Finally Being Snatched Away at My Wedding by My Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Street Kitten (P.)

After the college entrance examination results were released, more and more people came to Pei Xing for tutoring. However, he didn’t take on too many new students; building rapport from scratch was a troublesome task.

Getting to know a person requires a great deal of energy.

Pei Xing sat at the side of the desk, pencil in hand, circling a word. “Wish is a noun here; the plural adds -es.”

The female student raised her hand. “Teacher Pei, that’s a dish, not a wish.”

Pei Xing froze. After confirming he had misread it, he said “sorry” and picked up the eraser. “But similarly, it is plural here.”

“Isn’t wish the verb for ‘to hope’?”

“It can also be a noun,” Pei Xing paused. “Meaning a ‘heart’s desire’ (xinyuan).”

While the student worked on her test paper, Pei Xing took his water out of his black backpack and walked to the balcony for some air.

“I am Su Yuan, ‘Yuan’ as in ‘Wish’.”

Pei Xing wiped his face, pulled his phone from his pocket, and clicked on that unreplied message.

Hello, I am Pei Xing.

His finger was just about to hit the send button when a white figure flashed in his peripheral vision across the road.

The person riding a grapefruit-colored bicycle was tightly wrapped in a white long-sleeved sun-protection shirt and a bucket hat. Their faces weren’t visible, only a slender silhouette from behind.

Despite only having met once, he knew exactly who it was.

“That’s Brother Su Yuan.”

“What?”

Pei Xing rarely had moments of being stunned, but this was already the second time today.

The girl handed him her paper. The fluffy sports wristband on her wrist looked quite out of place in the summer. She leaned against the balcony railing. “Brother Su Yuan comes here every summer to see the Crested Ibises. Didn’t you know that, Teacher Pei?”

Fu County was a habitat for the Crested Ibis. Because of this, certain industries were not allowed to develop, and even agriculture was affected since chemical pesticides couldn’t be used. Every outsider who came to Fu County came for the birds.

It wasn’t that strange.

Pei Xing didn’t speak. He squeezed the test paper in his hand and returned to the desk to grade it.

The girl stopped talking as well. She pulled a book from the top of the shelf—the cover had been removed, leaving only a pure white hardcover.

It wasn’t entirely white; there was a red “mole” on the back cover.

Something occurred to him. “Where did the extracurricular book come from?”

“Brother Su Yuan gave it to me.”

The red pen in Pei Xing’s hand left a red dot on the paper. A brief pause, as if waiting for her to continue.

The girl held the cover up to him. “A few days ago, I ran into him on the stone bridge while he was reading this book, and he gave it to me.”

Pei Xing scanned it. Three vertical red characters looked like three red moles.

Rouge Button (Yanzhi Kou)

“Is it because you read this book that you wrote that zero-score essay for your Chinese teacher titled Vindicating the ‘Number One Courtesan of All Time’?”

The girl wore a “caught red-handed” expression. She begged Pei Xing not to tell her grandmother and said she’d pass the book to him after finishing it.

“Teacher Pei, if you see Brother Su Yuan, don’t tell him about my essay either.”

“Why?”

Pei Xing had originally intended to say he wouldn’t have much interaction with Su Yuan. But the words took a turn of their own when they reached his lips.

“Brother Su Yuan is still expecting me to get a high score!”

After the girl finished speaking, she noticed Pei Xing’s expression was a bit off.

“Did he not tell you that you’re taking the college entrance exam next year and shouldn’t write about such topics in standardized essays?”

“I know I shouldn’t, but Brother Su Yuan said he wrote something similar when he was in high school and his teacher loved it. When I heard that, I wanted to try.”

Pei Xing put down the paper. “What kind of high school did he go to where he could write that?”

“I don’t know. Their curriculum seems different from ours. Something like IB or AP.”

An international school. From kindergarten to high school, it was all international schools. No need for the national entrance exam; Su Yuan was even attending university abroad. Naturally, he wouldn’t know what was necessary or unnecessary for students in a small town like them.

Pei Xing lowered his eyes and picked up the paper again. “Since you know you’re different from him, don’t do it again.”

…

When the morning class ended, Pei Xing spoke with the parents and left with his backpack. Standing under the high noon sun, it was a bit blinding.

