ATLAS TRANSLATES

Yu Hongyi spoke calmly, just stating facts.

She had become famous at a young age and held an exceptional position in the Yu family. Her brilliance overshadowed all the younger generation in the family. With her status in Dongwu, she had always stood at the top of the Yu family.

Having spent years in Jianjing, she didn’t take Bai Lian and Lu Xiaohan’s words seriously at all.

These two didn’t even rank in her social circle – they weren’t from the same world.

But what bothered her was that the others present were unmoved by Bai Lian and Lu Xiaohan’s words. And Chen Yongkun – what was that description of her marksmanship about?

However, Chen Yongkun’s status had risen recently, so Yu Hongyi was somewhat wary of him.

After speaking, she turned to leave the estate.

She had originally thought Ming Dongheng and Chief Chen would at least try to keep her.

But unexpectedly, as she stepped out the gate, neither of them reacted at all.

She left, suppressing her anger.

Chen Jingyu looked at Ming Dongheng in surprise. He and Ming Dongheng were originally competitors, so seeing him like this was quite strange. “Mr. Ming, do you know what you’re doing?” he asked.

Ming Dongheng glanced at him without saying anything.

Chen Jingyu felt relieved, with a hint of joy in his heart. If Yu Hongyi didn’t guide Ming Dongheng, his own chances would be much greater.

He held back his excitement and hurried after her, calling out, “Goddess Yu, wait for me!”

Inside, Ming Dongheng looked at Bai Lian and quickly explained, “Miss Bai, I just asked her what level was needed to enter Dongwu. She demonstrated the long spear for me. I think you’re very strong.”

Ming Dongheng had a strong survival instinct.

“Yes, yes,” Chief Chen chimed in, though he couldn’t really tell the difference.

Outside, Chen Jingyu and Yu Hongyi, who hadn’t gone far, looked even more displeased.

“I don’t see what’s so great about her,” Chen Jingyu observed Yu Hongyi’s expression. “She seems weak. As for intelligence, she can’t even compare to Liang Wuyu from the Liang family. It’s still uncertain if she can even get into Jianjing University.”

This year, many people were paying attention to the Jianjing University rankings because of Liang Wuyu.

He had already been invited by many labs before even entering university.

“You’re comparing her to Liang Wuyu?” Yu Hongyi shook her head. Apart from her face, she truly couldn’t see any other strengths in Bai Lian.

She had always had high standards.

Hearing this, Chen Jingyu also felt he had been foolish. Liang Wuyu was someone competing for the top spot.

**

“My mistake,” Lu Xiaohan said awkwardly in the garden. “I won’t speak carelessly in the future.”

Bai Lian lazily twirled the long spear, handing the pastries Chief Chen had given to Lu Xiaohan. Hearing this, she shook her head: “If you can’t accept criticism, how can you improve?”

Bai Lian had practiced martial arts behind Bai Chongyu since she was young.

She was the youngest, and both Bai Chongyu and Chen Ye, who trained with her, would go easy on her.

After Bai Chongyu’s death, she and Chen Ye went to the battlefield, but they only managed to leave behind his cenotaph. Later, she took that long spear and fought on the battlefield for three years. By then, no one would go easy on her anymore.

The old soldiers in the army couldn’t persuade her to return, so they taught her how to kill enemies instead.

On the battlefield, skill determined life and death.

All her experience was gained on the battlefield. Everyone fighting there was fearless, because all their techniques were meant for killing enemies, not for show.

For the Bai family, the long spear was in their blood.

She looked down at the casually discarded long spear in her hand.

Nowadays, martial arts techniques lack lethal power and are too flashy. Yu Hongyi was a typical example.

That’s why Lu Xiaohan felt something was off about Yu Hongyi’s “Dragon Tail Swing” move – because Lu Xiaohan had seen Yan Lu perform real killing techniques.

“The wind is picking up. Let’s go back to the hall,” Chief Chen quickly interjected, changing the subject.

Jiang Fuli returned just before nine o’clock.

As soon as he came back, he first glanced at Chief Chen.

He didn’t show any other expression, just hung up his coat and gave a cool glance that made Chief Chen unconsciously straighten his back.

Bai Lian sat at a table to the side, doing her homework.

She sat with perfect posture, working on an exercise book from Fu Zhong. One hand casually held down the book.

