PPS Chapter 9

Chapter 9: “Guess~”

“With his condition, a hearing aid should allow him to hear, and there’s potential for further treatment. Why wasn’t it addressed three years ago?” The doctor looked at the test results in his hand, his expression very serious, a hint of regret in his tone.

It wasn’t a very serious problem, if treated in time three years ago, it would have been resolved by now.

“Can it be treated?” Gu Yusen’s face was grave, the most serious it had been since meeting Chu Zhaoyi.

He had always thought Chu’s adoptive parents loved their child, so why this oversight?

Money? It was impossible that they couldn’t afford treatment.

“Here’s what we’ll do. We’ll start treatment first, and after his condition stabilizes, we can try surgery. Also, you can take him to get a hearing aid now. Fit one for the left ear first; don’t fit the right ear yet, as the condition is relatively more severe. Fitting one side can meet his daily needs for now.”

“Okay.”

Chu Zhaoyi didn’t know what they were talking about, and he hadn’t been out much lately. Since coming out, he had been holding onto Gu Yusen’s hand, refusing to let go even during the examination.

“What’s wrong, Brother Sanmu? Am I really going to become a little deafie?”

[No, taking you to get a hearing aid. Once it’s fitted, you’ll be able to hear sounds.]

“Will I be able to hear Brother Sanmu’s voice?”

[Yes.]

“Then can Brother Sanmu call me A’Yi?”

[Provisionally agreed.]

“How reluctant,” Chu Zhaoyi expressed dissatisfaction with this answer.

[Can you please hurry up and walk faster, so we can get the hearing aid fitted sooner? It’ll save me from typing two extra characters.]

“Oh, alright.”

Gu Yusen held the child’s hand, a strange feeling welling up in his heart, vaguely feeling something was off, but what?

Chu Zhaoyi’s reaction was surprisingly indifferent upon learning that his hearing was about to be restored, showing no joy or excitement. It was as if, for Chu Zhaoyi, being able to hear the sounds of the world didn’t matter.

Impossible.

[Aren’t you happy knowing you’ll be able to hear?]

Chu Zhaoyi’s gaze fell on the words Gu Yusen wrote. His reaction was almost instinctive, his fingers involuntarily tightening their grip, but quickly releasing.

Gu Yusen’s attention was focused on the boy, naturally feeling the pressure from his palm. His gaze slowly shifted to Chu Zhaoyi’s face, wanting to find the answer on that beautiful face.

“Should I be happy?” The boy’s expression showed little change.

Was restoring hearing a good thing?

Gu Yusen stopped, his eyes deeply fixed on Chu Zhaoyi. Chu Zhaoyi’s face was like a colorless painting, without any emotional fluctuations, which made Gu Yusen feel an indescribable unease.

His heart beat slightly faster, a strange premonition spreading in his mind.

He didn’t understand why Chu Zhaoyi seemed so indifferent to the restoration of his hearing. It wasn’t just indifference towards himself, but also a sense of detachment from the world. Perhaps he felt other things were unimportant, which was why he thought hearing was optional.

“What are you thinking about, Brother Sanmu? Let’s go,” Chu Zhaoyi gently tugged on Gu Yusen’s sleeve, trying to get his attention.

His gaze seemed to shift downward unintentionally, but the corner of his eye still vigilantly captured every change in Gu Yusen’s expression. A faint sense of unease arose in Chu Zhaoyi’s heart; he didn’t like Gu Yusen’s scrutinizing gaze.

“Why don’t you want to restore your hearing?” Gu Yusen didn’t move, still standing there.

A rebellious child?

“It’s not that I don’t want to, I…” Chu Zhaoyi didn’t like Gu Yusen exploring these unimportant things, and kicked a small stone under his feet with some annoyance. The stone drew a short arc in the air before disappearing into the dust.

But before he could finish speaking, Gu Yusen interrupted him.

“You can hear.”

“Or rather, you can read lips.”

Chu Zhaoyi paused, realizing that Gu Yusen’s words weren’t written out. But there was no guilt of being exposed, replaced by a heavier frustration. The whole person became visibly anxious, his fingers unconsciously curling, wanting to break free from Gu Yusen’s restraint, but Gu Yusen’s hand was like an invisible chain, firmly binding him.

“So what? So you’re going to be angry with me? Why do you care about this? Is it important, Gu Yusen? It’s not important.”

But at some point, the situation had changed from Chu Zhaoyi holding Gu Yusen to Gu Yusen holding Chu Zhaoyi.

He couldn’t shake it off.

Chu Zhaoyi was a little angry, but found that he couldn’t do anything. He felt powerless and frustrated, and could only stomp his foot in anger.

Gu Yusen was helpless. Why was this person so temperamental? He hadn’t said anything yet, and this little liar was already getting upset. He reached out and turned Chu Zhaoyi’s face, making him look at him as he spoke.

“What are you getting angry about?”

“I’ve been typing for so long, I’m tired. I’m not even angry.”

Chu Zhaoyi didn’t know why, but a sense of grievance surged into his heart, and his eyes turned a little red.

“Then, will you go get a hearing aid?” Gu Yusen knew that everyone had their own secrets, their own stories they didn’t want to tell, and he didn’t need to get to the bottom of it.

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t go,” Chu Zhaoyi’s frustration was smoothed over by Gu Yusen’s simple words, obediently letting Gu Yusen hold his hand.

“Want to hear.”

“Want to hear Brother Sanmu’s voice.”

Saying this, Chu Zhaoyi’s tone became lighter, even humming a little tune.

The emotional change was abnormally fast.

Gu Yusen was choked by Chu Zhaoyi’s straightforward words, and before he could think too much about the meaning of the boy’s words, he heard a familiar tone ringing in his ears, feeling puzzled. Wasn’t this his phone’s ringtone?

Chu Zhaoyi couldn’t hear, he could only read lips. He couldn’t possibly have read the lip movements of the phone’s ringtone.

“Chu Zhaoyi,” Gu Yusen poked the child’s arm.

Chu Zhaoyi turned his head, his gaze falling on Gu Yusen’s lips. “What’s wrong?”

Even though he knew that Chu Zhaoyi was looking at his lips to read them, Gu Yusen was still a little embarrassed, and cleared his throat, suppressing the strange thought.

“The tune you’re humming, that’s my phone’s ringtone.” It should be a coincidence; Gu Yusen was just making conversation.

“Yeah,” Chu Zhaoyi nodded directly.

Gu Yusen was stunned instead.

If that was the case, it made sense. When they first met, Chu Zhaoyi was wary of everyone, but he had an inexplicable sense of reliance on him the first time he saw him.

He even refused to sleep in his bedroom, insisting on sleeping in his, even protesting by staying in the painting studio for three days.

Did they know each other before? Had he seen Chu Zhaoyi before?

“Have we met before?”

“Mmm, mmm,” Chu Zhaoyi nodded, nodded. He never lied to Brother Sanmu. They had met, oh, they had met.

“When? I don’t have any memory of it,” Gu Yusen sized up Chu Zhaoyi. He would definitely have remembered such a beauty if he had ever seen him.

Chu Zhaoyi dragged Gu Yusen’s arm forward, going to get the hearing aid. Why hadn’t he gotten one before? Because he didn’t think hearing was important; all he heard were noisy arguments and disgusting voices.

But now it was different.

He could hear Gu Yusen’s voice.

He could hear Brother Sanmu’s voice.

It must be very nice!

“Guess~”