What's Wrong With Being Fifteen Years Older Than Me?! - Chapter 18

On New Year’s morning, the winter fog formed a hazy gray film on the glass window. The heat was on inside, making it feel like a completely different world. Ye Li woke up early in her thin cashmere pajamas and toasted bread in the living room. It was true that a person’s habits and tastes change over time. When she first came to live with Auntie Lu, she wasn’t used to the simple Western breakfast, but now, she found it convenient and easy.

At first, she hated how her host would take out a bunch of jars and bottles from the fridge every morning, but now Ye Li found herself stopping at the jam aisle in the supermarket, picking out her favorite flavors.

The bathroom door opened. Lu Zhiyun had just washed her hair, and her long, wet hair was draped over her shoulders. At the same time, the toaster popped up.

“Auntie Lu,” Ye Li said, looking at her.

“Hmm?” Lu Zhiyun looked up from drying her hair with a towel and smiled.

“Let me blow-dry your hair,” the girl offered, her eyes a little hesitant.

Lu Zhiyun’s slender fingers on the towel paused for a moment, then she gave a soft smile. “Okay,” she replied gently.

The woman sat down in a chair in front of the balcony. Ye Li plugged in the hair dryer and turned it on, filling the room with a buzzing sound. Ye Li carefully picked up her long hair and let the warm air from the dryer spread evenly over it. The clean scent of shampoo wafted over. Her wet hair gradually dried in Ye Li’s hands, returning to its original state. Auntie Lu had beautiful hair, soft and shiny. It was clear she took good care of it. In Ye Li’s experience, she had never met a woman who was so meticulous, down to every single strand of hair.

When she was done, she turned off the hair dryer, and the room was quiet again.

“Thank you, Xiaoli,” Lu Zhiyun said, turning her head and looking up at her. The morning sun came in from the balcony, and the light passed through the woman’s brown hair, creating a golden glow. Her skin had a soft, matte glow to it. This scene was beautiful, like a frozen moment from a movie.

“No problem. I’ll go put the hair dryer away.” The girl turned around and left, feeling a little anxious.

At breakfast, Lu Zhiyun suddenly brought up a new flower and bird market in the city.

“Do you want to go out and walk around today, Xiaoli?”

“Sure, I don’t have anything else to do,” Ye Li said, stuffing a piece of toast into her mouth.

The two of them got ready and left. The moment they opened the door, they ran into their neighbor across the hall.

“Oh my, you must have the heat on. It’s so warm. How much does it cost a month?” the female neighbor asked, rubbing her hands together. She was bundled up in several layers of clothes.

“A little less than 2,000 yuan,” Lu Zhiyun answered vaguely.

“You guys have money to spend so much money on the heat in this old neighborhood.”

They didn’t talk for long. Ye Li and Auntie Lu went downstairs. The neighbor waited for her husband to come out and said, gossiping, “Do you know how much their heat is a month? One or two thousand yuan. Installing it costs tens of thousands, and a whole winter’s heating bill is not cheap. I’m telling you, people who come back from overseas sure know how to live.”

The man finished changing his shoes by the door and said, frowning in annoyance, “Why do you care so much about what other people do?”

Jingchuan was in a place that wasn’t quite North or South. The winters were cold and damp, and there was no central heating. Installing a private heating system was an expensive endeavor. Ye Li had never worried about the cost of living before, and it was her first time hearing about the monthly heating bill.

“The heating bill is that much a month?” she asked, buckling her seatbelt.

“It’s fine,” Lu Zhiyun answered lightly. She quickly turned on the car’s heater. She saw the girl in deep thought and added, “These aren’t things you need to worry about, Xiaoli.” Even though she said that every time, Ye Li still felt a little burdened. She didn’t know if the money her dad sent every month was enough to cover all of this.

The new flower and bird market was in the new part of Jingchuan. It was large and had a lot of new things, making it the biggest flower and bird market in the city. It had only been open for a few days, and the parking lot was packed. Lu Zhiyun had to search for a long time to find a spot.

“Are you cold?” the woman asked, reaching for Ye Li’s hand to check her temperature.

The girl shook her head. Her hands were already warm. After Auntie Lu’s slightly cold fingers touched hers, they got even warmer instead of cooler.

“It’s really different when you’re young,” Lu Zhiyun said with a smile of envy and continued to walk. Ye Li quietly put the hand she had been holding in her pocket and hurried to catch up.

It was New Year’s, so the market was crowded. The vendors were doing their best to attract customers. Besides the retired, older people, there were also young couples and parents with their kids. Lu Zhiyun picked out a few small pots of flowers, a variety she had always wanted to have. Ye Li wasn’t interested in flowers and plants, so she just walked behind her, bored, until a small, lively animal in a glass display caught her attention.

