ATLAS TRANSLATES

“I’m so freaking done! Just done!”

During break time, Li Shuang Jiang leaned against Jiang Qi Huai’s desk in the aisle, his face still shocked even after an entire class period. “Do you know how much Li Si Jia scored on the English monthly test, boss? 143 points, boss!”

Li Shuang Jiang pointed at Fu Xi Ling: “You know how good Fu Xi Ling is at English, right? She only got 140 last time!”

Fu Xi Ling stood beside them, feeling a bit wronged as she softly protested, “What do you mean ‘only’ 140? That’s pretty good…”

Tao Zhi lay sprawled on Jiang Qi Huai’s desk, looking at him listlessly. “Don’t get so worked up.”

“How can I not? Holy— 143! She only lost six points total on both essays, and got just one listening question wrong!” Li Shuang Jiang then pointed at Jiang Qi Huai sitting behind Tao Zhi and continued, “And this guy behind you, our grade’s top student who excels in all six subjects, got 142 in English! One point less than her! And you went and made this bet with her?!”

“Well, since English is her best subject,” Tao Zhi said slowly, “of course I want to win in her strongest area. That would be more satisfying.”

Fu Xi Ling nodded in agreement beside her: “Exactly, exactly.”

Li Shuang Jiang nearly passed out from their response: “But the problem is—”

“The problem is that it’s very difficult to improve scores at such a high level. It’s almost impossible to go from 118 to 140 in just one month,” Fu Xi Ling interrupted.

Li Shuang Jiang snapped his fingers in agreement.

“However,” Fu Xi Ling thought for a moment before continuing, “I don’t think this bet is that bad. If Zhi Zhi scores higher than her, that would be great. Even if she doesn’t win, getting over 100 points would be enough to prove she didn’t cheat this time. Zhi Zhi doesn’t lose anything.”

Upon hearing this, Li Shuang Jiang immediately perked up.

His eyes brightened as if he’d found new hope: “Oh, so that’s the logic behind it?”

“That’s not the logic,” Tao Zhi lifted her head and said.

Li Shuang Jiang and Fu Xi Ling turned to look at her questioningly.

“She cares a lot about face,” Ji Fan, who had just woken up and missed all the drama, learned about the situation from Zhao Ming Qi. He yawned and explained, “Since she said she would score higher than this Li girl, she won’t consider taking advantage of any loopholes.”

Tao Zhi looked at Li Shuang Jiang and snapped her fingers in agreement, just as he had done earlier.

Li Shuang Jiang stared at her in confusion: “So…”

“So,” Jiang Qi Huai finished the last big question on his math test paper, folded it and tossed it aside, put down his pen, and leaned back, “you should hurry up and look at your terrible test papers and figure out how to improve by twenty-something points in a month.”

Tao Zhi: “…”

Tao Zhi flopped back down on Jiang Qi Huai’s desk, sprawling like a boneless creature, returning to her previous lifeless state.

She hadn’t seriously studied English for several years, and suddenly being asked to score so high made her uncertain: “Your Highness, did I bite off more than I could chew this time?”

Jiang Qi Huai let out a laugh: “You seemed pretty pleased with yourself when you said it.”

Tao Zhi thought for a moment and nodded: “Yeah, it felt good. If I had to do it again, I’d probably still show off first.”

“Then that settles it,” Jiang Qi Huai leaned back in his chair and said casually, “Just take the test.”

His tone was so natural, as if he were saying: It’s just Tsinghua University, just get in and be done with it.

Li Shuang Jiang: “…”

Li Shuang Jiang didn’t know if he was the one who had gone crazy or if the world had gone crazy.

Schools are places where secrets can never be kept. After two class periods, everyone in Class 1 of Year 2, including all the teachers, knew that the second-to-last student in Class 1 had made a bet with the grade’s top English student, claiming she would score 140 on the next monthly test.

Most people were waiting to see her make a fool of herself.

The third afternoon class was English. The English teacher, Jiang Qian Yi, paid special attention to Tao Zhi, calling on her several times to read the text during class.

Having taught English for ten years, Jiang Qian Yi was an experienced senior teacher who could roughly gauge a student’s level just by hearing them speak a few sentences.

She hadn’t paid much attention to Tao Zhi before, only mentioning her occasionally when chatting with teachers like Wang Zhe Zi.

But when she called on her, Jiang Qian Yi was quite surprised.

Although she stumbled over some words, her British accent was remarkably standard and fluent. The school taught American English, and most high school students were exposed to American pronunciation, so Jiang Qian Yi rarely heard students prefer British English.

But thinking of her monthly test English paper, Jiang Qian Yi shook her head.

The gap with Li Si Jia wasn’t small at all.

As soon as English class ended, Song Jiang rushed straight to Class 1. He burst through the back door and landed in front of Tao Zhi.

Tao Zhi hadn’t even closed her English textbook when Song Jiang slammed his hand on her desk: “I heard you made a bet with your class’s English top scorer, saying you’d kneel at the broadcasting room door and slap yourself ten times if you don’t score higher than her?”

Tao Zhi: “…”

Tao Zhi didn’t know how apologizing at the broadcasting room had somehow morphed into slapping herself at the broadcasting room door.

