What's Wrong With Being Fifteen Years Older Than Me?! - Chapter 28.2

It was probably flu season. The hospital was packed, especially the IV area. It was full. Auntie Lu took the day off from work to stay with Ye Li at the hospital for almost a whole day. Ye Li didn’t know why she had to get so many IVs for just a cold. When they got back from the hospital, Auntie Lu told her to rest well. If she wasn’t feeling better tomorrow, she could take another day off. Her health was the most important thing. Ye Li’s head was still a little fuzzy, and she quickly fell asleep under the covers.

At some point, she was woken up. Auntie Lu was sitting by her bed, telling her to take her medicine. The girl refused to move. Her mind was foggy, and she couldn’t cooperate. Reluctantly, the woman had to feed her the medicine with a spoon until she finished the bowl.

When Ye Li woke up again, it was already a new morning. Her nose was so clogged up it was as if it was filled with cement, and she couldn’t breathe. She groggily found her phone to check the time. It was already after eight o’clock. She heard a knock on the door.

“Xiaoli, I told the school you’re taking another day off. You should rest. Breakfast is on the table. Remember to heat it in the microwave before you eat. I’m going to school now.” Ye Li wanted to reply, but she realized her voice was completely gone. She could barely make a sound. She tried several times while lying in bed. She heard the front door open and close and realized that the other person had already left.

“Ah… er…” When she heard her voice, which sounded like a duck quacking, the girl frowned in disgust.

Not long after Auntie Lu left, Ye Li got up because she was hungry and couldn’t stay in bed anymore. The girl came out of the bathroom with her hair down. She was still tired and rubbed her eyes. As she sat down at the dining table, she saw the college English lesson plan on it. Did Auntie Lu forget it this morning? Ye Li immediately glanced at the clock in the living room. She grabbed a piece of bread and shoved it into her mouth. Then, she put on her clothes and hurried out with the lesson plan.

There was a bus stop in front of her apartment complex, but Ye Li was worried she wouldn’t make it in time, so she hailed a taxi. “To Jingda, please.”

Ye Li: “…” The duck quacking was so awful! She didn’t want to admit that it was her voice.

“Miss, you have a cold, don’t you? It sounds pretty bad,” the taxi driver said, concerned. The girl in the back smiled a bitter smile and decided not to say anything for the rest of the ride.

It wasn’t Ye Li’s first time at Jingda. The last time was also when Auntie Lu had forgotten something. This was her second time. How can this woman be so careless about her own things? With her last experience, Ye Li easily found her office this time. But the teachers inside told her that Auntie Lu had already gone to class.

“Teacher Lu is in the public English classroom in academic building three, room 203.” After thanking them, the girl took the lesson plan and hurried to her classroom. At this time, there were still many college students wandering around campus. Some had just woken up and were walking toward the cafeteria with messy hair. In comparison, these college students’ lives were much more comfortable than a high school senior. But Ye Li walked among them, and no one would have guessed she was a high school student.

She easily found Auntie Lu’s classroom. Ye Li could tell where it was by the fluent English coming from the classroom at the end of the hallway. The woman’s voice was magnetic and had a unique, lazy quality to it. She knew this was the right place.

Today, Lu Zhiyun was wearing a pure white wool coat. With her snow-white skin, she looked like a pure snow lotus in the winter, both clean and beautiful. When she saw Ye Li, the woman who was standing at the podium with a microphone headset, she was stunned for a moment. She looked down at the lesson plan in her hand and immediately understood. In a college class, it was common to see new faces. No one paid attention to it. Sometimes, you wouldn’t even know who was in your class for an entire semester.

“Student, please find a seat,” Lu Zhiyun said. Ye Li’s face was calm. As she handed the lesson plan to the podium, she received a small knowing look from her. It seemed that even a graceful person like Auntie Lu needed to save face sometimes.

Ye Li didn’t call her out. She wasn’t interested in that kind of thing. After she put the lesson plan down, she turned around and found a seat in the back, blending in with the other college students. She didn’t say a single word the whole time. It wasn’t because she was trying to be aloof; it was because her voice was so awful today. But her cool and aloof demeanor got the attention of a male student.

