ATLAS TRANSLATES

Lu Jiaheng and Lin Yujing particularly didn’t get along.

This discord had existed since they could remember.

They were similar types of people. Lu Jiaheng was also mischievous as a child, but he was fair-skinned and delicate, even prettier when he was younger, looking like a girl. Unlike other boys his age, he wasn’t particularly naughty and didn’t talk much.

In short, he also had a face that trouble seemed to slide right off of.

Perhaps it was because similar personalities repelled each other, but Lin Yujing and Lu Jiaheng often played tricks on each other, dedicating themselves year after year to making the other person fail, rain or shine, wholeheartedly and dutifully.

Although in the end, Cheng Yi often took the blame for them.

Back then, they were all just troublesome kids. As they grew up, they naturally became less childish, but grudges formed in childhood lasted a lifetime. Besides their usual bickering on WeChat and Weibo, even though Lin Yujing had left the capital for six or seven years, when they met again, it didn’t feel particularly strange.

Today there were indeed many people, besides Lin Yujing there were two or three other girls. Chu Zhi sat next to Lu Jiaheng, quietly listening to their casual conversation and nonsense while silently eating with her head down.

She was truly hungry, having only eaten an apple since the afternoon.

She ordered a bowl of rice and ate with focus and dedication, completely unaware of the storm brewing at the dining table as she buried herself in her rice.

There was also sweet and sour mandarin fish, sweet and sour pork strips, and braised chestnut chicken.

The chef at Cheng Yi’s restaurant was incredibly skilled, especially with the sweet and sour mandarin fish. The fried fish was topped with sauce, crispy on the outside with sweet and sour sauce, while the fish was tender and fragrant.

Chu Zhi didn’t know anyone at the table, so she didn’t dare help herself. At first, she patiently waited for the dish to slowly rotate to her, then would quickly take a small portion during the brief moment it stopped in front of her, then continue waiting.

Later, at some point, Chu Zhi noticed that the sweet and sour mandarin fish had stopped in front of her.

The rotating table had completely stopped turning, and everyone at the table was just eating the dishes in front of them, with no one rotating the table.

Chu Zhi happily ate the fish for a while, waiting for someone to turn the table so she could get some of the crab fried rice cake from across the table.

She waited for a long time, but still no one moved. Chu Zhi nibbled on the tip of her chopsticks, helpless, and quietly ate a few mouthfuls of rice.

Still no one moved.

Chu Zhi was very troubled.

Why was everyone only eating the dish in front of them? Was it one dish per person?

She put down her chopsticks, thought for a moment, withdrew her hand from the table, and quietly poked Lu Jiaheng’s arm under the table.

Lu Jiaheng turned his head, looking down at her: “What’s wrong?”

Chu Zhi leaned closer to him and said in a low voice: “Why isn’t anyone rotating the table?”

Lu Jiaheng was startled, then curved his lips: “I don’t know, maybe they don’t want to eat anything else.”

Cheng Yi, sitting next to Lu Jiaheng, heard this and laughed mischievously: “Right, who knows why.”

Lu Jiaheng ignored him and also put down his chopsticks, reaching out his arm and placing his fingertips on the glass turntable, tilting his head toward her: “Don’t want to eat the sweet and sour fish anymore?”

“I want to eat that, the crab rice cake,” Chu Zhi held onto his arm with one hand, leaning in to whisper in his ear.

Lu Jiaheng paused, then slowly turned the glass turntable, bringing the crab fried rice cake in front of her.

She leaned forward slightly, her hand gently resting on his arm, head tilted close to talk to him.

Everyone at the table was stealing glances in their direction, but Chu Zhi didn’t notice others, just licked her lips, picked up her chopsticks again, and put a piece of rice cake in her bowl.

Naturally, everyone was curious.

Most people at the table were those who usually hung out with Lu Jiaheng, and they had never seen him actively bring a girl along before, let alone treat her so preciously.

Seeing that the young lady liked the sweet and sour fish, whoever tried to turn the table while she was getting fish would receive a cold glare, to the point where eventually no one dared to move.

What kind of person was this? King Zhou of Shang reincarnated?

For a moment, the dining table was in turmoil, with glances darting back and forth from all directions. Only three people remained completely unaffected — Lin Yujing calmly drinking juice and tea, Chu Zhi focused on eating and filling her stomach, and Lu Jiaheng serving as her table turner, occasionally asking what she wanted to eat and unhurriedly rotating the table for her.

