ATLAS TRANSLATES

Tao Zhi was a bit slow to react.

That afternoon when she was talking about this with Jiang Zheng Xun, Jiang Qi Huai hadn’t said a word the entire time. He didn’t even seem to be paying attention to their conversation, so she thought he hadn’t been listening at all.

Tao Zhi secretly glanced around, but no one was paying attention to their corner.

However, among all the dishes on the table in the private room, only her place had this plate placed so neatly in front of her, as if it was specially meant for her. It felt a bit strange.

She slowly reached out her hand and pushed the plate of cola chicken wings that was nearly touching her bowl slightly forward, saying awkwardly, “Don’t make it so obvious, it makes me look like I’m greedy.”

Jiang Qi Huai raised an eyebrow: “Weren’t you the one who couldn’t compete with others for food?”

“That was when I was four or five years old!” Tao Zhi protested quietly. “I’m grown up now, who would still fight over a few chicken wings?”

Jiang Qi Huai looked at her, thinking that even after ten years, she was still perfectly capable of doing exactly that.

He nodded: “So, are you going to eat them or not?”

The chicken wings were served in a shallow white porcelain plate, the caramel-colored sauce looked appetizing, and the fragrance mixed with sweetness wafted up with the steam, making one’s mouth water.

Since it was already ordered, it would be a waste not to eat it.

Tao Zhi slowly picked up her chopsticks and reached over, picking up the chicken wing from the edge of the plate and placing it in her bowl. Then, with her head lowered, she took a small bite.

The sweet sauce mixed with the tender chicken melted in her mouth, the juices spreading throughout.

Tao Zhi’s long black eyes narrowed happily, and her shoulders couldn’t help but sway slightly, like a cat thoroughly satisfied with its treat.

Jiang Qi Huai watched her and let out a soft laugh.

He had never seen Tao Zhi eat before, and this was the first time he knew she would react this way when eating something she liked.

He leaned back in his chair and watched her: “You like chicken wings?”

“I like all meat,” Tao Zhi said honestly as she spat out the bone with her cheeks still full. “I also like braised pork, sweet and crispy spare ribs, and tomato meatball soup. But our housekeeper has her own ideas about cooking. She insists on balanced meals with both meat and vegetables, and keeps rotating the menu.”

Tao Zhi picked up another chicken wing and put one end in her mouth, mumbling with a grieved expression: “My dad also makes us eat vegetarian food once a week at home, even though he never comes home for meals himself. I’m the one who suffers.”

Jiang Qi Huai didn’t seem to sympathize with her plight of having to eat vegetarian food for a day, coldly saying: “Swallow your food before talking.”

Tao Zhi pouted and focused on battling with her chicken wings, while also picking one up for Fu Xi Ling beside her.

Tao Zhi really did love chicken wings.

A whole plate of cola chicken wings, at least eight or nine pieces, she ate them all by herself, leaving behind a neat row of bones in the dish.

Until there was only one left on the plate.

Just as Tao Zhi was about to pick it up, she hesitated, then reached over to get a new pair of chopsticks, tore open the paper wrapping, and picked up that last chicken wing.

Like a thief, she took advantage of Jiang Qi Huai talking to someone beside him to quietly and stealthily place it in his bowl.

Jiang Qi Huai caught her movement from the corner of his eye and turned back.

Tao Zhi hadn’t had time to withdraw her chopsticks and was caught red-handed. She quickly pulled back her hand, put down the chopsticks, and said casually: “That’s the last one.”

Jiang Qi Huai lifted his chin slightly: “If you haven’t had enough, there’s another plate.”

Tao Zhi was somewhat exasperated: “…Am I a pig? I’ve already eaten a whole plate, and besides, the chicken wings on the other plate are different.”

Tao Zhi pointed at the cola chicken wing in his bowl and said seriously: “This one is mine, I’m giving you my favorite. This is a sacred and unique chicken wing, it’s extremely meaningful.”

Jiang Qi Huai lowered his eyes and assessed this supposedly sacred and meaningful chicken wing, which appeared to be the smallest one from her plate.

Halfway through the meal, the boys had drunk quite a bit, and those with low alcohol tolerance were already getting tipsy. Jiang Zheng Xun, usually refined and soft-spoken, now had one foot on the windowsill and was shouting at the top of his lungs: “Comrades! I’m so happy today! It’s our Old Li’s birthday!”

Zhao Ming Qi stood beside him, drinking beer straight from the bottle, and slammed the table in agreement: “It’s a birthday!”

Jiang Zheng Xun spread his arms wide: “Sixteen years old! Can finally go to internet cafes legally!”

Zhao Ming Qi: “Internet cafe! Internet cafe!”

Fu Xi Ling, holding her cup of coconut milk, corrected them: “Sixteen isn’t old enough either, you have to be eighteen to go to internet cafes.”

Li Shuang Jiang stared in disbelief: “These two guys are already like this after just two beers? Jiang Zheng Xun, are you okay?”

Jiang Zheng Xun turned around: “Call me Big Brother! I’m older than you!”

