Finally Being Snatched Away at My Wedding by My Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Engagement Rumors

“Um, is Mary Pei Xing’s… also his assistant? Does this count as an office romance?”

Su Yuan regretted it the moment he finished asking.

Pei Xing was popular; Su Yuan knew that six years ago. He had no right to have any questions about someone else’s love life; they had been broken up for two years.

He lowered his head, and the little cat (Xiao Hua) in his arms looked at him quietly.

“Office romance?”

Zhou Wei was stunned by the question. He glanced at Mary in the passenger seat, thought for a moment, and said, “There is such a regulation, but Sister Mary and her partner have been together since the early days of the team’s creation. They are getting engaged next month…”

What?

Su Yuan froze on the spot.

The word “engagement” exploded in his mind. He didn’t want to hear another word. After barely managing to say goodbye to Zhou Wei, he closed the door.

Zhou Wei was baffled. He scratched his head and turned to leave.

Pei Xing sat in the back seat of the car. He raised his right hand, hooking two joined fingers toward Zhou Wei. The latter hurried to the side of the car.

“What were you two just talking about?”

“Oh, Su Yuan asked me about Sister Mary and President Yao.”

Pei Xing frowned. Su Yuan and Yao Xing did know each other, but it didn’t seem they were close enough to inquire about each other’s love lives.

“What did he say?”

“He just asked if we allowed office romances,” Zhou Wei answered truthfully. “I said Sister Mary and her partner had been together since the beginning of the team, so he didn’t ask further.”

This Su Xin Xin, what is he thinking about all day long?

Su Yuan didn’t know what he was thinking or what to do either. Lying on the large bed in the master bedroom, his heart was surrounded by sadness and a sense of morality. He got up, grabbed a quilt, and walked downstairs step by step.

He lay on the sofa, sleeping in the icy moonlight that skimmed across the lake.

Pei Xing was getting engaged; he should bless him.

Su Yuan quietly watched the flickering light on the ceiling and turned over.

He still couldn’t accept it.

The kitten on the cat tree slowly jumped down, clawed at the sofa, crawled beside Su Yuan, and burrowed into his quilt.

The heat source next to his fingertips gave him the illusion that Pei Xing was holding his hand, just like during the four years they were dating. He subconsciously tried to avoid it, but then heard a meow from inside the quilt.

Su Yuan smiled. Fearing the cat might suffocate, he pulled the kitten into his arms and fell into a deep sleep.

Pei Xing’s appearance that night seemed like an insignificant interlude. Even when Zhou Wei asked indirect questions, Su Yuan just pretended not to hear and didn’t bring up any topics regarding him again.

Today was the day Su Jingzhang was transferred to another hospital.

There were no complicated procedures or processes. Zhou Wei handled everything and only had Su Yuan sign a few documents.

In the VIP special care ward, Su Yuan sat by the hospital bed, talking to him.

“Dad, look, this is Xiao Hua. It’s very good and very clingy to me.” Su Yuan held his phone up to the unconscious Su Jingzhang’s eyes. “When it first saw me, it wanted to go home with me, but I hesitated… Fortunately, in the end, it still came to my side.”

Su Yuan lowered his phone and his head. His falling hair covered most of his face, making his expression unreadable.

“He helped us.”

Su Yuan’s confession received no answer, only the “drip-drip” sound from the monitor.

“I’m sorry,” Su Yuan’s voice grew smaller and smaller. “I really can’t hold on much longer. Several times I wanted to just let it go… I’m sorry, Dad…”

Su Yuan raised his hand to wipe away the moisture on his cheeks, squeezed out a smile, and held the hand of the person on the bed. “Dad, don’t worry, I will take good care of myself. I know Dad will definitely wake up.”

He carefully lay on his side next to his father and reached out to hug him.

Zhou Wei pushed the door open gently, preparing to call Su Yuan to leave. The boss had instructed that Su Yuan’s body was weak and his resistance was poor, so he couldn’t stay in the hospital for long.

But when he entered the ward, he found Su Yuan asleep, sleeping more deeply than ever before.

In Jiangcheng, negotiating with others, Pei Xing looked at the photo sent by Zhou Wei. His eyelids half-drooped as he turned off the phone screen.

