Cosmic Love Affair

Chapter 22 Sagittarius Five

Xie Li was intimidated by his stern tone, thinking Tan Ke was really angry. He regretted his frivolous behavior and rubbed the spot on his face that had been kissed, saying, “Sorry, sorry, I should have asked you first.”

Xie Li felt like such a jerk, like a scum guy who had forcibly harassed a handsome guy.

Tan Ke grabbed his hand and leaned in closer, “Then your apology should be more sincere.”

Xie Li was truly at a loss, his eyes wide open, “How can it be sincere?”

Tan Ke stared at his rosy lips and then leaned down to kiss him.

It wasn't a childish peck on the cheek, but a real adult-style kiss.

Xie Li's lips were soft and fluffy, like a chestnut soaked in sugar with a sweet aroma.

Tan Ke firmly held the young guy's shoulders.

Xie Li trembled all over, humming unconsciously.

He didn't expect kissing to be like this.

He was powerless and at a loss, his mind went blank, and he even forgot to breathe. He could only reach out and grab the man's clothes randomly, like a drowning person clutching a lifebuoy.

Tan Ke pulled back slightly, his gaze lingering on Xie Li's pink lips.

He reached out and took the hand that Xie Li was clutching his sleeve with. The young guy's soft palm had a little bit of fine sweat.

He held it carefully, completely enveloping Xie Li's hand in his own, gently rubbing it.

He spoke, his hoarse voice filled with restrained desire, saying, “This is what a kiss is like. Have you learned?”

Xie Li's face was as red as the rosy clouds in the sky, but he held back his shyness and met Tan Ke's gaze, nodding gently and asking, “So, do you agree to date me?”

His straightforwardness made Tan Ke unable to bear to tease him any longer.

Tan Ke held his hand tightly, pulling him closer to himself over the console, “Yeah, I agree to date you.”

Xie Li, who had been kissed senseless, had forgotten about being assertive. He was incredibly docile, lying on the console with his head tilted back, his eyes filled with frank longing, “Can you kiss me again?”

Tan Ke was deeply moved.

He used his other hand to brush aside Xie Li's bangs, and kissed the young guy's smooth and plump forehead earnestly, then rubbed his face, “Stop acting cute later, now I have to take you to do something important.”

It was only then that Xie Li realized how bold and embarrassing his action of asking for a kiss was.

He climbed up from the console, his voice soft and weak, “What are we going to do?”

Tan Ke unlocked the car: “Get out, I'll tell you while we walk.”

Xie Li obediently got out of the car, and Tan Ke walked around the front of the car to hold his hand, leading him into the alley.

He then had the chance to observe Tan Ke's hand carefully.

The man's hand was a whole size larger than his, with neatly trimmed nails, long and strong fingers, and a wristwatch that gleamed brightly.

The first hand-holding and the first kiss both happened on the same day.

Xie Li was so happy he felt like flying, but he also thought with a bit of regret, it would be even better if his first love was with this person.

He walked with his head down, almost colliding with the clutter stacked by the alley wall. Tan Ke quickly pulled him over, “When dating, can't you even watch where you're going?”

Xie Li bit his lip and kept laughing.

Holding his hand, Tan Ke said as they walked, “We're going to an English school for the hearing impaired.”

Xie Li was surprised, “Deaf people?”

“Yeah,” Tan Ke carefully avoided the bicycles parked against the alley wall, “After they get cochlear implants, they regain some hearing and need special training to learn English. I'll show you around, and if you're willing, you can be a volunteer.”

Xie Li was puzzled, “But I can't really help them, can I?”

“Of course you can,” Tan Ke said, “They need volunteers who can read aloud. There's no requirement for standard pronunciation. Even if you make mistakes, it's okay. I think you can be just what they need.”

Xie Li was quite surprised, with a subtle excitement, “Can I really help them?”

By the time they finished talking, they had arrived at the place.

An old yard with a hand-written sign hanging at the entrance - “Tomorrow Special English Education Center”.

Through the door, strange sounds of babbling could be heard from inside.

Tan Ke familiarly pushed open the yard gate.

The small yard was a world of its own. Two plots of land were dug out at the entrance, planted with tulips.

Half a grape trellis in front of the house had already climbed up the frame, creating a shaded area. Under the grape trellis, a square table was set, with several children surrounding an elderly woman and reading books.

The children's voices were all very strange, like an old tape recorder with a tangled tape, grating and distorted.

Holding Xie Li's hand, Tan Ke approached and greeted them, “Teacher Yang, I've brought a friend.”

The woman looked over at the sound, immediately stood up with a smile, “You're so busy, why are you still coming here? Come and sit.”

The woman left the group of children who were reading outside and warmly invited them into the house.

Xie Li, led by Tan Ke, couldn't help but be curious and looked back at the group of children around the square table.

There was a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old, who stood out among the eight or nine-year-olds.

The boy felt Xie Li's gaze, looked up and glared at him fiercely. Xie Li felt like he had been stung and quickly turned his head away.

Teacher Yang led the two of them into the house, invited them to sit down, and was about to prepare tea.

