Finally Being Snatched Away at My Wedding by My Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 21.1

Chapter 21.1: Old Desires Reignited

Zhou Wei asked around and finally found the rehabilitation ward where Su Yuan frequently visited.

It was a six-person room filled with vegetative patients hooked up to ventilators, which gave Zhou Wei quite a shock. Only one bed by the window was empty, with the sheets and bedding removed. He picked up the medical card at the foot of the bed.

“Xia Liren?”

The phone in his pocket had been ringing for a long while. Zhou Wei took a breath and answered.

“Boss…”

“He went to the cardiology department, didn’t he? Go ask his attending physician immediately about what’s going on with his illness!”

Zhou Wei hurriedly explained, “It’s not cardiology. It seems to be Su Yuan’s… relative? A vegetative patient named Xia Liren who has been in rehabilitation for a year.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line.

“Xia Liren was their family’s former driver. Su Yuan wouldn’t be this desperate to come to the hospital for him.” Pei Xing paused. “I’m sending you a photo. Go ask the hospital if it’s this person.”

Zhou Wei took the photo and found the nurse in the rehabilitation department. After getting an affirmative answer, just as he was about to speak, Pei Xing had already issued the next set of instructions.

“I’ve already had someone transfer money to your card. Go right now—immediately—and clear all of this person’s fees, then find Su Yuan. I’ve already gotten off the plane and will be there shortly.”

With a life on the line, Zhou Wei didn’t dare delay.

At the payment window, the nurse saw him come to pay for Xia Liren and smiled. “Are you a friend of Su… Xia Yu? You’re a godsend. He just finished paying for the blood transfusion and still owed a huge debt to the ICU that he couldn’t cover. His eyes were red from crying just now.”

Zhou Wei was stunned. “Is he that short on money?”

“You didn’t know?” The nurse tapped in the numbers while glancing at him. “You’re from out of town, aren’t you?”

Zhou Wei nodded. “Uh, right. I’m his college classmate, but I’ve been abroad for the past two years, so I wasn’t aware.” He used the script Pei Xing had taught him.

The nurse nodded and handed him the receipt. “Anyway, it’s been hard for him. His father’s monthly hospitalization fees were always in arrears, and he only just caught up a few days ago. But today, for some reason, the tracheotomy tube dislodged, causing a massive hemorrhage. He was just pushed into the operating room.”

Zhou Wei’s heart pounded as he heard this, and he sent the words verbatim to his boss.

Rain began to fall on the airport highway. The rainwater slid across the car window, making it almost impossible for Pei Xing to see the words in the chat box clearly.

He couldn’t see clearly, and he didn’t understand.

Su Jingzhang was still alive, but he had become a vegetative patient receiving treatment under the identity of their driver?

A year ago, when the Su family went bankrupt, besides worrying if Su Yuan had enough money to spend, Pei Xing’s biggest fear was that Su Jingzhang wouldn’t be able to handle the blow and would commit suicide by jumping off a building, and how that would affect Su Yuan.

Su Jingzhang was Su Yuan’s only relative in this world.

But now, he suspected that everything he knew about Su Yuan from official sources was fake.

Su Jingzhang hadn’t passed away as reported, and Su Yuan wasn’t living comfortably as the records suggested. He should have noticed earlier how could Su Yuan still be wearing clothes from two years ago, carrying such an ordinary sports backpack, and eating so much…

“Drive faster.”

In the bustling public hospital, the moment Pei Xing stepped inside, his gaze cut through the crowd and unconsciously landed on Su Yuan.

He was so thin, wearing loose jeans washed to a pale blue and a black hoodie. He had never seen Su Yuan wear black a color used so that dirt wouldn’t be obvious, often used to hide embarrassment, just like he had done himself in the past.

The pink he wore that day seemed to say, “Look how good the weather is,” but it was merely to numb the traveler about to leave home so he could depart in peace.

Su Yuan stood before the impeccably dressed Chu Xiao like a flower that had withered and been trampled into the mud. Pei Xing would rather have never had the chance to see Su Yuan again in this life than to see him become like this as if he had to bow his head, as if everything could be trampled upon.

Pei Xing didn’t even know if he should approach. Would leaving everything to Zhou Wei to handle prevent Su Yuan from feeling further embarrassed?

Su Yuan saw him.

