ATLAS TRANSLATES

“What happened after that?”

“After that…” she thought for a moment, “After he left, I left that city, then went to S City for university, and then graduated…”

Yu Lele sat cross-legged on the bed, eagerly continuing to ask, “So what happened with your first love?”

“What do you mean what happened?” Xu You tilted her head, holding the hair dryer, her fingers running through her hair.

“Are you still in contact with him?”

After a few seconds, the roar of the hair dryer suddenly stopped. Xu You got up and unplugged the black cord.

“No more.”

“Not at all?” Yu Lele pressed further. If she hadn’t heard it from Xu You herself, she really couldn’t have imagined that her seemingly gentle roommate had such a passionate youth.

“Hmm… I guess there was some,” Xu You paused for a few seconds before answering, “He sent me letters.”

When she was in university, she often received postcards from various places.

Written with a black fountain pen, just a few simple sentences – she recognized Xie Ci’s handwriting. Sometimes there weren’t even any words, just blank space.

In terms of relationship experience, Yu Lele definitely had much more than Xu You, but none had left such a deep impression. She suddenly seemed to realize something, having an epiphany: “I was wondering why you never dated anyone even though plenty of people pursued you. Could it be you couldn’t forget that person all these years?”

Before Xu You could speak, Yu Lele pondered thoughtfully: “Ah… no wonder… What’s that saying? When you’re young, you shouldn’t meet someone too stunning, right?”

“……..”

“Our café is actually doing a first love themed event soon. With your story, you could participate. As the boss, I can make you number one – tempting?”

Xu You didn’t want to continue this topic, so she said, “I’m going on a business trip tomorrow, you’ll have to handle dinner yourself.”

“Another business trip?!”

Yu Lele fell back on the bed as if hearing terrible news, sighing dramatically, “Why is your news agency so busy? Business trips every other day…”

“There’s just a lot going on lately.”

Xu You picked up her notebook and checked her work emails. She held down the mouse, scrolling down.

Seeing Xu You working so seriously, Yu Lele knew better than to keep disturbing her. She rolled over on the bed and started chatting with her boyfriend on WeChat.

Meanwhile, Xu You worked for a while before realizing she was hungry.

“I’m going to make some noodles in the kitchen, want some?” she closed her laptop and stood up, turning to ask Yu Lele.

Yu Lele looked up from her phone, glancing at her, “This late, you’re tempting me again.”

There weren’t many ingredients in the fridge, and both of them preferred lighter flavors. Xu You thought for a moment and took out two eggs.

Yu Lele put down her phone and leaned against the counter, watching Xu You finely chop green onions.

Taking advantage of the free moment, the two chatted casually.

“Green onion egg noodles?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I’m already drooling.” Yu Lele giggled, “With your cooking skills, your future husband will be lucky.”

The pot beside them started bubbling, Xu You glanced over while dividing her attention, instructing, “Put the noodles in.”

“By the way, when are you coming back?” Yu Lele asked with her mouth full of noodles, burning her tongue: “Ouch, is there vinegar?”

Xu You handed her the vinegar, “Probably the day after tomorrow. I’m driving, it’s not far.”

“Wasn’t your car having problems last time? Is it fixed?”

“It’s fine.” Xu You finished eating quickly, got up and cleared the dishes, “I’m going to bed. You should sleep early too. Just leave the dishes on the table, I’ll clean up tomorrow morning.”

“Wait, wait!” Yu Lele called out to Xu You, “We’re not done talking!”

“What is it?”

Yu Lele really couldn’t contain her curiosity, “You still haven’t answered me – have you not dated anyone these years because you can’t forget your first love?”

Xu You held a water glass in her left hand, her bare feet on the wooden floor, slightly frowning. She knew that if she didn’t resolve this question tonight, given Yu Lele’s personality, she would ask her hundreds of times in the future.

“Ask whatever you want to know, all at once.”

“Actually, about your breakup, I still don’t quite understand – did he dump you or did you dump him?”

“Is that important?”

Yu Lele poked at her noodles with chopsticks, “Not really, I’m just curious. You were so well-behaved back then, how did you end up with him? Is first love always so unforgettable? Otherwise why can’t you let go even now? When did you realize he was actually still really important to you?”

“He… to me?” Xu You leaned against the dining table, seeming to recall, staying silent for a long while.

If she had to pull out that period of time related to him, Xie Ci was perhaps an episode of life from her youth that she couldn’t narrate, and later couldn’t forget.

