ATLAS TRANSLATES

The orange basketball bounced twice on the ground before rolling to the edge of the court. No one spoke, and no one knew what had happened. Only those few in the middle who were close enough heard clearly. Li Shuang Jiang vaguely guessed what was going on from their conversation.

Similar things had happened with Tao Zhi before.

During their first year, Li Shuang Jiang once heard while getting test papers from the teachers’ office that this year had produced two incredible troublemakers who had beaten up several male students from another class and sent them to the hospital because they had seen those boys dunking a classmate’s head in a water bucket.

Later, they were suspended for a while and had to write self-criticisms. Regardless of the motivation, fights were still fights.

In the middle of the court, the girl was trembling and crying, with bright red finger marks on her pretty face, pressed so hard they almost left blood marks.

Tao Zhi crouched in front of her, resting her arm on her knee: “Thirty seconds.”

The girl’s whole body violently shuddered as she looked up at the people around her through tears: “Help… help me—”

She was crying miserably. A boy nearby showed a trace of sympathy in his expression and couldn’t help lifting his foot slightly.

Another loud “smack—” rang out as Tao Zhi raised her hand, cutting off both the girl’s unfinished words and the boy’s step with a slap.

The girl was thrown to the side again as if broken.

Tao Zhi looked at her expressionlessly, her voice perfectly calm though her hand hadn’t lessened in force: “Did I tell you to undress, did I tell you to speak?”

Jiang Qi Huai sat under the basketball hoop holding a bottle of water, watching the scene with apparent interest.

The most unbearable thing wasn’t the pain, but the humiliation.

This kind of public humiliation in front of nearly a hundred people, the mental anguish was even more devastating.

She understood this point very well.

After more than a week of school, Tao Zhi, this apparently notorious delinquent at Experimental High, had always seemed quite easy to get along with. She could chat with everyone, was lazy and scattered, liked to sleep, would flare up when teased, but would quickly calm down if gently soothed, like an irritable but easily placated big cat.

She was a person with a bright personality.

No one expected her to be so fierce when she bit.

Someone finally came to their senses and ran along the edge of the gymnasium to find the PE teacher. Jiang Qi Huai glanced over, sighed, and still stood up, putting down his water bottle.

He walked to Tao Zhi’s side and crouched down too: “I don’t want to meddle,” his voice was low and flat, seemingly unaffected by the almost frozen atmosphere, “but the teacher is coming.”

Tao Zhi was instantly awakened. Her fingers curled as she made an “ah” sound, finally showing a somewhat troubled expression.

She looked at the girl crying on the ground from her slap, then turned to look at Jiang Qi Huai, frowning as if just coming to her senses, belatedly saying: “What do I do, I hit someone.”

You’re only realizing that now?!

I thought you were going to beat her to death here!!

Li Shuang Jiang stood nearby, silently screaming in his heart.

Tao Zhi grabbed the girl’s collar and pulled her up again, rubbed her swollen face, then smoothed her messy long hair, and finally adjusted her disheveled uniform collar.

After fussing with her like a doll for a while, she asked Jiang Qi Huai: “Can you tell she was just beaten up?”

Li Shuang Jiang: “…”

Jiang Qi Huai: “…”

Jiang Qi Huai looked at her and asked with genuine curiosity: “Have you ever had your IQ tested? At a proper hospital, I mean.”

Tao Zhi had no energy to engage in verbal sparring with him now. After the anger subsided and rationality returned, she found herself in a whole new predicament.

She was going to be scolded by Tao Xiu Ping again.

Would Tao Xiu Ping think that if he couldn’t handle one child, two would be even more aggravating, and then not let Ji Fan come back?

Tao Zhi let out a long sigh, suddenly calling his name seriously: “It’s over, Jiang Qi Huai.”

It was the first time she had called his full name so solemnly. Jiang Qi Huai: “?”

“I’ve lost my little brother,” Tao Zhi said, “Everything is fucking ruined.”

Jiang Qi Huai: “…?”

Jiang Qi Huai didn’t know why Tao Zhi’s brother had suddenly “disappeared,” he only knew that she herself was probably about to disappear.

When the PE teacher and Teacher Wang arrived, Tao Zhi had just brought Fu Xi Ling out from the girls’ bathroom. There were many people in the basketball gym, so she hadn’t gone through there, specifically taking the back door by the tennis courts instead.

Li Shuang Jiang had gone with her but didn’t go in, just waiting by the back door. When he saw Fu Xi Ling wearing a jacket and being half-carried out by Tao Zhi, Li Shuang Jiang instantly understood what had happened.

“Holy shit,” he couldn’t help cursing.

Teacher Wang also frowned, giving him a slap on the head: “Watch your language! Take her to the infirmary first.”

Li Shuang Jiang responded and carefully, somewhat awkwardly, helped Fu Xi Ling toward the infirmary. Teacher Wang turned back to look at Tao Zhi who was standing nearby.

The young girl stood there with her head lowered, looking quite obedient.

Teacher Wang laughed in anger: “Come with me to the office.”

It was during class time, so the office was empty. Teacher Wang went in, and Tao Zhi followed behind him, quietly closing the door and walking over.

Teacher Wang didn’t speak.

Tao Zhi stood with her hands behind her back waiting to be scolded, not making a sound.

Teacher Wang patted the desk: “What happened? Tell me.”

Tao Zhi hesitated, not knowing how to begin, and after a long while finally managed: “I hit someone.”

Teacher Wang was quite calm: “Why did you hit them?”

“I didn’t like her,” Tao Zhi pouted, “I wanted to hit her so I did.”

