Chapter 42 Don't Blow Bubbles While Riding a Bike
After practicing cycling with Liu Zhiyi for a while, Fang Wei raised his wrist to check the time. Unconsciously, it was already ten past six.
If you get up early, you can do a lot more things, but time is limited after all, and you still have to go to class later.
It takes time for a girl with no athletic talent to learn to ride a bicycle, but judging by the results of this morning's practice, it is already a great improvement.
"I'll go back first, it's almost time."
"Well, I'm sorry to have taken up so much of your time..."
Liu Zhiyi, who was sitting on the bicycle, said to him apologetically.
Fang Wei had gotten used to the way she spoke, so he didn't bother to be polite with her.
In fact, when it comes to learning to ride a bicycle, Liu Zhiyi seems a little clumsy, but she is very hardworking and attentive. Seeing that she has made a lot of progress compared to the beginning, Fang Wei also feels a sense of accomplishment.
"We will leave for school at 6:50 and come together to pick you up. It will take about three to five minutes to get to your house. You don't have to take the bus. It's on the way anyway, so just come with us."
Fang Wei said these words very naturally, just like a normal chat between friends, but when Liu Zhiyi heard them, they made her feel so many emotions that she couldn't describe.
Liu Zhiyi nodded, and all he could say turned into a soft, "Hmm..."
"Are you going to practice again later?"
"practise."
"Okay, come on! Once you learn how to ride a bike, you can go riding with us."
"it is good."
The continuous feelings of frustration disappeared in the face of these words. There seemed to be light in the girl's eyes, and she became full of hope.
"Let's go. See you later."
"Fang Wei, thank you for teaching me."
Fang Wei didn't look back. He just waved his hand casually and ran towards Donghua Village.
After he left, Liu Zhiyi continued to practice riding a bicycle clumsily.
……
Fang Wei ran all the way back home. His mother had already gone out to work and had left breakfast for him in the pot.
I quickly finished my breakfast, cleaned up, took a shower, brushed my teeth and changed my clothes. I didn't have time to wash my clothes this morning, so I soaked them in a bucket and washed them together in the evening.
His mother had already fed the chickens at home, so he carried a bucket of water to the vegetable garden behind the yard to water the vegetable seeds.
It has been three days since the seeds were planted. When I checked today, they had already sprouted green buds. A furry green patch appeared on the moist soil, as if the vitality had been materialized. The green buds were cute and fragile, so I had to water them much more gently.
It seemed like there were a lot of things to do, but Fang Wei had no procrastination problem and he finished them all quickly, which only took him twenty minutes in total.
The watch on his wrist ticked, giving him a clear sense of time.
When he returned to the yard with the empty bucket, the girl next door was brushing her teeth and washing her face.
"Ah--gulp--poof!"
"You, Calabash Brothers?"
"Puff puff!"
Xu Cailing ignored him and just sprayed water in his direction to express her dissatisfaction with the title.
"Did you sleep in again?"
"No! I've already changed my clothes, had breakfast, packed my things, and brushed my teeth, so I'm ready to go. I just put brushing my teeth and washing my face last. There's no girl on Pineapple Island who wakes up earlier than me!"
"How dare you say that? Liu Zhiyi got up early in the morning to practice riding a bicycle."
"Huh? How did you know?"
"I went running. I also taught her how to drive a car."
Xu Cailing seemed to have heard something funny: "With your level of riding skills, can you teach others?"
"It's much better than what you taught me."
"How is Zhiyi learning?"
“Yes.”
"Then let's find her and ride our bikes to school together later!"
“…I’m not that good at riding.”
Listening to Fang Wei's description, the gifted Xu Cailing became more and more confused. To her, riding a bike is nothing more than two states: knowing how to ride and not knowing how to ride. As for this intermediate state of being able to ride but not that good at riding, what the hell is it...
"Isn't it true that there is something wrong with your teaching level?" After thinking for a while, Xu Cailing came to the conclusion.
"I'm going to be late." Fang Wei raised his wrist to check the time.
When he raised his head again, the girl in the next yard had disappeared;
When she appeared in front of him again, she was already waiting at the gate of his house, wearing a baseball cap, carrying a schoolbag, riding a bicycle, and dressed neatly.
No matter how much Xu Cailing procrastinates before the time comes, the law of absolute punctuality still applies.
"Go!"
"I'm coming."
……
At 6:50, when the morning sun was at its gentlest, Fang Wei and Xu Cailing left home on their bicycles.
They walked leisurely along the narrow village road, slowed down a little in front of a house near the village entrance. Ah Sheng, who had been waiting at the door, stood up and pedaled, and joined the team on his bike.
"Master Li!"
"School?"
"Yup!"
The three of them politely greeted the old man under the lychee tree. Master Li looked at them with a smile, waved his hand, and watched them pass through the shade of the tree and ride into the bright sunshine. He squinted his eyes. The youth, youth and sunshine were so dazzling that he could hardly see clearly...
He is ninety-eight years old this year, and is the oldest person on the island.
Perhaps because he was getting old, he really liked talking to these little kids, listening to their interesting stories, or telling them about himself. Unfortunately, his ears were not very good, and he often couldn't hear what they said clearly. His legs and feet were also not very good, so he couldn't keep up with their pace.
