ATLAS TRANSLATES

Xu You woke up after sleeping for a long time, feeling like an entire day had passed. No one had called for her. She propped herself up halfway, drowsily reaching for her phone to check the time.

It was already close to noon.

After getting dressed and putting on her slippers, she went out to find Chen Xiuyun had already set the food on the table.

The dining table was quiet. Her father was out working on a project, leaving only mother and daughter at home. Xu You had little appetite, keeping her head down as she took small bites of rice. Chen Xiuyun placed a piece of meat in her bowl, “Eat more.”

Her mother’s face was tired and haggard, making Xu You’s heart ache. She didn’t know what to say. After taking a few more bites, she put down her chopsticks and tried to organize her thoughts, but before she could speak, she was cut off.

“You don’t need to say anything, and don’t bring it up with me again. Resolve things with that boy quickly. I won’t approve.”

Chen Xiuyun’s voice was soft, but it felt like a thousand pounds pressing on one’s heart. After speaking, she got up and took the dishes to the kitchen.

Xu You sat in her chair, staring blankly at the food on the table.

Seeing her daughter’s silence that bordered on numbness, Chen Xiuyun suppressed her anger, “Xu You, do you know why I argued with your father last night?”

“I can take care of myself,” Xu You said, quietly clenching her fists.

Knowing her daughter’s stubborn nature, Chen Xiuyun angrily threw the apron at her. Then, all the anger and petty grievances buried in their daily life came crashing into Xu You’s ears:

“Do you know why I’m still with your father? It’s all for you! And what are you doing? You’re dating someone! And you’re still being stubborn with me! Don’t give me this lifeless attitude, no one owes you anything!”

“Dating at such a crucial time, do you not care about your future?! What will you do later, what do you want me to do?! I’ve endured for so many years, are you trying to drive your mother to death?!”

“How can you be so selfish?”

Xu You’s body stiffened, unconsciously squeezing her palms.

She habitually lowered her head, saying nothing. Yet suddenly she felt somewhat wronged, but since she couldn’t bear to see her mother cry, she habitually didn’t argue back and just listened quietly.

However, she planned to save many words for later to tell her mother.

Because she had decided last night, even though the timing wasn’t right, she had confidence in herself. As long as she could maintain control, her grades wouldn’t slip.

She never made promises to people carelessly, but once she promised or committed to something, she wouldn’t give up until the very end.

The same applied to Xie Ci.

—

The phone call came close to three or four in the afternoon. Xu You picked up her phone, put it on speaker, and set it aside as she continued solving problems.

Song Yifan’s anxious voice came through, urgently asking: “Xu You, have you seen Xie Ci? Has he called you? Is he with you?”

Xu You stopped writing, sat up on her bed, and asked quietly, “What happened?”

“……”

After hearing what was said, she immediately closed her book, found her keys, hastily put on a jacket, and left.

In the taxi, Xu You repeatedly tried calling Xie Ci’s phone, but it remained unreachable.

It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over her, and her heart grew colder and colder.

As they got closer to West Street North Road, traffic became increasingly congested. The driver looked in the rearview mirror, pulled over to the side, and turned to say, “Young lady, you should get out here. There seems to be an incident at the intersection ahead, traffic’s blocked.”

Xu You’s heart tightened, with an ominous feeling growing. Without hesitation, she immediately opened the car door.

Song Yifan’s words flashed through her mind:

“—Xie Ci’s cousin got into a conflict with people from No. 2 High School. Xu Xiaocheng just called me saying it’s happening near West Street. Don’t know if Xie Ci brought people there. He’s not answering my calls, so I wanted to check if he was with you. If he is, tell him not to go. Things could get bad, No. 2 High School brought people with knives…”

As she walked, Xu You’s face turned pale, her heart starting to panic. She clutched her keys tighter, her thoughts interrupted by two passersby’s conversation.

“—Oh my, high school students having gang fights with bloodshed nowadays, it’s terrifying.”

