Chapter 54 This is called a close relationship
There are four boys and girls, each eating popsicles in a different way.
Ah Sheng has a big mouth, so he stuffs the whole popsicle into his mouth;
Xu Cailing bites and licks at the same time. She likes to eat breakfast before brushing her teeth. Even the order of eating popsicles is different from that of normal people. She eats from the bottom first because it is thicker.
Fang Wei bit off a piece and chewed it in his mouth. The ice was so cold that he felt like he was eating something very hot, and he would gasp from time to time.
Liu Zhiyi was much more gentle. Like a kitten, he licked slowly from the top.
This resulted in the three of them finishing the popsicles in their hands, while Liu Zhiyi had not finished hers yet.
The girl then felt a sense of urgency, but her mouth was not big and the popsicle was too cold, so she could not eat it quickly.
"Don't worry, Zhiyi. You don't have to ride a bike. Just eat slowly."
"it is good……"
Only then did Liu Zhiyi slow down.
Xu Cailing flicked her fingers and the small piece of popsicle in her hand flew far away. She clapped her hands contentedly, raised her long legs, and sat astride Fang Wei's new orange car.
"Go, go home!"
Fang Wei, who was about to get on his own, was stunned for a moment and said speechlessly: "Can you not be so skilled? You made my car look like yours!"
"There's your car!"
"Ok ok, you are the boss, I will listen to you."
Fang Wei also rode her light green bicycle.
"Zhiyi, do you want to take Fang Wei's car or my car?" Xu Cailing asked, turning around.
"..."
Liu Zhiyi was inexplicably drawn into the thinking of this philosophical question.
She stood there with a popsicle in one hand, staring blankly. For a moment, she couldn't tell whether Cai Ling's words "Do you want to take Fang Wei's bike or mine" meant that the bike she was going to take belonged to her or that she wanted someone to take her...
"Then I'll take your car."
"Okay, then let Fang Wei give you a ride!"
"???"
Whose brain circuit was wrong? I, I didn't want Fang Wei to give me a ride!
Liu Zhiyi was not as close as Xu Cailing and Fang Wei, regardless of gender. For her, riding in a girl's car would definitely be more acceptable.
So he quickly changed the topic and said, "I, I meant to take Fang Wei's car."
"Oh, then come to my place, I'll give you a ride! You have a good eye, my skills are much better than yours!"
"..."
Liu Zhiyi then walked over, lifted her legs and sat astride Xu Cailing's bicycle... Oh no, it was Fang Wei's bicycle... Anyway, she didn't know whose bicycle it was!
"Have you got a good seat?"
The girl in front of her turned around and asked, then took out a baseball cap from the bicycle basket and put it on her head. The brim of the hat pressed tightly against her short ponytail. She pinched the brim of the hat, as if preparing to take off, and adjusted the angle of the brim to block the slanting sunset light, casting a shadow on her beautiful and lively big eyes.
"..."
Originally Liu Zhiyi was holding the bicycle frame with both hands. Seeing this, he was a little scared and couldn't help but put his hands on the girl's slender waist and hugged her tightly.
"rush!"
"?"
When Fang Wei saw Xu Cailing’s take-off posture, the corners of his eyes couldn’t help but twitch!
Shit! I can't bear to pedal hard, Xu Cailing, you are standing up and pedaling my new bike?!
Before he could say anything, Xu Cailing, who was riding with Liu Zhiyi, stood up and pedaled her new bike. She rushed away from him and Ah Sheng in a flash. In the blink of an eye, she had ridden a long way away. Then her triumphant voice could be heard:
"Fang Wei! Your new bike is so smooth! Enjoy riding it!!"
"Ride more gently!"
"Ahhh-"
This sound came from Liu Zhiyi. She regretted not taking Fang Wei's car... No, Cai Ling's car... Oh no! Anyway, it was like riding a roller coaster. Her adrenaline surged, and the turbulent wind blew her long hair behind her.
The girl, who had always been gentle and quiet, closed her eyes in fear. Her heart was pounding. She hugged Xu Cailing's waist tightly, and she felt like she was tied to a rocket and would fly out of the earth and rush into space in the next second.
After a while, Xu Cailing had enjoyed her new car enough and gradually slowed down. By then, she had already ridden to the Baitan Bridge.
