Finally Being Snatched Away at My Wedding by My Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: The Stream Spreads

He dropped Su Yuan off at the old bookstall in town and went to a student’s home to begin tutoring. During the final lesson, his thoughts drifted away like the birds outside the window.

Qi Xiaoxi wasn’t doing much better, sprawled on the desk and listlessly clicking her mechanical pencil. “Sigh, class is over, it’s so boring. I wonder if Su Yuan-gege is coming back or not…”

Pei Xing’s brow twitched slightly. In a rare move, he crossed his legs and leaned back. “That’s unusual; even you don’t know.”

Qi Xiaoxi froze for a second, looked up, and stared at him suspiciously. “Teacher Pei, are you… smiling?”

“I feel like you’re hiding something from me. Does it have to do with Su Yuan-gege?”

Just then, the timer on the side went off.

Pei Xing stood up, packed his things, and slung on his backpack. “Enjoy the last few days of summer vacation. Go play with people your own age.”

Qi Xiaoxi stared at Pei Xing’s back even though his gait looked smug. She felt there was a big problem!

…

Pei Xing stood on the sun-facing street, his gaze crossing the brightly lit road to rest on the trumpet vines crawling all over the walls. Su Yuan was sitting on a small wooden stool; the fiery orange-yellow trumpet vines dangled by the side of his face, casting a faint glow on his translucent, fair cheeks.

As if sensing something, Su Yuan looked up and waved at Pei Xing with a smile.

Pei Xing crossed the road, walked to Su Yuan’s side, and took the stack of books he had bought. The two walked along the wall of trumpet vines as if they were walking toward the end of summer.

The midday sun illuminated the small pond where the stream converged. The low-hanging canopy of the yellow-leafed banyan tree acted like a giant umbrella, casting a large patch of shade. Su Yuan took small bites of a meat pie while looking at the thick branches. “This would be perfect for a swing.”

Pei Xing took a look but didn’t say anything, handing him an opened bottle of water. “Where do you want to play this afternoon?”

“You can accompany me for the rest of the summer now, right?”

Pei Xing smiled. “Mm.”

“I’ve already thought it out.” Su Yuan mysteriously extended a finger. “It’s a secret for now.”

…

Half an hour after lunch, Pei Xing handed a small bowl of peach shaved ice to Su Yuan and gave portioned cat food to the kittens waiting in the yard.

Before setting off, Su Yuan changed into a water-green long-sleeved top, looking as if he were wearing the stream itself. His white sun hat had a wide brim that blocked the sunlight falling on his chest, and coffee-colored sunglasses hid his eyes as he slightly tilted his head to look at the sun above.

“Pei Xing, this is also my first time going out to play at high noon.”

“Afraid of the sun?” Pei Xing drew this conclusion from his never-repeating collection of sun-protective clothing.

Su Yuan nodded. “If I get sunburnt, it turns red and peels. It’s terrifying. Hey…!”

He quickly grabbed the man who was heading upstairs, hugging his arm with both hands and bracing his feet against the steps, using his entire body weight to barely hold Pei Xing back. “I’m all wrapped up, and I applied sunscreen. It’s fine.”

Pei Xing looked down, his gaze falling on the flip-flops he was wearing. “Did you put it on your feet too?”

Su Yuan nodded seriously. Soon, his arm was gripped in return, and once he was steady on the ground, Pei Xing walked down the stairs.

“Half an hour,” Pei Xing said. “We can’t stay longer than that.”

…

In the afternoon, even the wild cats were napping in the shade. The rustling of leaves sounded like a lullaby, as did the sound of the stream.

Su Yuan pointed at the stream beneath his feet and looked at Pei Xing earnestly. “I want to go down.”

Pei Xing leaped down and held out his hand to him. “Come.”

“It’s too high, I can’t do it.”

He knew Pei Xing would hold him, but he was just afraid.

Pei Xing looked at him. Su Yuan squeezed his fingers, guessing the other might tease him by saying “City people are like this,” the way Pei Wen often said no malice intended, but Su Yuan didn’t find it particularly pleasant.

