ATLAS TRANSLATES

In this era, there was no such thing as being “nameless.” It wasn’t that being seen naked by a man meant belonging to him. Rather, once a man saw you naked… you couldn’t be at peace unless you married him.

Luo Lingyu’s misfortune was that she encountered two men at once.

She knelt on the ground clutching her clothes. The cool breeze swept in through the open door, and moonlight illuminated the two men who had entered. She looked at them trembling – Lu Yun was elegant and refined, while Zhou Young Master was gentle and graceful. Both were rare beauties of the world. Yet she was frightened to tears…

Looking closer, Zhou Young Master’s expression only showed slight surprise, while his overall demeanor remained calm. Lu Yun’s face, however, changed dramatically. Before the Luo lady could clearly see his expression, he suddenly turned and slammed the door as he left. The door threw up a layer of dust, making everyone in the room feel even worse…

Like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, Lu Yun’s sudden departure dealt Luo Lingyu an endless blow.

Her tears, which had been sixty percent real and forty percent fake, became ninety percent real after he turned away.

Luo Lingyu felt extremely wronged: He… he… he had seen everything, how could he just leave like this?! Not a word, not a single comforting phrase… what a horrible man!

An indescribable bitterness welled up, instantly making Luo Lingyu’s whole body uncomfortable, as if all her pores were blocked. Her expectations of Lu Yun were ultimately greater than others. He had even kissed her before, yet now he ignored her. She stared at the slammed door, kneeling on the ground as two streams of cold tears fell…

Zhou Yanglin walked over and crouched beside her. Just as he showed a hesitant expression, Luo Lingyu let out a whimper and threw herself into his arms, sobbing and trembling: “Wuu wuu… what should I do…”

Zhou Yanglin stiffened when she leaned against him, feeling the lady’s tears on his neck. After freezing for a moment, he held the lady’s shoulders and comforted her softly: “It’s alright…”

Luo Lingyu cried so hard she could barely breathe: “Both of you saw me naked! Both of you!”

Zhou Yanglin: “…”

Before her bath, Luo Lingyu had been frightened by a snake that fell from the beam above, crying out in terror. After Lu Yun and Zhou Yanglin came in, she was startled again by these two people. Lu Yun’s departure by slamming the door made her extremely upset. Zhou Yanglin maintained his composure as he helped remove the snake with a wooden stick, while still having to comfort this endlessly crying lady. Zhou Yanglin couldn’t leave because Luo Lingyu wouldn’t let go of him – Lu Yun had left without a word, so how could she let Zhou Young Master leave too?

After leaving the lady’s quarters, Lu Yun remained silent, but his mind was filled with what he had just seen in that casual glance. Before she could cover herself with clothes, due to a man’s instinct, Lu Yun had seen everything clearly. Where she was thin, where she was plump, where she curved inward, where she protruded… Her skin was so white, giving off a soft glow, her thick black hair covering her back but unable to hide her front.

Her feet were white as dove feathers. She immediately crouched down, staring at him with large ink-black eyes full of fear and unease.

At that moment, Lu Yun’s blood froze, uncontrollably flowing downward. He was bewitched by her beauty, his eyes unable to leave her. She stood naked before him, without the barrier of thin spring clothing, stripped of all her flaws of selfishness and vanity – she was so beautiful. Beautiful enough to make him lose control, making fierce and angry thoughts rise in his mind – wanting to pounce on her, pin her beneath him, plunder her without any restraint, violate her.

That moment of male baseness made Lu Yun turn and flee in embarrassment.

He dared not stay there, afraid he couldn’t control himself… She was clearly just a young woman full of flaws, he should despise and dislike her. Yet he kept fixing his gaze on her. He hadn’t yet figured out what he was thinking; he was unwilling to be deceived by her beautiful exterior. But he also… After leaving the room, the cold wind blew on Lu Yun, but the wild heat in his mind wouldn’t subside.

