What's Wrong With Being Fifteen Years Older Than Me?! - Chapter 40

On the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, there’s a building filled with Chinese elements, most notably the two red columns and the 20-meter-tall Chinese-style roof. That’s the Chinese Theatre, and there are two stone lions at the entrance. It’s not just a place for Hollywood premieres; it’s also hosted the Academy Awards.

Besides its unique architecture, the ground in front of the theater is paved with concrete slabs etched with celebrity handprints, footprints, and signatures. Ye Li took a few photos as they walked by.

Later, they spent almost $100 on tickets to tour the inside of the theater, including the backstage area, dressing rooms, and makeup rooms. Afterward, the three of them walked across the street, and Lu Baozhu said she was thirsty.

“Sister, what do you want to drink?”

“An iced Americano is fine,” Lu Zhiyun replied.

“How about you, Ye Li?” Lu Baozhu asked, looking at the girl in the simple T-shirt and jeans.

“I’ll… have an iced Americano too,” Ye Li said, glancing at Lu Zhiyun. “How about I go buy them?”

“It’s fine, I’ll go. I know this area better. What if you get lost?” Lu Baozhu said with a smile, patting her cross-body bag and walking away.

Now, it was just Ye Li and Aunt Lu standing on the sidewalk. Ye Li put her thumbs on the edge of her jeans pockets, scuffing the pavement with her shoe. She bit her lip and started the conversation. “Aunt Lu, are you tired?”

Lu Zhiyun raised her eyebrows slightly, a smile appearing on her face. “Not really. We’ve been walking and stopping.”

Ye Li nodded, trying to come up with a new topic. Her eyes wandered to the Chinese Theatre across the street. There were many tourists taking photos. Amid the crowd, she noticed a person in a large pink rabbit costume handing out flyers. She glanced at the rabbit and, for a split second, thought the rabbit was looking at her. When she looked again, the rabbit was already walking away quickly in one direction.

At that moment, three boys ran past them, muttering, “She’s over there!” They were speaking Chinese, so Ye Li looked at them and felt like she had seen them before.

“Do you know them?” Lu Zhiyun asked, noticing Ye Li’s focus.

“No,” Ye Li shook her head. But then she remembered something. She watched as the three boys crossed the street and surrounded the person in the rabbit costume.

Lu Zhiyun, seeing how intently Ye Li was watching, also looked in that direction. The three boys were pushing and teasing the person, who had to take off the heavy rabbit head, revealing their face. Ye Li had already guessed who it was.

“That girl looks familiar,” Lu Zhiyun said. “I think I’ve seen her somewhere before.”

Ye Li was a little surprised. She didn’t expect Aunt Lu to remember her from that one quick meeting. “She’s Qin Shu’s ex-girlfriend, Alian.”

“Are those three boys bullying her?” Lu Zhiyun asked, her brow furrowing.

“I think so,” Ye Li said. “Aunt Lu, can I go over there?”

“Of course! Hurry!” Lu Zhiyun urged her on.

Ye Li quickly crossed the street and ran toward them. “Hey! What are you doing in broad daylight?” she called out.

“It’s you again!” The skinny, yellow-haired boy at the front turned around, his eyes narrow, his face full of disdain.

“Try touching her one more time. I’m not afraid to call the police right now,” Ye Li said, holding up her phone. Her voice was cold, and her face was expressionless, but she seemed incredibly calm.

“You go to the same school as this b*tch, right? I’ll remember you. You just wait!” The boy pointed a finger at her, his teeth gritting.

After they left, Ye Li looked at Alian, who was holding the rabbit head. Her forehead was sweaty, and her pale face was now even paler. Her eyes were calm, without a hint of anger, as if she was used to this or had grown numb.

“Thanks,” Alian said, her voice clear and cool, like snow water from a mountain. Her cold eyes held something else, too—curiosity and scrutiny.

“What’s your problem with them? And why did they… call you that?” Ye Li couldn’t bring herself to say the words.

“The boy with the yellow hair is my brother,” Alian said, seeing the surprise on Ye Li’s face. She added with a scornful smile, “My stepbrother.”

