ATLAS TRANSLATES

“She got full marks in math?” Song Min’s mind exploded. The strange things he had noticed finally made sense.

No wonder Bai Lian hadn’t cared about the spot when she spoke to him in Xiangcheng.

No wonder he had seen her at the Boyuan Base.

The perfect math score that had been hovering over his head since midterms, almost becoming his shadow…

Was it actually Bai Lian?

He knew Tang Ming and Ning Xiao were from Xiangcheng First High School. Finally grabbing onto this point, he pressed his hands on the desk and stood up: “So, was she the one who got 150 in math during the joint exam? What about her math and science scores this time?”

At the base, he had discussed with Ning Xiao, who was excellent at math and physics, especially physics.

That’s why Song Min had always thought the 150 score was Ning Xiao’s.

“Yes,” Tang Ming didn’t understand why Song Min was reacting so strongly and was startled. He replied hesitantly: “Of course the math score was Sister Lian’s, but Ning Xiao got first place in science.”

Learning that Bai Lian wasn’t first in science, Song Min let out a heavy sigh of relief.

However, in the next second, pressure rushed in from all directions like a tidal wave.

150 points…

Was she really that good at math?

He looked up, staring blankly in Bai Lian’s direction.

** At the Xu family home.

Director Wang had people deliver New Year gifts to the elderly lady, then bid farewell to Madam Xu, “Madam Xu, Mr. Xu, Miss Qi, I’m going abroad tomorrow, so I’m here to wish you an early Happy New Year.”

The day after tomorrow was Xu En’s wedding, and he would leave the country tomorrow.

Madam Xu had no objections to Director Wang’s actions, and even seemed to encourage it. She smiled and said: “That’s very thoughtful of you.”

Xu En nodded at Director Wang without speaking.

After delivering the gifts, Director Wang left the Xu residence. As he was leaving, he happened to see Xu Wenyao’s car.

“Little Qin, go check on the company tomorrow,” Director Wang got into his car and spoke to the driver without looking up: “See what the Xu family is up to, and you, the plans after first and second revisions are still the same, showing no improvement at all…”

In the driver’s seat, Little Qin was simple and honest, not daring to respond to Director Wang’s criticism.

He was a company employee, not a driver, but had been called by Director Wang to be his driver on his day off.

With car loans, house loans, a high school son, a wife undergoing chemotherapy, and parents on both sides needing support, he couldn’t dare speak up against his superior’s abuse and exploitation, nor could he dare to quit.

Inside the house.

Madam Xu looked at Xu En, “I told you to bring Bai Lian over before your wedding, why haven’t you done anything?”

The elderly lady still hadn’t given up.

“She’s busy.” Xu En replied calmly, though in truth he hadn’t mentioned this to Bai Lian at all.

“Busy?” Madam Xu laughed coldly, clearly not believing it.

How could Bai Lian be too busy? But she couldn’t worry about that now. She glanced at Xu En again, “When Wenyao arrives, talk to him properly. Not replying to Shu Jun’s messages – look how upset you’ve made her.”

As she spoke, she patted Qi Shujun’s hand, saying very kindly: “Shujun dear, don’t worry, grandmother will handle this for you.”

Qi Shujun sat beside Madam Xu with reddened eyes.

Xu En remained silent.

Almost as soon as Madam Xu finished speaking, Xu Wenyao returned.

“Wenyao,” seeing that Xu En wouldn’t speak up, Madam Xu stood and said, “Good timing, Shujun is here too. Quickly apologize to her. Young couples shouldn’t have so many conflicts.”

She smiled while playing peacemaker.

Qi Shujun turned her head away, refusing to look at Xu Wenyao.

During every argument, Xu Wenyao would always be the first to apologize, from major conflicts like today to minor issues like his tone being wrong in WeChat messages.

The Xu and Qi families’ relationship was essentially a business marriage – the Xu family had money, while the Qi family had connections in education.

Xu Wenyao had never had a girlfriend before; Qi Shujun was his first and only one. He had always tried his best to do whatever Qi Shujun wanted, but now he was starting to feel tired.

“In this matter, I don’t think I did anything wrong,” he said frankly.

Putting aside how the Ji family had saved Xu En in Xiangcheng before, just considering that Ji Mulan was marrying Xu En and this was the Ji family’s first visit to Jianjing, they needed to show proper courtesy.

Qi Shujun, who was beside Madam Xu, suddenly stood up.

Then she ran out of the Xu family’s front door without looking back.

“Shujun! Shujun!” Madam Xu grabbed her cane, wanting to chase after her, but ultimately couldn’t catch up.