“Did you see just now? Someone was lying on the ground, probably won’t make it…”

One person shuddered, “Good thing we didn’t get too close, scared me to death.”

Ahead at the street corner was chaos, with layers of crowds gathering around. People kept asking if anyone had called 120 (emergency services).

Xu You started walking, then broke into a run. The crowd was too dense; she was blocked by two or three men, unable to move forward or back.

Then came an angry roar from inside, “Get away, don’t touch me! Ah—”

It was a cry of pain.

The sound made Xu You’s heart clench, her head buzzing as she pushed through the people around her and rushed in.

—Xie Ci!

Mixed with cursing roars, hysterical yelling assaulted her eardrums. When Xu You finally broke through, the first thing she saw was Zeng Qilin kneeling on the ground, eyes red with rage.

Red, overwhelming red, spread all over the ground. Xu You instantly felt her breath being taken away, her legs weakening.

Someone pulled her back, anxiously saying: “Hey hey, step back, why are you running in there? Be careful not to get hurt.”

Just as the words fell, another wave of screams erupted from the crowd. Zeng Qilin, expressionless, grabbed an iron rod from nearby and, before anyone could react, mercilessly swung it at Fu Yishun, “If something happens to Xie Ci today, you won’t get away either.”

Fu Yishun hadn’t even seen clearly what the black shadow coming at him was before being knocked to the ground, half his head ringing, nose bleeding after a few seconds.

The onlookers scattered in fear, pushing and shoving. Xu You paid no attention to that side, caring about nothing else as she walked straight towards Xie Ci.

He lay on the ground, his pale face and neck splattered with spots of blood, his lips colorless.

Almost all color had faded away, leaving only red.

“Xie Ci…?” Her voice trembled, barely above a whisper, afraid to disturb him.

She couldn’t bear this sight, her voice nearly breaking, her legs going weak.

Xie Ci breathed weakly, covered in wounds, his pupils slightly dilated as they reflected Xu You’s figure.

His gaze slowly moved upward, over her slender straight legs, clean simple white T-shirt, to her delicate face bending down, crashing crystal clear into his tired vision.

“Damn… why did you come?” Xie Ci turned away, still having enough strength to curse. But as consciousness slowly slipped away, his vision kept flashing white. It felt like a few more seconds of looking at her would make him completely lose hold. He said word by word, “Xu You… don’t look.”

Don’t look at me.

Don’t cry either.

“Okay, I won’t look, don’t talk.” Xu You immediately agreed, her voice shaking, yet tears kept falling to the ground, spreading into stains.

She crouched down, her hands trembling, wanting to touch him but not daring to.

He wanted to say.

I’m not in pain, why are you crying?

But Xie Ci couldn’t say anything. He just lay there on the ground, watching her cry, too hurt to move. His hand hurt and his heart hurt, wanting to comfort her with a word, but his throat was as dry as a dried-up spring.

Every second felt like torture.

A sharp siren sounded, the long-awaited ambulance finally arrived at the scene. As soon as the back doors opened, a team of doctors and nurses came out with a stretcher. Hurried footsteps approached, and the gathered crowd was shouted back by several security guards. Only then did Xu You suddenly snap back to awareness.

“Tsk tsk, what a mess.” A female doctor wearing a blue mask crouched down to examine Xie Ci’s injuries. She must have seen it all before, as she didn’t even frown at seeing a knife stuck in his palm.

The gurney was lowered from the ambulance and stopped by the roadside.

Two young nurses followed, taking out the first aid kit, bringing out disinfectant, gauze, and cotton swabs. Several people began doing basic disinfection and bandaging of Xie Ci’s wounds on the spot.

“Ss-, don’t touch me—” Xie Ci’s consciousness had been hazy, but now he felt piercing pain. The kind of pain that couldn’t be endured. Gathering his strength, he looked down at his hand and began struggling non-stop, curling up.

