What's Wrong With Being Fifteen Years Older Than Me?! - Chapter 21.2

Ye Li pointed to a bracelet in the case. “Can I see this one?” The saleswoman was a little slow to respond, but immediately took it out.

“This bracelet is a classic reinterpretation of our first Alhambra jewel, which was released in 1968. The Vintage Alhambra collection has always been popular for its unique design.”

When Ye Li heard her slight stutter and her not-so-standard English, she frowned. Auntie Lu’s English was so much better.

“This bracelet is shaped like a lucky four-leaf clover and is made of mother-of-pearl and 18K gold. It’s timeless and elegant. It’s love at first sight.”

The saleswoman continued her pitch. It was true that it was love at first sight. Ye Li had her eyes on this bracelet the moment she walked in.

“Are you buying it for yourself or for someone else?”

“Someone else…” the girl said, looking up, a little uncomfortable.

“Is it for an older woman? She must be a very special person.”

Ye Li didn’t say anything. She took out her bank card. “I’ll take it.” The POS machine showed the price of 33,500 yuan. It was the first time 17-year-old Ye Li had ever bought something so expensive. The bank card had a little less than 35,000 yuan in it, which was all the allowance she had saved over the years. Auntie Lu gave her a lot of allowance, and she never spent it all. She didn’t have many wants, so it just kept building up.

If she was going to thank her, Ye Li felt that Auntie Lu would probably like this bracelet more than the gold one her dad had picked out. Of course, that was just her own opinion.

On the way home, Ye Deyou showed off the bracelet he had bought. “206 grams. Pretty cool, right?” The girl rested her head on the window and didn’t say anything. She squinted, and her long eyelashes cast a shadow on her face. Her hand in her pocket squeezed the small box, making sure it was still there.

A few days later, Ye Li received a message from her elementary school classmate, Cheng Muzhi, inviting her to sing karaoke that night. She said a few other people from their old class would be there, too. Ye Li wasn’t interested at first and didn’t want to go. But then she found out her dad had another dinner party and was leaving her at home alone again, so she agreed to Cheng Muzhi’s invitation. Changqing wasn’t a big county. Ye Li, who grew up there, knew all the popular streets. After she got the location, she took a taxi.

Just as Cheng Muzhi said, the room was filled with their old elementary school classmates, but a few of them had changed so much that Ye Li couldn’t recognize them.

“Come on, Ye Li. It’s been a while. Let’s have a drink.” A guy who was cute in elementary school but had a perverted-looking face with a mustache in high school came over with a beer. Ye Li was uncomfortable with the close contact and quietly moved to the side.

“I don’t drink.”

“Come on. You don’t look like the type of girl who doesn’t drink. We’re just having fun. It’s boring if you don’t drink.” The guy kept pestering her. The way he looked at her seemed to say, You’re so tall and a little snobby. You look like the type of girl who’s a queen bee at school. You should be down to do anything. Cheng Muzhi came over and saved her. “It’s okay if Ye Li doesn’t drink. Don’t force her. Let’s sing instead.”

At that moment, Ye Li had lost half her interest in staying, but she didn’t leave right away out of respect for Cheng Muzhi.

“Come on, is there a song you want to sing?” Cheng Muzhi asked, pulling her to the song selection screen.

The girl’s finger slid across the screen. She paused, then typed in the song title: “Right Here Waiting.” It was the song Auntie Lu had sung in karaoke more than a year ago. Ye Li didn’t know why, but the song suddenly came to her mind.

“An English song!” Cheng Muzhi was surprised.

As the melody began to play, Ye Li waited patiently with the microphone in her hand, as if she were back on her 16th birthday. But her singing was awkward, and the words didn’t flow. It was nowhere near as good as the way the other woman had sung it.

After a verse, the girl lost her confidence and handed the microphone to Cheng Muzhi. “Change the song. I’m not good at this.”

“No, Ye Li, you were great!” Cheng Muzhi said, looking at her with admiration.

“I need to go to the bathroom.” Ye Li still left the room. She washed her hands and face in the bathroom, trying to get the image of Auntie Lu out of her head. In the hallway, she accidentally ran into a woman who looked very similar to Auntie Lu. For a moment, Ye Li was about to call out to her. But then a man came out of the room, roughly grabbed the woman’s shoulder, and tried to kiss her. The woman was struggling. Ye Li rushed forward without a second thought and pulled the man away. That’s when she saw the woman’s face. She wasn’t Auntie Lu. She didn’t even look like her.

“What are you doing? I’m just kissing my wife. Why are you so nosy?” The man saw that she was just a kid and didn’t want to start a fight.

