What's Wrong With Being Fifteen Years Older Than Me?! - Chapter 7

“Haha, so that’s it. Well, there’s nothing we can do about it. We’ll just have to reschedule,” the man said with a laugh, running a hand through his hair. The phrase “reschedule” was a polite way of avoiding an awkward situation.

Lu Zhiyun nodded with a polite smile and watched him leave. As he walked away down the school corridor, the man shook his head with a sense of loss. Such a beautiful woman already has a child. I wonder which lucky guy managed to marry her so early. I really have no chance now.

Lu Zhiyun looked at her watch again, confirmed the time, picked up her bag, and got up.

On the campus of Jingchuan University, the woman in her caramel-colored French dress, with her graceful and lithe figure, was like a swaying butterfly. Wherever she went, she was the center of attention. Young female students stopped to stare, while the hot-blooded male students’ noses almost bled.

“Oh my god, she’s so beautiful. Her features look like they’ve been sculpted. How can someone so perfect exist in real life?”

“You didn’t know? She’s the new English teacher at our school this year. She teaches public English to sophomores and juniors. I heard she just came back from the US and is a top student.”

“Really? I’m going to audit her class next time.”

…Lu Zhiyun wasn’t so aloof that she ignored them completely. When she met the students’ friendly, youthful smiles, she would smile back.

When she finally arrived at the library building, she looked at her watch again. The timing was perfect. Sure enough, a plump, bespectacled female teacher hurried toward her, holding a stack of books. The teacher stopped in front of her, out of breath, and pushed her glasses up. “Teacher Lu, here are the junior high English books you asked for. They’re brand new. I got them from a friend in the education bureau.”

Lu Zhiyun took them gratefully, holding them tightly to her chest. “Thank you so much. You’ve gone to so much trouble.” She didn’t forget to put what she had prepared in advance into the other woman’s hand. “It’s nothing much, but here’s a gift card. Please take it.” The plump teacher was initially reluctant, but when her glasses flashed and she saw the number “800” on the gift card, she smiled awkwardly and accepted it. “Teacher Lu, you’re too kind. I just did a small favor.”

“If you ever need my help with anything, just ask. It’s my duty as a senior to look after a junior.” The teacher had already put the gift card in her pocket. Lu Zhiyun nodded and smiled. After all, she felt uncomfortable asking for favors without reciprocating. It was best not to owe people.

Back in her office, Lu Zhiyun put the remaining junior and senior English books in a drawer and kept only the first-year textbook. Then she opened a brand-new notebook and began to meticulously organize the key concepts. She wrote from morning until night, only looking up when she noticed the streetlights across from the building were on, and the windows were lit up. The laughter of students occasionally drifted by—a youthful energy that she, as a graduate of many years, could no longer experience.

The cafeteria at Jingchuan Middle School was exceptionally diverse. The food stalls offered not only rice and noodles but also various snacks and pastries. However, seats were highly sought-after. If you were a little late, you’d have to wander around with your tray, waiting for a spot to open up. That’s what happened to Ye Li on her first day at lunchtime. So, for dinner, she was smarter. She just bought a coconut bun and a cup of soy milk at the stall and ate on her way back to the classroom building. This way, she didn’t have to fight for a seat and saved a lot of time.

The first period of evening study hall was math, and the second was English. Math was Ye Li’s strong suit. She listened attentively. But when it came to English, she started to feel sleepy. With twenty minutes left until the end of school, the English teacher gave them time to do their homework so they wouldn’t have to stay up late. The classroom was quiet, with everyone diligently working. Only a few boys in the back row whispered and joked, and the teacher would occasionally scold them.

Ye Li propped her head on one hand, staring at the a, b, c, and d on the worksheet. She could recognize each letter, but when they were put together, they looked like something from a fantasy novel. After randomly guessing a few multiple-choice questions, she started to doodle on a scratch pad to pass the time.

First, she used her black ballpoint pen to draw a pig, circling a tail on its backside with the last stroke. What should I draw next? The girl held the pen, resting her chin on her knuckles, lost in thought. From a distance, she looked like a serious, good student deep in concentration.