“Xu Wenyao, what are you thinking?” Madam Xu’s cane struck the floor tiles forcefully, “Do you know Shujun came to give you activity tickets? If you’d just said one nice word, she would have given them to you. What’s wrong with a man coaxing a woman?”

Xu Wenyao didn’t want to talk.

He went straight upstairs to the last room and knocked.

The door opened a crack, and a short-haired girl peeked out, quietly asking Xu Wenyao: “Have the guests downstairs left?”

“They’ve left.”

“That’s good,” Xu Zhiyue sighed in relief, opening the door to casually let Xu Wenyao in. “Brother, help me close the door.”

She plopped back down in her chair carelessly.

She was watching “Perfect Day” while eating chips.

“Grandmother told me not to come back the day after tomorrow,” since the Boyuan Base was far from the Xu home, Xu Zhiyue had been called back today by Madam Xu, who specifically instructed her not to attend the wedding, “She said studying is more important.”

Xu Wenyao picked up the books from the floor and put them away properly, “So are you going or not?”

“Of course I’m going,” Xu Zhiyue replied, “I haven’t met my never-before-seen sister yet.”

Ji Mulan was good to both her and Xu Wenyao, so Xu Zhiyue didn’t have any prejudice against this sister.

Xu Wenyao paused, “Perhaps you’ve already met her.”

Xu Zhiyue turned around.

“What was the name of that girl you mentioned from Boyuan Base?”

“Bai Lian.” Xu Zhiyue remembered her name.

Xu Wenyao: “Your never-before-seen sister is also called Bai Lian.”

Xu Zhiyue: “…?”

** The next day, early morning.

Jiang He hadn’t woken up yet when Shen Qing pulled off his blanket, “We’re going ice fishing today.”

He got up rubbing his eyes.

Ji Heng went to wash his face and encountered Ji Shaojun. He suddenly stopped, “Ah Lian was specially admitted to Boyuan, right?”

Ji Shaojun had talked with Shen Qing all night, and they had wondered why Ji Heng and Jiang He were so slow, showing no reaction.

“…Yes.” Ji Shaojun gave Ji Heng a strange look.

Ji Heng made a sound of acknowledgment and continued walking calmly to the bathroom.

Ji Shaojun finally noticed—

Ji Heng was walking with his arms and legs moving in sync.

“…”

Because of the matter between Xu Wenyao and Qi Shujun, Xu En and Ji Mulan came early to bring breakfast for Ji Heng and the others. After setting down the breakfast, he received a call from Xu Shujie.

“What’s wrong with him?” Shen Qing brought Jiang He out and saw Xu En’s tightly knitted brows.

She helped Jiang He squeeze toothpaste and gestured for him to go brush his teeth in the bathroom.

Ji Mulan knew a bit about Xu Wenyao’s situation, which seemed related to the Ji family. She was also a bit irritated: “It’s about Wenyao’s studies. There’s no use asking so much.”

Ji Heng looked up, “Is it related to us?”

“Not really,” Ji Mulan didn’t dare brush off Ji Heng, “He’s having a conflict with that Qi girl, and now it seems she won’t give Wenyao the ticket…”

“What kind of lecture ticket is so important?” Ji Shaojun was surprised.

The bathroom door was open.

Jiang He stood on a small stool, slowly watching himself brush teeth in the mirror.

His ears were listening to the adults’ conversation.

After breakfast, Ji Heng and the others went downstairs to go ice fishing, with Xu En and Ji Mulan seeing them off.

At the hotel entrance, Xu Shujie hurried over, saw Ji Heng and the others with their fishing rods and equipment, and paused.

Shen Qing didn’t know how to greet Xu Shujie and awkwardly said: “Do you want to go ice fishing with us?”

Xu Shujie stopped herself from speaking, “No need.”

She watched the group leave before furrowing her brows at Xu En, “What’s really going on with Wenyao…”

** At Boyuan Base.

Today’s lecturer had changed to Director Huang, who was Professor Ma’s student and quite renowned at Jianjing University. He was also the most authoritative among all the lecturers who had come to teach these past few days.

His main research was in physics.

Today’s lecture was also related to physics.

During the break, Tang Ming noticed Xu Zhiyue sneaking glances again. When she saw him looking, she quickly pretended to be reading.

Tang Ming was a bit quiet. He whispered to Bai Lian, “Sister Lian, why do I feel like that girl keeps secretly looking at you?”

There were only two girls in the class.

Bai Lian and Xu Zhiyue.