Tan Ke stopped her, “Teacher, don't trouble yourself. I just brought him here to have a look. We'll leave shortly.”

Only after entering the house did Tan Ke let go of Xie Li's hand, and their relationship was already clear to everyone.

Teacher Yang sat down opposite the two of them, “Volunteering here is quite hard work, and you need to have a very good temper,” she looked at Xie Li with a smile, “I see this one is still just a young kid…”

Tan Ke also looked at Xie Li, “This is Xie Li. I brought him here today to understand the situation first. Whether to be a volunteer or not is up to his own decision.”

“Okay, Xiao Xie, right? Then let me tell you first,” Teacher Yang nodded, “All the children here have hearing impairments. The youngest is seven years old, and the oldest is fifteen. They are all mute due to deafness. They all have cochlear implants and are now in the language recovery training period. Volunteers come here to read books to them and talk with them, mainly communicating in Chinese and English. The work is very monotonous. Some children, due to their disabilities, are not good at communicating and have irritable personalities, so patience and tolerance are required. It's a rather tough job.”

She paused, emphasizing, “Moreover, there is no payment, only a subsidy for transportation costs. A service period is three months, and you need to come for four hours each week.”

Xie Li was at a loss for a moment and looked to Tan Ke for help. Tan Ke had suddenly brought him here for this kind of thing, and he was completely unprepared.

Tan Ke encouragingly patted his hand, “You can go back and take your time to decide.”

Xie Li hesitated, turned to Teacher Yang and revealed the truth, “But my English is not very good, I might not be suitable.”

“No, no, that's not a problem at all,” Teacher Yang shook her head, “Whether you read well or not is helpful to them. These are children who were born deaf and hadn't heard any sounds before getting cochlear implants. What's important to them is not whether you pronounce correctly, but different pronunciations and sounds that can enrich their experience of sound.”

Xie Li nodded, understanding roughly.

Teacher Yang continued, “Actually, the hardest part is getting along with these children. The previous volunteer quit halfway because they couldn't get along with the children. But the children's training can't stop, so I had to ask people to find new volunteers everywhere. These children are very sensitive. To get along with them, you not only need to be very patient, but also respect them and treat them equally from the heart.”

Tan Ke's phone suddenly rang. He told the two of them and went outside to answer the call.

Teacher Yang casually chatted with Xie Li, “You don't need to rush. You can take your time to decide. I have some recordings here that can be played for them temporarily.”

Xie Li raised his doubt, “Can't we just use recordings all the time?”

Teacher Yang explained to him, “The training is to enable them to communicate normally with people in the future. Recordings are one-way; they only provide listening and cannot offer communication. Some of them can actually make sounds, but because they have been ridiculed and looked down upon, they lose confidence and refuse to speak anymore. I need volunteers who are willing to listen to them from the heart, no matter how strange or unpleasant their pronunciation may be.”

Xie Li was silent for a moment, thinking with his eyes downcast. After a while, he said, “Actually, I somewhat understand that feeling. If I can help them, I'm willing to give it a try.”

Tan Ke answered the phone in the courtyard. As soon as he picked up, Fang Xian asked aggressively, “Do you know Carson is coming to China?”

Tan Ke didn't know, and he was quite calm, “Can't he come?”

Fang Xian was almost furious, “Why does he have to come at this time?”

Just when he was preparing to make a comeback and continue pursuing Shen Zhichuan.

Before leaving the country, Fang Xian had been rejected by Shen Zhichuan to the point of despair. The gifts he sent were not accepted, the doorbell was not answered, and even playing the victim was useless. The usual tactics didn't work on Shen Zhichuan at all.

Fang Xian was very upset. If he stopped pursuing, he felt a bit reluctant; if he continued, he felt like a fool in front of Shen Zhichuan.

It was not until Tan Ke told him about Shen Zhichuan and Carson that Fang Xian was so angry on the plane that he kept pounding his thigh, “He wasn't such a jerk when he was a kid! How could he do such a despicable thing!”

How uncomfortable must Shen Zhichuan be.

Tan Ke couldn't understand, “Do you have to have Shen Zhichuan? Can't you just find someone else?”

Fang Xian retorted indignantly, “Why don't you find someone else? There are so many doctoral students at Landa University, you can find another one too.”

That day, Tan Ke was in a bad mood because of Xie Li's thank-you text message and turned his head without saying a word.

The flight attendant came over to ask if they needed to order a meal, interrupting their conversation.

Fang Xian ordered a glass of whiskey.

After the flight attendant left, Tan Ke said, “Shen Zhichuan is different from Xie Li. Shen Zhichuan is an adult with his own life. When you're with him, one of you will always have to accommodate the other. He won't fail to understand this point. But Shen Zhichuan has accommodated Carson too much and still got no result in the end. He won't believe in this anymore.”

After listening, Fang Xian felt something was not quite right, “What you're saying means that the young guy can accommodate you, right?”

Tan Ke smiled at him, “I can give Xie Li everything he needs. But can you give what Shen Zhichuan wants?”