ATLAS TRANSLATES

Tao Zhi was always a straightforward person. Her personality was direct — she didn’t like beating around the bush or holding things in. If something was on her mind, she would express it directly.

Since she had already confirmed it, since she already understood what was in her heart, there was nothing to hide.

If she wasn’t good enough, she would work hard to be worthy. If she couldn’t catch up, she would chase slowly.

What was the point of secret love? Secret love couldn’t make dreams come true.

If she was quietly loving someone by herself, and her young man got pursued by someone else, she wouldn’t even know where to direct her regret.

She almost held her breath, waiting for Jiang Qi Huai’s reaction.

After saying so much, if he still couldn’t understand, then he would be an idiot.

She stared at him intently, trying to detect even the slightest trace in his expression, whether surprise or shock would do.

But Jiang Qi Huai had no reaction.

He looked down at her, backlit by the setting sun outside the window, his peach blossom eyes cast in shadow, his gaze deepening.

The two stared at each other for a long while.

Tao Zhi pressed her lips together, unable to hold back any longer.

She said softly: “Why aren’t you reacting?”

Jiang Qi Huai paused for two seconds before speaking: “Do I need to agree?”

His voice was low, with a barely noticeable hint of hoarseness.

Being a girl after all, with thinner skin, Tao Zhi felt her ear tips getting hot. She lowered her lashes: “If you agree, I’ll finish all those test papers today.”

She mumbled: “I should be able to get half of them right at least.”

Tao Zhi thought that if she could answer half the questions correctly on each paper, she could get Jiang Qi Huai to hold her without letting go tonight.

But putting it that way seemed too obsessive.

She pondered whether her direct approach was too sudden, thinking she should have given him some buffer time.

After all, Jiang Qi Huai was probably quite shy when it came to relationships between men and women.

Tao Zhi lifted her eyes, secretly glanced at a certain ice-cold shy man, and stepped back: “Were you taking me seriously? I was just joking.”

Jiang Qi Huai looked at her, his lips slowly pressing into a straight line.

He seemed to have gotten even colder.

Tao Zhi somewhat regretted speaking without thinking. Her fingers clutched the edge of the desk, feeling frustrated.

She didn’t know what Jiang Qi Huai was thinking.

She also couldn’t tell if he liked or minded her direct expression, or if he would find it annoying.

Tao Zhi stopped talking, and Jiang Qi Huai didn’t speak either. He quietly finished correcting her papers, and the two fell into a strangely silent atmosphere.

During the last ten minutes of evening self-study, Zhao Ming Qi went up to the podium to talk about the upcoming sports meet, encouraging everyone to sign up and win honor for the class.

Tao Zhi didn’t take in a single word, only waiting until Teacher Wang came in and assigned today’s homework before dismissal. Then she reluctantly got up from Ji Fan’s seat and slowly went back to her own place to pack her bag.

After she had packed everything, she turned around to see Jiang Qi Huai hadn’t left yet. He had finished packing his things too but was sitting in his seat scrolling through his phone, waiting for something unknown.

Tao Zhi was about to speak to him.

Ji Fan strode over in two steps, one hand grabbing her schoolbag and the other clutching her school uniform jacket, dragging her away without looking back.

Tao Zhi stumbled along with him out of the classroom, looking back longingly for Jiang Qi Huai. Ji Fan walked very quickly, practically carrying her forward.

Not getting to say a final word to Jiang Qi Huai, Tao Zhi was somewhat annoyed: “Why are you running so fast?”

“Not leaving, waiting for you to continue flirting?” Ji Fan slowed his pace and rolled his eyes. “Can you be a little more discreet? That was still in the classroom, you know? Did you think the two people sitting in front of you were deaf or something?”

Tao Zhi paused, belatedly blushing.

She stammered: “You all heard? My voice was very quiet though.”

“We were sitting right in front of you, ancestor,” Ji Fan emphasized each word. “So, the person you like is really Jiang Qi Huai?”

Tao Zhi didn’t speak, taking her silence as confirmation.

“I really can’t even—” Ji Fan looked both shocked and unsurprised. “I guessed it was him earlier. You only have so many close friends, and you couldn’t possibly like an idiot like Li Shuang Jiang.”

Tao Zhi weakly retorted: “Why not? Li Shuang Jiang looks decent and has good grades too.”

Ji Fan looked somewhat depressed: “That bastard Jiang Qi Huai, first he beats me up, then my sister falls for him. Do I have to lose to this guy twice?”

“You can’t say it like that,” Tao Zhi corrected him. “Have you considered that maybe I fell for him because he beat you up?”

Ji Fan: “…”

The two walked and talked all the way out the school gate, looking for their car.

