ATLAS TRANSLATES

The hotpot restaurant was chosen by Octopus, finally settling on the one next to the school. When she heard this, Chu Zhi paused briefly, feeling somewhat uneasy about that restaurant with its history, but didn’t say anything.

That evening, Father Chu and Ms. Deng returned from Hainan, just in time to pick up Chu Zhi to go home. She usually went home every other week anyway, and didn’t have much to pack—just a backpack and a suitcase, the same as when she started school.

Hainan was sunny, and Father Chu had gotten considerably darker than when he left. As soon as Chu Zhi got in the car, cold air rushed in when the door opened, and Ms. Deng huddled in the back seat wrapped in a down jacket, shivering.

While shivering, she lunged forward to hug Chu Zhi: “Did my baby miss mommy? I told you to come with us but you wouldn’t. Let’s spend New Year in Hainan this year, okay?”

Chu Zhi let herself be hugged, lowering her eyes and pressing her lips together: “I don’t want to go to Hainan for New Year.”

Ms. Deng sensitively noticed her daughter’s low mood and was somewhat surprised: “What’s wrong, didn’t do well on exams?”

Chu Zhi shook her head.

“Did you fight with your roommates or classmates?” Although she asked this, Ms. Deng was also doubtful—she knew her daughter’s personality best, and it was highly unlikely for her to get into fights with classmates.

Sure enough, Chu Zhi shook her head again.

Ms. Deng paused, then tentatively asked: “Do you have a boyfriend?”

As soon as she asked this, Father Chu in the driver’s seat immediately became alert, his eyes bright as he looked through the rearview mirror.

“…” Chu Zhi had never seen Comrade Chu Yunfei with such a sharp gaze.

She pressed her lips together slightly, and with the natural survival instinct of a small animal, she thought seriously for several seconds, paused for a moment, and finally nervously shook her head.

Seeing this, Ms. Deng looked disappointed, while Father Chu seemed relieved, casually saying while driving: “She’s too young for dating, she should at least wait until after college graduation.”

Ms. Deng looked at him in disbelief: “Chu Yunfei, how old-fashioned are you? Who waits until after college graduation to date? If she doesn’t act now, all the good boys will be taken!”

Father Chu said calmly and indifferently: “Any man who doesn’t wait for my daughter must be blind, what’s there to choose among such people?”

“You make a good point. Back then, I must have been blind to choose you, a prematurely balding young man, over all those rich and handsome guys who were pursuing me.”

“You also liked wearing sacks.”

“Don’t talk to me, you last-century antique.”

Father Chu chuckled: “Hehe.”

Chu Zhi: “…”

Yuan Ci would finish her last exam a day later than Chu Zhi, so they planned the hotpot dinner for the following evening.

The night Chu Zhi returned home, she left her phone charging in the study and slept in until late morning before getting up to wash.

When she checked her phone, it was flooded with messages and calls.

The characters “Brother Lu” filled the screen.

Chu Zhi’s fingers trembled, and she felt afraid to reply.

Now that she had calmed down, she felt that her behavior yesterday had been somewhat childish, impulsive, and inexplicable.

To be fair, since he had told her he liked her, he hadn’t done anything wrong, not even the slightly inappropriate things from before. He really shouldn’t have to pay for her insecurities.

She had just finished washing up, her long hair hanging loose, and was crouching barefoot on the study floor, her hair tips brushing against her fair feet.

Chu Zhi threw her phone back on the floor, kneeling on the floor and scratching her chin in frustration.

The phone vibrated again.

The buzzing sound was particularly clear on the floor. Chu Zhi hesitated for a moment before picking it up to look.

The message was just two words, without even punctuation — “Close door”

Chu Zhi paused, not understanding what he meant.

She tilted her head, holding her phone against the wall, and looked up to see two legs dangling down from the study’s balcony above.

Just two legs, no body, swinging back and forth from her family’s balcony above.

Chu Zhi’s phone dropped with a thud beside her as she nearly screamed, her first reaction being to rush out of the study to call for help.

Before she could cry out, the rest of his body appeared. His arms gripped the railing above, doing what looked like a pull-up, the muscles in his arms bulging with effort, his shirt riding up to reveal his abs and lean waistline, the V-line disappearing into his pajama pants.

His arms slowly straightened, finally revealing his clean-lined, handsome jaw.

Chu Zhi recognized him.

She trembled as she scrambled up from the floor, not even bothering to close the study door as she ran to the balcony and yanked open the door.

On this winter morning, there was a thin layer of snow outside. When the door opened, the cold wind howled in. Chu Zhi was only wearing a thin cotton nightgown and shivered uncontrollably from the cold, her teeth chattering wildly.

She rushed to the edge of the balcony without thinking, her fingers gripping the cold, snow-covered railing as she looked up with wide eyes, calling out softly: “Are you crazy?! What are you doing?!”

Lu Jiaheng was still holding onto the last railing of his balcony above.

Seventeen floors up, he hung there like a flag fluttering in the wind, making Chu Zhi break out in a cold sweat, her legs so weak she could barely stand.

She almost cried out: “Come down quickly!”

Lu Jiaheng even looked down at her with a reassuring smile.

He let out a soft breath, the warm air dispersing in the cold. His tongue darted out to lick his lower lip as he swung his body forward, waiting for the right moment before letting go.

Chu Zhi’s heart nearly jumped to her throat.

He landed steadily.

