ATLAS TRANSLATES

The night seemed to be filled with a drizzling rain.

The cold wind rattled against the windows, branches breaking and falling onto the road.

Xu You curled up into herself, sleeping restlessly.

In the middle of the night, she was startled awake, her feet kicking suddenly.

For some unknown reason, in her dazed state, Xu You felt like something was weighing on her mind.

She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but her body felt weak and she had trouble breathing.

She turned over and, as if possessed, picked up the phone from beside her pillow.

At three in the morning, there was an unread message.

Xu You hadn’t fully processed it, staring at the phone with unfocused eyes. Her finger unconsciously opened the message.

A line of text popped up.

[Come downstairs when you’re awake.]

Sent two hours ago.

Oh god….

Xu You felt a bit confused, her mind still foggy, not understanding the current situation.

Whether or not telepathy really exists, just as she finished reading the message and was about to put down her phone, Xie Ci’s call suddenly came through.

Xu You was startled, instantly becoming fully alert.

In the silent darkness, the phone’s light kept flashing.

She dove under the covers with a start, answering with a soft “hello.”

“That was quick.”

There seemed to be a soft laugh from the other end.

Xu You didn’t dare speak loudly, saying in a muffled voice: “What time is it? Why are you calling me?”

Afraid of waking her parents, she changed positions, kneeling on the bed with her head buried in her arms.

However, this made it even harder to breathe.

Xie Ci gave a faint laugh: “Damn, I’m freezing to death, can you come down quickly?”

Xu You thought he was joking.

“Now?”

“Mm.”

“Now?!” She asked again in disbelief.

“Mm.”

“…….”

After a few seconds, Xie Ci said seriously: “Really, I’ve been waiting for two hours, sister. Do you still want your candy? It’s been forever.”

Xu You was stunned for a moment, stuttering: “I was joking.”

“I took it seriously,” his voice was light, showing no anger.

“I’m sorry, go home quickly, I need to sleep, goodbye.”

Xu You didn’t dare wait for his response, quickly finishing and hanging up.

Her heart was pounding.

When she emerged from under the covers, she realized she was slightly oxygen-deprived. Xu You opened her mouth, taking several quick breaths of fresh air.

Xu You sat on the bed hugging her quilt, staring blankly into the dark air for a while, unable to sleep.

The raindrops fell heavily on the ground, seeming to drum into her heart.

The stray dogs in the neighborhood barked a few times.

She finally got out of bed, put on clothes, turned on the light in the entryway, and quietly opened the door.

The early morning rain brought a biting cold.

Xu You walked softly down the stairs, not daring to trigger the motion sensor lights, holding up her phone with one hand, its weak light showing the way.

She was tense, experiencing for the first time the nervousness of doing something wrong.

Xu You’s family lived on the fourth floor.

She went down one floor, turned, then down another.

Stopping on the second-floor stairs, she gripped the handrail tightly, peering through the gap to see if anyone was on the first floor.

Outside, it was pouring rain, with only one light at the first-floor entrance.

In the dim yellow light, Xie Ci was leaning against the wall, crouched down smoking a cigarette.

A faint scent of nicotine lingered in the air.

Xu You covered her mouth with one hand.

He had his head tilted back, exhaling a cloud of smoke. He turned to meet her gaze directly, his black hair completely wet, water droplets rolling down from his eyes.

They just stared at each other for a while, not speaking.

Xu You was truly at a loss.

In such cold weather, so late at night. He was soaked through, his jacket still showing wet patches.

Scattered cigarette butts at his feet showed how long Xie Ci had been waiting in the drafty hallway.

“You…”

She struggled internally for a moment, hesitantly walking down to stand before him.

“Didn’t I tell you to go home…” Xu You clutched her phone tightly, lowering her eyes to avoid his gaze.

She had come down in such a hurry, her hair loose, only managing to throw on a jacket without zipping it up. The white bunny on her pajamas showed through, its ears drooping, looking as dejected and cute as its owner.

The night air was heavy with cold.

Xie Ci turned his head, coughed twice and stood up.

He put his hands behind his back, tilted his head to look at Xu You, and suddenly smiled: “Guess which hand has your lollipop.”

He looked like a child who had done something right and wanted praise from adults.

In that moment, Xu You suddenly felt guilty.

She couldn’t speak.

Xie Ci continued, “You’re quite mean, Xu You, making me search the whole city, beg so many people, and get rained on.”

“I’m sorry…”

Xu You looked at him blankly, “I didn’t think you’d really go buy it…”

“I don’t care.”

He looked somewhat tired as he watched her, “Left hand or right hand?”