She corrected him expressionlessly: “Not our class’s top scorer, the grade’s top scorer.”

“Damn,” Song Jiang cursed, “so do you actually have any confidence?”

“No,” Tao Zhi answered honestly.

“Holy shit hahahahahahaha,” Song Jiang burst into heartless laughter, “Then you’re pretty badass, bro.”

He was Tao Zhi’s childhood friend and probably the only person in school besides Ji Fan who knew that Tao Zhi used to be a top student. Song Jiang said without any sympathy: “It’s just English, when you were getting full marks in middle school and having your essays photocopied as examples for the whole school, this grade’s top scorer was probably still playing in the dirt. What are you afraid of? Just crush her.”

After a pause, Song Jiang added: “Although you can only score fifty points now.”

“…”

Tao Zhi rolled her eyes and pointed at him: “Timely Rain, I hope you’ll be smart enough to disappear before my patience runs out, or I’ll shove your head into the desk.”

Song Jiang saluted her and quickly rolled out.

Tao Zhi pushed away the books and notebooks in her hands, stretched her arms forward, and collapsed on the desk, letting out a long sigh.

This bet she made on impulse seemed to have become set in stone.

After the satisfaction of showing off wore off, Tao Zhi finally began to feel melancholy belatedly.

She somewhat regretted it.

English had indeed been her strongest subject.

It was the subject where she could get the most beautiful and perfect scores in all kinds of competitions and tests, both in school and city-wide.

But that was in the past.

Tao Zhi clearly understood that time wouldn’t give special treatment to anyone. It would give you returns based on how much effort you put in.

And in the three years she had wasted, time wouldn’t return the rewards she had abandoned.

Tao Zhi entered a new, almost manic state.

Early in the morning, after Ji Fan finished washing up and brushing his teeth, humming a tune, he went downstairs for breakfast before heading to school. As soon as he opened his bedroom door, he heard English listening exercises playing from downstairs.

A beautiful and formulaic female voice clearly enunciated from the dining room: “Please choose the most appropriate answer based on the dialogue and questions you hear… listen to the dialogue…”

Ji Fan: “…”

Ji Fan scratched his head as he went downstairs and saw Tao Zhi sitting at the dining table with a test paper spread out in front of her. She was marking answers while biting on a piece of bread.

Auntie Zhang stood to the side, and when she saw him come down, she made a gesture.

Ji Fan walked over.

Auntie Zhang came to his side and said softly: “You’re up? Would you like milk or porridge today? I made both.”

Ji Fan also spoke quietly: “Preserved egg and lean meat porridge?”

“Yes,” Auntie Zhang leaned closer to his ear, “Would you like some pickled vegetables?”

“Sure, I’d like some pickled cucumbers this morning,” Ji Fan continued in a low voice, “Why are you speaking so quietly?”

“Don’t want to disturb Zhi Zhi’s studying,” Auntie Zhang was practically whispering into his ear, “First time I’ve seen her work so hard.”

Ji Fan thought to himself, this is the first time I’ve seen her doing listening exercises while eating breakfast too.

Even when she used to get first place all the time, I never saw her doing this.

Ji Fan walked to the dining table and deliberately pulled out his chair loudly.

The chair legs scraped against the marble floor with a “screech,” but Tao Zhi seemed not to hear it, showing no reaction as she kept her eyes lowered on the test paper.

Ji Fan leaned over: “Are you serious? Can’t this wait?”

“Shut up,” Tao Zhi said without lifting her head.

Ji Fan shut up and accepted the porridge Auntie Zhang brought over, eating quietly.

He ate half his breakfast accompanied by the woman’s incomprehensible foreign language sounds. Finally, Tao Zhi finished the listening section, turned off the audio, folded the test paper and stuffed it into her schoolbag, and looked at him for the first time.

Tao Zhi looked surprised: “Why are you eating so slowly today?”

“I lost my appetite,” Ji Fan pointed at her phone, “This woman’s droning made me sleepy.”

“Morning is the best time for listening practice,” Tao Zhi stood up, walked to the living room and put on her school uniform jacket, “Alright, stop eating, you eat those pickled cucumbers every morning, aren’t you tired of them?”

Ji Fan quickly finished the porridge in his bowl and ran after her to put on his shoes.

When he got in the car, Tao Zhi was already sitting in the back seat with her English book out, memorizing vocabulary.

Ji Fan: “…”

Ji Fan hadn’t expected that this bizarre morning was just the beginning.

At school, Tao Zhi spent morning self-study doing English papers.

During physics class, she was memorizing English texts.

During math class, she was writing English essays.

During Chinese class, Tao Zhi was doing reading comprehension without lifting her head. Fu Xi Ling finally couldn’t bear to watch anymore and leaned over to whisper: “Zhi Zhi, why don’t you take a break?”

Tao Zhi didn’t hear her, quickly identifying and underlining key words from the text that appeared in the question stems.

Fu Xi Ling raised her hand and gently poked her arm with her index finger.

Only then did Tao Zhi turn her head, looking somewhat confused: “Hm?”