The hall was brightly lit. Jiang He sat next to her, drawing on a tablet.

Ming Dongheng stood expressionlessly behind Chief Chen, occasionally gesturing with the long spear, as if trying to learn Bai Lian’s spear-twirling technique.

Lu Xiaohan sat on the sofa opposite Chief Chen, looking through today’s footage on her camera, thinking about how to edit it into her video with special effects.

Jiang Fuli glanced at Ming Dongheng’s long spear, then looked at Bai Lian.

Hearing the sound, Bai Lian finished the problem she was working on before looking up. “Finally back,” she said.

She closed her book and capped her pen with one hand.

“Someone wrote down the wrong data,” Jiang Fuli said coldly, as if complaining to her.

Otherwise, he could have come back earlier.

Bai Lian put her book back in her bag, looked up and thought for a moment. “Then can you forgive him?” she asked.

“Oh.” Jiang Fuli seemed very reluctant.

With Jiang Fuli’s return, the housekeeper served another round of food. Jiang He, Ming Dongheng, and Chief Chen had eaten earlier, so Jiang Fuli was eating alone.

Chief Chen looked at Jiang Fuli and had a sudden realization: “Miss Bai, are you hungry?”

“I’m fine, I had two pieces of cake earlier,” Bai Lian stood up. “But I need to go home now. Grandfather is waiting for me for dinner tonight.”

Lu Xiaohan also stood up nervously, thanking Jiang Fuli.

Ming Dongheng took his car keys and was about to get up, but Chief Chen quickly held him back, expressionlessly thinking to himself –

Mr. Ming has gone mad.

Jiang Fuli, wrapped in a layer of frost, took the keys and left first.

When he returned, Ming Dongheng finally reported today’s events to Jiang Fuli.

Jiang Fuli lowered his eyes, casually picking up a piece of vegetable, and slowly said: “Has this place become somewhere that anyone can enter?”

He didn’t look at Ming Dongheng or Chief Chen.

But neither of them dared to look up.

After Jiang Fuli finished eating and went upstairs, Chief Chen turned to Ming Dongheng: “So how are you going to enter Dongwu later?”

Ming Dongheng had originally planned to ask Yu Hongyi to help recommend him for the application quota.

“There’s another recruitment next year,” Ming Dongheng frowned.

**

Bai Lian got home a bit late. The two old men, Lansi and Ji Heng, hadn’t gone to bed yet.

Ji Heng was tidying up the room for Lansi – it was the room Ji Shaojun used to live in.

“Grandfather, my desk mate wants to record a video of you,” Bai Lian said as she was doing acupuncture for Lansi. After finishing, she spoke to Ji Heng, “A video of embroidery. It shouldn’t take long. Do you want to do it?”

Lansi sat in the chair, really wanting to speak but not daring to.

Ji Heng put away the needle for sewing quilts. “Record a video?” he asked.

“To put online, short videos,” Bai Lian explained simply, pulling out a chair to sit down. “It will let more people see the embroidery, see your craftsmanship.”

Hearing this, Ji Heng was silent for a moment. “Let me think about it,” he said.

This was what Bai Lian had expected.

She could see that Ji Heng seemed to have something on his mind, so she hadn’t agreed to Lu Xiaohan’s request on his behalf at the time.

Bai Lian didn’t try to persuade Ji Heng further. She just waited by the side for Lansi’s acupuncture time to finish. When she was about to open her phone to do some practice questions, she saw a WeChat message.

Dog Friend: [Sharing a new song with you!]

Dog Friend: [I won’t allow anyone to not have heard it!]

Dog Friend: [[Link]]

Bai Lian opened it to see –

Cool Bear’s newly released song “Gambling on Wine”.

Bai Jian: [6]

Scrolling down, there was a message from Sister Xin: [Do you have Weibo? Netizens want it]

Sister Xin sent over a screenshot.

Bai Lian opened it to see people asking for “Bai Jian’s” Weibo.

Bai Jian: [I don’t go online]

On the other end of the phone, Sister Xin wasn’t in Xiangcheng. She had rushed back to Shiguang Media to handle Yan Lu’s contract matters.

Receiving Bai Lian’s message, she opened Weibo to report to the netizens.

Yan Lu didn’t have an assistant, only her as a manager, so most netizens were asking her.