If she had to explain the cause and effect, why she still remembered even now, she couldn’t really say specifically.

Probably because she genuinely liked him at the time.

But too many things happened then, and her capacity to cope was limited, so she chose to temporarily avoid her feelings for Xie Ci.

As for later…

“I don’t know either. Maybe because none of the men I met later were as handsome as him?” Xu You answered with a smile, half joking and half serious.

But with matters of the heart, who can be certain?

After so many years, Xu You had thought about why she fell in love with Xie Ci in the first place.

Loved him so much that even when he left without saying goodbye, she could sustain this love alone for so long.

“Xu You, I wouldn’t have thought that someone who looks so otherworldly would be focused on looks. That’s quite a bold statement – got any photos?” Yu Lele wrinkled her nose, and with her messy short hair, she looked quite mischievous, “You know what? A friend told me that people who can’t forget their first love are usually very anxious inside. No wonder you’re so emotionally distant.”

Xu You pretended to be angry, glaring at her, “You’re the emotionally distant one.”

—

After brushing her teeth in the morning, Xu You looked at herself in the mirror and paused.

She zoned out for a while, then bent down to splash some cold water on her face, thinking.

How many years has it been…

How long does it take to erase the traces of a person’s existence?

One year, two years, or three, is six or seven years enough?

Perhaps it takes longer…

Why bring him up again? Xu You picked up the soft towel beside her and closed her eyes, covering her face.

Last night at the convenience store, through the glass, she saw a guy in a black jacket and t-shirt smoking outside. Behind him was the endless flow of traffic, neon lights gradually lighting up.

In just one second, memories crashed into her mind, and loneliness suddenly swept through her whole body. Xu You thought of sitting in the KTV the night before, with her friend holding a can of beer, sitting beside her singing.

…

“You shine for a moment I’m dazzled for a lifetime.“

…

Ah, Xie Ci.

Wonder if he’s taken good care of his black eyes and picky stomach.

But maybe someone was right.

People who have eaten meals while crying can move forward.

She can move forward.

—

It was to a nearby city, just over an hour’s drive away.

Xu You checked everything, left a note for Yu Lele and went out. While driving, she was waiting at a red light. The phone in her bag rang.

She answered while rolling down the car window.

The cool breeze on her face made her feel a bit more awake.

The caller was Zhang Lili, who was going on the business trip with her. They chatted briefly. When the light turned green, Xu You hung up.

But Yu Lele’s jinx came true – just as the car was about to get on the highway, the warning light on the dashboard lit up, and there was an unknown noise coming from somewhere.

Xu You didn’t dare drive much further. She nervously slowed down and stopped at a nearby 4S store.

Don’t know what day it was, but the store was particularly crowded.

Seeing Xu You come in, a staff member came forward, “Hello miss, how can I help you?”

“My car broke down, could you fix it now?”

“I’m sorry miss, do you have an appointment?”

“No…”

“Well, our store is very busy today and we don’t have available staff. Would you mind waiting a while?”

“How long would it take?”

The staff member showed a troubled expression, “Um… it depends on the situation.”

Xu You looked at her watch, nodded, “Then never mind, I have something this afternoon… I’m in a hurry.”

Just as she turned around, she was stopped by an excited male voice.

“—Hey hey hey, wait!!”

Xu You turned around to see a somewhat unfamiliar man quickly walking towards her.

“Xu You?!” The man excitedly called out her name.

Seeing Xu You’s confused look, clearly not remembering who he was, the man got even more excited and introduced himself loudly, “Top student! I’m Li Xiaoqiang! Remember me? We were in the same class before!!”

“……”

“Really don’t remember at all?”

“………”

Although she still couldn’t remember, Xu You couldn’t help but smile at his expression.

Her smile was very slight, just barely curling up at the corners.

The store employee standing nearby smiled and said: “Oh, so you’re the boss’s classmate.”

“Why are you just standing there? Go get some water!” Li Xiaoqiang urged.

Hearing this, Xu You quickly waved her hands, “No need, I have something to do, I’ll leave once the car is fixed.”

“What’s wrong with your car?” Li Xiaoqiang said enthusiastically, “How about this – leave your car here to be fixed, and I’ll treat you to a meal?”

“Isn’t your store quite busy? I have to go on a business trip this afternoon, I’ll just find somewhere else to fix it and contact you when I’m back, okay?”

“It’s fine, our store can—” Halfway through his sentence, Li Xiaoqiang suddenly stopped.