“Pain is normal.” Ignoring Xie Ci’s struggles, the female doctor continued her work without looking up, methodically carrying on while instructing, “His ribs might be broken, don’t move with the fracture, get some people to hold him down.”

Xu You didn’t hear clearly what he said.

“Does it hurt?” she asked softly.

Xie Ci pressed his lips together, shaking his head, trying hard to make a sound beyond breathing.

“If it hurts, bite me, your lips are bleeding.”

Xu You looked at his reddened eyes and gently embraced him. Xie Ci’s head was cradled in her arms. A slender white arm covered his thin eyelids as she whispered in his ear, “Don’t look, it’ll be over soon.”

Many years later, Xie Ci could barely remember anything about that afternoon.

The only thing he remembered was the warmth of Xu You’s hand. It gently covered his eyes, tears falling down, burning hot where they fell, making his heart ache along with it.

—

On Monday at school, Xu You had dark shadows under her eyes.

After early self-study ended, Yu Yi asked Xu You what was wrong, saying she didn’t look well.

Xu You forced herself to be energetic, shaking her head, “I’m fine.”

The monthly test results came out, with Xu Xingchun still the center of attention as the top student in the grade. Many classmates in the class mixed their complete admiration with resignation, thinking some people were just born smart, talented, and could get good rankings without studying much.

After being pulled aside by Yu Yi for a few comments, Xu You packed up her things and left the classroom to go to Class 7.

She had been going to Class 7 often lately, making Yu Yi ask several times about it.

Xu You waited outside the classroom, and the girl sitting by the window had become used to it, directly poking her head out to say: “Xie Ci didn’t come to school.”

“I know,” Xu You lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, and asked again, “Is Song Yifan here?”

The girl looked back again, scanning around, “Not here.”

“Okay, thank you.”

She dragged her feet back to her own classroom.

The second day, the third day, the fourth day…

Since the day Xie Ci got hurt, he hadn’t come to school. Song Yifan was nowhere to be seen either.

Days slipped by smoothly, and soon it was time for the sports meet. Xu You would occasionally drift off during class, hearing that Xie Ci’s family had transferred him to another hospital.

Wonder how his body is doing now.

On the day of the sports meet, after each class finished their formation march and the opening ceremony was held, various competitions quickly began at the sports field.

Xu You leaned on the railing, lost in thought, as the slightly cool breeze brushed across her face, lifting the hair strands hanging by her ears.

With a gunshot, the young male bodies sprang forward like unsheathed swords. Girls from various classes gathered at the side of the track, cheering and shouting support for people from their own classes.

As Xu You watched, she couldn’t help thinking that if Xie Ci were here, he would probably make many girls let out earth-shattering cheers of support.

But she immediately rejected her own thought.

—He’s so playful, how would he quietly participate in sports.

Living so carefree, being lazy, he never wanted to participate in these group activities.

In the afternoon, Xu You went to Class 7 again and ran into Xu Xiaocheng. He had just changed into his sports clothes and was leaving the classroom when he turned around and saw Xu You standing in the corridor, startled for a moment.

He stood there without moving, holding a bottle of sports drink, watching as Xu You walked over.

She hadn’t spoken much with Xu Xiaocheng, but she knew he was always hanging out with Xie Ci. “Classmate, do you know where Xie Ci has been these past few days?”

“Huh?” Xu Xiaocheng laughed casually. “Ah Ci? He’s been obsessed with this game lately, so he’s been skipping class to go to the internet café. That dog really can’t change his ways. Don’t be angry, sister-in-law, we’ll help you scold him later.”

“No need. His phone isn’t working – can you contact him?”

Xu You stared into his eyes, her expression unchanged.

Xu Xiaocheng’s smile gradually faded. Slowly, he shook his head.

“Give me your phone. I just want to say a few words to him,” she said calmly.

“It’s not… well…” He couldn’t meet Xu You’s gaze, making him increasingly nervous.

“—I know he’s in the hospital. You don’t need to lie to me anymore.”

