Chapter 9 Bicycle

Yin Xian brought over his bicycle.

The bike was brand new, with the plastic film on the frame still untouched.

“Here.” He generously handed her the handlebars.

Wang Jiexiang didn’t stand on ceremony and got on right away.

The kids nearby noticed them and deliberately rode their bikes past. Since they didn’t know each other, no one greeted them. Wang Jiexiang looked up at the children. Their pedals squeaked as they pushed hard, and even after riding far off, they still turned back to glance at her.

“Okay, this bike master accepts your challenge.”

She pushed off with one foot, stepped on the pedal with the other, and glided off smoothly.

Yin Xian watched her gradually catch up to the kids and blend in with them. By the time they circled around the residential community and she came back into view, Wang Jiexiang was already leading the group.

Her hair flowed behind her in the wind as she laughed freely. The children chased after her with all their might. At a sharp turn, she completed it cleanly and swiftly—not even the wind could catch the hem of her shirt.

Faster than all the kids, she completed the loop and came to a steady stop beside him.

“Your turn.”

Wang Jiexiang jumped off and handed the handlebars back to him.

Yin Xian nodded.

He got on the bike, took a deep breath, and pressed down on the pedal.

Clatter—!!

Yin Xian toppled over onto the grass, the bike and himself landing flat on their backs.

Wang Jiexiang’s smile froze. She hadn’t expected that at all. She reached out to help but was a second too late.

“Are you okay?” She hurried over.

“Come quick!”

The kids who had been watching gathered around, laughing so hard they held their stomachs.

“Ha ha ha, he can’t ride a bike, he fell down.”

Yin Xian lowered his head in embarrassment.

Wang Jiexiang waved her fist and drove the kids away. “Hey, you brats! What’s so funny about falling?”

Seeing she wasn’t to be messed with, the kids wisely got back on their bikes.

“He can’t even ride a bike. What an idiot.”

They hurled that line at Yin Xian, then pedaled off laughing before Wang Jiexiang could hit them.

Yin Xian stood up, brushing the dirt from his clothes.

“I’m not riding anymore.”

Wang Jiexiang grabbed him. “I can teach you.”

Yin Xian shook his head. “Forget it.”

She sighed.

“Really not riding?”

He nodded firmly.

“Fine,” she said with a grin, getting back on the bike. “If you won’t ride, I will.”

Yin Xian watched Wang Jiexiang wordlessly.

She circled around him on the bike.

“See, I’m really good at this.”

Every step he took, she followed, ringing the bell to catch his attention.

“Hey, riding a bike is easy. Just learn and you’ll get it.”

Her hair swished as she rode, her expression smug.

“But since you don’t want to learn, I won’t force you. I’ll just ride it myself. You can walk while I ride. You won’t mind, right?”

After getting hit in the face by her hair several times, Yin Xian finally couldn’t take it anymore.

“Are you really going to teach me?”

“If I learn really slowly and it takes a long time, will you still teach me?”

“Of course.” She answered without hesitation.

“Why?”

“I can’t ride a bike, so I can’t play with you. I already spent my five yuan and can’t buy you ice cream. If you’re still nice to me, what’s the point?”

“You think what I said at your house was just for ice cream?”

Wang Jiexiang gently patted his tangled hair and said casually,

“No reason. There doesn’t always have to be a reason. I want to be good to you. I want you to have a good life. You don’t need to give me something in return.”

Twenty-eight-year-old Yin Xian couldn’t trust people or form close relationships. Expressing normal emotions—tiredness, sadness, love—was hard for him.

The Yin Xian in front of her was eight.

He was ignored, belittled, used as a punching bag—and told, all the while, that this was love.

He was still confused, still hesitant—should he trust kindness that came for no reason? Could he let himself be vulnerable, allow someone to pull him up?

Wang Jiexiang couldn’t do much. That hand she held out in the rain, that single tear she wiped away—who knew if any of it helped? If it helped even a little, that would already be enough.

“Alright, really, if you don’t want to learn, then we can—”

“I want to learn.” Yin Xian cut her off.

This time, Wang Jiexiang didn’t need to coax him. He sat on the bike on his own.

“Okay.”

She smiled, relieved, and bounced over to the back of the bike, gripping the seat.

“The first thing you need to learn is balance. Steady the handlebars, stay centered, then start moving forward. If you feel like you’re losing balance, remember your feet can reach the ground—and I’m holding on.”

Wobbling, Yin Xian pedaled forward with the bike tilted to one side.

Wang Jiexiang stopped the bike. “Keep the handlebars balanced. Don’t rush to move forward yet.”

With her guidance, his posture improved a little.

“Yes, that’s it.”

But he listened a bit too well—new problems emerged.

“Yin Xian, I said don’t rush, but now you’re going too slow. The slower you pedal, the more likely you’ll fall over.”

“You’re still too slow, speed up a bit.”

He couldn’t remember how many times he fell. Yin Xian fell and fell, until the sun set.

Wang Jiexiang’s praise about him being smart wasn’t unfounded—he learned faster than most kids.

She remembered it taking her weeks to learn to ride a bike. Yin Xian, starting from scratch, managed to ride a short distance on his own after just one afternoon.

Wang Jiexiang flexed her aching arms from holding the bike and looked at Yin Xian’s figure as he rode away.

It was probably dinner time. Even if his parents were garbage, he still had to go home to eat, right? What excuse could she use to bum a meal and sleep over?

As she thought, some kids riding home passed by her.

Something shiny caught her eye.

Chasing the glint, she saw a kid on a bike with a key dangling from the seat.

The distant sunset seemed to have lost some of its glow to the key. The sky visibly dimmed.

“That—that’s…”

That familiar sensation of focus, that unusual aura.

“Hey! Kid up front, stop! That’s my key!”

By the time Wang Jiexiang reacted, the kid had already ridden far off. She took off running, but he only rode faster.

“Get on.”

Yin Xian rode up on his children’s bike and offered her the back seat.

“…”

Wang Jiexiang was going to tell him to move so she could ride instead. But Yin Xian’s back was tense—clearly, he was ready to give it his all.

Not wanting to dampen his enthusiasm, she gritted her teeth and got on the back of his kids’ bike.

She hadn’t expected that after teaching Yin Xian to ride, she’d end up benefiting from it too.

A romantic couple bike ride—my head against your back, my arms around your waist… She never got that when they were dating, but now she did.

Wang Jiexiang helplessly held onto elementary schooler Yin Xian’s waist to keep from flying off due to the bike’s surprising speed.

“What do I do? If I stop now, I’ll fall. I can’t balance.”

Behind his impressive progress in biking was total panic. Yin Xian, on the verge of tears, called out to Wang Jiexiang.

“I-I-I can’t stop. I just have to keep pedaling.”

Wang Jiexiang had no time to worry about falling. Before they knew it, they’d caught up with the kid who had the key on his seat.

“Yin Xian, faster!”

She stretched out her arm, reaching for the key.

“Faster—I’m about to fall!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the bike lost balance.

Wang Jiexiang’s fingertips brushed the key.

Just that tiny bit more—and she fell, the key landing in her palm.

She braced herself for the pain.

Clutching the key, Wang Jiexiang squeezed her eyes shut.