ATLAS TRANSLATES

Zhang Ma didn’t want to leave. But Bailian was right, she should trust her son.

She wiped away her tears.

Grabbing Yan Lu’s hand, when she looked up again, her eyes were determined: “Xiao Lu, let’s go.”

“Ding—”

The elevator stopped on this floor.

The doors slowly opened.

Zhang Ma led Yan Lu in first, Bailian walked in last, only turning her head back at the elevator door to look at the ICU sign—

SICU.

Surgical Intensive Care Unit.

It was the same ICU where Shen Qing had stayed last time.

**

Director Liu watched the elevator doors close, then turned his head, “What did the court and Zhao Jingzhou say?”

“Lawyer Zhao is already preparing to come to Xiangcheng. The court is in session, and the summons will reach them tomorrow,” the administrative assistant had arranged everything, “That Zhang Shize is also smart, turning himself in immediately. But for this kind of intentional injury case, it’s at least seven years imprisonment.”

Thinking he could get away with it just by being at the police station.

But Director Liu wasn’t a pushover either.

Even if Zhang Shize managed to hire Zhao Jingzhou, he would still face at least seven years in prison.

“Beep—”

The ICU equipment suddenly started flashing frantically.

The on-duty doctor and nurse rushed over, “Send him to the emergency room first!”

“What did Mr. Xu say?!” Director Liu’s face changed. He wasn’t worried about Zhang Shize’s case, he was only concerned about Liu Xinming’s life right now!

The administrative assistant immediately went to call Xu En, “Please wait a moment!”

On Xu En’s side.

The assistant had looked into Yan Lu’s situation and heard some rumors. He was overwhelmed, and when he found out about the incident between Yan Lu and Zhang Shize, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Ignoring that Xu En was in an online meeting, he knocked on the door: “Mr. Xu, it’s urgent, I need to talk to you right away.”

Xu En raised his hand, paused the meeting, and muted his microphone.

He gestured for the assistant to speak.

“Director Liu’s matter is closely related to Yan Lu and Miss Bai. Yan Lu’s manager asked for Director Liu’s number. The entertainment industry is boycotting Yan Lu, but the specific situation is still unknown,” the assistant knew the seriousness of the matter, “Director Liu being beaten isn’t simple. Miss Bai is definitely investigating. I think you should be careful in handling this.”

The assistant had looked into Yan Lu’s current situation when he found out that Bailian was investigating her whereabouts.

News in the entertainment industry always spreads quickly. As soon as the news about Director Liu wanting to boycott her came out, it spread like wildfire.

Xu En’s mind was a bit chaotic. He made a decision within seconds, “First, cut off cooperation with the Liu family. I’ll ask Ah Lian about it. As for that Dr. Lance, there’s no rush to contact him.”

**

Around 8 PM.

Zhang Ma and Yan Lu supported each other as they walked in front, the streetlights stretching their shadows long.

Bailian walked with her head slightly lowered, looking at those two shadows.

Sister Xin carefully reached out her hand, handing Bailian her school uniform jacket.

“Thank you,” Bailian reached out to take it, but didn’t put it on. She just slowly walked down the steps, her eyes downcast and her tone calm, “So why did Zhang Shize beat him?”

“I still don’t know.” Sister Xin had somewhat come to her senses. She answered Bailian from behind, but her eyes were on Yan Lu.

It was related to Yan Lu, but Yan Lu hadn’t said a word.

Bailian followed her gaze.

She nodded, her tone calm, “Alright.”

Sister Xin was over ten years older than Bailian. Logically, Bailian should be just a child in her eyes, but at this moment, standing beside Bailian, she felt an inexplicable pressure.

But no matter what the other person said or did, she was always very polite.

Not far from the hospital, a black business car was steadily parked by the roadside.

The passenger window was half open.

Sister Xin had been in the entertainment industry for a long time, so she naturally recognized that this business car wasn’t luxurious, but it was a bit different from the cars she knew.

She was very surprised. Wasn’t this girl Zhang’s brother’s classmate?

This kind of car wasn’t eye-catching in North City, but it was in Xiangcheng. She hadn’t expected Zhang Shize to have such a well-off classmate, and it seemed they had a good relationship.

The back door opened.

A wave of cold air invaded.

A jade-like, icy child was sitting in the back of the business car, hugging a big cabbage. Hearing the sound, he slowly raised his head, then rested his chin on the pillow.