These words successfully silenced Xu Xiaocheng. He didn’t make a sound for a long while. After some time, he sighed and handed over his phone.

Xu You held the phone with both hands, dialing several times, but still no one answered, just the busy tone. She refused to give up, pressing redial over and over.

“Xu You, stop calling,” Xu Xiaocheng spoke up, weakly trying to stop her.

She acted as if she hadn’t heard, mechanically repeating her actions.

“Xie Ci won’t answer,” he said.

Xu You still didn’t listen, maintaining her position without moving.

“Really, stop calling, it’s useless…”

“Fine.” After a moment of standoff, Xu Xiaocheng gave up first and slowly said, “I’ll take you there.”

They left school, got in a taxi, and headed to the hospital.

Throughout the journey, she didn’t say a word, her hands clasped together. Outside, it started raining again, darkly covering the city’s sky as countless droplets poured down and collided.

Getting out of the car, neither of them had umbrellas, and they were both soaked through.

The path to the hospital was wet and slippery.

Xie Ci was still in a daze, wearing an oxygen mask, with needles in the back of his hand, surrounded by beeping machines with tangled wires.

He spent most of his time in a stupor.

She slowly walked over, approaching him.

But Xie Ci showed no reaction, no longer showing his usual joy at seeing her. His face was fragile and pale. His eyes were closed, shadows under his eyelashes, as if he was already asleep.

Xu You didn’t say much either, quietly pulling up a chair beside him and just watching him.

After an unknown amount of time, someone seemed to walk in behind her, offering her a cup of water.

“His life is no longer in danger.”

Zeng Qilin stood behind her, leaning down to say softly, “You can’t stay here long, let’s go outside first.”

In the hospital corridor on the long bench, Xu You sat with Zeng Qilin for the entire afternoon.

The exhausted young man sat with his legs apart, head in his hands, intermittently telling her about what happened that day.

“Our school had some issues with No. 2 Middle School… there was a dispute last weekend, and things got pretty serious. They called in some people from outside, and one of them happened to have previous beef with Xie Ci…”

“Things were chaotic at the time, and that guy with yellow hair took advantage when everyone was caught off guard, stabbing Xie Ci with a knife.”

At this point, Zeng Qilin closed his eyes, as if not wanting to remember the scene from that day. He grabbed his own hair with both hands.

The crowd’s screams, the red blood, and the final image of Xie Ci falling to the ground.

“I let him down, I shouldn’t have called him to come, knowing that before…” Zeng Qilin mumbled, lighting a cigarette.

Xu You remained silent, hands on her knees. After the person beside her finished speaking, she suddenly turned and asked, “That person, did he go to the police station?”

“…….” Zeng Qilin was stunned, asking “What?”

“The person with the knife.”

Xu You was very calm, focusing intently on the ground as she repeated her question, “Did he go to the police station?”

The hospital light was split by the gridded windows into strips on the ground, creating alternating patterns of light and shadow.

She was soaked through, her hair sticking to both sides of her face, with cold rising from her feet.

“Yes, he did,” he answered.

After a while, she nodded, “Good.”

Then both fell silent.

It was Sports Day, but she wasn’t in a hurry to return to school, so she sat in the hospital keeping Xie Ci company.

The light outside gradually dimmed, and the white fluorescent lights above turned on, stark and harsh. Different people came and went, passing by.

Xu You didn’t even remember how she left in the end. She just remembered the rain falling on her body, so cold.

Her mind and body were exhausted, but her heart was surprisingly calm.

Like the silence after heavy snowfall.

—

Before long, this incident was being discussed all over school. Many versions of the story circulated, but as with any gossip, people didn’t bother to verify the truth.

After that day at the hospital, Xu You never went to Class 7 again. After class, she would just sit at her desk, not going anywhere, and head straight home after school. When classmates around her discussed the incident, she would quietly leave, neither listening nor speaking.

Sometimes while walking, she would receive curious glances from various people.