The moment their eyes met, Su Yuan’s heart burned, beating with abnormal intensity.

Su Yuan wept uncontrollably. His soul seemed to leave his body and walk toward Pei Xing. After his self-esteem was crushed to pieces, his heart lay exposed; only by being tightly enveloped by Pei Xing would he be safe from further harm.

Yet his legs, heavy as lead, remained rooted to the spot. He did nothing.

Pei Xing walked toward him, took off his black trench coat, draped it over Su Yuan’s shoulders, and embraced him.

“I will handle it.”

Body temperature, air temperature, and voice… everything related to Pei Xing made Su Yuan’s body begin to warm up, and his spiraling thoughts gradually regained focus. He suddenly realized what he was doing.

This embrace shouldn’t happen. Pei Xing had a girlfriend; he couldn’t do this.

In an instant, Su Yuan’s self-loathing reached its peak.

Pei Xing felt Su Yuan pushing him away, like a cat discovering it was being trapped, starting to struggle violently after entering the cage. But his strength was so small that only an idiot would be pushed away.

Pei Xing was never an idiot.

He gripped Su Yuan’s arm. Without using much force, he handed the forced-to-be-settled Su Yuan over to Zhou Wei. “Uncle’s surgery might be ending soon. If there’s anything else, we’ll talk after the surgery is over.”

Pei Xing’s calm tone allowed him to regain his senses. He lowered his head and walked toward the elevator. He saw Pei Xing and Chu Xiao leave the hospital entrance at the same time. His gaze followed them for a moment before it was cut off as the elevator doors closed.

At that moment, a male voice speaking softly from behind gave him a start.

“Don’t worry, Uncle’s surgery will be successful.”

Su Yuan’s shoulders shrunk. His eyes widened with fear as he stared at the stranger talking to him. After a few seconds of dazing, his eyes suddenly lit up. “Ah, you’re the kind person who just sent me to the hospital.”

This was the first time Zhou Wei had seen Su Yuan this close. He suddenly understood why his boss was so obsessed; it was a truly convincing face.

He smiled. “I’m not some ‘kind person.’ I’m a worker; I’m the boss’s assistant.”

Su Yuan tilted his head and quickly found the clue in the non-answer.

“Are you Pei Xing’s assistant?”

“That’s right. I’m Zhou Wei.”

Su Yuan nodded slowly and pinched the trench coat draped over him. “Then you send me to the hospital…”

Zhou Wei’s brain worked at high speed to find the rhetoric his boss had taught him. “The boss values the Huaicheng market highly, so he let me stay behind to handle some work. Since you’re the boss’s college alumnus, he figured he’d help out when he saw you.”

College alumnus.

Su Yuan whispered a thank you and stopped talking.

…

The surgery was successful, and Su Jingzhang was moved to the ICU.

The doctor explained the situation to him, telling him to be prepared. Once moved from the ICU, he would stay in the neurosurgery ward for a while. The nurse clarified the doctor’s underlying meaning: the costs would be even higher than in the rehabilitation department.

Just as Su Yuan was about to ask about the fees, Zhou Wei, who hadn’t left, shook the doctor’s hand first. “Thank you, Doctor. Thank you, Nurse. Please don’t worry about the fees; we will pay them in full and on time.”

He understood what this “we” meant, but his heart sank even further.

Pei Xing helped him, even though Pei Xing said nothing. If it were the past, he could have held Pei Xing, acted spoiled, and said thank you. He might even have said, “It’s only natural for Pei Xing to spend money on me!”

But thinking about the current situation, Su Yuan couldn’t even say thank you.

Didn’t Pei Xing have a promising job in San Francisco and a girlfriend with a London accent? Why did he come to Huaicheng to crash a wedding? Why, after leaving, did he return again and pay so much money for him?

Is it revenge?

Just like what Chu Fei said.

He used the most malicious thoughts to speculate about Pei Xing. He clearly knew it wasn’t true, but he couldn’t find any other reason.

…

The ginkgo forest at dusk looked like a golden sea of surging waves, traces of the autumn wind.

Su Yuan stood under a tree, trying to read something from Pei Xing’s calm face. He spoke softly, “Are you seeking revenge on me?”

If the truth was cruel, he wanted to be the one to say it first.

