ATLAS TRANSLATES

As soon as the car engine stopped, the warmth from the heater lingered, enveloping them in cozy comfort. Lu Jiaheng had one hand on the passenger seat backrest and the other gripping her wrist, his head lowered slightly as his cool lips pressed against her forehead.

Things seemed to be taking an unexpected turn.

The young girl was soft and fragrant, with a subtle vanilla scent. She was small in his partial embrace. Lu Jiaheng felt like he had dug himself into this situation.

Chu Zhi didn’t dare move, her eyes wide open. In the dim street lights of the residential area, her gaze fell on his slightly protruding Adam’s apple.

After a while, his throat moved, making an extremely faint swallowing sound in the quiet car.

It was somewhat alluring.

Chu Zhi’s hands pressed against his chest, her fingers curling softly.

She lowered her eyes and whispered barely audibly, “Are you done kissing me?”

Lu Jiaheng slowly pulled back, creating some distance between them, letting out a quiet exhale.

Chu Zhi remained stiff, her cheeks flushed.

She kept her eyes lowered as she raised her hand, her delicate white fingertips touching the spot on her forehead where he had kissed her.

Though his lips had been cool, the spot felt burning hot and had a tingling sensation.

Chu Zhi’s delicate brows furrowed slightly, and she couldn’t help but gently scratch the spot a couple times.

Lu Jiaheng watched her natural yet somewhat childish action and suddenly laughed. His voice was low and slightly hoarse.

Chu Zhi looked up at him.

His gaze was fixed intently on her, with a dark gleam in his eyes. His thin lips were pressed together slightly, with the corners softly turned down.

Chu Zhi recalled the sensation she had just felt on her forehead.

Cool, moist, and soft.

So that’s what lips felt like.

Chu Zhi looked at him with innocent confusion, her lips parting slightly as she straightened up. With one hand still against his chest, she leaned forward a bit.

Lu Jiaheng’s gaze softened: “What are you doing?”

As if she hadn’t heard him, Chu Zhi slowly reached out her arm and carefully, experimentally poked his lower lip with her index finger.

It was soft, and when pressed down slightly, she could feel the hard barrier of teeth beneath.

Lu Jiaheng’s entire body froze.

Chu Zhi only poked once before carefully withdrawing her hand.

She had just managed to look up, but before their eyes could meet, the grip on her wrist suddenly loosened. Lu Jiaheng quickly unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the door, and got out.

His movements were fluid, almost like he was escaping, not even taking his coat with him.

Chu Zhi blinked, leaning forward and supporting herself on the car seat to look out the window.

When the door had opened briefly, the cold air had rushed in, making Chu Zhi shiver. She watched Lu Jiaheng standing there in just his sweater, leaning against the car door with lowered eyes, lost in thought.

Just looking at him made Chu Zhi feel cold.

She grabbed both their coats from the back seat, put on her own, and hugged his as she got out of the car. She walked around the front to stand before him.

The down jacket was thick and fluffy, and his was particularly large. Chu Zhi had her arms full, carefully holding the sleeves to keep them from touching the thin layer of snow on the ground. She stood before him, pressed her lips together, and offered him the coat: “It’s very cold outside.”

Lu Jiaheng kept his head down, his dark peach blossom eyes hidden in shadow, his emotions unreadable.

After a few seconds, he raised his hand to take it but didn’t put it on. He let out a long sigh: “Didn’t I tell you to stop touching me all the time?”

Chu Zhi pressed her lips together like a child who had done something wrong. After thinking for a moment, she felt somewhat indignant and muttered, “You kissed me first.”

He looked slightly helpless as he bent down to adjust her collar: “I’m not cold, button up your coat.”

Chu Zhi couldn’t be bothered to button up, instead wrapping the coat around herself and shrinking her neck like a little old man: “Well, I’m not cold either.”

Lu Jiaheng licked his lips and laughed, using one hand to push her head forward: “Then hurry inside.”

The elevator stopped at the seventeenth floor, and Chu Zhi slowly walked out, standing at the door waiting for him to open it.

This was her third time visiting his home.

The apartment had been renovated, and while the layout should have been similar to Chu Zhi’s home, the master bedroom was several times larger with the spaces combined. There were only two partitions between the bedroom and living room, white plush carpet, and huge floor-to-ceiling windows extending from the living room to the foot of the bed. Light gray gauze curtains were half-drawn, with cotton curtains pulled to one side.

Somewhat unexpectedly, Lu Jiaheng’s overall decorating style was much softer than Chu Zhi had imagined. At a glance, most of the furniture was in the style she would have chosen, and there was even a long-eared rabbit plush toy sitting on the bean bag chair by the bedroom window.

That item definitely didn’t seem like something he would buy to decorate his home.

Chu Zhi glanced at it, took off her coat, and stood in the middle of the living room.

Unlike the previous two times, Chu Zhi now felt awkward, not knowing what to do with her hands and feet.

The young woman’s dormant eighteen-year-old consciousness was finally, slowly and belatedly, beginning to emerge.

Chu Zhi glanced at his large bed, barely visible through the partition and gauze curtains, and the blush that had just faded returned to her cheeks. She lowered her eyes, feeling somewhat unable to look at him.

