What's Wrong With Being Fifteen Years Older Than Me?! - Chapter 17

Ye Li’s hand moved faster than her brain, and she pushed Qin Shu away. “Qin Shu, what are you doing? Are you crazy?” she said, disgusted.

Qin Shu, who had been pushed away, was a little stunned. Her eyes showed a hint of hurt. “I’m serious. I’m not joking.”

“You must be drunk,” Ye Li said, putting her hands in her down jacket pockets and turning to leave.

“Ye Li!” Qin Shu took a couple of steps after her, but then her feet were rooted to the spot. She looked down and thought about Ye Li’s reaction. A bitter smile appeared on her face.

When Ye Li returned to the room, there were three people inside. Han Yueyue and Tang Qianxia were singing a duet, and Lu Zhiyun was sitting alone on the sofa. She sat down next to Auntie Lu, leaving a little space between them. She quickly poured herself a cup of soda. Small bubbles immediately appeared on the surface of the clear glass. She held the cup and gulped it all down. Even though it wasn’t cold, it had a chilled feel to it, along with the fizz of a carbonated drink.

Lu Zhiyun glanced at the girl next to her and asked casually, “Did Qin Shu not come back with you?”

Ye Li accidentally burped. She quickly raised her hand to cover her mouth, embarrassed. “I don’t know. She was walking behind me. She should be here soon.”

When Qin Shu came in, Han Yueyue had just finished her song. She held the microphone and yelled at the girl standing at the door. “Cousin, come on. Let’s sing the next one together.”

“I’m going home. Are you coming?” Qin Shu’s tall figure stood by the door. Her face was in the shadows, but her voice was clearly unhappy.

A cold wind swept through the empty street. The friction of the lighter wheel created a red spark in the darkness. Qin Shu walked and smoked, not saying a word. Han Yueyue followed behind her the whole time. She finally couldn’t take it anymore and rushed to catch up to her. “Why are we leaving so early?” she asked.

“You’re a complete airhead. There’s no saving you,” Qin Shu said, giving her a tired look. She blew out a puff of smoke and continued to walk.

“Then tell me what happened!” Han Yueyue said, rushing to catch up again.

The girl walking in front of her responded lightly, “I confessed to Ye Li, and she rejected me.” In just a few words, she summed up the entire night.

Han Yueyue froze on the spot.

After dropping off Tang Qianxia, Lu Zhiyun drove Ye Li home. The car was quiet. The radio was playing Cheer Chen’s “Little Dust.” A lazy, soft female voice sang:

“We run into a puzzle we can’t solve, hidden in the unfinished masterpiece between you and me…”

The warm air from the vents made Ye Li’s cheeks a little flushed. Her fingers played with the drawstring of her hoodie. After thinking about it for a while, she decided to open up about her confusion.

“Qin Shu… she confessed to me on the way back from the bathroom.”

The girl’s slightly awkward voice came from the side. Lu Zhiyun’s fingers on the steering wheel tightened slightly. She had been thinking about how to bring up the topic, but she hadn’t expected it to happen this way.

“And?” the woman asked, pretending to be calm.

“And I rejected her,” Ye Li answered bluntly.

Lu Zhiyun raised her eyebrows in surprise and glanced at the rearview mirror. She could see a corner of the passenger seat. In that moment, a weight was lifted from her heart.

“It’s a headache when your good friend confesses to you. I don’t know if I rejected her the right way. I never thought Qin Shu would like me. We’ve known about her sexuality for a long time, but she shouldn’t have liked me!” From the girl’s agitated tone, it was clear she was very upset.

Lu Zhiyun’s nerves relaxed a little, and she smiled faintly. “Xiaoli, you did the right thing. Your main task and energy should be focused on your studies. Parents in the US are more open-minded, and a lot of kids your age date, but this isn’t the US. You don’t have to feel bad about it.”

“And there’s no reason for you to feel inferior just because someone likes you. You are a wonderful girl.”

“Do you really think I’m wonderful, Auntie Lu?” Ye Li pursed her lips and started listing her flaws. “My grades are average, my family is average, my looks are average…”

Before she could finish, Lu Zhiyun interrupted her with a soft smile. “Who said our Xiaoli is average? You’re so beautiful.”

Ye Li froze in the passenger seat. Her ears felt hot, and her face turned a little red.

“And even though you don’t have top grades, you have many strengths. For example, your math is great, and your logical reasoning skills are strong. For example, you have a talent for drawing… So, the people who like you will naturally see your strengths. Do you understand?”

“Oh,” the girl said, her fingers curling awkwardly. She turned to look out the window. The window reflected the woman’s profile, bright with a smile. Ye Li looked at her for a moment and then said, “You look happy, Auntie Lu.”