“Sorry…” the girl said awkwardly. She quickly walked out of the karaoke place with her head down.

After she got out, she immediately sent a message to Cheng Muzhi, saying she had an emergency and had to leave. For the next few days after the New Year, Ye Li felt a little lost. She spent her days either doing homework or sleeping, and she rarely went out. Soon, it was time for her dad to leave again.

The night before he left, the father and daughter returned to Jingchuan. Ye Deyou returned the rented Mercedes-Benz, and he slept on the couch in the living room.

“You have to take care of the gold bracelet I bought for your Auntie Lu. It costs over 60,000. Don’t lose it. Give it to her when she gets back.”

“I know, I know,” Ye Li said. Her ears were tired of hearing it.

“And, for the next year and a half, you have to listen to your Auntie Lu and study hard. Try to get into a good university. Maybe I can send you to study abroad then.”

“My English is terrible. I don’t want to go abroad,” the girl said, casually peeling an orange on the single couch. She had no idea that one day she would be begging her dad to send her abroad.

The next day, Ye Li took her dad to the airport. She watched his back as he walked away. She didn’t feel like crying, but her nose felt a little sore. As she turned to leave, she received a message from Auntie Lu.

[Lu Zhiyun: Xiaoli, did you take your dad to the airport?]

The girl looked down and sniffled, then typed a reply.

[Ye Li: Yes, he’s already gone in. I’m about to go back.]

[Lu Zhiyun: Okay. I’ve booked a flight for the day after tomorrow. Take care of yourself for the next few days, Xiaoli.]

Ye Li smiled wryly. She was 17. Why did she sound like she was talking to a 7-year-old who couldn’t take care of herself?

After she got home, the girl lay alone on her bed, staring at the ceiling. The day after tomorrow… She suddenly grabbed her phone and looked for flights from Florida for the day after tomorrow. Then she plopped back down. It would be three days until she arrived. So long.

Auntie Lu’s flight was scheduled to arrive in Jingchuan around 9 a.m. Ye Li set an alarm for 6 a.m., even though she didn’t know why she was getting up so early. She got up at six and got ready in half an hour. It would only take her forty minutes to get to the airport. She might as well wash her hair. The girl rushed to the bathroom and washed her hair. After she blow-dried it, she looked in the mirror and remembered Auntie Lu’s curling iron in the cabinet. On a whim, she took it out. She didn’t know how to use it, so she just curled the ends of her hair, making a perfect curl.

Something was still missing. Ye Li ran back to her room and found a brand-new, unused lipstick. Tang Qianxia gave her lipstick every birthday, so she had a lot of them. The girl went back to the mirror and carefully applied the red lipstick to her lips. She thought the color was too strong, so she wiped some of it off with a tissue until it was just a light reddish color. She had to admit, after all that effort, she looked a little different.

It was 7:30 a.m. Ye Li put on two bracelets and left the house. The airport was extra crowded today. It must have been because school was starting soon, so people were coming in from all over. Ye Li sat on a bench and waited, checking the time on her phone every now and then. She felt a little anxious. As it got closer to nine, the airport’s broadcasts continued to announce flight information. The girl’s hands were sweaty, and she was getting more and more nervous.

Finally, she heard the announcement for Auntie Lu’s flight. She shot up from her seat and quickly walked to the gate. People were pouring out. Ye Li stood behind the railing, her eyes searching. Her eyes landed on a woman who had just walked out. She was wearing a beige coat and high-waisted straight-leg jeans. Her long hair was draped over her shoulders. She walked with a light step, and her beautiful face was still the most eye-catching in the crowd.

“Over here!” Auntie Lu didn’t seem to have noticed her, so Ye Li waved. Then she saw the surprised look on her face. Ye Li guessed it was because of her hair and the lipstick. She had never really put in the effort to doll herself up before.

“Have you been waiting long?” Lu Zhiyun asked with a soft smile. Her beautiful eyes curved, shining like the morning sun.

“No. Let me get that,” the girl said, flustered. She looked away and reached out to grab her suitcase.

Lu Zhiyun didn’t refuse and let go of the handle, adding, “Thank you, Xiaoli.” After a few steps, Ye Li suddenly remembered something and stopped. “Oh, right. My dad asked me to give you a gift.”

“A gift?” The woman was a little surprised.

“Yeah, to thank you for taking care of me,” Ye Li said.

“Your dad is too kind. You didn’t have to get me anything,” the other woman said. The girl had already pulled out two small boxes from her bag and quickly handed them to her.

“…Two?”

Ye Li’s face flushed. She mumbled a response and then grabbed the suitcase and walked ahead.