“President Fu,” Pei Xing turned to look at the man standing by the floor-to-ceiling window. “I can consider the conditions you just offered, but what the Huaicheng government has given me is not bad either.”

Fu Li smiled. “The mid-term elections are coming up, and the Progressive Party is not at an advantage.”

“I am not interested in politics, but I believe that as long as it’s a way to make money, no one will refuse, right?”

“Indeed,” Fu Li took a sip of whiskey. “So, I will also find out for you the truth that the Huaicheng government is hiding from you regarding your ex-boyfriend, Su Yuan.”

Pei Xing stopped his steps and looked at Fu Li.

Fu Li put down his glass. “I know you are investigating the bankruptcy after the fall of the Su family and the ‘accidental death’ of Su Jingzhang. President Pei’s connections and wealth abroad won’t be of much help in investigating those old foxes in Huaicheng. I can help you.”

On the last day of the Tech Conference held in Jiangcheng, HB, which was being hotly pursued, signed a cooperation agreement with the Jinggang Fu family.

Pei Xing traveled far to find the best neurosurgery expert in the country. When he gave Su Jingzhang’s medical records and the last surgery report to the expert, he received the same answer as he did in the United States.

“Full recovery is difficult; causing this level of tracheal detachment wouldn’t be caused by an accident; it should be man-made.”

Neither piece of news was good. Pei Xing didn’t want Su Yuan to worry about this matter again. After arranging a time to go to Huaicheng for an examination, Pei Xing got into the car.

The information reported by Melanie over the past few days was also not good.

Su Yuan was eating very little. Except for playing with Xiao Hua, he spent most of his time dazing. At night, he had been sleeping on the sofa in the living room and almost never went upstairs.

He called Zhou Wei to ask about the situation while watching the ballet today.

“Ah, I don’t understand ballet. They just spun around quite beautifully.”

Pei Xing’s brow twitched. “Did I ask about you?”

Zhou Wei gave a couple of silly laughs. After a few seconds, as if he had found a quiet place, he said, “Su Yuan watched very seriously, but while watching, he started to cry.”

Pei Xing was stunned. “Weren’t you watching The Nutcracker?”

“Yes, I also thought it was quite festive. But Su Yuan cried quite hard. There was no sound, but the tears just kept falling…”

Hanging up the phone, Pei Xing lowered the car window. It had been raining for several days in Jiangcheng at the end of October, and not a bit of sunlight could be seen. It wasn’t like May three years ago when Su Yuan accompanied him to Jiangcheng for a competition when the grass grew and the orioles flew, and hot sunlight spilled across the entire river surface.

Su Yuan’s aloofness and fluctuating emotions made Pei Xing subconsciously start thinking about their past.

What did their four years actually count as for Su Yuan? During those two years, what exactly happened to Su Yuan? Why did he become like this?

His heart, once again as it had six years ago, drove him to get closer to Su Yuan.

In the living room of the lakeside villa, half of the floor-to-ceiling window leading to the terrace was hidden by a white gauze curtain. Behind the gentle, moonlight-like curtain was the silent, chilly late autumn.

Su Yuan lay on his back, sleeping on that dark green sofa. The fluffy light-green bedding was like the chestnut burrs they had picked, and the white, tender, sweet chestnut lying inside had become Su Yuan. His hair was longer, resting on his collarbone like a gently flowing spring.

The pillow leaned against the sofa armrest, very high, allowing the tears on Su Yuan’s face to roll straight down.

He reached out to touch him. Su Yuan’s brow furrowed slightly and then returned to calm. Pei Xing withdrew his hand, took a tissue, and very lightly pressed it against Su Yuan’s face bit by bit until his cheeks were dry.

Pei Xing sat down beside the sofa and reached his hand into the bedding, wanting to check his pulse, but instead caught a cat.

“Meow—” The little calico was lifted up and looked at him innocently.

Pei Xing put the cat back into the cat bed and returned to the living room. Su Yuan coughed dryly twice.

“Xin Xin, go back to bed to sleep.”

Just as his hand passed behind Su Yuan’s neck, it provoked his displeasure. “I don’t want you…”

Pei Xing stopped his movements and quietly looked at Su Yuan, who was still dreaming.

