Chapter 447: An Insane Learning Ability
Su Li and Luo Pingxiang noticed Xiao Luo’s rapid progress, and both of them were surprised when they saw his natural movements that appeared to be as smooth as the flowing water.
“I must say, Mr. Xiao Luo’s ability to quickly learn something is just impressive. In just a few rounds, he’s already mastered the essential skills needed to roller-skate. The progress he has made is simply incredible.”
Luo Pingxiang watched Xiao Luo skating in disbelief, and his sudden improvement was actually quite shocking. If she hadn’t known that Xiao Luo was just a beginner who fell flat on the floor earlier on, she’d have a.s.sumed that he was a professional skater.
Su Li’s eyes were filled with a different kind of emotion. When she recalled the snide remarks that she had directed at Xiao Luo earlier when he had taken a fall, her cheeks instantly turned red. But still, she was filled with an unwillingness to admit defeat. She could accept that Xiao Luo was better than her in many other areas but not in roller-skating, for it was one of her strengths, as she had been skating since high school. If she couldn’t even beat this man, then it would all turn out to be rather embarra.s.sing for her.
“Help me take care of Su Xiaobei!”
Su Li said to Luo Pingxiang before she pushed out toward Xiao Luo.
As Xiao Luo was still trying to figure out the essential skills needed to properly skate, Su Li suddenly flashed past and overtook him. On top of that, she turned around and shot him a provocative glare. It was just like when you were driving on the road, and another driver overtook you, provoking you to overtake her.
The chauvinistic streak in Xiao Luo did not allow him to let this slide. She had looked down on him earlier on, and now in the face of this provocation, Xiao Luo decided that enough was enough. He thought to himself, so you want to challenge me, well, I’m not scared of you!
He instantly dashed after Su Li, putting all his strength into his legs and pus.h.i.+ng off, bringing his center of gravity slightly forward. In that instant, just like an arrow, his speed increased tremendously!
Su Li noticing that Xiao Luo had taken up her challenge and decided to put up a confident and superior look on her face. She didn’t want to lose. Her legs moved in a swift criss-cross action, and her gliding speed increased drastically. She was just like a white fox in the wild, and her movements were stunning.
The two of them moved at speeds as fast as the wind, with one in front of the other.
In the end, both of them were moving in line with Xiao Luo taking the outer lane. They were like a skating duo, and their movements were elegant and totally in sync. It wasn’t just their left and right legs; even the swinging of their arms was in sync as well. It was beauty in motion, no matter how you looked at it.
Su Xiaobei was right beside Luo Pingxiang, watching the pair in the rink. “Sister Pingxiang, are Daddy and Mummy racing?” Su Xiaobei asked, blinking her large eyes in excitement.
“Yes, it seems like that is the case. Look at their chemistry, even their movements are so in sync,” Luo Pingxiang exclaimed.
The little girl was eager to join them and said, “I want to go as well.”
“Bei Bei, don’t go, we’ll just watch them from here and see if your Daddy or Mummy is better, alright?”
Luo Pingxiang, who was afraid that Su Xiaobei might injure herself if she went, tried to stop her.
The little girl was an obedient child and was easily convinced to stay back. In any case, she was more interested in finding out who would win the race instead of joining the race. So, she nodded her head and said, “Alright.”
She then clenched her little fists and shouted with all the breath she could muster, “Daddy, do your best, Mummy, do your best… but Daddy, try to do a little better!”
Luo Pingxiang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It was so apparent that she was more biased toward Xiao Luo.
Both of their speeds were evenly matched in the rink. Su Li suddenly made a 180-degree turn and started to skate backward while maintaining the original direction, and she did this while maintaining the same speed.
“Can you do this too?”
She said, pouting her lips and rus.h.i.+ng towards Xiao Luo.
Xiao Luo slowly recalled the actions she did earlier on, chuckled, and said, “I can give it a try.”