Because Master Wang had few rooms here, Prince Chen Liu Su and Lu Yun shared the same room. After helping Zhou Young Master fetch water and still not seeing him return, Prince Chen went back to his and Lu Yun’s room first. Liu Su had just sat down when he saw Lu Yun push open the door. The young lord’s expression was disheveled, his walk lacking its usual leisure, instead showing the urgency of one being chased. Liu Su even caught a hint of redness on his face… Before he could look closer, he saw Lu Yun grab the teapot from the table and drink straight from it without using a cup, gulping it down like an ox.

Liu Su was stunned: “…”

Lu Yun came from a noble family – he wasn’t just pretending to be refined, he actually had all the habits of an aristocrat. This was the first time Liu Su had seen Lu Yun drink tea so uncouthly, and his eyes showed great interest.

After Lu Yun finished a pot of tea, water dripped from his chin and his collar was wet, his eyes seeming misty with water. This lost and bewildered appearance made Lu Yun’s handsome features all the more appetizing. Lu Yun sat down, and after a moment of daze, muttered: “Zhou Young Master hasn’t returned to his room?!”

The rooms were so close together that any movement outside could be heard clearly. Liu Su answered slowly: “No.”

Visibly, Lu Yun’s expression changed again. Lu Yun’s heart suddenly sank as he thought: this is bad. He knew Zhou Yanglin was a woman, but Luo Lingyu didn’t know. Zhou Yanglin’s appearance was extremely deceptive – from his cousin’s perspective, now that he had left, Luo Lingyu might well be crying and insisting on marrying Zhou Yanglin…

Before Liu Su could get a word out of Lu Yun, he saw his friend suddenly stand up and go out again. From the sound, he was heading toward his cousin’s room…

Liu Su seemed to realize something and lowered his eyelashes: Lu Yun seemed to be caring more and more about his cousin.

Luo Lingyu was still clinging to Zhou Yanglin and crying. She had been helped from the ground to the couch by Zhou Yang, covered with a brocade blanket. The Luo lady lay on the bed sobbing and choking continuously. Seeing her cry like this, Zhou Yanglin naturally couldn’t leave. Zhou Yanglin sat on the couch comforting her for a long time, but Luo Lingyu seemed to grow more heartbroken as she watched. Having no choice, Zhou Yanglin made a decisive move: “Sister, you really don’t need to cry. Because I cannot…”

“Bang!” The door was pushed open again.

Curled up in her blanket, Luo Lingyu raised her tear-filled eyes to see Lu Yun standing in the doorway, having returned. Seeing him made her feel more wronged and angry; she turned her face away and continued dropping tears. Zhou Yanglin stood up, saw Lu Yun’s eyes glance toward her, and said softly: “Zhou Young Master, you go out first. I’ll comfort my cousin.”

Hearing this, Luo Lingyu immediately refused: “No! Zhou Young Master, I don’t want you to leave…”

Lu Yun said with a stern face: “Get out.”

Zhou Yanglin actually felt relieved – if Lu Yun hadn’t come back, to stop Lady Luo from crying, she would have had to reveal her female identity. Lu Yun’s return was perfectly timed. Zhou Yanglin gave him a look, indicating that the young lady was delicate and needed good comforting. Zhou Yanglin left under Luo Lingyu’s unwilling and reluctant gaze. Lu Yun closed the door and walked to sit by the couch. The young lord’s slender hand reached out and pulled down the blanket that the lady on the couch had bundled herself in, revealing Luo Lingyu’s extremely beautiful face, dotted with tears.

She looked at him with tear-filled eyes, still glaring forcefully.

For a moment, Lu Yun actually found this selfish woman quite adorable.

Knowing she held a grudge, Lu Yun was characteristically concise: “Zhou Young Master comes from a humble background.”

Luo Lingyu: “…”

The relationship between people can be both antagonistic and complementary. Lu Yun was precisely Luo Lingyu’s nemesis. Zhou Yanglin had comforted her for so long, only making her cry harder; Lu Yun’s single sentence hit her weak spot, leaving her speechless, her tears retreating.

