ATLAS TRANSLATES

As the chief translator of Jiang Qi Huai’s special expressions, Tao Zhi took two seconds to rapidly interpret the series of meanings in his words.

— My head is covered in snow, how long do you think I’ve been waiting?

— I saw you hugging another man. You better explain why you’re betraying me within ten seconds.

Tao Zhi didn’t know how to explain that she had just been confessed to by a friend she’d known for seven or eight years, and under the influence of guilt and sadness, had given him a farewell hug.

Tao Zhi made a quick decision. Without wasting any words, she hung up the phone, stuffed her hands in her pockets, then ran across the street and jumped straight into his embrace.

The northern winter was harsh and cold. The freezing wind made even their coats stiff. Tao Zhi nuzzled against his chest, then looked up, her forehead brushing against his chin.

Jiang Qi Huai remained unmoved: “Going around hugging everyone.”

“…”

Tao Zhi looked up at him pleadingly and said: “He’s going away, and we don’t know when he’ll be back, so we just hugged briefly.”

She paused, then added: “It was just ceremonial, for our friendship.”

Jiang Qi Huai nodded: “A friendship where you only want to drink tea with him.”

Tao Zhi raised her hand high, holding up three fingers solemnly: “My relationship with Jiang He Sheng is completely innocent, really, nothing happened.”

Snowflakes fell in large clusters, the cold wind rustling dry branches and lifting the corners of their coats. Jiang Qi Huai glanced at her reddened nose and fingers from the cold, then lifted his chin: “Get in the car.”

Tao Zhi released her arms from around his waist, obediently went around the front of the car to the passenger side and got in, pulling the seatbelt across.

Jiang Qi Huai started the car without a word, just driving forward silently.

The atmosphere in the car was a bit stiff. Tao Zhi secretly glanced at him and cleared her throat: “Um.”

Jiang Qi Huai didn’t respond.

“Have you eaten?” Tao Zhi asked him.

Jiang Qi Huai made a sound of agreement, paused, then added: “Ate at the company cafeteria.”

Tao Zhi scratched her nose: “So where are we going now?”

“Going for tea,” Jiang Qi Huai said coldly.

Tao Zhi: “…”

What a temper.

She stopped talking, and Jiang Qi Huai remained completely quiet. His lips were turned down at the corners, silent, looking somewhat unhappy.

At first Tao Zhi would look at him from time to time, but later she ignored him completely, just lowering her head to play with her phone.

She played a soft English love song. The clean female voice was gentle and intimate, the lyrics simple but sincere, like telling a story.

Several times, Tao Zhi felt she caught Jiang Qi Huai looking at her from the corner of her eye, but when she turned her head, she found his gaze fixed straight ahead, not having moved at all.

She listened to music along the way, thinking about how to comfort him.

Maybe she should just seduce him directly — didn’t they say when men are angry, tempting them to bed works well?

But she still wanted to rest for a few more days.

Tao Zhi puffed out her cheeks in frustration.

About Jiang He Sheng’s matter, saying she had absolutely no feelings would be a lie. Now that things had calmed down, she still felt a bit sad.

That feeling of losing a very important friend, and having to maintain distance to avoid extra contact in the future, was really quite difficult to bear.

Friends who could stay in touch for so many years were really rare. Besides Fu Xi Ling and the others, Jiang He Sheng was one of them. No matter what, Tao Zhi had put her heart into this friendship.

She propped her chin on one hand and unconsciously, unintentionally let out a sigh.

Jiang Qi Huai heard it and glanced at her.

Tao Zhi was completely immersed in her own little world, showing no reaction.

It wasn’t until the car drove into the underground parking lot, the bright night scenery replaced by the dim underground space, that Tao Zhi came back to her senses. She watched as Jiang Qi Huai pulled into a parking spot, stopped, then didn’t move.

Tao Zhi interrupted her brief depressive mood and started thinking again about how to comfort her jealous boyfriend.