“That’s normal,” Wang Xu sat beside Tang Ming, speaking in a low voice, “Even that Liang Wuyu has looked several times, not to mention others.”

While other students were still obediently listening to the teacher’s lecture, Bai Lian was already able to collaborate with He Wen on modeling.

Bai Lian wore her previous cyan shirt, holding a black pen and seriously writing reduced notation. Her eyelashes were long and black, slightly downcast, looking every bit the good student.

Her phone lit up. It was Jiang He.

She picked it up and glanced at it, then sat up straight, her pale fingers tapping the phone screen.

After some thought—

[Are you there?]

Teacher Jiang: [Home]

Student Bai: [Are there any activity tickets left?]

She was asking about Professor Ma’s activity tickets. Professor Ma was a leader in the quantum field, mastering cutting-edge technology in this area. Attending his lecture could optimize knowledge structure, enhance cognitive level, and broaden horizons.

Of course, it would also mean meeting more experts and scholars.

Teacher Jiang: [How many do you want?]

That meant there were still some available.

Bai Lian had thought his ten tickets wouldn’t be enough to share, so she hadn’t asked him for any. Now hearing his response, she didn’t hold back.

Student Bai: [Three]

Student Bai: [Where are they? I’ll come get them later]

She wanted tickets for Tang Ming, Ning Xiao, and Xu Wenyao.

Attending his lecture required certain academic foundations. Tang Ming might not understand everything, but he could gain some insight.

On the other end of the phone, Jiang Fuli raised an eyebrow and only replied two words—

[Wait there]

** Today there was Professor Ma’s lecture, so Director Huang ended today’s class at eleven.

As soon as he left, the students in class all stood up, preparing to leave.

“Do you know why Professor Huang left so early?” In front, Ling Ziyao’s group was talking, “I heard there’s a very important lecture today.”

Ling Ziyao glanced at Wang Xu and Bai Lian’s direction, but didn’t see any reaction on their faces. He left the room feeling frustrated.

Xu Zhiyue, who had been sitting at her desk repeatedly looking at Bai Lian, wanted to approach her but didn’t dare when she saw so many people around Bai Lian.

Finally, Bai Lian disappeared at the doorway.

Xu Zhiyue: “…”

It was a bit early, but Ning Xiao and the others still planned to go eat first.

“You guys go ahead,” Bai Lian took her bag, gripped her phone, and said lazily, “I need to go out for a bit.”

Jiang Fuli was arriving.

The others were used to Bai Lian’s mysterious comings and goings.

Ever since that model came out, not just Ning Xiao and Tang Ming, even Pei Jin started calling her “Sister.”

Song Min stayed behind, unusually quiet these past two days.

Seeing Bai Lian walking toward the main gate, he held his phone, stood still for a while, and finally chased after her.

Bai Lian always walked slowly, so Song Min caught up to her quickly.

“Bai Lian.” He called out to her, a few steps behind.

If it were the previous Bai Lian hearing his voice, she would definitely have stopped, but now, Bai Lian didn’t even pause her steps.

The contrast was stark.

Song Min pressed his lips together slightly, quickened his pace to get in front of Bai Lian, and blocked her path: “Student Bai Lian.”

Bai Lian took a step back.

Her down jacket had been taken back by Shen Qing for washing. Today over her cyan shirt she wore a white double-layer cashmere jacket with embroidery, straight collar and overlapping front, with plum blossoms and scattered petals embroidered on the lapel.

A matching belt was loosely tied at her waist.

Being blocked, she merely lifted her head slightly, her pitch-black eyes scanning Song Min. The golden sunlight revealed her beautiful but irritated face, “Are you sick?”

Is it illegal to hit someone at Boyuan Base?

“Student Bai Lian,” Song Min came back to his senses. It was his first time blocking someone’s path. Looking at this Bai Lian who was completely different from his memories, he said, “Your math…”

Jiang Fuli had just entered the school gate when he saw this annoying scene.

The girl stood coldly in place, her lazy face covered with a layer of irritation, like a cat sunbathing who had been disturbed.

“Excuse me, move aside.” Jiang Fuli’s voice was cold.

Song Min hadn’t finished speaking when he felt a cold wind blow past his back, followed by an icy clear voice, accompanied by a gaze that was hard to ignore.

Though it was a two-meter wide road, Song Min unconsciously moved to the left.

Only then did he see the person who had just spoken. The other person wore a severe black long coat with a casual beige fluffy scarf around his neck. Though his face showed no particular expression, when his gaze swept over, Song Min felt as if an invisible hand had gripped his internal organs.

