ATLAS TRANSLATES

“I want to go back to school.”

“How can you go back to school in this state?”

Xie Ci stared at her profile, raising his eyebrows slightly, “How about I take you back to find—”

Before he could finish, Xu You’s phone rang again.

She lowered her gaze to look at the caller ID.

After a moment.

Xu You sniffled, coughed a few times, composed herself, and pretended everything was normal as she answered.

She gave a soft “hello.”

Fu Xueli’s voice was anxious, quickly asking: “Yoyo, why weren’t you answering your phone? Did something happen?”

There was chaos in her background, many voices talking at once.

“Nothing, I—” Xu You only managed two words before choking up again.

Xie Ci grabbed her phone, putting it to his ear, “Xu You is with me, don’t worry about it.”

“Where are you now?! Why didn’t you answer when I called earlier? I was worried sick!”

Fu Xueli unleashed a torrent of words over the phone.

She had wanted to look for Xu You herself earlier, but she wasn’t familiar with the parking lot’s layout, so she asked Xie Ci to bring Xu You back. But he’d been gone for ages, with no sign of Xu You, and neither of them answering their phones.

With no other choice, she rushed to the parking lot to search herself, but as soon as the elevator doors opened, two security guards blocked her way.

Fu Xueli was already anxious, and being blocked made her more agitated. Her temper flared as she demanded loudly: “What are you doing? I’m looking for my friend, get out of my way!”

The guards didn’t move but explained politely: “Sorry miss, there’s a situation being handled inside.”

“What situation?! My friend is in there!”

As Fu Xueli argued with them, she faintly heard weak groans from the empty parking lot.

Being someone familiar with the scene, she knew something wasn’t right and kept frantically calling both Xie Ci and Xu You.

After about ten minutes of calling, Xu You’s phone finally connected.

“I’ll take her back to school later,” Xie Ci answered calmly, glancing to the side.

Fu Xueli exploded in anger, almost shouting: “Screw you, bring Xu You back here, I’ll take her to school myself.”

Xie Ci clicked his tongue, “We’re already on the road.”

Fu Xueli asked him: “What exactly happened?”

“Nothing happened.”

“Do you think I’m stupid?”

Fu Xueli was tired of his nonsense and said coldly: “Why is the parking lot sealed off? What’s going on in there?”

Xie Ci replied unhurriedly, making up a story: “Oh, when Xu You and I were leaving, we ran into some thugs and had a bit of trouble. They outnumbered us, so we ran. After that, I was angry and called my brother to bring some people down to have a chat with that group—”

Fu Xueli: …

“Alright, that’s it then.” Xie Ci hung up before she could respond.

After hanging up, the car fell silent again.

Xie Ci bent one arm on the car window. His hand propped against his head as he casually played with Xu You’s phone.

After some time, he suddenly asked: “Hey, you haven’t saved my number?”

Xu You turned her head, silently taking back her phone. Her eyes were tired, her voice hoarse: “Thank you for today.”

After a pause, Xu You continued: “Don’t tell Xueli.”

“Mm.” He agreed.

“Don’t tell anyone else either,” she added.

Xie Ci gave a lazy grunt. His head tilted back against the seat as he looked her up and down.

After a while, he opened the car’s small drawer and took out several hundred-yuan bills.

“Wait for me,” he instructed before opening the car door and getting out.

Xu You turned her head.

The car door slammed shut with a bang, the car shook, making her body tremble too.

He crossed the road, his clothes dirty with dust and undried blood. Xie Ci turned towards a 24-hour convenience store, not looking back as he raised the car keys in his hand.

Xu You sat in the car, hearing a click as the car lights flashed.

The car locked.

Almost simultaneously, the phone in her hand vibrated. Xu You picked it up to see a message from contact “Xie Ci”:

“Afraid you’ll run away.”

Xie Ci returned shortly with a T-shirt and two packs of wet wipes.

He got in the car, closed the door, and tossed a pack of wipes into Xu You’s lap.

She sat there motionless until Xie Ci asked: “Want me to wipe it for you?”

