Chapter 94: Chapter 92: Go President!
Few girls like to ride bikes, and even fewer can ride long distances. It’s not only tiring but also subject to the elements like wind, sun, and rain, which most girls can’t endure.
Having a female vice president in the previous session was already quite a blessing, but she had long been swept off her feet by the former president.
Now there was Junior Sister Li.
The heaven-defying beauty, Junior Sister Li.
The president’s heart pounded ceaselessly.
Last year, when the vice president had just joined the club, she was very delicate too. It was because of the former president’s care and guidance that she developed a passion for cycling and built a relationship with him.
From then on, the vice president turned from a Little Fairy into a man.
The man of the former president.
"HISS... HUFF..."
The current president calmed himself, pedaling at a steady pace, fearing that going too fast might leave Junior Sister Li behind, and even glanced back at her.
Junior Sister Li was indeed as beautiful as a celestial being.
But she looked impatient. "President, can you ride faster? Aren’t you on a road bike?"
Huh?
The president silently increased his speed.
Starting from the middle-back of the group, they gradually overtook bike after bike, moving to the very front.
The voice of Junior Sister Li came from behind, "President, can you go even faster! Your pace is too slow for me. If I force myself to ride this slow, it’ll really drain my energy!"
Huh??
Something felt off.
So he sped up again.
Since the president was on a road bike, his cruising speed on flat ground was much faster than that of a mountain bike. When he brought out his real strength, sure enough, he no longer heard any complaints from Junior Sister Li.
Until a tall girl with a yellow helmet, riding a mountain bike, smoothly caught up with him on the left.
President: ...
He quickly looked down at his speedometer—
35 KM/H!!
Is that a cruising speed a girl on a mountain bike can reach?
When she caught up with him, she turned her head. "Is it because the wind is too strong? Want me to break the wind for you?"
The president blushed, looked down, and forced out, "Junior Sister, riding that fast with a big chainring and a small cog is bad for the knees. I suggest we ride slower. Don’t overdo it."
Brother Nan was puzzled. "Why would that be? I’m just riding slowly, aren’t I?"
President: ...
I don’t believe you for a second!
But by then, Junior Sister Li had already passed him, and he could only clench his teeth and follow behind.
I’ll see how long you can keep up!
A cruising speed of 35 km/h is already a decent achievement for a road bike; on a mountain bike, it would undoubtedly require legs of steel. The president couldn’t believe that a beauty like Junior Sister Li could keep it up.
However, five minutes passed...
Junior Sister Li showed no signs of struggling.
And her speed gradually climbed to 40 km/h.
That meant that she could complete the circuit around Dian Lake, which usually takes a full day, in just two and a half hours.
For the road-cycling president, this was already the limit. At this speed, his muscles were overworking, resulting in immense energy consumption. Within just a few minutes, he felt his legs going sour and weak.
What infuriated him most was when he turned his head and saw another junior brother following with ease on a mountain bike.
The junior brother looked innocent as he caught the president’s glance.
The president had no choice but to grit his teeth and endure.
But then a new problem arose—Huanhu Road around Dian Lake wasn’t flat; it was quite undulating.
Brother Nan also liked veering onto side paths to add some difficulty.
For a road bike, that was quite uncomfortable.
Thus, Brother Nan vividly described to him what ’riding with a pro’ felt like—you not only have to grit your teeth to keep up with the pro, but when you can’t, the pro will slow down for you, continuously applying psychological pressure.
When you convey that you can’t keep up, the pro will still ask with concern: Are you not feeling well today?
"HUFF..."
The president glanced at the speedometer and decided to give up.
42 KM/H.
If he didn’t give up now, his meniscus couldn’t handle it anymore.
The junior brother who was also on a mountain bike caught up, looking at him calmly. "President, keep it up."
The turmoil in the president’s heart was indescribable.
So the junior brother passed him too.
It was an old Giant bike, a bit more expensive than the entry-level, but still a very common model.
The president would never forget it.
Looking back, he saw no trace of the other club members.
Looking forward, those two figures had also disappeared quickly.
He simply stopped.
After turning a corner, Brother Nan squeezed the brakes and stopped pedaling, drifting gently downhill. The sun cast her shadow obliquely on the road as she let go of the handlebars, stretched her body upright, and yawned leisurely.
When Zhou Li caught up, all he heard was, "That idiot, showing off in front of me!"
Zhou Li whispered, "Brother Nan, speak kindly."
Brother Nan immediately clamped her mouth shut.
Your friend Li Daimao has retracted a message!
Brother Nan sat steadily on the bike, her two long legs working the pedals—one stretched straight, the other naturally bent—her tight sportswear outlining enticingly perfect lines.
She reached her hand into her pocket and pulled out a plastic bag, opening it and taking two bites of the Baozi inside.
