What's Wrong With Being Fifteen Years Older Than Me?! - Chapter 43

The morning sun rose, and a new day began in Los Angeles. The streets were filled with people and cars. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, cars sped by. The woman on the treadmill was listening to the English morning news, watching the city below. She was breathing a little heavy and sweating as she ran to the rhythm of her footsteps.

Shen Suhe’s mind wandered. She replayed the events of last night in her head. A young girl had beaten her to Lu Zhiyun, and the girl’s eyes looked at her as if she were a rival. It was only now that she realized it. If her guess was right, then things were getting interesting. But was it too much to compete with an 18-year-old? She sped up the treadmill. Her breathing got heavier.

A strange sound came from her headphones, and Shen Suhe turned off the treadmill. After a short walk, the machine stopped. “Good morning, Jasmine~” she said, picking up a towel and wiping her face. Her smile was bright and carefree.

“I drank too much last night,” Lu Zhiyun’s voice came through the headphones. “Lu Baozhu was being so inconsiderate. Why did she let you pay?”

“It’s no big deal,” Shen Suhe said. “It was just dinner.” She went to the fridge and took out a bottle of fresh juice. She opened it and drank it, and the sound of her swallowing was so loud that Lu Zhiyun could hear it.

“That’s not right. I was supposed to pay. And Ye Li’s friend was there, too. I already sent you the money. Make sure you get it.” Lu Zhiyun was very insistent. Shen Suhe also heard some other noises.

“Did that girl stay the night at your place?” she asked.

“Yeah. Xiaoli came over for the weekend. This isn’t China, and I worry about her. I feel better when she’s here.” Shen Suhe laughed. “You’re so thoughtful. It’s like you’re raising a daughter.”

“I can’t help it,” Lu Zhiyun said softly. Shen Suhe felt a warmth spread through her. “We’ve lived together for six years. I watched her grow from a 12-year-old to an 18-year-old. It’s not easy to just let go of that.”

Ye Li, who was cleaning the guest room, heard Lu Zhiyun on the phone. She quickly finished and went to the living room, pretending that she was just getting a glass of water.

“Okay, I’ll talk to you later if nothing comes up today,” Lu Zhiyun said with a smile and hung up.

“Aunt Lu, are you going out today?” Ye Li asked, holding a glass of water to her lips. She tried to act natural, but a flicker of guilt flashed in her eyes.

“The aunt you saw last night, we had dinner together, and she asked me to go to an art gallery with her this afternoon.”

“Are you… going?” Ye Li asked, sipping her water.

“I’m not sure. Do you have anything you want to do today, Xiaoli?” Lu Zhiyun asked, her eyes smiling.

“Yes!” Ye Li said without thinking. She quickly added, “The school bread isn’t very good. I want to learn how to make toast with you so I can take it to school tomorrow.”

Lu Zhiyun was a little surprised. Then she smiled brightly and said, “Okay.”

Just as Lu Zhiyun agreed to teach Ye Li, Lu Baozhu came out of her room, looking pretty and all dressed up. “Ye Li, let’s go shopping.”

“Sorry, Fannie. I’m going to learn how to make toast with Aunt Lu today,” Ye Li said, happy to have a reason to say no.

“What’s so fun about making toast? Let’s go shopping! Look, I’m all ready,” Lu Baozhu said, taking Ye Li’s hand and shaking it. Lu Baozhu was shorter than Ye Li, and when Ye Li looked down, she saw a face that looked just like Aunt Lu’s, pouting and asking for something with her big eyes. Ye Li felt like she was watching Aunt Lu throw a tantrum. It felt so strange.

Lu Zhiyun saw this and coughed lightly to remind Lu Baozhu to stop. Lu Baozhu reluctantly let go of Ye Li’s hand but continued to stare at her with an innocent look. Ye Li couldn’t handle it anymore. She looked away and firmly said no.

“Okay, fine. Toast it is,” Lu Baozhu said, sighing.