Li Shuang Jiang: “…”

Fu Xi Ling picked up some cold dishes with her chopsticks: “Jiang Zheng Xun is quite intimidating when he’s drunk.”

Tao Zhi nodded beside her, agreeing: “Finally living up to his name.”

“Ji Fan’s alcohol tolerance seems quite good though,” Fu Xi Ling said.

Tao Zhi turned to look at Ji Fan beside them.

They had separated after middle school when Ji Fan followed Ji Jin to another city, only returning for high school at Affiliated High.

Tao Zhi really didn’t know about his alcohol tolerance or what he was like when drunk.

The young man unusually wasn’t joining the other boys in their excitement, instead sitting properly in his seat, head tilted back against the chair, facing the ceiling with an unwavering stare.

The boy next to him reached over and patted him: “Brother Fan, you okay? What are you looking at?”

After a while, Ji Fan slowly said: “I’m thinking.”

The boy: “About what?”

“Are there really angels in heaven?” Ji Fan asked dreamily.

The boy: “…”

Ji Fan continued staring at the white ceiling: “If there really are angels, do they have big breasts?”

Fu Xi Ling: “…”

Tao Zhi: “…”

By the end of the meal, Zhao Qi Ming was passed out, Jiang Zheng Xun was cosplaying as a Super Saiyan, and Ji Fan’s condition had worsened as he discussed with the boy next to him which angel had bigger breasts.

The girls went to the bathroom together, while Li Shuang Jiang, who could hold his liquor well, got up to pay the bill as if nothing had happened. When he finally checked his phone for the first time that evening, he found a transfer message on WeChat.

He had added Jiang Qi Huai as a friend before and exchanged a few messages. At the bottom of their brief chat history was a transfer notification. He was stunned for a moment, paid the bill first, then returned to the private room and leaned against Jiang Qi Huai’s chair: “Brother Huai, why did you send me money?”

Jiang Qi Huai pointed to the empty plate of cola chicken wings in front of Tao Zhi’s seat: “For the extra plate of chicken wings.”

“If it wasn’t enough food, we could just order more, it’s no big deal,” Li Shuang Jiang said. “It’s my birthday treat, how could I let you pay for a plate of chicken wings?”

Jiang Qi Huai smiled and patted him lightly: “The birthday boy has spent enough, but this plate of chicken wings was mine. Just take it.”

It was the first time Li Shuang Jiang had seen him smile, and he felt somewhat honored. He scratched his head, said “Oh,” and obediently accepted the money.

Although Jiang Qi Huai had smiled when he said it, for some reason, Li Shuang Jiang felt that not accepting the chicken wing money might lead to some serious consequences.

The conscious ones helped carry the unconscious ones out of the restaurant. Li Shuang Jiang had Zhao Ming Qi on his left arm and Ji Fan on his right. Tao Zhi had already messaged Uncle Gu, and the car was waiting outside the restaurant.

Li Shuang Jiang stuffed Ji Fan into the passenger seat, but Ji Fan didn’t want to let go, clutching his arm until Tao Zhi slapped his hand away.

Ji Fan’s head got hit, but he was still dizzy and quietly asked her: “Zhi Zhi, when looking at angels, do you look at their chest or their legs?”

Tao Zhi struggled to stuff his dangling legs back inside: “I’m looking at the Bible, stop being crazy and sit back properly.”

After being scolded, Ji Fan sat back obediently, looking hurt.

Tao Zhi slammed the passenger door shut and turned around. Jiang Zheng Xun was now cosplaying as Sailor Moon and was about to take off his pants to make them into a skirt right on the street, but was frantically stopped by the boys next to him.

Li Shuang Jiang was still being clutched by Zhao Ming Qi like an octopus, and the nearly 1.90-meter-tall PE committee member was now sobbing loudly: “Old Li! My life is so hard! Why can’t I just get my math right?”

Jiang Qi Huai stood to the side using his phone, the dim light casting soft yet defined shadows on his features.

Nearby, Li Shuang Jiang heartlessly pushed Zhao Ming Qi aside, but the octopus, having lost its target, spotted Jiang Qi Huai.

“Brother Huai!” Zhao Ming Qi reached out towards him, “My life is so damn hard, Brother Huai!”

Jiang Qi Huai looked up from his phone just in time to see a huge figure charging towards him, and he instinctively dodged to the side.

Zhao Ming Qi missed his target and, unsteady on his feet, fell straight forward, face-planting on the ground.

“…”

Tao Zhi’s head was starting to hurt watching these drunk idiots causing chaos. She said goodbye to Li Shuang Jiang and took Fu Xi Ling to the car, dropping people off before heading home.

By the time they got home, Ji Fan was asleep in the passenger seat. Uncle Gu carried him out, and Auntie Zhang opened the door.

As soon as she saw Ji Fan, Auntie Zhang exclaimed: “Oh my goodness! What kind of class gathering is this to get so drunk? Quick, come inside.”

Uncle Gu carried Ji Fan upstairs while Auntie Zhang went to the kitchen to make two cups of honey water, bringing them back and handing one to Tao Zhi: “Zhi Zhi, are you alright?”

