What's Wrong With Being Fifteen Years Older Than Me?! - Chapter 19
Time quickly passed, and it was the beginning of 2015. Ye Li was on winter break from her second year of high school. The college entrance exam was only a year and a half away.
Her dad was coming home today. Ye Li accidentally overslept until she heard Auntie Lu’s voice from outside her room.
“Xiaoli, you need to get up. We have to go to the airport.” The girl on the bed groaned and pulled the blanket over her head. She had stayed up too late reading a novel and didn’t want to get up at all.
“Do I have to go?” she asked.
“Yes, you do,” the woman’s voice was firm and clear.
After thirty more seconds of procrastinating, Ye Li finally threw off the blanket and sat up. She turned on her phone and saw the time: 9:26 a.m.
It’s still so early. Her tired body fell back onto the soft, warm bed. A second later, Auntie Lu’s demonic voice came from the other side of the door again.
“Xiaoli.”
“I’m coming!”
Ten minutes later, Ye Li was ready and standing at the door, her eyes still half-closed. Lu Zhiyun, who was also ready to leave, suddenly remembered something and rushed back inside. When she came out, a scent of bergamot perfume followed her. Ye Li was used to it. She put her hands in her pockets. The temperature outside was only 1°C. It was like a different world from the warm apartment.
“Here, eat this on the way,” Lu Zhiyun said, putting a packaged sandwich in the girl’s hand. “I almost forgot to give you this.”
Ye Li was surprised. So she didn’t go back in to spray perfume? The sandwich was warm, and it felt good in her hand.
On the highway to the airport, Ye Li ate the sandwich in a few bites. The green scenery outside the window sped by. She scrolled on her phone for a bit and then sat still.
“Your dad is coming home for the New Year. You must be happy, right?” Lu Zhiyun asked, starting a conversation.
“Yeah, I guess,” Ye Li said. She was a little excited but not that excited.
Lu Zhiyun knew the girl was growing up and developing her own ideas. It was normal for her to be a little rebellious and moody. She was no longer the little girl who would cry in the sun when her dad left home. A soft, contented smile appeared on the woman’s face. Just another year and a half. Maybe it will be time for me to leave then.
At Jingchuan International Airport, a woman’s voice announced the latest international flights. Ye Li’s father had flown from Nigeria and had a layover, so he would arrive in Jingchuan this morning. Ye Li didn’t want to admit that the middle-aged man with a suitcase, a flowery shirt, a huge gut, and sunglasses was her dad.
“Is that my dad?” she asked.
“I think so,” Lu Zhiyun said, also a little surprised.
Ye Deyou had a gold chain as thick as his pinky finger around his neck, and his fingers were covered in gold rings. The air of a new rich man was overwhelming. When he reached them, the man took off his sunglasses, his face crinkling with a smile. “Miss Lu, Xiaoli has grown taller again.”
“I stopped growing over a year ago. I’m still 172cm,” the girl said, her expression dull.
“Don’t you think Ye Li’s dad is dressed a little light?” Lu Zhiyun asked, trying to be polite.
“It’s hot in Nigeria. I didn’t think about it when I got on the plane. I haven’t been home for the New Year in so many years, so I thought the temperature would be about the same as when I left.” Ye Deyou rubbed his hands together. The gold chains and rings on his hands were glaring. Ye Li turned away in disgust. What happened to my dad?
When the three of them left the airport with its central heating, Ye Deyou shriveled up from the cold. The flowery shirt flapped in the cold wind, looking a little comical.
“You should get in the car first, Ye Li’s dad. The heat is on,” Lu Zhiyun said, quickly opening the car door for the man.
Ye Li silently helped her dad put his suitcase in the trunk. The car started and drove away from the airport. Ye Deyou, sitting in the back, rubbed the goosebumps on his arms. “Miss Lu, I’d like to treat you and Tang’s family to lunch today. Thank you so much for taking care of Xiaoli while I was gone.”
Lu Zhiyun said, “Tang Qianxia went to her parents’ house yesterday. She might not be back until this afternoon.”
“That’s fine. We can have dinner. Please help me contact her, Miss Lu,” Ye Deyou said, taking a cigarette and a lighter out of his pocket. When Ye Li heard the lighter, she quickly stopped him from the passenger seat. “Dad, don’t smoke in the car.”
“Oh, right. Okay,” the man said, awkwardly putting away the unlit cigarette.
When they got to the city, they went to a mall. Ye Deyou’s revealing clothes attracted a lot of attention from passersby. Ye Li just wanted to dig a hole and bury herself in it. The man picked out a winter outfit. When he went to the checkout, he took out a stack of red cash from his bag and slammed it on the counter. The cashier counted it and returned a few bills. Ye Deyou didn’t want them and told her to give them to Ye Li.
“Here, Xiaoli. For your allowance.” The girl reluctantly took the money, silently complaining about how her dad couldn’t be more low-key.
