ATLAS TRANSLATES

There was a knock at the door, and someone called softly from outside.

“Ci, get up for dinner.”

Xu You hadn’t been sleeping, and at the slightest sound, she opened her eyes. She moved slightly, only to discover she was completely wrapped in someone’s embrace.

Xie Ci wasn’t awake yet, his breathing steady, warm breath falling on her neck. His arm was around her waist, chin resting against the back of her head.

A completely possessive position.

“It’s time to eat.” Xu You pulled down his hand.

As soon as she moved, Xie Ci lifted his leg to pin her down, completely restricting her movement. His reaction was too quick for someone who had just woken up.

Seeing he was awake, Xu You no longer held back. She propped herself up on her elbow, intending to lift the blanket and get out of bed.

“Wait a bit, what’s the rush…” Xie Ci yawned, holding onto one of her wrists.

Xu You ignored him and bent down at the bedside to put on her shoes with her free hand. Just as she finished, she was pulled back by the person behind her. Caught off guard, she fell backward onto the soft bed.

Xie Ci rolled over, propping himself up with one hand beside her ear.

Their eyes met, and he lowered his head, nuzzling her nose with his. His voice was still hoarse from sleep: “Hey, Xu You, can I ask you something?”

Xu You looked away, turning her face aside and pushing against the person on top of her, frowning, “What question? Don’t press on me.”

“Tsk, you’re so impatient.”

“I just want to ask…” Xie Ci quickly lowered his head, moving to the reddened spot on her neck and giving it a kiss, “why do you like me so much?”

—

Wooden tables and chairs, warm yellow light strips embedded in the walls. This Sichuan restaurant had good decor and food, with quite a complete range of entertainment options. It was a place where Xie Ci and Song Yifan used to come often.

Xu You followed Xie Ci out. Outside, a large group was in high spirits. The dishes were already on the table, but no one had started eating, all waiting for them.

It was hot inside. Xie Ci took off his coat and casually tossed it on a small sofa nearby.

A boy nearby noticed Xie Ci’s messy hair and tired appearance, and couldn’t help joking, “The battle must have been intense, Brother Ci. When someone’s sick, you should show some restraint.”

Xie Ci had been leaning back in his chair watching Xu You unwrap her utensils. Hearing this, he looked at the boy and asked, “Are you sick?”

The person fell silent.

The atmosphere became awkward for a moment.

Song Yifan, sitting opposite, came to smooth things over, laughing, “What’s wrong with you, Ni Ming? There are girls here, and junior students too. Why do you keep making dirty jokes? That’s not good, right?”

Since they had already invited many unrelated people, they might as well make it livelier. Song Yifan had invited some people he knew from first year, some of whom brought their girlfriends, who in turn brought their friends – quite a crowd.

“Is this Brother Ci’s girlfriend next to him? Which year is she in? Don’t seem to have seen her much before.”

The speaker was Xu Xiaocheng’s girlfriend, Sun Xiaoxue. She had been in Class 9 in first year, then transferred to Class 5 in second year. Because of Xu Xiaocheng, Sun Xiaoxue often went out with them and knew quite a few people in their circle, but this seemed to be the first time she had seen Xu You – she looked unfamiliar.

“She’s from our class, just transferred last semester.”

“Oh… what’s her name?”

“Xu You.”

“Wow, so it’s her!” Sun Xiaoxue realized.

This girl who had been ranking in the top three since the September monthly exam was quite famous in their grade. Even teachers would mention her sometimes during class.

Wonder how Xie Ci managed to chase after these high-minded female top students… like Qiu Qingqing before…

Sun Xiaoxue thought to herself.

“But…” she nudged Xu Xiaocheng’s arm and lowered her voice: “Don’t you think Xu You looks a lot like Deng Ying?”

Xu Xiaocheng was playing a mobile game and didn’t look up as he said: “Who’s Deng Ying?”

He was focused on his game and hadn’t controlled his volume, speaking a bit too loudly.

“Ah… what?”

Deng Ying was talking to someone beside her when someone nudged her arm. She turned her head with a smile.

“They’re calling you,” someone said.

Deng Ying had a baby face with straight bangs, very fair skin, and large round eyes. She looked up and met Xie Ci’s glancing gaze. She froze for two seconds before reacting, her face reddening as she lowered her eyes and bit her lip, distracted.

“Nothing, nothing,” Sun Xiaoxue forced a smile, secretly pinching Xu Xiaocheng’s thigh under the table.

As dinner began, several people drank quite a bit and were somewhat tipsy. Xie Ci wasn’t feeling well, so no one pressured him to drink – he just had a little.

So Li Jieyi and Song Yifan finished several bottles between them, both their faces turning red. After drinking enough, they started eating and chatting.

Chen Jing kept looking down at his phone.

“What are you looking at?”