“Get in the car first.” Bailian let Zhang Ma, Yan Lu, and the others get in.

After Sister Xin got in, she sat down somewhat awkwardly.

She really couldn’t ignore the cold air from the driver’s seat, and couldn’t help but look over.

She could only see the back of his head and the smooth lines of his profile. His long, cold white fingers were half-resting on the steering wheel, and his right ear was plugged with a Bluetooth earpiece. He was talking to someone.

His tone was casual and lazy, yet mixed with ice. This voice would be unique even in the entertainment industry. He was saying some things that people couldn’t understand—

Something about “anti-neutrino”, “energy spectrum measurement”, “annual modulation effect”…

Sister Xin couldn’t understand a single word.

“Where to?” Seeing Bailian get in the car, Jiang Fuli said goodbye to the person on the Bluetooth, reached out to press the Bluetooth, and spoke to her in a low voice.

Bailian’s expression wasn’t very good either, “To the flower shop.”

First, take Zhang Ma and the others back.

“So you still haven’t seen Zhang Shize?” Bailian turned her head halfway, asking the people sitting in the back.

At this moment, Yan Lu reacted. Her gaze was only looking out the window, almost losing its luster, “Before the trial, we can’t see him unless we find a lawyer to see him…”

She and Sister Xin had checked. Zhang Shize was under criminal detention, and family members couldn’t visit.

So no one knew what Zhang Shize’s situation was now.

She and Sister Xin were already trying their best to find a lawyer.

Bailian nodded, indicating she understood. She took out her phone, opened the dial pad, and directly dialed a string of numbers.

On Chen Ju’s side.

He had just finished today’s work and was about to take a shower when a special ringtone rang. He quickly put down his clothes and answered the phone at sprint speed.

The person calling this number could only be Bailian or Jiang Fuli.

“Miss Bai!” He answered the phone at godspeed before the third ring.

Bailian held the phone in one hand, her other hand resting on the half-open car window. The cold wind blew her entire person awake. She explained the situation concisely, “I want to know how he’s doing in there now.”

“Zhang Shize?” Chen Ju hadn’t heard this name before.

But that didn’t stop him from going to the police station to check. He didn’t even take a shower, just put the hat he had just taken off back on his head, “Don’t worry, I’ll go to the police station to take a look for you.”

“Liu Xinming, who’s that?” Chen Ju hadn’t heard of this person.

Bailian thought for a moment, “A philanthropist? Seems to be a shareholder of Shiguang Entertainment as well.”

She had only heard a little about him.

“Don’t look at me,” Jiang Fuli didn’t speak when she was talking, but when he saw her looking at him, he raised an eyebrow, “I don’t know either. If you’re talking about Liu Xun, I might know a little.”

In the back seat.

Sister Xin looked at Yan Lu, then at Bailian and the others, very puzzled.

Liu Xinming was not only a major shareholder of Shiguang Entertainment, but he also often did charity work. Because of good marketing, he was famous on the internet. Sister Xin was seeing for the first time someone who hadn’t heard of Liu Xinming.

And not just one or two people.

Also, who was “Liu Xun”?

Which “Xun”?

Sister Xin was a bit confused for a moment.

**

Zhang’s house.

Zhang Ma hadn’t rested for two days.

Bailian sent her back to Zhang’s house and comforted Zhang Ma to rest, “Auntie, please take care of your health first.”

She didn’t persuade Zhang Ma to eat, but just bought a bowl of soup on the way for her to drink.

Under Bailian’s comfort, Zhang Ma closed her eyes and fell asleep, but her sleep wasn’t peaceful. Even in her light dreams, her brows were furrowed.

After Zhang Ma fell asleep, Bailian gently closed the door and came out.

When she came out, Jiang He was leaning against Zhang’s sofa, dozing off.

Jiang Fuli stood alone in the courtyard, with the desolate moonlight behind him. The houses and potted flowers cast large shadows in the courtyard.

He deliberately avoided the people in the hall.

Yan Lu and Sister Xin sat on the other side of the sofa, seeming very quiet due to Jiang Fuli’s presence in the overall environment.

At this moment, Sister Xin’s phone ringtone suddenly sounded.

She was startled, instinctively covering the phone, carefully answering it, her peripheral vision cautiously glancing at the courtyard.

The person on the other end of the phone was from Xu’s publicity department.

