ATLAS TRANSLATES

“Little one, what are you thinking about? Turn around,” Fu Xueli interrupted her daydreaming.

Xu You made a small sound, moving her eyes away from the water cup and snapping out of her daze, asking confusedly, “What’s wrong?”

“Look,” Fu Xueli gestured toward the teaching platform, “The teacher said to have group discussions, front and back rows.”

What?

The teacher had just said something, but she hadn’t heard at all…

Xu You looked up and saw white chalk words written in the middle of the blackboard:

Write down five things that make you happiest, in English, and later students will be called to read them aloud.

Fu Xueli had already turned around, but seeing Xu You not moving, she turned back to urge her: “Baby, hurry up, we need you. This old lady loves to pick on people in our area.”

Just then, the teacher came back from getting water outside the classroom, saying as she walked, “Everyone hurry up, only ten minutes left.”

Xu You startled, hastily grabbed a pen and paper, and turned around.

The two boys in the back seats who had been chatting casually now simultaneously stopped, their gazes falling on Xu You as she turned.

She lowered her head slightly, eyes on the draft paper, holding her pen, and said softly and slowly: “You talk, I’ll translate.”

While the classroom buzzed with lively discussion, their area remained strangely quiet.

Fu Xueli finished replying to a message and put away her phone, looked up to find the atmosphere somewhat awkward.

“What’s going on?” she asked, puzzled.

“Uh.” Song Yifan paused, “Don’t know.”

Actually, he felt guilty because his friend had just bullied the little girl.

As for why Xie Ci wasn’t speaking… he didn’t know either.

After a few seconds.

Xu You’s fingers curved slightly, sliding unconsciously on the paper. Song Yifan’s voice rang out beside her ear, “Why isn’t anyone speaking? Let me go first, let me think.”

After speaking, he furrowed his brows and looked sideways at the sky, appearing deep in thought.

“Hurry up,” Fu Xueli propped her chin on one hand, saying boredly: “What’s there to think about? What else does a shallow person like you have besides eating and sleeping?”

“Hey Big Plum, you can’t say that. I’m a man with depth and dreams, okay?”

Fu Xueli crumpled up a piece of paper and threw it hard at Song Yifan: “I don’t like that Big Plum nickname, told you not to say it. Can’t you understand human speech?”

“Besides,” she sat at the diagonal position from Song Yifan, rising as if to hit him, “Apart from chasing girls, I really can’t see your depth.”

Song Yifan puffed out his chest and said righteously: “Honestly, except for my grades being a little poor—”

“Wait, not a little poor, terribly poor.”

Xu You couldn’t help but laugh.

Seeing the new classmate finally smile, Song Yifan relaxed, “Oh my, I won’t argue with you anymore. I’ll be a person of depth with our Xu classmate, you can continue being degenerate with Xie Ci.”

Then he deliberately ignored his deskmate’s cool glance that came his way because of that comment.

While they were arguing, Xu You had already written her own on the paper.

She clicked her ballpoint pen and nodded to Song Yifan: “Go ahead and speak.”

“Can I say anything? Can you translate everything?”

Xu You paused, “What do you want to say? I might not know everything.”

“Hmm…” Song Yifan thought for a moment, “I like playing basketball, sleeping, playing games…”

Xu You listened and carefully wrote each item on the draft paper:

Play basketball, sleep, play games…

Fu Xueli sitting nearby couldn’t take it anymore and raised her hand to interrupt: “Stop, stop, stop, don’t say anymore. It’ll be embarrassing when you read it out later.”

“What’s wrong with me?” Song Yifan protested.

Fu Xueli turned to Xie Ci seeking agreement, “A-Ci, isn’t he an idiot?”

Xie Ci remained silent with no reaction, just slightly tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Xu You wrote while telling them: “Anything else? If not, I’ll turn back around.”

“Wait.” The person who had been quiet all this time finally spoke up slowly.

He curved his lips, his voice drawn out, tone slightly teasing, “I say—”

Just say what you want to say quickly.

Xu You thought silently, not responding.

Xie Ci didn’t continue, and she didn’t speak either, just quietly holding her pen and waiting, not rushing.

