What's Wrong With Being Fifteen Years Older Than Me?! - Chapter 24.1

Ye Li didn’t remember when she fell asleep last night. All she knew was that after trying a few times to get Auntie Lu’s hand off her and giving up, she somehow managed to fall asleep by pretending it wasn’t there.

But what was happening now?! The girl opened her eyes and was shocked to see that she was hugging Auntie Lu. Her brain froze for a moment. They were supposed to be sleeping on their own sides of the bed, so how did they end up hugging each other? Well, they weren’t exactly on their own sides. After all, Auntie Lu’s hands had invaded her side of the bed last night, not long after she fell asleep. But…

The girl gritted her teeth. It wasn’t like they were completely inseparable now. After staying in that position for about ten minutes, the woman started to show signs of waking up. As if it were her first instinct, Ye Li tightly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. Sure enough, she faintly felt the other person’s arm twitching. Ye Li went along with it and pretended to turn over, completely disentangling herself from the other person. Then, she heard the woman behind her get out of bed. The bathroom door was quietly closed.

The girl on the bed finally breathed a sigh of relief. She secretly opened her eyes and reached for her phone to check the time. It was exactly 8:00 a.m. Two unread messages on WeChat came in after she fell asleep last night. Ye Li adjusted her pillow, sat up, and opened her phone.

[Han Yueyue: Are you asleep, Ye Li?] [Han Yueyue: Ugh, I don’t know what happened with my sister and her girlfriend. It looks like they fought.] [Ye Li: I can’t help you with that. I don’t have any experience either. / shrug]

After replying, Ye Li went back to the contacts and noticed a red dot at the bottom. She opened it and saw a new friend request. There was no message and no personal information. The person’s profile picture was a cartoon character, and their name was just the letter L. Ye Li accepted the request. She wasn’t one to start conversations with strangers. She figured since the person had requested to be her friend, they probably had a reason. She would just leave it for now.

The bathroom door opened again. Lu Zhiyun came out with her hair down, her eyes a little hazy as if she wasn’t fully awake yet.

“Morning, Xiaoli,” the woman said sleepily.

“Morning,” Ye Li said as she put on her shoes and got out of bed. She was surprised by what she heard next.

“I didn’t know you liked to hug people when you sleep…” The woman’s eyes slightly curved at the corners. She sounded surprised but also a little amused.

“Huh? I hugged you?” Ye Li asked, her voice incredulous.

“Yeah!” Lu Zhiyun nodded, confirming it. She then vividly described how Ye Li had opened her arms and used her legs to wrap around her in the middle of the night, holding her so tightly she couldn’t move. The girl was so embarrassed that she wanted to turn to stone.

“I think I mistook you for the pillow I have in my room. Sorry…” So embarrassing! Ye Li felt like her day was already ruined.

She got ready in a daze and went downstairs. She listened to them discuss what to eat for breakfast. The girl leaned against a wooden pillar in the lobby, her mind wandering.

Tang Qianxia: “My husband wants to eat noodles. I kind of want to eat steamed buns. I drank too much last night, and I really need some carbs.”

“I don’t want to eat anything. I just need a cup of coffee to wake up.” Lu Zhiyun said, pinching her brows.

Ye Li’s train of thought was interrupted. She looked over at the woman. Lu Zhiyun was wearing a French-style sleeveless floral halter dress today. The white pearl necklace on her neck highlighted her beautiful collarbones. She had a small purse with a chain strap on her shoulder. She looked like a model from a Japanese magazine, elegant and sophisticated. But to look good, Ye Li had seen her put layers and layers of sunscreen on her exposed arms. She didn’t even miss a single spot on her body. When she tried to put some on Ye Li, the girl shook her head.

“I don’t care if I get a tan.” That’s what she always said.

Tang Qianxia: “You must be tired from driving all day yesterday. But you have to eat something. Ye Li, why don’t you go see if there’s a convenience store nearby and get her something?”

“Okay.” The girl was about to turn and leave when Lu Zhiyun called out to her.

“Xiaoli, can you also get me a coffee from the convenience store? Thanks.”

Tang Qianxia teased her. “You even drink convenience store coffee? You’ve gotten less picky.”

“As long as it keeps me awake, I don’t care about the taste,” Lu Zhiyun said with a faint smile.

Tang Qianxia asked Ye Li to go because they had walked past a convenience store nearby after dinner last night. It was only a few steps away. The girl went into the store and went straight to the food section. She picked out two sandwiches and went to the counter. “Do you sell coffee here?” she asked the clerk.