“What? Ah… okay, okay, thank you.” Sister Xin answered the phone in a daze, then looked at Yan Lu, “Xiao Lu, there’s a publicity activity at 8 AM tomorrow, you can’t be late.”

Yan Lu looked up, licking her dry lips, “They haven’t replaced me?”

Director Liu’s boycott order, the whole entertainment industry should know by now, right?

“Forget it, I…” Yan Lu forced a smile, her hand trembling as she took out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, “You can explain for me…”

“Go on time tomorrow,” Bailian sat down next to Jiang He, picked up a glass of cold water from the table, took a sip, barely suppressing her irritation. She looked up, “You must go.”

Yan Lu was stunned, “But now…”

“Yan Lu, right,” Bailian put down the glass. She sat casually on the sofa, her arm lightly pressing on the armrest. Under the light, she looked at Yan Lu, her voice calm and rational, “You don’t need to worry about Zhang Shize’s situation. Since Xu’s company hasn’t replaced you, even if you’re in a swamp, you have to stand up. I don’t want him to see you fallen by the wayside when he comes out.”

She didn’t need Yan Lu to explain anything to her.

But she believed in the Zhang family member who would leave the most beautiful lily for Yang Lin every week.

“I—” Yan Lu’s fingers trembled violently, and the cigarette pack instantly fell.

She looked at the eyes of the girl in front of her. Her dark pupils were like the vast night sky, seeming to be able to accommodate everything, firm and calm, without doubt, without question, and not even accusation.

Yan Lu felt like crying.

Bailian seemed to have seen through all of them, but after this, it was still that light yet incredibly heavy sentence —

[I believe in you, and I believe in him. Stand up.]

She was firmly choosing her and Zhang Shize.

Yan Lu trembled, covering her eyes with both hands, silently tilting her head back. After a long while, she put down her hands and said in a hoarse voice, “There’s a video, I don’t know who to give it to, I want to send it to you.”

She didn’t trust anyone, including the police.

After saying this, she took a long time to recover.

She stood up, took out sunglasses from her pocket, and put them on herself, hiding her reddened eyes.

“Sister Xin, arrange for the shooting tomorrow morning,” she walked out, her voice strong, “Give me the script, and also, contact whoever we can still contact, find out about Liu Xinming’s situation…”

After the two left.

Jiang Fuli finally came in from outside.

Bailian picked up the cigarette pack Yan Lu had dropped on the sofa, playing with it in one hand, her eyebrows lowered, unhurriedly pulling out a long, thin cigarette from the pack.

Her fingertips loosely held the cigarette, casually biting it. When she turned her head, she saw Jiang Fuli coming in from the courtyard.

The two looked at each other for a while.

Bailian: “…”

“Ptui.”

She spat out the cigarette.

**

Police station.

When Chen Ju came to investigate Zhang Shize’s case, the captain was very surprised to know he wanted to check on Zhang Shize. He quickly took him to the detention area, “He’s here.”

Chen Ju looked at Zhang Shize through the small window of the iron door.

Zhang Shize was lying motionless on the only bed.

Chen Ju frowned, “Open the door.”

The door was opened.

Chen Ju looked at Zhang Shize’s back, “Zhang Shize, Miss Bai asked me to come see you.”

The person didn’t move at all.

Not even the most basic reaction.

“Chief Chen, he’s been in this position for two days, hasn’t touched his food,” the captain quickly explained, “We didn’t do anything to him. This kid beat the victim into that state himself. You didn’t see the bloody scene, he was beating with the intention to kill, extremely cruel…”

If it were anyone else, they would basically be sure this was PTSD.

But he didn’t think Zhang Shize would have it.

After all, when they received this case, they thought this person was psychologically abnormal. How could a psychologically abnormal person who tortures victims have any aftereffects?

Chen Ju frowned as he looked at Zhang Shize, “I understand. Bring me the files to look at.”

His tone was heavy.

He walked out, took out his phone from his pocket, and sent this message to Bailian.

The person in charge of this case had already gone to retrieve Zhang Shize’s files.

Chen Ju returned to the office, opened the files that had been transferred to him, read from beginning to end, his brows tightly knitted, “Is this all?”

“Yes.” The captain replied cautiously.

In fact, the police officers responsible for the trial and investigation of the case were very puzzled.

Zhang Shize and Liu Xinming were completely parallel lines. Today they found Zhang Shize’s homeroom teacher and neighbors. According to the investigation, Zhang Shize was a sunny, helpful boy.

