Chapter 58 I feel something
“Oh~oh~oh~~~!”
The sound of roosters crowing was heard in the distance.
The morning light dispelled the night mist and illuminated the small island in the vast ocean.
A light brighter than the moonlight fell into the room through the window, clearly outlining the outline of the girl sleeping soundly on the bed.
I don't know if it was because of the rooster's crowing or the light that stimulated her, but the girl's two rows of delicate feather fan-like eyelashes trembled, her thin eyebrows wrinkled, and she hummed with lingering desire. She turned over in the bed, twisted her long and well-shaped legs, and half-lying on her side, crumpled the sheets into a ball and hugged them in her arms.
I woke up after all, but I secretly allowed myself to stay in bed.
After all, I haven't slept so comfortably in a long time.
I had dreams in the first half of my sleep, but I slept dreamlessly in the second half until dawn.
Liu Zhiyi turned over and sat cross-legged. Her long hair was now curled lazily due to her deep sleep.
She half-clenched her fists, rubbed her eyes gently, then got up from the bed, stood by the window, and took a deep breath of the fresh air outside.
In the past, when she got up, she always felt heavy and her head was foggy. Maybe it was because she had a good sleep last night, she now felt inexplicably light.
I picked up the alarm clock and looked at it. It was only five o'clock in the morning.
There was still a long time before the 7:30 class, but Liu Zhiyi didn't want to stay in bed any longer. He walked over in his slippers, turned off the fan, hung up the mosquito net, opened the door and walked out.
Grandpa woke up earlier than her and was busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen. He took a pair of tongs and picked up a large piece of red-hot but unburned wood from the wood stove and put it in the empty stove next to it. The porridge in the pot was already cooked and no more firewood was needed. The remaining charcoal fire could be used to slowly simmer the rice, and it would be soft enough.
Seeing that the porridge foam was about to overflow from the pot, he calmly lifted the lid, and a cloud of thick white steam floated up, like waves at receding tide, and the porridge foam slowly retreated back into the pot and continued to gurgle and surge.
"Grandpa."
Liu Zhiyi called him at the kitchen door.
Grandpa then turned around and asked with a smile: "You woke up so early, why don't you sleep a little longer?"
"Well, I've slept enough. I go to bed early and wake up early."
"Are you hungry? The porridge is ready. Eat it if you are hungry. Grandpa will go outside and buy some buns."
"It's okay, Grandpa. Just eat some salted fish."
"It's not far. Wash your face and brush your teeth first."
Grandpa was always worried that she wouldn't eat well or get used to the food. In fact, Liu Zhiyi wasn't picky, except for fatty meat...
There are no buns for sale in the village. To buy buns, you have to go to the nearby pier, which is indeed not far away. I heard Fang Wei say yesterday that when he runs, he will pass by the pier before going to the beach to watch the sunrise. It is just past Shayang Village.
Grandpa walked slowly and was afraid of delaying his granddaughter's breakfast time, so he rode his 28-inch bicycle out.
Liu Zhiyi couldn't persuade him, so she had to go to the yard to brush her teeth and wash her face.
She poured a cup of water into the shaking well and shook it twice, and the cool well water flowed out. After Fang Wei helped her replace the rubber stopper, the shaking well stopped leaking.
She filled a cup with water for next time, then filled her own mouthwash cup with water and began to brush her teeth.
Fang Weili had been seen jogging for several days in a row. It was not sunrise yet, but it was probably around this time. Liu Zhiyi was brushing his teeth while looking towards the distance on the country road, curious whether he would see him again today.
Haven't seen him yet.
Instead, I saw a cat lying on the wall of my house.
What a fat and big tabby cat...
When she first saw it, Liu Zhiyi was shocked. After all, the cat's body color was similar to the mossy wall. When it was lying there motionless, she didn't notice it at first.
She was looking at the cat and the cat was looking at her.
"Mimi? Meow?"
The girl's mouth was full of bubbles, and she couldn't help but make a sound to tease the cat.
But this arrogant big fat cat ignored her, just gave her a sidelong look, and lay down beside the wall, licking its paws and washing its face.
"Are you lost? Whose cat are you?"
"..."
The cat naturally didn't answer her.
So Liu Zhiyi became a little bolder. Holding a toothbrush in her mouth, she tiptoed towards the wall.
