What's Wrong With Being Fifteen Years Older Than Me?! - Chapter 31.1
It was three in the morning at JFK International Airport, Terminal 8.
In the VIP lounge, a young girl with dreadlocks was sprawled across a sofa chair, groaning.
“Oh, why am I not in bed right now? Instead, I’m stuck at an airport waiting for a 5 a.m. flight!”
She lifted an eyelid and squinted at the woman sitting next to her, who was sipping coffee elegantly and calmly, as if she were about to head off on a leisurely vacation.
“As far as I know, you weren’t in bed at this time last night, either.”
Lu Zhiyun took a slow sip of her coffee, a hint of something unreadable in her eyes.
A flicker of awkwardness crossed the girl’s face. Her name was Lu Baozhu, and she was lazily slumped on the sofa. She asked tentatively, “Sis, you didn’t come back to rein me in, did you?”
“What do you think?”
The woman raised a brow, a knowing smile playing on her lips.
“Oh, come on—”
Baozhu sat up in an instant, her face, which was strikingly similar to the woman’s, etched with a pleading expression.
“I’m 22 this year, not 12. I can be responsible for my own actions.”
Lu Zhiyun’s gaze softened. She raised a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, looking weary.
“I’m not going to watch over you 24/7 like a child. But you’re an adult now. I just hope that whatever you do, you think it through first. Don’t make friends with the wrong people, and don’t do things that will worry Mom and Dad and me.”
“Okay, okay, I promise. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.” Baozhu batted her dewy eyes at her sister, her voice soft and sweet.
“Oh, by the way, Sis, how long are you staying this time?”
“I’ve already resigned from my job back home. After a few days of rest, I’ll start sending out my resume to companies in Miami, LA, or New York.”
“Oh, LA’s great. Your old company is there, right? Or you could work in Miami and stay close to Mom and Dad.”
Lu Zhiyun saw right through the younger girl’s intentions. A smile touched her eyes as she asked, “Are you just worried I’ll keep too close an eye on you if I work in New York?”
“No way! If you came to New York to work, I’d be the happiest little girl ever.” Baozhu wrapped her arms around her sister’s arm.
The two sisters stayed up until 5:30 a.m. and finally boarded the plane from New York to Miami.
After a three-hour flight, they arrived at Miami International Airport around 8 a.m.
The July morning in Miami was already a typical humid, subtropical day, with a warm, damp sea breeze in the air.
The sisters didn’t leave the airport until after nine. Unsurprisingly, Lu Zhiyun had an iced Americano in her hand, but even that couldn’t shake off the accumulated fatigue.
Not wanting to bother their elderly and unwell parents, the two hailed a taxi straight home from the airport.
On the way, Baozhu called her parents on her newly charged phone from New York.
“Yeah, we’ll be home soon. And my sister’s with me.” The girl with the dreadlocks glanced at her sister, who was dozing with her eyes closed, and didn’t have the heart to wake her.
“Sister’s asleep. Okay, got it.”
A short ride later, the taxi pulled up to a beachfront community in Miami.
Twenty years ago, Lu Zhiyun’s parents had fallen in love with this place on vacation. They’d used all their savings to buy a villa there, and it was now their retirement home. The villas were clustered together along the beach, forming a unique and beautiful landscape.
The little wooden fence gate was ajar. Lu Zhiyun walked ahead and pushed it open. The climbing roses in the yard were in full bloom, and the lawn was neatly trimmed, a testament to the owner’s meticulous care. Nothing seemed to have changed since she’d left after Chinese New Year.
Baozhu followed behind, eagerly taking charge of the suitcases. The four wheels scraped against the stone path with a crisp, loud sound.
They must have known the sisters were coming, because the front door was unlocked. As they reached the entrance, the scent of freshly baked apple pie wafted out.
Lu Zhiyun stepped inside and saw her father sitting in the living room, leisurely reading a newspaper. His temples were graying. He wore a black polo shirt and a pair of reading glasses, but even in his sixties, he was still energetic and in good shape.
“Hi, Dad, I’m home,” she said with a smile.
Lu Youheng folded the newspaper, his face lighting up with joy. He immediately called out to the woman, still busy in the kitchen.
“Honey, Zhiyun’s back!”
Baozhu skipped in behind her, putting down her suitcase and jumping into view.
Lu Youheng looked over his younger daughter’s appearance, and his brows furrowed in disgust.
“Look at that hair. It’s hideous.”
“Dad, these are dreadlocks. They’re super trendy,” Baozhu said nonchalantly, flicking one of her long braids to show it off.
