ATLAS TRANSLATES

On the weekend, I went to the villa for a family dinner. Daddy personally cooked spaghetti, and Gu Xiao’an’s face was covered in meat sauce. But the little one was acting very strangely today. He didn’t rush over to hug me when I came in, but instead carefully hugged Xiao Qi and quietly curled up on the innermost sofa. His big eyes blinked as he secretly peeked at me, looking pitiful.

I beckoned to the little meatball, saying, “An’an, come let sister hug you!”

He hugged his half-finished milk bottle, raised his milk-bubble face to steal a glance at me, hid the bottle behind his back, and then lowered his head like a little thief, sheepishly playing with his fingers.

I looked at the little one amusedly, walked over to ruffle his soft black hair, and gently pinched his little cheeks. The little one actually shuddered, then secretly looked up at me again. After a long while, he finally looked at me pitifully and asked, “Sister won’t hit An’an?”

I frowned and asked him, “Why would I hit An’an?”

“An’an… did something wrong, sister won’t hit An’an?” He opened his big eyes wide, looking at me hopefully with his innocent little face.

“Sister won’t hit An’an!” I laughed, wondering what mischief this little one had been up to. Seeing him scoot his bottom back a bit, his little body trying hard to hide that half bottle of milk, I squinted my eyes, tugged his little ear and continued, “Sister will only make An’an stand in the corner, and then take away An’an’s milk bottle.”

When the little one heard this, his mouth drooped and he stopped hiding. His short little hands quickly hugged the milk bottle to his chest. He flopped down on Xiao Qi and nuzzled against it, puffing out his cheeks with a tearful expression. Xiao Qi wagged its tail, its shiny black eyes turning to me, actually giving me a disapproving look…

At the dinner table, I asked Daddy, “Daddy, did Gu Xiao’an do something bad?”

As soon as I spoke, Daddy solemnly put down his fork, raised an eyebrow and said, “No, Gu An is much better behaved than you.” Then the old man looked up, tapped the table and asked, “Gu Baobei, don’t just bully the little one. Do you remember what bad thing you did?”

“How could I? Daddy! I’m a public figure, I can’t do bad things…” I whined. Besides, when did I ever bully the little one?! It’s so unfair!

But Daddy didn’t buy it at all. He gave me a contemptuous look with an expression that said “we’ll see about that”, and stood up to walk towards his study. He was still saying, “You naughty girl, just you wait…”

I shuddered and turned to glare at Gu Xiao’an, who was sitting in the little chair next to me licking his fork. Seeing my fierce look, he stopped swinging his little arms and legs. With meat sauce on the tip of his nose, he looked at me with utterly innocent eyes, then drooped his little face like a wronged little wife, mumbling, “An’an will go stand in the corner…” I broke out in a cold sweat, thinking, what a coward! What a coward! Could this little stinker Gu Xiao’an have tattled about how I broke that jade disc from the collection cabinet last week?! Aowu… I became a coward too…

But what Daddy brought from the study wasn’t the broken jade disc that I had guiltily hidden in the corner of the collection cabinet. Instead, he brought two books and a magazine. From my estimation, I couldn’t tell what they were about!

Daddy snorted and glanced at me, then took out a magazine from under the books. He waved it at me and threw it in front of me. Pointing at the cover, he jabbed his finger at it several times and asked, “Here! Gu Baobei! Explain to me clearly, why does Gu Xiao’an call this guy brother-in-law!”

Brother-in-law! I was embarrassed! I lowered my head slowly and looked at the latest issue of “Time Magazine” on the table. The background of the photo on the magazine cover could hardly be called a city. There were destroyed houses, tilted power lines, gunfire in the distance, and frightened refugees. The entire image was filled with despair and tragedy, completely apocalyptic. But in this world full of gunfire and dust, Fu Junyan stood there wearing tattered clothes whose original color was barely visible, with half his face covered in dirt. His slender hand held a military cap deformed by bullets and stained with blood. Standing tall amidst the desolation and despair, his eyes were so clear and pure, full of stubborn determination as he gazed into the distance. So calm yet so powerful, as if from him one could see an untainted, inextinguishable hope.

I unconsciously reached out, wanting to touch that all-too-familiar figure on the cover. But Daddy suddenly coughed a few times, and as if that wasn’t enough, knocked on the table again.