The sense of grace was instantly diluted.
After descending the slope, Brother Nan sealed the bag back up, skillfully wrapping the Baozi and stowing it in her pocket again.
The journey continued.
At a pace of 30 km/h, she found it quite leisurely and even looked back to ask Zhou Li, "How’s this speed?"
Zhou Li nodded.
After a moment of hesitation, he shook his head. "Maybe a bit slower."
"Got it!"
Brother Nan slowed down accordingly.
When there were vehicles around, they rode single file close to the edge, but without traffic, they rode side by side, occasionally turning to behold the scenery and chat. This stretch had a well-maintained Huanhu Road, close to the lake, offering really nice views, though most of it was overshadowed by Brother Nan’s showboating.
Upon reaching another spot close to the lake, Brother Nan abruptly hit the brakes to a stop.
Zhou Li also hastily braked. The old bike, despite its history of rough handling by Brother Nan, responded with surprising agility, the rear wheel locking up entirely.
Zhou Li was somewhat surprised.
As he looked up, Brother Nan, as if able to read his thoughts, boasted proudly, "Didn’t I tell you I take good care of my bike? Riding it feels just like a new one. The brakes, gears, nothing sketchy about it!"
"Indeed," Zhou Li nodded.
"I even put in a new gear set, smoother than the stock one!" Brother Nan expressed reluctance. "You’re really getting a good deal here!"
"I don’t understand."
"..."
Brother Nan got off the path and walked to the edge of Dian Lake.
Though it was the same lake, the water quality greatly varied from place to place due to differences in pollution and management efforts. For example, the sections below the University Town, going clockwise, had pretty decent water quality, whereas near some bustling urban areas, it could be much worse.
Brother Nan caught a whiff of something fishy, wrinkled her nose, only took a couple of photos by the lake, and then headed back onto the road.
A large vehicle passed by, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Brother Nan frowned again.
Getting back on the bike, she casually remarked to Zhou Li, "Those big trucks are really annoying, making us eat dust all the time!"
Zhou Li grunted in agreement.
As they neared Jinning, there was a section of broken road. It seemed underspecified in the original planning and had now been pulverized into a mess by heavy trucks, reduced to a mix of crumbled cement and dirt, generating lots of dust and causing a bumpy ride.
Zhou Li rode uncomfortably, but Brother Nan was visibly excited.
"WOOH!"
Brother Nan gripped the handlebars, stood on the pedals, and purposely chose the rough patches to ride over, adding her own sound effects.
"SWOOSH!"
She sped by!
Zhou Li followed at a steady pace behind her.
The road was truly terrible. Going fast would shake you up, and since it was an old bike, Zhou Li felt he should be gentler with it.
Brother Nan’s silhouette gradually disappeared in the distance.
Zhou Li wasn’t worried.
And sure enough, as he rounded the bend, there was Brother Nan waiting up ahead, next to a three-wheeled cart selling watermelons.
Brother Nan picked a melon, had the vendor slice it open, and sat down by the roadside with Zhou Li, both munching away.
"You’re so slow," she said to Zhou Li.
"Oh," he replied, unconcerned.
"Looks like there’s a town or something up ahead. The houses are starting to cluster, and the roads are better," Brother Nan noted while eating watermelon. "Do we turn on the GPS and keep going, or do we wait for them?"
"I don’t know."
"Dunno either," Brother Nan mimicked Zhou Li’s calm indifference.
"Why are you imitating me?"
"Why are *you* imitating *me*?"
"Childish!"
"Childish, nyah nyah nyah~"
"..." Zhou Li pondered for a moment. "Zhou Li is the coolest."
"Zhou Li is the coolest!"
"Li Nan is the ugliest."
"Li Nan... PFFT!" Brother Nan spat out two watermelon seeds in succession, then turned to Zhou Li with a puzzled expression. Why do people seek out excitement when they could be living just fine?
Soft punches landed on his body, Zhou Li’s expression unchanging.
Eventually, they decided to wait there for the rest of the group, right by a construction site where an excavator was operating.
For Brother Nan, this was quite the sight—fascinating!
"You’re so childish!"
Zhou Li couldn’t help but speak his mind.
An hour later, when the club president arrived looking gloomy, leading the main group, he saw the two of them sitting by the roadside, unfazed by the dirt, fixated on the excavator in operation ahead.
Watermelon rinds lay beside them.
The president braked, took a deep breath. "Junior Sister Li..."
"Oh, finally arrived, huh." Brother Nan glanced at him indifferently, though she didn’t continue to show off. "Call me Brother Nan."
"Brother Nan," the president’s attitude changed completely from before. "How long have you two been waiting here?"
"Half a month," Brother Nan quipped.
"..."