The man quickly averted his gaze.
After the man passed by, Su Yao watched Zeng Bitian’s mouth move incessantly as he spoke, but she couldn’t hear any sound. Her mind was only thinking about where that voice just now came from.
Was it another auditory hallucination?
Su Yao pressed her temples; it seemed she was really tired lately.
“Miss Su, are you feeling unwell?”
“Hmm?” Su Yao looked up. “Oh, it’s nothing, just work-related issues.”
Zeng Bitian nodded knowingly. “It’s best to strike a balance between work and rest. Don’t let work exhaust you. After we finish eating, I’ll accompany you for a walk in the park.”
With an extremely familiar tone, as if they had already known each other before this meal.
Su Yao was absent-minded, not paying attention to what was being said. She took her bag apologetically and smiled, “Sorry, I need to visit the restroom.”
“… Alright, go ahead,” Zeng Bitian said.
Splashing some water on her face, Su Yao felt more awake. Looking into the mirror, she saw her pale face, but she couldn’t shake off thoughts of the man who couldn’t speak.
Su Yao had a gut feeling that her auditory hallucinations were related to that man.
To verify her suspicions, Su Yao hurried out of the restroom, intending to find the man and ask him about it. However, after she came out and looked around, she couldn’t find him anywhere.
Could it be that she wasn’t just hallucinating but also having delusions?
To avoid Zeng Bitian, Su Yao walked halfway around and approached the front desk, asking the cashier, “Excuse me, did a man come in here just now? About this tall,” she indicated a height with her hand, and continued, “wearing a black coat, very fair, very handsome.”
The cashier hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Yes.”
It wasn’t a delusion. Su Yao breathed a sigh of relief. “Do you know which table he was sitting at?”
“He just left with his friend.”
Su Yao almost rushed out to chase after him, but then she saw Zeng Bitian’s back as he looked at the bill.
She came to her senses. She shouldn’t act impulsively.
It must have been her imagination running wild.
Hearing the voice of a mute?
That couldn’t be possible.
*
After ending a blind date, Su Yao felt dizzy and overwhelmed.
It was because Zeng Bitian talked too much.
But what disgusted Su Yao the most was his ambiguous appraisal.
“Miss Su didn’t eat much. Are you on a diet? To be honest, Miss Su’s current figure is already great, well-proportioned. If you lose more weight, you might look dried-up. In the future, when we’re together, if I hug you, I might just break you. What do you think?”
That was the last straw that broke the camel’s back.
Splitting the bill, leaving the restaurant, Su Yao politely declined Zeng Bitian’s offer to accompany her home.
“I suddenly remembered I have something to give to my friend. She’ll be here soon. Mr. Zeng, you should go ahead, and I’ll wait for my friend.”
Zeng Bitian looked deeply at Su Yao, unexpectedly didn’t insist further, bid goodbye, and headed towards the subway station with his briefcase.
Su Yao stood there for a moment, confirmed that he had left, then turned and walked away. There wasn’t any friend she was waiting for; it was just an excuse. Her rented apartment wasn’t far from there; she could get there in a twenty-minute walk.
The chilly autumn wind felt like winter’s cold. Su Yao buried her face in her scarf, walking slowly on the grid-patterned pavement, taking one step at a time. Occasionally, she sped up, taking two steps per grid.
If she tried to take three steps per grid—
As it turned out, she might bump into someone.
The person walking in front suddenly stopped, and Su Yao couldn’t stop in time. Her forehead lightly bumped into a soft wool coat. She immediately straightened up and blurted out, “Sorry.”
The man who was bumped turned around, and Su Yao’s face lit up with surprise. “It’s you?”
The man who couldn’t speak.
Up close, Su Yao could better appreciate the man’s superior facial features: deep eyes, high nose, beautiful lips with a well-defined cupid’s bow, handsome and charming, piercing straight to the heart.
What a coincidence to meet three times in one day.
But even more unbelievable things were yet to come.
Do you know me?
Su Yao covered her ears, staring helplessly as the man pointed to his mouth and shook his head.
He was indicating in the most straightforward way possible that he couldn’t speak.
He was clearly mute.
But at the moment Su Yao laid eyes on him, she heard a sentence, seemingly coming from nowhere.
It was clear, close, and even… ambiguous. It was like a whisper in her ear, with a slight hoarseness, pleasant to the ears.
Su Yao struggled to compose herself. Trembling, she asked, “Are you trying to ask me if I know you?”
The man froze, his light-colored pupils clear and bright.
Who are you?
Her absurd speculation was about to be confirmed. Su Yao inexplicably told him, “I’m Su Yao.”
There was a change in the man’s eyes. He slightly opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
I don’t know you.
He had only returned to the country recently, and apart from Sister Liang Mo, he hardly had any friends. Or rather, he could count the people he knew on one hand.
Su Yao swallowed hard. She could hardly believe what was happening. Her mind was a mess, even more chaotic than when dealing with Tian Lijun’s inexplicable anger.
She stammered, “I know you don’t know me, and I don’t know you either. No, what I mean is, whether we know each other or not doesn’t matter. The key is that I seem to be able to…”
Liang Chuyuan.
Those amber eyes could speak.
Su Yao’s heart seemed to stop beating. She felt like she was being swallowed by the sea, her hands and feet ice-cold, unable to breathe.
“…Liang, Liang Chuyuan, right?”
It was phrased as a question, but her tone was very certain.
Liang Chuyuan lowered his gaze. Do you know what I’m thinking?
If Su Yao’s previous words could be considered self-replies, then what about the name?
Liang Chuyuan confirmed that he didn’t know Su Yao.
Could it be…
The voice in her ear became increasingly absurd, and Su Yao quickly interrupted him, “I’m not a fraud! I’m definitely not a stalker, nor have I specifically inquired about you. If you hadn’t told me just now, I wouldn’t have known your name is Liang Chuyuan. I’m telling you all this now, just because—”
Just because things were getting too weird, and she didn’t want to bear the pressure alone.
“…Forget it.”
Seeing the man on guard, Su Yao suddenly lost her vigor.
Whether she could hear this person’s voice or not, it seemed to have no effect on her. The world was full of wonders; perhaps others could also hear the voice in his heart.
“Sorry for bothering you.”
After giving Liang Chuyuan one last glance, this time, he didn’t think of anything.
Su Yao lowered her eyelids, inexplicably disheartened. She bypassed Liang Chuyuan and prepared to go home, this time without stepping on the grid, so as not to bump into anyone.
But after taking only two steps, her wrist was grabbed.
Su Yao didn’t immediately turn around.
She absentmindedly thought, if Liang Chuyuan could speak, wouldn’t he say “wait a moment” before grabbing her hand?
Taking a deep breath, preparing herself to face those eyes that could speak, Su Yao finally turned around. But in the moment of eye contact, her psychological defense collapsed completely. Her ears were uncontrollably burning.
Liang Chuyuan told her with his eyes: I believe you.