This weekend’s itinerary changed from cycling to teaching Cheng Lele how to ride a bike. The meeting place changed from the scenic green mountains and clear waters of the suburbs to the bare, abandoned playground of a certain private elementary school.

As soon as Cheng Lele arrived, Chen Xiaomu started complaining. She told Zhong Ming the metaphor about the two fried dough sticks. After listening, Zhong Ming didn’t mock Cheng Lele but said: “Having a good relationship with your older brother is a good thing.”

Chen Xiaomu spoke directly: “Everything has its limits. Her brother is overly sister-obsessed, and Lele is too dependent on her brother. Once problems arise, most of the risk will be borne by Lele. It’s not fair.” As she spoke, her tone became somewhat earnest: “Lele, let me tell you, in this world, besides yourself, no one is reliable. People who were once very close to you may leave you in the blink of an eye. Relationships that once seemed unbreakable will suddenly collapse. If you harbor wishful thinking and always want to rely on others, in the end, you’ll be the one crying.”

When Chen Xiaomu was in the first year of middle school, her parents, who on the surface appeared deeply affectionate, suddenly divorced. The scene was extremely ugly. The couple tore into each other over a bit of family property, not even leaving the other party with underwear to cover their shame. She was pointed at behind her back, and overnight went from a little princess with food handed to her mouth to nearly plummeting cliff-style to become a blind wanderer begging on the streets. If her little uncle hadn’t taken her in, and if Zhong Ming as the neighbor of her little uncle’s family hadn’t intentionally guided her, she might have already fallen and become a gang member by now.

Cheng Lele’s current state always reminded Chen Xiaomu of her former self. On one hand, she appreciated Cheng Lele’s innocent appearance; on the other hand, she worried that her innocence was too fragile. With a bit of pessimism, she habitually imagined things at their worst. Her introduction of Zhong Ming and Cheng Lele to each other was also in hopes that Zhong Ming could help Cheng Lele become mentally independent in advance, just as he had helped her back then.

However, in Zhong Ming’s eyes, Chen Xiaomu was once bitten by a snake and afraid of ropes for ten years, projecting her own growth experiences onto others when they might not be applicable. But making oneself a bit stronger was never wrong, so he didn’t step in to stop Chen Xiaomu from continuing.

Cheng Lele came to learn to ride a bike but still had to be criticized and lectured. Her heart felt gloomy. Yet she was powerless to refute. Right now, the fact that she couldn’t ride a bike and was holding everyone back was an undeniable truth. Cheng Lele said “Oh” with her head down, looking completely unhappy. Zhong Ming walked over and said softly: “How about you be independent on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, rely on Big Brother a bit on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and do as you please on Sunday?”

Cheng Lele smiled: “I think that works.”

Zhong Ming held the bicycle and said: “Let’s go.”

“Don’t let go, okay?”

“Don’t worry.” Zhong Ming said. Before Cheng Lele had even ridden two laps, Zhong Ming let go.

As Cheng Lele rode along and heard no sound behind her, she asked in a trembling voice: “Brother Zhong, are you still there?”

Zhong Ming was several meters away and didn’t hear. Cheng Lele turned her head to look, and with a “pah,” the bike wobbled and was about to fall. Fortunately, Cheng Lele had long legs and managed to stand firm. She didn’t fall.

Chen Xiaomu ran over as if injected with adrenaline and improvised a lesson on the spot: “See, things you thought you could only accomplish by relying on others can actually be completed independently in an instant. You just have a dependent mentality! As long as you charge forward, you don’t need help from others!”

This scared Cheng Lele so much she didn’t dare complain. She immediately picked up the bike and continued riding wobbly.

Zhong Ming was still supporting from behind. When they reached the halfway point, he said: “Forgive Xiaomu. Today is the anniversary of her parents’ divorce.”

Cheng Lele stuck out her tongue: “Really? Do you know why her parents divorced?”

Zhong Ming said: “Why else? They stopped loving each other.”

“Feelings can just disappear like that?”

“Feelings also have life. What has birth will have death.”

Cheng Lele: “You speak so profoundly, Brother Zhong. You must read philosophy books regularly?”

There was no response from behind. This time Cheng Lele didn’t turn her head.

She suddenly discovered that the skill she had always relied on Big Brother for was actually quite simple. She was just lazy.

Although the few whispered words Cheng Lele and Zhong Ming exchanged behind Chen Xiaomu’s back were brief, the relationship between the two suddenly became intimate. Sometimes they didn’t chat in the group but would discuss more private topics. Cheng Lele would mention her worries about the risks of her father’s work, talk about Grandma Chen’s physical condition, mention that she had successfully killed the flowers at the door by overwatering them, and that Mengmeng next door practicing piano had finally learned to play “Two Tigers”—gradually, the object of her vigorous desire to express shifted from Chen An to Zhong Ming.

When the weekend came, Chen An had to go to the provincial capital again. The phone calls at seven o’clock gradually became shorter. Chen An felt something was off, but his studies were too busy, so he had no time to attend to it.

Cheng Lele planned to surprise Chen An by telling him she could ride a bicycle. These past few days, she continued to mooch rides home on Chen An’s bike as usual. She asked Chen An if he wanted to go see Avatar on Sunday evening—if they didn’t go soon, it would be pulled from theaters.

Chen An agreed. In one more week, the winter camp that would decide guaranteed admission spots was about to begin. Before that, he wanted Cheng Lele to accompany him and relax.

Cheng Lele also had her own calculations. She wanted to formally introduce Zhong Ming to Chen An that day. One was her intimately close big brother, the other was a good friend with whom she could say anything. She felt that excellent top students would surely regret not meeting sooner. When the time came, closeness upon closeness—it would be wonderful.