Finally Being Snatched Away at My Wedding by My Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Emotional Decision

The few seconds of silence on the other end of the line made Su Yuan feel like a precarious star on the edge of a cloud. He squeezed his phone. “Pei Xing.”

“Were the stray cats who came to find me very disappointed?”

He stiffly shifted the topic.

“Yes, they miss you.” Pei Xing’s speaking speed suddenly quickened. “It didn’t rain today. The sun was very strong; the leaves and the stream were heated until they were scalding. The plums are even sweeter than the ones from that day. I couldn’t find any redder peaches at the fruit stall, so I couldn’t make the peach shaved ice…”

“Pei Xing.”

Su Yuan laughed and interrupted him, burying his face in the bedding. “Are you trying to coax me?”

The person on the other end went quiet for a few seconds.

Su Yuan seemed to see him sitting behind his desk, fingertips curled, Adam’s apple rolling up and down. Pei Xing would do that when he stole glances at him it wasn’t obvious, but it happened many times.

Su Yuan flipped over and sighed softly, his sadness reaching a point where it could hardly be hidden. “They gave me a Crested Ibis. A jade ibis. They said it’s very beautiful, very much like me.”

A declarative sentence; it sounded like sharing a piece of good news. The optimal response would be to follow along with the statement.

Pei Xing’s fingers, however, gripped tighter. “I’m sorry to hear that. You must be very sad.”

For some reason, at that moment, Pei Xing felt as if he could see Su Yuan’s moist eyes. He had no experience comforting people; he wanted to say more, but could only find this clumsy sentence.

The only thing Pei Xing was certain of was that Su Yuan was very sad.

Su Yuan brought the phone a bit closer. “Mm, I am very sad. I like the ibises that fly, not ones locked in a box and labeled as ‘fragile’.”

Saying such things would usually be scolded as being ungrateful. Having a wealthy family and doting relatives, and fulfilling the conditions they set “for your own good,” was what he was supposed to do. But he really didn’t want to be a piece of fragile cargo locked away in a high place.

“Su Yuan is not a fragile ibis.”

Pei Xing seemed to understand what he meant, answering him without hesitation in an affirmative tone.

“Is that so?” Su Yuan chuckled softly.

Asking back was a way to elicit a more certain answer. Pei Xing did not disappoint him. “Mm, you aren’t. You’re still missing one flavor each of the meat pies and the shaved ice. And that ibis… Xinxin, I’ll go with you to see the ibises.”

Before the call hung up, he laughed at Pei Xing, saying it felt like he was calling his name.

Pei Xing neither denied nor admitted it.

Su Yuan took his medicine and curled his body into the quilt, placing his palm over his left chest. This open secret it seemed he could only escape it in Fuxian.

In front of Pei Xing, he had a complete heart.

…

The next day, Su Yuan finally handed over the room code he had been thinking about for a long time. He asked Pei Xing to take good care of the jasmine and tropical plants inside, and reminded him to bring cat treats and canned food to the stray cats so they wouldn’t be disappointed.

[Pei Xing: Not seeing you, they will always be disappointed.]

A beautiful light flashed in Su Yuan’s eyes, like a star blinking at the edge of a cloud. Su Zhen’s secretary arrived with documents, interrupting his movement to reply.

“Secretary Song.”

“Young Master, the matter has been implemented and can be resolved within today.” Song Huaiyuan handed him the file. “This is the information.”

Su Yuan flipped through it briefly. The photo of Pei Xing’s father on horseback in the grasslands of the Kol region explained Pei Xing’s tall stature and rugged features. The couple married and had their child in Fuxian; Pei Xing took his mother’s surname. His thin lips and ears also looked very much like his mother’s.

Just as he was about to set it down, the cause of Pei Xing’s mother’s death suddenly grabbed his attention.

[Sudden Heart Attack]

…

The banquet in the manor was a whirl of clinking glasses and noisy chatter.

Su Yuan did not participate, absentmindedly pruning flower branches in the conservatory. On his way back to the villa, he happened to stumble upon politicians smoking near the rose bushes.

