What's Wrong With Being Fifteen Years Older Than Me?! - Chapter 13

A week later, Jingchuan High School’s annual fall sports meet began. The sound of uplifting, energetic music filled the campus. All the classes were preparing with great enthusiasm, and the sports field was packed with people.

Ye Li had already put on her school-mandated uniform for the event. The girls wore pink and white T-shirts and shorts, while the boys wore blue and white. The cotton fabric was stretchy and comfortable. The early fall weather was neither too cold nor too warm. There was a thin layer of dew on the grass, and the wind from last night had scattered camphor leaves everywhere, a mix of green and yellow that covered the path to the sports field.

The boys, looking like young teenagers, walked around in just their T-shirts and shorts, while most of the girls put on their uniform jackets. Ye Li was no exception. The combination of a long-sleeved jacket and shorts made her look cool and fashionable. Her long legs, with her already excellent proportions, attracted a lot of attention.

“Ye Li, why do we look so different in the same clothes? You look like a model, and I look like an underdeveloped kid who stole an adult’s clothes,” Han Yueyue said, comparing them with a look of frustration.

Ye Li had her hands in her jacket pockets. She glanced at her with a half-smile. “I guess there’s nothing we can do about that.”

“Oh, right. I heard from my cousin the other day that your auntie is really good at pool. She totally intimidated those hooligans and made them obey her.”

Ye Li nodded slightly, a hint of pride in her smile. “Auntie Lu won a championship at an amateur competition in the US.”

“Wow, that’s so impressive. Your auntie seems to be good at everything. Why is someone like that still single?”

The girl with the ponytail looked down and didn’t say anything.

“Ye Li, is your auntie coming to watch you compete today?” Han Yueyue’s mind worked quickly. She quickly moved on from a subject no one was responding to and came up with a new idea.

“She said she would,” Ye Li said, twiddling her fingers and glancing toward the school gate.

At 8:30 a.m., the school gates opened for parents. Many of them had brought their own flags to cheer for their kids, making a big show of it. Lu Zhiyun was wearing a light gray skirt suit with a foggy blue shirt and a pleated skirt that made her legs look even longer. She looked elegant and refined. With her brown, wavy hair and sophisticated makeup, she stood out among the crowd of parents.

Ye Li and Han Yueyue had already made it to the field and split up to go to their respective classes. The first event was a running relay, and the second was the 100-meter dash, in which Ye Li was competing. There were fewer than thirty minutes until the event started, and many students were already warming up, ready to show off their skills. With nothing else to do, Ye Li started stretching. As she glanced back, she saw Auntie Lu in the crowd of parents. She seemed to glow naturally; you could spot her in the crowd in an instant. At that very moment, Lu Zhiyun also saw Ye Li.

The woman smiled and raised her hand, waving gracefully. Ye Li returned a slight smile. The cheerleading squads came out, and the host introduced the opening ceremony. The first event was about to start, and the atmosphere on the field grew more tense.

Ye Li took off her uniform jacket and walked toward where Auntie Lu was standing. Before she could say anything, Lu Zhiyun instinctively took the jacket from her and said gently, “Winning is secondary. Please be careful, okay?” Her voice was light and soft, like a gentle spring rain—magnetic and comforting.

“Okay, I know,” the girl said, nodding.

Ye Li was about to say something else when Lu Zhiyun’s phone rang. She paused, waiting patiently.

“Another blind date?” The woman’s eyebrows furrowed, and her lips were pursed in a look of frustration.

Hearing the words “blind date,” an unknown current went through Ye Li’s body, and her back straightened involuntarily.

“Okay, okay, I get it. I’ll go this one time, okay? Okay, this weekend.” Auntie Lu had actually agreed to go on a blind date? Ye Li’s mood sank. She felt a feeling she couldn’t quite explain.

“Ye Li, hurry up and get over here!” The class president was calling her name. Ye Li had to quickly say goodbye to Auntie Lu and rush back to her class. But ever since she heard what was said, she felt uneasy and distracted.

The 100-meter dash was about to begin. Han Yueyue’s shot put event was in the afternoon, and Qin Shu hadn’t signed up for anything, so they were both in the bleachers, cheering for Ye Li. During the final warm-up, Ye Li looked up and gave them a weak smile in response.

“Cousin, do you think Ye Li can win?” Han Yueyue said, biting on her straw, holding a carton of yogurt she had gotten from the classroom.

“With those long legs, it would be a waste if she didn’t win,” Qin Shu said, propping her chin on her hand. Her gaze was fixed on the girl in pink and white shorts on the field. She then looked down at her own legs, feeling a little frustrated. How did that girl get taller than me? We were about the same height last winter. Even though it was only an inch or two, Qin Shu felt a little annoyed.