As she thought, she slowly unbuckled her seatbelt, watching him.

Jiang Qi Huai ignored her and directly unbuckled his seatbelt to get out.

Tao Zhi followed him out bounce by bounce, into the elevator, upstairs, into the house, then straight to the bedroom.

Tao Zhi listlessly took off her scarf and hung it to the side, then removed her coat. She walked into the living room, looking at the tightly closed bedroom door, feeling that the door was as self-isolated as its owner.

As if saying: Don’t touch me.

Tao Zhi washed her hands, then curled up on the sofa. After thinking for a moment, she pulled out her phone, opened the search app, and started typing: What to do when boyfriend is angry—

Before she could finish typing, the self-isolated door was suddenly opened from the inside.

Tao Zhi looked up. Jiang Qi Huai had a blank expression, and for some unknown reason had come straight back. He threw his coat onto the sofa beside her, walked to her front and leaned over, supporting himself on the back of the sofa.

“What are you doing?” He narrowed his eyes, his tone icy cold, looking very displeased.

Tao Zhi blinked, held up her phone in front of him, and honestly said: “Looking up how to comfort you.”

“…”

Jiang Qi Huai was silent for a moment.

He had waited in the room for a whole minute, and she was actually still sitting here searching on her phone.

Jiang Qi Huai was so angry he almost wanted to laugh.

He looked down at her, then suddenly lowered his head and bit her lip.

At first it was just biting to vent his dissatisfaction, but gradually, his slightly tense emotions loosened and scattered. His tongue tip uncontrollably slipped into her mouth, caught her soft tongue, and sucked long and meticulously.

Tao Zhi lifted her neck and kissed him back.

When their lips finally parted, both of their breathing was somewhat chaotic.

Jiang Qi Huai’s palm pressed against her slender nape, watching as she looked at him with slightly confused eyes, her swollen lips slightly parted as she took small breaths. The wonderful taste from last night tempted him to feel itchy, and something inside his body started stirring again.

His fingertips brushed against the delicate skin of her neck, his voice becoming hoarse: “You need to look this up?”

Tao Zhi: “…”

Tao Zhi instantly understood.

She directly threw her phone aside, opened her arms to him, closed her eyes tightly, and said with resignation: “Come on then.”

Jiang Qi Huai: “…”

He let out a helpless, almost defeated sigh.

Tao Zhi took the opportunity to grab his wrist and pull him down to sit on the sofa, then nestled into his arms to comfort him: “Don’t be angry, I’ll let you know whenever I eat with any guy in the future, okay?”

She thought for a moment and continued: “And absolutely no physical contact, really just normal friends. And it’s not that I’m willing to drink tea just because it’s him — I don’t like drinking tea with anyone. Our highness should be more magnanimous.”

Jiang Qi Huai watched as she burrowed into his arms like a little prairie dog: “I’m not angry.”

Tao Zhi nodded: “Yes, yes, you’re just jealous.”

Jiang Qi Huai pressed his lips together, not speaking.

“You’re such an old vinegar jar,” Tao Zhi said.

Jiang Qi Huai raised his hand, curled his knuckles, and lightly knocked on her head.

Tao Zhi looked up and continued asking: “Jiang Qi Huai, is your hometown in Shanxi?”

Jiang Qi Huai didn’t want to listen to her nonsense anymore.

As Tao Zhi was about to speak again, his fingers had already slipped under the hem of her sweater.

Tao Zhi’s body stiffened. She called out twice, pressing his hand through her clothes.

The position was a bit awkward. Tao Zhi only realized after pressing his hand, hurriedly letting go, and said with a bitter face: “Your Highness, I want to rest today.”

As she spoke, she had already been pressed down onto the sofa.

“Not possible today,” Jiang Qi Huai bent his knee and lifted slightly. He pressed against her and said in a low voice, “Another day.”

“…”

Tao Zhi had given herself three days of bed rest.

