ATLAS TRANSLATES

When Tao Zhi saw Teacher Wang approaching, her first instinct was to pull down her notebook.

The young girl’s entire face was completely hidden, with only her eyes visible above. After being caught, she showed a panicked expression, then her whole person darted down, instantly disappearing from the window.

Teacher Wang found it amusing and turned back to ask Jiang Qi Huai: “Where’s your phone?”

Jiang Qi Huai took out his phone from his backpack’s side pocket and handed it over.

Teacher Wang fiddled with it for a moment: “It’s not even turned on. Our class monitor is different indeed — not playing on phones or sending messages during class, maintaining work relationships through little paper notes instead?”

Li Shuang Jiang held back his laughter, his cheeks puffing up.

“Passing notes between front and back desks is one thing, but one of you is standing outside and you’re still passing notes? What urgent information is this? Such a steadfast revolutionary friendship,” Teacher Wang continued.

Li Shuang Jiang couldn’t hold it anymore and burst out laughing.

“Alright, don’t be too reluctant to part. Acting like it’s a life-or-death separation across a classroom,” Teacher Wang waved his hand, “Go on, stand outside with your colleague.”

Jiang Qi Huai: “…”

Jiang Qi Huai casually grabbed a book from his desk and went out.

As soon as he left the classroom, he saw Tao Zhi crouching by the wall, hugging a notebook, her head hanging dejectedly.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up and gave a somewhat guilty smile: “You’re here? Have you eaten?”

Jiang Qi Huai: “…”

Ji Fan was crouching on the other side, seemingly quite pleased that Jiang Qi Huai had been dragged out because of Tao Zhi. For the first time, he looked at him cheerfully: “We’re just one short of mahjong now. Where’s old Li? Quick, don’t let him study anymore.”

Tao Zhi bounced aside ingratiatingly, making room in her hallway punishment spot for Jiang Qi Huai. Looking up at him, she eagerly asked: “Did you see the note I passed you?”

Jiang Qi Huai lowered his eyes: “Yes.”

“I only got nineteen questions wrong!” Tao Zhi said excitedly in a low voice, “I can pass!”

“Getting a basic score in Chinese is pretty simple. There’s still a week left, there’s time,” Jiang Qi Huai rolled up the book in his hand and lightly tapped her head, “Take this and memorize it.”

Tao Zhi covered her head dissatisfied, but didn’t have time to argue with him. She grabbed the book and asked while pulling it over: “What’s this?”

“Chinese textbook?” Tao Zhi flipped through it casually for a few moments, “How could I possibly memorize all this in a week?”

Jiang Qi Huai crouched down beside her, took the book from her hands, and reached out to her again.

The young man’s hand was clean and slender, with distinct knuckles and clear palm lines. His fingers curved slightly as he reached forward, carrying a casual air.

Tao Zhi didn’t understand: “Hm?”

Jiang Qi Huai curled his fingers slightly, making a beckoning gesture: “Give me the pen.”

Tao Zhi handed over her pen.

Jiang Qi Huai opened the book to the first classical poem, his pen tip scanning over lines of text, drawing horizontal lines under certain sentences.

He moved quickly, almost just glancing as his hand never stopped. In no time, he had finished selecting from one entire piece and turned to another.

“These sentences are basically all key points, and test questions usually come from this range. If you don’t have time to memorize the whole piece, memorize these sentences first,” Jiang Qi Huai said while marking, “Don’t just memorize, pay attention to how to write the uncommon characters.”

Tao Zhi watched him without speaking.

Jiang Qi Huai took a moment to glance at her: “What is it?”

“Nothing, I was just thinking,” Tao Zhi said slowly, “Why am I suddenly memorizing all this?”

Jiang Qi Huai kept his eyes down: “Do you want to get only fifteen questions wrong next time?”

Tao Zhi choked a bit.

“Memorize all of these, and you might only get ten wrong,” Jiang Qi Huai tempted her in a low voice.

Tao Zhi: “…”

She felt somewhat tempted.

