ATLAS TRANSLATES

Tao Zhi tried hard to imagine Jiang Qi Huai helping someone clean and disinfect wounds with a medical cotton swab, but found it difficult to picture.

Such an absurd image was horrifying just to imagine.

Jiang Qi Huai was the type of person where if he voluntarily offered to help you, you’d have to be suspicious whether he’d mixed poison into the medicine.

Tao Zhi came back to her senses and looked at him suspiciously.

“…”

Jiang Qi Huai’s eyebrow twitched: “What’s with that look?”

Tao Zhi hesitated before skeptically accepting the medical cotton swab.

“Your Highness,” Tao Zhi looked down at the swab in her hand and called out to him solemnly, “Will I die if I use this medicine?”

Jiang Qi Huai ignored her occasional strange way of addressing him: “You’re thinking too much. Pests live for a thousand years.”

“What’s this dark-colored liquid?” Tao Zhi changed tactics to try to get information from him.

“Iodine.”

No information gained. Tao Zhi held it up high against the sunlight to examine it, then asked directly: “Did you mix in soy sauce?”

“…”

Jiang Qi Huai felt what little patience he had left was burning away.

He said expressionlessly: “Are you addicted to acting?”

Tao Zhi pouted: “You have no sense of humor.”

The cotton swab soaked in iodine felt cool and wet, and when it touched her wound, she belatedly felt a sharp sting.

She frowned and threw the blood-stained swab into the nearby trash can after the first cleaning.

Jiang Qi Huai turned around, took out several new swabs, skillfully opened the iodine bottle cap, soaked them, and turned back to hand them to her.

Tao Zhi looked up.

“What are you looking at?”

“I’m thinking I should have checked this morning,” Tao Zhi said seriously, “which side the sun rose from today.”

“…”

Patience exhausted.

Jiang Qi Huai turned and left.

He left the infirmary, closing the door behind him.

Tao Zhi raised an eyebrow.

Getting temperamental now.

Fu Xi Ling hadn’t suffered any external injuries, but her mental state was very poor. She stayed in the infirmary, and Teacher Wang notified her parents.

Tao Zhi stayed with her for a while, and when she returned to the classroom, the second period had just ended.

Seeing her return, Li Shuang Jiang quickly turned around: “Brother Zhi, how’s Fu Xi Ling?”

“She’s fine, waiting for her parents to pick her up,” Tao Zhi was confused by how he addressed her, “Brother Zhi?”

“From today on, you’re my big brother,” Li Shuang Jiang put his hands together and bowed to her respectfully twice, “Who would have thought that despite your poor studying and terrible grades, you’d have such a righteous heart. Today, witnessing my big brother’s heroic bearing up close, I, Li, am thoroughly impressed.”

“…”

Tao Zhi couldn’t tell if this statement was praising or insulting her.

Li Shuang Jiang continued: “Rest assured, in the future, whatever you need, just say the word. Whether it’s climbing mountains of knives or diving into seas of fire, as soon as you give the order, your humble servant will handle it perfectly, without fail.”

Li Shuang Jiang’s deskmate rolled his eyes beside them.

Tao Zhi actually accepted his chuunibyou speech quite smoothly. She leaned back against her desk and nodded: “There is actually something I need you to do.”

Li Shuang Jiang: “Speak, Big Brother.”

Tao Zhi pushed her math test paper forward on her desk and said casually: “First explain these problems to your big brother.”

Li Shuang Jiang: “…”

Although Li Shuang Jiang usually didn’t seem very reliable, his math grades were quite good. Compared to math, his English and Chinese were among the worst in class — he was severely unbalanced in his subjects.

His way of explaining problems was different from Jiang Qi Huai’s “stream of consciousness process written for yourself” style. His was more passionate and energetic.

Tao Zhi used to study in middle school, so her foundation wasn’t particularly bad. She wasn’t at the point where she couldn’t understand. It took her two class periods to finally grasp the five math problems, temporarily letting her new subordinate off the hook.

Meanwhile, during these two class periods, the others who had been at the basketball court spread the news throughout the school that the problem student from second year had fought with a third-year student.

Saying they “fought” wasn’t exactly accurate — it was completely one-sided slaughter.

At this age, many kids often act on impulse, and fights do happen occasionally. But even the most troublesome students know to call people out after school or meet off campus to fight. Tao Zhi didn’t follow these rules — she deliberately dragged the person to the most conspicuous place during class time and beat them up in public.

When she caused trouble, she made sure everyone knew about it.

In the Academic Affairs Office, the second and third year grade directors exchanged a glance, then both sighed.

They’d never seen someone so lawless.

Teacher Wang spoke with Fu Xi Ling and her parents all afternoon, and after getting their consent, explained the circumstances to the school: “This Tao Zhi from our class isn’t actually a bad person. She usually gets along well with her classmates. This time her intentions were good, she just used the wrong method.”

“The reason doesn’t matter, her behavior has already caused negative impacts,” the grade director said, “Have her parents been contacted?”

Teacher Wang rubbed his aching temples: “We called, but her father is out of town and can’t come back.”

The grade director snorted coldly: “It’s because of such irresponsible parents that children grow up wild with no one to manage them.”

Teacher Wang frowned slightly: “Her parent isn’t unreasonable.”

Another teacher nearby suddenly asked: “Isn’t Tao Zhi’s parent the one who donated to the school’s new library? Tao Xiu Ping, right?”

The grade director smiled meaningfully: “No wonder she’s so lawless.”

That teacher also smiled: “He was in my year. He also graduated from Experimental School. There should still be his photo in the school’s honor room — he was the science stream valedictorian of our year.”