Lu Yun pulled at the corner of his mouth, using his sleeve to wipe the tears from her face with disdain. Without having to expose Zhou Yanglin’s female identity, just letting Luo Lingyu know that Zhou Yanglin came from a humble background was enough – his cousin, who despised poverty and loved wealth, would no longer think of marrying Zhou Yanglin. As for being seen naked by two men… his cousin would be able to adjust her mood.

Luo Lingyu slowly sat up on the couch, glaring at him: “How do you know he’s from a humble background? Zhou Young Master never told me that.”

Lu Yun said simply: “If you don’t believe me, you can ask her.”

Seeing that Lu Yun couldn’t be bothered to say more, Luo Lingyu had no choice but to believe him. The shock she received was even greater – Zhou Young Master had such good qualities, such good temperament and learning, yet came from a humble background… while this terrible man Lu Yun was actually a young lord from a top family. Heaven truly was unfair! She naturally wanted to marry into a wealthy family; whether being seen naked was important or not depended on who the person was… In an instant, Luo Lingyu’s choices were reduced from two to one.

Lu Yun smiled ambiguously, his sleeve brushing her eye corner. He reached out to pinch and pull at her pretty face, both teasing and mocking: “Don’t want to marry him anymore?”

Luo Lingyu cried out, pushing his hand away. Her face hurt from his pulling, feeling like he was venting some anger. Luo Lingyu whimpered “wu wu” twice, not wanting to discuss with Lu Yun whether “despising poverty and loving wealth” was good or not. She began to feel conflicted and hesitant in her heart: Zhou Young Master was actually easy to handle, but Lu Yun was very difficult.

Lu Yun was the most difficult man she had ever met.

Even thoughts like ‘you kissed me, you saw me naked, so you should marry me’… Luo Lingyu felt too embarrassed to speak them. She felt that as soon as she opened her mouth, she would lose to Lu Yun somehow. It was as if using the same tactics she used on other men would make everything she did seem like it was just to marry him. Indeed, she had been half-willing, but she didn’t want Lu Yun to look down on her.

She didn’t want Lu Yun to look at her with eyes that said “you really would use any means to marry me.”

She didn’t care much what others thought of her, and she had already shown her true face to Lu Yun multiple times… yet she held back that feeling in her heart, unwilling to admit she was the kind of petty person he thought she was.

In the end, Lu Yun didn’t speak of marriage, and Luo Lingyu didn’t ask. Having her tears wiped by the young lord, Luo Lingyu lowered her head, unable to continue crying in front of Lu Yun. However, being embraced by Lu Yun still felt good – he wiped her tears and covered her with blankets to let her sleep. Luo Lingyu saw his lowered brows and eyes, with visible tenderness in them. The young lady’s hands gripped the corner of her blanket tightly, her face reddening under his gaze. She had a feeling he was doting on her, a feeling that made her proud and happy…

After all, she was a vain lady. Being able to have the famous “Jade Lord” of Jianye look at her with such eyes in private, Luo Lingyu felt her coming to Jianye hadn’t been in vain.

The curtains fell, enclosing the lady on the couch. Before Lu Yun left, his sleeve was caught by a hand reaching out from behind the curtain. Luo Lingyu couldn’t help herself – pressing her cheek against the back of her hand, she stammered: “Brother Xuejin, you saw my body… that third request of yours, you really don’t want to use it now?”

Her words were full of implications.

Lu Yun understood immediately.

He turned back to lift the curtain and lean down, once again using his fingers to pinch her face. His fingertips felt smooth, the fragrance of the night floating around – all her essence. His heart rarely fluttered as he said meaningfully: “No rush… Sister Lingyu, we… have plenty of time ahead.”

Plenty of time ahead?

Luo Lingyu’s face retreated back into the blanket as Lu Yun extinguished the candle. The young lady closed her eyes – plenty of time ahead… was this his roundabout way of admitting he had feelings?