What's Wrong With Being Fifteen Years Older Than Me?! - Chapter 21.1
When the first ray of sunlight pierced through the curtains and into the room, the girl on the bed moved her eyelids slightly, not wanting to get up. After a few more minutes, a fair, slender arm reached out from under the blanket and fumbled around on the pillow until it found her phone. She quickly pulled it under the blanket. She turned on her phone. The glaring blue light made Ye Li squint. The time was 8:36 a.m.
She had no missed calls or unread messages. It seemed her dad hadn’t looked for her last night. She put her phone back down, pulled the blanket tightly around herself, and went back to sleep. For some reason, Auntie Lu’s bed was so comfortable. She hadn’t slept straight through the night since she had gone home. She was like a little cat in winter, clinging to the warmth and not wanting to leave this cozy nest.
But once her mind was fully awake, she couldn’t fall back asleep. She lay still for a while before getting out of bed. She straightened the sheets and pulled the dust cover back over them. She didn’t come into Auntie Lu’s room often. The few times she had, it was only to get something for herself. She would grab it and leave without lingering.
Today, Ye Li noticed the bookshelves next to Auntie Lu’s desk were full of books, both in Chinese and other languages. Tucked in between them were a few high school and middle school English textbooks. The girl reached out and pulled out an old, familiar-looking middle school English textbook. She was curious and opened it. The pages were covered in dense notes in both English and Chinese. The handwriting was neat and beautiful, like calligraphy.
Ye Li was getting a headache and was about to put the book back when her elbow hit a box below. The unstable black paper box was about to fall, so she quickly knelt to catch it. At the same time, the black paper lid slid to the floor, revealing what was inside.
Ye Li didn’t have a habit of prying, but… the contents of the box couldn’t help but grab her attention. They were all her drawings. The girl reached out and picked up the stack of neatly stacked papers. The one on top was a sketch of Auntie Lu she had done in the living room one night during her second year of high school, not long after she started taking art classes. The second drawing was a potted plant on the balcony that Ye Li had drawn one boring summer night during her first year of high school. Auntie Lu had accidentally seen it, and Ye Li had given it to her. The third one was of Ma Tuan. On the third day of her New Year’s break, not long after they had brought the hamster home from the market, Ye Li had loved its black and white coat so much that she drew its first portrait. Of course, Auntie Lu had taken that one, too.
…
The box was filled with things Ye Li had drawn over the years without much thought. She had even forgotten about some of them, but Auntie Lu had kept every single one. She quickly flipped to the one at the bottom. The memory of sitting in the convenience store on that rainy night five years ago came back to her. It was the first day of her first year of middle school. She hadn’t wanted to do her English homework, so she drew a pig and a sketch of Auntie Lu, whom she had just met outside the KFC window.
Time flies! It was already 2015, not 2010 anymore. She had gone from being uncomfortable living with a stranger to spending all of middle and high school with Auntie Lu. Ye Li let out a soft sigh and put all the drawings back in the box, put the lid on, and put the black box back where it was. She knew she had to leave the room quickly, or she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from exploring more.
After she tidied up a little, Ye Li left the apartment. She went to a nearby breakfast shop and ate something, then went to the bus station to take a bus back to Changqing. It was another long journey of over an hour. The girl put on her headphones and rested her head against the window, pretending to be asleep. In her headphones, Cheer Chen’s “Platonic Love” was playing. Outside the window, one car after another sped by. She was in the last row of the bus, holding her arms. No one bothered her the whole way.
It was noon when Ye Li got home. She pushed the door open. The house was dead silent, but the messy men’s shoes by the entrance showed that her dad was back.
“Dad?” the girl called out. No one answered, so she went into his room to check. The man was lying on the bed with his clothes on, the blanket on top of him. The air was filled with the smell of alcohol. Ye Li covered her nose in disgust and went back to her room. She closed the door and started doing her homework. After finishing math and Chinese, she finally took out her English practice tests. She put on her headphones and started with the listening section.