The three of them went to the kitchen. Ye Li and Lu Zhiyun stood by the island, and Lu Baozhu just watched. She didn’t want to get involved, but she didn’t want to be alone, either.

Lu Zhiyun told Ye Li what to do, and Ye Li followed her instructions. “First, you need 300g of high-gluten flour, 50g of sugar, one egg, 3g of salt, 3g of yeast, and 175g of milk.”

“Yes, put everything in the mixer and start on a low speed.”

“Then, weigh 30g of butter and put it in after the dough is mixed.”

The girl was very serious and memorized the recipe in her head. The sound of Lu Baozhu eating an apple mixed with the sound of the mixer. Lu Baozhu was watching Ye Li intently. She looks so good when she’s serious, Lu Baozhu thought.

Ye Li didn’t really want to learn how to make toast. She just wanted to keep Aunt Lu at home. After the dough was ready, she let it rise. When it doubled in size, she punched it down and let it rise twice more for 20 minutes each. Then she rolled the dough into three logs and put them in a bread pan. She let the dough rise one more time. When the dough was almost at the top of the pan, it was ready to be baked.

The whole process took half the day. Ye Li noticed that Aunt Lu had answered a call from Shen Suhe again, but she said no. She was relieved.

Since she was sure Aunt Lu wasn’t going out, she didn’t say no when Lu Baozhu asked her to go to the supermarket.

“Do you want any snacks, Ye Li?” Lu Baozhu asked. Ye Li pushed the shopping cart behind her and shook her head, smiling.

After a walk around the store, the cart was full of Lu Baozhu’s things. “Are you sure you don’t want anything?” Lu Baozhu asked again. Ye Li shook her head.

“So you came here just to keep me company?” Lu Baozhu asked. “You’re so nice.” She affectionately linked her arm with Ye Li’s and rubbed her head against it like a lazy cat. When Ye Li looked down, Lu Baozhu was smiling shyly. She looked so much like Aunt Lu.

Ye Li’s back stiffened. She tried to push Lu Baozhu away, but she couldn’t because she didn’t want to use too much force. Lu Baozhu just held on tighter. “I know. You don’t like Ruan Silian,” she said with a bright smile.

Ye Li’s eyes were filled with confusion. What did that have to do with anything?

When they got back to the apartment, the toast was ready. A sweet smell filled the air. “Want to try some? It’s a little hot, but it tastes best when it’s fresh,” Lu Zhiyun said. The three of them stood around the island and ate half of the toast. The bread was so soft and had a creamy, buttery flavor.

After eating the toast, they had a light dinner. Tonight, Ye Li was going back to school, and Lu Baozhu was going back to New York.

After her shower, Ye Li saw Aunt Lu in the kitchen, making another batch of bread. She was a little surprised and was about to ask what she was doing. “Sorry, Xiaoli. We ate all the toast from this afternoon, so I’m making you another one to take to school tomorrow,” Lu Zhiyun said. Aunt Lu’s face with a sorry smile looked so cute.

“No, you don’t have to. It’s already so late. It’ll be the middle of the night by the time it’s ready,” Ye Li said, feeling bad.

“It’s okay. I can do other things while I wait,” Lu Zhiyun said with a smile.

“Then I’ll stay with you,” Ye Li said. Just then, Lu Baozhu came out of her room with a deck of cards. Ye Li suddenly understood the sounds she had heard earlier. “It’s still early, and I can’t sleep. Let’s play cards.”

So, the three of them, who had already showered, sat around the table and played cards. They started arguing about the rules, and Lu Zhiyun decided to look them up on her phone.

“My phone is charging. Lu Baozhu, what about yours?”

“Mine, too. Do you have yours, Ye Li?” Lu Baozhu asked.

“Oh, I do,” Ye Li said and naturally gave her phone to Aunt Lu. Lu Zhiyun opened a search engine to look up the rules, but her previous search history popped up.

[How to pursue someone you like?]

[How to know someone’s sexual orientation?]

[What to do if the person you like is much older than you?]

…