Finally Being Snatched Away at My Wedding by My Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Selection Criteria

Su Yuan seemed completely unaware of the ambiguity in his words, still gazing at him with eyes quieter than the night. “Come on.”

Pei Xing opened his mouth, but before he could speak, his arm was grasped. His feet, as if no longer under his own control, followed behind Su Yuan into the room glowing with warm light.

Passing through the living room and the workspace, he entered Su Yuan’s bedroom for the second time. His eyes were fixed on the top of Su Yuan’s head, and he nearly tripped over the robot vacuum working at his feet.

“Look!” Su Yuan let go and pointed toward the balcony.

Three strings of different colored aluminum cans hung there. The difference was that these cans had been cut into small lanterns and wind chimes of various sizes and shapes, spinning on their own in the night breeze.

The shape of the wind.

Pei Xing couldn’t help but look at Su Yuan’s hair. The fine, soft strands were lifted by the breeze, revealing his snow-white neck that was usually hidden. A smile still hung on the corner of his mouth, sparkling like moonlight reflecting in a stream.

“You made these yourself?”

He needed to say something to divert his attention.

Su Yuan nodded, walked to the balcony, and began introducing them one by one. “This one is ‘Little Butterfly.’ First, I used a utility knife to cut slits in the can, then used pliers to separate and fix them bit by bit until they became butterfly wings. Does it look good?”

He didn’t speak; his gaze lowered slightly toward Su Yuan’s fingers.

As if reading his thoughts, Su Yuan proactively raised both hands, ten fingers spreading out obediently. “No injuries. I wore gloves.”

Pei Xing looked away and walked to Su Yuan’s side, catching a spinning can. “There seems to be no sound.”

Su Yuan gave a very soft “Mm” and leaned against the balcony railing, saying seriously, “I like quiet environments.”

“Is that one of the reasons you came here?” Pei Xing let go, allowing the can to continue spinning, and leaned against the railing diagonally opposite Su Yuan. “Is your family okay with you living outside alone for two months?”

Su Yuan didn’t look like he had much experience taking care of himself. The renovation costs for the rental were high, the ingredients delivered were expensive, and even the water he drank was imported sparkling water in glass bottles.

Thus, he found it even stranger that Su Yuan’s family would be willing to let him leave their side.

“Yes, they indulge me most of the time,” Su Yuan said, though his eyelashes lowered a fraction.

His upper eyelids were nearly translucent, the dark blue and light purple capillaries clearly visible. A thin double eyelid fold sat there softly; the corners of his eyes tilted up slightly, and when he opened them, his lashes would spread like a small black umbrella.

Now, this umbrella was closed, sitting lonely in a corner.

Driven by some inexplicable impulse, Pei Xing suddenly asked him, “Why do you look unhappy?”

Su Yuan looked up, his lips parting slightly. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes before he smiled. “Hmm… sometimes I worry I won’t be able to become what they expect. Even if they don’t say it, I know they have expectations of me.”

Su Yuan turned around, his arms propping him up on the railing as he stood on his tiptoes. “But it seems that here, I don’t have to satisfy anyone’s expectations.”

Not satisfying anyone’s expectations?

What a naive thought.

Pei Xing suddenly thought of himself. From childhood to now, every teacher, classmate, and school leader had given him an oddly consistent evaluation: “Shining Gold.”

His impoverished background and the hardship of losing his parents at a young age were merely the hammers that tempered this piece of “gold,” labeling him with the logical and warm tag of a “prodigy from a humble house.” But he wasn’t; he didn’t have a photographic memory. Everything he had, he earned through bitter struggle.

Pei Xing knew very well that he went along with people’s praise and satisfied their expectations simply because he didn’t want to look pitiful.

And Su Yuan looked…

Su Yuan gazed into the quiet distance, his light eyes simple and pure, yet tinged with a lingering sadness.

Beautiful and pitiful.

Pei Xing lowered his eyes, wondering how he could use “beautiful” to describe a member of the same sex, and even more why he felt a pampered young master from a wealthy family was “pitiful.”

By unspoken agreement, they did not continue the topic. When Pei Xing left, he told Su Yuan that he shouldn’t hang those things inside the house, as he might get cut by accident.

“Okay. Then when you have time, we can hang them on the tree together, all right?”

Su Yuan tilted his head to look at him, his pouting tone betraying a certainty that “you will definitely agree with me.”