Fu Xi Ling: “Take a break, you’ve been looking at letters all morning, aren’t you dizzy?”

Tao Zhi blinked her sore eyes: “It’s not too bad.”

Fu Xi Ling rested her chin on her hand: “You don’t need to be under so much pressure. Last time was Li Si Jia’s best performance ever, probably because she got lucky with the essay topics. Her English is usually about the same level as mine.”

Tao Zhi nodded, then lowered her eyes to continue working: “That’s still much better than me.”

Fu Xi Ling was stunned.

She hadn’t known Tao Zhi for long, but she had seen many sides of her. This was the first time she realized Tao Zhi could be so serious about such things.

Fu Xi Ling didn’t say anything more, just quietly took out her English notes and important vocabulary notebook and placed them on her desk.

Tao Zhi maintained this state for several days.

During this time, she borrowed Fu Xi Ling’s English notes, took Li Shuang Jiang’s phrase book, and tricked Jiang Zheng Xun into giving her his collection of perfect score essay examples.

Ji Fan had been waking up to the broadcaster’s voice reading English every day these past few days. He had gone from surprised to devastated and now was gradually becoming numb. To his horror, he discovered that not only did Tao Zhi show no signs of getting tired, she seemed to be getting more and more enthusiastic, enjoying memorizing vocabulary every day.

That afternoon during the third period, Wang Zhe Zi mercifully let them have a PE class. The boys cheered and rushed out of the classroom with their balls.

Within ten minutes, the classroom was empty except for a few students who usually liked to stay in their seats doing their own things.

Tao Zhi left the teaching building, went to the school store to buy a bottle of juice and some snacks, and was heading back upstairs when she saw Li Si Jia entering Wang Zhe Zi’s office.

The office door wasn’t completely closed, and as she passed by, she vaguely heard Wang Zhe Zi’s voice: “I also contacted the academic affairs office to check the surveillance video from the last exam room at that time. Student Tao Zhi didn’t show any cheating behavior, her scores…”

Tao Zhi didn’t stop walking, just glanced inside.

Li Si Jia had her back to her, head lowered, her expression invisible.

She didn’t care.

Even if Li Si Jia now knew she hadn’t cheated, the bet had already been made. Words once spoken were like water spilled — there was no rule saying the bet didn’t count just because she hadn’t cheated.

How Li Si Jia felt about it, Tao Zhi hadn’t cared from the beginning. No matter what others thought, her actions wouldn’t change at all.

She entered the classroom and closed the door. The other two people who had stayed behind were gone now. Jiang Qi Huai was sitting in Ji Fan’s seat, leaning against the wall reading a book.

Tao Zhi was somewhat surprised: “Why didn’t you go play ball with them?”

Jiang Qi Huai didn’t lift his head: “Don’t feel like moving.”

Tao Zhi nodded and returned to her seat, opened her juice bottle and took a couple sips, then pulled out the English test paper she hadn’t finished earlier.

She had just finished the reading comprehension section, and it was time for the essays.

Tao Zhi took out her phone, opened the alarm app and set a timer, then started writing.

She was quite clear about her strengths and weaknesses. Reading comprehension mainly relied on techniques besides vocabulary, and she had good language sense. Because she liked watching British and American TV shows and movies, her listening wasn’t bad either. Although doing listening exercises was quite different from watching movies, she could improve quickly.

But she hadn’t properly memorized vocabulary for several years, her vocabulary was still at middle school level, and she wasn’t good at writing essays. The essays she wrote used grammar and vocabulary so simple they were like elementary school picture descriptions.

These past few days she had read many essay collections, spending most of her time on essay writing, and would have Fu Xi Ling help her revise after she finished. But Fu Xi Ling wasn’t here right now.

She finished writing the last essay, with less than two minutes left on her phone’s timer.

Tao Zhi put down her pen, shook the paper in her hand, and read through what she had just written.

The setting sun hung low, the clouds thick and gorgeous, the sunset clouds dyeing half the azure sky red. In the quiet, empty classroom, there was a slight sound of turning pages from behind her.

Tao Zhi’s fingers holding the paper paused, and after hesitating for a moment, she turned around.

Jiang Qi Huai was looking down at his book, his expression focused and serious, his eyelashes softly lowered, dyed a warm golden brown by the setting sun.

Tao Zhi raised the paper in her hand to cover half her face, leaving only her eyes exposed, turned to look at him, and then deliberately cleared her throat.

Jiang Qi Huai lifted his head and looked at her indifferently.

The young girl’s black eyes visible above the paper blinked at him twice: “Your Highness, are you busy?”

Jiang Qi Huai raised his eyebrows.

“If you’re not busy, could you look at my essay?” she asked somewhat pleadingly, “Please.”

Jiang Qi Huai placed the book he was holding on the desk: “Finally remembered me?”

Tao Zhi looked puzzled.

Jiang Qi Huai lazily straightened up, speaking slowly: “When you were seeking out Jiang Zheng Xun, Li Shuang Jiang, and practically living attached to Fu Xi Ling twenty-four hours a day, how come you didn’t think of me?”

Jiang Qi Huai leaned forward against the desk edge, moving closer to look at her: “Is it really that hard to beg me?”