ATLAS TRANSLATES

The evening rush hour bus was crowded, with office workers silently looking down at their phones while students chatted in small groups.

The night breeze circulated through the bus, dispersing some of the stifling atmosphere.

Jiang Qi Huai’s finger scrolled down the screen. The earlier messages were mostly Li Shuang Jiang talking about random things. He scrolled to the end.

The conversation was still going.

Li Shuang Jiang and Fu Xi Ling were having a flowing dialogue, one chatty and the other responsive, the conversation moving smoothly.

Throughout it all, the third person in the group never appeared.

The last message was from Li Shuang Jiang; Fu Xi Ling hadn’t replied.

Li Shuang Jiang: [My big bro’s boyfriend is really handsome too, and looks kind of familiar. Doesn’t he look like some celebrity?]

Jiang Qi Huai’s gaze lingered on that message for a few seconds. The driver suddenly hit the brakes, and his body swayed as he held the handrail, his gaze shifting away.

The bus stop announcement played, and Jiang Qi Huai got off.

The house where he tutored was in an old villa district, with no direct bus access. It was about a ten-minute walk.

Jiang Qi Huai crossed the pedestrian crossing and walked forward, lowering his eyes to close the WeChat group and slowly scrolling through his contacts to find the parent’s WeChat.

Fighting, causing trouble, dating.

She really wasn’t letting any of it slip by.

As soon as Li Shuang Jiang finished typing and sent his message in the WeChat group, he belatedly paused.

He turned his head to look at Fu Xi Ling beside him.

Fu Xi Ling was also looking at him, her face showing a confused mix of realization and uncertainty.

They exchanged glances, both seeing the answer on each other’s faces.

He did look familiar.

Like the one who had his head rubbed while standing next to him.

Li Shuang Jiang made an “ah” sound, realizing he might have made a mistake.

His small exclamation finally caught Ji Fan’s attention. The young man turned his head, somewhat surprised: “These are your friends?”

Tao Zhi grabbed his wrist and threw off his wandering hand: “Mm.”

“You actually managed to make friends? With your terrible personality, you can make friends besides Timely Rain?” Ji Fan stretched his neck to look at the two people at the door. “If you’re being held hostage, blink twice.”

Fu Xi Ling blinked twice.

“Tao Zhi,” Ji Fan pointed at her and turned his head, accusing, “this is criminal.”

Tao Zhi kicked him in the butt, saying impatiently: “Are you done? Get them some slippers.”

Ji Fan rubbed his butt and made an “oh” sound, bouncing over to open the shoe cabinet and taking out two pairs of slippers to put on the ground: “Hello, I’m Zhi Zhi’s brother, born twenty minutes after her.”

Fu Xi Ling said seriously: “Then you should be her little brother.”

“…”

Ji Fan leaned against the shoe cabinet, looking at her unhappily: “You’re quite inconsiderate with your words, young lady.”

Fu Xi Ling suddenly felt at a loss.

“Don’t mind him, he just has a bad mouth,” Tao Zhi grabbed the young man’s hair and pushed his head down. “Go play by yourself, big sister needs to study with her classmates.”

Ji Fan walked forward with his head pressed down: “Study what? Planning to make a desperate attempt to save your twenty-point math score?”

Tao Zhi: “Someone who got nine points shouldn’t be talking. Have you figured out how to make up those eleven points?”

“A school bully needs to have some personal characteristics, don’t you understand?” Ji Fan argued righteously. “Can’t follow the crowd. If you want me to get twenty points and I actually get twenty, where’s my dignity as a school bully?”

Tao Zhi pulled his hair: “Why are you talking so much? Did you quit smoking like I told you to?”

“Stop pulling, stop pulling, I’m going bald! I quit, I quit!”

“What nonsense, you think I’m blind? Those cigarette butts in the ashtray on the coffee table — were they smoked by a dog?”