Pei Xing realized too late that he had said yes.

“Wait.” Su Yuan called out to him.

Pei Xing turned back. Su Yuan was holding a pot of flourishing jasmine.

There were no stains on the dark green leaves, as if the owner had wiped them bit by bit with a towel after every watering. The snow-white jasmine emitted bursts of fragrance, swirling around Su Yuan and being carried by the wind into Pei Xing’s chest.

Su Yuan gave a very sweet smile. “Every time you come, you look at it. This is for you.”

Pei Xing didn’t move, appearing to hesitate over whether to argue against this incorrect observation. He just felt this pot of jasmine looked a lot like Su Yuan.

“I’m not very good at raising flowers,” Pei Xing said truthfully.

Su Yuan didn’t push further. As if reluctant to part with it, he quickly put the jasmine back in front of the stained-glass window. “Okay. Then if you still want to see it, you’re welcome to come to my room. I’ll prepare a different gift for you, too.”

The second sentence was said very quickly, as if he were afraid of the first proposal being rejected.

Pei Xing also default-skipped the first sentence. “Why give me a gift?”

“Thank you for taking care of me last time.”

Pei Xing recalled Su Yuan lying on the bed that day, the way he opened his eyes and smiled at him, and that soft fingertip lingering on his cheek.

“It’s a deal then.” Su Yuan looked at him, slowly walking toward him. “Next time I give you a gift, you must accept it.”

Pei Xing had received many gifts, but without exception, he returned them. Anonymous ones were sent to the teacher’s office. He used a cold refusal that “trampled on others’ sincerity” to avoid things that would drain his energy.

However,

Too many unexpected things had already happened this summer.

So he said okay and bid Su Yuan goodnight.

“Bye-bye.” Su Yuan raised a hand to the side of his head, his four closed fingers twitching a few times like a puppy’s ears.

He definitely knows he’s being cute doing that.

Which makes it even cuter.

Pei Xing thought.

…

That night, lying in bed, Pei Xing couldn’t avoid thinking about what Su Yuan would give him. Then he thought of that book, and then of the red mole on his collarbone.

The red mole gradually turned into soft morning light, shining through the square window onto his face.

Shower, head out.

Qi Xiaoxi was chewing gum, flipping through her book page by page.

Pei Xing glanced over, estimating she was almost finished. His gaze fell on Qi Xiaoxi’s wrist and noticed she was wearing a wristguard on her right hand as well. “Isn’t it hot?”

Without looking up, Qi Xiaoxi knew what he was asking. “Su Yuan-gege gave it to me as a birthday present. It’s very breathable.”

He didn’t even know when Su Yuan had celebrated Qi Xiaoxi’s birthday, so he said nothing more and continued grading the English essay.

Suddenly, Qi Xiaoxi put down the book and asked if he would date once he got to university.

Pei Xing had no intention of answering, but inexplicably, he vaguely felt this might have something to do with Su Yuan.

“Why are you asking that?”

“Sigh, Su Yuan-gege told me to work hard to leave this place and go to university. Then I can escape a lot of things and people I don’t like, and see a broader sky. Even if I don’t want to look at the sky, looking at handsome guys is fine too. So I asked him what type he liked. He said he likes someone tall, gentle, good at studying, and most importantly, someone who takes care of people. Finally, there’s one point that must be met, which is”

Pei Xing pricked up his ears, but Qi Xiaoxi was called away by an elder outside the door to pick up a phone call from her father.

His attention returned to the essay. He circled a wrong word, then snapped out of it and crossed it out.

Qi Xiaoxi returned quickly, but she seemed to have entirely forgotten what she had just been saying. She picked up her book and continued flipping.

The person at the desk waited for a moment, then spoke: “You didn’t finish just now.”

“‘I’ll tell you next time.'”

Pei Xing’s face darkened as he turned to look at Qi Xiaoxi.

Qi Xiaoxi widened her eyes, looking intimidated. “I’m not teasing you, Teacher Pei! Those were Su Yuan-gege’s exact words. He said, ‘When you get a perfect score on the Cloze test, I’ll tell you next time.'”

Pei Xing’s expression softened slightly. He put down the essay. “I ended class early last time; I’ll make it up to you now.”

“Huh?”

“Come over and fix the essay. We’re going to practice Cloze tests… and reading comprehension.”