Her mind wandered back to the woman in the flowing blue dress at the KFC window during the summer. The outline of the figure was still so clear and vivid. Ye Li picked up her pen and began to draw, treating it like a work of art. But she added a chubby little pig above the woman’s head.

Just as she finished, the bell rang. The girl put down her pen with a sigh of relief and closed her English workbook, with the scratch pad still inside. She had finally made it through the difficult English study hall.

Under the dim streetlights of the campus, groups of students, like an army of black ants, swarmed toward the school gate. Ye Li, with her school bag, was among them. To lighten the load, she had eaten her fruit during the day and moved the packaged snacks to her desk drawer. She finally made her way to the school gate and casually scanned the crowd of parents waiting. Her eyes immediately landed on the woman who stood out with her beauty and elegance. She really came to pick me up.

Lu Zhiyun walked toward her and naturally patted the back of Ye Li’s head, her touch as gentle as petting a kitten’s belly. “Xiaoli, are you hungry?”

Ye Li shook her head. She was about to say that she had already eaten, but her stomach inconveniently rumbled. She quickly put a hand over it in embarrassment. It had been four hours since she ate, and it wasn’t a very big meal. The woman saw the awkwardness on the girl’s face and proactively said, “I’m a little hungry. Why don’t you eat with me?”

“Okay,” Ye Li said, nodding.

They didn’t go far, just to a 24-hour convenience store across the street from the school. After buying some oden, they found a seat by the window. As Ye Li sat down, she noticed the woman wasn’t there yet. Curious, she popped a curry fishball into her mouth.

When Lu Zhiyun returned, a bottle of fresh milk was placed in front of the girl by her slender arm. “Girls your age should drink more milk to grow taller.” The woman’s mesmerizing, long eyes curved into a gentle smile, like a crescent moon. “I’ve just returned to the country, so I’m still figuring things out. I need to get a fresh milk subscription for you soon.”

The girl’s brows subtly furrowed. She quietly looked at the bottle of milk on the table. Since it had just come out of the cold case, its surface was quickly covered in condensation. The next second, more and more raindrops started to adhere to the convenience store’s window. Pedestrians on the street hurried to find shelter from the sudden downpour.

“What a shame. I didn’t drive today, Xiaoli.” Worried that there wouldn’t be any parking spots late at night, Lu Zhiyun had gone home to park her car and then walked back to the school.

Seeing the woman’s regretful expression, Ye Li pursed her lips and offered stiffly, “It’s okay. We can just wait for the rain to stop.”

With that, the rain suddenly intensified. The sound of it roaring down and slanting against the window blurred the view outside. The pouring rain instantly soaked the streets.

“How about you finish eating and then do your homework here? If we go back too late, you’ll have to stay up.” Lu Zhiyun turned slightly to talk to Ye Li, her gaze fully focused on her, and her voice gentle.

“Okay,” the girl replied softly. She could sense the woman’s intense attention in her peripheral vision, so she just kept her head down and focused on eating.

During this time, Lu Zhiyun went to the checkout counter and asked if they had any umbrellas. The clerk said the last one was sold an hour ago, and they wouldn’t have more until tomorrow. “But I don’t think this rain will last long. We always get a few downpours like this at the end of summer. Maybe it will stop soon,” the clerk said reassuringly.

When she came back, Ye Li had just finished eating. Ye Li glanced at her and obediently took out her workbook. It was the English one. Her dad had never made her do her homework like this, and Ye Li had a feeling her life was about to get a lot more difficult.

Lost in thought, she opened the workbook. A scratch pad with a drawing on it flew out, wobbling through the air in an erratic arc before landing on the gray tile floor of the convenience store.

“What’s this?” The woman beside her bent down and picked it up. It had landed right by her feet.

Ye Li’s heart skipped a beat. She clenched her fingers, feeling a sense of dread. Lu Zhiyun held the paper in her hand, her long eyelashes cast downward. On the white paper was a drawing of a woman, done in black ballpoint pen. The style was amateurish, but it showed a hint of natural talent. Her fingers on the paper paused, and her beautiful, peach-blossom eyes curved upwards.

“Did you draw me?”

“Oh, I just drew it randomly,” the girl said, looking away awkwardly. She nervously swayed on the high stool, her face flushed with heat. Lu Zhiyun’s gaze followed the drawing, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.