He took out his phone and deleted the unsent sentence.

When Pei Xing returned to the courtyard, Su Yuan was standing on the balcony waving at him. He acted as if he didn’t see him, picked up the ingredients delivered to the yard, and walked straight into the kitchen.

After cooking the meal, Pei Xing placed it at Su Yuan’s door as usual.

At that moment, the closed door made a slight clicking sound as the lock turned. The door cracked open, and Su Yuan poked his head out.

“Did I send the message to the wrong number?”

Pei Xing kept his head down, not looking at him. “No, I received it. I’ve saved the number.”

Su Yuan pulled the door open a bit wider, leaning against the frame and watching him quietly. Like a deer seeing a traveler who had stumbled into the woods.

Pei Xing wasn’t particularly good at handling awkward silences; he felt a bit frustrated, and his voice was lower than usual. “When are you free for the electrician to come check the circuits?”

Su Yuan’s fingertip tapped the doorframe. “When are you free?”

“I don’t like communicating and handling these things. If you’re here, I’ll feel a bit better.”

Pei Xing wasn’t sure if he had misheard or if this was just Su Yuan’s usual way of speaking. The frustration in his heart dissipated somewhat for no reason.

He took out his phone and contacted the technician. While Su Yuan ate in the dining room, he stayed in the living room watching the technician work. He stood with his back to Su Yuan, his tall frame blocking the view toward the dining area.

After the technician left, Pei Xing mopped the living room floor where it had been stepped on, said a word to Su Yuan, and prepared to leave.

“Is your phone number linked to your WeChat?” Su Yuan put down his chopsticks and tucked his legs in again. “I want to transfer the rent directly to you.”

Pei Xing wanted to catch hold of something, but because they made eye contact again, he forgot to think about Su Yuan’s underlying meaning.

“Yes, but not for now. I need to go get a new bank card.”

“When are you going?”

This question was a bit too personal; normally, he would refuse directly. But Pei Xing looked at Su Yuan’s eyes, which were glowing in the sunlight from the window, and gave a specific time down to the hour.

“Okay. You should go eat too.”

Su Yuan picked up his chopsticks again, took a small mushroom, and took a tiny bite. Pei Xing withdrew his gaze and gently closed the door as he left.

Why did he ask me that? What a strange person.

…

In the afternoon, the golden sunset fell upon a math paper. The correct answer for a multiple-choice question, “D,” lay there quietly.

He suddenly had the urge to write a colon in front of it.

Realizing this, Pei Xing thought the “strange person” might actually be himself.

A few days later at 4:00 PM, Pei Xing arrived at the bank entrance on his bike exactly on time. While parking, he glanced around casually.

There weren’t many people; the street vendors weren’t doing much business. Pei Xing adjusted the backpack strap on his shoulder and walked into the bank.

Fu County was a small place where everyone knew each other especially Pei Xing, who had become quite famous this summer. The bank clerk cracked a few jokes with him, saying that since he was an adult now, he didn’t need his aunt to sign for him anymore. Since he was going to a big city for university, he indeed should have a new bank card.

As the clerk handed the card over, they noticed Pei Xing didn’t take it immediately but was looking out the glass door.

“Keep your card and ID safe.”

“Thank you.”

Pei Xing packed away the card and stared at the back of Su Yuan, who was wearing a water-blue shirt and crouching at the intersection. He walked toward him step by step.

A clump of tall fountain grass grew by the road, bowing its head occasionally in the wind. A calico cat was standing up, repeatedly swiping its paws at the fuzzy tops. After catching one, it turned to look at Su Yuan. After getting its head rubbed, it worked even harder to catch the grass.

“Are you teaching it how to play?” The corner of Pei Xing’s mouth twitched upward.

Su Yuan looked up and smiled. “Yes. This is a cat teaser; next time it can play by itself.”

“Is your bank card finished?”

Pei Xing nodded. Just as he was wondering what to say next, Su Yuan reached out his hand to him again.

Pei Xing looked at that hand, slowly gripped it, and pulled him up.

As before, Su Yuan didn’t take a step immediately after getting up; he stood for a moment before walking along the street with him.

Pei Xing didn’t know where he was going after all, his bicycle was in the opposite direction. Su Yuan’s was, too.