The wind blowing in his face carried a strong scent of sea water. He could hear the sound of waves hitting the rocks and seagulls were circling and crying overhead. Liu Zhiyi, who was still frightened, quietly opened his eyes.
The bustling town had long gone, and the beautiful evening seaside scenery came into view. With his intense heartbeat still not calming down, Liu Zhiyi was slightly absent-minded.
To be honest... it's quite exciting!!
This was an experience she had never had in Shanghai. After all, big cities have a lot of cars and complicated road conditions, so it is not possible to play around like this.
"Ah, it's so satisfying! Zhiyi, how does it feel?"
“…It’s really enjoyable.”
"Then let me rest for a while, and then we can rush back home!"
"Ah? No more, no more..."
It's exciting and fun, but Liu Zhiyi's body is still very honest. It's enough to experience it once...
The bicycle slowed down, and the two girls looked back. Fang Wei and A Sheng were following not far behind them. Seeing that they slowed down, the two brothers also slowed down. They were not in a hurry to catch up, but maintained a normal speed and approached them little by little.
While riding leisurely and waiting for them, the two girls chatted casually.
"Zhiyi, have you ever taken a taxi?"
"Yeah, I sat there."
"How do you sit? Is it expensive?"
There are no taxis or even private cars on the island. Xu Cailing always feels fresh and curious about the things in these big cities.
But for some reason, if you ask her to really live in a big city, she seems unwilling to do so deep down in her heart. She feels that she knows nothing and will definitely have a hard time getting around there. She has heard from her sister that taxis are very expensive. Her sister took one when she first went to Shanghai and was ripped off. She never dared to take one again. The bus is not like here, where you can tell the driver to stop wherever you want. Taking the subway is also very troublesome...
"Cai Ling, do you want to go?" Liu Zhiyi asked curiously.
"Yes I do!"
"What are you going to do?"
"Uh... I don't know, I just want to go and take a look!"
After Xu Cailing finished answering, she remembered that she had answered this question to Fang Wei before, and the answer was exactly the same.
Perhaps this was her real thought. Although she didn't know what to do there and didn't plan to stay there forever, she just wanted to go and take a look.
Liu Zhiyi didn't know what she was thinking, but she knew that Xu Cailing was very curious about those distant places, just like the last time she asked her about the Children's Palace and the Science and Technology Museum. She didn't mind telling Cailing more, because she found that even if these things seemed very meaningless and common sense to her, this girl who grew up on an island listened to them with gusto and was quite interested.
"Taxis are very expensive, and some drivers are bad. If they see you are from another place, they will deliberately take you in circles. But taking a taxi is still very convenient. If you see an empty car on the side of the road, you can wave and it will stop."
"Yeah! My sister said she was also cheated! But there was nothing she could do and she didn't know the way. It would be great if she had a map or something! Zhiyi, what do you usually take? The bus?" "Well, buses and subways are more common."
“Is the subway really underground?”
"Yes, but some sections may be on the ground, just like a train."
"So how do you take the subway? Is it troublesome?"
"It's not a big deal. You can get a subway card and just swipe it when you take the subway. Buying a ticket is a little more troublesome."
"Hmm, hehe...I don't quite understand."
Xu Cailing smiled innocently, and couldn't figure out for a moment whether life in the big city had become more troublesome or more convenient. In short, the big city was like a mystery to her, and she didn't really care what the result of this mystery was. It seemed good to keep a vague sense of mystery and longing.
After all, she can't go that far now.
Then, Liu Zhiyi, who had lived in such a faraway place, was very powerful in her eyes.
"Zhiyi, you know, not only me, but many of my classmates think you are awesome!"
"Ah? Me? Awesome?"
"Yes, like Peipei and Yushan, everyone has talked about you, because you look like someone from a big city, very different from us, and you are super cool and handsome!"
"Forehead……"
Liu Zhiyi didn't know what went wrong that gave her classmates the illusion that she was very powerful. After all, apart from having a good relationship with the three-person team from Donghua Village, she had basically no contact with other classmates.
In fact, in her eyes, if she really had to choose a powerful person, it would probably be someone like Fang Wei or Cai Ling...
Not only are they adept at the 'complex' interpersonal relationships on the island, they also have their own strengths in school and are capable of being class leaders. Even at home, they can easily handle those housework that make her feel overwhelmed.