Ye Li was taken aback, then she seemed to understand. Combined with what Qin Shu had told her, the boy with the yellow hair was the son of Alian’s mother’s new husband. But she still couldn’t understand why he would be so hostile toward Alian and use such offensive words.

Alian noticed the beautiful, slender woman standing across the street. She remembered seeing her that night at the food stall when she went to find Qin Shu. She was a very beautiful woman who picked up Ye Li in a car.

“Are you two here to visit the Chinese Theatre?” Alian asked, changing the subject and looking at Lu Zhiyun.

Ye Li looked back, too, and saw that Aunt Lu was also looking at them. She instinctively straightened up. “Yeah, me, Aunt Lu, and her sister.”

“That’s nice,” Alian said, a small, emotionless smile on her lips. “I should go. Have fun.” She turned to walk away, but her legs buckled, and she collapsed like a broken branch.

Ye Li was quick to catch her by the waist. She was so thin. Even with the thick costume on, her waist was frail.

“Are you okay?” Ye Li asked awkwardly, holding her and not daring to move.

Alian’s lips were pale, and her forehead was sweating. She tried to stand up, but her body felt weak. “My bl00d sugar probably dropped again… I’m fine.”

Lu Zhiyun, who had just checked the time on her phone, looked up and saw the two girls holding each other. “What?” she thought.

Lu Baozhu had just come back with three coffees and saw only her sister standing there. “Where’s Ye Li?” she asked. Lu Baozhu’s eyes quickly found Ye Li and the girl she was with. They had already separated.

“I’ll go over there…” Lu Baozhu said, but she was interrupted.

“Lu Baozhu,” Lu Zhiyun said, pulling her back. “Don’t go over there yet.”

“Huh?” Lu Baozhu was confused.

Lu Zhiyun’s eyes were fixed on the two girls. Her sixth sense told her that the girl handing out flyers might be the person Xiaoli liked. She had noticed earlier that the person in the costume kept looking at them. If that was the case…

Lu Baozhu saw her sister take out her phone and send a message. Ye Li’s phone buzzed. She looked at the message—it was from Aunt Lu. She looked back at Lu Zhiyun.

[Lu Zhiyun: If your friend is willing, do you want to hang out with us for the rest of the day?]

Ye Li was a little surprised. She looked at Alian and said, “Do you want to come with us? You’re not in a state to keep working.”

Alian wanted to say no, but she looked at the sincere girl in front of her, and she couldn’t. “Okay,” she said softly. “But I need to return this costume to my boss first.” She picked up the heavy rabbit head, and her legs buckled again.

Feeling sorry for her, Ye Li said, “I’ll go with you.”

Lu Zhiyun’s phone buzzed with a message from Ye Li. At the same time, the two girls walked away.

“Sister, why did Ye Li go with her?” Lu Baozhu asked, taking a sip of her latte.

[Ye Li: Aunt Lu, I’m going with her to return something. You guys can go back to the car and rest. We’ll meet you there.]

Lu Zhiyun put her phone away and said to Lu Baozhu, “Let’s go to the car.”

“What? We’re not waiting for them?” Lu Baozhu asked.

“They’ll come to us,” Lu Zhiyun said.

“They?” Lu Baozhu asked. “Is that other girl coming with us?” she asked, catching up to her sister. “Who is she?”

Lu Zhiyun looked at her sister. She knew she couldn’t keep this a secret forever. So she decided to tell her. It might save her a lot of trouble later. “That girl might be the person Xiaoli likes. It’s just a guess.”

“!” Lu Baozhu was so shocked she couldn’t speak.

Lu Zhiyun looked at her speechless sister and said quietly, “Don’t tell anyone. Keep it a secret. You need to be more mindful of how you act around Xiaoli. Don’t always touch her, okay?”

“I…” Lu Baozhu wanted to argue, but then she remembered. So that’s why her sister wouldn’t let her sleep with Ye Li last night and why she called her away when she put her arm around Ye Li’s shoulder this morning.

