Seeing the girl’s surprised expression, Xiao Ran couldn’t help but say, "Didn’t you want to learn how to ride? An electric scooter is way easier than a bicycle. If you can’t even handle this, don’t even think about learning to ride a bike."
The timid girl nervously clutched the strap of her small white purse with both hands, her eyes filled with worry.
"But... but if I fall, it’ll be both of us. It would really hurt, wouldn’t it...?"
’If my brother-in-law is teaching me, he’ll definitely ride on the same scooter. That means if we fall, we both fall. Making him fall with me would be so embarrassing.’
Xiao Ran found this amusing. He patted the scooter’s seat and looked at her with a confident expression.
"Don’t worry, you’ll be the only one falling!"
’What is she thinking? I’m not getting on. I’ll just be holding it from the side at most.’
"Huh?" The girl’s eyes widened.
’What does that mean?’
’So all this time, he never planned on riding with me. I was overthinking things.’
At this thought, the girl sniffled, feeling wronged.
’And here I was, worried he might fall, but he wasn’t even going to get on with me!’
Seeing this, Xiao Ran couldn’t help but chuckle. "I mean, you get on first, and I’ll hold on to help you ride."
’If I hold the scooter, I’ll at least have some control. It’s better than both of us getting on.’
"Oh, oh, I see."
Hearing that someone would be holding on to help her, the expression on the girl’s face relaxed considerably.
"Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall."
She nodded. "Okay then, I’m going for it!"
After saying that, she clutched her small purse and walked over with a determined look, blinking her big eyes at Xiao Ran.
’So, where do I sit?’
Xiao Ran cleared his throat. "Get on first."
He then grabbed the handlebars, gesturing for her to get on.
Then he pointed to the two brake levers on the handlebars and began to explain, "These are the brakes. Squeeze them first, get a feel for it."
Hearing this, the girl obediently squeezed one. It felt stiff, and she didn’t feel much.
Xiao Ran then touched the right handle. "This one you twist. Twisting it makes you accelerate. But you’re just a beginner, so it’s best not to speed up. Then again, you can’t go too slow either, or you’ll fall. In short, just do everything I say, understand?"
"Okay!" The girl nodded seriously.
With that, she swung her leg over and sat down, her heart pounding with anxiety. Her white stockings were a bit dazzling in the sunlight.
Xiao Ran cleared his throat, held the handlebars, and went into teaching mode.
"Alright, give it a try around the neighborhood first."
The girl sat down nervously, straightened her small frame, took a deep breath, placed both hands on the handlebars, and twisted the throttle.
She was probably too nervous, and since it was her first time, she didn’t have good control over her strength. She twisted it too hard, and the sudden burst of power tore the electric scooter from Xiao Ran’s grasp.
It shot forward with a WHOOSH.
This terrified the timid girl, and her heart leaped into her throat.
"Brother-in-law, help me!"
Xiao Ran shouted anxiously as he chased after her, "Let go of the throttle! Let go!"
A fall at this speed would be no joke.
The panicked girl’s mind had already gone completely blank.
How could she even process the words "let go of the throttle"? She subconsciously slammed on the brakes with all her might.
The scooter screeched to a halt. Due to inertia, the girl’s body lunged forward. To keep from falling, she quickly jumped off, her two legs acting like a stand, planting themselves firmly on the ground.
Luckily, she landed safely and didn’t fall!
The girl let out a long sigh of relief. Her heart was pounding so hard she couldn’t help but exclaim, "That was so thrilling."
’It was just like a roller coaster, so exciting my hair was standing on end!’
Xiao Ran sighed in relief. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? And you just jumped off!"
The girl, relieved it was just a scare, giggled sheepishly.
"I won’t jump next time, I won’t."
Xiao Ran gave her a helpless thumbs-up. "Not a bad performance. Try again, and remember to be a little gentler."
’Honestly, there’s no real skill to riding an electric scooter. It’s all about practice makes perfect.’
After speaking, he walked over and held the scooter again, but this time he held the back instead of the handlebars.
’This way, if she goes flying off again, I can grab the scooter!’
Bolstered by this successful experience, the girl felt she could ride even better. She nodded, sat down properly once more, and gently twisted the throttle. After wobbling a couple of times, the scooter quickly straightened out and ran normally.
The girl was both surprised and delighted, her eyes dancing with excitement.
’I can’t believe it’s this easy!’
’I think I’m really getting the hang of it!’
"Bro, bro, look! I can do it!"
she shouted excitedly, looking back at Xiao Ran.
Xiao Ran nearly had a heart attack. "Look forward! Who told you to look back!"
’Why is she so fidgety? If this isn’t ADHD, I don’t know what is!’
"Oh, oh!"
The obedient girl quickly turned her head back and focused on riding.
Building on this experience, when she started again, Xiao Ran tried letting go and allowing her to ride on her own. The girl didn’t disappoint, getting better with each lap.
Finally, after the third lap, he waved her over. "Alright, you can take me to get breakfast now."
It looked like she shouldn’t have any problem riding on the road now.
There was a breakfast stall right in front of the neighborhood, just a street’s length away, so it wasn’t very far. Plus, the road was wide and had few people, making it perfect for the girl to practice.
Hearing they were going to get breakfast, the girl still felt a little hesitant. After all, this meant going on a real road. She pressed her lips together.
She looked at Xiao Ran uncertainly. "Can’t you take me instead?"
’Riding by myself is fun, but it’s just too nerve-wracking!’
Compared to riding herself, she still preferred sitting behind Xiao Ran, which made her feel completely safe.
Xiao Ran reached out and flicked her helmet. "Nope!"
’Can’t be this timid.’
’You learn to ride so you can go on the road, right?’
’Besides, what could happen with me sitting right behind her?’
Xiao Ran gave the girl no chance to object. He swung his long legs over and sat down right behind her. As he got closer, he once again smelled that unique, fragrant scent on her.
He sniffed, his tone a little unnatural. "Alright, let’s go."
The girl froze. "Aren’t you going to hold on to me?"
Xiao Ran’s electric scooter looked a bit like a motorcycle, with a rear seat that curved slightly upward.
If he didn’t hold on, there was nowhere for his hands to go.
At least, that’s what the girl thought. In her memory, you had to hold on to the person in front when riding.
Hearing this, Xiao Ran’s heart skipped a beat. He looked at the girl’s slim waist, which looked like it could be encircled by a single hand, and swallowed hard.
’What an outrageous thing to say.’
The next second, he unhesitatingly reached out and gave her helmet a loud flick.
His tone was like he was lecturing a small child.
"What is going on in that little head of yours? Why do you think you have to hold on to ride? And another thing, you’re a girl! Do you understand? You’re a girl! You can’t say things like that to other guys in the future!"
’He suddenly felt that teaching her to ride had been a huge mistake!’
’If she learns, isn’t she going to ask everyone she gives a ride to to hold on to her?’
’What if she runs into a pervert? That would be...’
Just the thought of it made Xiao Ran’s blood pressure spike, and an indescribable discomfort churned in his gut.
Yan Xici was startled by the flick to her helmet and instinctively reached up to touch it.
She glared at him with angry eyes, her small mouth pouting so much her dissatisfaction was practically spilling out of her helmet’s visor!
’Of course I know I’m a girl!’
’Why is he being so fierce?’
’If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t have let them hold on to me at all! I was just worried he might fall off!’
’And he actually hit my head for it! No good deed goes unpunished!’