It made it hard to breathe.

His face turned somewhat pale.

“Ah, met an idiot.” The irritation disappeared from Bai Lian’s face as she looked at Jiang Fuli glumly.

Jiang Fuli’s peripheral vision swept over Song Min as he led Bai Lian outside, “Who was that?”

Bai Lian answered reflexively: “Song Min.”

Song Min.

Jiang Fuli had a good memory. When he learned earlier that she had a fiancé, he had specifically inquired about it.

What a coincidence, that fiancé had this exact name.

“Song Min?” Jiang Fuli held his car keys, speaking in a peculiar tone: “…Your ex-fiancé?”

He dragged out his words.

Bai Lian: “…”

That was slightly miscalculated.

Seeing Bai Lian’s expression, Jiang Fuli knew this person really was her ex-fiancé.

He opened the passenger door, “Student Bai Lian, please get in.”

Bai Lian silently got into the car.

Jiang Fuli sat in the driver’s seat, methodically fastened his seatbelt, started the car, then turned his head and politely asked: “Student Bai Lian, are we going to the Jianjing University intersection?”

“…Yes.” Bai Lian connected to Bluetooth and started playing English reading material loudly.

“Oh, Student Bai Lian…”

** At Jianjing University.

Xu Shujie found Xu Wenyao.

“The Qi family is waiting for your response. Can you calm down first and come with me to the Qi house?” Xu Shujie wore a suit with a coat over it, pressing her temples, “If you don’t go this time, do you know how many opportunities you’ll miss? Tell me, are you really okay with that?”

She now knew the whole story.

Qi Shujun was too willful.

This time Xu Wenyao was also being stubborn, refusing to apologize or reconcile.

How many industry bigwigs would be at Professor Ma’s lecture? Perhaps Xu Wenyao’s opportunity was hidden among them.

“Maybe this just wasn’t meant to be mine,” Xu Wenyao lowered his eyes, remained silent for a while, then took his books and walked toward the cafeteria, “Aunt, please stop talking about it. I won’t go.”

His phone rang once.

He casually looked down – it was from Bai Lian—

[Location]

Bai Lian: [Do you have time to come out?]

Xu Wenyao looked at the location – it was at the intersection of Jianjing Avenue and Yunbai Avenue, just two hundred meters from Jianjing University’s gate.

She came to Jianjing University? Finally thought it through and wanted to see the campus? Xu Wenyao: [Wait for me ten minutes]

Xu Wenyao didn’t have time to think more. He looked left and right, saw a shuttle bus coming toward him – Jianjing University was so large it had dedicated buses circling the campus.

“Where are you going?” Before Xu Shujie could finish speaking, she saw Xu Wenyao get on the bus.

“Ah Lian is waiting for me outside, I’ll show her around campus.” After Xu Wenyao finished speaking, the bus doors automatically closed and whooshed away.

Leaving behind a confused Xu Shujie.

What kind of people were these from the Ji family? One group went fishing, and now someone wants to tour Jianjing University? She was quite bewildered. Professor Ma’s speech was this afternoon, but instead of going to the Qi family with her, Xu Wenyao now wanted to show Bai Lian around campus?

** Outside Jianjing University’s gate.

After Xu Wenyao came out, he jogged toward the location Bai Lian had sent. Strangely, though this intersection was very close to Jianjing University, Bai Lian hadn’t come over, but instead waited at the intersection.

Three minutes later.

He saw Bai Lian in her white double-layer jacket, lazily leaning against a leafless ginkgo tree, head down memorizing vocabulary words, attracting countless glances.

Some girls carrying Jianjing University branded canvas bags were even secretly taking photos.

Xu Wenyao slowed his steps, wondering if he’d see posts about Bai Lian on the university forum tonight.

“Ah Lian,” he approached and handed her a cup of hot milk tea he’d bought on his way from the school gate, speaking gently, “Why didn’t you come to the school entrance?”

Bai Lian looked up. She hadn’t turned off her Bluetooth earphones, raised her head and said, “Just dropping something off, then leaving.”

Dropping something off? Did Ji Heng ask her to deliver something?

Xu Wenyao was very surprised, because Xu En wouldn’t ask Bai Lian to deliver things. Only the Ji family would be… different from others.

Ji Heng always made big pockets in Bai Lian’s clothes.

The jacket had two pockets. She reached into one and pulled out a ticket – it was the ticket Professor Ma had given her last time.

Bai Lian handed the activity ticket to Xu Wenyao, speaking lazily: “Take it.”