“On your marks, get set…” The referee was about to blow the whistle and fire the starting gun. All the runners got into their starting positions. Ye Li’s heart was pounding. Her fingers were on the track. The moment the race started, the girl ran with all her might. She could feel the wind rushing past her ears.

Just as everyone thought she was going to win the race, Ye Li got distracted. Her mind uncontrollably started thinking about Auntie Lu’s blind date. Was she going to get married, just like Auntie Tang? Even if she was, it was her life and had nothing to do with her. The next second, the girl stumbled and fell hard to the ground. She could almost hear her bones shifting. It was no exaggeration. The pain was intense. Amid the chaotic noise, she saw several people rushing toward her at the same time.

The school’s medical team brought a stretcher and carried Ye Li away. The girl was shaking from the pain. She bit her lip and started to break out in a cold sweat. Her hands instinctively gripped the sides of the stretcher. Even so, she was strong enough not to shed a single tear. Running beside the stretcher were her homeroom teacher, her gym teacher, Han Yueyue, Qin Shu, and Auntie Lu. In a daze, Ye Li saw that Auntie Lu looked like she was about to cry, her eyes red and glistening with tears. She wasn’t sure if she was hallucinating. She just felt so much pain that she couldn’t think of anything else.

Since there was a possibility of a fracture, the school infirmary couldn’t treat her. They had to transfer her to a nearby hospital as soon as possible. Since students couldn’t leave the school, the homeroom teacher and the gym teacher had to stay on the field to maintain order. In the end, only Lu Zhiyun accompanied Ye Li in the ambulance.

“Don’t be scared, Xiaoli. I’m here. I’ll be with you the whole time.” The woman sat beside her, holding the girl’s hand tightly. Her beautiful face was now filled with worry and tension.

“The competition… I messed up,” Ye Li said, opening her mouth with great difficulty.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” Lu Zhiyun said, shaking her head as she patiently tried to comfort her. “No one’s going to blame you, okay? This is just a regular sports meet. Another student will take your place. Don’t feel bad about it.”

The girl slowly closed her eyes. She had wanted to show off for Auntie Lu, but it had turned into this mess. The ambulance quickly arrived at the hospital. After getting an X-ray, receiving anesthesia, and having surgery, Ye Li woke up in a hospital bed. Her right leg was propped up and in a cast. It looked a little comical.

“Xiaoli, are you awake?” Lu Zhiyun was by her bed in an instant.

“I want some water,” the girl said, licking her dry lips.

“The doctor said you can’t eat or drink for six hours after surgery. You need to pass gas first.”

“Pass gas?” Ye Li looked confused. The next second, her face flushed with embarrassment. “Maybe I won’t drink water after all.”

Lu Zhiyun nodded in understanding. “Just lie down for a bit. I’ll take you for a walk in the hallway later.”

Ye Li felt hopeless. There’s no way to escape passing gas!

After the sports meet ended, Han Yueyue and Qin Shu came to visit her. Lu Zhiyun didn’t want to interrupt their conversation, so she excused herself and went out of the room to call Ye Li’s father and inform him of what had happened.

“You look pretty pathetic right now,” Qin Shu said, her arms crossed, as she looked at Ye Li with her leg in a cast.

The girl on the bed gave a helpless smile. “You’re still teasing me at a time like this.”

Han Yueyue said, “How are you feeling, Ye Li? Does it hurt a lot?”

“Maybe the anesthesia is still working, but I don’t feel much pain yet,” Ye Li said.

Qin Shu said, “Well, now you can rest and recover. You get at least a week off from school.”

“Cousin, if you want to show you care, just say so. It’s not like Ye Li wanted a week off like this anyway,” Han Yueyue said, poking Qin Shu with her elbow.

The two didn’t stay long. They had snuck out of school during dinner, so they had to go back. After they left, the room was quiet again. Ye Li lay on the bed, thinking. She couldn’t believe something like this would happen to her when she was almost sixteen.

When Lu Zhiyun returned from her call, she saw a boy in a Jingchuan High School uniform wandering in the hallway, as if he were looking for a room. When she looked closely, she realized it was the boy who had stopped Xiaoli at the school gate that night. He saw her, too, and immediately rushed over with a bag of fruit.

“Excuse me, are you Ye Li’s parent? I’m her classmate, Zhao Zhijie. How is Ye Li? Can I go in and see her?”

A hint of caution entered the woman’s eyes. Her attitude was completely different from how she treated girls. She seemed friendly and polite on the surface, but her refusal was firm.

“Xiaoli needs her rest right now. I’ll pass on your regards. Thank you for your concern.”