The old man, who was as decayed as a dead tree, closed his eyes and gently waved the palm-leaf fan in his hand. The cicadas in the lychee tree above his head chirped... The country road was narrow and the dirt road was bumpy, but the young boys and girls riding the bikes didn't care about that.
When there were no cars, they rode side by side;
When they heard the sound of a motorcycle engine in the distance, they lined up in a row and moved to the side of the road;
Occasionally, the cockleburs in the roadside weeds would take this opportunity to stick their prickly seeds on the trouser legs of the boys and girls, asking them to help carry them to farther places.
Soon, three bicycles arrived at Shayang Village and stopped steadily in front of a small courtyard.
"Dingling--dinging--"
Xu Cailing rang the bicycle bell and shouted in a long voice outside the courtyard gate:
"Liu—knows—meaning—"
Liu Zhiyi, who had packed his things early and was waiting in the living room, was startled when he heard the voice and quickly grabbed his schoolbag and put it on his shoulders.
"Grandpa, I'm going to school. I'm taking my classmate's car."
"Okay, be safe on the road."
"Uh-huh."
Liu Zhiyi nodded and trotted out of the house.
Fang Wei, Cai Ling and A Sheng, who were sitting on their own bicycles, were all looking at her and smiling. Liu Zhiyi seemed to be infected and could not help but smile as well, but she was a little restrained and not good at speaking. They had just met yesterday, and when they met again today, she didn't know how to greet them except to smile.
"Zhiyi, have you brought everything?"
"Yeah, I've got everything."
"boarding!"
Liu Zhiyi trotted over, one of his hands trying hard to take something out of his pocket.
Soon, she took out a handful of candy, her pretty face slightly blushed, and she didn't say much, but just distributed the candy to the three little friends one by one.
"Please have some candy..."
"Thanks!!"
The three of them didn't bother to be polite with her and happily took the candy she handed over.
Seeing that everyone accepted her kindness, Liu Zhiyi breathed a sigh of relief and her slightly nervous mood finally relaxed.
She really couldn't enjoy the care of Cai Ling and the other two without any psychological burden. If she said no, it would be too hypocritical; if she said thank you, it would be too distant; she could only express her little gratitude like this.
"Bubble gum! I like it! Zhiyi, can you blow bubbles?"
"I can't play it well..."
"Hey, wait a minute and I'll show you how I can blow it up to be as big as a balloon."
The boys and girls were just getting ready to set off when they saw Uncle Liu coming out from the house with a smile on his face, so they waited there for a while.
"Uncle Liu."
All three called out politely.
"You are Cai Ling, right? The second daughter of Zhiyuan's family."
"That's right! Uncle Liu, my dad said you were the one who gave me my name!"
"Yes, you have grown up and become a beautiful girl."
"hey-hey……"
Xu Cailing smiled embarrassedly.
Then the old man looked at Fang Wei again. After all, they were from the neighboring village and he didn’t know all of these youngsters.
"Uncle, my name is Fang Wei." Fang Wei took the initiative to introduce himself.
"Oh...is your father Afeng or Amin?"
"Uncle, my father is Afeng, Amin is my eldest uncle, and this is my cousin Asheng."
"Yes, yes, you two brothers both look like your father, I can't tell them apart at first."
"I heard from my dad and the others that you, Uncle Liu, were their teacher in the past."
"Haha, yes, I have been retired for many years..."
His grandfather was chatting with his classmates. Liu Zhiyi did not interrupt, but just listened quietly. However, he was quite surprised in his heart - he only met Cailing and the others yesterday, but his grandfather had a connection with them for a long time?
For the first time, she had such a concrete understanding of the local customs and culture of the island.
"Awei, Cailing, Asheng, thank you very much for coming to take Zhiyi to school. Sorry to bother you. Have you had breakfast? Uncle has some buns at home. I'll go get them for you..."
"Uncle, no need! We've already eaten!"
The three of them hurriedly called him and said, "We are classmates with Zhiyi, and we are going the same way, so it's good to have a companion if we go together!"
"You are all good children..."
"Uncle, we're leaving first."
Liu Zhiyi got on Xu Cailing's bicycle, greeted the elder in front of them, and then they rode their bicycles to the road.
"Zhiyi, your grandpa is so polite." Xu Cailing said with emotion while chewing the sweet bubble gum in her mouth.
"Yeah, that's how he is." Liu Zhiyi nodded. Perhaps this was the education her family had always given her.
"Look, I'm going to blow you some bubbles!"
After chewing the bubble gum in her mouth for a while, Xu Cailing rolled her tongue nimbly, moved her lips slightly, and blew a pink bubble out of her mouth, which then got bigger and bigger...
As she was about to break the record, she hummed excitedly and asked everyone to come and see her performance.
Then a gust of wind blew, the bubble burst, and the sticky bubble gum all over her face...
“Hahahahaha…! Xu Cailing, are you a pig?!”
"Ahhh! It's stuck to my hair! What should I do if I can't get it off?!"
Liu Zhiyi, who was sitting in the back seat of the car, also giggled, and the refreshing wind blew her hair...
(End of this chapter)
