ATLAS TRANSLATES

This video was sent by Ji Heng to Ji Shao Rong.

Last night their family had a rare dinner together to discuss things. Ji Shaojun knew Bailian had learned guzheng for a year in the Bai family.

Now that she’s back in Xiangcheng, they can’t let her not have guzheng lessons.

While Bailian was reciting words, she was able to listen clearly. She didn’t expect this to happen only on the second day after coming back.

Ji Shaorong had already arranged it.

Ji Heng heard he found the best guzheng teacher in Xiangcheng and specially sent the video to Ji Shaorong.

“Mr. Ji,” Teacher Yue looked steadily at Ji Shaojun, “The guzheng is the collision of emotion and soul. The existence of the guzheng is not to show off itself or gain popularity. It is the purest art. Those who learn the guzheng with utilitarian ideas will never reach the pinnacle. I’m sorry, I don’t want to teach.”

He didn’t intend to teach.

He directly walked past the stunned Ren Wanxuan to leave.

“Teacher Yue, I respect your viewpoint but disagree,” Bailian slowly turned around.

She didn’t defend her decade of guzheng learning or explain why she didn’t understand guzheng schools. She just looked at him and said, “The thousands of years of development of the guzheng, inheritance and promotion are the most important. But the world is diverse. That is the charm of civilization and inheritance. While liking the guzheng, we can also like many other things. People need to eat. Have you ever truly understood them by casting aside everything about yourself? Why negate them?”

Teacher Yue’s footsteps halted. He looked at Bailian lightly, “A successful artist should marginalize themselves. Revering art is their original intention. Life is cultivation. Let me tell you, you will never succeed.”

He had come today with expectations but was disappointed to leave.

He didn’t expect to find a genius who loved and seriously studied the guzheng like Teacher Jian.

He only needed the student to have some flair and be willing to work hard.

Not someone who was utilitarian, lost their original heart, and hadn’t even touched the guzheng much.

Xiangcheng had produced famous guzheng masters since ancient times. Teacher Yue was one of the famous ones.

Even Ren Wanxuan had heard of him.

Ren Wanxuan followed along to find out which famous teacher the Ji and Ren families found for Bailian. Knowing it was Teacher Yue, Ren Wanxuan was jealous but not excessively so.

But now—

This teacher didn’t approve of Bailian like others. He didn’t think Bailian played the guzheng well and even said she would never succeed.

The sourness that had just risen suddenly disappeared.

The accumulated admiration for Bailian on the school forum had weighed on her heart for a long time. Now it finally dissipated and emptied.

She lowered her head, tightly pressing down the urge to smile. “Dad, I came to tell you there’s a parent-teacher meeting this week. Since you’re busy I’ll go first.”

After saying that sentence, she forcefully suppressed her smile again before leaving.

“What artist,” Ren Jiawei sat down with arms crossed. She coldly laughed, then couldn’t help but say to Bailian, “This Yue person is just like your grandfather, useless moral high ground and bad temper! Don’t listen to him. Look at your grandfather. Doing art and tradition every day, what’s he now? He’s just talking without considering others. Let’s see if he dares perform publicly without taking a cent!”

“That’s enough,” Ji Shaorong said with a headache as he looked at Ren Jiawei, “Don’t say that again in the future. You’ll get sprayed to death.”

Ren Jiawei didn’t care. She was a vulgar person to begin with.

To her, all art was the same. And those art students, which field didn’t burn through money?

Bailian had her head lowered, reciting words while listening to Ren Jiawei. She would occasionally nod along.

She sat properly with some hair softly resting on her brows.

Quiet and serious.

Ren Wanxuan was spoiled at home. She hadn’t seen someone listen to her so attentively and respond like this before. She paused before opening her mouth, “Don’t worry, I’ll find you another master in Beicheng.”

Bailian’s wrist rested on the table as she unhurriedly went through a word.

After thinking for a few seconds, she sincerely said to them, “Thank you for going through the trouble for me, but I really don’t need a guzheng teacher.”

Her teachers had taught her everything.

The rest depended on how much she could comprehend herself.

“I know, I know.” Ren Jiawei casually waved her hand. She didn’t seem to have actually listened and just said, “Let’s eat first.”

**

After eating, Bailian went back to class. Teacher Yue’s words didn’t affect her much.

She just thought about the guzheng.

She took out her notebook and drew a miniature guzheng.

Bailian couldn’t help but turn to the black cat. She couldn’t help but raise her brows—

She wondered if Teacher Yue would dare say Young Master Jiang’s painting was too stiff and craftsman-like if he saw it.

“Yang Lin still hasn’t come back?” Ahead, Lu Xiaohan turned back to look at Yang Lin’s seat and knitted her brows slightly. “What is she doing every time?”

“You don’t know either?” Bailian came back to her senses. She took out a pen and looked at Lu Xiaohan.

Lu Xiaohan shrugged.

In over a year as classmates, Lu Xiaohan barely knew anything about Yang Lin.

Yang Lin never spoke to others either, even more introverted than Ning Xiao.

The only understanding came from Bailian.

She only vaguely knew Yang Lin’s family circumstances were not good and that she always worked part-time jobs. Other than that, she didn’t really understand much.

Bailian pushed the pen cap open and glanced at Yang Lin’s seat.

She pondered asking Teacher Lu tomorrow.

She held the pen but didn’t immediately start her homework. Instead, she seemed to recall something. Head lowered, she drew a line on the blank paper, then used her fair fingertips to push the still wet ink, quickly finishing it.

She looked at it, then took a photo with her phone and sent it to Jiang Fuli.