Chu Zhi’s eyes were red from fright, trembling all over either from cold or other reasons, her fingers gripping the balcony railing with snow on them.

He lowered his eyes to look at her thin nightgown and the half-exposed legs, frowning: “Go inside.”

Chu Zhi’s legs were still weak, her steps unsteady.

Only after entering did she react, quickly running to the study door and closing it with a bang, then thinking for a moment before locking it.

Chu Zhi took a deep breath, coming to her senses a bit. Her nightgown was wet with cold sweat on the back, clinging to her skin.

Lu Jiaheng followed her in, closing the balcony door behind him.

She whirled around, her eyes red and wet, glaring at him speechlessly in anger.

Chu Zhi was furious.

Father Chu and Ms. Deng were somewhere in the living room or bedroom, so she didn’t dare speak loudly, keeping her voice low and breathing unevenly in anger: “Are you crazy? Do you know which floor this is?”

Lu Jiaheng stood by the balcony door and walked over, raising his hand to try to smooth her hair.

Chu Zhi quickly turned her head away, avoiding him, still glaring angrily.

She was truly angry.

He had been hanging outside for a while, his fingers cold and his body carrying a chill. When his fingertips brushed past her temple, she shuddered.

Lu Jiaheng withdrew his hand, pressing his lips together: “You weren’t responding to me, not answering calls or messages, not letting me explain.”

He was still wearing his pajamas, his whole demeanor looking soft and docile, making others unconsciously soften as well.

But Chu Zhi was still very angry, still terrified thinking about how he had looked just now, and continued glaring at him without any kindness: “Couldn’t you knock on the door? Did you have to come down like that?”

“I saw you return with your uncle and auntie yesterday.”

“So you had to act like Spider-Man?!”

Lu Jiaheng smiled: “I’m your Superman.”

Chu Zhi blushed, lowering her head and muttering: “How can you be so shameless.”

Lu Jiaheng tried again to pat her head.

He slowly reached out, and this time, Chu Zhi didn’t dodge.

She was a messy sleeper, which he already knew. Now her hair was disheveled, hanging down loosely, the strands fine and soft, making one want to keep stroking it addictively.

Chu Zhi raised her hand and smacked the back of his hand.

Lu Jiaheng obediently withdrew his hand, looking down at her, suddenly saying: “I’m very happy.”

Chu Zhi had been uncomfortably keeping her head down, but hearing him say this, she was momentarily stunned, raising her head blankly, not knowing what to say.

His voice was soft as he slowly and gently repeated: “You got angry with me yesterday, I’m very happy.”

Chu Zhi came to her senses and looked at him with a strange expression, as if looking at an idiot.

“I’ve never liked anyone before. I was afraid of not controlling myself well and scaring you away. I was also afraid you didn’t like me, worried that you might have agreed without really knowing if you liked me, then suddenly realizing you actually don’t like me and quietly running away, or finding someone you like more than me, feeling I can’t take good care of you, feeling I’m not good to you, and then leaving me,” Lu Jiaheng smiled gently, “So when you got angry yesterday, I was really happy.”

His long eyelashes lowered, with a faint light in his dark eyes, “So actually, I’m no different from you. The things you’re afraid of, I’m afraid of too.”

Chu Zhi was stunned.

He bent down, grabbed her wrist with one hand, and pressed her palm against his chest.

His heartbeat was steady, beating one by one, clear and strong through his warm body, transmitting to every nerve ending in her palm.

For a moment, Chu Zhi felt his heartbeat seemed to merge with her own.

Thump, thump, thump.

Beating together in perfect harmony.

Chu Zhi felt a bit dazed, instinctively wanting to withdraw her hand but not wanting to, just hearing him say in a deep voice: “Chu Zhi, this heart has long been completely yours, you can do whatever you want with it.”

Chu Zhi blinked, her eyes moist.

So they were the same.

Both equally careful, equally nervous, and perhaps, he even more so than her.

She sniffled and rubbed her reddened eyes: “It’s not the same.”

Lu Jiaheng didn’t speak.

Chu Zhi continued: “I can get angry, but you can’t. If you get angry with me, I’ll pin you down and beat you up,” she lifted her head, looking fierce, “You’ve seen me fight, right? I’m very good at fighting.”

“…”

Lu Jiaheng was stunned for two seconds, straightened up, leaning back slightly, and burst out laughing.

Chu Zhi puffed up her cheeks and glared at him, very dissatisfied with his reaction, raising her hand to pinch his arm: “You’re still laughing?”

When he was wearing clothes, you couldn’t tell much, but he had everything he should have, and the muscles in his forearm were quite hard, difficult to pinch.

Lu Jiaheng finished laughing, his almond eyes lowered as he looked at her with a smile, “Just pin me down and beat me?”

“…”

This person seemed to want to suggest alternative locations.

Chu Zhi thought seriously: “I could pin you against the wall and beat you too.”

Lu Jiaheng let out a slow, drawn-out “Oh.”

His lips curved slowly, the seriousness from a minute ago completely gone, his smile looking mischievous and ambiguous: “Floor or wall, your choice, any other places you’d like?”

Chu Zhi looked at him blankly, seeming half-understanding, and after a good while, slowly blushed.

She grabbed her ears and hurriedly stepped back two steps, glaring at him, just about to speak when the sound of the study door handle turning rang out.

Followed by Ms. Deng’s voice: “Darling, come out for food, what are you doing in there, why is the door locked?!”

Chu Zhi: “…”

Lu Jiaheng: “…”