Finally Being Snatched Away at My Wedding by My Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Attraction of Childishness

After Qi Xiaoxi finished speaking, she also became curious. “I wonder what university Su Yuan-gege attends… Teacher Pei, do you know?”

Pei Xing’s face remained grim.

She realized belatedly, “Ah, you don’t even really know Su Yuan-gege, so you definitely wouldn’t know.”

Pei Xing indeed did not know; he had never asked Su Yuan.

Qi Xiaoxi originally wanted to mention that Su Yuan-gege occasionally asked about him, but seeing his poor expression, she kept her mouth shut.

…

In the evening, the entire village was enveloped in a hazy golden light. Pei Xing suddenly squeezed his brakes and stopped by the stream, his gaze drawn to a leaf swirling in the water.

He seemed to see himself in it an unknown, drifting leaf that would fall at the slightest breeze, which, after plunging recklessly into the stream, was trapped in place by a clear, bright whirlpool.

They were from two different worlds.

Su Yuan would return to the place where he belonged, a place that Pei Xing might spend his entire life and still be unable to reach. There was the path of studying to escape poverty, but there was no ladder leading upward to Su Yuan’s side.

This summer was just an accident, and summers always end.

The harvest of autumn would bring grain and fruit, and it would also carry Su Yuan away from this impoverished small town, back to his rightful place.

If only I had met him a little earlier last summer, he couldn’t help but think; then he could have gone to Su Yuan’s university. But would he really change his original plans for one person?

Thinking of this, he began to loathe his own hypocrisy.

Pei Xing withdrew his gaze, mounted his bike, and returned to the courtyard.

In the yard, Su Yuan was surrounded by a group of stray cats, feeding them. Seeing him, Su Yuan smiled and raised a hand. “Pei Xing, you’re back.”

Pei Xing parked his bike without looking into those eyes, gave a nod, and went to the sink to wash his hands. The water, warmed by the sun, felt uncomfortable against his skin, and he increased the pressure of his scrubbing.

Just then, a pair of clean, slender hands reached over, and a fingertip tapped the back of his hand. “It’s all red.”

Pei Xing stepped aside. Su Yuan invited him to the wetlands to see the ibises later, saying that the ibises would return home at dusk and their feathers would turn a very warm pink.

“I have things to do,” Pei Xing said. “I won’t be going.”

Su Yuan stood by the sink, looking like a cat that had followed someone home only to be shut out at the door. He gave a very soft nod. “Okay.”

“Mm.” Pei Xing turned and went upstairs.

…

Having applied mosquito repellent, Su Yuan got on his bicycle and rode toward the small path in front of the yard gate.

Soon, he encountered Pei Wen riding toward him from the diagonal side of the three-way intersection.

“Su Yuan, you’re going to see the ibises again? Let’s go together!” As he spoke, Pei Wen rode up beside Su Yuan.

As the two turned the corner, the sound of a bicycle chain suddenly rattled behind them.

Pei Wen was the first to call out: “Cousin, you came too?”

Su Yuan lowered his eyes slightly, the corners of his mouth curving upward.

The person on the black bicycle glanced at Su Yuan. “Mm, finished my work.”

The three continued riding toward the depths of the sunset where the large flock of ibises was landing.

Still in the depths of the reeds, Su Yuan sat on the stone, hugging his knees, counting the flying ibises one by one with his eyes, observing their flight and walking movements.

After watching for a while, Pei Wen found it boring and took out his phone to play games.

Pei Xing spent a small portion of the time looking at the ibises, but he uncontrollably glanced at Su Yuan. He hadn’t read many literary books and didn’t know how to describe the feeling of seeing Su Yuan at this moment.

He was like a childish person, completely unaware of his own beauty, which is why he would heedlessly show moving expressions and an upward-tilted tone to everyone, making people misunderstand that they might be the “special” one. Only after jumping into the whirlpool would one realize they were merely one of ten thousand who drowned within.

He felt irritable toward this attraction and even more, he didn’t want anyone else to be attracted.

…

Night fell, and the three began to walk up the slope.

Pei Xing held a flashlight, casting the beam at Su Yuan’s feet as Su Yuan walked upward step by step.

Pei Wen, at the front, reached out a hand to pull him. Su Yuan raised his hand and, in Pei Xing’s peripheral vision, gripped the arm that was holding the flashlight.

Pei Wen didn’t feel awkward; instead, he took on the air of an older brother and told Pei Xing to support him a little.

“Sigh, my cousin is smart and has great grades, but sometimes he’s just socially inept. Even when a girl gathers her courage to hand him a love letter in person, he shows no mercy and rejects her directly.”

