ATLAS TRANSLATES

The office fell silent for a moment.

Tao Zhi’s heartbeat, which had calmed down after the successful and satisfying photoshoot, began to race again.

She turned off the camera expressionlessly and nodded, “Choose a time that’s convenient for you. You can contact the magazine directly.”

She walked to the sofa, packed her things, and without saying anything more, appeared ready to leave.

Jiang Qi Huai silently watched as she zipped up her bag and reached for her coat draped over the sofa back. Suddenly, he said, “Stay for a cup of tea?”

“I don’t like tea,” Tao Zhi replied bluntly, “Besides, I’m busy. I have things to do.”

“I thought you’d grown to like it,” Jiang Qi Huai said without emotion, “Since you’ve been going to teahouses.”

Tao Zhi blinked and turned her head, saying innocently, “That depends on who I’m drinking with.”

Her words were crystal clear, leaving no room for graceful retreat.

Tao Zhi wasn’t usually such a sharp person. Unless someone really provoked her, she generally maintained some measure of restraint when speaking. As she’d grown older, she’d become much more mild-mannered compared to her high school days. This kind of response was quite unlike her usual character.

But when facing him now, Tao Zhi didn’t know why her emotions would suddenly become so sharp and sensitive, desperately wanting to get away from him, further and further away, as if she were afraid of something.

Jiang Qi Huai remained silent. He lowered his eyelids, concealing his gaze for a few seconds before giving a soft “Mm.”

As Tao Zhi put on her coat and turned, the corners of her lips dropped slightly.

She hung her scarf over her arm, picked up her bag, and without another word, silently walked to the door, pushed open the frosted glass, and left the office.

Wen Ming Yue was conducting a brief interview with the assistant next door. She had just finished as Tao Zhi came out. She put away her recorder and looked up from above her laptop: “All done? I’m about finished here too, got enough material.”

She closed her laptop and winked at Tao Zhi, whispering, “That director’s tough to deal with, right? During my interview, I could barely get five words out of him after trying ten times.”

“…”

Tao Zhi didn’t know how to respond for a moment and gave her a complicated expression.

Fortunately, Wen Ming Yue immediately understood. She patted her shoulder with an empathetic look: “I get it, I get it. He’s so tight-lipped. But at least you only had to take photos and didn’t need him to talk, so it probably wasn’t as hopeless as it was for me.”

As she packed up her things and walked out, she whispered, “Though with how closed off this director is, what’s the use of being handsome? Dating him must be deadly boring.”

As someone who had dated him and hadn’t found it boring but rather quite happy, Tao Zhi could only respond: “…That’s right.”

When they left the Ruisheng office building, it was four in the afternoon. As soon as Tao Zhi got in her car, she received a WeChat message from Lin Su Yan saying he was busy today and didn’t have time to meet her, but they could have coffee together another day.

He also asked why she suddenly came to their company today.

Tao Zhi didn’t feel like explaining too much, just briefly mentioned it was for work, and emphasized with three exclamation marks that she wouldn’t be coming again another day.

When she returned to the studio, Xu Sui Nian was still standing in front of his old equipment grinding coffee beans. Seeing her enter, he flashed a bright smile: “You’re back? How was work? Did it go smoothly?”

Tao Zhi was feeling gloomy, and Xu Sui Nian just had to walk right into the line of fire. She immediately blamed all of today’s encounters with Jiang Qi Huai on his refusal to help An Se Se, saying gravely: “Senior, couldn’t you have some career ambition? We’re young photographers who just graduated a few years ago, unknown in the field. This is exactly when we should be producing work and honing our skills. Here you are grinding coffee beans all day – do you think the Hasselblad Award will find its way to you on its own?”

“I was just thinking of letting you scam another box of Lego from Se Se,” Xu Sui Nian waved his hand, very accepting of the situation. “It’s enough that you have career ambition. A studio can’t have two representative figures. When you become famous later, remember to advertise for me.”

Tao Zhi was used to his laid-back attitude of not wanting to make an effort. She waved her hand: “I won’t come tomorrow. Call me if anything comes up.”

Xu Sui Nian responded with a sound of acknowledgment. After she left, he turned his head to look at the calendar and sighed: “Time flies.”