She stood there awkwardly.

“Never mind, don’t guess.”

Xie Ci waited a moment, then voluntarily extended his right hand, offering her the Zhen Zhi Bang lollipop.

Apple flavor.

On this rainy autumn night, dark and cold.

The wind made subtle sounds in the stairwell, and they were both cold.

Xu You finally reached out to take it, touching his icy fingertips.

“I’m sorry…” This was her second apology.

Xie Ci moved closer to her, the light only illuminating half his profile, his nose straight and elegant.

“Hey, I don’t want to hear sorry.”

He whispered near her ear, “You have to keep your word. I give you the candy, you become mine.”

“No!”

Xu You rejected without thinking, getting a bit anxious.

He paused.

She didn’t know what to say, hesitating for a long time, her nails picking at the candy wrapper.

“Because… because…”

“Because?”

“It’s just… I…”

“Say it.”

“I said a box, you only bought one.”

Xu You couldn’t find a reason, making up something random.

“It has to be a box, can’t be one?” he asked softly.

“Mm…”

“Can’t we make an exception?”

“No, we agreed on a box…”

Xu You explained in a mumble, her voice becoming very tiny from guilt.

“Tch.” Xie Ci moved even closer.

The smell of rain and faint tobacco from his body reached Xu You’s nose.

“You should have said earlier.”

Xie Ci’s thin lips curved up slightly, his cold fingertips touching her warm cheek.

Xu You stepped back half a step, seeing him extend the left hand he had kept behind his back.

In the dim light, his middle finger held a full bucket of Zhen Zhi Bang lollipops.

Xu You stared in shock, her mind freezing.

How had he hidden it for so long… this person…

“There, don’t torture me anymore,” Xie Ci said.

He took her hand, his palm enveloping her fingers, then smiled again, “Can you be a bit more obedient for me, hm?”

From childhood until now, in 16 years, Xu You had never had such frequent, intimate contact with any boy.

She hadn’t even noticed that, unconsciously, she had become very tolerant of many of Xie Ci’s inappropriate actions.

The moonlight was faint, and Xu You didn’t speak or move.

After a long while, she suddenly came to her senses, trying to pull her hand away.

Xie Ci wouldn’t let go. She lowered her head, biting her lip, struggling with some force.

He became stubborn too, holding Xu You’s hand tightly.

“I’m not… thinking about these things right now.”

Xu You lowered her head, not daring to look at Xie Ci’s eyes.

“Can we talk about this later? I think we’re too young, and we haven’t known each other for long enough, you don’t really understand me, this is too sudden, really too sudden… it’s not appropriate… really… studying is the most important thing…”

In the quiet night, she deliberately kept her voice low, rambling. Her words were all jumbled.

Xie Ci leaned against the wall, holding her hand, occasionally turning his head to cough a few times, seeming not to have heard much.

By his expression, he probably hadn’t really listened.

After staying up so late, Xu You was exhausted after saying so much.

She silently took the bucket of Zhen Zhi Bang from his hand, holding it to her chest, her other hand holding her phone.

“Go home early, take some cold medicine, I need to go up.”

“You don’t want to be my girlfriend…”

Xie Ci’s gaze stayed on her, pausing for a moment before saying slowly, “It doesn’t matter. I’m not patient anyway. You can reject me now, I can wait a while for you to adjust, but everything else is non-negotiable. You’re mine anyway.”

Even though they hadn’t known each other for long, he somehow had such a strong possessive feeling towards Xu You, wanting to be close to her all the time.

He liked her straightforwardly, without any roundabout way, not even bothering to hide it.

Xu You knew she couldn’t reason with him, and knew she was in the wrong tonight.

She quietly sighed, persuading: “Go home first, let go, I really need to go up.”

Xie Ci was about to speak but turned his head to cough twice again.

After finishing coughing, he said lazily: “Give me a hug and I’ll go.”

His shamelessness had grown, making such requests very naturally: “Really just a hug, nothing else.”

Xu You remained silent.

“Promise I won’t kiss you,” he laughed.

“I’m holding things,” she said.

Xie Ci didn’t want to waste words, reaching out with his long arms to pull her into his embrace from behind.

They were very close, almost able to hear each other’s breathing.

Xu You stood motionless and silent.

She was very thin, and he could completely encircle her waist with just one arm.

Xie Ci rested his chin on her shoulder blade, his nose brushing past the soft hair by her ear, gently smelling her delicate neck.

In the deep night, time seemed to pass particularly slowly and quietly.

After a long while, he sighed contentedly.

“You smell so good.”