At seven p.m., Ye Deyou booked a private room at a restaurant near Jingchuan High School and invited Lu Zhiyun and Tang Qianxia’s family to a lavish dinner.
Tang Qianxia said, “Ye Li’s dad, it’s been over a year, right? You look even more prosperous.”
“I had a lot of business trips this year and a lot of dinners. I did put on some weight,” Ye Deyou said, touching his slightly bald head. The large gold rings on his fingers shone brightly in the warm light of the private room.
“Excuse me, waiter. What kind of alcohol do you have? Can you recommend some?” the man asked, waving his hand.
“We have red wine from Chateau Latour, and also Margaux…”
Ye Deyou cut him off and turned to Lu Zhiyun, who was sitting next to him. “Miss Lu, I don’t know much about wine. I’m just a common man. Why don’t you choose?”
Lu Zhiyun said, “Chateau Latour is quite good.”
“C-what…?” Ye Deyou was confused. He instinctively looked at his high school daughter for help, wanting her to translate. Ye Li avoided his gaze, indicating she couldn’t help.
The waiter was a little confused but immediately said, “Then I’ll bring you the bottle from Chateau Latour. Please wait a moment.”
Lu Zhiyun had said it so smoothly that it took her a moment to realize Ye Li’s dad might not have understood. She quickly explained, “Chateau Latour is the red wine from Chateau Latour in Bordeaux, France.”
“Dad, do you have that much money?” Ye Li didn’t know much about wine, but she could tell it wasn’t cheap from the name. She pulled on her dad’s sleeve and whispered.
“Dad is not who he used to be. It’s just a bottle of wine. It’s no big deal,” Ye Deyou said, waving his hand and telling her not to worry.
The wine and food were served. Ye Deyou toasted everyone to show his gratitude.
“I, Ye Deyou, thank you all for taking care of my daughter. I have nothing to repay you with, so I’m putting it all in this wine!” The man drank the red wine like it was a shot and immediately filled his glass again.
In the end, Ye Li was the one who paid the bill because her dad was drunk and passed out. Before that, he had made sure to give his daughter the bag with the money, telling her not to let anyone else pay. Ye Li guessed the “anyone else” her dad was talking about was probably Auntie Lu.
The bill came out to 8,600 yuan. One bottle of red wine costs 6,200 yuan. The rest of the food and drinks were just over a thousand yuan. Ye Li felt a little bad about the money and was not used to her father’s extravagant behavior. After dinner, with the help of Auntie Tang’s husband, they managed to get Ye Li’s dad out of the restaurant and into a hotel room nearby.
“Pour, Xiaoli, go pour the wine…” The man was lying on the hotel bed, his face red and reeking of alcohol.
After seeing Tang Qianxia’s family off, Lu Zhiyun returned to the room and saw the girl sitting on the foot of the bed, her face in her hands.
“What’s wrong, Xiaoli?” the woman asked, walking over and patting her shoulder.
Ye Li’s eyebrows were furrowed, then she smoothed them out. “Nothing. I just can’t get used to this.”
“It’s getting late. Are you staying here with your dad, or are you coming home with me?”
“With… with you,” the girl said, not having to think about it at all.
The next day, Ye Li was woken up by a phone call. She fumbled for her phone and put it to her ear, a voice coming out as she squinted.
“Xiaoli, are you up? Get ready to go back to Changqing.” The man’s voice was rushed and a little surreal.
“Do we have to go back to Changqing so early?” the girl asked reluctantly.
“Yes, hurry up. Don’t sleep in. I’ll come to pick you up soon.” The person on the other end hung up, not giving her a chance to think.
When Ye Li got up to pack, Auntie Lu seemed to have expected it and didn’t look surprised. She even helped her pack and put the fruit they had bought yesterday that they hadn’t had a chance to eat in a bag for her to take.
“You eat these, Auntie Lu. I don’t need to take them.”
“I have a flight tonight, so you should take them with you, Xiaoli.” The girl was a little stunned, and a feeling she couldn’t name came over her.
“Oh,” she said, taking the bag. Her fingers tightened around the fruit.
Soon after, Ye Li’s father came to pick her up. Lu Zhiyun gave Ye Li the sandwiches and warm milk she had made that morning and told her, “Don’t forget to study ten vocabulary words every day and practice drawing. And your winter break homework…” The girl nodded at every single thing. The words that she usually found annoying and repetitive felt like they weren’t enough today.
“Miss Lu, you’re so thoughtful and meticulous. I’ll be taking my daughter home now,” Ye Deyou said, putting his hands together and nodding in thanks.
Lu Zhiyun stood in the hallway and waved at the girl’s back, adding softly, “Xiaoli, see you after the New Year.” This time, Ye Li didn’t respond. She left her dad and ran down the stairs. She didn’t know why, but her nose felt sour, and her eyes felt a little uncomfortable. She didn’t want anyone to see her like that.