“It’s because of what happened last time, right?” Teacher Wang said.

Tao Zhi looked up.

Last time when Song Jiang and the scene kid fought, Fu Xi Ling was called to the office and cried a lot. Later, whether because she felt humiliated or because she was beaten badly by Song Jiang, the scene kid didn’t come to class after that day.

Song Jiang had been causing trouble since the first day of school, and his family had money, so no one dared to mess with him. Fu Xi Ling was different.

Usually a well-behaved good student, barely speaking when not familiar with others, always alone, quiet with few friends — a perfect target for bullying.

Plus what was said in the girls’ bathroom, probably about being some scene kid’s ex-girlfriend or something.

“Do you think you’re quite wronged?” Teacher Wang looked at her and said, “Haven’t I told you before to come to teachers if there’s any problem?”

“You have,” Tao Zhi answered honestly.

“Then why didn’t you know to come to me?” Teacher Wang remarkably hadn’t gotten angry, continuing, “When a student in my class is being bullied, did you think I would just let it go, that I couldn’t help stand up for her?”

Tao Zhi licked her lips: “I got a bit heated at the time, couldn’t hold back.”

Teacher Wang nodded: “You got heated, and with one moment of not holding back, what could have been justified is now completely unjustifiable. You deliberately took her to the basketball court to beat her up, right? Afraid others wouldn’t know it was you, right? You’re quite proud, are you satisfied now?”

Tao Zhi thought for a moment: “…It was okay.”

Teacher Wang slammed the desk, unable to contain his anger anymore: “Okay my ass!”

Tao Zhi shrank her neck.

Teacher Wang was so angry he saw black, his head throbbing: “Fine, you go back first, let me think about how to handle this.”

Tao Zhi looked up at him, gazing pitifully: “Teacher, I want to go check on Fu Xi Ling.”

Teacher Wang rubbed his head and waved at her: “Go ahead.”

Tao Zhi walked out.

She left the office and closed the door behind her, her mind still on Ji Fan’s matter.

She didn’t know if Tao Xiu Ping would be angry about this.

She was used to being punished by now and didn’t care what would happen, but thinking about this made her a bit unhappy.

Although Ji Fan was annoying and had a bad mouth, and they had fought since childhood, she was actually a tiny bit happy about him coming home, even if she wouldn’t say it out loud.

Tao Zhi stood for a while before finally looking up.

Across the hallway, Jiang Qi Huai was leaning against the wall watching her.

The young girl stood at the office door, corners of her mouth drooping listlessly, lost in thought, without her usual liveliness.

If she had pointed ears and a tail, they would probably be drooping too, Jiang Qi Huai suddenly thought randomly.

Tao Zhi blinked at him: “What are you doing here?”

“Eavesdropping,” Jiang Qi Huai said.

“…”

Tao Zhi remembered when he had caught her eavesdropping before and couldn’t help rolling her eyes.

This person was so petty.

She didn’t respond further, turning to walk toward the infirmary.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to check on Fu Xi Ling,” Tao Zhi said gloomily.

Jiang Qi Huai didn’t speak, but straightened up and walked forward with her.

The sound of classes in session faintly drifted out from the classrooms they passed. The two walked downstairs side by side in silence, neither speaking.

The infirmary was in a separate small building between the second-year teaching building and the outdoor basketball court. When they walked over, they saw Li Shuang Jiang crouching on the steps by the door.

Tao Zhi walked over: “Where’s Fu Xi Ling?”

“Inside, I couldn’t go in since she’s a girl,” Li Shuang Jiang pointed behind him, “Plus I’m still a bit angry, so I’m cooling off out here.”

The infirmary had several rooms, usually with only one school nurse on duty. When Tao Zhi pushed open the door, there was no one inside.

The door to the adjacent examination room was closed; Fu Xi Ling and the school nurse were probably in there.

Tao Zhi pulled the curtain open in one motion, sat on the bed, and waited with her head down.

This bed was the outermost one, next to the door which wasn’t closed. Jiang Qi Huai followed her in.

It was his first time in Experimental High’s infirmary. He glanced around and saw the medical cart beside the bed.

He walked over, lowered his head with his back to her, fiddling with something. The faint but clear sound of glass bottles clinking together rang out like delicate wind chimes.

“What are you doing?” Tao Zhi asked curiously.

Jiang Qi Huai didn’t answer, but turned around holding several medical cotton swabs soaked in iodine, holding them out to her.

Tao Zhi tilted her head up, looking at him in confusion: “What for?”

“Your hand,” Jiang Qi Huai said concisely.

Tao Zhi instinctively held out her hand, only then seeing the six or seven scratch marks on her arm.

The deep red scratches stood out starkly against her fair skin, looking quite shocking. Some were very deep and had probably bled at the time, now covered with a thin layer of dried blood.

Tao Zhi was stunned.

They were scratches from that girl earlier.

She had been so angry she’d lost all reason at the time and hadn’t noticed the pain, and then running around afterward she’d forgotten about it.

Everyone’s attention had been on other things, so no one had noticed these small wounds, not even herself.

Tao Zhi stood there dumbfounded, not taking the swabs.

She had been spacing out for quite a while, and Jiang Qi Huai just stood there in front of her holding the cotton swabs, waiting.

After a long time.

“What,” Jiang Qi Huai looked down at her hand with lowered eyes, his tone carrying a hint of impatience, “do I need to help you apply it too?”

Author’s Note: Princess: Wife’s arm is injured, very annoying, in a bad mood, needs comforting.