With Jiang Qi Huai’s change of plans, who knew when she would get to rest. She felt that when he said he only needed a few hours of sleep each day, he might have been serious. He went to work so early in the morning, and after working overtime at night, he still had energy for nightlife.

After a few days, Tao Zhi directly escaped back to her own home while he was at work.

Jiang Qi Huai didn’t say anything, very magnanimously letting her go.

The following week, Tao Zhi received a call from “SINGO”. The chief editor and editor-in-chief had finally selected two of her submitted photos for the March issue cover. According to them, SINGO’s young master had praised her work profusely after seeing her finished photos, contrary to his usual critical nature, and expressed interest in establishing a long-term cooperation relationship.

Tao Zhi exchanged a few polite words to deflect the matter, and then they said they hoped the magazine’s overall style would be consistent, asking when she would have time to come back to reshoot the back cover.

Tao Zhi agreed, scheduled a time, and after resting for a few days, became busy again.

On the day she went to the magazine office, Tao Zhi called Jiang Qi Huai.

They had each been busy with their own things and hadn’t seen each other for several days, barely even having proper conversations. She sat in the studio waiting for the back cover model to touch up their makeup while making the call. After quite a while, Jiang Qi Huai finally answered.

Tao Zhi: “Are you busy?”

Jiang Qi Huai responded on the other end: “A bit.”

“Okay, I’m just at SINGO for work, it’s very close to your company. If you’re free tonight, want to have dinner together?” Tao Zhi looked around, everyone was busy, so she said softly, “I miss my boyfriend a little.”

Jiang Qi Huai laughed, his cold voice gaining some warmth: “I’ll try to finish early. What do you want to eat?”

“Anything is fine, we’ll decide when you’re free,” Tao Zhi said, “Then you get back to work, I’m hanging up.”

Jiang Qi Huai agreed, waited for her to hang up, then put down his phone and looked up again.

“Was that Zhi Zhi calling?” Tao Xiu Ping sat across from him, took a sip of tea, and said leisurely.

Jiang Qi Huai nodded.

“This girl only thinks about eating all day,” Tao Xiu Ping couldn’t help saying, “Even calls to arrange dinner in the middle of work.”

Jiang Qi Huai didn’t say anything.

Tao Xiu Ping looked at his calm demeanor and smiled: “You don’t seem surprised at all that I would meet with you privately.”

Jiang Qi Huai indeed wasn’t surprised.

From that day when Tao Zhi brought him home, and Tao Xiu Ping had asked for his number while she was upstairs, Jiang Qi Huai knew Tao Xiu Ping would find him later.

Even if Tao Xiu Ping hadn’t arranged to meet today, Jiang Qi Huai had planned to pay a private visit.

He nodded slightly: “I should have been the one to actively seek you out.”

Tao Xiu Ping continued: “You didn’t tell Zhi Zhi.”

“The issue is with me,” Jiang Qi Huai said calmly.

He didn’t want to make her feel troubled about such things anymore.

Tao Xiu Ping looked up, examining him scrutinizingly through his glasses.

To be fair, young men like Jiang Qi Huai were actually the type he admired most — calm and collected, unmoved by external influences, approaching matters with rational consideration of pros and cons, yet possessing an undisguised natural pride.

Tao Xiu Ping nodded: “Then you should also roughly guess why I asked to see you today.”

He spoke unhurriedly, as if asking about the weather.

In his early years, Tao Xiu Ping had started from scratch, establishing his current company at this age. Within a few years, he had monopolistically acquired nearly one-third of the small enterprises in the industry and gone public, his methods swift and decisive.

In Tao Zhi’s words, he was an interesting father who liked to drink tea and watch dating shows, and would exercise on a yoga mat at home when free, but when facing people other than his children, he had an extremely sharp pressure.

Jiang Qi Huai paused, then said neither humbly nor arrogantly: “I won’t separate from Zhi Zhi.”

