chillingly cold: "Why are you shivering?"

"Are you cold? Didn't you say you like being in the rain? It's raining heavily now, you should enjoy it."

The boy reached out and caught the raindrops from outside the eaves. The silvery threads weaved between his fingers, leaving only a brief, damp mark before playfully slipping away, impossible for him to catch.

Su Xingmao turned his head and smiled slightly.

Xie Qingyan felt a chill run down her spine, and the smile sent shivers down her spine. Her teeth chattered, and she was unwilling to admit that her trembling was not due to the cold, but because Su Xingmao in front of her made her tremble.

"So, you're lying to me."

He made up his mind, half-squatting down and pressing his head against her chest, listening to the erratic rhythm within her chest: "Xie Qingyan, your heart is beating so fast."

The clattering and chirping sounds were even more intense than the pounding raindrops.

"You're lying, aren't you?"

His fierce momentum weakened: "I didn't..."

"Xie Qingyan, you're always lying to me." Su Xingmao gazed at the rain, the withered autumn leaves swirling in the wind and rain. His face was expressionless, like an unpainted painting, a hazy frame, faintly covered with a layer of cold gray. He muttered to himself, "You've always liked to lie since we were little. You tricked me into doing your homework when we were kids..."

Xie Qingyan has told many lies, mostly clumsy lies he fabricated to boss him around and order him around.

He's full of mischievous ideas that can cause trouble, but occasionally he can also be kind.

During the days he was confined, she would climb over the high courtyard wall, wave to him from under the crape myrtle tree, pretend to be a well-behaved student without changing her expression, knock on the door, and ask his parents to let him go under the pretext of helping with his homework.

Instead, she ran wild and had a great time in Lingquan Mountain. That evening, under the boundless sunset, she softly called his name and said that if he were ever locked up again, she would rescue him like this.

So much time has passed that he can no longer remember his answer.

I only remember that there were a few dim stars hanging over the wilderness at that time, and her translucent blue eyes were brighter than the stars.

The trees on Lingquan Mountain were much more lush than they are now, and the dense canopy cast shadows on her face, making him wish he could become a shadow and fall on her.

…

"You love lying to me the most, because you think I'll always fall for your tricks, right?"

"Don't slander me. How much better are you than me? You act so gentle and refined in front of my mother, but behind her back..." Xie Qingyan found it hard to utter the words he had learned without any instruction.

"You secretly want to sleep with me, don't you?" He casually picked up on her unfinished sentence.

"You pervert!" Xie Qingyan pushed him away in disgust. "You're disgusting."

How could he say that?

She is absolutely right, and he does not deny it.

“Hmm.” Su Xingmao nodded in agreement, “Aunt Xie is very good to me, but I want to make love to her daughter.”