“Because you told me about this on your own. It means you trust me enough, right?” Lu Zhiyun said, turning her head to look at her. Her gentle eyes were clear and beautiful, like a peaceful autumn lake.

“Y-yeah,” Ye Li said, her face getting hotter.

Not long after they got home, Ye Li received a message on QQ from Han Yueyue.

[Han Yueyue: So my cousin really confessed to you?]

[Ye Li: Qin Shu told you?]

[Han Yueyue: Holy crap! Is it true? I thought she was kidding.]

[Han Yueyue: I can’t believe my cousin would try to go after someone so close to home. But it looks like you rejected her pretty quickly. She looked like she lost her soul tonight.]

[Ye Li: I couldn’t have said yes. It would have felt wrong.]

As she wrote her reply, Ye Li couldn’t help but think about how close Qin Shu had come to kissing her. It was a good thing she had reacted so fast.

[Ye Li: Can you comfort her for me? We shouldn’t see each other for a while. It’s too awkward.]

[Han Yueyue: Hehe, I bet she doesn’t want to see you either. You know how proud she is.]

As she was about to type a reply, an overseas call came in. It was her dad.

“Xiaoli, are you resting?” Ye Li asked, taking her phone and unzipping her jacket with one hand. “No, I just got back with Auntie Lu. We had dinner and then went to sing karaoke.”

“You went to karaoke, too? That’s nice. Don’t blame your dad for not being there for your 16th birthday.”

“It’s been this way for a few years, hasn’t it?” the girl said, pouting. She hung her jacket on the drying rack at the end of her bed with one hand.

“I’ll try to come back for the New Year next year. I promise,” her dad said, his voice firm.

“Whatever,” Ye Li said, not looking forward to it. “This year’s New Year hasn’t even happened yet, and you’re already talking about next year. Let’s just talk about it next year. Anyway, I’m used to spending it at other people’s houses now.”

“Make sure you listen to Auntie Lu, okay? Your Auntie Lu gave up such a good job in the US to come back here and work as a university teacher with not much of a future…”

“I know. You always say that,” Ye Li said, sitting down on her bed. She pursed her lips and couldn’t help but ask, “Dad, why is Auntie Lu so good to me? Does she owe our family something?”

The man on the other end of the phone froze and then laughed unnaturally. “What are you talking about?”

“Then if she doesn’t owe our family anything, why is she so good to me? Dad, you have to give me a reason.” This question had been in Ye Li’s mind for years. Even if Auntie Lu was her mom’s good friend, as her dad had said, she couldn’t believe that a friend would make such a great sacrifice for her friend’s child. She herself would find it hard to do the same.

“That’s none of your business. Your job right now is to study hard and get into a good university, okay?” Just as she expected, her dad was always evasive when it came to this topic. Ye Li lost all interest in talking and hung up after a few more words.

After her birthday, Ye Li didn’t see Qin Shu at school. She couldn’t escape the awkwardness. They hadn’t even run into each other at school. Christmas was over, and New Year’s was coming.

On the evening of December 31, Ye Li was doing her homework in the living room with one earbud in. In the kitchen, the sound of a knife hitting the cutting board echoed through the room. Suddenly, the knife clattered against the quartz countertop, and a soft hiss came from the woman. The girl in the living room immediately pulled out her earbud and ran into the kitchen. She saw Lu Zhiyun standing at the sink, rinsing her bleeding finger under running water.

“Wait, I’ll be right there,” Ye Li said, returning to the living room. She quickly rummaged through the green dresser and finally found the small first-aid kit in a drawer. “Auntie Lu, come out so I can wrap it up for you.” She opened the kit and took out the iodine and a bandage.

“I can do it myself. Go back to your homework,” Lu Zhiyun said, walking out of the kitchen with her hand curled up.

“It’s okay, you sit down. I’ll do it,” Ye Li said, forcing her to sit on the couch. She knelt in front of her and picked up the woman’s injured finger. Auntie Lu’s hand was beautiful. Her fingers were long, her knuckles were well-defined, and her skin was smooth and fair like jade, with a hint of redness at the tips. Ye Li held her breath and carefully disinfected the wound with iodine.

“Does it hurt?” the girl asked seriously, looking up.

“No, it doesn’t,” Lu Zhiyun said, quietly looking at the girl kneeling in front of her. Her gentle eyes radiated warmth.

Ye Li unintentionally glanced at her again and then looked down, embarrassed. Why is she looking at me like that? It’s just a bandage. Ye Li’s heart started to beat faster.

Thump, thump… thump, thump… She could feel the woman’s gaze on her, and her face started to feel warm.