“I don’t want to go to your bed… don’t want to…”

Su Yuan’s resistance left Pei Xing with no choice. “Fine, don’t cry.”

Su Yuan turned over, his back to him, and continued to cry in a daze, his shoulders twitching slightly. After a while, he started coughing again and could only lie flat. The tears on his face were crisscrossed like spilled clear water.

Pei Xing leaned over to hug him.

Su Yuan let him hug him for quite a while, his body subconsciously burrowing into his arms. But soon, Pei Xing once again felt his hand press against his chest, pushing lightly. “I don’t want you…”

The crying tone was very heavy; one could almost not hear clearly what he was saying.

Pei Xing helplessly let go.

Unable to stay angry, he pinched the end of Su Yuan’s hair and lowered his voice. “Su Xin Xin, you little ungrateful thing… making it seem like I was the one who dumped you, hm? Do you have even a bit of the guilt one should have after dumping someone?”

Su Yuan’s face was like a flower petal brushed by the wind; it swayed very innocently and he didn’t cry again.

Pei Xing, kneeling on one knee by the sofa, raised his hand and rubbed his face. He went upstairs and showered.

He brought a blanket and socks and put them on Su Yuan’s feet, which were as icy as stones. The cooled-down hot water bottle was set aside by him, replaced by himself. He sat at Su Yuan’s feet, tucked the feet into his arms, and covered them with the blanket.

“Meow~”

Xiao Hua successfully “escaped prison.” Under Pei Xing’s gaze, it skillfully climbed onto the sofa, burrowed into the quilt, and lay down with its body curled up in Su Yuan’s naturally open palm. It was like another hot water bottle.

Seeing this, Pei Xing didn’t stop again. He leaned his body back against the sofa backrest and slowly closed his eyes.

The little calico was quite good. It took a bit of effort to catch it. As soon as it got into the car, it started sniffing the small jade crested ibis he had placed on the storage shelf. It was a very smart kitten, seemingly knowing who it was going to find. It didn’t scratch him again and went obediently into the examination room of the pet hospital.

In the past, Su Yuan had a stray cat and dog base open for adoption.

When they lived together, Su Yuan also wanted to keep a pet in their rented home, but he had never agreed. Su Yuan saw his concern, hugged him, lay on his lap like a kitten, and said, “I know. Then once we have our own home, you must agree to let me keep one.”

In Pei Xing’s blueprint for the future, there was another pet.

He wanted to give Su Yuan more, to give him everything that originally belonged to him, so he studied desperately and climbed upward with all his might. Even after separating from Su Yuan, he had never given up on that future blueprint that included Su Yuan.

Su Yuan and his family thought he was poor, so he would work a bit harder and earn a bit more. Once he had everything, he could give everything to Su Yuan.

Su Yuan didn’t know how to give names to cats and dogs—a black one was called Xiao Hei (Little Black), a white one was called Xiao Bai (Little White). When he caught this little calico, he thought Su Yuan might give it the name.

“Xiao Hua?”

Su Yuan woke up and began to look for the cat all over the house.

“Meow meow!”

Xiao Hua came down from Pei Xing’s body and ran toward him. It was in such a hurry going down the stairs that it even took a tumble.

Su Yuan smiled and squatted down, picking it up and rubbing it. “Did it hurt? Slow down…”

After saying that, Su Yuan sensed something was wrong.

He looked up and saw Pei Xing standing on the stairs, arms crossed, looking at him with interest.

Su Yuan was stunned. His bottom slowly sat on the floor, and his feet pressed against the stairs to give a kick, sliding back half a meter. Swoosh—he opened up a distance from Pei Xing. “Why did you come?”

Sunlight shone in through a small piece of stained glass on the door behind Su Yuan, leaving blurred red and green mottling between the two.

Seeing Pei Xing didn’t answer, Su Yuan continued to ask: “Is it… passing by again?”

“No,” Pei Xing stopped where he was. “I came to find you.”

Su Yuan hugged the kitten and slowly lifted his eyelashes.

In the study, Su Yuan stood diagonally behind the desk, maintaining a safe distance from Pei Xing, who sat on the black leather chair.

The kitten in his arms, however, really liked that big, empty calfskin desk. It jumped up, sharpened its claws all the way, and ran to sit beside the laptop in front of Pei Xing.