“I want to go back to school soon.”

“I know,” he said.

“I want to go back to school,” she repeated.

Xie Ci was completely out of patience.

He lowered his head to open a pack of wipes, pulled one out, and while wiping the dirt off his fingers said: “It’s 6:30 now, right? I’ll get you to the school gate by 8:00, okay?”

Silence. No response.

Xie Ci tried again tentatively: “Pretty please?”

The car was parked near the sidewalk, where occasional elderly people and children passed by, casting curious glances inside.

The night breeze passed through the car, bringing a cool freshness.

Xu You sat there, her tears dried up, but her mind suddenly very quiet. She couldn’t think of anything, just blank.

The dried tears on her cheeks made her skin feel tight and itchy.

Xu You was too tired to think or argue anymore. She silently picked up the mint-green pack of wet wipes from her lap.

Xie Ci leaned on the steering wheel, his gaze lingering on her for a moment. Only after confirming her silent agreement did he relax with a smile, clearing his throat, “Turn your head away for a bit, I need to change clothes.”

Xu You gave him a quiet look before turning towards the window.

The other car window slowly rose, blocking out the external noise.

He crossed his arms, lifting his shirt over his head, revealing his lean waist, his voice muffled inside: “Don’t secretly turn around to peek at me.”

“I know,” she replied slowly.

The city was especially lively at night, with neon lights flashing and constant traffic flow.

They walked along the crowded streets, aimlessly wandering through the nearby night market.

Music with strong beats flowed from a two-yuan accessories shop. Seafood restaurants, noodle stands, street vendors selling grilled bread and lamb skewers, many unnamed food aromas mixed together.

Xu You wore a large black jacket, zipped all the way up, completely wrapping her thin frame. She quietly followed beside Xie Ci, taking small bites of her red bean bread.

“What do you like to eat?” Xie Ci’s messy black hair stood up on his head as he walked with his hands in his pockets, casually leading Xu You around.

Xu You chewed a couple times, swallowed her food, and said softly: “This is fine for me.”

“This will fill you up?” Xie Ci looked down at what she was holding, skeptically saying: “Even the little yellow dog I feed at home eats more than you.”

“Mm.” She responded, not saying more.

They continued walking until they reached a small river by the night market.

It was the liveliest area. There were children playing games, an old man selling candy figurines, and young people sitting on the grass chatting and laughing.

Xie Ci’s eyes wandered around, suddenly spotting something.

He raised his eyebrows and pulled Xu You’s wrist towards it.

At a street stall, there was a dense crowd of people, mostly adults with children.

“Boss, how much for one try at this?” Xie Ci stopped but kept holding Xu You’s wrist, using his height advantage to call out to the busy vendor inside.

The vendor was a chubby middle-aged man, busy collecting money, who replied without looking up: “Look at the side, it’s written on the sign.”

The stall had all sorts of items displayed, from small rotating music boxes and ceramic Doraemon figures to meter-tall brown teddy bears.

A white board stood nearby with blue marker writing in messy strokes:

Ten rings for ten yuan, ring it and take it home.

The vendor was still calling for business.

Xie Ci looked down at the girl beside him and said: “Hey, watch this, I’m going to bankrupt this vendor today.”

After his confident declaration, without caring whether Xu You wanted to or not, he forcefully pulled her over.

“Boss, give me ten rings,” Xie Ci took money from his pocket and handed it over.

The vendor glanced at him, passed over the rings, then looked down to make change.

“Boss, how can these small rings catch the bear?” Xie Ci played with the thin wire rings, puzzled.

The vendor gave him his change, thinking this tall, skinny young man looked handsome but seemed dim-witted. He rolled his eyes and said impatiently: “Who said you’re catching the bear?”

“But I want it,” Xie Ci said matter-of-factly, then got a bit angry, “Why display it if you’re not selling it?”

“Hey, you kid.”

The vendor grew impatient and shouted at them, pointing to a white chalk line nearby, “See that? Stand here to throw, if you get the ring around the mineral water bottle at the back you can take the bear, and you can take anything you ring in front too!”

