ATLAS TRANSLATES

Lin Yujing had always prided herself on being a good judge of character. The moment she first saw Chu Zhi, she felt this girl wasn’t suitable for Lu Jiaheng. She was too innocent, too soft, like cotton candy – clearly someone who had never faced any hardships, carefully protected and cherished by her parents since childhood. So Lin Yujing originally thought she would definitely get bullied.

She was about to leave but thought better of it and opened WeChat to do a good deed. Actually, she was mainly curious about how Lu Jiaheng would react.

Lin Yujing was moved by her own kindness. She leaned against the bathroom stall door while waiting, indulging in self-admiration. Outside, the women’s voices grew increasingly unpleasant and the conflict intensified. Just as she was deep in her self-satisfaction, a scream finally rang out from outside.

Lin Yujing startled. Worried that Young Master Lu’s little white rabbit had really been bullied badly, she couldn’t just watch anymore and hurriedly opened the stall door to walk out. After taking just two steps, she stopped.

Young Master Lu’s little white rabbit was holding a bottle of hand soap, one hand gripping the bottle and the other pressing the pump. Both arms were raised high above her head as she frantically sprayed it at the woman’s face.

The light blue transparent liquid arced through the air perfectly. Some must have gotten into the woman’s eyes because she kept them tightly shut, hand soap dripping down her face as she blindly grabbed forward trying to block it.

Lin Yujing was shocked.

She stared in disbelief as the little white rabbit, red-eyed and biting her lip, kept spraying hand soap at the woman who was half a head taller than her.

She looked like she had really been bullied badly, with red-rimmed eyes, but she was incredibly stubborn. Her large dark eyes glared fiercely at the person opposite her.

“You.” “Are.” “So!” “Annoying!”

She bit her lip hard, her soft voice lacking any aggression as she spat out words in time with her hand movements. Each break between words was accompanied by another arc of hand soap flying through the air, landing perfectly on the woman’s head.

Lin Yujing was quite scared. She had thought Young Master Lu’s little white rabbit was domesticated, but it turned out she was wild and could bite.

She quietly took two steps back to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. When she looked up again, Lu Jiaheng had arrived.

Two steps up the marble stairs, men’s on the left and women’s on the right, he glanced around and headed straight into the women’s side.

Cheng Yi hurriedly followed behind him, originally having no idea what was happening, but upon reaching the door and hearing the screams from inside the women’s bathroom, he could guess most of what was going on.

He watched Lu Jiaheng head in without hesitation and exclaimed “Oh my!” while grabbing his arm at the doorway: “Young Master, calm down, calm down—”

Lu Jiaheng was pulled to a stop and turned his head.

Cheng Yi saw his expression and paused for a moment.

He made a sound of resignation, furrowed his brows slightly, and let go.

The sink area was open with no doors. Lin Yujing stood behind Chu Zhi facing the entrance and was the first to see Lu Jiaheng.

Chu Zhi had her “weapon” raised high and was in the heat of battle, completely focused with no attention to spare for who was coming or going.

She had struck first – the hand soap had gotten all in the woman’s eyes so she couldn’t open them, could only blindly lunge forward while screaming and cursing at her.

Her curses were awful, spewing the filthiest words. Chu Zhi was so angry her cheeks were flushed and her lips pale. She pressed them together without speaking, dodging while reaching for another bottle of hand soap.

She turned her head and saw Lu Jiaheng walk in.

Chu Zhi hadn’t expected him to come. She froze for a moment, her arms unconsciously lowering slightly.

Lu Jiaheng’s features were actually quite fierce naturally.

Especially his narrow eyes – sharp and cold. Usually lazy, when he smiled they would curve slightly, softening that sharp coldness into something flirtatious and tender.

Now, his lips drooped downward, his gaze slightly unfocused, without a trace of smile. Dark violence churned in the depths of his black eyes.

He scanned the room, his gaze landing on Chu Zhi. His long lashes lowered as he walked to her, his eyes softening: “Did she hit you?”

Chu Zhi looked up at him with red eyes, not speaking, just shaking her head.

Lu Jiaheng raised his hand, his thumb gently brushing her slightly reddened eye corner, which was wet with tears.

He spoke in a low, rich voice: “Did she touch you?”

She shook her head like a bobblehead doll, tears gathering in her eyes.

Just a second ago, Chu Zhi had felt like a brave female warrior with a bottle of hand soap in each hand, unstoppable and fearless.

But in this moment, she felt as if all her courage had suddenly been deflated, leaving her feeling wronged and disheveled.

It was like when she was young and wouldn’t shed a single tear while fighting with classmates at school, but once home she just wanted to burrow into her parents’ arms and cry.

Chu Zhi quickly lowered her head to hide, her long lashes pressing down as she bit her lip hard and sniffled.

Her voice was hoarse, sad and wronged, with a hint of tiny sobs: “I don’t ever want to go out with you again…”

It felt like a hand had pierced through his body and was squeezing his heart tight.

Lu Jiaheng’s lips formed a rigid line. He pressed them together slightly, lowered his eyes, and took the hand soap from her hands to place on the nearby sink counter.

She had pressed too hard earlier – her delicate palms had red marks from the plastic pump. Lu Jiaheng took her hand and suddenly bent down to pick her up.

Not princess style – one arm wrapped under her knees supporting her thighs while his other hand steadied her back as he lifted her upright.

Like carrying a child.

Chu Zhi’s eyes flew up, reflexively throwing her arms around his neck as she let out a small cry and squirmed a bit.

Lu Jiaheng turned his head slightly, his voice low like a murmur: “I’m sorry.”