The pickup car was still in the usual spot, but it was a different vehicle.

Ji Fan hadn’t realized yet, thinking Uncle Gu had parked somewhere else today, but Tao Zhi’s eyes lit up and she went straight for the black sedan.

She opened the car door to find Tao Xiu Ping resting on the steering wheel, frowning and lost in thought, looking somewhat preoccupied. He snapped back to reality at the sound of the car door.

His brow smoothed as he smiled at her: “Whose princess is this coming from school?”

Since Ji Fan was back, Tao Zhi didn’t sit in the front passenger seat but obediently climbed into the back: “Weren’t you supposed to come back in a few days?”

“Just rushing back to pick up our young master and miss,” Tao Xiu Ping pointed to the back. “Chestnut pastries — Xiao Fan doesn’t like things too sweet, so I also bought some pork floss egg rolls. Try them and see if they’re good.”

Ji Fan got in the car too, still gloomy and didn’t respond: “Maybe he heard you were harassing some boy and came back specifically to check up on you.”

Tao Xiu Ping had just started the car and was slowly pulling out when he heard this and choked on his saliva: “Yesterday you were still being awkward, today you’re already getting physical?”

Ji Fan rolled his eyes: “She asked him to hug her.”

Tao Xiu Ping suddenly slammed on the brakes, the car barely stopping at the school exit’s red light.

He turned around directly: “Did that little beast actually hug her?”

Tao Zhi: “…”

Ji Fan: “…”

Tao Xiu Ping cleared his throat and turned back around, softening his tone: “What Daddy means is, that boy.”

“No, he didn’t pay attention to her,” Ji Fan said gleefully.

Tao Xiu Ping secretly let out a sigh of relief.

Tao Zhi punched Ji Fan from behind.

Ji Fan bent over clutching his stomach and let out an “Ah!”: “I’m wounded!”

Tao Zhi didn’t want to deal with him, turning her head to the side to stare sullenly out the car window.

It wasn’t true that Jiang Qi Huai hadn’t paid attention to her.

Ji Fan’s ears must need treatment — he had clearly responded, even asking if she wanted him to agree.

How respectful of her.

With Tao Xiu Ping back early, he naturally took charge of cooking at home with Zhang Auntie assisting. Ji Fan sat on the sofa fiddling with the robot Tao Xiu Ping had brought him from Germany. Tao Zhi’s gift sat beside him while she sat on the sofa reading.

When the food was almost ready, Tao Xiu Ping came over, initially thinking she was reading some novel, but looking down he saw it was a Chinese textbook.

Tao Zhi was staring blankly at some point in the living room’s empty space, softly reciting ancient poems and prose.

She was so focused she hadn’t noticed Tao Xiu Ping approaching. The man looked stunned and exchanged a glance with his son: Is she like this every day now?

Ji Fan nodded, mouthing to him: That little beast she likes is first in the grade.

Tao Xiu Ping’s emotions were complicated.

Both pleased and somewhat jealous.

His daughter had never studied seriously for him, but now because of another boy, she had decided to start studying properly.

During dinner, Tao Zhi mentioned to Tao Xiu Ping that she wanted to find a tutor.

Tao Xiu Ping had brought up tutoring before, when Tao Zhi’s grades had plummeted like a glider in middle school. At the time, she had strongly resisted. After two unpleasant discussions, they never mentioned it again.

This time she brought it up herself, and Tao Xiu Ping immediately agreed.

He was very efficient. Saturday at 10 AM, the tutor arrived.

The tutor was a sophomore from a prestigious university named Jiang He Sheng, the son of one of Tao Xiu Ping’s friends. They had originally planned to have Ji Fan join the lessons too, but the young man refused to death, so in the end only Tao Zhi took the class.

Jiang He Sheng had gentle, handsome features and an impressive university record — Student Council Vice President, core member of the school debate team, and his own methodology for teaching problems.

Unlike Jiang Qi Huai’s concise approach of barely saying an extra word while marking important questions by knowledge points, his teaching was very detailed. He would repeatedly explain basic knowledge in different ways, and never grew impatient no matter how simple Tao Zhi’s questions were.

In his words, a tall building rises from the ground — the foundation is the most important element. Once you master the basics, many problems that seemed impossible to approach would suddenly become clear.

Because they were acquaintances, class times were more flexible with no fixed schedule. Tao Xiu Ping had the two children exchange contact information to arrange times themselves.

After a morning of tutoring and lunch, Tao Zhi sat at her desk admiring the papers she had completed during class.

She held her pen, counting the problems one by one with the pen tip, calculating how many hugs she could get from this test paper.

As she calculated, she started feeling restless again, her heart itching.