The next second, Pei Xing withdrew his hand, cleared away the loose stones on the cliff face, and dug out a small foothold with his bare hands. After washing his hands, he reached out to him again. “Try stepping on the lower spot.”

Su Yuan laughed and grasped Pei Xing’s hand. Through the cool water, the thick palm held him firmly.

Su Yuan jumped from the small dirt pit and landed beside Pei Xing. “It wasn’t hard at all.”

Pei Xing suppressed a smile, mimicking his tone. “It wasn’t hard at all.”

Taking off his shoes, Su Yuan cautiously extended his foot. The midday stream was as he expected not too cold so he stepped right in. The water flowed over the top of his foot; it was very itchy.

Pei Xing looked at his pant legs submerged in the water. “Is it okay if your clothes get wet?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Su Yuan tried to step in with the other foot as well. “The sun is so big, they’ll dry soon, right?”

The splashing stream didn’t drown out Pei Xing’s reminder that the stones at the bottom might be unstable.

“Then hold me.”

Su Yuan reached out his hand, seemingly not intending to give Pei Xing a chance to hesitate, and grabbed his arm.

Pei Xing held his hand and walked into the stream with him.

“Is it okay if your shoes get wet?”

“The sun is so big, they’ll dry soon, right?”

Su Yuan turned his head to look at him, wrinkling the bridge of his nose. “You’re copying me again?”

Pei Xing shrugged, and once the other was steady, he let go. “First time playing in the water?”

“Yes. My family was worried it would be too cold and I’d get sick. But once, I saw a small bird trapped in the water curtain of a fountain. Its feathers were soaked through, yet it still couldn’t fly out. I should have found someone to turn off the fountain, but I walked in anyway and carried the bird out.

“It didn’t fly away immediately; it just stayed in my hand until the sun dried its feathers. By the time the adults found me, I had been standing there for a long time. I got sick that night. I was six then.”

Pei Xing looked at him, unsure if this bird truly existed.

The sunglasses had long since been removed and hung on his chest. Su Yuan looked at him with honest eyes. “I lied to them. There was no bird; I just wanted to play in the water. What about you? Were you fooled by me?”

Pei Xing smiled slightly. “Mm, you fooled me.”

Su Yuan slightly raised his chin, even his glowing eyelashes seemed to be laughing. “I’m quite good at lying.”

“They occasionally apologize to me because they can’t let me jump and run around outside like other kids. So I lie to them and say it doesn’t matter, that I don’t like jumping and running around at all.”

For some reason, Pei Xing thought of his own mother.

In the final stages of heart failure, she could only stay in bed. His mother would say, It doesn’t matter, resting in bed is also very good. She said that to everyone.

Pei Xing’s voice became very low. “Is your health not good?”

Su Yuan looked away toward the distant meadow. “Mm, I was a premature baby, so I get sick easily. A cold is a very troublesome thing for me.”

The most common symptoms of a cold fever, coughing, and difficulty breathing would increase his oxygen consumption and quicken his heart rate. His structural heart defects meant he couldn’t find relief just by taking medicine. Viruses could trigger cardiac complications, or perhaps a lung infection, a vicious cycle.

Therefore, if he felt even slightly unwell, he would be ordered to rest at home and could go nowhere.

Su Yuan squatted down in distress, his attention caught by a crab crawling by the stream. “Wow, a crab!”

Pei Xing froze, swallowing the words of comfort he had prepared. He walked over and picked up the little creature that had just molted. “This is a river crab. Its shell is very soft right now. Do you want to touch it?”

Su Yuan nodded, but halfway through reaching out, he pulled back. “Will it hurt?”

“Maybe,” Pei Xing looked at the tip of his nose. “But its shell will become harder and harder. It won’t be as easily injured as when it was small.”

Su Yuan looked up, the shimmering light of the stream dancing on his face as he laughed softly. “I’m not a little crab.”