Pei Xing looked up at Pei Wen. It was too dark around them, but the chill in his eyes was still fully received by Pei Wen.

“Cousin, don’t be embarrassed. Su Yuan knows all about it; we talked about it while picking plums the other day!”

Su Yuan, having been named, nodded toward him. “It’s quite good. In high school, one should study hard. It’s more appropriate to date in university.”

Pei Xing didn’t see what was so good about that.

Pei Wen ran to the convenience store to buy three glass bottles of soda. After opening them, he handed them to the two and continued following Su Yuan’s lead: “Exactly! My cousin is amazing! He was the Gaokao ‘Top Scholar’ for our Yue City and was admitted to Huaihai University with a tuition waiver and a full scholarship!”

Su Yuan held the glass bottle with both hands, letting out a small gasp of wonder. “Huaihai University is very hard to get into.”

Pei Wen placed a proud hand on Pei Xing’s shoulder. “That’s for sure. My cousin has been incredible since he was a kid!”

“Hey, Su Yuan, what university are you from?”

“Huaihai University.”

On the small path, the two of them froze simultaneously, staring blankly at Su Yuan.

Pei Wen dropped his hand and clapped. “Su Yuan, you’re amazing too!”

Su Yuan smiled and looked at the still-dazed Pei Xing. “When autumn comes, you’ll be my Junior.”

Pei Xing’s mind went blank, and his heart felt as if it had gained a cicada.

So much so that later, no matter how many hardships or obstacles he encountered, he would remember this night that originally had no cicada cries, and Su Yuan waiting for him in the autumn of Huai City.

Pei Xing’s thoughts had already drifted toward the autumn that had yet to arrive. Pei Wen and Su Yuan were still chatting idly.

“Su Yuan, what’s your major?”

“Fine Arts, Painting.”

Pei Xing had guessed it; it felt light and airy.

“My cousin is in the Computer Science department.”

“Hmm, that sounds very ‘heavy’.”

Pei Wen didn’t understand this evaluation, but Pei Xing’s lips curved upward.

…

When the two returned home, Su Yuan stopped at the fork in the stairs, looking down at the glass bottle in his hand with some difficulty.

The next second, Pei Xing reached out and took the unopened soda. “Goodnight.”

After finishing the last sip of soda, he washed the glass bottle and placed it by the window. Pei Xing watched for a while, then reached out and leaned the two glass bottles against each other.

Pei Xing picked up the calendar on his desk, counting the days until autumn’s arrival. His gaze paused; in two days, it would be the anniversary of his parents’ death.

…

In the early morning, Pei Xing came down from the mountain after visiting the graves.

It began to rain. The lake surface surged with white mist, like a piece of frosted glass hazy and blurred, making him think he saw Su Yuan.

“Pei Xing.”

The leaves, washed by rain, were shining. Su Yuan stood in a small dry spot under a tree, his thin arms peeking out from a light purple short-sleeved shirt, one hand holding his arm and gently rubbing it.

Pei Xing ran over holding his umbrella. He had no jacket to drape over Su Yuan, so he could only move closer to block the blowing wind.

“Why are you here?”

Su Yuan took a small step back, his head lowered, answering somewhat hesitantly. “You haven’t seemed very happy these past few days; I was a bit worried about you. You left so early this morning, and I was afraid something was wrong, so I followed…”

Speaking, Su Yuan looked up at his expression. “Then I felt that doing this wasn’t good and wanted to go home, but then it started raining. I’m sorry.”

Perhaps it was because he had just seen his parents, but Pei Xing suddenly felt like he was six years old again back to when his emotions would be noticed and cared for by his parents.

This strange yet familiar feeling echoed in his chest again after twelve years.

Pei Xing took a step forward, the tilted umbrella and his body shielding Su Yuan in a small space. “I’m not blaming you; there’s no need to say sorry. Let’s go home first.”

Walking on the road, he looked at Su Yuan’s shoulders huddled together. His gaze fell on the other boy’s arm, wanting to grasp it, but then he suddenly realized this would be overstepping. He could only tilt the umbrella further.

At that moment, Su Yuan raised his hand and gently hugged the arm Pei Xing used to hold the umbrella. “It’s a little cold.”

His fingers were very cold; in the few times they had physical contact, Su Yuan’s body was always cold. Pei Xing tightened his arm, wanting to share his body heat with him as much as possible.

…

Back home, when he finished brewing ginger soup and brought it up to the room, Su Yuan had just come out of the shower. His hair was already blown dry, resting fluffily on his shoulders like a soft fountain.