Li Shuang Jiang: “…”

Fu Xi Ling: “…”

The two stood silently at the door watching the chaos in the living room. Li Shuang Jiang leaned over and whispered: “My big bro’s family environment is indeed extraordinary. Both kids are like this?”

Fu Xi Ling shook her head: “I don’t know, I’m an only child.”

Tao Zhi bringing people other than Song Jiang home was indeed novel, and Auntie Zhang hurried excitedly to the kitchen to add a few more dishes.

The two in the living room finally settled down. Ji Fan lay back on the sofa to continue gaming while Tao Zhi took Li Shuang Jiang and Fu Xi Ling upstairs to the study.

Li Shuang Jiang was excited, bouncing around the room, pointing at a vase on the display shelf in the corner: “Is this the Qianlong era blue and white porcelain with ink carp made by Tang Ying?”

Tao Zhi: “Found it at a flea market for decoration.”

Li Shuang Jiang: “Gu Kaizhi’s painting! This must be worth eight figures!”

Tao Zhi: “Fake, eight hundred.”

Fu Xi Ling took out her English test paper from her backpack: “Forget eight figures, let’s look at your eighty-point English test.”

Fu Xi Ling was meticulous about everything she did. Because Experimental High’s students were all quite good, teachers taught quickly and only briefly covered simple grammar. Fu Xi Ling took out her notebook and drew diagrams for them point by point.

By the time Auntie Zhang came upstairs to call them down for dinner, Ji Fan was already seated at the dining table.

Li Shuang Jiang was naturally sociable, able to discuss studies with top students and talk about sports and games with poor students. He quickly hit it off with Ji Fan, analyzing League of Legends’ newest champions while eating chicken wings.

The meal was lively. After dinner, Li Shuang Jiang went to play games with Ji Fan while Tao Zhi was dragged upstairs by Fu Xi Ling to memorize an English composition. When she came back down, the two young men had clearly established a revolutionary friendship.

When it was completely dark outside, Li Shuang Jiang finally reluctantly packed up his things, preparing to leave.

Tao Zhi originally wanted to call Uncle Gu to drive them home, but they were both too embarrassed to trouble her further and wanted to walk. Worried they wouldn’t find their way, Tao Zhi went along.

This villa district was quite old, with all the houses being older, except for a fountain garden in the middle of the community that had been renovated last year.

There was a row of townhouses in front of the detached houses. Tao Zhi took them through a shortcut, while Li Shuang Jiang was still thinking about his new friend: “By the way, which school does Ji Fan go to? Why doesn’t he go to school with you?”

Tao Zhi put her hands in her jacket pockets: “He just transferred back recently, he should be coming to Experimental. He was at the affiliated school for about half a year before.”

“Transferred from the affiliated school, isn’t that the same school as Brother Huai?” Li Shuang Jiang said.

Tao Zhi’s steps faltered: “Oh yeah.”

Li Shuang Jiang continued: “Then he should know Brother Huai, right? Neither of them seems like the type to be unnoticed at school.”

Tao Zhi rolled her eyes: “This guy was always making waves, number one in fighting and causing trouble, always last in exams. They probably don’t know each other, they’re completely different types.”

After she finished speaking, Li Shuang Jiang and Fu Xi Ling both turned to look at her simultaneously.

Tao Zhi looked confused: “What?”

“Nothing,” Li Shuang Jiang said, “I just didn’t realize for a moment whether you were talking about yourself.”

Fu Xi Ling also nodded: “They really are siblings.”

Tao Zhi: “…”

Tao Zhi saw Li Shuang Jiang and Fu Xi Ling off at the bus stop, watching them get on the bus and wave to her from inside.

The sky had darkened, with flowing lights flickering on the street. The wind was a bit cold. Tao Zhi bounced a couple of times and pulled her jacket tighter before turning to walk back.

It wasn’t particularly late yet. Some people who had just finished dinner were walking their dogs, most shops and food stalls were still open, and the convenience store at the corner was lit up as bright as day.

Tao Zhi couldn’t help but take an extra look.

