ATLAS TRANSLATES

The warmth from the heater rose, creating a cozy and intimate atmosphere that made one feel languid.

People seemed to react half a beat slower than usual.

Inside Tao Zhi’s mind, it felt like a pot of porridge was simmering. Set on low heat, the water slowly boiled until the pure white grains of rice swelled up soft and tender, bubbling with a gentle “glug glug” sound.

Steam rose as the sweet fragrance spread everywhere.

She tried to interpret what Jiang Qi Huai meant, but they were standing too close. Tao Zhi couldn’t calm down enough to think about anything he said.

Her vision was filled with the angles of his eyes and brows, while his scent surrounded her nose.

Tao Zhi felt that if this continued, her eyes would go cross-eyed.

She swallowed and said, “So.”

Jiang Qi Huai replied slowly, “So.”

“What do you mean by that?” Tao Zhi asked uncertainly.

“Exactly what I said,” Jiang Qi Huai responded.

Tao Zhi tried hard to digest his words, feeling that her understanding from the past few months had been challenged.

She struggled to organize her thoughts: “But isn’t this what you told Li Shu Fei before? That if grades weren’t good enough, you wouldn’t consider it? So didn’t you reject her?”

Tao Zhi thought his requirements were reasonable and natural.

Two people together should have some common ground, some matching achievements.

The feeling of liking someone was very abstract. Having intellectual resonance and matching abilities could serve as a stable foundation for feelings.

Moreover, Jiang Qi Huai deserved these things. He probably wouldn’t be interested in shallow affection. He wanted to choose someone from his world, someone at his level.

There was nothing wrong with that.

But now he was completely overturning his own words.

Tao Zhi couldn’t quite understand.

“My rejecting her had nothing to do with her grades. It was just because I didn’t like her. Why do you care about her?”

Seeing the young girl’s confused expression, Jiang Qi Huai patiently explained: “Nobody’s saying you have to get any particular score. 300 is fine, 500 is fine, 700 is fine, 900 is fine. Study if you like studying, play if you want to play. I’ll be the one working hard.”

“Just walk the path you want to walk, I’ll follow you,” he smiled slightly, his voice soft but his gaze extremely serious as he looked at her straight on, carrying a natural pride, “I will have everything, and give it all to you.”

Tao Zhi stared at him blankly, finally understanding his meaning.

The jumbled information in her mind slowly sorted itself out: “So.”

Jiang Qi Huai wondered if these were the only two words she knew now.

He sighed: “What are you ‘so-ing’ about now?”

Tao Zhi blinked and said slowly: “You want me to be your empress?”

Jiang Qi Huai: “…”

Tao Zhi’s mood brightened again. The realization that she was different to Jiang Qi Huai made her press her lips together to hold back a smile.

It seemed their positions had reversed, and somehow she had unexpectedly changed from the passive party to the active one.

Tao Zhi cleared her throat and looked at him with dignity, saying very seriously: “Well, I’ll have to think about it carefully.”

Jiang Qi Huai found it amusing. He straightened up, nodded, and went along with her: “Then think about it.”

Tao Zhi felt like her smile was about to reach her temples. She couldn’t help swaying her head as she rose on tiptoes and lifted her arms to gently hug his neck.

Jiang Qi Huai stood with his hands at his sides, his body stiffening slightly.

Tao Zhi rested her chin on his shoulder, nuzzling his neck with her nose as she spoke quickly and softly: “I’ve thought about it.”

She couldn’t wait even a second.

She was afraid that if she waited even a little bit, Jiang Qi Huai would change his mind.

Tao Zhi really didn’t know what about her was worth his affection. The fact that someone she liked also liked her felt like she had lucked out tremendously.

Her heart was pounding, and her uncontrollable happiness was almost overflowing.

From now on, he could really be hers.

Her boy.

Someone walked out of the bathroom at the end of the hallway talking, and the two of them standing at the stairwell entrance were extremely noticeable. The two boys’ conversation suddenly stopped as they quietly walked past, unable to resist looking back.