Su Yuan walked very slowly. Pei Xing was much taller than him, and he could easily see Su Yuan’s shoulder-length hair being lifted by the wind, revealing his collarbone and that red mole.

Such a gaze was presumptuous.

Pei Xing quickly looked away. At that moment, Su Yuan spoke up. “I saw an old lady pushing a cart selling meat pies the other day. Many people were buying them. I want to try them too, but I can’t find where she is.”

“Can you eat meat in the evening?”

He didn’t expect himself to ask it just like that, though he was indeed curious. Having cooked for Su Yuan for three summers, he knew the evening meals were the simplest, only vegetables and fruit. The seafood and beef that appeared in every other meal never appeared on the dinner menu. He assumed in his heart that Su Yuan perhaps couldn’t eat meat at night.

“Mhm, they don’t allow me to eat it.” Su Yuan kicked a pebble by his foot. “But I really want to eat it right now.”

Pei Xing still had questions. But asking them felt as presumptuous as his gaze from a moment ago.

“Auntie Xiu’s stall only opens at five. If it’s during the elementary school session, she’ll be a bit earlier.” Pei Xing checked the time on his phone. “If we walk over now, the timing should be just right.”

Su Yuan turned his head to look at him and gave a very sweet smile. “Thank you.”

Pei Xing wanted to say “it’s fine,” but that felt too formal; not replying seemed impolite, yet he had already been impolitely avoiding Su Yuan for several days. Rarely did he have such moments of indecision. He didn’t know what to do for a moment.

Fortunately, Su Yuan didn’t seem to mind.

“I’ve noticed that people here call all grandmothers ‘A-po’.”

“Yes. If they have the same name, they’re called ‘Little A-po’ or ‘Big A-po’ depending on their age.”

Su Yuan laughed again. “Pei Xing, you really seem to know what I’m thinking.”

He didn’t turn his head this time, but Pei Xing could still see his curved eyes and slightly raised cheekbones. He was very pale so pale he seemed to have no color at all.

This reminded him of the pills he saw while cleaning up the glass shards that night: four round ones, two oblong ones, and three capsules.

The two of them turned through several streets. During this time, Pei Xing listened quietly as Su Yuan spoke, occasionally answering questions about Fu County.

They were lucky enough to be Auntie Xiu’s first customers.

Auntie Xiu didn’t speak Mandarin, and Su Yuan didn’t seem to intend to speak first, so Pei Xing stepped forward and bought different flavors of meat pies.

“Which one do you want to eat first?”

Su Yuan pursed his lips and pointed to Pei Xing’s right hand. His gesture was unique his index finger and thumb extended together, like a hand-gun gesture.

Does he know he looks cute doing that? Pei Xing thought.

“I can only eat one,” Su Yuan held the oil paper wrapping the meat pie with both hands. “Will you come with me again next time? I want to try the other flavor, but I can’t find the way.”

Pei Xing nodded and moved from behind Su Yuan to the side closer to the road. “So, why did you come to Fu County alone?”

The students he tutored had mentioned it; he remembered.

Su Yuan took a small bite and chewed slowly. “I came to see the Crested Ibises.”

Pei Xing raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been coming for three years?”

“I haven’t seen the one I wanted to see yet.”

This was an answer he hadn’t expected. Pei Xing looked at Su Yuan eating the meat pie seriously and couldn’t bear to interrupt him.

However, by the time they walked back to where the bicycles were parked, Su Yuan still hadn’t finished the meat pie.

“Don’t force yourself if you can’t finish it,” Pei Xing said.

Su Yuan stood by his bicycle and thought seriously. “Mmm, it’s a bit of a waste.”

Pei Xing glanced at the mouth of the alley where three stray dogs were drooling and wagging their tails. He took the remaining half of the meat pie from Su Yuan and told him not to come over yet. Stray dogs could easily start a fight over food. Pei Xing divided it into three pieces, tossed them in different directions, and walked back to Su Yuan.

The two of them mounted their bicycles and rode toward the small courtyard with the persimmon tree in a moment as quiet as the sea.

As they were going up the stairs, Su Yuan suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at him seriously under the early moonlight.

“Pei Xing, you haven’t replied to my messages, and you rejected my friend request on WeChat. That makes me a little sad.”