“Only Black people wear dreadlocks. Go home and take them out right now,” the man reprimanded her with a serious face.
“You’re so old-fashioned! Mom, I’m going upstairs to shower.” The girl ran upstairs without looking back.
“This kid, she’s so much trouble. When Zhiyun was her age, she was already getting scholarships and never gave us a thing to worry about,” her mother said as she brought out a tray of breakfast. She sighed and then turned to Lu Zhiyun.
“Since you’re back, you need to set her straight for us.”
Lu Zhiyun pulled out a chair at the dining table and sat down. She looked tired. “Mom, sometimes you should give her a little more freedom.”
She said this because of Xiaoli. Perhaps she had been too strict and controlling, which had caused the girl to resent and dislike her. Over the past few days, every time she thought of this, her heart ached uncontrollably. It was true that after six years together, she had feelings for the girl.
“Don’t we already give her enough freedom? Columbia University has been on summer break since May, and she’s just now getting back. And only because you dragged her back,” Lu Youheng said, rubbing his temples in frustration whenever he talked about his unruly second daughter.
Lu Zhiyun lowered her eyes and smiled faintly. “When I was little, you were busy with work and didn’t really have time to watch me, but I turned out fine. Sometimes, being too strict can backfire.”
“Eat something. Don’t just drink milk. I just baked this apple pie this morning,” her mother said, watching her daughter’s every move, always concerned. She looked much more tired than she had on her last visit.
“Mom, I can’t eat,” Lu Zhiyun said, waving her hand wearily.
“Is something wrong?” her mother asked.
“No, I’m just tired from the trip and jet lag. I need some time to recover.”
“Sigh, I’ve told you before not to work so hard. It’s enough that you’ve done your best for that child. You have to put your own health first, always.”
Just as her mother finished speaking, Lu Youheng suddenly remembered something. “Did that child, Ye Li, finish her exams yet?”
“Yeah, she finished a couple of days ago,” Lu Zhiyun replied.
“That’s good. Now you can settle down here. You’re not getting any younger, and your mom and I are just hoping you find a partner soon so we can stop worrying.”
“Speaking of which, that guy Zhang Gong’s son just graduated with his Ph.D. from Princeton…”
“Mom, I’m going to go unpack my luggage. Don’t wake me for dinner.”
Seeing the conversation veering toward matchmaking, Lu Zhiyun quickly escaped.
Watching her daughter hurry upstairs with her suitcase, Lu Youheng leaned over and whispered to his wife, “She just got back. Let’s hold off on this for a bit.”
Lu Zhiyun’s room was exactly as she had left it. Her mother had kept it clean. Monet’s Water Lilies hung by the window, and the white sheer curtains swayed gently in the breeze from the air conditioning.
After a moment of pause, she knelt to open her suitcase and started to take things out one by one. Her carry-on didn’t have much—just some personal belongings. Most of her things were still being shipped and wouldn’t arrive for another two days.
As she finished unpacking, Lu Zhiyun pulled out a sealed manila envelope. She’d taken it from the school before she left. She opened it to find a collection of drawings she’d gathered over the years—all drawn by Xiaoli.
Lu Zhiyun sat down in a wicker chair, one elbow resting on the armrest. Her long, slender fingers gently flipped through each drawing. Some of them were years old, but they had been well-preserved and were still in great condition.
A faint smile, one she didn’t even realize was there, crept onto her face. This child was truly talented. If she continued to study art in college, she had a bright future ahead of her. By then, Lu Zhiyun would probably only be watching from a distance. Xiaoli would have new friends, new partners, and a new life.
Lu Zhiyun knew in her heart that even if Xiaoli didn’t hate her, she would have to leave after their six years were up. The reasons were too complicated, and it was better for the girl not to know.
As Lu Zhiyun was lost in thought, a figure silently entered the room and then made a deliberate noise as if remembering to announce her presence.
“What are you looking at?” Baozhu asked, craning her neck.
Lu Zhiyun stacked the drawings on her lap. “Nothing. Just organizing some things I brought back from China.”
“Those are drawings! I saw them! Let me see!”
Lu Zhiyun handed them to her.
“Are these all that little sister Ye Li’s drawings?” Baozhu asked, flipping through them with a look of disbelief.
She had just showered and changed into a pink and white princess-style nightgown, looking like a sweet girl next door—if you ignored the wild dreadlocks on her head.
When her sister nodded in confirmation, Baozhu let out a gasp of surprise.
“Wow, she’s amazing. She’s so young but so talented. Why didn’t you bring her to America to visit, Sis? I really want to meet her.”