Li Jieyi, sitting beside him, asked and quickly tried to grab the phone.

“Fuck off!” Chen Jing reacted quickly, dodging to the side.

But Li Jieyi had already seen. He leaned back in his seat casually, clicking his tongue: “Oh my, texting with your girlfriend?”

“What? Jealous?”

Chen Jing put away his phone and picked up his chopsticks to eat some food. After eating a bit, he called out to Xu You not far away: “Hahaha, English class monitor, you’re here too?”

Making conversation out of nothing.

“…Ah?” Xu You looked confused.

“I’m in your class! We’re even in the same group, I sit two seats behind you.” Chen Jing continued enthusiastically.

Xu You didn’t respond, but her expression showed she clearly didn’t recognize him.

Song Yifan nearby laughed and cursed: “Damn, Chen Jing, aren’t you embarrassed? How can you compare your bought seat to hers?”

Chen Jing laughed carelessly, “What’s wrong? Got a problem with that?”

“Why did you buy your way into Class 0 with those grades?”

“For his girlfriend?” someone teased.

Another person added: “Qiu Qingqing, right?” After speaking, they seemed to realize something and glanced at Xie Ci.

He acted as if he hadn’t heard, saying quietly to Xu You, “I want dumplings.”

Xu You helped him pick one into his bowl.

Chen Jing rolled his eyes nearby: “Are you sick? My dad insisted on getting me in there, said it would cultivate my temperament. What does it have to do with Qiu Qingqing?”

Li Jieyi stirred things up, clapping: “Amazing, amazing, Young Master Chen’s family is rich.”

Several boys were deliberately fooling around, making the girls at the table laugh.

But Xie Ci showed no interest in their boring conversation, sitting to the side, not bothering to participate.

Too lazy to pick up his chopsticks, he poked Xu You’s waist and said softly: “Feed me?”

Xu You shook her head. She had also been quietly eating with her head down, completely out of place in the lively atmosphere.

“What’s wrong, not happy?” Xie Ci frowned slightly, propping his elbow on the table edge and leaning close to look at her expression.

He liked such intimate gestures in public, but Xu You wasn’t comfortable with it. She moved away slightly and put down what she was holding: “I’m going to the bathroom.”

After she left, Xie Ci’s expression clearly darkened.

“Ci, you and Xu You seem weird today, did you two have a fight?”

Li Jieyi spoke frankly.

He noticed Xu You barely spoke during dinner and guessed she might be tired of such occasions. After all, they weren’t her type of people – the atmosphere really didn’t match. The previous one, Qiu Qingqing, was similar, about the same type as Xu You. But she tried to control Xie Ci too much, making him impatient and bored, so they broke up. But for some reason, Xie Ci seemed to really like Xu You, probably wouldn’t break up so easily.

But honestly speaking, Li Jieyi was usually quite good at reading people. Xu You was a bit different from others – she was pure. Genuinely pure, the kind you could tell.

Some people are flirtatious to the bone, but she was truly pure to the bone. No wonder Xie Ci fell so hard.

Li Jieyi continued chatting casually with Song Yifan while silently sighing for his friend.

When women harden their hearts, they can destroy the men who love them.

Xie Ci was in a bad mood.

Whenever Xu You turned cold like this, he couldn’t help but feel completely irritated. And he didn’t know what had happened to Xu You in such a short time.

Just as he was feeling annoyed, someone called from beside him: “Brother Ci, Brother Ci.”

Xie Ci looked up.

It was Ni Ming. He smiled with a suggestive look: “I have something to tell you later.”

“Just tell me now.”

“No no no, your girlfriend’s coming back, can’t say it.”

Ni Ming beat around the bush, but Xie Ci clearly wasn’t in the mood to play guessing games with others and couldn’t be bothered to respond further.

Xu You finished using the bathroom and went to wash her hands. The warm water repeatedly washed over her palms as she cupped some water and closed her eyes, splashing it on her face.

She was alone in the bathroom, it was excessively quiet with only faint noises from outside.

She looked at herself in the mirror – pale face, large dark pupils. Water droplets slid down her cheeks.

Sigh…

—

Fu Xueli returned home after dinner. She opened the door with her key, carrying an unopened box of mango pancakes, and reached to turn on the nearby switch. The house suddenly lit up.

She looked down to change into slippers, playing with her phone in her right hand.

“Ah! Mom!!!”

Fu Xueli was startled by the person sitting quietly in the living room, taking a step back.

“You’re back.”

Xu Xingchun looked at her, his voice very flat. He was half-sitting with his back against the wall.

“Why are you here?” Fu Xueli walked over.

“Waiting for you to come home.”

As he spoke, he bent down to pick up the cigarette box from the coffee table, pushing it open with his index finger.

Fu Xueli rushed to stop him, anxious, “What are you doing?”