Su Yuan sat cross-legged on the sofa, holding the cup, blowing on it, and taking small sips.

“Today is the anniversary of my parents’ death.”

Under Su Yuan’s gaze, he said calmly: “Twelve years ago, my father was in a car accident. The driver responsible was a businessman who came to Fuxian to discuss a partnership.”

Inexplicably, Su Yuan seemed to guess what would happen next.

“Fuxian has no industry. To protect the ibises, agricultural development is also limited. So the matter was handled very quickly. Ten thousand yuan was paid as compensation, and the other party didn’t even show his face. My father would have been very happy; he spent his whole life working desperately to earn money for my mother’s medicine and treatment, wanting to take her for surgery.

“But unfortunately, after my mother heard the news, she passed away that same night.”

The steaming ginger soup in Su Yuan’s cup quickly brought tears to his eyes. With red eyes, he stared at Pei Xing without saying a word.

That was the first time he had seen Su Yuan cry.

Pei Xing, flustered, withdrew the hand he wanted to use to wipe away the tears. Su Yuan took a tissue from him, shaking his head and saying, “I’m crying because I think you’re so sad; don’t comfort me…”

“I’m not sad,” Pei Xing smiled. “It happened a long time ago.”

Su Yuan didn’t believe him, still shaking his head. “No matter how much time passes for a sad event, it will still be sad. Saying it fades with time is just a lie adults tell.”

Pei Xing froze, forgetting to respond.

Su Yuan wiped his tears, grabbed a few tissues, and looked at him seriously. “Pei Xing, you cry. I’ll wipe your tears for you.”

He was suddenly made to laugh, his shoulders shaking as he leaned against the back of the sofa. His body and nerves, which had been tense for many years, seemed to welcome relaxation for the first time.

Su Yuan tilted his head, confusion on his beautiful face, but soon he laughed too. “Fine, laughing is okay too… wait for me.”

He got up and walked into the bedroom. When he came out again, his hands were behind his back, and his steps were light, as if preparing to give someone a surprise.

“Are you ready to receive your gift?” Su Yuan leaned his body, his bright eyes looking toward him.

Pei Xing stood up. “Do I need to close my eyes?”

“Sure.”

It was just a joke, and Pei Xing had only closed his eyes for his parents’ birthday celebrations when he was a child, but looking at Su Yuan’s expectant gaze, he closed them anyway.

A jasmine fragrance hit his face. If he hadn’t failed to hear the sound of breathing, he would have thought Su Yuan had leaned in close.

This still made his fingers curl.

With the soft sound of a button being pressed, Su Yuan’s blurred voice, carrying a bit of static, came through: “Thank you.”

Pei Xing opened his eyes. A Crested Ibis plush doll was held out before him.

It was palm-sized Su Yuan’s hand could grip it. It was pinkish-white all over, and dense stitches could be seen between the fabric. Inside, besides a voice recorder and cotton, something else seemed to be stuffed.

“Jasmine flowers,” Su Yuan said with a smile. “I dried them and stuffed them in with the cotton. It’s very fragrant.”

Pei Xing, in his few seconds of daze, didn’t forget to take the little ibis from Su Yuan’s hand. “You made it?”

“Yes,” Su Yuan pinched his fingers and stood on tiptoe. “I’m not very good at giving gifts; I hope you like it.”

“I like it,” Pei Xing replied quickly. “I will take good care of it.”

Su Yuan let go of his hands and clapped lightly near his chin. “That’s good then.” After speaking, his eyelids drooped again.

Pei Xing’s heart sank. “What’s wrong?”

Su Yuan pursed his lips and pointed to the little ibis in Pei Xing’s hand. “I’m not very satisfied with the recording.”

“It sounds very nice,” Pei Xing said.

Su Yuan looked up, blinked, and suddenly laughed. “It’s not the voice; it’s the content. I was satisfied with it at the time, but I’m not now.”

I think it’s very good.

As he was thinking this, his hand became empty; the little ibis had returned to Su Yuan’s arms, resting near that red mole. “I’ll re-record it and give it back to you.”

Suddenly, Pei Wen’s voice came from the yard.

“Cousin? You’re off today; do you want to go back for dinner? A-Xing?”

He was just about to answer when his wrist was grabbed by Su Yuan. The two of them crouched down by the window, hiding from Pei Wen’s line of sight.

Pei Xing raised an eyebrow.

Su Yuan looked at him, his large eyes flashing, and whispered: “It wasn’t easy for you to have a day off today; just rest at home. I can play with you.”