“Yes, please wait a moment.” The clerk walked out from behind the counter. As she passed Ye Li, she said, “Wow, you smell so good.”

I do? Ye Li lowered her head and smelled herself. The scent was strangely familiar. She realized it was the smell of Auntie Lu’s body lotion. I guess sleeping while hugging her all night really made the smell stick to me… The girl’s fingers curled up, feeling complicated.

A moment later, the clerk handed her a cup of coffee. The cold from the ice cubes instantly went through her hand.

“Can I get another one?” The clerk paused, then smiled. “Yes, you can.”

So, Ye Li bought another one. After paying, she went back to meet everyone with two coffees and two sandwiches. When she came out of the convenience store, she saw that Tang Qianxia and her husband were already eating breakfast with their child at the breakfast shop next door. Lu Zhiyun was sitting alone across from them, her hand on her forehead. She looked a little lonely.

“Hey, your little one is back!” Tang Qianxia was the first to notice.

“I didn’t know what you wanted to eat, so I was waiting for you to come back before ordering,” Lu Zhiyun said, putting her hand down. She looked down and saw two sandwiches and two cups of coffee in Ye Li’s hands.

“I don’t have much of an appetite either. I’ll just eat this,” the girl said, sitting on the chair beside her.

Tang Qianxia saw this and couldn’t help but laugh quietly. “You’re becoming more and more like her.”

“Is that a bad thing? Right, Xiaoli?” Lu Zhiyun turned to Ye Li, blinked her beautiful eyes, and subtly told her to join her in teasing Tang Qianxia back. The girl, who was about to take a bite of her sandwich, froze. She felt like the woman was being a little childish, but she still went along with it. She nodded. “It’s great. It’s great.” Ye Li was seeing a side of Auntie Lu she had never seen before. Wait, she was pretty childish when she kissed her cheek after drinking, too… And…

After breakfast, they drove to the scenic area. They only took one car. Ye Li and Auntie Lu were in Auntie Tang’s SUV, and her husband was driving. As expected, the parking lot was full. It was hard to find a parking spot. Business-savvy people started to get customers on the side of the road, offering a flat rate of 30 yuan a day to park in their small parking lots.

The women decided to get off at the entrance of the scenic area and let Tang Qianxia’s husband park the car by himself.

“If I had to choose again, I would never go on vacation during the summer.” Tang Qianxia said, fanning herself with the ticket while waiting in line under the sun. “Lu Zhiyun, how are you so fair that you’re glowing in the sun?” Ye Li was standing behind Auntie Lu. When she heard Auntie Tang complain, she couldn’t help but look at her. Because it was so hot, the woman had tied her long hair into a bun, revealing her fair neck. She was indeed very fair. The girl looked down at her own arm. It was a completely different skin tone from the other woman’s.

“Auntie Lu, can I borrow some of your sunscreen?” Ye Li asked, feeling like she had just been slapped in the face. Lu Zhiyun turned around and took a small bottle of sunscreen from her bag. Before the girl could react, she took her arm. The cold cream was spread on her arm. The girl opened her mouth to say something, but was mesmerized by the other woman’s gentle movements.

“Sunscreen isn’t just for whitening. It also prevents UV rays and skin aging. I told you that before, Xiaoli.” Lu Zhiyun said patiently as she put sunscreen on his face. The woman’s eyes were focused, and her movements were gentle, as if she were treating a precious piece of art. Ye Li stood there, not daring to move. She looked down and saw the woman’s slender, long fingers rubbing her skin. The girl couldn’t help but swallow.

“Hey, Miss Lu, can you put some on me after you’re done with her?” Tang Qianxia asked with a mischievous smile.

“Do it yourself.” Lu Zhiyun turned around and threw the sunscreen at the woman. A small smile appeared on her face.

“Lu Zhiyun, you’re so…” Tang Qianxia’s words got stuck in her throat. She decided to just give up and put the sunscreen on herself.

By the time Tang Qianxia’s husband had parked the car and came back, it was their turn in line. They were let in after their tickets were checked. To get to the scenic area, they had to take a cable car. Tang Qianxia and her family naturally sat together. Ye Li and Auntie Lu sat across from them. As the cable car slowly moved forward, the height from the ground increased. Looking up, through the light on the glass, she could see the green mountains and trees.

Ye Li was in a trance, watching the scenery. She suddenly heard a faint click. She looked back and saw that Auntie Lu had secretly taken a picture of her.

“Lu…”

“Look.” Lu Zhiyun showed her the picture she had just taken. The girl in the picture was quietly looking out the cable car window. She had long eyelashes, a high nose bridge, and a beautiful jawline. She looked focused and beautiful. Ye Li didn’t know what to say.