“Sister, aren’t you being a little too sensitive? Even if she has a crush, she’s single. I can’t even put my arm around her?”

Lu Zhiyun looked at her with a helpless expression. “Just be careful from now on.”

They went back to the car and sat inside. Lu Baozhu put her legs up on the dashboard. After playing a game on her phone, she felt a wave of frustration wash over her. Ye Li likes girls? And a girl who looks so quiet and weak? Is this really her type? Did my sister get it wrong?

“They’ve been gone for so long. What are they doing?” Just as Lu Baozhu was getting more frustrated, she saw two figures, one tall and one short, walking toward them.

“Sister, do you think they’re a good match?” Lu Baozhu asked, squinting.

“As long as Xiaoli likes her, it’s fine,” Lu Zhiyun said, a small smile on her face. Seeing the two of them walking toward her, she felt a strange mix of emotions. The girl she had been protecting for six years had grown up and was now dating. She felt like she was still stuck in the past, when Xiaoli was just a girl who listened to her and didn’t date. Lu Zhiyun knew she had to change her mindset quickly.

The two girls got in the back seat. “You two go to the same school?” Lu Baozhu asked, her elbow resting on the car window. She looked at the thin girl next to Ye Li in the rearview mirror. She’s pretty, but she’s so thin. I can’t believe she’s Ye Li’s type. Is my sister really right?

“Yeah… we do,” Alian said, a little surprised.

The car drove down Sunset Boulevard, which stretches from the UCLA campus and is the dividing line between North and South Hollywood. It’s lined with guitar shops and music businesses and is home to many aspiring young actors, singers, and artists. The palm trees are a unique feature of LA. They’re either thick and tall or thin and delicate. The palm trees along Sunset Boulevard look like giant foxtails.

Their final destination was the Griffith Observatory, which is on Mount Hollywood and has the best view of the Hollywood sign. From here, you can see the entire city of Los Angeles.

It was dusk, and the birds were flying in the orange-red sky. The sky was a beautiful canvas of colors, making the Hollywood sign look even more stunning.

Ye Li held up her phone to take a picture of the Hollywood sign, but she moved her phone to get Lu Zhiyun in the shot. The wind blew through her hair, revealing her perfect side profile. Her lips were slightly parted, and they had a subtle shine to them.

“Ye Li, do you want to go look over there?” Lu Baozhu asked, walking up to her.

Ye Li quickly moved her phone away. “Ah, I’m not done taking pictures here yet,” she said.

“Okay, I’ll go ahead. You can come find me later,” Lu Baozhu said. She walked away and looked back to make sure Ye Li wasn’t following her. She then sped up, as if she was going to do something.

She turned a corner and found the girl standing by herself. Lu Baozhu stood next to her for a moment, then asked, “Do you like Ye Li?”

Alian looked up, surprised. “Why do you ask?”

“I’m just curious,” Lu Baozhu said, shrugging. “So, you don’t deny it, which means you do?”

Alian gave a small, incredulous laugh. She didn’t deny it, but she also didn’t say yes. “Ye Li is the person my ex-girlfriend had a crush on.”

“So you don’t like her?” Lu Baozhu guessed. “Your relationship is so complicated.”

Seeing that they were alone, Ye Li walked up to Aunt Lu and leaned on the railing next to her. “It’s so beautiful here,” she said.

Lu Zhiyun, who was lost in thought, looked at her in surprise. She looked back and saw that the other two girls were gone. “It is,” she said softly, looking at the Hollywood sign. “It’s the dream destination for many people who love acting.”

Ye Li was listening intently when Lu Zhiyun called her name. “Xiaoli,” she said, her tone serious.

“Yeah?” Ye Li asked, looking at her.

“If you ever find someone you really like, don’t be afraid. Don’t back down. Be brave and go for it. I’ll always support you.” Lu Zhiyun’s eyes were so serious that Ye Li thought she knew her secret.

“I will,” Ye Li said, smiling softly at her.

So, if you knew that person was you, would you still say that you would always support me?