“Was that Jiang Qi Huai?”

“He has a girlfriend now?” the other person clicked his tongue, “Another battalion of heartbroken girls from your affiliated school is about to form.”

The hallway was quiet, and though their voices weren’t loud, they clearly reached Tao Zhi’s ears.

Tao Zhi belatedly began to feel embarrassed. She paused, obediently lowered her hands, backed up a little, and leaned back against the wall.

Her cheeks felt hot, along with her ears, and the radiator behind her was warming her tailbone. In the dead of winter, everywhere felt unbearably hot.

Tao Zhi looked away and said softly: “So you’re my boyfriend now.”

Jiang Qi Huai caught the word “boyfriend” and slowly hummed in agreement.

“Then,” Tao Zhi, now in an official position, looked up at him dissatisfied, “why didn’t you tell me you were coming to winter camp?”

Jiang Qi Huai: “…I forgot.”

He was used to being alone and indeed didn’t have the habit of reporting everything to others.

“You just look down on me,” Tao Zhi pouted, “anyway my grades aren’t good, and I don’t even know what this winter camp is for. You just really disdain me.”

“…”

Tao Zhi was getting worked up, she said resentfully: “It’s fine, I can adjust my emotions myself. You don’t need to tell me anything in the future either.”

Jiang Qi Huai felt a slight headache: “What are you acting out?”

“I’m sad!” Tao Zhi said angrily, “You have to tell me everything from now on.”

Jiang Qi Huai didn’t speak.

Tao Zhi eyed him: “I’m talking to you, did you hear me?”

The young girl had the air of someone who had just seized power, haughtily commanding him with dissatisfaction all over her small face.

Jiang Qi Huai smiled: “I heard you, princess.”

Tao Zhi kept a straight face: “Well, I’m going back now.”

Jiang Qi Huai took out his phone to check the time and nodded: “Shall I send you?”

As he spoke, he turned to go back to the dorm to get his jacket.

Tao Zhi quickly stopped him: “I can go back by myself, I’ll just take a taxi. It’s not late now. You go back and prepare well for tomorrow’s exam,” she said seriously, “Can’t neglect important matters. Jiang Qi Huai, don’t let love cloud your judgment.”

Jiang Qi Huai laughed again, his voice low and deep: “Mm.”

Tao Zhi maintained her serious expression, turned around expressionlessly, opened the corridor door, went in, and closed it.

Jiang Qi Huai looked at the firmly closed corridor door, standing still in place.

After about ten seconds of silence.

Muffled bouncing sounds mixed with a girl’s screams faintly came through from behind the door.

After screaming for a while, she started humming, her voice getting softer and softer until it finally disappeared.

Jiang Qi Huai gave a soft laugh, lowered his head, and licked the corner of his lips.

Tao Zhi happily left the dormitory building.

In front of Jiang Qi Huai, she had to maintain her idol image and couldn’t show her feelings too obviously. She had to be more reserved.

Until she entered the stairwell and closed the door, Tao Zhi held her breath and waited for a while, until she felt Jiang Qi Huai had probably returned to his dorm.

She couldn’t help bouncing in place, then started spinning in circles.

The narrow stairway landing didn’t give her much room to move freely. Tao Zhi spun a few circles, then hummed a tune as she bounced down the stairs at a leisurely pace.

The temperature outside was very different from inside the dormitory building. The cold wind rolled past with dead leaves, but Tao Zhi didn’t feel cold at all. She even had a thin layer of sweat on her back. Standing at the entrance, she took a deep breath, never having felt the city air was so good before.

Tao Zhi restrained herself as she raised her hand, pressing her fingertips against the corners of her mouth and trying hard to pull them down, but found she couldn’t control it.

She continued humming, dancing down a few short steps while spinning in circles.

The first-floor dormitory auntie looked at her strangely and shook her head.

Kids these days were really too stressed, studying until they went crazy.