“Text 1
W: Excuse me, can I catch the train to Chicago
M: You could, if the last train hadn’t left 20 minutes ago.”
The robotic, emotionless voices of a man and a woman came through her headphones. After a little while, Ye Li’s mind started to wander. In comparison, Auntie Lu’s English was so much better. For someone like her, who didn’t like foreign languages, it was a treat for her ears.
The sky gradually darkened, and the girl’s stomach began to growl. She held her stomach and walked out of her room, turning on the living room light. The view was clear, and she could see the man sleeping soundly in the room next door. The old man is still not up.
“Dad, what are we eating tonight?” Ye Li’s voice was a little resentful. It slightly shook the man on the bed. He moved and responded half-asleep, “Xiaoli, order some takeout. You don’t have to worry about me.”
She was tired of eating takeout. She had tried almost every takeout restaurant in the area since she had gotten home. The girl went to the kitchen and tried to make something herself. She opened the fridge. All she had were some eggs they had bought at the supermarket two days after they got back. Since it was the New Year, no one had been cooking, so the fridge was empty. Ye Li sighed softly and closed the fridge door. She started to cook rice, thinking she could make fried rice.
While the rice was cooking, she took out her phone. What are the steps to make fried rice? She was about to open the search engine when her finger hesitated. She quickly backed out and opened WeChat, tapping on Auntie Lu’s profile.
She typed a message and sent it.
[Ye Li: Auntie Lu, do I fry the egg first or the rice first for fried rice?]
She had a vague idea of the answer, but for some reason, she wanted to use this as an excuse to send her a message. She didn’t know when she would see the message, though. There was a time difference between here and Florida. Ye Li put her phone down on the counter and grabbed some money, planning to go to the supermarket at the entrance of the residential area to buy some side dishes for the fried rice. Just as she was putting on her jacket, a notification from her phone in the kitchen rang out. It was very clear in the quiet house.
The girl quickly took off her half-worn shoes, put on her slippers, and rushed to the kitchen. It was a reply from Auntie Lu. She had given her a very detailed, step-by-step guide and asked, [Are you making dinner yourself, Xiaoli?]
[Ye Li: Yeah, my dad is drunk and passed out. I have to make it myself.] She was about to put her phone down after replying, but she decided to keep it in her hand and take it with her. They talked a little on the way. Ye Li got a few more recipes and bought all the ingredients for them at the supermarket, secretly wanting to share her results with her later.
Ye Li had never had a chance to cook. Her memories of her mom were very blurry. After her mom passed away, her dad took care of her, but it was more of a hands-off approach. Besides eating at school, they would usually eat out. After she went to live with Auntie Lu, she did all the housework and cooking, so Ye Li had even fewer chances to learn. Tonight was her first time trying. Maybe it was because she wanted to make it look good to show Auntie Lu later, but Ye Li was extra serious and careful.
The sounds from the kitchen gradually woke up the man in the bedroom. When he heard the sizzling sound of cold vegetables hitting the hot oil, he shot up from the bed, as if he was afraid his daughter would burn the house down while he was sleeping.
“Xiaoli, what are you doing?”
“Cooking. What else?” the girl replied impatiently from the kitchen.
An hour later, Ye Deyou, who was still groggy and had bedhead, sat at the dining table, his eyes staring blankly at the three dishes and one soup in front of him.
“Did you make all of this?” The man reached for his chopsticks, but the girl slapped his hand away.
“Dad, don’t touch it yet. I need to take a picture.” Ye Li held her phone horizontally and took a bunch of pictures of the steaming hot dishes on the table. Then she went to an editing app to find the perfect filter.
Ye Deyou’s stomach grumbled. He swallowed and asked softly, “How much longer?”
“What’s the rush? I’m editing the pictures,” the girl said, her eyebrows furrowed.
The man didn’t understand. “Why do you need to edit a picture of food? Who are you sending it to so late?”