Xie Ci seriously estimated the distance, then complained: “It’s so far?”

He wanted to argue more, but Xu You couldn’t help tugging at the hem of his clothes, “Hurry up, there are people waiting.”

Finally ready to begin.

People crowded around them, excitedly squeezed together.

A young mother holding her child pointed at Xie Ci saying: “Look at the brother throwing for the sister.”

The child was squirming, crying loudly: “I want the goldfish, I want the goldfish, I want to throw too!”

Xie Ci was very serious, standing in place and even stretching his muscles.

Seeing his manner, everyone thought he must be quite skilled.

Xu You quietly stood to the side.

Before throwing his first ring, Xie Ci turned to ask her, “What do you like?”

Xu You shook her head at his childlike behavior, saying: “Just hurry up.”

Then he made his own decision, standing at the white line, slightly bent over, intensely focusing as he extended his arm to throw the first ring.

Missed.

The crowd let out a collective sigh.

Second one.

Missed again.

Third, fourth, fifth…

Xie Ci threw all ten rings, not even getting the closest target.

After finishing, he stood empty-handed.

Standing there silently making eye contact with Xu You. It was quite embarrassing actually, when had the mighty First High School boss ever been so humiliated?

Xie Ci refused to give up and went to buy ten more rings from the vendor.

When he came back, Xu You saw his eager expression and sighed almost imperceptibly.

She shook her head, stood beside Xie Ci, took the rings from his hand, and said softly: “Let me try.”

Then.

Xu You stood there, looking at the items in front, quiet for a moment.

She threw, and the ring caught a small gift box.

Another ring caught the goldfish bowl.

Gasps of amazement rose from the crowd.

For the last ring, Xu You weighed it in her hand for a moment as the evening breeze gently blew, lifting her loose black hair, the pure white hem of her dress tapping against her calves.

The thin wire ring left her hand, flying straight forward in a perfect arc.

With a ding, it landed steadily around the mineral water bottle at the back.

The surrounding crowd burst into cheers and applause.

Now this was a true master among the people!

Xie Ci was completely stunned, staring blankly at everything happening before him.

The unhappy-looking vendor took out the big bear and handed it to Xu You.

Xu You took it with one arm, thanking him quietly, then negotiated: “I don’t want the other things, but can I have the goldfish?”

The vendor had no objections, of course.

Xu You nodded, stepped forward to crouch down, and picked up the goldfish.

She looked up, searching around until she saw the young mother.

Xu You walked over and personally handed the item to the child, “Here’s the goldfish.”

By the time they finished at the night market, it was almost eight o’clock.

They returned along the same route. Xu You walked in front, silently carrying the bear.

Xie Ci followed behind with his hands in his pockets, strolling leisurely.

At the roadside, as darkness fell, the streetlights stretched her shadow long.

“Hey, you’re full of surprises,” Xie Ci suddenly laughed, quickening his pace to catch up with her. “Didn’t expect that from you, Xu You.”

Xu You made a sound of agreement, then said: “That’s because you’re too stupid.”

Xie Ci hissed, but continued listening to her.

“Those rings have uneven weight distribution, heavier at the front, and with the wind, you can’t throw directly at the target. You need to adjust the angle slightly to the side, and consider the height of the throw too.”

She looked at him, “You don’t study properly at school, so you don’t know anything.”

Xie Ci stared at Xu You, teasing her: “As expected of a top student, I’m impressed.”

He was being playful and unserious again, so Xu You ignored him, turning away to walk forward.

Xie Ci chuckled, lazily continuing to follow behind her.

After walking a few steps.

Xu You suddenly stopped.

Xie Ci halted too, and just as he was about to ask what was wrong, he saw her turn back.

She handed the big bear she’d been carrying to Xie Ci, looking up at him slightly, and said seriously: “This is for you.”

People streamed past them.

Xu You tilted her face up, her clean black eyes quietly meeting his gaze.

Light and shadow passed over her form.

Xie Ci’s breath caught.

For the first time in his life, he blushed.