What's Wrong With Being Fifteen Years Older Than Me?! - Chapter 25.2

The girl, who was lying on her side, shook her head. “No, I just want to sleep.” She added, “I feel a little dizzy.”

“Now you know how bad it is to be drunk. Remember not to drink too much, even if you’re alone. It’s bad for your body, and it’s not safe for a girl to be drunk outside,” Lu Zhiyun said carefully, her voice gentle and not at all accusatory.

A groggy Ye Li closed her eyes and blurted out, “How can I be alone when Auntie Lu is here?” Lu Zhiyun’s mood sank. A flash of sadness crossed her eyes. She carefully tucked the blanket over the girl. All good things must come to an end. They would eventually have to go back to their own lives. Parting was inevitable.

But Lu Zhiyun was also a little relieved. At least over the years, the little girl in front of her had gone from initially rejecting her to being so different now. It was not easy. After making sure Ye Li was asleep, she quietly left the room and gently closed the door. Tang Qianxia was waiting anxiously outside. She whispered, “Is she asleep?” Lu Zhiyun nodded.

“Come here. I have something else to tell you,” Tang Qianxia said, taking the woman’s arm and leading her to the sofa in the living room on the second floor.

“After tonight, we might have to go our separate ways tomorrow morning,” Tang Qianxia said, looking a little helpless.

“Is something wrong?”

“Ugh, Beibei’s grandpa fell. How can we still be in the mood to play? And it’s raining again, so it’s not safe to travel at night. So, her dad and I decided to leave tomorrow morning.”

“Then Xiaoli and I will go back with you tomorrow,” Lu Zhiyun said.

“No, don’t. This is the only summer vacation Ye Li has left. She’s going to be a senior soon, and school will be stressful. She won’t have a chance to play. You guys keep going.”

“Okay. Then I’ll come visit the old man when we get back to Jingchuan,” Lu Zhiyun said.

Ye Li woke up the next day, and she was the only one in the room. The girl rubbed her temples and went straight to the bathroom. Tang Qianxia’s family had already packed all their luggage and were getting ready to go back to Jingchuan. Lu Zhiyun was in the kitchen on the first floor, borrowing the owner’s kitchen to make Ye Li a hangover soup.

“Lu Zhiyun, is Ye Li awake?” Tang Qianxia asked at the kitchen door.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so,” Lu Zhiyun said.

“Then I’ll go check on her. I’ll say goodbye before we leave,” Tang Qianxia said, smiling. She turned and disappeared.

When she heard the knock on the door, Ye Li had just finished washing up and was putting her hair in a bun.

“Is Ye Li there? Oh, you’re awake…” Tang Qianxia walked into the room and saw the empty bed.

“Auntie Tang?” the girl asked, confused, as she came out of the bathroom.

Tang Qianxia briefly told her about their temporary change of plans. Then, she glanced outside the door to make sure no one was there. “I actually have something I want to tell you. You must not tell Lu Zhiyun about this.” The girl nodded blankly.

“I’m not kidding when I tease your Auntie Lu about her weak body. She had a major surgery before, and her body is really weak. So, I hope you can watch out for her for the rest of the trip. Don’t let her do anything too strenuous. You’re a big girl now. I think you can handle this responsibility, right?”

Ye Li was confused. She knew that Auntie Lu couldn’t do anything too strenuous and that she couldn’t walk too fast, or Lu Zhiyun couldn’t keep up. But she had never heard that she had a major surgery before.

“So, what kind of surgery did Auntie Lu have?”

“I can’t tell you that. Lu Zhiyun would kill me. That’s all I have to say.” Tang Qianxia said and looked back nervously, making sure no one was outside the door and that Lu Zhiyun wasn’t coming upstairs. “Okay, I have to go. Bye. Have fun. You’ll be a senior when you get back.” Tang Qianxia didn’t forget to tease her again before she left.

“What’s so scary about being a senior? Bye, Auntie Tang.” Ye Li was telling the truth. Some people might be afraid, but she was looking forward to it. Being a senior meant she was getting closer to graduation.

Breakfast was made by Auntie Lu because she thought the food outside was too greasy. Ye Li wanted to ask her about the surgery, but she decided not to. I shouldn’t betray Auntie Tang. After breakfast, they packed their things and checked out.

The city looked new after the rain. But they didn’t have time to enjoy it for long before the car was on the highway. The highways in the mountains were very different from those in the plains. Sometimes they would be in the mountains, and sometimes they would be in tunnels. When you weren’t paying attention, the car would be on a bridge that was dozens of stories high, spanning between mountains. Ye Li, who was from the plains, was so busy looking at the scenery that she wasn’t sleepy at all.