I reluctantly withdrew my involuntary hand, looked up, and said to Daddy flatteringly, “Daddy, he’s not called ‘this guy’, his name is Fu Junyan.”

Daddy gave a disdainful look at the “Time Magazine” in front of me and snorted coldly, “I know!”

“Hehe!” I laughed sycophantically, blinking my eyes stupidly at Daddy.

Daddy shook his head, finally grabbed the magazine and simply hit me on the head with it, saying with a look of disdain, “Useless thing! How did I raise such an idiot! Aren’t you a star too? Aren’t you the world’s number one Gu Baobei? Look how pathetic you are! Back in my day, I was much more composed than you! And! You’ve grown wings, haven’t you! You’ve only known him for a few days and you’re already living together? You think he’s good-looking so you’ve lost your mind, huh? Look in the mirror at yourself! Where is my daughter lacking? Gu Baobei! We! Cannot be blinded by beauty!” The last sentence, Daddy sighed heavily.

Beauty… I couldn’t help but burst out laughing, covering my mouth. Blinded by Fu Junyan’s beauty…? …Fu Junyan’s beauty…!!…!! So Daddy has certified Fu Junyan’s… beauty…

Seeing me laugh, Daddy slapped the table angrily, “Laugh, still laughing!” But in the end, he sighed helplessly and patted his chest, saying, “But it’s not such a big deal. If things don’t work out, just give him some money to send him away…”

So, Daddy’s usually fearless bloody speech finally shocked me.

I speechlessly opened my mouth, “Daddy, I’m your daughter! Daughter!” Which father would tell their daughter to keep a man as a kept person? And to send Fu Junyan away? Good heavens! If I had the guts to do that, the next day I’d probably be beaten down by Fu Junyan’s fans, never to rise again. Fu Junyan would probably make sure I never rise again… uh, where did my thoughts go…

“What about being a daughter! My Xiao Moxiao’s daughter can do whatever she wants! Even if you break the sky, I’ll cover for you!” Daddy crossed his legs, saying cheerfully without a care.

“Alright! Daddy, spare yourself these old bones…”

Hearing this, Daddy looked at me, nodded in agreement and said, “You’re right.” …

Then he finally cleared his throat and asked, “Are you serious about this?” This time his tone was serious and solemn.

I nodded, but said with a smile and some annoyance, “Would the daughter you raised not be serious?” Then I explained, “Our apartments are connected, but we haven’t had that kind of relationship. Fu Junyan respects me very much.” What needed to be clarified, no matter how embarrassing, still had to be said clearly…

Daddy was silent, nodding before speaking seriously for once, “I just casually asked around in the circle, and Fu Junyan’s reputation is actually not bad. But I don’t want to believe anyone’s words, and I’m not interested in investigating him. Baby, you should know that for families like ours, no matter what kind of person he is or what kind of background he has, I don’t care. If it’s good, it’s icing on the cake. If it’s not good, my daughter will still be rich and happy. But what’s important, baby, is that regardless of how others see Fu Junyan, as a father I just want to ask you, in your eyes, what kind of person is this Fu Junyan?”

I was silent. In my previous life, Daddy hadn’t had such an in-depth conversation with me. He just sighed, looking at me with pitying eyes, saying over and over how stupid I was, so stupid. I didn’t immediately answer Daddy’s question, but instead picked up “Time Magazine” and turned to Fu Junyan’s interview page. In that article, the author only used the word ‘nobleman’ to describe Fu Junyan. I looked at it and smiled.

Looking at that simple yet clear evaluation, I raised my head and asked Daddy, “Daddy, when I was little, you taught me what true nobility of spirit is. Do you remember what you said then?”

Daddy had obviously already read the magazine. He glanced disdainfully at Fu Junyan’s photo and said lightly, “Courage, responsibility, cultivation.”

“Heh,” I chuckled softly, stroking Fu Junyan’s photo in the magazine, and sighed, “That man has all of those…”

As I read through his interview word by word, at the end the reporter asked Fu Junyan why he, who usually never accepts interviews, had invited them for an interview this time. Fu Junyan’s answer was frank and sincere. He said, “I’m in Somalia now. The communications here have been completely destroyed by the war. I have no way to contact the outside world, so I can only tell those who love me through you that I am safe.” Seeing this, my heart felt as if it was wrapped in a gentle hand, and warmth welled up in my eyes.