The girl went to the display and watched. A hamster in a cage was running on its wheel with all its might.

“Do you want to go in and see?” Lu Zhiyun said, appearing behind her.

“Oh,” Ye Li said, nodding.

“Are you here to see our hamsters? We have many different kinds to choose from,” the employee said, greeting them enthusiastically.

“What kind is that one?” Ye Li asked, pointing to the display.

“Oh, that’s a Panda Hamster. If you like hamsters, we also have Syrian, Black, White, and Shih Tzu Hamsters…”

“No, I just think it looks a little unique,” she said. It was a mix of black and white, like a panda, but so small and full of life.

“Little sister, hamsters are great pets. They don’t take up a lot of space and don’t need a lot of your attention. If you take good care of them, they can live for two to three years.”

Before Ye Li could think about it, Lu Zhiyun said, “If you like it, let’s take one home.” And just like that, she got her first pet.

Then they bought a cage, food, snacks, chew toys, bedding, and a bunch of other things for the hamster, which cost several hundred yuan, far more than the hamster itself. On the way home, Ye Li felt a little regret. She wasn’t sure she could take care of such a small animal. It was a little impulsive.

“Do you want to give it a name?” Lu Zhiyun asked, glancing at her as she drove.

“Ma Tuan…?” The girl frowned slightly and casually gave it a food-related name.

“That’s a good one. It’s simple and easy to remember.”

And so, Ma Tuan officially became a new member of the family and was placed in a visible corner of the living room. From then on, Ye Li had another thing to do after school: feed Ma Tuan and watch Ma Tuan.

Time flew by after the New Year. After the summer vacation, Ye Li became a junior. There were a lot of things to do on the first day of school: a school ceremony, moving to a new classroom, and choosing an art major. The homeroom teacher spent a class explaining the art majors and told interested students to sign up as soon as possible. Jingchuan High School had three art majors to choose from in the junior year: fine arts, music, and physical education. It was said that they could also choose to study broadcasting in their senior year.

At lunch in the cafeteria, Han Yueyue came to find Ye Li.

“Did you really sign up for an art major? Is it music or fine arts?”

Ye Li buried her head in her rice. “Fine arts.”

“That’s pretty good. Maybe you’ll be a great artist someday,” Han Yueyue said, a happy smile on her face.

“I’m only doing it because it’ll be easier to get into university,” the girl said, her fingers curling around her chopsticks. A random thought came to her mind: I heard your Auntie Lu likes people who can draw… She quickly put another bite of food in her mouth to get rid of the thought. She was not taking fine arts because of Auntie Lu.

Not long after, Ye Li had her first sketching class. Since she was used to drawing in her free time, the teacher’s lessons weren’t difficult for her. She actually started to love being in the art room. It was much more comfortable than sitting in a classroom and listening to a lecture.

When she got home that day, Ye Li found a new set of art supplies in the living room. Auntie Lu was putting together an easel.

“You’re back. Look at this. Now you can draw at home whenever you want.”

“I have a set at school. You didn’t need to buy me so many,” Ye Li said, her backpack on her shoulder.

The other woman didn’t respond. After she finished assembling it, she said, “Do you want to try it out?” So Ye Li, who had just gotten home, sat in front of the easel.

“What should I draw?” the girl asked, picking up a pencil.

“Do you want to try sketching me?”

“Okay,” the woman said, and she brought a chair and sat down in front of her.

Ye Li drew very carefully. She was pretty good at it, probably because she had practiced on Auntie Lu in private countless times. Auntie Lu’s face was beautiful. Even though she was over thirty, her skin was still full of collagen. She was wearing a low-cut black dress, and her wavy hair fell over her cleavage. Her red lips and white teeth gave her an antique charm, and she was the type of person who would glow in a crowd.

All of Ye Li’s classmates who had met her said she was beautiful. The living room was quiet, with only the sound of the pencil scratching on the paper. The woman sat still, like a beautiful sculpture. Ye Li held her breath and looked up from time to time. It was the first time she was drawing face-to-face, so she was a little nervous.

When she was finally done, the girl let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Lu Zhiyun got up and walked behind her to look. She bent down slightly, and a faint scent wafted to Ye Li’s nose. The woman’s long hair grazed her cheek. Her voice was as gentle as jade. “Xiaoli, you’re really good.”

Ye Li accidentally turned her head and saw Lu Zhiyun’s pale chest. She quickly looked away, her ears turning red. They were both girls, so why was she so embarrassed?!