Her daily routine was usually very regular, normally having showered and gotten into bed by a little after ten. Now, after all the evening’s events and reaching her usual bedtime, Chu Zhi’s eyelids were heavy with fatigue, yet mentally she felt incredibly alert.

She secretly raised her eyes to look at Lu Jiaheng.

She met his amused gaze directly.

Chu Zhi puffed up her cheeks, thought for a moment, and slowly said: “I’m hungry.”

Lu Jiaheng: “…”

There wasn’t much food at home, so after some discussion, they ordered takeout. While eating, Lu Jiaheng picked a movie.

He didn’t have a TV in his living room, instead having mounted a movie screen that took up an entire wall.

Surprisingly, he chose “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time,” a very old animated film that Chu Zhi particularly loved and had watched many times. She made a surprised sound and looked at Lu Jiaheng.

He turned his head: “Don’t want to watch this?”

Chu Zhi shook her head: “No, that’s not it.”

She just hadn’t expected him to choose an animated film to watch.

He really was treating her like a child.

By the time they finished the takeout, it was already eleven o’clock. Chu Zhi was much more relaxed than before, and as her mind unwound, she started feeling drowsy.

She rubbed her eyes while watching the movie, hugging a cushion.

The living room lights were off, with only the dim light from the projector casting shadows on her face.

Chu Zhi yawned, slouching crookedly on the sofa, sitting with her knees curled up and her head resting on them, drooping listlessly with sleepiness.

Lu Jiaheng sat at the other end of the sofa, supporting his head with one hand on the armrest, watching her for a while before letting out a soft laugh.

Chu Zhi turned her head towards him, her dark eyes still wet from yawning.

“Sleepy?”

Chu Zhi quickly shook her head, worried he might think she didn’t like the movie he had chosen.

Lu Jiaheng curved his lips and beckoned to her: “Come here.”

Chu Zhi’s thoughts were somewhat slow, and she gradually scooted over with the cushion, sitting next to him.

She had a faint sweet scent about her, and her whole body was warm like a little heater as she pressed against him.

Lu Jiaheng’s body tensed up again.

The little heater started out sitting properly, but after yawning twice in succession, her whole body tilted again, softly leaning against his arm as she rubbed her eyes: “Lu Jiaheng.”

Lu Jiaheng lowered his eyes to look at her downcast eyelashes: “Mm?”

“Are we going back to school tomorrow?”

Her voice was naturally soft, and now tinged with drowsiness, it was honey-sweet with a hint of charm, like a kitten’s voice that made one’s heart tingle.

Lu Jiaheng’s throat went dry: “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

Chu Zhi nodded, still preoccupied with something: “Lu Jiaheng.”

“Mm.”

Chu Zhi didn’t speak, suddenly raising her head to look at him directly with her big eyes: “Who did you buy the rabbit for?”

“…” Lu Jiaheng was confused for a moment: “What rabbit?”

She raised her hand to point at the bean bag chair by the bedroom window: “That rabbit.”

He paused slightly, laughed, and leaned back a bit.

Chu Zhi pressed her lips together, looking very concerned.

Lu Jiaheng’s lips curved in amusement as he put his hand on the sofa back and leaned in closer: “Mm, there’s this girl.”

“…”

Chu Zhi’s drowsiness half disappeared as she sat up on her knees on the sofa, staring at him with one cheek puffed out.

After a long while, she muttered sullenly: “I don’t even care who it is.”

Lu Jiaheng laughed softly, reaching out to pull her into his arms, resting his chin on top of her head: “It’s the one I’m holding right now.”

She made a small sound and found a comfortable position, then started counting off on her fingers as she brought up old grievances: “You used to have so many admirers, and you’re so good with words, how do I know which of your words are true?”

He raised his hand, fingers playing with the ends of her long hair, patiently saying: “Everything I’ve said to you is true.”

Chu Zhi pouted, muttering quietly: “That’s also a classic playboy line.”

Her voice was tiny, as if she was speaking ill of him. Lu Jiaheng raised his eyebrows slightly but didn’t speak, only stopping his movements of playing with her hair.

The conversation came to an abrupt halt, and suddenly there was silence between them, with only the background music from the movie remaining.

Chu Zhi waited for a while, but when no response came, she looked up.

She met Lu Jiaheng’s dark eyes directly.

He looked at her, his eyes deep, slightly narrowed.

The small danger radar that had been offline in Chu Zhi’s mind for a while started beeping again. She unconsciously bit her lip and instinctively tried to shrink back.

Lu Jiaheng’s arm around her waist tightened, holding her firmly in place as he flipped their positions.

Their positions were instantly reversed. He supported himself with one hand on the sofa back, looking down at her with lowered eyes, his lips curved in a somewhat wicked smile: “Playboy? What misunderstandings do you have about playboys?”

Chu Zhi’s body slid down a bit, half-sitting half-lying on the sofa, her neck cramped uncomfortably.

He noticed and used one hand to support her neck, lifting it slightly as he leaned in, licking his lips.

His teeth were clenched tightly, his breathing somewhat heavy, both restrained and unrestrained, containing a hint of low warning in his hoarse voice: “Little girl, playboys don’t just talk, they usually take action directly.”