"At the very least, you still have three hours to go."
Jiang Lai kept a straight face, put down the bicycle, and glanced around. The rugged night road was deserted, and a light drizzle began to fall from the sky, with a tendency to grow heavier.
Jiang Lai cursed, pushed the bicycle, and quickened her pace. As she lowered her head and walked forward, suddenly, she heard the sound of someone pedaling a bicycle behind her. She quickly turned around to take a look, but before she could see the person’s face clearly, a cyclist had already sped past her, leaving only a receding figure.
"Damn! No sense of compassion at all."
Jiang Lai didn’t want to just keep pushing the bike back home. If the rain poured, she wouldn’t even have a place to hide. So, she pushed the bike, running while shouting.
"Comrade! Comrade up front! Wait for me! My bike is broken!"
The comrade in front stopped, one leg on the ground. Fortunately, the moonlight above was bright enough for Jiang Lai to vaguely see that the person had long legs, wearing trendy jeans of the time, and flat shoes, looking back at her.
"Comrade, I—I can’t push it anymore. Can you help me?"
Jiang Lai spoke, out of breath, truly exhausted.
The person glanced at her, then parked their bike and walked over, bending down to check Jiang Lai’s bicycle.
"Your bike is fine."
It was a very young voice; the person couldn’t be more than twenty.
Seeing the person was about to leave again, Jiang Lai quickly grabbed his rear seat.
"After my sister left me the bike, she left by herself. But I can’t ride this. Comrade, please take me; I live in Hetao Village."
In the dark, desolate night, a young girl randomly grabs a man’s bike on the road seeking help—Cheng Lie thought she might not be very clever.
"Please, help me. If I push it alone, it’ll be daylight by the time I get back!"
"Hide the bike."
Hearing that, Jiang Lai knew the person was willing to help, quickly laying her bike down in the nearby grass and covering it with a couple of handfuls of grass.
"Get on, sit tight."
"Okay, thank you."
Jiang Lai quickly perched on the back seat. Once she was stable, holding onto the seat cushion below with one hand, only then did the guy pedal off, without needing the kind of running start most people require before hopping onto a bike.
The dirt road was extremely bumpy, and Jiang Lai initially struggled to hold onto the seat, occasionally coming into intimate contact with the back of the person in front.
"Sorry."
"No problem, I can ride slower."
Cheng Lie slowed his pace; under the night sky, he rode leisurely, as if he didn’t feel the weight behind him. He maneuvered easily around turns, yet even so, Jiang Lai’s behind was getting sore from the bumps.
"What’s your name?"
Almost home, Jiang Lai decided to be a grateful person. The other spoke briefly in return.
"Cheng Lie."
Cheng Lie?
The name sounded a bit familiar.
Until Little Buding reminded Jiang Lai.
"He’s your elusive desk mate."
"Oh, so it’s him. What a coincidence."
Jiang Lai’s tone was surprised.
"Wow, you’re Cheng Lie! What a coincidence! I hardly saw you in class before, and now I meet you on the road."
"Yeah."
"Are you from Hetao Village too?"
"No."
"Then where are you headed?"
"Liangxi Village."
"Liangxi Village?"
Jiang Lai felt it familiar again, and Little Buding reminded her once more.
"It’s the village we passed by an hour ago."
"Oh... it seems I’ve met a really good person."
"Yeah, and also a hapless guy who happened to run into you."
Little Buding’s sassy mouth had been a thing for days. Luckily, Jiang Lai had thick skin and didn’t mind, allowing their fake friendship to continue.
Reaching the head of Hetao Village, Jiang Lai expressed her thanks to Cheng Lie.
"Thank you, next time you have any study-related questions at school, feel free to ask me."
Cheng Lie glanced at her, didn’t respond, grabbed his bicycle, turning around before riding away.
Watching his fading figure, Jiang Lai smiled.
"How did I never notice there’s such a model student around me before?"
"Yeah, since it doesn’t bother you when people call you Fat Girl, why would you mind these things?"
Jiang Lai’s brow furrowed upon hearing that.
"Someone called me Fat Girl? Who?"
"Sis, is your brain a bit slow on the uptake?"
Little Buding suspected Jiang Lai might have some mental issue; she seemed like a different person once at school, only thinking about studying. Her dedication even made a slacker like Little Buding feel ashamed.
Doing things moderately is fine. There’s no reward for doing well, so is it worth working so hard?
When Jiang Lai got home, Jiang Sheng and Liu Shuping were so anxious they nearly called the police.
"Where on earth did you run off to, you silly girl?! School’s out, and you’re not home yet—where have you been?!"
Liu Shuping came up to hit her, and seeing this, Jiang Lai quickly hid behind Jiang Qu, causing several hits to land on Jiang Qu instead, leaving Jiang Lai unharmed.
"Mom, I didn’t run off anywhere. I couldn’t ride the bike back!"
"Didn’t your sister say she’d find someone to bike you back?!"
Jiang Lai looked at Jiang Qu suspiciously.
"Sis, who did you find to take me back?"
Jiang Qu hesitated for a moment before helplessly admitting.
"She probably forgot. It was supposed to be Wang Juan from our village."
"Sister Wang Juan quit school a year ago. How could you ask her to take me back?"
Jiang Qu was speechless. After all, she couldn’t outright admit she forgot that Jiang Lai couldn’t ride a bike; otherwise, the family would blame her for not taking good care of her sister. So she casually mentioned someone to cover up, not expecting this person had indeed quit school, and that Jiang Lai would remember.
Just then, Jiang Qiuhe returned, and upon seeing Jiang Lai, his first reaction was to reprimand her harshly.
"Where have you been running around to, huh?! Already this grown—can’t you cause a little less trouble at home?! Still studying? I think you’re just wasting time! Quit it early and come home to get married!"
Jiang Qiuhe was tall and burly, with a loud, commanding voice. His scolding was even harsher and more intimidating than Jiang Sheng’s. In the past, the original owner would have shrunk back, too scared to say anything, hiding in a room to cry.
But Jiang Lai wasn’t one to take this lying down. As soon as Jiang Qiuhe paused, she charged at him, swinging her fists.
"You don’t even ask why I came back so late before scolding me! Do you know your sister can’t ride a bike?! Do you know how far I pushed a bike for hours just to get home?! You accuse me without knowing anything! Are you even my real brother, or have you never seen me as your real sister?!"
Jiang Lai’s tone grew more aggrieved as she spoke, tears rolling down in large drops. Jiang Qiuhe grimaced and dodged, one arm going numb from her punches.
After hitting him, Jiang Lai stomped her foot, gave Jiang Qiuhe a resentful glare, then turned and walked away, not giving him a chance to react.