“Look at the way Chu Xiao is acting like a lapdog at the banquet. Really, after the Chu family fell, they can only rely on the Su family to scrounge for a bone to eat.”

“Psh, who doesn’t want to climb onto the Su family? In my view, it’s just a pity their young master is so frail and sickly, with heart disease even… though, if he were a girl, the doorstep would be worn down by suitors. Why would it be Chu Xiao’s turn to show such attentiveness?”

“Haha, if he really were a girl, Chu Xiao would probably divorce his wife immediately, right?”

Su Yuan walked over and, with one snip, cut off the cinnamon tree branch above their heads. “No smoking here.”

The two turned around, saw it was him, and immediately stomped out their cigarettes, picked them up, and apologized repeatedly before leaving. Su Yuan looked at the scorched patch of lawn, knelt down, and used his fingers to smooth it out bit by bit.

Chu Xiao stepped out from around a corner and slowly helped him up. “Xinxin, the sun is so strong, why are you still outside? Go inside quickly.”

He gave an “Mm” and walked slowly into the villa.

Returning to his room, Su Yuan sat cross-legged on the carpet, his phone placed neatly in front of him. On the left side of the chat box, white text long and short filled the entire screen.

The door was pushed open after a soft knock.

Chu Fei poked his head in. “Su Yuan, are you okay? I knocked very softly just now, did I scare you?”

Su Yuan flipped his phone over, shook his head, and asked why he had come.

“Sigh, my brother told me to come keep you company. I wanted to come myself, too,” Chu Fei grabbed a throw pillow for padding and sprawled in front of Su Yuan. “Curse it! I’m still heartbroken over that ex-girlfriend who used a ‘honey trap’ to sneak in…”

Su Yuan smiled and leaned against the sofa. “Is it ‘true love’ this time?”

“True love?” Chu Fei shook his head. “You’re probably the only one who believes in that, right? I can only get my hands on my trust fund after I get married. If I really went looking for true love in this world, I’d be poor for the rest of my life, okay?”

Su Yuan took a card out of his wallet and tossed it to him. “Just say if you want pocket money.”

“Thank you, Su Yuan-gege! Su Yuan-gege is the best…!” Chu Fei gave Su Yuan a quick hug. “By the way, Su Yuan, you’re probably not going back to Fuxian, right? School starts in two weeks. Shall we go to the seaside for a few days?”

Su Yuan hugged his knees, his long eyelashes hiding the light in his eyes. His voice was very soft. “I don’t know.”

This summer was the first time he had the urge to enter someone else’s life. But it seemed that in Pei Xing’s life, a second heart patient should not appear.

But he couldn’t ignore Pei Xing’s proactive approach. Su Yuan suffered from insomnia all night. Before the thought of calling Pei Xing arrived, his “grounding” came first.

…

Dusk was always lonely. Even the aluminum can wind chimes on the persimmon tree weren’t spinning; they just hung there quietly.

Pei Xing sat at the stone table in the yard. The lawyers, officials, and the perpetrator from back then who had crowded the yard earlier had long since left, yet he felt as if he were still trapped there.

The perpetrator’s compensation money and tearful pleas for forgiveness didn’t cause much change in his expression.

He thought he was thinking of his parents, so he went to the mountain again.

But when he returned to the yard, that feeling that had trapped him for twelve years without being noticed enveloped him once more. He went to Su Yuan’s room to water the plants and clean, then picked up cat treats and sat at the yard entrance to feed the cats.

Pei Xing thought for a long time and began to accept the fact that he was very lonely.

The sudden compensation money could fix his parents’ graves, cover his four years of university fees, and allow him to slow his pace… Su Yuan’s face surfaced in his mind.

The Su Yuan who had red-rimmed eyes and shed tears during his calm narration.

Two unexpected things happened this summer: the perpetrator’s remorse, and his tenant letting him move into the small courtyard, proactively offering to pay him rent and specifically emphasizing the number 6000.

Slowly, Pei Xing lowered his head and buried his face in his knees. This movement reminded him of Su Yuan. Like an ostrich.