Suddenly, her phone rang. It was a WeChat voice call. Ye Li didn’t want to hold the phone, so she answered and put it on speaker. Qin Shu’s voice immediately came out.

“What are you doing? Are you awake yet?” The woman’s voice was low and magnetic. Lu Zhiyun, who was driving, felt a strange familiarity with the voice. She quietly glanced at her.

“What time is it? Of course, I’m awake, sis!” Ye Li put her phone on her lap, her voice lazy and casual. Qin Shu, on the other hand, laughed. “Do you want to go out? Don’t just stay at home all summer.”

“You’re pretty brave. I heard from Han Yueyue that you and your girlfriend broke up?” Ye Li frowned.

Lu Zhiyun, who was listening quietly, was surprised.

“Tsk… Why is she such a blabbermouth?” Qin Shu was annoyed but then said, “I guess we just weren’t compatible, so we broke up. Never mind that. Are you going to go out or not?”

“I’m out of town. I’m on vacation,” Ye Li said.

“With who? Your Auntie Lu?” Qin Shu asked, confused.

“Yeah,” the girl said.

The other end of the line was silent for a moment. “Okay, I got it. Have fun. We’ll hang out when you get back.”

The call ended with a few simple sentences. Lu Zhiyun, who had been holding it in, finally asked, “Qin Shu has a girlfriend?”

Ye Li was surprised but quickly replied, “Yeah, but they just broke up. I had dinner with them on the night I got out for vacation.”

Lu Zhiyun smiled and didn’t ask anything else. It seemed that in her eyes, Xiaoli was still a child, but she hadn’t expected that she was already old enough to talk openly about girlfriends and breakups. This change made her a little uncomfortable.

They were on the road for almost the entire day. They would talk sometimes, but for the most part, they were quiet. It was already getting dark when they reached their next destination. It was another tourist city, a small town that had developed from tourism. It was very small, even smaller than Ye Li’s hometown.

When they arrived at the hotel, the staff apologized and told them they would have to wait a little. The previous guest had checked out late, and the cleaning staff was rushing to clean the room. To apologize, the hotel gave them a discount. The discount was secondary. Lu Zhiyun didn’t care about it. It was so hard to book a hotel room during the holiday, so she was willing to wait.

Auntie Lu went to the bathroom. Ye Li was waiting alone on a sofa in the lobby when she saw a girl who looked to be her age playing with tarot cards. She was curious and asked, “Are those tarot cards?”

“You know about this, too?” the girl asked, surprised.

Ye Li shook her head. “I’ve heard of it.”

“Do you want me to read for you? I’m still a beginner, so I’m just practicing. Just pick a card,” the girl said, inviting her.

So, Ye Li did as she was told and picked a card. The girl looked at the card seriously and started to explain. “Well, this is a card about love. It says that your love life might not be smooth in the future. But if you can overcome a big obstacle, you’ll be very happy.”

Ye Li: “…” I shouldn’t believe in this stuff.

Later, the hotel finally told them they could go to their room. The hotel was very nice. It was on the first floor with a twin bed. The floor-to-ceiling window faced a fake mountain. After a short rest, they decided to go for a walk and find something to eat for dinner. It was completely dark when they left the hotel. The streetlights were on, and most of the people on the street were tourists like them. The pace here was slow, and there were very few cars.

After a few steps, they arrived at the most famous street, a trendy street. The lights were flashing, the shops were unique, and it was very lively. A few young girls who looked like college students were walking around in their fashionable clothes, making the street look beautiful. The whole street was youthful and full of energy. Because there were so many people, Lu Zhiyun took Ye Li’s hand.

“There are too many people. We don’t want to get lost.”

Ye Li: “?” Well, she’s already holding my hand. I can’t just pull away. She gave in. But it still felt very strange. After all, she wasn’t a little kid anymore. She was even a little taller. For two people to hold hands like this… Auntie Lu’s hand was soft, and she wasn’t holding her too tightly. Ye Li didn’t dare to hold her too tightly, or it felt like her hand would slip out. So, she just let her hold it gently.

She didn’t expect that because of this, they would have a big misunderstanding. Two girls, who looked like college students, suddenly came up to them excitedly.

“Are you two a couple?”

Lu Zhiyun’s beautiful face showed a hint of shock. Ye Li was just as surprised.

“Sorry, we’re bloggers who write about lesbian couples. We’re doing an in-person collection of real-life stories. We’re sorry if we got it wrong.”

Lu Zhiyun smiled faintly and wasn’t angry at all. “Of course, we’re not. And I’m fifteen years older than her.”

Ye Li grumbled to herself, Why did she have to emphasize that she’s fifteen years older?… What’s wrong with being fifteen years older?