Xiao Jin brought over the washed coffee cups and asked curiously: “Brother Nian, does the boss have something tomorrow? She didn’t go to Hamdan with us this time last year either.”

Xu Sui Nian turned his head and changed the subject with a smile: “Xiao Jin has grown into a young lady now.” He spoke in an old father’s weathered tone, “I still remember when you first came to the studio, you were only 21. In the blink of an eye, you’re all grown up now.”

Xiao Jin: “…I’m only 22 this year.”

Xu Sui Nian: “Is that so? Haha.”

Tao Zhi opened her eyes before the alarm went off.

In the depths of winter, the sky was still half-dark at five in the morning. Not a trace of light could be seen in the room. Tao Zhi lay in bed, blinking at the dim ceiling.

How many years had passed now?

She still remembered that winter break several years ago when Tao Xiu Ping woke her from sleep, and she rushed to the hospital in the half-dark night.

When she arrived, Ji Jin was already near the end. Her eyes were dark with circles, her body so thin it sank into the hospital bed. Her delicate, beautiful face couldn’t hide her illness, with oxygen tubes in her nose.

When she heard someone come in, she struggled to half-open her eyes. Her dark eyes looked at her and curved into a smile.

Her voice was still gentle, speaking with raspy breaths between words, softly calling her name.

She said, Zhi Zhi, Mama is tired and wants to sleep for a while.

She said Zhi Zhi is grown up now, take care of little Fan and listen to Dad.

She said I’m so sorry Mama couldn’t watch you grow up, but Mama is also happy to see you’ve grown up.

She said I have no regrets.

They say if relatives have unfinished business before passing, they’ll appear in their family’s dreams. But strangely, in these four years, Tao Zhi had never once dreamed of Ji Jin.

She probably truly had no regrets.

She had never dreamed of her, but in many nights at the beginning, she would suddenly wake up in the middle of the night, only to realize belatedly that she was crying.

Birth, aging, sickness, and death are the most normal cycle of life. She kept growing up while her parents were aging. Everyone seems to have to bear this kind of thing several times in their life, it’s just a matter of sooner or later.

Tao Zhi just felt reluctant to let go. When Ji Jin named them Zhi and Fan while they were still in their infancy, she joked that she hoped to watch them grow from small seedlings into towering trees, to flourish and prosper.

That way, after she and Tao Xiu Ping retired, they could rest in the shade under the trees, properly take it easy, and enjoy the leisurely days of being cared for by their children.

Now they had grown into leafy trees that blocked the sky, but she never got the chance to rest in their shade.

Tao Zhi blinked in the darkness, slowly pulled back the covers and got out of bed. After washing up, she changed into a black wool long dress and went out.

Standing in the entrance hall, she picked out a dark red scarf.

When she was little, Ji Jin always liked to dress her in red during winter, liked to buy her red hats and scarves. The little girl with fair skin, matched with red, stood prettily in the snow, beautiful like a girl in a New Year’s painting.

She slowly, loop by loop, wrapped the scarf around her neck, took the elevator down to the underground parking garage, started the car and drove toward the suburbs.

When she reached the cemetery, the sky was brightening. Tao Zhi looked at the initials carved on the marble steps, walked past rows of tombstones, and from far away saw another figure in front of Ji Jin’s tombstone.

Ji Fan stood quietly before the tomb, head lowered, who knows how long he had been standing there.

Tao Zhi’s footsteps paused before she walked over.

Hearing the sound, the young man looked up, then raised his hand and wiped his eyes with the back of it.

Tao Zhi pretended not to see, went over and bent down to place the bundle of lilies beside the tomb, then stood shoulder to shoulder next to him.

She didn’t kowtow, nor did she say any words of remembrance, just stood there quietly, looking at the woman’s gentle smile in the photo that had lost its vivid colors.

Ji Fan spoke in a hoarse voice: “Why are you so late? I’ve been here for half the day.”

Tao Zhi lowered her reddened eyes and said calmly: “I haven’t even had breakfast yet.”

“What for, are you on a diet?” Ji Fan sniffled and raised his hand to rub his face. “Eat breakfast when you should, don’t learn from young people trying to be trendy. You’re not young anymore, old folks should act like old folks. Weren’t you able to eat eight bowls of small wontons in one sitting?”