As soon as Sister Xin opened Weibo, it froze for a minute.

The top trending topic was still about “Gambling on Wine” – the composition and arrangement of this song were truly explosive. In these past two years, with traffic dominating, there were fewer people seriously making music.

This song, despite being by an 18th-tier celebrity and 18th-tier composer/arranger, had cut a bloody path through the traffic-dominated music industry.

Such lyrics and music… how did Bai Lian write them?

Sister Xin immediately saw the top comment:

[To be honest, this song reminds me of Bai Xianjun]

[I think so too, so when will the Bai Jian god release a new song?]

[Speaking of Bai Xianjun, it seems she hasn’t released any new songs or poems in a long time (crying)]

[Forgive the above, the signal in the underworld is bad]

[…]

Among so many fan-made songs for Bai Xianjun, this was the first one widely accepted by fans.

Sister Xin saw further down and felt like laughing. She replied to the netizens asking about Bai Jian’s Weibo:

[I asked for you, the Bai Jian god says he doesn’t go online (sigh)]

This comment was quickly picked up by fans:

[Wuwuwu, are there still people who don’t go online nowadays?]

[Must be a respectable elderly person!]

Everyone had a sudden realization.

[Will there be more songs in the future?] 2587 likes

[Please help contact the big shot, begging the god to definitely write more songs. Current popular songs don’t have much quality, I’ve been listening to songs from over a decade ago. “Gambling on Wine” is the highest quality song I’ve heard in recent years] 12474 likes

Below were all agreeing comments.

Sister Xin didn’t know if Bai Lian would continue composing. She planned to find time to ask.

She knew Bai Lian loved studying, but Sister Xin didn’t want her to waste this talent for songwriting.

She opened Yan Lu’s Weibo – the followers had already increased to 4 million. From morning to night today, various videos and media had been playing Yan Lu’s song on loop.

Shiguang Media urgently called Sister Xin back to revise the contract. Sister Xin felt like crying tears of joy –

After so many years in the industry, Yan Lu had finally made it big this time.

**

Xiangcheng Hospital.

“The scans and blood tests don’t show any other problems,” the doctor prescribed some medicine for Xu En.

“No other problems?” Ji Mulan stood to the side, frowning. “But he’s been having frequent headaches recently.”

The doctor looked at the test results, then finally looked up. “Mr. Xu needs to rest. Medical resources in Xiangcheng are limited. If you’re not reassured, you can go to a higher-level hospital for examination.”

“Oh right,” the doctor remembered something else, “I have a patient similar to Mr. Xu. It doesn’t greatly affect daily life, but it can impact memory. Mr. Xu, are you very forgetful now?”

Xu En sat in the chair. “It’s fine,” he said.

Apart from headaches, he hadn’t shown any other symptoms.

The two left the consultation room. Ji Mulan went to get his medicine. After getting it and coming back, she looked worried. “Let’s find time to go back to Jianjing Hospital for another check. Xiangcheng is behind in everything.”

“We do need to go back,” Xu En smiled. The matters in Xiangcheng were on track, and his and Ji Mulan’s wedding date was approaching. “The wedding still needs planning. I wonder if Ah Lian will come.”

He wasn’t very concerned about his condition.

After all, it was just an occasional headache – a minor issue.

Compared to this, he was more interested in knowing if Bai Lian would go to Jianjing to attend his and Ji Mulan’s wedding.

“Her…” Ji Mulan was momentarily distracted.

She could barely say a word to Bai Lian now. She had intended to ease their relationship, but every time she tried to speak, Bai Lian would ignore her.

Ji Mulan remembered what Old Mrs. Xu had said about the Yu family: “What about that Yu family matter?”

Xu En’s car was parked at the hospital entrance.

Hearing Ji Mulan mention the Yu family, he shook his head. “Don’t mention this to Ah Lian. I’ve already refused my mother.”

“That’s right,” Ji Mulan actually thought that Yu family sounded quite good, but Bai Lian’s personality was too prickly now and not suitable for a larger family: “With her personality, she’s not suited for a big family.”

Xu En sat in the back seat.

Hearing Ji Mulan’s words, he glanced at her.

These days, he had learned some things. Bai Lian treated Ji Mulan differently from other members of the Ji family. The Bai Lian in front of Ji Heng and Ji Shaojun was a different person from the one in front of Ji Mulan.

