ATLAS TRANSLATES

In carefully thinking back, even starting from high school, the frequency of Tao Zhi eating with Jiang Qi Huai wasn’t very high.

Except for when she went to his house, and when Li Shuang Jiang organized group dinners and such.

Just the two of them going out to eat, there really weren’t many times.

Not to mention him taking the initiative – almost every time they spent alone together was because Tao Zhi couldn’t bear to see him eating alone, so she graciously offered to keep him company.

So even after getting in the car, Tao Zhi was still immersed in the once-in-a-decade joy of “Number 3821 cordially inviting the princess to honor him with a meal.”

Some words are truly once in a lifetime, only said under special circumstances, worth recording to savor for life.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have a recorder on her just now.

Tao Zhi sighed regretfully and turned her head to look at the man in the driver’s seat.

Although she wasn’t very familiar with cars, she could still recognize the logos of the most basic brands.

Tao Zhi looked at the interlocked circles in the center of his steering wheel and suddenly felt emotional: “Jiang Qi Huai, you’re so rich now, you have a car.”

She said it in a very pure and straightforward way.

Jiang Qi Huai couldn’t help but curve his lips at her direct, unfiltered words: “It’s from the company.”

Tao Zhi nodded and continued feeling emotional: “Last time I rode in your vehicle, it was a bicycle. I didn’t expect that by just the second time, there would be a roof.”

Jiang Qi Huai: “…”

Tao Zhi suddenly felt nostalgic for those youthful times, and continued reminiscing: “You rode really fast, and then didn’t warn me when we got to downhills.”

Jiang Qi Huai hesitated, but still couldn’t help saying: “I did warn you.”

Tao Zhi hadn’t expected him to actually argue: “You call that warning? You warned so late the downhill was already over.”

“Then why weren’t you watching?”

“What was I supposed to watch? Have you never seen youth romance films? The female leads never watch the road, we just need to focus on looking pretty.” Tao Zhi stared at him expressionlessly, “Are you trying to shift the blame to me now?”

While waiting for a red light, Jiang Qi Huai rested his wrist on the steering wheel and turned to look at her: “No.”

Tao Zhi stared back at him very seriously, then suddenly felt she was being childish.

Once the topic was brought up again, those memories that Tao Zhi thought she had forgotten, that seemed so distant and dusty in the depths of her mind, connected like old film reels once more.

They unfurled before her eyes roll by roll, and even the scenes that had grown dim and faded crossed the long timeline to connect with the present, slowly becoming vivid and alive again.

In the not-so-warm autumn colors, under the shade of trees in the early morning university campus, bicycle wheels rustled over golden leaves covering the ground, the boy’s school uniform jacket billowed in the wind behind him, the clean smell of laundry detergent and his unique scent rushed straight to her nose with the wind.

That day, she seriously confessed to the boy she liked for the first time.

She didn’t know if Jiang Qi Huai was thinking of the same thing, but his expression looking at her became serene at almost the same moment.

The fingers of his hand resting on the steering wheel lifted slightly.

The traffic light at the intersection slowly flashed to green, and a clear car horn from behind broke the silence in the car.

The two seemed to wake from their reverie simultaneously. Tao Zhi blinked and quickly turned her head away.

Jiang Qi Huai’s raised fingers hung in the air for a second, then returned to the steering wheel as he slowly started the car.

The restaurant Jiang Qi Huai chose wasn’t too far from Tao Zhi’s studio.

This area was a large art district. The adjacent streets were basically all galleries, woodcarvings and various strange art exhibitions, with the National Art Gallery further ahead – a trendy area.

Jiang Qi Huai chose a Spanish restaurant with bold and colorful decor exuding passionate and vibrant exotic style, completely mismatched in every way with a certain cold-faced person.

They sat down to order, and Tao Zhi secretly glanced at him several times.

After being stared at a few times, Jiang Qi Huai looked up from the menu: “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Tao Zhi said honestly, “Just didn’t expect you’d like Spanish food.”

“I’m not picky, just thought you would like it,” Jiang Qi Huai lowered his head back to the menu, saying flatly, “I drove by here once before and wanted to bring you.”

“Oh.” Tao Zhi blinked, then looked away, unable to stop her lips from curving up slightly.