Just as Tao Zhi had stepped down and was about to walk towards the school gate, the dormitory door behind her opened again.

She maintained her pose of arms raised high in a virtual samba dance as she turned around.

Jiang Qi Huai stood at the door wearing a jacket, watching her.

Tao Zhi froze in her movement, the big smile stiffening on her face as her whole body went rigid. In an instant, she quickly put her hands behind her back: “Why did you come down?”

Jiang Qi Huai pretended not to have seen her dancing alone like a little fool at the door: “To see you into a car?”

Tao Zhi turned her head and said obediently: “Oh.”

The two walked side by side without speaking. Tao Zhi kept her eyes down, secretly glancing at Jiang Qi Huai’s hand hanging by his side, feeling somewhat restless, but finally held back.

They walked to the school gate, and Jiang Qi Huai said something to the security guard.

The evening self-study for the third-year students was about to end. There was a long line of taxis at the school gate. Tao Zhi opened the car door and, seemingly embarrassed about being caught dancing earlier, quickly jumped in and slammed the door shut.

Until the car had driven quite far away.

She turned her head and looked back.

The boy’s figure was tall and straight, blending into the night from afar. He stood there for a moment, then turned and walked back.

Tao Zhi happily leaned back in her seat.

When she got home, there was no one on the first floor. Tao Zhi snuck up the stairs like a thief, quietly running up to her bedroom. The first thing she did was grab her phone from the desk.

She took her phone to the small sofa, curled up in it, and sent Jiang Qi Huai a WeChat message.

[Zhi Zhi Grape]: I’m home!

[A Secret]: Mm, rest early.

“…”

That’s it?

Tao Zhi was somewhat incredulous. They had just gotten together, why was this person’s response so cold? At least chat for two or three sentences, then say something sweet, right?

Tao Zhi puffed up her cheeks and immediately made a video call to him.

After waiting a while, Jiang Qi Huai picked up.

As soon as the video connected, Tao Zhi didn’t wait for him to speak and said directly: “You’re too cold! Why don’t you chat with me?”

Jiang Qi Huai was silent for a moment, not having had time to speak.

Tao Zhi lay on the sofa, puffing up her cheeks as she continued: “And ‘rest early’ is too formal. How can you be so unromantic?” Tao Zhi criticized him, “You shouldn’t say it like that.”

Jiang Qi Huai looked at the screen showing the young girl’s puffy cheeks, wanting to poke them: “Then how should I say it?”

Tao Zhi thought seriously for a moment, then felt somewhat shy and said softly: “You should say ‘good night, baby.’”

Jiang Qi Huai paused: “Right now?”

Tao Zhi immediately perked up. She sat up straight from the sofa, pressing her lips together and smiling at him with bright eyes: “Can you?”

“It’s not impossible.” Jiang Qi Huai tilted his head slightly, shifting the phone a bit.

Three heads from his dormitory were neatly lined up behind him at this moment, suddenly appearing on the screen, staring.

Tao Zhi: “…”

Seeing the camera directly facing them now, the three didn’t bother hiding in the back anymore and came forward openly.

One of the boys smiled with curved eyes and greeted her very formally: “Hello sister, I’m Lu Jia Heng, your boyfriend’s roommate.”

The video suddenly showed so many heads that the little girl on the screen hadn’t reacted yet, her expression frozen, not making a sound.

Lu Jia Heng spoke up for her: “Sister, Jiang Qi Huai is too cold. How can you date someone like him?”

He Zhi Xun watched from the side, stirring up trouble: “Can’t keep dating him, better break up quickly.”

“I can introduce you to my childhood friend,” Lu Jia Heng looked at the phone screen and said unhurriedly, “He’s witty, humorous, romantic, and lively and outgoing. The best candidate for your next relationship. Think about it – break up today, and tomorrow I’ll package him up and send him to the lab for you.”

Tao Zhi came back to her senses, was quiet for two seconds, then abruptly hung up the video call.