After saying that, he made a wrong 180-degree turn, and he stumbled for a few steps, coming off like he was performing Michael Jackson’s moonwalk. But after a short while, he managed to reverse-skate like Su Li and skated at the same speed as well. Though he did make some mistakes while making the turn, it could still be considered to be relatively smooth.
Su Li opened her mouth wide, visibly shocked. Xiao Luo was, only moments ago, still learning the basics of skating, but in just minutes, he was already performing like a professional skater. How was it that this guy could learn something that quickly?
All she knew was that Xiao Luo wasn’t putting on an act, for there was no reason for him to pretend to be a beginner.
She pursed her lips, swiveled around, and continued to skate in a forward-facing position. Then, she made a 90-degree turn and banked into the wavy track in the center part of the rink without warning.
The wavy track had three ridges and two troughs. A beginner who tried to complete this track was bound to lose balance and fall over. That being said, even a skater who was at a higher level might not have a hundred percent chance of completing this course either.
But Su Li clearly didn’t belong to such categories, for she didn’t feel any pressure at all and was able to maintain her balance perfectly well, clearing the wavy track in one try. She then made a dead stop at the other end of the wavy track, turned around, and looked at Xiao Luo, implying that it was his turn to do it.
When she looked at a Xiao Luo attempting to rush forward without much thought, she warned him, “Don’t rush if you’re not confident enough; otherwise, the fall is going to be very painful!”
“Don’t worry about it!”
Xiao Luo laughed a little. The skates he was wearing now felt like any regular shoes to him. Although he was not thoroughly used to it yet, he was at least eighty to ninety percent comfortable with it.
He moved both of his legs really quickly, sped up, and rushed towards the wavy track. Leaning towards one side, he completed the wavy track in one try as well, and just like Su Li, he stopped dead at the end of the track and maintained his posture really well.
“Daddy is really impressive!” Su Xiaobei screamed, clapping happily and cheering.
Luo Pingxiang muttered to herself, “Mr. Xiao Luo is way too scary.”
Xiao Luo was already much better than her because even she couldn’t safely complete the wavy track.
Su Li furrowed her eyebrows, and her delicate face wore an expression of bewilderment. This guy was good at basketball, could speak multiple foreign languages, could drift race, and was now mastering roller-skating. Could it be that he was a genius?
“Miss Su, are there any other techniques you’d like to show me?” Xiao Luo said. His intentions were genuine, as since he was already learning it, he might try to master all the techniques while he was at it.
As soon as Su Li heard that, her face turned dark as she misread his candor and felt like he was trying to show off. “Later, I’ll show you the techniques that I’ve been practicing for five years,” she replied. Then, she called out to Luo Pingxiang and said, “Pingxiang, go see the boss and ask him to bring me 20 identical cups.”
“Yes, Sis.”
After receiving the request, Luo Pingxiang rushed toward the front door.
Not long after, the skating rink boss and a few of his staff members brought 20 cups and placed them in a straight line, each of them equally apart from one another.
“Is she trying to perform figure skating?”
The boss didn’t leave immediately but stood nearby to watch.
Figure skating was a level above regular roller-skating. The shoes that their rink provided were inline skates, similar to ice-skating shoes, and therefore they allowed one to perform figure skating with them. On an international scene, there were even compet.i.tions for this. Some of them competed in terms of speed, while others contended based on form and technique, to see who performed better. With the use of twenty cups as markers, this compet.i.tion was obviously a technique-based challenge to see who demonstrated a higher level of performance.
“Mummy is going to dance soon!”
Su Xiaobei laughed happily and then obediently sat at a small stone stool at the skating rink side. Just like how she excitedly waited for the movie to start earlier on, she now stared ahead without blinking her eyes and gently swung both of her legs.
This was obviously not the first time she watched Su Li perform figure skating, and she undoubtedly had high expectations of Su Li’s prowess in figure skating; otherwise, she wouldn’t be this excited.