Thus, the WeChat group “Crown Prince Doesn’t Understand Love From Past Till Now” exploded again—

“Holy shit, what’s going on, the Crown Prince has become a personal table turner?”

“Changed his taste?”

“Can we change the group name now?”

“No way, for this kind of plain little rabbit, I bet three days.”

“Three my ass, have you ever seen him do this before?”

“I’m so scared I rushed to sell all my stocks, feeling like this stock will go bankrupt tomorrow.”

Cheng Yi sat there with a knowing smile, wearing an expression that said “I know everything but I’m not saying anything.”

There weren’t many people in the group, and several at the dining table weren’t in it. Among them was a woman, brought by who knows who, who smiled at Chu Zhi and asked: “Is this Lu Shao’s new girlfriend?”

Her voice wasn’t particularly loud, but in an instant, the private room fell silent.

Lin Yujing rested her chin on one hand, curving her lips with an meaningful smile.

Lu Jiaheng’s peach blossom eyes lifted slightly as he cast a light glance in that direction.

Only the person in question, Chu Zhi, was completely unaware of what others were saying, and since the term “Lu Shao” was entirely unfamiliar to her, it was excluded from any sensitive terms that might relate to her.

She was like a diligent hamster, head down pushing around the rice grains in her bowl, eating and eating.

The eerie silence continued for quite a while before Chu Zhi finally realized the atmosphere had become too quiet. When she looked up, everyone at the table was staring at her.

It was as if they were waiting for some kind of answer from her.

Chu Zhi looked confused: “Ah? It’s quite delicious.”

“…”

In the silence, Lin Yujing’s laughter broke through. She curved her eyes and turned her head, looking seriously at Chu Zhi for the first time.

Lu Jiaheng chuckled softly.

He reached for the glass pitcher of mango juice and poured her another cup, his voice gentle: “Then eat more.”

So the WeChat group “Crown Prince Doesn’t Understand Love From Past Till Now” exploded again—

“Damn, is this real or fake?”

“How do you change the group name? I’ve been looking everywhere but can’t find it.”

“Sorry, I was too hasty before. This time I’ll bet five days.”

“Five my ass, you’re probably going to get your face swollen from being hit.”

“Looking at it now, even plain water has its charm. What to do, this little confused one is kind of cute, heart fluttering.”

“You’re probably afraid your dog legs will be broken into three pieces by the Crown Prince.”

Chu Zhi slowly put the fish in her mouth, her big eyes rolling around as she looked around, feeling the atmosphere was a bit off. She put down her chopsticks again, quietly poked Lu Jiaheng’s arm and whispered: “What were they saying just now?”

Lu Jiaheng lowered his eyes, leaning his head closer: “They were saying Cheng Yi’s sweet and sour mandarin fish is delicious.”

Chu Zhi looked at him suspiciously.

He had a smile on his lips, looking perfectly normal.

She nodded and made an “oh” sound: “It is quite delicious.”

Lu Jiaheng lazily draped one arm over the back of her chair: “Then let’s order another plate.”

Chu Zhi picked up her chopsticks again, poking at the half bowl of rice she had left, thought for a moment, but still couldn’t help saying: “Why does the person sitting across from us keep looking at you?”

Lu Jiaheng raised an eyebrow: “Which one?”

Chu Zhi kept her head down, not looking up, and said quietly: “The one sitting across from me, is she your ex-girlfriend?”

Since they had arrived, during the few times Chu Zhi had looked up, she could see that woman’s gaze, either looking at her or at Lu Jiaheng beside her.

That gaze made her feel quite uncomfortable.

Chu Zhi had already imagined over a hundred episodes of a love drama in her head.

Lu Jiaheng didn’t even look up, just turned his head to look at her, somewhat helplessly: “Where would I get so many ex-girlfriends?”

“You do have them, you like everyone,” Chu Zhi said glumly.

Lu Jiaheng fell silent.

Chu Zhi didn’t have the courage to look up and see his expression.

His silence seemed like an admission, and inexplicably, a surge of anger rose up. Chu Zhi scooted her chair back, stood up, frowning as she said quietly: “I’m going to the bathroom.”

The young lady left with her head down, looking a bit dispirited.

If her ears could be visualized, they would have been drooping dejectedly at this moment.

There were bathrooms inside the private room, but Chu Zhi hadn’t noticed, walking all the way down the corridor before finding the bathroom.

She slowly walked into the bathroom, going to the furthest sink to wash her hands.

The sink had a sensor faucet. Chu Zhi wet her hands, squeezed some soap to make bubbles, played with them for a while, and only when the bubbles had decreased somewhat did she put her hands back under the sensor faucet, waiting for water.