Chu Zhi stopped moving.

A series of tears fell onto the skin of his neck, the droplets sliding down and disappearing into his sweater.

The woman had gone quiet the moment she heard Lu Jiaheng speak. Now she roughly wiped away the hand soap covering her eyes, barely managing to open them.

Lu Jiaheng held Chu Zhi and turned around, saying coldly: “Who brought you here?”

Chu Zhi was facing away from them now and could only see Lin Yujing standing behind them, unable to see Lu Jiaheng’s or that annoying woman’s expressions.

She could only hear the woman call out “Young Master Lu” and stammer something unclear.

After a long moment, he finally spoke, his voice carrying an icy fury: “Get out.”

Chu Zhi had never heard him speak in such a tone before. It felt like all the blood in her body had frozen. She couldn’t help but shrink further into his embrace.

Lu Jiaheng patted her back gently as if to comfort her, not speaking again as he raised his arms slightly and turned to walk out of the bathroom.

Cheng Yi was waiting at the door and looked a bit dazed seeing them come out like this.

Lu Jiaheng glanced at him, and Cheng Yi immediately understood, skillfully and efficiently going to clean up the mess for his young master, preparing for whatever punishment would come later.

Chu Zhi felt a bit embarrassed and quickly buried her head in his neck.

His scent was very clean. Chu Zhi had originally thought he must smoke, but there was no tobacco smell – just a crisp natural fragrance mixed with laundry detergent that surrounded her nose. She shifted uncomfortably and raised her hand to pinch him secretly: “Put me down first, I can walk myself…”

Lu Jiaheng hissed in pain, though it wasn’t clear if it was real or fake: “Don’t move, you’ll fall.”

Chu Zhi quickly tightened her arms around his neck, using her other hand to wipe away tears: “You just keep saying sorry, you’re so annoying.”

Lu Jiaheng stroked her back rhythmically, his voice gentle and low: “It’s my fault, always letting you get hurt.”

Chu Zhi rested her chin on his shoulder and nuzzled slightly, mumbling: “You bully me, even your ex-girlfriend bullies me. Lu Jiaheng, how can you like all types, your taste is terrible.”

Lu Jiaheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “I don’t even know her.”

Chu Zhi didn’t believe him: “She called you Young Master Lu and acted like she knew you well.”

When she finished speaking, Lu Jiaheng’s steps faltered slightly.

Their conversation in the bathroom just now – she naturally assumed he didn’t know about it.

Such awful things – Chu Zhi didn’t want him to know at all.

Lu Jiaheng paused for half a second: “She was talking nonsense,” he paused, withdrawing his hand as his voice grew soft and faint, “I’ve only ever liked you.”

Chu Zhi’s ears turned red.

She secretly wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and raised her hand to grab her earlobe: “Nonsense, the first time I met you, you were already flirting with girls.”

Lu Jiaheng was quiet for a moment, seeming to remember: “I’ve never actively flirted with other girls.”

“You gave her your number, I saw it,” Chu Zhi stated calmly.

“…” Lu Jiaheng fell silent.

“And before that in the mall, you also gave out your contact information,” Chu Zhi continued.

“…” Lu Jiaheng couldn’t argue. He raised his hand and ran his fingers through her soft hair, scratching the back of her head: “Tomorrow I’ll give you my phone, you can delete whatever you want.”

Chu Zhi raised her head alertly: “Why tomorrow? Are you planning to transfer them all to another number today?”

Lu Jiaheng finally couldn’t help but laugh, slowly calling out to her: “Chu Chu.”

His voice was low and magnetic. When he called her name, the end of each syllable was soft and light, making her ears tingle from head to toe.

Chu Zhi froze for a moment, unable to help shrinking her neck.

Just as she was starting to recover, she heard him continue teasingly with a smile: “Are you ready to be my girlfriend?”

“…” Chu Zhi wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head deep in the crook of his neck, mumbling very quietly: “Why do you have to ask such obvious questions…”

This time it was Lu Jiaheng who froze.

His eyes widened slightly as he suddenly stopped walking, even his breathing skipping a beat.

By now they had reached the private room door. Lu Jiaheng stood still, his arm supporting her thighs unconsciously tightening.

Chu Zhi raised her head, one hand bracing against his shoulder to create some distance.

He held her, putting her slightly higher than him. Chu Zhi lowered her eyes, her long lashes casting shadows.

Lu Jiaheng stayed quiet, pressing his lips together as his dark eyes stared steadily at her.

The two were extremely close. After being stared at so directly by him for a while, Chu Zhi, whose ears had already been red, now turned completely pink.

She hurriedly hooked her arms around his neck again, burying her head back into the crook of his neck.

Lu Jiaheng’s Adam’s apple bobbed as his arms tightened for a moment before quickly loosening slightly.

He wanted to hold her tight, wanted to crush her into his body.

But he was afraid – she was so delicate and small, he feared that even the slightest pressure would break her.

Lu Jiaheng’s lips curved up silently.

The smile grew bit by bit, getting bigger and bigger, almost uncontrollable.

He let out a long breath, his voice a bit hoarse: “Chu Chu.”

Chu Zhi was quiet for a while.

After a long time, she responded, her voice soft and sweet: “What is it?”

He finally let out a low laugh, carefully holding the little girl in his arms as he called out to her again softly: “Chu Chu.”

Chu Zhi didn’t speak this time, just moved her head in response, her nose brushing against the bare skin of his neck, her warm breath washing over him.

Like an affectionate little kitten.

Lu Jiaheng’s heart melted completely.