…

In the evening, Pei Xing passed a fruit stall. Catching sight of the peaches by the road, he bought one with a reddish tint and rode home.

At the yard entrance, Su Yuan and Pei Wen were talking and laughing. They arrived a step before him and raised their hands in greeting.

Pei Wen grinned, showing his teeth. “Cousin! Su Yuan and I picked a lot of plums. They’re incredibly sweet! I’ll take them in to wash first.”

Pei Xing watched Pei Wen who was barely 180cm walk into the yard. He said nothing, shifting his gaze to Su Yuan.

The warm sunset glowed on his face, making the fine downy hair shimmer. The eyes beneath his brows were like two stars that had lit up early, watching him without blinking.

“Pei Wen said you like plums,” Su Yuan leaned his bike against the wall. “So we picked a few.”

Pei Xing gave a low “Mm,” parked his bike, and went to see if the inept Pei Wen was going to blow up the water vat.

He took the washed plums from Pei Wen, carried them back to the kitchen, pulled off the stems one by one, rinsed them several times, and then soaked them in fruit and vegetable wash.

The ingredients for Su Yuan’s meals were delivered by a specialist every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday morning. Fruits were sealed in bags, and the kitchen would be disinfected. He couldn’t just eat outside food.

When buying the peach, he had hesitated for a long time, not expecting Su Yuan and Pei Wen to go pick plums. There were plum trees on the way to the wetlands—so they went to see the ibises together?

After washing the plums, Pei Xing returned to the stone table, his peripheral vision catching Su Yuan being made to laugh by Pei Wen.

Pei Wen was telling funny stories from high school. He picked up a plum and handed it to Su Yuan. “We grew up eating plums; we’re experts at picking them. This one is definitely sweet!”

“Thank you,” Su Yuan waved his hand gently. “I don’t eat food touched by others.”

Pei Wen froze for a moment, then chuckled sheepishly. “Hehe, no problem! City people are particular, I know. Then pick some out for yourself! Cousin, you eat too!”

Pei Wen’s voice is so loud, every sentence is an exclamation mark, and he isn’t gentle at all, he thought.

“Is it good?” Su Yuan asked him.

Pei Xing nodded, the slightly tart flesh blocking the words he wanted to ask.

“I ran into Pei Wen on the way back from seeing the ibises. He said he was going to pick plums and mentioned you liked them too, so I went along.” Having finished speaking, Su Yuan picked up a plum and began to eat in small bites.

Pei Xing looked up at Su Yuan. The two locked eyes for a second before looking away simultaneously.

After eating the plums, Pei Wen said goodbye and disappeared into the night, humming a song.

Only the two of them were left in the small yard. It was as quiet as the orange lamp on the wall; a few persimmon flowers were blown down nearby.

The plum Su Yuan had picked first had been eaten for a long time, with more than half still remaining. His pink-tinged fingers pinched it, making Pei Xing think of peaches again.

“Do you want to eat a peach?” Pei Xing spoke first.

Su Yuan suddenly laughed, lowering his head slightly. His voice was very soft in the night breeze. “You finally asked me?”

“I’ve been staring at that peach for a long time.”

Pei Xing rubbed the back of his neck, stood up, and took the peach to the kitchen to wash, peel, and slice it, finally adding a fruit fork.

Su Yuan was always very quiet when eating, as if whatever entered his mouth was worth savoring in detail. Pei Xing wanted to stay but couldn’t find a reason, so he just lowered his head and ate plums.

After finishing the peach, Su Yuan took the plum from his hand. “The one you picked should be very sweet.”

Pei Xing stared blankly as Su Yuan slowly walked upstairs.

That night, a peach appeared in his dreams.

…

Bright light spilled onto his eyelids. Pei Xing woke up with a dry throat. Standing by the window drinking water, his gaze unconsciously shifted toward the balcony where the white gauze curtains drifted.

The daytime schedule remained unchanged.

Pei Xing looked at Qi Xiaoxi, who had gotten a perfect score on the Cloze test yesterday, and couldn’t help but speak: “Did you forget something?”

“Is it Teachers’ Day already? Is it almost Teacher Pei’s 211 [Feb 11th] birthday? I haven’t finished my book yet… oh!”

Qi Xiaoxi closed the book, enlightened.

“Su Yuan-gege told me. He said the most important point is: they must be from the same school as him, because he doesn’t accept long-distance relationships.”