The cat just stared at her until she walked to a certain distance. Then it stood up, and did not run away. Instead, it took a few steps on the wall with elegant cat steps to keep some distance from her.
Liu Zhiyi didn't give up and took a few steps closer to it.
So the cat stood up and walked a few steps, keeping a distance from her all the time, looking both cool and playful, which made the girl, who wanted to touch the cat but couldn't, very anxious.
She didn't know if she was pressing too close or if some other noise startled the cat.
The big tabby cat suddenly pricked up its ears and listened in the distance. Then, like a naughty child playing outside who was afraid of being caught by his parents, it jumped down from the fence in a hurry and ran so fast that it disappeared in the blink of an eye...
It was not until it disappeared from her sight that Liu Zhiyi came to her senses. She had always been the one who was "cold" to others, but she didn't expect that today she would be treated coldly by a cat.
Feeling a little disappointed that he didn't touch the cat, Liu Zhiyi went back to the well to brush his teeth.
After a while, she heard the steady and rhythmic sound of running.
The sound was not loud, but it was particularly clear in such a quiet morning.
He raised his head and looked outside the yard, and saw Fang Wei running towards him along the country road.
After all, they were classmates and deskmates, so the relationship between her and Fang Wei might not be as close as that between her and Cai Ling, but she probably couldn't pretend not to see him like before.
Liu Zhiyi thought about it, then quickly rinsed the foam from his mouth and planned to say hello to him.
The idea was great, but when she was about to say hello, she got stuck, thinking about how to say hello -
Say, good morning?
Say, are you running again?
Say, hello?
Before she could finish her thoughts, Fang Wei had already run to the point closest to her, so close that she could clearly see the sweat on his face and neck.
"Morning!"
I imagined that this sentence should have been shouted out by her, but Fang Wei snatched the line away.
The boy ran at a steady pace, panting and sweating, and raised one hand to wave at her.
Liu Zhiyi seemed to be inspired and followed his example, preparing to raise his hand and wave, then say "Good morning!"
In my imagination, it should be like this.
In fact, she did so, but her hand had just been raised halfway, and the words "good morning" were still stuck in her throat, when Fang Wei at the other end of the country road ran over without looking back.
"..."
Ok.
It seems that this is quite good. Others are so casual and natural, while I seem to be shy.
"Morning, morning~ Morning? Morning! Morning..."
The girl kept muttering to herself, and even laughed at herself.
So stupid.
If someone sees me like this, they will think I am crazy...
She returned to the well, bent over, scooped up a handful of water from the wash basin and washed her face. In the morning breeze, she pinched the new school uniform that had been washed last night in the yard. Her hands felt wet and not yet dry.
She went to the kitchen and took two bowls and filled each with some hot porridge.
Not long after, the grandfather riding a 28-inch bicycle came back, with big buns in a plastic bag hanging on his handlebars, swaying.
Liu Zhiyi ate the buns and white porridge and felt very full.
After eating, he pushed his bicycle and started practicing again.
At this time in the morning, she did not practice in the yard, but like yesterday, she pushed the bicycle to the quiet and deserted country road in the early morning, and then practiced clumsily...
……
The journey was smooth and I managed to catch the sunrise as scheduled this morning.
Not only that, he also recited a poem "Viewing the Ocean" at the beach, and after finishing it, he also recited "Spring".
Of course, memorization is secondary. He mainly wants to practice his oral and speaking skills.
Because of the influence of the dialect, the young boys and girls on the island generally do not speak standard Mandarin, including most of the teachers.
I don't have any idea that I have to reach the broadcasting level. I can just practice whenever I have more time.
Facing the vast and boundless sea, with no one around the beach except seabirds, he can shout out very boldly, and then read and recite with emotion, with ups and downs in the words.
This scene also reminded him of Stephen Chow's famous movie "Justice, My Foot", in which the actor practiced his eloquence on the beach and made a bunch of fish, shrimps and crabs jump out of the sea.
Although it's just an exaggeration in the movie, you know what, the beach is really a great place to practice speaking and eloquence. It will be very useful if you can master the skill of public speaking in the future.
While practicing, he also rested. When he had rested enough, Fang Wei put on the vest he had just taken off and jogged back along the same route.