With Ji Mulan, Bai Lian was always sharp and prickly, and didn’t speak properly.

But the Bai Lian that Xu En knew was an extremely cultured person with a broad perspective, although sometimes she…

Xu En smiled.

Bai Lian did have a bad temper sometimes.

There were several times when Xu En felt he was about to be finished off by Bai Lian.

As he was smiling, Xu En unconsciously pressed his temple, feeling a headache coming on. He slowly leaned back against the seat.

“You should rest quickly,” Ji Mulan hurriedly helped massage his temples.

**

Friday.

After school in the afternoon.

The chemistry teacher rolled up his book but didn’t leave, staring motionlessly at Bai Lian as she packed her bag.

After Bai Lian slowly finished packing her bag, he coughed and said with a stern face, “Student Bai.”

Wen Qi, Lu Xiaohan, and the arts and cultural committee member wanted to laugh, but faced with the cold chemistry teacher, they didn’t dare.

“Teacher,” Bai Lian picked up her bag and obediently stood in front of the chemistry teacher.

“Mm,” the chemistry teacher nodded coolly. “There’s a monthly exam tomorrow, do you know?”

He didn’t say anything else.

“I know,” Bai Lian nodded.

She had been studying chemistry and biology together recently.

The chemistry teacher put his hands behind his back, discreetly observing Bai Lian, then left her with two very cool words: “Good luck.”

After saying this, he walked out of the classroom.

After the chemistry teacher left, Lu Xiaohan finally dared to speak, “Lian-jie, seriously, did you feel like the chemistry teacher’s back view looked so desolate?”

“I was just about to say that, but I didn’t dare,” Wen Qi raised his hand.

“So, how’s your chemistry studying going?” Lu Xiaohan had made a bet with someone, so she quietly asked Bai Lian, “Is there a chance your total score could surpass the study god Ning?”

Bai Lian glanced at Lu Xiaohan, raising an eyebrow: “Want to guess?”

Lu Xiaohan: “…”

How could she possibly guess about matters concerning the study god?

The group chatted and laughed as they reached the school gate.

Wen Qi immediately spotted Sister Xin standing by the gate. “Sister Xin,” he called out.

He had become something of a fan of Yan Lu.

Zhang Shize, hearing this news in prison, had specially asked Bai Lian to bring a simple note to Wen Qi last time, praising his taste.

Sister Xin felt quite emotional seeing this lively group of young boys and girls.

She smiled and greeted them.

“This is the CD of ‘Gambling on Wine’,” after greeting everyone, Sister Xin handed two carefully packaged CDs to Bai Lian. “And one is for Director Jian.”

To Sister Xin, Director Jian was a respected senior artist.

Sister Xin didn’t dare ask for his contact information, nor did she expect Yan Lu to become close with Director Jian. The class difference was obvious. Everything related to Director Jian, she let Bai Lian pass on.

“Okay,” Bai Lian put away the CDs.

She took out her phone to ask Director Jian for his address.

“Miss Bai,” Sister Xin walked with the group towards the intersection, “Have you thought about continuing to write lyrics and compose? I mean, writing for professional singers. Many singers in the industry have good voices but average composing talent.”

Noticing Wen Qi’s gaze, Sister Xin paused. She still remembered Wen Qi saying the principal would hang himself at her door.

So she explained: “I just think it’s a pity to waste Miss Bai’s talent! The music industry really lacks composers like Miss Bai. I just hope Miss Bai can jot down ideas when inspiration strikes, without interfering with her studies.”

Sister Xin had no doubt that if Bai Lian entered the composing circle, it would shake up the entire music industry.

Bai Lian had a guzheng at home too. Her fingers unconsciously twirled the CD.

Suddenly, she turned her head to look at Sister Xin and said unhurriedly: “Was that An Qi from before a singer?”

“Yes, he’s still collaborating with Manxi now.” Sister Xin nodded, not really wanting to mention An Qi at the moment.

“Then…” Bai Lian narrowed her eyes. Her elegant brows and eyes, lit by the sunset, carried a hint of mischief. She smiled casually: “Is Yan Lu interested in developing a side career as a singer?”

Sister Xin looked at Bai Lian, thinking blankly –

This time it’s really serious.