Pei Xing placed the crab in Su Yuan’s palm, splashed a bit of water, and teased it with his finger. Su Yuan giggled at the ticklish sensation in his palm and the crab’s waving claws.

“Su Yuan.”

“Mm?”

Pei Xing looked at his profile. “Thank you.”

Without him speaking, Su Yuan simply knew what Pei Xing was thanking him for. It seemed there was always a strange tacit understanding between them.

Su Yuan nodded gently. “Then I thank you, too.”

…

The little crab was left by the stream, blowing bubbles and rolling little mud balls.

The two walked side-by-side under the slightly angled sun.

“Pei Xing, I think I put that little crab in the wrong place. If it wants to get to the other bank, will it be very hard for it?”

He let out a laugh, about to say no, but then he noticed Su Yuan’s fingertips pinched together, looking as if he were seriously contemplating the problem. Once they reached the shade of the trees, Pei Xing stopped and told Su Yuan to wait for him.

Soon, Pei Xing climbed back up from the stream and ran to Su Yuan’s side.

“Alright, the little crab has gone back.”

“Was it very happy?”

“Yes,” Pei Xing laughed. “It was waving its claws like crazy.”

Su Yuan raised his hands, mimicking the crab’s claws. “Like this?”

Pei Xing nodded. “Exactly like that.”

The wind blew against them, and Su Yuan’s hat flew backward. Pei Xing reached out to catch it and pressed it lightly back onto Su Yuan’s head. Su Yuan looked up, met his gaze, and smiled without saying thank you.

…

Returning to the yard, Su Yuan was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open, having yawned several times along the way.

After Pei Xing sent him back to his room, he found some wooden planks in the first-floor storage room, processed them, took some hemp rope, and headed toward the small pond at the end of the stream.

Coincidentally, Pei Wen rode his bike over to find him. He craned his neck and asked the person up in the banyan tree, “Cousin, what are you doing?”

Muscle definition tightened in his arms. Pei Xing lashed the hemp rope tight. “Making a swing.”

…

The midday sunlight shone like white gold.

Su Yuan stood in the stream; his grey shorts barely reached his thighs, but they were perfect for playing in the water; they wouldn’t get soggy and stick to his legs. The stream suddenly made him want to turn into a fish.

Beside him, Pei Xing held a sun umbrella, his gaze falling on Su Yuan’s legs from time to time.

Su Yuan nudged him. “I applied a lot of sunscreen, it’s fine.”

Before leaving, the two had bickered over these shorts. Pei Xing insisted he change, but Su Yuan refused, saying this was the only comfortable way to play in the water. Finally, Pei Xing lost the argument.

At this moment, Pei Xing didn’t respond and looked away.

This being the third time in the water, Su Yuan’s courage had grown. He pulled Pei Xing along as they continued down the stream.

“Pei Xing, will I fall?”

“Scared of falling and you’re still walking?”

Su Yuan tilted his head up at him, a bit of smugness at the tip of his nose. “You’ll catch me, right?”

Pei Xing lowered his head, awkwardly holding the umbrella with his other hand. He placed the arm closest to Su Yuan behind him just as the other had said as if ready to catch him at any moment. “Watch where you’re going. Don’t step on the protruding rocks.”

Su Yuan’s feet were like snow-white shells, bright and clear, moving one after another and stirring the already rippling stream. Pei Xing looked away again.

They finally reached the small pond. The clear surface reflected the banyan tree and the lush green meadow on the bank, as if proclaiming the colors of summer.

The swing swaying in the wind lit up Su Yuan’s eyes.

His mouth hung slightly open. He pointed at the swing under the tree and stared blankly at the person beside him. “Pei Xing, why is there a swing there suddenly?”

Pei Xing raised an eyebrow, looking as if to say, Oh? I didn’t know.

Su Yuan jumped up, suddenly hugging the arm Pei Xing used to hold the umbrella. “Pei Xing, you’re so good. You remember everything I say. I’m so happy being with you…!”