After leaving Xiaobaisha and passing by the pier, I patted my dad's shoulder to scare him, and then ran back to Shayang Village.
From a distance, Fang Wei saw a girl practicing cycling on a country road.
He was a little surprised. Compared with yesterday, Liu Zhiyi rode much better. At least when no one helped her hold the bike, she could ride in a straight line for a long distance by herself.
Even turning and making U-turns seemed quite clumsy. She had a very poor sense of direction for turning around while sitting on a bike. She fiddled with it for a long time and finally decided to use brute force to lift the bike up and turn it 180 degrees.
But, it is progress after all, isn't it?
Fang Wei ran towards her.
Before he could run to her side, Liu Zhiyi, who heard footsteps from afar, turned around and saw him.
"Morning, morning!"
I finally said what I had been holding back for a long time.
"Morning. How was practice?"
"I'm not very good at turning and U-turning..."
"You've made a lot of progress compared to yesterday! Did you practice last night?"
"Ah."
"Where did you practice?"
"In the yard."
"..."
Fang Wei thought for a moment and said, "There is a large open space in our village, in front of the ancestral hall. Do you want to come with me and practice there? I can teach you how to do some circles."
"Maybe next time... we don't have much time in the morning."
"Yeah, you ride it and let me see."
Liu Zhiyi didn't ask him to teach, and Fang Wei didn't preach, but the two of them naturally ended up learning while one taught.
When it comes to practicing the basics, Fang Wei is definitely a good teacher; as for wanting to improve and learn some stunts like turning, drifting, and riding with the hands free, maybe you should look for Cai Ling… I’m afraid Cai Ling won’t be able to teach you very well, after all, the gap between their athletic talents is too great, and there are some details that they cannot understand each other.
Soon, after Liu Zhiyi demonstrated it, Fang Wei discovered the problem.
"You're still too nervous. Relax a little, especially your hands. Don't hold the handlebars so tightly. If you hold them too tightly, your fingers won't have time to brake when you need to. The same goes for your arms. Relax a little."
"Is this so..."
"Well, just sit still and hold the handlebars like you're steering a wheel. Relax and get a feel for it."
This is a good suggestion. The reason why she couldn't stop gripping the handlebars too tightly is because she didn't dare to relax when riding. If she just sat on the bike and didn't move, then turned the handlebars, she would actually be able to relax.
"How's it going? Do you feel anything?"
"Yes, yes!"
The girl studied very seriously. Even though she was a little bit stupid, as long as she was willing to learn, Fang Wei didn't mind teaching her attentively.
"Okay, remember this feeling, and then just focus on your hands first, relax and pay attention to the direction. I will push you, and you don't need to step on your feet yet."
"it is good……"
Fang Wei gently pushed her bicycle from behind, and she finally relaxed when she no longer had to distract herself by pedaling.
"Hold it, and then slowly start to pedal. If you are nervous, pedal slowly. If you are relaxed, pedal boldly."
"..."
"Don't worry, I'm behind you."
"it is good."
Gradually, her riding became more and more smooth, as if she had finally recognized the bicycle as her master by dripping blood, and the bicycle began to respond to her.
In fact, learning to ride a bicycle does not require much of a step-by-step process. As long as you can find that feeling, you will have an epiphany. The difference between people lies in who can find that feeling faster.
Fang Wei let go of her hand and stood on the side of the road looking at her.
The gentle light of the morning sun fell on the girl's hair blown by the wind. She looked excited. She finally didn't have much fear about cycling. Instead, she felt the fun of it and became addicted to riding.
She rode and rode, and rode a long way along the country road, the farthest place she had ever been alone, then she gently squeezed the brakes, and the bike slowed down and stopped.
Looking back at Fang Wei, she clumsily turned the bike around and rode back with a smile on her pretty face, as if she was happier than getting first place in the exam.
"Have you found the feeling?"
"Yeah! I feel something!"
She also did not forget the young teacher of the same age in front of her, and said sincerely: "Fang Wei, thank you for teaching me."
"You still need to practice more!"
"Ah."
"Why don't you ride with us this morning? Practice makes perfect."
"……what?"
The confidence on the girl's face disappeared, and after a while she stammered in a low voice:
"Next time."
"..."
(End of this chapter)
