What's Wrong With Being Fifteen Years Older Than Me?! - Chapter 37

Tang Qianxia’s face in the video changed instantly, as if her secret had been exposed.

“So I was right.” Lu Zhiyun glanced at the phone screen, then looked back at the stand mixer. The dough, a mix of eggs, milk, and yeast, was slowly coming together.

“Wait, no, ah…” Tang Qianxia started to ramble, unable to find the right words.

Lu Zhiyun leaned on the counter, smiling at the camera. “You said that Xiaoli couldn’t possibly have a boyfriend. But then you said she has a crush, so that person can only be a girl, right?” she asked, her voice calm and logical. “Tang Qianxia, you think I’m a three-year-old? Don’t even try to deny what you said.”

Seeing that she was completely cornered, Tang Qianxia finally came clean. “Okay, okay, I admit it. Xiaoli likes girls. But you can’t tell her that I told you.”

“I can’t believe she told you about this,” Lu Zhiyun said, lowering her eyes. She played with a butter knife on the counter, her brows furrowed.

“Are you jealous?” Tang Qianxia teased.

Lu Zhiyun pursed her lips and looked up at the camera. “Yes, I am. I thought she would trust me more with something like this. I can’t believe she told you, a distant aunt.”

“Hahaha, well, what can I say?” Tang Qianxia shrugged. “She probably thinks you’re too strict to tell you.”

Tang Qianxia knew the real reason, but there was no way she was going to tell Lu Zhiyun.

Lu Zhiyun rested her hand on her chin and sighed. “If I had known Xiaoli liked girls, I wouldn’t have asked her to sleep in my room last night. That wasn’t a good idea.”

“What?! You two slept in the same bed last night?” Tang Qianxia’s voice was filled with shock, as if she had just heard a huge scandal. Her eyes widened.

Lu Zhiyun was surprised by her reaction, as if she had committed a grave error. “Yes, I did. I got up to go to the bathroom and saw her sleeping on the sofa, so I brought her into my room.”

“Oh my God!” Tang Qianxia said, shocked.

“Okay, stop looking at me like that. I know now, and I’ll be more careful,” Lu Zhiyun said, sighing.

“Did… anything happen?” Tang Qianxia asked.

Lu Zhiyun was a little taken aback by the question. She couldn’t help but laugh. “Do you really think something happened between us? It’s not like she likes me, and I’m 15 years older than her. I could be her mother.”

Tang Qianxia wanted to ask, “What if she does like you?” But she knew that Lu Zhiyun was a sharp person, and if she asked that, the whole thing would be exposed. Xiaoli had trusted her with her secret, and she wasn’t going to betray that trust.

“You’re exaggerating. You look so young, like a woman in her twenties. You two look more like sisters.”

“…Stop. And you can’t say that, especially not now.” Lu Zhiyun’s tone became serious.

“Lu Zhiyun, you’re so cautious. Are you afraid that Ye Li will fall for you?” Tang Qianxia asked, walking along the beach.

Lu Zhiyun’s eyelashes fluttered, a wave of panic washing over her. She stood up straight, taking the phone in her hand. “That’s not going to happen. I’m not talking to you anymore. You’re getting out of hand.”

“Hey, Lu Zhiyun—” The call ended right there, and the phone went back to the home screen.

Lu Zhiyun placed the phone on the counter and started to think. So Xiaoli likes girls… She thought back, and it wasn’t a complete shock. The girl had always been cool, and she never had a lot of male friends. As she got older, she even had a lot of girls with crushes on her. If that was the case, then Lu Zhiyun had made a lot of mistakes. She thought back to all the things she had done, the boundaries she had crossed, but at the time, she didn’t know Xiaoli’s sexuality. Or maybe Xiaoli didn’t even know at the time.

Lu Zhiyun was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t realize the stand mixer had stopped. She set the time on it again and went back to work.

At the university, the girl also didn’t expect to see her here. Her clear, wet eyes flickered, and a surprised look appeared on her pale face. Her lips, which were bruised and bloody, parted. “It’s you,” she said softly.

Ye Li felt like the world was too small. Of all the places, they had to run into each other here. Her mind replayed what Han Yueyue had told her. “My sister broke up with Alian because she found out my sister used to have a crush on you.” She felt a little awkward. Was she going to be a rival? The coldness in her eyes a moment ago wasn’t a good sign.

“Are you okay? What did those guys do…?” Ye Li’s hands went into her pockets. She always did that when she was nervous.

The girl, who was sitting on the ground with her back against the wall, gave a cold laugh, a sarcastic smile on her lips. “They’re just a bunch of jerks,” she said softly. She propped herself up and tried to stand, but her legs hurt, and she staggered.

“Careful!” It was a reflex. Ye Li quickly reached out to help her. She noticed that the girl’s wrist was so cold and thin. It looked like it would snap.

“I’m fine,” the girl said, shrugging off her hand. She walked away unsteadily.

Ye Li didn’t want to get involved. They were just strangers. She watched her walk away, then remembered something. “Alian!” she called out.

The girl paused, turning her head in confusion. “Is there something else?” she asked, her voice weak and distant.

“Your breakup with Qin Shu had nothing to do with me,” Ye Li said, wanting to clear things up.

“I know,” Alian said, a small, almost invisible smile on her lips. She seemed surprised that Ye Li had said that. “I’m leaving now.”

Ye Li watched her walk away again, then turned around to go back to the party. So she doesn’t see me as a rival, Ye Li thought, relieved.

Ye Li didn’t see Alian again for a few days. She did talk to Qin Shu, but their conversations were a little awkward because of the time difference. Ye Li told her about running into Alian and learned a little bit about why she had left the country. It wasn’t because of the breakup, as Han Yueyue had thought. Alian had come here because her mother had remarried. It was a complete coincidence. Qin Shu didn’t know much else, as they no longer spoke.

On Friday afternoon, Ye Li had one class. After it was over, she packed a few changes of clothes and headed to Aunt Lu’s for the weekend. She had a lot of time, so she decided to go to a local supermarket by herself for the first time. She picked out some fruit and ingredients for dinner and checked out. It wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be. The hardest part was just deciding to do it. She planned to make dinner for Lu Zhiyun so that she could eat as soon as she got home.

Ye Li used the keycard and easily made it to Lu Zhiyun’s apartment. She looked at her phone. It was only 5 p.m. She started preparing dinner.

Lu Zhiyun had a pretty easy day at work, and she was done by 5:30 p.m. She walked out of the office building in her professional attire. Before she could walk down the stairs, she heard someone call her name in both English and Chinese. “Jasmine! Lu Zhiyun!”

Lu Zhiyun looked up. A woman was standing beside two Porsches in the parking lot. She had long, wine-colored hair, and pearl earrings dangled from her ears. She was wearing a black dress with a deep V-neck. “Long time no see,” the woman said, her voice lazy and a smile on her face.