“Don’t move.” Xu Xingchun lowered his eyes, pressing the lighter, the flame licking the cigarette.

His manner was rarely this cold, making Fu Xueli not dare to move.

“I…” she stammered, trying to explain.

Xu Xingchun patiently finished one cigarette, barely changing his position.

Fu Xueli didn’t dare look at him. After a long silence, she heard him say: “The taste isn’t good, don’t smoke anymore.”

—

“Why were you gone so long?”

Xie Ci had his hand on the back of Xu You’s chair, watching her as he casually threw out a card.

Xu You replied quietly: “Oh, I’m not feeling well. You keep playing, I’m going to call my parents.”

They had just finished eating, and Xu Xiaocheng had asked the servers to clear the table to make room for playing cards.

“Play your card, don’t just talk,” Song Yifan urged.

Xie Ci responded while keeping his full attention on Xu You. She took her phone from her bag and stood in a quiet corner to make her call.

Xie Ci kept glancing to the side, distracted, and lost that round again.

“I’m done playing.”

He threw down his cards and said flatly.

Chen Jing smiled with bad intentions, “Young Master Xie’s having bad luck today.”

“What do you two say about this round, since you lost?” Xu Xiaocheng shuffled the cards casually. “The usual rules?”

Poor Song Yifan was paired with Xie Ci, and he complained angrily: “Damn, Ci’s playing worse and worse now, I never want to team up with him again.”

Their usual rule was that the two losers draw two cards – the King of Spades and the King of Hearts. Whoever draws the King of Hearts has to do a dare. It’s similar to the King’s Game. Seeing this round of games end, several people gathered around.

“Come on, let’s get some girls to play too.” Chen Jing smiled.

Deng Ying was curious, stretching her neck to look, “What are you playing?”

Chen Jing held out his hand, saying: “I just love straightforward juniors like you, come on, draw a card.”

Deng Ying glanced at Xie Ci sitting at the edge, bit her lip, and randomly drew a card.

It was Song Yifan’s turn to draw. Xu Xiaocheng held two cards between his fingers: “Which one, left or right?”

“Right.”

Xu Xiaocheng gave the remaining left card to Xie Ci.

“Alright, everyone knows their cards?”

Chen Jing sat on the table, smiling lewdly, “Since Ci is taken now, let’s not play anything too intense. How about whoever draws the King of Spades has to princess carry whoever drew the Joker and walk around?”

No one objected.

Four girls were playing. Deng Ying turned her card over first, and people immediately started hooting.

She had drawn the Joker.

Then Song Yifan threw his card aside, shrugging. He had drawn the King of Spades.

“Woohoo!”

Someone pushed Deng Ying toward Xie Ci. She stumbled, her face red with embarrassment. Noticing all eyes on her, Deng Ying said softly, “I’m okay with anything.”

Deng Ying glanced at Xie Ci from the corner of her eye, feeling something indescribable inside. She had heard friends talk about Xie Ci before, both good and bad. Knew he was a troublemaker, from a rich family but with poor grades, and changed girlfriends quickly. Being mentioned so often by friends, she had unconsciously started paying attention to him. Actually, Deng Ying had gone out with them a few times before, but only dared to watch Xie Ci from afar. He wasn’t a cold person by nature, but always gave people a sense of being unapproachable. But girls their age inexplicably liked these bad yet handsome boys, and she was no exception.

Especially today, after seeing that his current girlfriend looked so similar to herself, a sour feeling of jealousy reached its peak in her heart. Like a reluctance… why couldn’t it be her…

Everyone turned their attention to Xie Ci.

He didn’t speak or refuse, wearing a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

Xu You had just finished her phone call and walked over when she heard someone laugh and say, “Stop bothering Ci, last time you made him kiss someone in front of Qiu Qingqing and caused them to break up, why are you at it again?”

So Xu You guessed they were playing a game, and Xie Ci had lost.

Xu You stood outside the crowd, stopping in her tracks. Everyone’s attention was on Xie Ci, no one noticed her here. She was short and easily lost in the crowd.

“Come on, princess carry isn’t anything difficult, the girl has already agreed.”

People started urging from the front.

Xu You tactfully put away her phone and quietly left the room.

Xu Xiaocheng saw Xie Ci’s expression and was about to say forget it. But now everyone was waiting, and it wouldn’t be good to spoil the mood, so he didn’t speak up.

But…

Aren’t these people stirring things up all idiots? Don’t they know Xie Ci has a bad temper…

Those who knew Xie Ci knew that although he was still smiling, however…

Song Yifan was about to say he’d do it instead when he saw the smile suddenly disappear from Xie Ci’s face.

Downstairs.

Xu You stood in the cold wind, holding her phone. She wrapped her scarf properly and sent Xie Ci a text message:

—Xie Ci, I’m going home.