Pei Xing slid the laptop trackpad without looking back. “Even the kitten knows to come closer to look.”

Su Yuan took a few steps forward.

Pei Xing suddenly got up, pressed him into the chair to sit down, and without waiting for him to react, began to talk about the treatment plan.

“Conservative treatment is what we are currently doing, maintaining vital signs and preventing complications. But if we want Uncle to wake up, it will be an extremely long, perhaps fruitless process.”

Pei Xing brought the treatment plans given by various experts based on the medical records.

Su Yuan knew that if it were just conservative treatment, it wouldn’t be Pei Xing’s usual style. So he looked up at Pei Xing. “What about the non-conservative one?”

“Wake-up promotion therapy, Spinal Cord Stimulation, SCS. A pulse generator similar to a cardiac pacemaker will be implanted in the back of the neck, and the stimulation parameters will be constantly adjusted after the surgery.”

Su Yuan scanned the dense English and pictures on the screen. His hands resting on his thighs squeezed. “What are the risks?”

“Anesthesia accidents, internal bleeding in the neck, infection… and the uncertainty of post-operative effects.”

Pei Xing’s tone was steady, but with every word he spoke, Su Yuan’s heart tightened. He looked toward Pei Xing; some words were stuck in his throat, unable to be asked.

Pei Xing looked at him and answered, “If it were me, I would choose the latter. But he is your father; you should be the one to decide.”

Su Yuan slowly lowered his head and said hesitant words with extreme difficulty. “I need time to consider.”

“I understand,” Pei Xing didn’t express any more viewpoints. “Regardless of which plan is chosen, we now need to contact neurosurgery experts to give Uncle another examination.”

“I have already contacted them, but since they are experts from all over the world, we need to confirm the time in advance. The hospital’s reply is that examinations can be done starting in November.”

Pei Xing leaned down and pulled up a schedule on the laptop. “Now I need you to look at the time and see how to arrange the consultation with the five experts. Next to it are the times given to me by several doctors; look at them together. Is this time okay?”

Su Yuan nodded.

Pei Xing typed the doctors’ names into the corresponding dates and continued to inquire softly.

Sitting in the chair, Su Yuan suddenly felt a bit dazed. Over the past year, he had faced many things alone, handled many things, and had even once taken ten forms and run to almost every office on the five floors of the City Hall to queue, fill out forms, and get stamps.

He was happy about that; he had also become a very capable adult.

But when Pei Xing handled everything, leading him step-by-step through planning with clear logic, and even answering before he had to ask a single question…

He felt as if he had returned to the past.

A feeling both strange and familiar, along with a huge sense of security—and the person who brought all this was Pei Xing. It was like being placed in the softest cotton.

Su Yuan’s body grew warmer and warmer, his tense body gradually relaxed, and his clenched fingers also loosened. When Pei Xing spoke, he would look at him and nod in response.

“Then it’s arranged like this?” Pei Xing stood beside Su Yuan, his arms propped on the edge of the desk, circling him in his embrace.

Su Yuan nodded. “Mhm, as long as Dad’s body can handle the examination, there won’t be a problem.”

As he spoke, he noticed a very faint scar at the corner of Pei Xing’s left eye.

“Here,” Su Yuan raised his hand, the pad of his index finger touching the scar. “What happened?”

The warm light coming through the window behind them hit them, and tiny dust particles floated in the light.

Pei Xing dazed for a moment. Then, as if thinking of something embarrassing, he got up and backed away, crossing his arms. “Nothing.”

Su Yuan woke as if from a dream. He pushed with his legs, the chair’s rollers making a sound on the floor, and hurriedly stood up.

“Okay, then I’ll be leaving first.”

He picked up Xiao Hua, who was sharpening its claws, turned around, and bowed slightly to Pei Xing, who was still standing in place. “Thank you.” After saying that, he fled the study with quick steps.

His heart was thumping.

Su Yuan walked to the last step of the stairs, supported himself against the wall with his hand, and slowly sat down, burying his burning face in his knees.

Su Yuan, what are you doing?

The doorbell of the villa interrupted his self-reproach and shame.

His gaze passed through the long corridor and saw Melanie open the door. A blurred silhouette appeared at the door.