The grade director choked slightly and didn’t speak.

“I’ll personally call her parent later to see how to handle this. It’s best if we can avoid making it a big issue. The third years have their college entrance exam next year, and the second years are also at a crucial stage now. We can’t let this affect the students’ academic performance,” Vice Principal Wang sat at his desk, suddenly turning to Teacher Wang, “Isn’t there another new student coming to your class? Also transferring from Affiliated School, right? How is that child?”

Teacher Wang’s expression stiffened slightly, his headache returning: “Vice Principal, you can ask directly when you make the call.”

Vice Principal Wang: “?”

Teacher Wang: “That child’s parent is also Tao Xiu Ping — it’s Tao Zhi’s brother, they’re twins.”

Vice Principal Wang: “…”

Tao Zhi didn’t know how Teacher Wang had managed it, but this time she wasn’t given any demerit points or suspended from class. She only had to write a self-criticism report.

Last time when she and Song Jiang got into a fight, they were each suspended for a week. Without this punishment this time, Tao Zhi actually felt disappointed.

One less week of fun.

Still had to go to school every day.

Tao Zhi anxiously waited for several days but didn’t receive a call from Tao Xiu Ping. Finally, unable to bear it anymore, she nervously sent him a WeChat message.

It wasn’t until dinner time that Tao Xiu Ping finally called her.

At the time, Tao Zhi was watching a movie on her laptop. When her phone rang, she lazily glanced at it, saw the name on the screen, and immediately froze.

She sat cross-legged on the small sofa, paused the movie, and answered.

“Dad.” Tao Zhi called out obediently, then said flatteringly, “How are you recently? Is work going well? How’s your health?”

Tao Xiu Ping: “I heard you beat up a third-year student again?”

“…”

“Three against one?”

“…”

“And pushed their head into a toilet?”

“…”

Tao Zhi felt she needed to explain herself: “I didn’t push her, she lost her balance and fell in herself.”

“…You even have an explanation,” Tao Xiu Ping sighed quietly, “Back in the day, I was also the boss at Experimental School. No one within ten classes dared to mess with me. I never thought my daughter would truly inherit my mantle.”

Tao Zhi immediately perked up: “Did you also push people’s heads into toilets?”

“No,” Tao Xiu Ping said proudly, “Because I was good at studying.”

“…”

Tao Zhi secretly rolled her eyes at the ceiling while obediently responding with an “Oh.”

“Next time you encounter something like this, think before you act. How does this kind of method that hurts both sides benefit you? You might feel satisfied at the moment, but what about afterward? Who ends up being punished? You yourself, right? In the future, no matter where you are, there will be plenty of similar situations. Now you can act this way because you’re young and still in school, but what about later? Are you going to beat up everyone?”

Tao Zhi picked at the plush material of the sofa cushion, not saying anything.

Seeing her silence, Tao Xiu Ping said patiently: “Think about it now – is there a way to avoid being taken advantage of while still ensuring the bully gets punished, other than beating them up?”

Tao Zhi felt rebellious from his words and didn’t want to think it through properly. She stubbornly said: “Yes, I could put a bag over her head before beating her up.”

Tao Xiu Ping: “…”

Tao Zhi hung up the phone and lay back on the sofa, staring at the white ceiling without moving.

She spaced out for a while, then went downstairs to eat.

Dinner was already prepared and set on the table. Aunt Zhang was probably busy with something else and wasn’t around. The first floor was quiet with only her there.

Tao Zhi walked through the living room to the dining table and pulled out a chair to sit down.

The rice was already served. She picked up her chopsticks and poked at it, then looked up.

The vast living room was brightly lit, the crystal chandelier reflected in the dark grey marble floor, cold and brilliant.

She put down her chopsticks. The bamboo chopsticks made a very faint sound as they touched the marble table surface, but Tao Zhi felt the sound was piercingly loud, echoing quietly in the empty space before dissipating.

Like a huge stone making a “plop” sound as it fell into the boundless deep sea, creating a deafening noise before being swallowed up, sinking deeper and deeper until completely disappearing.

Tao Zhi lowered her head, her gaze falling on her arm. After several days, the scratches had formed thin scabs and no longer hurt, but she still felt like her arm suddenly hurt again.

Tao Zhi pulled down her long sleeves to cover them, then raised her hand to rub her eyes.

She suddenly felt somewhat wronged.

She felt she hadn’t done anything wrong, and if it happened again, she would probably do the same thing. Tao Xiu Ping hadn’t said she was wrong either, nor had he blamed her.

He was simply calmly stating facts – that her impulsive way of solving problems wasn’t the best choice.

But she suddenly felt sentimentally sad, and this sadness reached its peak when she came downstairs to eat dinner alone at the dining table.

Her father, whom she barely saw a few times a year since childhood, after learning that she had gotten into a fight, didn’t ask if she was hurt, didn’t ask if she had been scolded by teachers, didn’t ask if she felt wronged.

He just very calmly told her that she should have had more rational ways to handle it.

Tao Zhi had never doubted Tao Xiu Ping’s love for her. He loved her like any parent who loves their child. Even after she lost her mother and no longer had her brother, she still had a father who loved her very much.

Even though he was very busy with work and had no time to accompany her, couldn’t pick her up and drop her off at school like other students’ parents, couldn’t cook delicious meals for her, couldn’t accompany her while studying and doing homework, couldn’t listen to her talk about interesting things that happened at school.

But she could make herself get used to all of this.

She could learn to get used to growing up alone.

It was just that in these few years since her mother left with Ji Fan, occasionally, in very, very rare moments, when she returned home to face an empty house, when she ate alone.

She felt that on this path of growing up, she walked rather lonely.