He took the pink-and-white ibis from his chest. With a squeeze of his fingers, the scent of dried jasmine and Su Yuan’s voice came through together. The stray cats at his feet listened intently with him to the three words Su Yuan had left in the little ibis.

The night was calm and waveless, like a pool of stagnant water.

“I miss Su Yuan so much.”

Pei Xing snapped his head up and looked at Qi Xiaoxi, who was sprawled over the desk. His brow furrowed. “Show some respect; call him ‘gege’.”

Qi Xiaoxi looked at him, her expression becoming very amusing, one eyebrow up, one down, and the middle scrunched together. “Teacher Pei, why do you suddenly care about this?”

Pei Xing turned slightly and continued grading test papers. “Because it sounds strange.”

“Oh~” Qi Xiaoxi picked up the book on the desk and propped up her chin. “Teacher Pei, you’re only one year older than me and two years younger than Su Yuan-gege. Do you call him ‘gege’ too?”

Pei Xing’s thin eyelid twitched. He reached out and took the book from the table. “Confiscated.”

Qi Xiaoxi popped two pieces of gum into her mouth and waved her hand. “Take it, take it. I finished it anyway. That very, very fragrant jasmine bookmark inside belongs to Su Yuan-gege; don’t lose it.”

…

At night, Pei Xing opened the book; the fragrance was overwhelming.

It really was very fragrant.

Two thin pink ribbons dangled from the top of the bookmark, which depicted a little boy holding a jasmine flower. He looked at it for a long time and realized Su Yuan had drawn it. The little boy had no face; in his other hand, he held a diamond heart.

[A soft person]

[You possess a heart as shining and resilient as a diamond.]

It started to rain outside. It was the third night Su Yuan hadn’t replied to his messages.

The sound of raindrops hitting the glass was very light, like the sound of speaking. He rubbed his thumb over the red mole on the back of the pure white book cover; it didn’t feel like anything special at least, not the feeling he was expecting.

Movies and literary books were far removed from Pei Xing, yet this summer they were like raindrops blown onto a desk by the wind, hitting him unexpectedly and giving him no chance to refuse.

He read very slowly, word by word. His movements when turning the pages were always different, as if he were imagining how the owner of this book turned the pages.

[The grievances between us have finally turned into a sudden rain.]

[But this is just my wishful thinking.]

Pei Xing closed the book and picked up the little ibis by his bed. He stubbornly pressed it, and Su Yuan’s voice came through again.

“I miss you~”

Pei Xing fell into regret once more. During that phone call the other night, he should have answered Su Yuan honestly.

One must always pay a price for their rationality.

…

Pei Xing lived his unchanging life according to schedule, rushing from one study room to another, filling all the blanks with heavy work. As soon as he stopped, he would look at the little ibis in his backpack.

In fact, this wasn’t very effective.

He thought Su Yuan wouldn’t want to stay in a dark backpack.

He had called Su Yuan, but it was still switched off. After all the opening lines and excuses he had carefully prepared were rendered useless.

Moonlight was like water. Pei Xing sat at the courtyard entrance, oblivious to the chirping of insects in the yard. On the ground, besides a small bowl he’d folded from a leaf to hold canned food for the cats, there was also a large patch of grain and millet.

Small birds are very timid; with him there, they didn’t dare to land.

The yard entrance was pitch black. The moon was obscured by flower-like clouds. The “flowers” were slowly scattered by the wind; there were signs that the moonlight might reappear.

The cats’ ears twitched. They raised their heads and looked back in unison. Light steps and soft tails wrapped around a pair of slender ankles.

Su Yuan stood before him.

In the flickering moonlight of the summer night, Su Yuan’s smile flashed by. He raised a hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind his ear. “Pei Xing, there are so many fireflies over there. Do you want to go see them?”

Su Yuan, having not walked for a long time, was still not quite adjusted. He gripped Pei Xing’s arm, only just managing to walk into the depths of the meadow. Fireflies surrounded him as if they had been waiting for him for a long time.

He looked up at Pei Xing, who was staring at him without blinking, and the corners of his mouth curved. “What do you want to ask?”