Tao Zhi actually couldn’t handle much alcohol either, and was already feeling dizzy after one bottle of beer, but she had bragged earlier about being able to outdrink everyone at the table and had forced herself to make it home.

She slumped on the sofa and weakly accepted the water, taking a sip: “I’m fine, please go check on Ji Fan upstairs, don’t let him throw up.”

Auntie Zhang responded and hurried upstairs.

The living room grew quiet. Tao Zhi put the water glass on the coffee table and lay down on the sofa.

The crystal lamp made her dizzier, so she grabbed a cushion and pressed it over her head, turning to lie on her side to block out the light. She pulled her phone out of her jacket and opened Li Shuang Jiang’s WeChat to transfer him some money.

After about ten minutes, Li Shuang Jiang finally replied.

Li Shuang Jiang: [?]

Li Shuang Jiang: [What’s going on between you and Brother Huai?]

Tao Zhi was almost asleep but was awakened by the WeChat notification sound, squinting at her phone to look.

Zhi Zhi Grape: [?]

Li Shuang Jiang: [Is this also for the chicken wings?]

Zhi Zhi Grape: [Yeah, didn’t we order an extra portion today?]

Li Shuang Jiang: [Don’t bother, Brother Huai already paid me when settling the bill earlier and I accepted it. What are you two doing? Can’t the birthday boy treat you to a plate of chicken wings?]

Tao Zhi was stunned.

She exited the chat and clicked into the Pretty Girl Justice League group.

There were four members in the group, with Jiang Qi Huai being the last one. His profile picture was a jumble of puzzle pieces that Tao Zhi couldn’t make sense of even after staring at it for a while.

Maybe all top students liked using these weird things as profile pictures.

She hadn’t added Jiang Qi Huai as a friend, and he had never spoken in the class group or any other groups. Tao Zhi hesitated for a moment before clicking on his profile picture to add him as a friend and give him a nickname.

She waited for just a few minutes before her phone dinged — Jiang Qi Huai had accepted.

Tao Zhi clicked in and sent him a transfer.

[Zhi Zhi Grape]: For the chicken wings.

Pretty Girl Boss Jiang Qi Huai: Not necessary.

He didn’t accept it, and Tao Zhi didn’t say anything more, but after thinking for a moment she asked: [Are you home yet?]

Pretty Girl Boss Jiang Qi Huai: Not yet, almost there.

Tao Zhi sent an [OK] emoji.

Jiang Qi Huai didn’t reply further.

Tao Zhi exited the chat window, drank most of the honey water and rested for a while. She was feeling more clear-headed now and wasn’t sleepy, so she started browsing random WeChat public accounts.

When Jiang Qi Huai got home, the house was completely quiet.

It wasn’t quite ten o’clock at night, and all the lights in the living room were off except for a dim lamp left on at the entrance. Jiang Qi Huai turned around and quietly closed the security door with a soft click.

The master bedroom door on the left was slightly ajar, with a faint light showing through. Jiang Qi Huai walked over quietly and pushed the door open a bit to look inside.

Grandpa Jiang was sitting by the bed, still awake, wearing reading glasses and looking at a book in his hands. Hearing the sound, he looked up: “Huai is back?”

Jiang Qi Huai made a sound of agreement: “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“I was waiting for you, Grandpa had to leave the light on, otherwise how could our Huai come home to a dark house?”

Grandpa Jiang put down his book and peered at him: “Was the gathering fun?”

Jiang Qi Huai made a sound of agreement.

Grandpa Jiang placed the book on the table and looked at him cheerfully: “Has Huai made new friends?”

Jiang Qi Huai lowered his eyes, his eyelashes casting shadows, and smiled very faintly.

“It’s good to make friends, our Huai is so likeable, your classmates will all want to be friends with you. Go wash up and get some sleep now,” Grandpa Jiang waved his hand, “Rest early, you need to be energetic for class tomorrow.”

Jiang Qi Huai gently closed the door and returned to his bedroom.

He took off his backpack and placed it on the desk, removed his school uniform jacket, and tossed his phone onto the bed.

The phone lit up for a moment, the screen full of WeChat messages.

He hadn’t checked his phone earlier, having it on silent mode.

Jiang Qi Huai took off his school uniform and casually draped it over the chair back, walked to the bed and bent down to pick up his phone. He unlocked it to take a look – all the messages were from the same person sending him useless public account article links.

[Zhi Zhi Grape]: [Pay attention to these signals: If someone around you matches all four points, they might be an antisocial personality with hermit tendencies.]

[Zhi Zhi Grape]: [The five most taboo things during student life, and the number one spot is actually—]

[Zhi Zhi Grape]: [Top student’s marriage standards — Claims he’ll only marry a beautiful girl from Tsinghua or Peking University, ends up single for fifty years with no one willing to marry him.]

[Zhi Zhi Grape]: [Shocking news! A high school student who scored over 700 points ended up working as a construction worker after becoming an adult.]

[Zhi Zhi Grape]: [Shocking! A university student along the Yangtze River rejected a girl’s confession because “your grades are too poor,” then suddenly died of illness three days later and was found dead on the street!]

Jiang Qi Huai: “…”

Jiang Qi Huai: “?”