Ye Li’s finger paused. She quickly put her phone away and sat down in the chair behind her. “No one. I’m just going to post it on my Moments. Go ahead and eat.”
Ye Deyou finally got permission to eat and eagerly took a bite of the dish.
“How is it? Does it taste okay?” Ye Li asked, anticipating his answer.
The man’s face broke into a surprised smile. “I can’t believe my daughter is so good at cooking on her first try. It’s pretty good.”
Ye Li looked down at her chopsticks and said, a little embarrassed, “Auntie Lu sent me the recipe. I just followed it.”
Ye Deyou took a deep breath and said seriously, “Your Auntie Lu has put so much effort into teaching you. I didn’t expect to see such a big change in you. It’s all thanks to her hard work. Tomorrow, let’s go to the store and get her a New Year’s gift to thank her.”
“What kind of gift?” the girl asked, taking a bite of rice.
“From the jewelry store. A big piece of gold, just pick one,” the man said extravagantly.
Ye Li: “…” I think you’d better not. Do you want to turn a stylish woman like Auntie Lu into a country bumpkin?
The next day, Ye Li was dragged by her dad to a flashy gold jewelry store in the town center.
“Xiaoli, help me pick one. How would this bracelet look on your Auntie Lu?” Ye Deyou pointed at a gold bracelet in the glass case.
The girl glanced at it in disgust. “What is there to pick? These styles are so tacky. Auntie Lu definitely won’t like it.”
“You don’t get it, kid. This bracelet costs tens of thousands. You can use it to get cash in an emergency. It holds its value!” the man scolded her softly.
“Auntie Lu is well-off. She won’t ever need to trade a gold bracelet for cash,” Ye Li mumbled under her breath.
“What did you say?” Ye Deyou didn’t hear her clearly.
“I said, Dad, the selection here is too small. Why don’t we go to Jingchuan to look?” The man froze and started to think seriously. “Jingchuan is bigger. There might be more options.”
So, after Ye Li’s coaxing, her dad drove her to Jingchuan. To her surprise, the man went into another jewelry store to look at gold. Did every newly rich, middle-aged man have a soft spot for gold?
“Sir, are you looking for something for your wife? This bracelet is very nice. It’s 86 grams. It’s elegant and beautiful, and it’s not too heavy,” the saleswoman said politely.
“She’s not his wife!” Ye Li corrected her.
Ye Deyou smiled awkwardly. “It’s a gift for a benefactor.”
“Then this bracelet is even more perfect. Your benefactor will definitely feel your gratitude when she receives this gift,” the saleswoman said with a brighter smile.
Ye Deyou picked up the bracelet and weighed it in his hand. He did some mental math. Even with the brand’s labor costs, it was only a little over 20,000 yuan. It didn’t feel like enough.
“86 grams is too light. Do you have anything over 100 grams?” the man asked directly, putting the bracelet down.
The saleswoman’s eyes lit up. She was so excited that she was a little incoherent. “Y-yes, we do. Follow me.”
Ye Li secretly clutched her chest. It seemed her dad was determined to go down the path of a country tycoon and wasn’t turning back.
“Dad, you can take your time. I’m going to walk around here. I’ll come back to find you later.”
“Okay, don’t go too far!” The man was too focused on his selection to pay attention to anything else. The girl walked out of the jewelry store, her hands in her pockets.
In Ye Li’s mind, Auntie Lu was always a tasteful and fashionable woman. She rarely wore cheap clothes. Even her wristwatch, which would occasionally peek out from under her sleeve, cost tens of thousands. The girl’s steps stopped in front of a store called Van Cleef & Arpels. She secretly squeezed the bank card in her pocket. The next second, she gathered her courage and walked in.
At first, the saleswoman didn’t think such a young girl was a serious customer. But then she noticed Ye Li’s clothes were all high-end, and she quickly went from a lazy, indifferent stance to a welcoming one.
“What can I help you with?”
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