Under the small town's dim lamp post lights along the riverside road, a teenage girl was seen riding a bicycle with a boy sitting behind her. She pedaled with all her might until her face turned red. The boy might have gained weight because he was not this heavy when she gave him a ride last time.
Xing stopped the bike abruptly, making Tianlang who was sitting behind her bump his face into her back. He didn't even utter a word of complaint and only rubbed his nose in silence to ease the pain. He looked at her with hesitation. She didn't turn to look at him and only stood while holding the bike still and he too, used his long legs to help hold the bike's balance while sitting stiffly on the back seat. They were in that position for a long time under the quiet starry sky. Tianlang thought he was going to suffocate to death from the uncomfortable silence. He had no one to blame but himself.
Flashback.
"A saddle from The Herz*g?!!"
Xing asked Tianlang in shock. Did he say he ordered the limited edition saddle which had every bike lover drooling over its beautiful shape and the elastically coziness it provided, and with the price which was ridiculously high? Xing could only think it was pure absurdity for Tianlang to order the saddle which would look like a diamond on top of cow dung if it was put on her ramshackle bicycle.
Xing wanted to faint right there when she remembered he said he had already paid for the total fixing fee. She held onto Tianlang's bike with one hand and another massaged her temples. She felt like she had aged for more than thirty years because of the boy in front of her who was still grinning like an idiot. She was not sure anymore whether he was just a rich but innocent teenage boy who wanted to help his poor friend or plain stupid for spending all those money on repairing a mere bike.
Xing closed her eyes and took a deep breath in to cool down her boiling blood. She then opened her eyes and looked straight into Tianlang's.
"Please tell me how I should repay Young Master's generosity."
She asked sarcastically. The young master's smile slowly faded away as he noticed the girl's piercing eyes. He shivered. Tianlang never knew Xing had a scary expression like that.
"Par- pardon?"
The young master became polite all of sudden. He scratched his head because he did not know how to respond to her. Xing sighed looking at the clueless boy and started her full-length lecture.
"Lai Tianlang, I know you are rich but you should never spend your father's hard-earned money unreasonably like this. You could have just asked the owner to repair my bike to the same state it was before but you chose to order that high-priced saddle instead. Why did you do that? I can't seem to find a good reason behind your action so please tell me if there is one. Or did you think I would be happy to have that kind of saddle on my old bike? I admit I was overexcited when I got your expensive gifts before but you also know that I didn't accept them for myself. I would like you to know that I'm not materialistic at all, and it makes me feel bad when I see you spend too much of your money for a mere friend like me. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"
Xing stopped talking for a moment to catch a breath. She glanced back at Tianlang whose face turned pale.
"No, you are wrong. That… That's not what I intended. I just thought it would be nice if we could ride a bike together again so I… I..,"
Tianlang tried to explain his side with the truth from his heart but he himself also thought he didn't think thoroughly at all. He was so immature, even for his age. He let out a long sigh and crouched down in front of the repair shop, feeling exhausted. Xing, who watched his every movement, calmed down a bit and crouched down with him too.
"Did you think you could use the two weeks to ride your bike with me? If so, you could have just told me. I would have kept my bike at home and ride yours with you… I'm also sorry, it was my fault that I didn't go in to talk to the owner myself about the matter of my own bike… Later, if you want to do anything like this again, it would be great to think from both positive and negative sides first. Sheesh… You really need training, don't you?"
Xing chuckled while looking at the boy lovingly. She felt like she just got a younger brother. She couldn't get angry after seeing him like that. She tried to understand his point of view and how he had been living his life. She and him were from wholly different backgrounds so, for him to adjust to what she believed was for his best would surely take some time.
Tianlang glanced at the girl beside him and felt relieved after seeing her beautiful smile. He thought he could have been scolded even more. He hesitated a little before he asked her.
"So.., could you ride the bike with me for these two weeks? I will pick you up and drop you off to and from school."
"Sure."
She smiled. He also smiled and even blushed. He couldn't stop himself from thinking how they were going to spend their time while riding the bike together. His heart swelled with happiness to the point that his chest almost hurt.
"Let's go home," said Xing after she stood up and took Tianlang's hand to pull him to stand up too.
The boy then took control as the rider and the girl sat behind him on the back seat. He started to pedal.
A few minutes later, they could only get 5 meters away from their previous spot because Tianlang could only pedal for one or two cycles and had to stop because he teetered too much. Xing deadpanned. She knew he couldn't learn riding and master it in just one week. She told him to get off and sit on the back seat instead. She then rode until they reached where she stopped abruptly and where the uncomfortable silence between them occurred.
Tianlang thought Xing already forgave him but he might have made her angry again. Did he move too much on the seat and gave her a hard time? He gulped in nervousness.
"Lai Tianlang, you are too heavy!!" Xing shouted alone on the quiet riverside road.