Pei Xing didn’t speak. He reached out his hand and gently closed it. “For you.”

“My mother said that if there are fireflies near your home, you won’t get lost even on the darkest night.”

Su Yuan lowered his eyes, gently touching the firefly in Pei Xing’s palm. “I was delayed by some things, so I came back late. When I called you, I really wanted to see you. Ah”

Su Yuan suddenly widened his eyes. “Pei Xing, your heart lit up.”

Pei Xing looked down. A firefly had landed on his heart, blinking on and off.

The heat of the night was dissipated by Su Yuan’s eyes looking at him.

Pei Xing had never seen such a straightforward and sparkling pair of eyes. When looking into them, it felt as if the burning sun from the daytime had reappeared in his chest.

…

Su Yuan entered the room and first went to see the jasmine on the windowsill, his fingertips lightly brushing over the leaves.

He propped one hand on the windowsill, his shoulders slightly hunched, his eyes peeking at the person by the door. “Pei Xing, you really took good care of it. The room is so clean, too. Thank you.”

Pei Xing glanced at the clock on the wall; it was already past nine. “It’s late. Get some rest.”

Su Yuan once again put his hand to the top of his head and gave it a little squeeze. “Bye-bye.”

Closing the door, Pei Xing leaned against it and looked down at his chest again. The firefly had long since flown away so why was it still flashing?

…

In the early morning, almost at the same time he placed breakfast in front of the door, it was pulled open. Su Yuan poked his head out. “I want to eat with you in the yard.”

“I’ve already eaten.”

“Then you’ll just keep me company while I eat.”

Without surprise, Pei Xing sat down at the stone table.

The wind blew slowly, not disturbing Su Yuan’s serious focus on eating. Any food that appeared on the spoon would be carefully inspected by his eyes before being put into his mouth.

“Is that a habit of yours?” he couldn’t help but ask.

Su Yuan nodded. “I once ate glass when I was a child.”

Pei Xing froze, his body stiffening bit by bit. He wasn’t sure if he had misheard, because Su Yuan’s expression was too calm.

“I’m correcting the habit, but it seems a bit difficult.”

Su Yuan sighed softly.

Pei Xing didn’t ask further. He picked up a spoon from the side and began to nudge and inspect the food in the other containers bit by bit, moving them in front of Su Yuan. Su Yuan gripped his spoon, looked up slightly, smiled at him, and continued eating quietly.

…

Today was Pei Xing’s last day of tutoring. Su Yuan put on a hat and went with him to the bus stop.

“When I was four, I was eating my favorite cod fillets, and my mouth hurt very badly.”

Su Yuan leaned on Pei Xing’s arm, stepping on red bricks scattered by the road, hopping along like a rabbit.

Pei Xing kicked a brick closer. “Do you still like eating them now?”

Su Yuan stopped. He hadn’t expected Pei Xing to ask that perhaps just not wanting him to recall the pain from back then but no one had ever asked him if he still liked them.

Because from that day on, he had never eaten his favorite cod again.

Pei Xing got the answer from his expression. “Small towns don’t have cod. I’ll buy some and make it for you.”

The bus rumbled toward them from not far away. He took the opportunity to lead Su Yuan onto the bus from the front door, dropped in two coins, found empty seats in the back row, and let Su Yuan sit in the inner seat first.

Pei Xing squeezed his burning fingertips, trying his best to explain the previous action as “taking the opportunity.”

“This is my first time riding a bus.”

Su Yuan looked out the window, seeing the people by the road from a very high and wonderful angle.

Pei Xing reached out and pushed the window open, letting the cool wind blow onto Su Yuan’s face. “Mm. When I finish class, I’ll take you for a second meat pie.”

Su Yuan turned his head, his eyes lighting up again. “You guessed?”

Pei Xing suddenly laughed, for no discernible reason. Like a teacher leading a spring outing on a school bus, seeing a child sprawled against the window and letting out cries of novelty, he couldn’t help but laugh.

The bus stopped.

“Time to get off, little kid.”