“We probably won’t see each other again.” Lu Zhiyun’s smile masked the sadness in her eyes as she naturally reached for the drawings in her sister’s hands.
Baozhu froze for a moment, then sighed regretfully as she finally understood. “I should’ve skipped my trip to Hawaii with my friends last summer and come back to see you guys instead!”
“Do you need anything else? If not, I’m going to shower and go to bed.” Lu Zhiyun got up from the wicker chair, putting the neatly stacked drawings into a desk drawer.
“Okay, get some rest, Sis.” The girl waved and left the room with a bright smile.
As she grabbed her pajamas and prepared to enter the bathroom, Lu Zhiyun paused. She considered going out to buy a new phone and a new SIM card. But then she realized there was no real hurry. The only person from China who would be waiting for her call was Tang Qianxia, and she knew her well enough to know that if she didn’t call back right away, she was probably just busy.
She was exhausted. A few cups of coffee hadn’t been enough to keep her awake. She desperately needed to sleep and recharge. She decided to put the idea on hold for now.
That night, Lu Zhiyun slept for nearly twenty hours, the longest she had ever slept in her life. During that time, her family just checked on her periodically to make sure she was still alive and didn’t wake her up.
The next day, after she had recovered some energy, Lu Zhiyun used the landline at home to call Tang Qianxia. With the time difference, it was around 11 p.m. in China, and she wasn’t sure if Tang Qianxia would be awake.
“Lu Zhiyun, so you finally decided to call me back!” the woman’s voice grumbled through the phone.
Lu Zhiyun had no choice but to explain that she had lost her phone. “I was so tired when I got back yesterday, and I just barely got over the jet lag. I spent the day trying to find my notebook with your number in it.”
“Alright, I’ll forgive you then.” Tang Qianxia paused, then casually mentioned, “Oh, by the way, Ye Li called me a couple of days ago and said she couldn’t get a hold of you.”
Lu Zhiyun’s hand tightened on the receiver. She instinctively asked, “Did Xiaoli need something?”
“She didn’t say,” Tang Qianxia replied with a yawn, rolling over in bed. “I asked her, and she said it was nothing. It was a little weird, though. Did you two fight her exams?”
Lu Zhiyun laughed helplessly. “I’m so much older than Xiaoli. Do you really think I’d get into a fight with a kid?”
Tang Qianxia thought about it and decided she was right. She kicked her husband, who was snoring on the bed, and continued, “So, should I give Ye Li your parents’ landline number? I didn’t give it to her before because I didn’t want to do it without your permission. Or, I can just wait until you get a new phone.”
“I’m about to go get a new SIM card and phone. I’ll send you my new number later. Go to bed.”
Jingchuan.
Ye Li’s father, Ye Deyou, was completely on board with his daughter going to study abroad. He agreed almost immediately.
But that night, her father said something that stuck with her.
“Xiaoli, it’s a good thing you want to study abroad. Money isn’t a problem; I’ll support you. But there’s one thing: we can’t keep bothering your Aunt Lu. For the past six years, she’s sacrificed so much of her personal life for you. So, I hope you’ll choose to study in a country other than the United States. Canada, Australia, or the UK are all fine.”
“Why not the United States?” Ye Li asked, the words flying out of her mouth almost on their own.
“Well… I just don’t think it’s a good idea. It might give your Aunt Lu’s family the wrong impression, like we’re trying to cling to them forever.”
“But I only want to go to the U.S. I won’t consider any other country.” Ye Li didn’t want to beat around the bush and made her intentions clear.
Ye Deyou, on the other end of the line, was a little surprised. His daughter had always been so against the idea of studying abroad, and now she was not only bringing it up herself, but she had already decided on the country.
“So, Xiaoli, do you already have a specific university in mind?”
“Yeah. I’m only going to the U.S.,” Ye Li said vaguely, though she hadn’t decided on a school at all.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line before her father spoke again.
“If that’s what you want, I won’t go against your wishes. But there’s one thing I have to make clear: we can’t bother Ms. Lu with this. At least, I won’t proactively bother her with anything. The night you finished your exams, I already spoke with her. As for what you do once you’re in the U.S.—whether you go to visit her, bring her small gifts, and wish her well on holidays—that’s up to you. I won’t interfere.”
“So you’re saying yes?” Ye Li asked, feeling a wave of emotion wash over her. “Thank you, Dad.”
“Wow, you’re so hard to read. It’s the first time you’ve spoken to me nicely in days,” her father said, sounding shocked.
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