This time, Tao Zhi used her brain and brought the test papers when she went out.

Once familiar, twice comfortable — she got off the car at the bottom of Jiang Qi Huai’s building, bought some things from the nearby convenience store, and walked to his door with both hands full of bags, guided by memory.

The corridor was very dark, and the items were very heavy. Tao Zhi’s hands had red marks from the bags. She stood at the door, but suddenly stopped.

It seemed abrupt.

She hadn’t even thought to give him a heads up, just rushed straight to his door in a moment of impulse. What was this about? Not a bit of politeness.

Tao Zhi leaned against the cold railing, thought for a moment, and decided to go back first and wait until next time after giving proper notice.

Just as she was about to turn and leave, the security door in front of her clicked open, and Grandpa Jiang stood in the doorway holding a bag of garbage. Seeing her, he paused, then smiled: “Little Tao is here?”

Tao Zhi blinked, holding her bags as she came to her senses.

She couldn’t leave now, so she stepped forward and said somewhat embarrassedly: “I was craving Grandpa’s cooking.”

Grandpa Jiang laughed heartily, moving aside: “Come in quickly, it’s cold outside.”

Tao Zhi went in, put her things on the dining table, and then noticed the garbage bag in the old man’s hand: “Grandpa, were you going to throw out the garbage? Let me do it.”

Grandpa Jiang repeatedly said it wasn’t necessary, but Tao Zhi had already taken it.

The young girl wore a red coat, bouncing down the stairs looking cheerful and lively, completely different from their family’s quiet bottle gourd.

Grandpa Jiang kept the door open and waited a while. Footsteps sounded in the corridor as Tao Zhi bounced back, hunching her neck.

The house was warm and cozy. She rubbed her palms that were sore from the bags, changed her shoes, and let out a long comfortable sigh.

Grandpa Jiang poured her a glass of warm water.

Tao Zhi thanked him and took it, carefully peering inside.

“Ah Huai isn’t home, he’ll be back in the afternoon,” Grandpa Jiang said.

Tao Zhi sat on the sofa, obediently holding her water cup.

Grandpa Jiang sighed: “Ah Huai is a sensible child, just born into a bad family. He’s quiet, rarely plays with peers his age, has many things to worry about, and still has to take care of this old man.” He paused, not continuing, just smiled and looked up: “I’m very happy you come to play. When he’s with you, Ah Huai seems more lively.”

Tao Zhi nodded, though she couldn’t tell how Jiang Qi Huai was any more lively when he was with her.

This person was completely incompatible with the word “lively.”

She chatted with the old man for a while. The young girl had many topics and spoke interestingly, making the old man laugh continuously. When they tired of talking, they each did their own things.

When Jiang Qi Huai returned near evening and looked up upon entering, he saw an extra person in the living room.

Grandpa Jiang sat in the rocking chair by the window wearing glasses and reading, while Tao Zhi had brought over a small stool and sat by the tea table with a test paper spread out in front of her.

Since he wasn’t home, she hadn’t gone into his bedroom, instead lying on the tea table writing with her pen.

The sunset through the glass window was cut into neat diagonal squares by the old window frame. Her hair tips were bathed in the golden twilight, and in that moment, her whole being was incredibly bright.

Like light itself.

Jiang Qi Huai was dazed for a moment. When he came to, Tao Zhi had just heard the sound and looked up.

Across the living room, backlit, she looked at him with a huge smile: “You’re back!”

She said cheerfully.

Jiang Qi Huai’s heart skipped a beat, his hanging fingers curling slightly.

The light directly penetrated his body, quietly and gently wrapping around his heart, then slowly expanding bit by bit.

Something mixed with unfamiliar emotions surged out uncontrollably.

He pressed his lips together without speaking, changed his shoes and walked into the living room.

“I have something to show you.” Tao Zhi turned around on her small stool, stretching her arm to hook her small bag from the sofa by its strap, then lowered her head to dig through it.

After quite a while, she pulled out a test paper that had gotten somewhat crumpled from being stuffed in her bag. She opened it up and eagerly held it high in front of him.

This test paper was specially made by Jiang He Sheng, full of simple basic problems. Tao Zhi poked her head out from under the paper and looked up at him, eyes bright: “Look, I got them all right!”

The living room was quiet except for the girl’s cheerful voice. Grandpa Jiang lifted his eyes from his book, secretly glanced over, then lowered his head again as if nothing had happened, turning his body to the side to face away from them.

Meeting her expectant gaze, Jiang Qi Huai’s lips finally couldn’t help but curve.

He raised his hand, palm hovering over her head, pausing for an instant before coming down to gently pat her.

“I see it, very impressive,” he said softly.