Tao Zhi indeed loved Spanish culture and cuisine, and it suited her tastes well. The restaurant Jiang Qi Huai chose had very authentic flavors. After the meal, Tao Zhi was taking big spoonfuls of ice cream from her glass, enjoying the dessert.

After finishing dessert, Jiang Qi Huai drove Tao Zhi back to her studio.

They had eaten quite late to begin with, and it was nearly 3 PM by the time they got back to the studio. Tao Zhi had originally wanted to suggest just going out to play for the rest of the day.

But she restrained herself.

The car stopped in front of the studio. Tao Zhi got out and walked around the front of the car, heading forward without looking back, keeping her head down and walking slowly step by step.

Just as she was almost at the door, from the car behind her, Jiang Qi Huai suddenly called out: “Zhi Zhi.”

Tao Zhi’s steps stopped. She adjusted her expression, then turned around with a straight face, pretending to be aloof: “What?”

Jiang Qi Huai rolled the window all the way down, rested his arm on the windowsill, and asked while looking at her: “When will Number 3821 get his next turn?”

Tao Zhi paused, seemingly trying hard to think how to answer his question, then put on an air of aloofness and lifted her chin: “You’ll just have to wait for notification.”

Jiang Qi Huai stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly lowered his eyes. He licked the corner of his mouth and suddenly laughed.

Tao Zhi felt a bit uncomfortable: “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing,” Jiang Qi Huai put away his smile and raised his head again, his lips still carrying a curve he hadn’t managed to suppress, “Then I’ll wait for notification.”

Tao Zhi waved at him, then said stiffly: “Goodbye.”

She turned around and walked into the building with her hands behind her back, swaggering like an old master.

Standing at the entrance, Tao Zhi vaguely heard the sound of the car starting up and driving away outside. After waiting until it was completely quiet outside, she turned her head.

Jiang Qi Huai’s car was no longer at the door. Tao Zhi pressed her lips together and almost jumped in happiness on the spot, then couldn’t help but smile.

She walked inside with her hands behind her back, just as Xu Sui Nian happened to walk by carrying a coffee cup. Tao Zhi quickly raised her hand, pressing her fingertips to the corners of her mouth, then pulled them down as if to hide it.

For the next few days, Tao Zhi still didn’t take the initiative to message Jiang Qi Huai.

But Jiang Qi Huai also hadn’t messaged her again to ask when he could have an audience.

Tao Zhi didn’t show any reaction, just quietly sent Lin Su Yan a WeChat message asking how work and life had been going lately, if things were smooth, if she was happy.

She sent the message in the afternoon, and Lin Su Yan replied very late that night: [Just saw this, my wallet is very happy, everything else isn’t happy, recently I’ve been so busy every day I wish I could grow three heads and six arms.]

Tao Zhi was lying sideways on the couch with a face mask on. After seeing this message, she threw her phone on the couch, reluctantly accepting this reason.

Fine then.

If Lin Su Yan was this busy, Jiang Qi Huai was probably very busy too.

As she was lifting her face mask, her phone vibrated again. Tao Zhi used her pinky finger that hadn’t touched the mask essence to unlock the screen, which was still on her conversation with Lin Su Yan.

Lin Su Yan: My boss is so busy he’s sick, worked until he had a fever of almost 40 degrees and is still working from home after taking fever medicine.

Tao Zhi: ??

She “swoosh” pulled off her face mask in one go, then sat up from the couch, grabbed a tissue to wipe her hands, and typed to confirm: [?? 40 degrees?? Your boss? Your superior? Hasn’t gone to the hospital??]

Lin Su Yan: [Yeah he hasn’t, took a day off today, working from home, just sent me new client materials earlier.]

When Fu Xi Ling walked into the living room carrying her laptop, she saw Tao Zhi standing in front of the couch with an unwashed face mask, looking at her with a troubled expression.

Fu Xi Ling paused: “What’s wrong?”

“Ling Ling, Jiang Qi Huai is sick,” Tao Zhi said gloomily, “It’s serious.”

Fu Xi Ling: “…”

“Ah,” Fu Xi Ling went along with her thoughts, “Do you want to go check on him?”

“Would that be appropriate,” Tao Zhi frowned, saying seriously, “He’s just my ex-boyfriend.”