Actually, Xu You found herself quite strong, at least able to maintain her usual appearance in front of classmates, teachers, and parents, though she spoke less.

For her, she could basically remain unmoved by such rumors and gossip.

She was naturally a person of quiet disposition, not interested in gossip, and didn’t care about other rumors either.

If she could disregard things about herself, why would she care about others’ affairs?

After a few days passed this way, during break time, Xu Xiaocheng came to find her, saying Xie Ci had mostly regained consciousness.

Meaning she could go visit him now.

When she went to the hospital again, Xie Ci had been moved from intensive care to a regular ward.

He was wearing blue and white striped hospital clothes, one hand completely wrapped in bandages, half-leaning on the bed watching the news broadcast. His leg was also in a cast.

Hearing the door open, Xie Ci looked up and saw Xu You enter the room. Their eyes met and they both froze for several seconds. She walked forward a few steps, “Xie Ci, are you feeling better?”

He seemed startled and couldn’t look at her, his gaze falling elsewhere as he said: “Xu You, why did you come?”

From several steps away, Xie Ci’s voice sounded like it had been scraped with sandpaper, “You should leave.”

She froze, her steps faltering as she gripped her bag strap tighter.

Behind her, Xu Xiaocheng’s eyes widened, his mouth opening and closing.

God… what kind of madness was this guy up to now.

“Xie Ci?”

After a while, she frowned, finally finding her voice again.

Xie Ci’s eyes were fixed on the window outside, his expression unchanging despite his pale complexion.

“You should leave,” he repeated, his voice weak but clear, each word distinctly reaching her ears.

“—I won’t be going back to school.”

For a moment, no one in the room reacted, and the ward fell completely silent.

Xu You looked at him in disbelief.

The others had heard this too, and Xu Xiaocheng couldn’t help stepping forward: “Xie Ci, have you gone crazy?!”

Xie Ci’s eyelids were half-closed, and if you looked carefully, you could see the obvious tension in his profile.

Xu You stood frozen in place, not knowing what to say. After a long time, she finally found her voice, “Whatever happened to you, think carefully before saying such things. I’ll leave first.”

After saying this, she turned to leave.

“—Xu You.”

Xie Ci pressed his lips tighter, calling out her name, holding back for half a second before asking, “You must be really disappointed in me, right?”

He was actually very weak, you could hear it in his voice, which lacked strength.

For a moment, as Xie Ci watched Xu You’s retreating figure, he felt truly, deeply sad. His heart seemed to sink straight down, which is why he still called out to stop her.

“I’m not disappointed, Xie Ci.”

Xu You knew she hadn’t started crying yet, so she turned around and looked into his eyes, “No one has the right to be disappointed in you except yourself.”

After saying this, she paused for a moment, then lowered her head to take her bag off her shoulder.

Xu You held a math paper filled with problem-solving steps, gently placing it on the table beside his bed, “The work you missed.”

“Xie Ci, don’t make decisions lightly. When you’ve really thought it through, send me a message.”

The door closed.

He lay back down on the bed. His gaze fixed straight ahead, the wound starting to ache painfully again.

Wind came in through the window, making the math paper flutter noisily.

Xie Ci remained motionless, intently staring at what Xu You had left behind.

It seemed someone was standing behind him again.

Not knowing what he was still hoping for, Xie Ci’s heart suddenly tightened. After holding out for a long time, he still couldn’t help turning his head.

Xu You was just quietly looking at him.

Xu Xiaocheng had actually left, and the two were so close that Xu You could clearly see the flash of joy in Xie Ci’s eyes that he couldn’t suppress, despite trying to hide it.

Like a sudden burst of light that quickly dimmed again.

Seeing she didn’t speak, Xie Ci changed his position and tried to act tough, “Why did you come back?”

Xu You saw through him and sighed internally before asking, “Why are you crying?”

The hospital bed was very narrow, and Xie Ci curled up, turned away to put down his phone, and used his palm to forcefully wipe away his tears.

For a long time there was no movement, then Xu You walked over and closed the window.