Pei Xing looked at him quietly. After a long while, he let out a cold laugh. “Is this your way of saying ‘thank you’ now?”

Suspicion and counter-questions are the protection mechanisms of old lovers reuniting.

Su Yuan took off the trench coat, bowed deeply, and held it out to Pei Xing with both hands. “Thank you.”

The dark clouds that hadn’t dispersed after the rain seemed to descend upon Pei Xing.

The weight in Su Yuan’s hands lightened, but his shoulders were heavily gripped. Being forced to stand up made him instantly dizzy. In his flickering vision, Pei Xing’s black eyes were staring at him intensely.

An inexplicable sense of grievance and bitterness welled up. Su Yuan’s lips twitched, and the tears hanging in his eyes splashed down. “I said it, and you’re still unhappy…”

The person who felt dizzy turned into Pei Xing.

Out of anger.

Pei Xing looked up and let out a long, heavy sigh. He shook out the trench coat, grabbed Su Yuan’s hand, and used the large garment to re-wrap Su Yuan’s thin body. “Get in the car.”

Su Yuan didn’t move.

Pei Xing’s head was still buzzing with anger from that bow. His tone wasn’t great. “Are the shoes the wrong fit again this time?”

Su Yuan shook his head. “I’m so hungry I can’t really walk.”

After saying that, he took out the second rice ball from his bag that he hadn’t had time to eat yet, stood there, and ate it bit by bit.

Pei Xing turned his back. Otherwise, he suspected he would rush over and kick that convenience store thing into the artificial lake.

After eating, Su Yuan carefully folded the transparent packaging. Pei Xing snatched it and threw it into the trash can.

“Get in the car,” Pei Xing looked at him. “If you don’t move, I’ll carry you in.”

Su Yuan shuffled his feet and got into the car with Pei Xing, who seemed so fierce he wasn’t sure if he had gone to the Bay Area for AI or to Detroit to join a gang.

The car started. Zhou Wei sat in the passenger seat and silently raised the partition.

Su Yuan turned to look at the street scenery sliding past the window, not knowing where Pei Xing was taking him.

Pei Xing buckled his seatbelt without looking up. “Go to your place to pack your things.”

That bit of useless self-esteem flared up again. Su Yuan instantly tightened his hands. “Why?”

“Why don’t you ask me why I paid the hospital bills for you?”

“Oh, why?”

Su Yuan was a very skilled liar now. Pei Xing stared at him, trying to distinguish if he was playing dumb or being dense.

When that failed, Pei Xing spoke again. “Back then in Fu County, why did you help me? The rent, and the compensation for my parents.”

Su Yuan looked away. “I did what was within my power.”

“Then so am I.” Pei Xing’s chest rose and fell heavily for a moment. “Once your father’s condition is stable, I will transfer him to a better hospital. I will handle all medical expenses and all your expenditures.”

“This is also within my power.”

Su Yuan looked up and gazed at Pei Xing quietly, waiting for him to say something more so he could respond.

Pei Xing continued: “If you feel that accepting my kindness is a burden, just consider it as me repaying a debt.”

The car stopped at a dilapidated apartment complex.

Su Yuan, who had been quiet for a long time, finally spoke. “I don’t want your debt repayment.”

I am the one who owes you.

Pei Xing lowered his eyes and smiled. “Then what answer do you hope to hear?”

Su Yuan pursed his lips.

Bastard.

“Su Xinxin, don’t scold me in your heart, and don’t be stubborn.”

Su Yuan’s eyes widened.

“And don’t glare at me, or I’ll go up and pack your things myself.”

In the sealed, quiet car, the faint heat made Su Yuan’s face burn. He pushed open the car door, reluctantly

And was caught by the seatbelt.

Pei Xing leaned his face on his left hand, looking forward, and unfastened the seatbelt for him without looking.

“…”

Su Yuan got out of the car reluctantly.

Pei Xing lowered the partition and looked at Zhou Wei. “Follow him and help him pack. Don’t let him do it himself or leave your sight.”

Zhou Wei complied and followed.

Su Yuan knew he had a little tail behind him but didn’t react. Instead, Zhou Wei took a few large strides up the stairs and took the initiative to chat with him with a smile.

It was a bright voice, but intentionally kept light, as if knowing he didn’t like loud noises.