“I’ll send it to your phone.” Lu Zhiyun lowered her head and did it. Soon, Ye Li’s phone buzzed.

“Let me see how it looks?” Tang Qianxia leaned over curiously.

“What do you think? It looks good, right?” Lu Zhiyun flipped her phone over, her tone a little proud. Ye Li, who was looking at her own phone, felt her face get hot. She didn’t listen to the rest of the conversation.

“Oh my, such a beautiful girl. I wonder which boy will be lucky enough to have her. Right, honey?” Tang Qianxia poked her husband with her arm.

The man replied, “Society is more open now. It might be a girl. Ye Li is a pretty cool girl.”

“Whoever she likes is fine,” Lu Zhiyun said with a faint smile.

Ye Li changed her WeChat profile picture to the one she had just received. She then looked at the person who had added her this morning. They still hadn’t sent a message. The chat only showed a system message: [I’ve accepted your friend request. We can start chatting now.] The girl was annoyed. She exited the chat and slid her finger to delete the chat. She had a mild case of OCD. She liked her chat list to be clean after a conversation was over.

There was still one person’s profile picture left on the list: Auntie Lu’s. Her profile picture was a back shot of her in a hot bikini in front of a blue ocean. It was probably taken when she was in the US. Maybe because they talked almost every day, Ye Li was used to keeping it.

While they were talking and laughing, they reached the top of the mountain. But they still had to walk a little to get to the top. The group of four, plus one two-year-old, got off the cable car and started walking into the scenic area. They saw a lot of tourists on the way, both from China and other countries.

“If you feel like you can’t keep up, remember to tell us in advance!” Tang Qianxia said seriously to Lu Zhiyun. Lu Zhiyun pursed her lips. “I’m fine. I know,” she said. She paused, then said to the woman in front of her, “You guys have fun. You don’t have to worry about me. We can meet up when we leave.”

“I won’t be polite then.” Tang Qianxia said and turned back. “Ye Li, I’m leaving Lu Zhiyun to you. We’ll meet at the cable car station when we go down.”

“Okay, I know!” the girl said softly.

There were a lot of tourists on the mountain, and the paths weren’t very wide. It was hard to have a good time when everyone was so close. Plus, they were a family of three, and they should have some alone time. They decided to split into two groups and do their own thing.

The weather was cool on the mountain. It wasn’t as hot as it was at the bottom. The clouds almost completely blocked the sun. When they walked on the edge of the cliff, it felt like they were walking in the clouds.

“Xiaoli, do you want to take a picture together?” Lu Zhiyun asked, standing by the railing and holding her phone. The girl stopped for a second, but then walked over and stood next to her. At 172cm, she was now a little taller than 169cm Lu Zhiyun. Ye Li glanced at the top of her head and suddenly enjoyed the feeling.

“Xiaoli, don’t look at my head. Look at the camera,” Lu Zhiyun suddenly reminded her.

Ye Li: “…” She wasn’t a fan of taking pictures. After reluctantly taking a few, the girl waved her hand and went to a nearby bench to rest. She lazily crossed her legs and watched the woman take pictures. While on her phone, Ye Li would occasionally look up to make sure the other person was still in her sight. What’s going on? Am I really listening to what Auntie Tang told me? But why would she ask me to look after Auntie Lu and not the other way around? It’s not like I’m the one who’s more likely to get lost. But Ye Li wouldn’t get lost.

Han Yueyue happened to send her a new message.

[Han Yueyue: Latest news, my sister and her girlfriend broke up!]

The girl held her phone in one hand and frowned. She typed a reply.

[Ye Li: Why are you acting like a tabloid reporter?] [Han Yueyue: No, aren’t you surprised? We just had dinner together a few days ago. A-Lian even came to Jingchuan to see my sister. How could they break up so suddenly? Ye Li: Maybe they just found out they weren’t compatible. Why are you so worried? You know how your sister is. Be careful, she might beat you up.] [Han Yueyue: No, I just feel like… it might be because of me.] [Han Yueyue: I’m so guilty right now.] [Han Yueyue: Oh my god, what should I do? Should I try to get them back together?] [Ye Li: First, tell me what you did.] [Han Yueyue: Weren’t you there that night? I think I accidentally told A-Lian that my sister used to like you…] [Ye Li: ?]

Ye Li put down her phone and put her hand on her forehead. She was speechless. She was a little dazed. She suddenly remembered the person who had added her this morning. She quickly picked up her phone, found their WeChat, and opened their Moments. It said only the last three days were visible, so there was only one post from last night.