“Show some respect for your sister. Are you trying to make me beat you up in front of Mom?”

“Mom would just let you use violence against me anyway. She’d even laugh watching you beat me up.”

“Just shows what a deserving target you are. I’m merely carrying out heaven’s will.”

Tao Zhi turned her head: “Where’s Old Man Tao, did he leave already?”

“Didn’t come together. When I got up I saw him just getting home,” Ji Fan pointed at the third bouquet of flowers in the middle. The roses had probably been exposed to the cold outdoor air for too long, the outer layer of petals was a bit wrinkled. “Why are you so unromantic? Give the old man some private space. How can they have a heart-to-heart with us two lightbulbs around?”

Tao Zhi laughed and didn’t say anything more.

After they stayed for a while, Ji Fan rubbed his frozen nose and put his arm around her shoulders, turning around: “Let’s go get small wontons. Today I’ll watch you eat eight bowls by yourself.”

Tao Zhi raised her hand and smacked the back of his head.

They walked past tombstone after tombstone. At one particular stone, Tao Zhi caught something in her peripheral vision and suddenly stopped.

She froze for a moment and turned her head to look down.

Having come here so many times, she had never noticed that in the same row of surnames beginning with J, about a dozen spaces away from Ji Jin, on the gray-white tombstone, an elderly person’s familiar and kindly smile caught her eye.

His aged face was covered in wrinkles, reading glasses perched on his nose bridge, his cloudy eyes curved in a smile, quietly and gently looking at everyone who gazed at him.

Below the photo, familiar handwriting was engraved in black characters.

— Jiang Qing He.

— Erected by his grandson, Jiang Qi Huai, in 20xx.

The temperature in the city was noticeably higher than in the suburbs. After Tao Zhi and Ji Fan had a bowl of small wontons at the old street breakfast shop near home, they headed back.

When they got home, Fu Xi Ling was just about to go out. The young girl saw her return and without much talk, rambled on about remembering to eat lunch, heating up milk before drinking it, and mentioned there were washed strawberries and fresh sandwiches she made this morning in the fridge. Only when she was really running late did she rush out the door.

Tao Zhi smiled as she saw Fu Xi Ling off, then returned home and sat on the couch, spacing out.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when she came back to her senses and looked at the time – it was already close to noon.

She took a shower to ease her somewhat low spirits, then changed into loungewear and took out the sandwiches Fu Xi Ling had made in the morning from the fridge.

After picking out and eating the fried egg and vegetables from the sandwich first, Tao Zhi bit into the bread slice while tying up her hair. She took out her camera and computer and sat down on the sofa, planning to process the photos she had taken of Jiang Qi Huai earlier.

As the photos flashed by one by one, Tao Zhi looked at the man’s cold and indifferent eyes, lost in thought.

After meeting Jiang Qi Huai again, Tao Zhi only felt that he must be doing very well now.

Skipping grades in university, completing his American master’s degree in just one year, becoming the youngest investment director headhunted back to China by a top domestic investment company at a high price – what he showed, and what everyone saw, seemed to be only his brilliant and dashing side.

This led Tao Zhi to never think carefully about how he had gotten through these years.

She just felt it was dangerous, just didn’t want to be attracted by him again, didn’t want to retread old ground and uncontrollably draw closer to him, so she would become irritated as soon as she saw him, would instinctively think about how to escape whenever she thought of him.

Tao Zhi hugged her laptop and buried her head in the sofa cushions.

These years hadn’t actually been that bad for her. She would cry occasionally, but she smiled more often. There were sad times, but happy moments were more numerous. She had lost people, but she always had friends accompanying her, had Tao Xiu Ping and Ji Fan protecting her all the way.

What about Jiang Qi Huai?

He had always been a very solitary person. When she first met him, he was always alone, with a terrible personality, didn’t get along well with others, and was too lazy to socialize.

What had happened in his family? In these six years and more, both brief and long, how much had he actually sacrificed to achieve his current success?

Did he have friends? Was he happy? Had he been smooth sailing and on an open road ahead like she hoped?

Tao Zhi didn’t know. Without Grandpa Jiang, who else was there to walk this path with him.