Fu Xi Ling had been friends with Tao Zhi for many years. While she might not understand her thoughts and personality down to the last detail, she was at least eighty or ninety percent there. She nodded and said: “Although he’s just your ex-boyfriend, you’re still old classmates after all, and the study god probably lives alone now, with no one to take care of him when he’s sick, it’s quite pitiful. I think it’s fine to go check on him.”

Tao Zhi was convinced by her perfect logic.

She pondered for two seconds, then said seriously: “I think what you said makes sense.”

While speaking, Tao Zhi rushed into the bathroom to wash off her face mask, coming out only saying one thing: “I’m going to change clothes.”

“…”

Fu Xi Ling sighed.

To avoid appearing too deliberate, Tao Zhi dressed very low-key.

A cream-colored cashmere dress paired with a dark coat. She had just showered and didn’t have time to worry about whether she had makeup on or how her complexion looked. She went straight to the underground parking garage, took out her car keys, and entered Jiang Qi Huai’s address into the navigation.

It was almost 9 PM, and the road under the Second Ring Road overpass was completely gridlocked.

Half an hour later, Tao Zhi snaked through the congested traffic past the Second Ring Road overpass, parked her car in the paid underground parking lot of the residential complex, then stood at Jiang Qi Huai’s door following the address An Se Se had given her last time.

His building was a small high-rise, not many floors total, with two elevators serving three units per floor. The entrance doors opened in different directions, separated by soft partitions, with excellent privacy.

Tao Zhi sighed.

No matter how many years passed, no matter how much older she grew, she was still that impulsive person who would just go do something if she wanted to, regardless of consequences.

Because she wanted to see him, she came.

It seemed she hadn’t changed at all from her self of several years ago.

Tao Zhi stood in front of that digital lock, lowered her head and let out a long sigh, then leaned forward to press the doorbell.

After waiting a while, she heard the elevator make a soft “ding” sound, then slowly open as someone walked out, probably Jiang Qi Huai’s neighbor from the same floor.

She stood further inside, trying to shrink into the corner, raised her hand to press the doorbell again while frowning.

Why isn’t he opening the door?

Did he faint inside?

Tao Zhi got a bit anxious. She lifted her eyes, pressed her fingertip against the edge of the door and peered through the peephole, squinting one eye to try to look inside, but could only see darkness.

The footsteps of Jiang Qi Huai’s neighbor who had just exited the elevator stopped, probably thinking her behavior was suspicious and that she didn’t look like a good person.

Tao Zhi turned around and lifted her eyes, about to speak, when she saw this neighbor leaning against the nearby soft partition, looking down at her with slightly scattered eyes as he raised an eyebrow: “Here to steal something?”

“…”

Tao Zhi opened her mouth, her finger pressed against the door pointing inside: “You’re not home?”

Jiang Qi Huai straightened up and walked over: “Why would I be home?”

“Aren’t you sick and working from home?”

“Hmm?” Jiang Qi Huai raised his hand to light up the digital lock, entering the numbers one by one. After pressing the last number, he turned his head, speaking evenly, “You have little spies in my office?”

Tao Zhi’s heart skipped a beat. She choked, then guiltily looked away.

The door made two “beep” sounds and opened. Jiang Qi Huai pulled it open and moved aside: “Come in.”

Seeing that he didn’t pursue the previous question, Tao Zhi breathed a sigh of relief and went in.

His new home was very different from his previous house.

The decoration style was simple and bright, with a large open kitchen. The dining table was no longer squeezed by the entrance where you could barely put your feet. The living room was spacious, and instead of a TV, the wall in front of the sofa and coffee table had two large bookshelves against it. Next to the bookshelves by the floor-to-ceiling window was still a single small lazy chair, with a square wooden table beside it holding a set of Chinese chess.

The game wasn’t finished – on the board, the chariot had crossed straight over the river boundary, with the cannon properly positioned across the bank in the middle. The black pieces were in check.

Tao Zhi stood by the table with lowered eyes, lost in thought. For a moment she seemed to see an old white-haired man sitting in the single chair by the window, wearing reading glasses, holding a book, smiling with curved eyes as he said to her with ease: “Think carefully now, if you move your cannon here, I’m going to move my horse.”

