Chapter 34: Abdominal Muscles (1)

Due to the sudden delivery order, on Sunday, Su Ting and He Dongchuan went into the city. This time, they did not bring He Yan along as they were going to the Post Office to pick up the items, and it would be more difficult to handle with a child in tow.

Su Ting did not follow the Publishing House’s suggestion and decided to ride the tricycle to pick up the package. She still felt that the Publishing House couldn’t have sent too many items, probably just two larger packages.

Moreover, He Dongchuan had said that whatever could fit on the tricycle could also be carried on a bicycle, although it would require more rope.

Well, they had purposely brought a large roll of hemp rope, just in case they ran out of it.

However, when they saw the packages, Su Ting realized they had brought more rope than needed. There were only two plastic bags, and two ropes, each over a meter long, were enough to secure them. She had thought the Publishing House had sent more items!

As Su Ting signed the receipt, she asked the staff: “Comrade, do you know what’s inside the packages?”

“We are only responsible for delivery, we don’t know.” the staff member replied kindly.

Su Ting acknowledged with a simple “Oh.” signed the document, thanked the person, and then, along with He Dongchuan, carried the plastic bags outside.

Although Su Ting helped, she didn’t exert much effort. He Dongchuan was strong, and carrying one bag in each hand posed no challenge for him.

Su Ting watched this and thought that even if they hadn’t come by bike, He Dongchuan would still be able to easily carry the two plastic bags back. The Publishing House really had no idea about He Dongchuan’s strength.

After exiting the Post and Telecommunications Bureau, they walked to the bicycle they had parked outside. He Dongchuan set the plastic bags down, took the rope from the bike’s basket, and, together with Su Ting, tied the bags securely to the rear seat.

Once done, He Dongchuan sat down, placed one foot on the pedal and the other on the ground, turned his head to look at Su Ting, and said: “Get on.”

Su Ting asked: “Where to?”

Although the items sent by the Publishing House weren’t as many as she had imagined, with the two plastic bags stacked together, there was no space left for her to sit on the back seat.

He Dongchuan patted the front bar and said: “Here.”

Su Ting had often seen such scenes in period dramas before—men riding bicycles with women sitting sideways on the front bar, resting their heads against the man’s chest, and the camera would slow down, capturing the eye contact, with pink bubbles floating around, making her scream with excitement.

So, before buying the bicycle, Su Ting had fallen into such fantasies: He Dongchuan in a white shirt, herself in a white dress, with her hair flowing, sitting in his arms on a bicycle, what a beautiful picture it would be!

But when they actually bought the bicycle, Su Ting realized that ideals were full, but reality was stark. Even sitting on the back seat made her uncomfortable, let alone sitting sideways on the front bar.

She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to keep her balance.

Su Ting tilted her head back and asked doubtfully: “Is this alright?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.” Having taught Su Ting how to ride a bike, He Dongchuan knew how afraid she was of falling.

Indeed, after buying the bicycle, Su Ting had practiced for one day.

She had been quite confident about learning to ride a bike. In her previous life, she had started riding to and from school in middle school. She was quite experienced. Although the 28-inch bicycle was a little taller and heavier, she didn’t need to carry the bike, and with her foundation, it should have been easy to learn.

Learning to ride the bicycle was indeed not hard. The first time, she had difficulty getting used to it, but by the second round, she was already able to ride around in circles.

The difficult part was getting onto the bicycle.

In the future, there would be various types of bicycles that could accommodate different heights. Even the shared bikes with QR code scanning could adjust the seat height, allowing anyone who wasn’t too short to hop on easily.

But the 28-inch bicycles at this time had a fixed height, which was not very friendly for short people. Su Ting was about 1.6 meters tall, which wasn’t considered short in the southern regions, but she still couldn’t manage to get on the bike.

People at that time had a special way of mounting the bike. To summarize: one foot would go on the pedal, the other would slide on the ground, and then: “one, two, three.” they would lift their leg over the seat, step on the other pedal, and the mounting action was complete.

It seemed simple when watching He Dongchuan, and it didn’t look too hard.

But Su Ting was hesitant!

After trying several times, she always felt the bike tipping to one side before she could lift her leg over the seat, and she couldn’t control it. Her leg would retract, causing all her progress to be lost.

So, up until now, Su Ting still hadn’t learned how to get on the bicycle.

However, sitting on the front bar had nothing to do with falling; she was more concerned about her bottom hurting. Besides, riding a bicycle with the two plastic bags made taking the bus inconvenient.

Su Ting stepped over to He Dongchuan and positioned herself beside the front bar, checking its height. She realized a problem: “How do I sit on it?”

Before her voice had even faded, He Dongchuan reached around from behind and grabbed her waist, and her body suddenly lost balance.

In the next moment, she found herself placed on the front bar.

He Dongchuan’s right hand grabbed the handlebars, while his left arm still encircled her slim waist. He lowered his head slightly and whispered in her ear: “Hold onto me.”

Su Ting tilted her head back, looking at his chin, where faint stubble could be seen after shaving, and asked: “How should I hold on?”

As she spoke, her warm breath brushed upwards, reaching his chin, making it ticklish. This caused his throat to involuntarily move, and when he spoke again, his voice was noticeably lower: “Hold on however you want.”

Then, as if recalling something, he chuckled softly and added: “Don’t worry. Even if the red armbands pass by, they won’t say anything about what’s in the bags we’re carrying.”

“I’m not scared.” Su Ting replied. After speaking, she turned sideways and threw herself into his arms, wrapping her body and arms tightly around his waist from the front.

As she moved, a gust of wind was stirred up, carrying her fragrance, which then entered his nose.

He Dongchuan lowered his head, pretending not to notice as he lightly kissed her soft and fresh hair, before loosening his left arm around her waist and gripping the handlebars. He bent his body, saying: “Hold on tight.”

He pedaled the bicycle, and the gentle summer wind blew from behind Su Ting, lifting her long skirt and entering his white shirt.

Su Ting tilted her head, squinting her eyes as she gazed at him through her fluttering hair.

If one ignored the uncomfortable crossbar beneath her bottom, and if they only looked at the surface, the scene, with them at the center, should have been as beautiful as she had imagined, right?

Oh, right, and they also had to ignore the plastic bags tied securely on the back seat ╮(╯▽╰)╭.

…