This was Ye Li’s first time in a college class. The experience was… special. After all, the teacher was Auntie Lu. It was also the first time Ye Li had seen her teaching. The teacher standing at the podium was a little serious. She spoke fluent, beautiful English. She was an unfamiliar, calm, and charming person. It was hard to connect her with the kind and patient Auntie Lu, who took care of her every day. But they were the same person. Maybe this was what she was really like when she was working.

When the class was over, several female students went to the podium to ask questions. Ye Li went out into the hallway to wait for her. The tall girl leaned quietly against the wall, one leg bent, and her arms crossed.

“Hey, which department are you in? I’ve never seen you before,” a male student suddenly asked. Ye Li opened her mouth, trying to answer, but stopped herself. It was better not to scare him. The girl lazily pointed at the classroom and then at herself, shaking her head. She responded with hand gestures. The male student was amused. “You’re interesting. Can I have your number? We can hang out sometime.”

Ye Li immediately waved her hand to refuse, a hint of rejection and disgust flashing in her eyes. Just then, Lu Zhiyun, who was standing at the classroom door, called out softly.

“Xiaoli,” her voice was unhurried, with no emotion. The girl silently turned and ran to her, leaving with her.

The male student: “?”

“You’re still sick. Why did you come out? Let me feel if you still have a fever,” Lu Zhiyun said and put the back of her hand on the girl’s forehead. The woman’s fingers were a little cool and had the sweet scent of fruit-scented hand cream. For a moment, Ye Li wanted to bite them and taste the flavor.

With that strange thought, the girl immediately backed away, awkwardly dodging her hand. Lu Zhiyun was surprised by her reaction. She awkwardly curled her slender fingers in the air and smiled gently. “At least your fever is gone.”

The two of them continued to walk out of the academic building. Lu Zhiyun said a few more things to Ye Li, including thanking her for bringing her the lesson plan. But the girl didn’t say anything or respond at all. When they reached a tree-lined path, Lu Zhiyun frowned and asked, “Xiaoli, why aren’t you talking?”

“…I,” the girl said, opening her mouth and forcing out one word. It was a raspy voice, like glass on ice or a traveler who had been thirsty for a long time in the desert. When Lu Zhiyun first heard her voice, she was surprised and couldn’t believe it was coming from the girl. The next second, she couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“Don’t laugh!” Ye Li said in a rush, her face flushed with shame and anger.

“Sorry… But actually, it sounds kind of cute.” Lu Zhiyun covered her mouth a little, her eyes full of a mischievous smile.

Cute? Is she serious? After hearing her say that, Ye Li was a little less against speaking. She said in a slightly raspy voice, “It doesn’t sound good.”

“It sounds great.”

“Everything about you sounds great, Xiaoli.” The woman next to her reached out and patted her on the back as she was comforting a child. The girl pursed her lips, her heart in a jumble.

They went back to the office, and Lu Zhiyun started to organize her books and materials for her next class. Without looking up, she asked, “Are you going home, Xiaoli? I have another class this morning. If you want a ride, I can only take you at noon. If you’re in a hurry to get back, you can take a taxi.”

“Oh… I’m not in a hurry.”

“Really?” Lu Zhiyun looked up, a little surprised, and smiled. She stacked her books on the desk. “Then wait for me. I’ll drive you back after class. I have to go to my class now. You can rest in my office.”

“…Okay.” The girl watched the woman in white disappear at the office door. She stood there for a moment before slowly sitting in her office chair. She instinctively took a deep breath. The faint, pleasant scent of the woman’s perfume still lingered around the desk. A few seconds later, her brain finally caught up. Shouldn’t I just go straight home? Why am I staying here and waiting for her? The girl propped her face up with one hand in frustration. Her eyes were suddenly drawn to a small cactus on the desk. She reached out and lightly touched it with her index finger and then quickly pulled it back. It was soft and not as spiky as she thought it would be. Soon, she started to get interested in all the strange little trinkets on Auntie Lu’s desk.

Just as she was having fun on her own, she suddenly got a message on her phone.

[Lu Zhiyun: Xiaoli, there are throat lozenges in my drawer. You can try some.]

After reading the message, Ye Li curiously opened the drawer under the desk. She found a box of throat lozenges. Besides that, she found something else. Isn’t this her scratch paper? Ye Li couldn’t help but take it out and spread it on the desk. She accidentally found some of Lu Zhiyun’s scattered memos.

Remind yourself every day not to get mad at these kids. I must love my job as an English teacher.

Well, it’s kind of cute.