She quickly lowered her eyes, raised her hand to rub her slightly sour nose, and moved her gaze away from the chessboard, turning around.

Jiang Qi Huai had already taken off his coat. He walked to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator door to take something out, then washed his hands at the sink, the fabric of his shirt vaguely outlining the shape of his bones and muscles with his movements.

Where did he look like someone with a forty-degree fever?

Tao Zhi pulled her phone from her pocket and messaged Lin Su Yan: [Didn’t you say your boss had a forty-degree fever and was working from home?]

Tao Zhi tilted her head, looking Jiang Qi Huai up and down again: [He looks completely fine.]

Lin Su Yan: Who are you talking about?

Tao Zhi: I’m talking about your director.

Lin Su Yan: I was talking about our team leader.

Tao Zhi: “…”

How many bosses do you have! You’re both finance masters who returned from studying abroad, how come your rank is so low??

Lin Su Yan: But why do you know our director? Didn’t you call him Quasimodo before? Said he was 200 pounds?

Tao Zhi calmly clicked on his profile picture, checked the option to block this person’s messages, then exited WeChat and locked her phone.

After she finished this series of actions, Jiang Qi Huai had just come out of the kitchen, holding a plate of freshly washed strawberries.

Tao Zhi paused, lowering her head.

In the glass fruit plate, the strawberries were plump and bright red, with their leaves neatly trimmed off at the ends. Watching water droplets roll down the bright red tips into the plate, Tao Zhi muttered softly: “How come your home always has strawberries.”

“Just happened to have some,” Jiang Qi Huai put the plate on the coffee table, turning his head, “Have you eaten dinner?”

Tao Zhi nodded honestly: “Haven’t you eaten?”

“Mm, just got off work,” Jiang Qi Huai went back into the kitchen, took out some noodles from the fridge, grabbed a few tomatoes and eggs, planning to make a simple egg noodle soup.

Tao Zhi sat properly on the sofa eating two strawberries, then started feeling restless. She ran to the kitchen with a strawberry in her mouth, poking her head forward to peer into the pot in front of him.

Even though it was just simple egg noodles without any meat, Tao Zhi could still smell the delicious aroma wafting to her nose.

She bit into the strawberry, pointing at the boiling pot, voice muffled as she commanded him: “Number 3821, I want to eat some too, make me a bowl.”

Jiang Qi Huai turned his head.

The girl’s face was extremely close, without makeup today, her beautiful face clean and delicate like a peeled boiled egg, eyes pitch black with distinct individual eyelashes.

She had half a strawberry between her lips, light red juice staining her soft lips, the uneaten strawberry tip peeking out slightly between her lips and teeth.

Jiang Qi Huai’s gaze landed on that strawberry tip for a moment, his sharp Adam’s apple unconsciously bobbing.

He quickly lowered his eyes and looked away: “Be good and wait outside.”

Chased out of the kitchen by him, Tao Zhi pouted in confusion, not knowing how she hadn’t been good.

She swallowed the strawberry and wandered back into the living room.

His new place didn’t actually look very big, but the layout was good and the decoration comfortable. The first room on the right side of the hallway at the other end of the living room was the bedroom.

The bedroom door wasn’t closed and the bedside lamp was on. Tao Zhi didn’t go in, just stood at the door intending to close it for him, but happened to glance inside as her hand touched the doorknob.

It was still a very simple room, looking even cleaner than in high school without the desk. The dark walls had no decorations except for a single photo hanging by the bed.

Tao Zhi froze when she saw that photo.

Her fingers rested on the doorknob as she stood rooted to the spot.

It was a very small, very ordinary sunset beach photo that had been exhibited at her first domestic private photography auction.

Because it was too ordinary, no one had been interested at the time.

But even if it was ordinary, even if many years had passed, because it was her own creation, Tao Zhi could recognize it at a glance.

In the photo, the sunset clouds were as red as if someone had squeezed a bottle of ketchup across the sky, waves rolled up fine sand rushing towards the beach, and at the very bottom edge of the photo on the beach, a slender pale foot entered the frame, its sand-covered surface playfully stepping into the thin seawater.

That was her foot.

And this photo should now be in the hands of the only person who had been willing to buy her photograph at that auction years ago.