But Liu Xinming was also a kind philanthropic entrepreneur.

Why Zhang Shize beat him up like this was still a mystery, and he refused to cooperate with the investigation.

Outside, the phone rang, and a police officer answered it, his expression serious.

Two minutes later, he came in to report, “Chief Chen, our brothers at the hospital say that Liu Xinming’s rescue efforts were ineffective. He died at 21:42.”

After this incident, they had specially set up a team and placed some police force in the hospital.

“This is troublesome now.” Chen Ju put down the files, pressing his forehead, saying softly.

Xiangcheng Hospital.

Director Liu looked at Liu Xinming covered with a white cloth, the veins on his face trembling with anger. Under the pale light, he suddenly looked up, his gaze bloodshot, “Zhang, Shi, Ze!”

A chill seemed to sweep through the eerie hospital corridor, strange and spine-chilling.

**

Bailian waited at Zhang’s house until three o’clock when Wen Qi and several of Zhang Shize’s brothers rushed over.

She briefly told them what had happened before leaving.

When she returned to the courtyard, she received a message from Yan Lu.

It was a video.

Yan Lu: [They added drugs to the alcohol]

Yan Lu: [I’m not the only victim, he has many more videos, which should have been destroyed by Director Liu. If they can be found, mine can be made public]

Yan Lu: [He saw the letters Liu Xinming used to threaten me, everything is because of me]

Bailian lowered her head, staring hard at the video, her fingers holding the phone turning white.

The next day, Wednesday.

Zhang’s house.

At eleven in the morning, after Yan Lu finished shooting the video, she went to the police station with Zhang Ma, bringing some daily necessities for Zhang Shize. Today, the police officers’ attitude towards them was much better.

This surprised Sister Xin.

“Auntie,” Wen Qi had taken a half-day off today to accompany Zhang Ma, “My mom wants you to stay at our house for a couple of days. Don’t worry, they’re looking for a lawyer from North City…”

Finally.

He gave Yan Lu a complex look before taking Zhang Ma back to his home.

Zhang’s father was on a business trip. When he was away, no one in the Zhang family could contact him.

Wen Qi used to joke that Zhang Shize’s father was like a secret agent. Now, no matter what, they definitely couldn’t let Zhang Ma stay at home alone in this situation.

Wen Qi went home.

Yan Lu and Sister Xin went to find Bailian.

Zhang family living room.

As soon as Yan Lu and Sister Xin opened the door.

They smelled a faint scent of smoke.

Bailian was standing by the window, one hand holding three photos, the other loosely holding a slender cigarette. Her eyebrows were lowered, making it hard to see her expression. Hearing someone come in, she stuffed the photos back into her pocket.

The hand holding the cigarette casually pushed the window open.

To disperse the smoke.

The noon sunlight was intense, piercing through the thin smoke, falling on the girl’s face, mysterious and dangerous.

Yan Lu and Sister Xin were both stunned at the same time.

“Sit.” Bailian pointed to the direction of the sofa, telling the two to sit first.

Sister Xin hurriedly found a place to sit down. Yan Lu didn’t know what to say. She had thought Bailian would say something to her today, but she didn’t expect her to say nothing.

Even the way she looked at her was as usual.

Yan Lu gently sat down next to Sister Xin.

The living room fell silent.

Just as Sister Xin couldn’t help but want to say something.

The door was knocked three times, polite and respectful.

Sister Xin wondered who would come at this time, and be so polite as to knock on the door.

While thinking, she went to open the living room door, only to see a somewhat familiar figure.

As a manager, Sister Xin naturally remembered all the investors. She was stunned, finding it hard to believe that he would appear here. She opened her mouth: “Mr. Xu? How did you come here?”

On the sofa, Yan Lu, who had been lowering her head in thought, also looked up. Seeing Xu En, she was also very surprised.

Xu En glanced at Sister Xin.

He was busy with work and hadn’t brought an assistant.

So he didn’t recognize that this was Yan Lu’s manager. He just smiled briefly, nodded slightly to her in acknowledgment, then walked inside.

When he saw Bailian standing by the window, Xu En finally let out a sigh of relief, “Ah…”

“Xu En, I’ll just ask you one question,” Bailian put out the cigarette, turning her head slightly. She looked at Xu En, not even calling him “Mr. Xu” anymore, only asking: “When you looked for me yesterday, who were you trying to save? Liu Xinming?”