After waiting a while, the faucet didn’t respond.

Chu Zhi blinked, waving her soap-covered hands under it this way and that, trying various angles, but no water came out.

Chu Zhi leaned forward, tilting her head to examine the infrared sensor.

She looked for quite a while but couldn’t figure anything out. While her hands were still fluttering underneath, a slender white hand lightly passed between her hands and the faucet.

The hand was white and delicate, with long fingers and neatly maintained nails that had a thin layer of nail polish.

Cool water flowed out with her movement.

Chu Zhi was slightly startled and turned to look at her.

Lin Yujing was leaning against the sink with one hand, head slightly tilted, calmly looking at her.

Chu Zhi said thanks, rinsed the soap off her hands, and pulled a paper towel from under the mirror.

Lin Yujing still stood there watching her.

Chu Zhi finished wiping her hands and threw the paper towel in the trash.

Lin Yujing still stood there watching her, motionless.

Chu Zhi cleared her throat, feeling her gaze was a bit scary.

It was like an x-ray, giving an eerie feeling of being transparent when scanned.

She already knew this person was Lu Jiaheng’s childhood friend, and they seemed to have a very good relationship. In novel terms, it would be like childhood sweethearts.

The two of them stood there in the women’s bathroom staring at each other for a while, the scene a bit strange. Just as Chu Zhi was about to speak, another person came in.

It was the woman who had been making eye contact with Chu Zhi earlier.

Chu Zhi thought the women’s bathroom was quite lively.

Even in such cold weather, that woman was wearing stockings so thin they were almost see-through, a very short skirt trimmed with some kind of animal fur, and a black blouse with several buttons undone, revealing her fair chest and cleavage.

Chu Zhi looked at the soft animal fur on her skirt hem and frowned.

The woman walked in, stood at the sink next to Chu Zhi, took out lipstick from her small purse, and began applying it leisurely.

Halfway through applying it, she acted as if she had just noticed Chu Zhi, raising her delicate eyebrows in surprise: “Oh, isn’t this Lu Shao’s new girlfriend.”

Lin Yujing had gone into the inner stall at some point, so now it was just Chu Zhi and her. Her voice was a bit sharp, and her tone made people very uncomfortable.

The words themselves didn’t seem problematic, but they made people feel even more uncomfortable.

Chu Zhi looked away from her skirt hem: “I’m not his girlfriend.”

The woman smiled with pursed lips, meaningful and somewhat apologetic: “Oh, sorry, I thought you were his new girlfriend. I didn’t realize you were that kind.”

She continued applying lipstick, looking at Chu Zhi through the mirror: “How is Lu Shao in that way? He must be very good, right? And he seems very generous too.”

“What?” Chu Zhi was stunned for several seconds, slowly realizing what she meant. She stared at her in disbelief: “That’s not it! We don’t have any relationship! And not that kind, that kind—”

The woman glanced at her lightly, letting out a short, mocking laugh: “Sister, why are you being shy? This kind of thing is very normal, you’ll get used to it.”

Chu Zhi couldn’t even speak, her fair face turning bright red, looking both ashamed and angry: “We’re not that kind of relationship!”

Lu Jiaheng was a bit distracted.

After Chu Zhi left, everyone at the table became excited, finally able to let loose and gossip without restraint. He waited for a while, but Chu Zhi hadn’t returned.

Just as Lu Jiaheng was about to go out and check, his WeChat notification rang.

It was from Lin Yujing, a voice message.

Lu Jiaheng didn’t really want to listen, but thought it was practically world news for Lin Yujing to send him a voice message, considering their last conversation was “I hope you die.”

He was about to put his phone away when another message came through.

Lin Yujing: Twelve o’clock direction, end of corridor, women’s bathroom, someone’s bullying your girl.

Lu Jiaheng’s dark eyes sank as he clicked on the voice bubble and held it to his ear.

It was a woman’s sharp and somewhat harsh, contemptuous laugh: “How is Lu Shao in that way? He must be very good, right? And he seems very generous too.”

“Why are you being shy? This kind of thing is enjoyable for both parties, and you get money too. I understand, I won’t say anything.”

And a girl’s voice, angry and distressed to the point of almost crying: “I haven’t! We’re not like that! How can you! How can you—”

Lu Jiaheng suddenly stood up.

He couldn’t listen anymore. His fingers gripping the phone turned white at the knuckles as he kicked his chair aside and turned to leave.