This pleasure of watching the wrong answers and red marks gradually decrease on test papers — she hadn’t experienced it in a long time.

“Fine,” Tao Zhi propped up her chin and said glumly, “Then hurry up and mark them, I’m slow at memorizing things.”

Jiang Qi Huai spent half a class period marking all the key sentences in his Chinese textbook for her.

When the class bell rang, Ji Fan was dragged away by Teacher Wang pulling his ear. Since Tao Zhi and Jiang Qi Huai’s offense wasn’t as serious, and Jiang Qi Huai’s phone wasn’t even turned on, Teacher Wang only confiscated Tao Zhi’s phone.

When they returned to the classroom, Tao Zhi looked at Jiang Qi Huai’s phone lying safely on his desk and complained: “Why did Teacher Wang only take my phone?”

Fu Xi Ling turned around and said quietly: “Maybe because his grades are good?”

Tao Zhi was furious.

During her long hours at school, now that Song Jiang wasn’t around to play with her, only her phone had kept her company through class after class. But now even her phone had been confiscated — she had lost her only companion.

Tao Zhi watched Jiang Qi Huai toss his phone back into his backpack and said resentfully: “Do good grades give you special privileges?”

Fu Xi Ling nodded: “Good grades do give you special privileges. If you could get first in the grade, you could go to Teacher Wang’s office and slam your report card on his desk and order him,” Fu Xi Ling cleared her throat and said haughtily, “Give me back my phone!”

Her voice was a bit loud, and Jiang Qi Huai sitting behind raised his eyes slightly.

Fu Xi Ling blushed and immediately covered her mouth, shrinking into a ball.

Tao Zhi was also aggrieved. Even though both she and Jiang Qi Huai had made mistakes — though she was the active party and Jiang Qi Huai was the passive victim.

That was how it was, but Tao Zhi still couldn’t calm down. It would have been fine if Teacher Wang had confiscated his phone too, but he had only taken hers.

Tao Zhi turned around, propped up her head and commanded: “Go give your phone to Teacher Wang, let him confiscate yours too.”

“…”

Jiang Qi Huai gave her a “what dream are you having” look.

“Then go find Teacher Wang and get my phone back,” Tao Zhi said willfully.

Jiang Qi Huai lowered his head again, underlining words in the English vocabulary list: “Go ask for it yourself.”

Tao Zhi’s lips drooped pitifully as her shoulders slumped: “Your Highness, I don’t have my phone anymore. I just topped up 500,000 happy beans for mahjong, now I can’t play mahjong.”

“Good riddance,” Jiang Qi Huai didn’t even look up, “Finish memorizing your Chinese this week.”

He finished marking the last row of words, closed the English textbook, and handed it to her.

Tao Zhi blinked and took it: “What’s this for?”

“Key words and basic vocabulary.”

Tao Zhi flipped through it for a moment, her expression freezing: “You don’t actually think I can finish these in a week, do you?”

“Don’t expect you to memorize everything,” Jiang Qi Huai put down his pen, leaned back slightly, and flexed his finger joints that were stiff from holding the pen for so long, “Just learn as much as you can.”

Tao Zhi wrinkled her brow and nose as she flipped through it pickily, not speaking for a long time.

Just when Jiang Qi Huai thought she would wrinkle all her facial features, Tao Zhi finally looked up: “If I finish all these words, can I get first in the grade?”

Jiang Qi Huai raised his eyebrows: “Such lofty ambitions?”

Tao Zhi looked at him mournfully and said quietly: “After all, the first in grade doesn’t get their phone confiscated by teachers.”

“…”

Jiang Qi Huai nodded and said casually: “As long as I’m here, you’ll never achieve that.”

When he said this, his tone couldn’t have been more ordinary, as if this was completely natural and right.

Tao Zhi couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

Starting to show off again.

The last class on Friday was the class meeting.

Teacher Wang ended up using Jiang Zheng Xun’s previous theme, just adding a small interactive section at the end. He gave everyone an envelope and had them write their dreams from when they were six years old on one piece of paper, and their current dreams at sixteen on another.