Jiang Fuli, in the middle of reviewing results, saw the WeChat notification and casually opened it. Inside was a black and white cat—

Its whole body was lowered. It lazily lay on the ground with closed eyes, tail curled up. The fluffy fur was messily spread out.

Jiang Fuli was silent for a moment. He had just typed “Painted very well” but didn’t send it yet.

The next second, Bailian sent another message.

Very good, it was the cat he had painted before.

The contrast was stark.

Jiang Fuli looked at the typed words and deleted them one by one—

?……?

He opened the picture of the lazily lying cat again.

Then he just left his phone on the table and would occasionally glance at it.

“What a nice ink wash painting!” Beside him, He Wen, handing an experiment report to Jiang Fuli, saw it at a glance on Jiang Fuli’s phone left open on the table.

He was quite amazed.

Jiang Fuli’s cold white fingertips took the experiment report. He glanced at him, tone indifferent, “It’s drawn with black pen.”

“Is it?” He Wen looked closely and indeed found it wasn’t an ink wash painting.

He was even more amazed.

And so, that afternoon, everyone who came to find Jiang Fuli knew that Young Master Jiang had received a very nice ink wash painting drawn with black pen.

Bailian’s casual drawing had stunned a group of science and engineering students in the lab.

**

After school in the evening, Bailian didn’t go to the library and went directly to see Jiang He instead.

Jiang He had sent her over a dozen commas that afternoon.

When Bailian arrived, Jiang He was holding a tablet, messaging someone—

?Hehe, tell the teacher, who added the extra strokes to this painting??

Jiang He: ?,?

——?It can’t be Young Master Jiang right, or Mr. Ming…?

Jiang He: ?,?

The other person rapidly sent a bunch of text guessing. Hearing someone knocking, Jiang He immediately threw away the tablet and got up from the floor to open the door.

Bailian was squatting at the door. She unhurriedly took out a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Jiang He.

Jiang He opened it to see a cat lying on the ground.

He blinked in surprise.

“Study well.” Bailian stood up.

Jiang Fuli hadn’t been managing the lab much these past few days. He wouldn’t be back until midnight.

Bailian recalled the app Jiang Fuli mentioned and opened this month’s question bank. The chemistry question from before popped up.

She took a glance and casually screenshotted it to send over.

Jiang He had been playing with a Rubik’s cube beside her the whole time.

After Bailian finished a set of test papers here, she told Jiang He she would come see him again tomorrow before going downstairs.

Downstairs.

Officer Chen was talking to Ming Dongheng.

“Wang Youfeng’s injury did flare up an old condition,” Officer Chen received news dug up from the black market. Then he complained to Ming Dongheng, “He didn’t open shop today but went to lay floor tiles instead.”

Officer Chen could believe it once.

After all, Chen Beixuan had helped the old lady.

But again and again, Officer Chen felt Wang Youfeng was up to no good.

The two were talking when Bailian came downstairs. Officer Chen stood up even faster than Ming Dongheng. “Miss Bai? Are you leaving? I happen to have business in Heishui Street too. Let me give you a ride back.”

Ming Dongheng, who had just stood up, stared steadily at Officer Chen.

His gaze was extremely cold.

Bailian knew Officer Chen frequented Heishui Street. She lightly glanced up and politely nodded to Officer Chen, “Thank you.”

Officer Chen was overjoyed. He didn’t even care about Ming Dongheng’s intense stare. “Miss Bai, my car is right outside!”

“Mr. Ming,” Officer Chen took his keys. “I’ll take Miss Bai first then.”

The two left.

Ming Dongheng stood outside the big iron gate, watching Officer Chen’s car drive away. Bailian would rather take the bus than let him give her a ride. Ming Dongheng thought for half an hour but still didn’t understand—

Why?

**

Qingshui Street.

Bailian had Officer Chen stop at the Qingshui Street entrance.

When she got out of the car, she saw an old person leaning against the wall, squinting while taking out a phone as if to make a call.

Recognizing this was the old person who had fallen on the roadside last time, Bailian shouldered her school bag properly and put away her phone to support the elder. “Where do you live?”

It was somewhat dark now.

The old person squinted. Their cloudy gaze looked at the girl before them. She had a cold white complexion, clear brows and eyes, and wore the No.1 Middle School uniform neatly and tidily. Clean and well-kept.

“Little girl,” she recognized Bailian and instantly smiled. “It’s you!”

“Do you live nearby?” Bailian lightly supported her and tilted her head slightly. “Let me take you home.”

“I’m old. My legs and feet have some problems,” the old person hesitated a little. “Won’t it trouble you? I was calling my grandson to come get me.”

“It’s no trouble.”

Learning the old lady just lived in a nearby alley, Bailian slowly supported her as they walked forward.

Officer Chen slowly drove towards Heishui Street. From the rearview mirror he saw Bailian supporting an old person. He couldn’t help sighing. Miss Bai really was a good student!

But…

Officer Chen looked in the rearview mirror. Was that old person a little familiar?

Before he could remember anything, in the mirror, the two had turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

In less than ten minutes, Bailian learned this old person was Granny Wang. Her ancestors had lived on Qingshui Street for generations.

“Bailian, look,” Granny Wang wore an oversized camo uniform making her appear even more frail. She pointed to the small courtyard ahead and laughed. “That’s my home. Come on in for some water.”

She patted Bailian’s hand.

Just as they reached the entrance, the man in the yard heard the sound. Looking in his thirties, with some stubble sprouting on his face, he was shirtless, revealing the blue and white tiger tattoos on his chest and shoulders.

Holding an iron hoe in one hand and a cigarette in his mouth, he opened the half-closed door. “Granny, I said I’d go get you…”

He didn’t finish speaking. Seeing the girl supporting Granny Wang, he stopped mid-sentence.