I pushed the magazine aside and leaned on the table. After much thought, I finally mumbled, “Daddy, I really can’t describe what kind of person Fu Junyan is. I just know that he’s like a mountain in his actions and like water in his character. In my heart, he’s so good, so reassuring that even thinking of his name makes my heart warm like it’s been stewed, and tears fall from my eyes. For so many years, I never understood why you loved Mommy so wholeheartedly, staying alone for so long, willing to keep this lonely vigil until death.” Even in my previous life, although I finally understood Daddy’s desperate and persistent love, after suffering so much for Jay, I still hadn’t thought about looking at that person, staying with that person, remaining alone for a lifetime. But Fu Junyan…

I paused, my eyes reddening, but a smile appeared on my lips: “But it wasn’t until I fell in love with Fu Junyan that I understood. In life, there really can be such a person who, holding a handful of sunlight’s warmth, makes you have no other love in life and no other refuge in death.”

“No other love in life, no other refuge in death…” Daddy was stunned, then slowly repeated, his eyes finally showing emotion. Then, he almost instinctively turned to look at Mommy’s photo on the side table. Soon, his eyes reddened. He wiped his eyes before looking at me again.

For the first time since I became an adult, he looked at me so lovingly. At this moment, Daddy’s whole demeanor was calm, unlike his usual casualness. He slowly and gently asked, “What did he do? To make you say such weighty words?”

I thought for a moment, but then smiled. Tilting my head, I answered, “Actually, he didn’t do anything special…” The love he gives is so gentle and nourishing, like spring rain that moistens things silently, making you unable to express it clearly, yet it’s already deeply rooted in your heart, impossible to articulate…

Daddy snorted, reached out his long arm to pat my head, his face full of helplessness mixed with stubbornness. He said, “See, you make Fu Junyan sound so good, but in my eyes he doesn’t seem that great.”

“Good! Daddy! Brother-in-law is very good!” At this moment, Gu Xiao’an, who hadn’t spoken until now, suddenly chimed in softly.

Xiao Qi also poked its head out from its food bowl by his feet, jumped a few steps on the spot, and barked “Woof! Woof!” endlessly…

I turned my face to see Gu Xiao’an carefully raising his little hand to speak, and glared at him amusedly. The little one seemed to remember the corner-standing punishment again. His little belly shrank, and he immediately sat up straight. Seeing this, I lowered my head and pouted at Xiao Qi. This guy ignored me and continued wagging its tail, barking around An’an and Daddy. But when Daddy waved his hand, it behaved, burying its head back into the food bowl and chewing loudly.

Daddy smiled as he glanced at Gu Xiao’an and Xiao Qi, then looked at Fu Junyan’s photo in the magazine pages. He spoke meaningfully: “Baby, if you really love him, let him go. If he comes back, he’s yours forever. If he doesn’t come back, he never belonged to you. Love can’t be forced.” As he spoke, he closed the magazine, then looked up at me and said calmly, “Child, you should understand more that being in love is a gentle catastrophe, and it’s not easy.”

I nodded, thinking of Daddy in his youth, that desperate and forceful love. Then thinking of the person who moves all my emotions, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly with happiness.

Then I saw Daddy raise an eyebrow, pat the table, and resume his arrogant tone: “No matter how good you say he is, I don’t think he’s truly good. But I’m magnanimous, I’ll wait and see. You must remember that you hid this from me, and your father is famous for holding grudges. If things fall apart later and you come home crying, I’ll still laugh at you. Did you hear me! Gu Baobei!”

What kind of father curses his daughter’s relationship to fail… I pouted and nodded obediently.

“Brother-in-law makes milk for An’an! Tastes better than sister’s!” Gu Xiao’an poked out his head again, looking straight at Daddy, his big eyes rolling mischievously. “Woof!” Xiao Qi also raised its fluffy little head again, its white fur wet from drinking water.

The duet of the two little ones was really amusing to think about.

Seeing the undisguised smile in Daddy’s eyes, I turned my head and poked Gu Xiao’an’s milk-bubble cheek, complaining softly: “Gu An, you little rascal, you’re still talking! You even pinky promised me not to call him brother-in-law in front of others!” Hmph!

At this moment, Gu Xiao’an turned his head to look at me innocently, frowning worriedly as he hooked his little finger: “But Daddy isn’t an outsider…”

I was floored. The little meatball had become so clever… Then, my head received a flick from Daddy…