The written papers were to be put in the envelope and sealed, not to be opened, kept as a letter to their future selves.

Tao Zhi’s childhood dream of marrying a chicken butcher had somehow become known to half the class. Tao Zhi reasonably suspected that Jiang Zheng Xun had leaked it while drunk.

While writing the letters, Li Shuang Jiang turned around and asked her with a grin: “Big sis, do you still want to marry a chicken butcher now?”

Tao Zhi looked at him expressionlessly: “How dare you mock your big sis?”

“This humble one has offended you.” Li Shuang Jiang bowed respectfully and turned back around.

Tao Zhi poked her chin with the end of her pen, clicking it repeatedly, propping up her head and spacing out a bit.

Without her phone, she had been listless all afternoon, lacking energy.

She was someone who lived in the moment — as long as she was happy now, that was enough. She had no plans for the future.

She had nothing she particularly liked, no preferences, and no industry she wanted to work in.

If she had to say something, there was one thing, which had just occurred to her this afternoon — she wanted to become first in grade to get her phone back.

Tao Zhi lowered her eyes. Under her note paper were two books, with key points marked underneath in black gel pen.

Tao Zhi was lost in thought until Teacher Wang’s voice sounded from the podium. She came back to herself, her pen tip dotting the paper before casually writing a line.

Tao Zhi folded the two note papers, stuffed them into the envelope, sealed it, and casually tucked it into the English textbook below.

When everyone in the class had mostly finished writing, Teacher Wang checked the time and let them out ten minutes early.

Tao Zhi was still thinking about her phone. As soon as Teacher Wang gave the word, she quickly stuffed her books into her backpack, pulled up the straps, and rushed out the classroom door.

The math office was at the second floor stairwell. Tao Zhi stopped at the door with her backpack, peering in through the doorframe.

There were only a few teachers in the office. No one was at Teacher Wang’s desk, but his things weren’t packed up yet, so he was probably still teaching and hadn’t left.

Tao Zhi waited at the door for a while, mentally rehearsing how she would plead her case to get her phone back.

As she was swaying her head back and forth thinking, a shadow suddenly passed in front of her, and a voice came from above.

“Who are you waiting for?”

Tao Zhi looked up.

Jiang Qi Huai stood before her, looking down at her.

The dim light in the teaching building corridor was completely blocked by him. The young man was backlit, his features hidden in shadow, his long lashes drawing long, deep outlines at the corners of his eyes, his light irises appearing almost black because of the lighting.

Tao Zhi was once again entranced by his beauty for two seconds before speaking: “Waiting for Teacher Wang, I want to get my phone back.”

Jiang Qi Huai nodded: “Finished memorizing English?”

Tao Zhi’s mind was completely occupied with how to appeal to Teacher Wang’s sympathy, and she had no energy to think about English. She watched the end of the corridor waiting for Teacher Wang to return to his office after class, and said distractedly: “No, no, how could I finish that much in one afternoon?”

Jiang Qi Huai put his hand in his school uniform jacket pocket and pulled out a silver-white phone, waving it in front of her eyes.

Tao Zhi’s gaze paused, freezing.

Her phone.

The latest model she had just bought at the start of school.

Her phone that had 500 happy beans.

Tao Zhi looked up at Jiang Qi Huai, dumbfounded: “When did you get it?”

“This afternoon,” Jiang Qi Huai said.

Tao Zhi stepped forward, raising her hand to take it.

Jiang Qi Huai’s long arm followed her movement upward, the phone in his hand shooting up like a drop tower ride, brushing past the young girl’s soft fingertips without being caught.

The young man was tall, and with his arm raised, the phone hung high above her head — right before her eyes yet just out of reach.

Tao Zhi side-eyed him, glaring angrily.

Jiang Qi Huai held the phone between his fingers, swaying it lazily as he said unhurriedly: “When you finish memorizing the books, that’s when you’ll get it back.”