With the light behind her, Su Yuan couldn’t see clearly for a moment. It wasn’t until a tall, exquisite white woman with shoulder-length curly hair walked closer that his eyes instantly widened.

The kitten in his arms sensed something and poked its head out, looking at him and then at the friendly Mary.

“Good morning,” Mary held some documents and nodded to him politely. “I’m here to bring documents to Per… Pei.”

A fougère-scented women’s perfume surrounded Su Yuan.

Instantly, he heard his own racing heart because of surprise, fear, and shame… His whole body was icy, frozen in place like an ice sculpture. Forgetting to answer, he just looked up as the mistress of this villa appeared before him.

Pei Xing’s fiancée.

Su Yuan didn’t know how he stood up. It seemed the kind Mary even reached out a hand to support him, but he was like an ostrich, lowering his head and squeezing through the gap between the dignified, beautiful blonde lady and the wall. He followed the long corridor, heading toward the brightest spot without looking back.

Mary raised her hand, wanting to say something, but remembered Pei Xing had said Su Yuan didn’t like people calling him from behind, so she gave up. She carried the documents upstairs to find Pei Xing.

Pei Xing clearly didn’t expect her to come and raised his eyebrows.

“Relax,” Mary spread her hands and put the documents in front of him. “Very urgent documents; otherwise, I wouldn’t disturb your date with your ex-boyfriend. What’s more, Xing and I have a lunch date at a seaside restaurant.”

Pei Xing opened the documents. “Yao Xing has returned to the country?”

“Uh-huh, we’re getting engaged soon and plan to go to Jinggang to see his parents.”

Mary started to wander around the study, feeling it was a pity for the Hermès desk that hadn’t been used by its owner for a year. Suddenly she thought of something and looked smilingly at Pei Xing, who was signing. “I saw him.”

Pei Xing’s hand holding the pen paused. “Yes, he is very beautiful.”

Mary, having her words stolen, laughed and continued, “Don’t say four years; even if it were only four weeks, he would be worth any ex-boyfriend being obsessed with him. When Xing described him to me, he always used ‘angel’ and ‘siren.’ I just saw him and he’s more like a frightened little bird, or a rabbit. He took one look at me and fled.”

Pei Xing left a black dot at the end of his signature and frowned. “Fled?”

“That’s right. He looked very surprised and very scared. He went out the door holding a kitten as cute as him. Maybe he’s walking the cat?”

Pei Xing immediately got up. “Cats don’t need to be walked.”

“Su Yuan?”

Pei Xing ran downstairs. His not-so-loud voice echoed in the empty villa. Servants from all over ran over, telling him Su Yuan had just left the villa.

“He’s only wearing pajamas, how could you let him out like that?!”

Pei Xing rarely lost his temper, but he also understood that he was the one who had said Su Yuan wasn’t under house arrest or surveillance here Su Yuan had the freedom to do anything. But that didn’t mean he could go out in pajamas in 10°C Huaicheng.

Su Yuan’s phone lit up on the living room carpet.

Pei Xing grabbed his overcoat and immediately ran out the door. The driver pointed in the direction Su Yuan had left. Pei Xing told him to contact the community security and ran toward the path the driver pointed out.

“Su Yuan!”

Su Yuan squatted by the lake, numbly picking up pebbles with his frozen hands and throwing them at his reflection on the lake surface one by one.

The wind blew the fiery red maple leaves, which rustled down.

Xiao Hua had learned to step on leaves. After making a crisp sound by stepping on one, it looked toward Su Yuan but received no response, so it climbed onto Su Yuan’s leg.

Su Yuan sniffed and held the cat in his arms, apologizing in a low voice, “I’m sorry, I should have left you at home. It’s very cold here, isn’t it?”

Xiao Hua rolled in his arms, fiddling with the button on his chest with its claws. Seeing Su Yuan was crying, it stopped playing with the button.

“Meow—”

The road on the slope behind them suddenly became noisy. Shuttle cars kept passing by, and there was the sound of a walkie-talkie mixed with static.

Standing by the road, a security guard in a dark grey overcoat uniform saw him and was overjoyed. He immediately said something into the walkie-talkie in his hand.

Su Yuan was just about to get up when he saw Pei Xing rush out.

“Su Yuan!”