His wrist rested on the edge of the desk, fingers constantly flipping a black phone, but his eyes were on her.

She sat quietly at the desk, extremely well-behaved, like an honest and pure little white rabbit. Just like when he first saw her, unchanged.

Song Yifan’s gaze moved between Xu You and Xie Ci, back and forth, noticing something seemed off.

This Xie Ci, the way he stared at the little girl, was like he hadn’t eaten in three days, his eyes almost red.

After a while, Xie Ci’s lazy voice rang out.

“Let me think…”

He paused for a moment, fingers tapping the desk one by one, as if seriously considering.

Xu You glanced at her watch – three minutes left. She concentrated on listening, pen ready to write.

“Seems like there’s nothing I like, what should I do?” he said seriously.

“……”

Fu Xueli frowned slightly, “Then don’t write anything, troublemaker.”

“That won’t work, what if the teacher makes me stand as punishment?”

Xie Ci was speaking to Fu Xueli but his eyes never left Xu You, “How about I write your name?”

The comment was excessively suggestive. Fu Xueli looked at Xie Ci with an expression of disbelief, wondering what had gotten into him today.

Beside them, Song Yifan suddenly grinned lecherously, punching him in the chest, “It’s simple, Xu You, just write ‘women’ for him.”

Xu You kept her face straight, ignoring their nonsense. She quickly wrote “nothing” on the white paper, put it on their desk, and prepared to turn back around.

“Oh, right, I remembered,” Xie Ci raised his eyebrows, calling out to stop Xu You again.

She slowly raised her eyes to look at him.

“What else?” she asked softly.

This person really had so many issues.

“Don’t you know?” he asked back.

Xu You fell silent, then after two seconds furrowed her brows, “How would I know?”

Xie Ci suddenly laughed, deliberately repeating, “You really don’t know?”

His tone was somewhat meaningful, but Xu You couldn’t be bothered to figure it out.

As she turned her head, suddenly a warm breath came close to her ear.

Carried by a breeze.

Xie Ci stood up, one hand propped on the desk, leaning close to Xu You’s neck. His black pupils stared straight ahead, his Adam’s apple moving slightly as he curved his lips mischievously, whispering something to her.

Xu You froze like a statue.

Xie Ci sat back down, his elbow propped on the desk behind, supporting his head, staring at Xu You’s reddening profile. His smile grew wider.

Suddenly feeling someone watching him, Xie Ci shifted his gaze.

“Bro,” Song Yifan leaned over, saying with a complex expression: “When did you become…”

“What?”

“So fond of teasing little girls.”

Xie Ci glanced at him, asking coolly: “You have a problem with that?”

“Oh my, wouldn’t dare.”

After a while.

“It’s just that.” Song Yifan really couldn’t help it and leaned over again, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear, “I just feel like, recently you’ve been like you’re possessed, always trying to get close to the new classmate, what do you think?”

As soon as he finished speaking, his leg was kicked hard. Song Yifan let out a pained grunt and immediately fell silent, knowing better.

Xu You wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

She quickly wrote something on the draft paper, tore it off and slapped it on the desk behind her.

In the classroom, the English teacher stood at the podium as everyone gradually quieted down.

She cleared her throat and asked, holding her teaching notes: “Is everyone done discussing?”

No one answered.

Teacher Zhang’s eyes scanned the room, and she raised her chin, pointing at group four: “Xie Ci, where did you go last class? You’re really lawless. Come on, tell me about the topic I wrote.”

Xu You couldn’t help but bite her lower lip.

Behind her, that person unhurriedly stood up, his chair legs scraping against the floor, making a noise.

Seeing he didn’t speak, Teacher Zhang gave him a cool glance, saying mercilessly: “If you can’t answer, stand for the whole class.”

Xie Ci lazily leaned against the wall, picking up a white draft paper from his desk with two fingers.

In the quiet classroom, in broken English, he slowly read out the words written in ballpoint pen:

—”ilovetogivesbaglassofboliedwater.”

Teacher Zhang listened once, thought for a few seconds, then asked incredulously: “You like helping others get hot water?”