Compared to them, Liu Zhiyi felt that she didn't seem to have anything worthy of praise... They were both from big cities, but Teacher Wen was the truly amazing one, and she was just a joke of fate that was a little too much...
"I know what you mean."
"Ok?"
The question from the girl in front of her interrupted her wandering thoughts.
"Didn't you play with other classmates in the past two days?"
"without……"
"Eh? Why? Did you isolate them all?"
Xu Cailing's expression was serious, not like she was joking. After all, Zhiyi was so cold and cool, and he isolated the whole class by himself... He seemed so handsome! !
"No, no!"
Liu Zhiyi blushed, not knowing how to explain, and stammered, "I'm just not very good at dealing with others..."
"That's it."
Xu Cailing, who is good at socializing, didn't laugh at her. She just helped her change the subject and said, "It's okay. My grandfather also said that quality of friends is more important than quantity! I don't have many friends either. I just get along better with you, Fang Wei, A Sheng, Pei Pei, Xiao Hui, Yu Shan, Wen Ting... I just get along better with them!"
Liu Zhiyi: “…”
Wait... you've read out at least a dozen names, okay? !
"Am I considered one too?" Liu Zhiyi asked cautiously.
"What are you talking about! Of course it counts! Not only are we friends, but we're from the same island, classmates, and we even sat at the same table for an hour. Our names were also chosen by Uncle Liu. This is called a close relationship!"
Xu Cailing described it in an exaggerated way, and Liu Zhiyi couldn't help laughing because of her laughter.
……
As the familiar voices came from behind, Fang Wei and A Sheng finally caught up with the two girls on their bikes slowly.
The four of them chatted together and rode past the Baitan Bridge, the path around the island, and the pier where the fishing boats docked...
The evening breeze blew away the rising smoke, and the familiar village appeared before our eyes.
This time, Liu Zhiyi was not distracted. Starting from the moment she got off the Baitan Bridge, she tried hard to find her way.
If I tell you about it, I'm afraid people will laugh at me. I don't even know the way home and school, and I need my friends to take me home...
Fortunately, Liu Zhiyi is not a person with a poor sense of direction. She is just a homebody and is not very familiar with the roads. In fact, there is nothing to recognize along the way. It is basically just this one road, not as complicated as in the city.
From a distance, Liu Zhiyi saw his grandfather sweeping the floor with a broom in front of the yard gate.
When the three bicycles stopped in front of him, Uncle Liu was stunned for a moment. He looked up and saw his granddaughter getting off the back seat of Xu Cailing's bike.
"Grandpa."
"Uncle Liu!"
"Hey, everyone's back from school? Cailing, Awei, Asheng, please send Zhiyi off again."
"No trouble, it's on the way!"
Having said that, the old elder in front of them was always polite. During the chat, he wanted to invite the three of them to have dinner at his home.
"Uncle, no need! My mom and the others have already prepared dinner at home!"
"Then take some of these peanuts back to eat."
Uncle Liu didn't give any time for explanation and took over the winnowing basket where boiled peanuts were drying in the yard. There was no bag to put them in, so he just stuffed the peanuts into the boys' and girls' pockets until they were full.
Many families on the island grow peanuts. Uncle Liu also grows some, but he doesn't grow many. It's not enough to make oil, so he just keeps some for daily snacks.
The method is also very simple. Put the peanuts with shells in a large pot and add salt water to boil. After cooking, take them to the yard to dry, and they can be stored for a long time.
This is also the most common snack in the memories of young boys and girls. The boiled peanuts bought outside are not delicious, because for the sake of efficiency, they are directly dried after boiling, and the taste is very different.
Uncle Liu stuffed the peanuts directly into his pocket, so Fang Wei Cailing and Ah Sheng had to take them even if they didn't want to.
"Delicious! Thank you, uncle!"
"Don't be polite, it's delicious. Uncle has more here. I'll get you some more..."
"That's enough! Uncle, my pockets are full of space!"
"Then put it in your schoolbag..."
"Uncle! Let's go!"
Seeing that Uncle Liu was serious, the three of them were so scared that they ran away.
The trouser pockets were filled with peanuts, and they kept falling as they walked. The three of them had no choice but to stop the car again and bend down like little squirrels to pick up the peanuts on the road...
(End of this chapter)