Ever since running into Jiang Qi Huai while out for late-night snacks that time, she didn’t know why, but her gaze would always linger for a few extra seconds when passing convenience stores like this.

This time, she actually happened to run into him by chance.

The young man was still in his school uniform with his backpack, apparently not having gone home yet. His back view was slim and straight, clearly visible through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows. He walked around the refrigerated shelves inside, took a boxed meal, and went to pay.

While waiting for the meal to heat up, he leaned against the checkout counter, looking down at his phone.

Someone came out of the convenience store, the door chiming open and closed. Tao Zhi stood at the street corner, watching him take the boxed meal from the cashier, nodding slightly. The young female cashier quickly waved her hand, secretly glancing at him with a reddened face.

Jiang Qi Huai lowered his head, took the boxed meal to the long table by the glass window, and opened the lid while looking at his phone.

He sat there alone, his shoulders slightly slumped, his whole person showing an almost imperceptible fatigue.

Looking like a lonely little dog.

He was eating alone too.

Tao Zhi blinked.

Were there any snacks left at home?

Probably not.

Yeah, none left.

She had grabbed Ji Fan’s jacket hanging by the door when she left, the size too big by a size, with cold wind gusting into the jacket, making her shiver.

Tao Zhi shrank her neck and walked into the convenience store.

The store was large. She went in from the other side, sneaking between the shelves like a thief, filling her basket with snacks, and finally going to the refrigerated section to get several bottles of lemon tea and yogurt.

After paying, she took out a bottle of probiotic drink from the bag, stuck in a straw and opened it right there, walked to the window table, put down her bag of snacks, and plopped down in the seat next to Jiang Qi Huai.

Sensing someone approach, Jiang Qi Huai finally looked up from his phone screen and glanced over.

Tao Zhi didn’t look at him, staring straight ahead through the window at a Golden Retriever on a pink leash stopping outside the convenience store to chase its own tail in circles, while she drank her milk through the straw.

Jiang Qi Huai raised an eyebrow while holding his chopsticks but didn’t speak.

Only after the Golden Retriever was pulled away by its owner did Tao Zhi speak: “Why are you here?”

Jiang Qi Huai put down his phone: “I should be asking you that.”

“You wouldn’t come study together but you’re here eating boxed meals alone in a convenience store,” the small probiotic drink bottle was quickly finished, and Tao Zhi pulled out the straw and stabbed open another bottle with a crack, “What a nice mood you’re in, Your Highness.”

The jacket the young girl was wearing was clearly not her size, too big by a size, with sleeves hanging down long, barely showing white fingertips from the cuffs. She struggled to push up the sleeves, finally revealing half her hands.

Jiang Qi Huai thought of the chat records in that “Pretty Girl Justice League” and glanced again at this red and gold men’s baseball jacket.

Like a gaudy peacock.

What a poor choice of boyfriend.

His lips turned down, and he said nothing, continuing to eat with his chopsticks.

Tao Zhi turned her head to look at him, resting her chin on her hand, speaking unclearly with the straw in her mouth: “Eating this late, were you stealing manhole covers?”

“I just finished class.”

“You take tutoring?” Tao Zhi was a bit surprised.

“Private tutoring.”

Tao Zhi took a moment to realize he meant he was giving tutoring, not receiving it.

She didn’t ask more, just frowned: “What’s wrong with these parents? They have you tutoring their kid until so late and don’t even invite you for dinner?”

Jiang Qi Huai glanced at her.

This groundhog might be noisy, but she unexpectedly had a good sense of boundaries.

Like when she ran into him working last time, and this time too — when she sensed there was a line ahead, she would stop.

“So,” Jiang Qi Huai put down his chopsticks and asked calmly, “why are you still here?”

“I don’t like eating alone,” Tao Zhi looked at him eagerly.

“So?”

“So I’m keeping you company,” Tao Zhi said.

Jiang Qi Huai’s fingers involuntarily curled.

He lowered his eyes, his expression flat: “No need, go back and keep your boyfriend company.”