Tao Xiu Ping raised an eyebrow.

“I know you’re dissatisfied with me and for various reasons don’t approve of us being together. You don’t want to make things difficult for Zhi Zhi because of this matter, and neither do I, which is why I wanted to talk to you privately.”

“You must have already looked into my family background, but I still feel I should explain it myself clearly. Until I was four, I lived in an orphanage, then I lived with my grandfather. Now I’m alone. My father had a previous conviction for burglary and later died in an accident. I don’t know who my mother is.”

Jiang Qi Huai paused, pulled his lips into a somewhat self-mocking smile: “I know these conditions really aren’t worthy of Zhi Zhi. I once truly thought I should let go, and I made what I thought was the right choice, but I was wrong.”

He lowered his eyes and said: “I tried, but I can’t let go.”

“I can’t choose my original family and growing environment. All I can do is try my best to change myself. You can have any requirements for me, just name them. Whatever conditions, whatever height you want me to reach, I will achieve it, except for leaving Zhi Zhi.”

He raised his head, meeting Tao Xiu Ping’s gaze, his eyes serious and calm: “I know that just talking might not be very convincing to you, but I will prove it to you.”

“So, I hope you can give me some time, and give me a chance,” he bowed his head deeply and said slowly, “All that I am and all that I have, I will give to her. I will be good to her for a lifetime.”

Tao Xiu Ping didn’t speak for a long time, looking at him deeply.

This young man before him, many years ago when he was still a youth, when Tao Xiu Ping first saw him in the hospital, he had noticed his unbreakable proud spirit.

Tao Xiu Ping understood then that no threats or obstacles would work on him.

He would have to crush something brilliant in front of him to show him.

And now, he had grown from an upright youth into a man who could stand tall, yet was willingly lowering his posture and bending his spine to beg for a chance.

Tao Xiu Ping sighed: “You’re a good kid.”

Jiang Qi Huai didn’t speak, he kept his head down, his lips straight, every nerve fragilely taut.

Tao Xiu Ping looked at his appearance and smiled: “You don’t need to be so serious. I actually didn’t call you here today for anything else. Since I promised Zhi Zhi, I won’t do things behind her back, that would make me the bad guy, and Zhi Zhi would resent me if she found out.”

“Besides wanting to hear what’s in your heart, I called you here for another reason,” his tone softened as he said warmly, “Uncle wants to apologize to you.”

Jiang Qi Huai was stunned and looked up.

“Uncle is also a selfish person. My thoughts and attitude back then really didn’t take you into consideration. I didn’t think about your abilities and character as an individual, only saw the aspects that were disadvantageous to Zhi Zhi. I was indeed somewhat cruel to you, and it wasn’t very fair.”

“Actually, although Zhi Zhi never said anything afterwards, as her father who watched her grow up, I can tell what she’s thinking just by the way her eyes move. She was never happy, and I’ve always felt somewhat guilty about that. As for your family matters, I’ve been keeping an eye on them all these years, including your own development.”

Tao Xiu Ping put his teacup on the table, his sharp eyes behind his glasses smiling as he looked at him, “Don’t think you’re not worthy of anyone, and don’t let those uncontrollable factors restrain you. You’re a good kid, and also an outstanding man.”

Tao Xiu Ping raised his hand, reaching across the table to pat his shoulder, joking: “A man needs confidence to succeed, needs to believe he can be worthy of the best woman, and isn’t our Zhi Zhi just the best?”

Jiang Qi Huai’s throat moved, but no words came out.

Tao Xiu Ping thought for a moment, then looked at him and said leisurely: “However, I still feel a bit at a loss entrusting my precious daughter to you, so don’t relax. If one day I feel you’re not worthy of Zhi Zhi anymore, I’ll still have to kick you out.”

He smiled at him and said: “So, next time you come to my house, you’ll have to practice swan arms with uncle, okay?”

Jiang Qi Huai: “…”