Leaning on the windowsill, she let out a soft sigh.

“Didn’t you promise me before? Why did you still get into a fight?” Her tone was calm, without accusation, as if she was just stating a simple fact.

“You really don’t need to care about me.” Hearing her words, Xie Ci lowered his eyelashes, the light in his eyes sparse and dim, seeming completely unmoved.

“Why shouldn’t I care about you?” Xu You asked.

“You didn’t like me before anyway, and now my hand is ruined—”

Until a pair of clean white sneakers appeared in his line of sight, he looked up bewildered.

Then came a crisp slap across his face, the sharp sound echoing loudly in the quiet hospital room.

The news broadcast replay on the TV had ended.

Xie Ci’s face was turned to the side from the slap, but what he thought was:

Why do women all like to slap people.

His mom did it, and now Xu You too.

The difference was, being slapped didn’t make him angry at all this time.

It was actually quite embarrassing.

Xie Ci wished he could turn into a tornado, whooshing right out of there, taking Xu You with him in the process.

Instead of now, lying helplessly in bed, being stared at by her. His face stinging hot.

“Who says your hand is ruined? Don’t you have any common sense? Xie Ci, are you illiterate?!”

Having just heard him say increasingly outrageous things, she couldn’t control her rising anger.

A crisp slap, and such rare display of temper. It left Xie Ci completely dumbfounded.

His mouth opened and closed, unable to say anything.

After a while, Xu You took several deep breaths to steady her emotions before continuing, “Even if your tendons are severed, it doesn’t mean anything. As long as you actively cooperate with the doctor’s treatment and persist with rehabilitation, it will slowly get better.”

“If you keep this attitude, you don’t deserve anyone’s love, including mine,” she said.

—

The nurse changing Xie Ci’s bandages had obviously noticed something different about him lately.

For instance right now, the usually quiet and self-absorbed handsome boy in Room 201 suddenly asked the young nurse, “Can I ask you something?”

Xie Ci was good-looking, and even while sick, he couldn’t hide his naturally refined features. Especially those eyes – when he looked at you seriously, it always made you feel unconsciously shy.

The young nurse lowered her head, face reddening, “What question?”

“Look at me, am I handsome right now?” Xie Ci used his working hand to touch his face.

His expression was so serious, as if he was truly troubled.

The young nurse: “……”

When Zeng Qilin came to see Xie Ci, he found him holding a pen, staring absentmindedly at an exam paper on the table.

Beside him was an open math textbook—Xie Ci was actually studying math formulas!

Was it raining blood from the sky?

Zeng Qilin’s expression was shocked as he put his hand on Xie Ci’s shoulder, “Ah Ci, what are you…”

Xie Ci didn’t look up, just raised his eyebrows slightly, “Take your hand off, don’t disturb my studying.”

Are you really studying?!

“…..” Zeng Qilin, being so clever, immediately grasped the key point, “Did Xu You come to see you?”

Xie Ci immediately replied: “None of your business.”

Obviously she had.

After being snapped at a few times, Zeng Qilin wasn’t angry, but rather felt relieved, the guilt that had been weighing on him for days lifting slightly.

Xie Ci finally had some energy, unlike before when he wouldn’t answer even after being asked three times.

Who knows what Xu You had said to Xie Ci to make him change so much in just one afternoon. Zeng Qilin was a bit confused, but it didn’t matter anymore, “It’s good that you can think clearly now, nothing is more important than being happy yourself.”

Xie Ci snorted, saying slowly, “Don’t be like Xu You.”

At 7:00 PM, the TV in front of him began its punctual news broadcast. Xie Ci pressed his lips together, quietly watching the TV screen, but in his mind echoed Xu You’s words to him from that afternoon.

Usually she hardly spoke, and her Mandarin wasn’t very standard. But this time was extraordinary – she scolded him, both angry and anxious.

Yet there was no mockery or contempt.

As he thought about it, he couldn’t help but laugh.