Lock after lock opened the door. Zhou Wei was stunned. “Is the security here this bad?”

“It’s okay,” Su Yuan opened the final lock. “The door was pried open once, so I’m a bit worried.”

Su Yuan didn’t hide it anymore. He could take the initiative to contact Boss Chen and prepare to accept Chu Xiao’s bank card. Even if he didn’t suffer the consequences because of Pei Xing’s “debt repayment,” only a few hours had passed since then. There was no need to pretend he was fine and didn’t need pity.

Opening the door revealed a small studio apartment that could be seen in its entirety at a glance. Except for the old furniture that came with the rental and two cardboard boxes in the corner, there was nothing else. It didn’t even show signs of habitation.

Zhou Wei stood in the entryway. “Do I still need to take off my shoes?”

Su Yuan shook his head.

Zhou Wei had already rolled up his sleeves, ready to do some heavy lifting, but found that except for the bedding and daily necessities in the bathroom, there was nothing to pack; everything was in the cardboard boxes in the living room.

He couldn’t help but be curious. “Did you just move in and haven’t had time to unpack?”

“I’ve lived here for several months.” Su Yuan moved out the paintings wrapped in kraft paper. “The landlord is an old lady. I was worried her son would find out she rented the house to me and kick me out, so I didn’t unpack.”

Listening to this, Zhou Wei stood rooted to the spot.

He wanted to say something, but then remembered the boss said Su Yuan liked quiet and told him not to be talkative. So he silently moved the paintings.

The kraft paper wrapping a painting had a large hole gnawed in it by a mouse.

Hearing this, Su Yuan immediately walked over, unpacked the painting, and checked it carefully. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it wasn’t damaged.

This was the painting to be sent to Mr. Percy.

Zhou Wei stared at the painting full of lines. “This painting looks very familiar.”

Su Yuan sealed the painting again. “This is my own painting; it hasn’t been sold yet. How could it be familiar?” After a moment, something occurred to him. “Hmm, but this is a series. Lines·Spring has already been sold.”

“Oh, I remember…!” Zhou Wei pointed his finger and opened his mouth wide.

Su Yuan looked up at him in confusion.

Soon, Zhou Wei also realized something, shut his mouth, and waved his hands repeatedly. “Never mind, I didn’t remember anything.”

The boss had a habit of buying paintings at fixed times; at the end of every month, a painting would come from across the ocean. The painting he found familiar was exactly the one the boss had personally hung in his office two months ago.

Zhou Wei was clever; he didn’t say anything more and quickly got back to work.

On the table, the screens of both Su Yuan and Zhou Wei’s phones lit up and went dark.

Finally, there was a soft knock on the door.

Su Yuan looked at the door, and the smile at the corner of his mouth instantly vanished. He put his index finger to his lips, signaling Zhou Wei to be quiet, and walked slowly toward the entryway, picking up a knife from the cabinet along the way.

After staring through the peephole for a few seconds, he opened the door.

Pei Xing stood outside, looked at the knife in his hand, and then looked at him. “Su Yuan, isn’t this going too far?”

“…”

Su Yuan put the knife back on the cabinet and turned around. “What are you doing here? Didn’t Zhou Wei help me?”

“I knew you were scolding me in your heart, so I came up.”

Pei Xing stopped in the middle of the living room and looked around. His eyes were steady, showing no clear emotion. “Where are your paintings?”

“I don’t have any,” Su Yuan said while sealing a cardboard box with tape. “Moving them is a hassle, and buying them is expensive. The boss of the studio where I work occasionally lets me use the studio tools.”

“That’s good,” Pei Xing said.

Huh? Su Yuan looked up at him.

After the packing was done, Pei Xing looked away. “Let’s go.”

Su Yuan picked up a box. Pei Xing frowned. “What are you carrying?”

Su Yuan looked at the three cardboard boxes. “Zhou Wei can’t carry them all by himself.”

Pei Xing’s lips thinned. He took off his suit jacket, picked up one box, and told him to put the box in his hands on top.

Su Yuan did as told and took Pei Xing’s suit jacket, preparing to pick up the paintings leaning against the wall.

“If you touch it again, I’ll throw all your things away.”

“Pei Xing, you’re so unreasonable…!”

“Yeah,” Pei Xing walked out. “But I have plenty of strength.”