After a while, he spoke again, “Oh right, since you’re in a hurry, let me take you to a nearby shop, they should be free.”

The ‘shop’ Li Xiaoqiang mentioned wasn’t far. Since Xu You’s car had problems, she didn’t dare drive too fast, so she nervously followed behind his black Mercedes.

After a few turns at intersections, they stopped.

Xu You parked her car, opened the door and got out, examining the repair shop in front of her.

There wasn’t even a proper sign – just some X’s and Y’s sprayed in black paint on the outer wall. The entrance’s rolling shutter was half-down, inside was all gray concrete floor, and the walls weren’t even painted – it looked more like an abandoned warehouse converted into a repair shop.

Xu You followed behind Li Xiaoqiang, looking around.

Several large fans were slowly whirring overhead, and once inside she realized the space was actually very large – even talking seemed to echo. Various modified cars that Xu You didn’t recognize were randomly parked around.

After just a few steps, Li Xiaoqiang’s phone rang. His ringtone was “Luxury Perfume” by Phoenix Legend, playing very loudly. He looked at the caller ID and quickly walked aside to answer.

Xu You stood alone in place, looking around idly. She secretly wondered… how come this repair shop didn’t even have any staff coming out to receive customers.

Just as she was thinking, two people opened a door and walked out nearby. One of the men was very well-dressed, wearing suit pants and pointed leather shoes. His hands were in his pockets, wearing dark sunglasses, looking out of place here.

After walking a few steps, Lu Hanxiao stopped and said to the person beside him, “Oh right, make it pink paint.”

“Yes, Mr. Lu.” The person nodded.

“And add diamond studs around the rearview mirrors.”

“……..”

Lu Hanxiao slightly lowered his head, sliding his sunglasses down his straight nose bridge, looking sideways, “Get your most skilled master craftsman.”

“……..” The person’s expression became a bit stiff, “Mr. Lu, I’m really sorry… but everyone here is quite young…”

“What?”

Lu Hanxiao frowned, “Then can your boss do it?” He didn’t dare make any mistakes – this car was for his little girl, just because she had casually mentioned seeing a pretty pink convertible outside her school once.

Later, while having dinner, he mentioned this to a friend. His friend slapped his thigh and told him: “I know a good shop, it’s a bit far, but many of my racing friends like to get their cars fixed there. Though it’s not easy to get an appointment.”

“Our boss doesn’t usually work on these kinds of cars… depends on his mood.”

Lu Hanxiao laughed and continued walking, “Depends on his mood? Your boss isn’t old but has quite an attitude? Fine then, I’ll come pick up the car myself, just make sure it’s done well.”

Xu You quietly moved aside to let them pass. She stood silently to the side until someone came up to ask.

“Miss, hello… are you here to…?”

Xu You quickly said: “Oh, I’m here to get my car fixed, do you have time?”

“Fix a car?!” The person seemed taken aback, “That Audi A4 parked outside?”

Seeing his shocked expression, Xu You was puzzled, “Ah… yes, don’t you fix cars here? My friend brought me…”

“Uh… we do fix cars, but we…”

“—We can fix it, we can fix any car.”

Someone suddenly interrupted their conversation. Li Xiaoqiang had just hung up the phone and ran over, saying to the man in frustration, “Ah Li, what nonsense are you talking about!”

Dropping the ball at the crucial moment!

Ah Li was pulled aside.

“Brother Qiang, what’s going on?”

Li Xiaoqiang’s eyes were full of anticipation, “Where’s Brother Ci?”

He could hardly wait to see how Xie Ci would react upon seeing Xu You. He might as well take out his phone and take a picture to share in the class group.

“Probably still sleeping, but should be up soon.”

“Pulled another all-nighter?”

“Not sure.”

“Go wake him up now, tell him he’ll regret it for life if he doesn’t come out.”

“Seriously?” Ah Li was really confused, and before leaving asked another question, “Why make it sound so scary?”

“You’ll be shocked.”

Ah Li suddenly had an epiphany, glancing at the fair and delicate woman, “Does Brother Ci know her from before?”

“More than just know her, hurry up.” Li Xiaoqiang urged.

All the way up, Ah Li was pondering in his mind. He went up to the second floor, just about to knock when the door was pulled open from inside.

The man who came out looked weary, his complexion not good. He had a freshly lit cigarette between his lips, his eyes narrow and dark, with heavy shadows underneath.

“Bro-Brother Ci.” Ah Li stepped back, “Brother Qiang says there’s someone you know downstairs.”

Xie Ci carelessly ruffled his hair.

With the cigarette in his mouth, he leaned on the railing with both hands and asked indistinctly: “Where?”

“There.” Ah Li pointed in a direction, “Standing in area A9.”

Then, after a few seconds.

Ah Li watched as his usually composed boss’s expression suddenly changed.

—

Xu You was in a hurry and couldn’t help checking the time on her phone again. Just as she locked the screen, Zhang Lili called again.

Either because it was noisy there or the signal was poor, the voice wasn’t very clear.

“Where are you? I can’t hear you.” Xu You moved her feet.

Perhaps having moved to a different spot, the voice suddenly became much clearer. Zhang Lili asked, “Have you reached X City?”

“No, I’m still getting my car fixed, it broke down suddenly.”

“Then how about this, I’ll come pick you up. I just arranged to meet with the person, we can have dinner together tonight?”

“Wait, let me see if the car can be fixed first.”

Over these years, because of work, no matter where she went, she would unconsciously observe her surroundings and note the details.

This was clearly not an ordinary repair shop – it had two floors. There wasn’t much decoration, the air smelled of paint, repair tools were placed randomly, the walls were simple white, like a converted abandoned factory.

The iron gates were wide open, with several pendant lamps hanging down. Looking around, all the parked cars were luxury vehicles, but the repair shop’s decoration was really quite modest.

Her mind wandered with these thoughts.

—

Noticing Xie Ci’s unusual behavior, Ah Li didn’t know what to make of it.

He quietly stood aside, waiting to see when Xie Ci would come back to his senses.

The image of the woman downstairs flashed through his mind.

Having seen her up close earlier, she seemed quite young, with a bare face free of makeup and beautiful features.

She didn’t have the sharp V-shaped face common on the streets, but rather a classical oval face, giving off an indescribable clean aura. Her voice was also low and gentle.

But there had been various rumors about why Xie Ci hadn’t had any women around him these past few years.

At first, everyone thought Xie Ci was just used to being casual and didn’t like being controlled.

But as time went on, many people later discovered that Xie Ci seemed to genuinely have no interest in women.

His family was wealthy, he could afford to play with anything, and he was handsome. Often people would try to indirectly find out what type he liked.

But nobody knew for sure, there were all sorts of messy theories. However, his friends had come to one conclusion – that Xie Ci particularly liked quiet, gentle women.

Quiet?

Gentle……

A light suddenly went on in Ah Li’s head.

“—Brother Ci.”

Someone quickly came over, around thirty years old, with a helpless expression, “The car we sent to Huayun this morning was returned.”

Xie Ci’s voice was very low, obviously distracted, his eyes looking elsewhere, “What’s wrong?”

“They want the color repainted.”

Cheng Fei was also a bit speechless. That Huayun CEO seemed quiet but turned out to be quite demanding. Their employee came over saying their Chairman Chen’s girlfriend didn’t like the color, sending it back for changes.

If it weren’t for their important background, he almost blurted out sarcastically: Should we spray your Chairman Chen’s girlfriend’s photo on the car too?

But the subordinates had it tough too, saying their boss wanted to please his girlfriend, and besides the color, the seats needed adjustment because they weren’t comfortable for sleeping.

Not comfortable for sleeping….

Might as well directly say it’s not comfortable for making love.

Considering the brief encounter he’d had with their boss before, with barely any casual conversation, Cheng Fei couldn’t imagine that guy being so risqué with that cold face of his.

“Too much hassle.” Xie Ci threw his unfinished cigarette on the ground, making a casual comment. He stepped on it, shadows under his eyelids, “Find someone to handle it.”

“Oh right, Ah Li.” Xie Ci turned his head.

“Hmm?”

“Don’t let her leave.” His tone was flat.

Who this “her” was, Ah Li didn’t dare ask, he could only nod knowingly.

After giving the instruction, he quickly returned to his room. Gone was his usual lazy demeanor, even his retreating figure seemed strangely eager.

The room door was half open, vaguely showing clothes strewn about inside, with several empty wine bottles rolling on the floor.

—

After entering the room, Xie Ci took a deep breath.

He sat for a while, looked at the calendar on the table, picked up a pen, and drew a line on today’s date.

Then he started spacing out again.

Looking from behind earlier, Xu You had grown taller, her hair neither long nor short, just falling to her shoulders.

Soft, and charmingly messy.

He casually bit open the cap of a bottle of red wine sitting on the bedside table, tilted his head back and took several gulps down his throat.