ATLAS TRANSLATES

It felt like a century had passed, or maybe just a few seconds, when Lu Jiaheng finally released her. Chu Zhi was completely soft, her eyes open with tears gathering in them, the corners reddened. He pulled her into his embrace, his lips near her ear, his breath hot: “Chu Chu, breathe.”

The young girl still looked dazed, her wet eyes looking at him, her fair delicate cheeks flushed red.

Hearing him, she obediently let out a long breath, then began to regulate her breathing. She leaned against him for a while before pushing against his shoulders to straighten up.

Her lower lip hurt terribly, burning hot – she wasn’t sure if it was broken.

Chu Zhi glared at him, her expression both angry and embarrassed.

She wanted to scold him but couldn’t get the words out.

“Let me down…” After a long while, she finally managed these words, her voice raspy yet still soft and gentle.

Lu Jiaheng didn’t move, only raised his hand to wipe away the tears at the corner of her eye with his thumb: “If I let you down, won’t you run away?”

Chu Zhi’s eyes grew redder, tears slowly spreading in her eyes.

She sniffled, suddenly cupped his face, and bent down to bite hard on his sharp chin.

She used quite a bit of force, and a slight taste of blood spread in her mouth.

Lu Jiaheng let out a low hiss but didn’t dodge, letting her bite him.

“Why did you bite me…” she asked through sobs, still holding his chin between her teeth.

“Couldn’t help it,” he said softly.

“…”

Bastard.

Not satisfied, Chu Zhi released her bite, then turned his head slightly to bite him again on the side.

He remained silent, letting her take her revenge, still not letting her go.

Chu Zhi wiped her eyes and smacked his forehead, pushing forward: “Put me down!”

Lu Jiaheng remained unmoved, holding her steady, kissing her wet eyes, his voice gentle: “There’s broken porcelain on the floor, you’ll cut your feet. Don’t cry anymore.”

When he spoke, Chu Zhi couldn’t stop her tears.

She kicked her legs in anger, tears flowing fiercely, which he carefully kissed away one by one.

Tender and gentle now, completely different from before.

Chu Zhi turned her head away to avoid him, but he pulled her head against his neck: “I just saw your knight helping you with your scarf.”

Chu Zhi froze, stopping her sniffles.

He continued softly: “Does he know you have a boyfriend?”

Chu Zhi shook her head, her nose brushing against the skin of his neck, her tears sliding into his collar.

His scent filled her every breath.

“What about uncle and auntie?”

Chu Zhi hiccupped.

Lu Jiaheng raised his hand, gently patting her back like comforting a child, his voice even carrying a hint of grievance, “See, I can’t even be seen in public.”

Chu Zhi buried her head in the crook of his neck, saying nothing.

When he put it that way, she suddenly felt quite guilty towards him.

She paused, then raised her head: “What about your friends?”

Lu Jiaheng smiled: “The day we got together, weren’t you having dinner with my friends?”

That was true.

Chu Zhi paused, lifted her head to look at him, and asked similarly: “Then what about uncle and auntie?”

She asked without thinking, only remembering what she’d seen last time after the words left her mouth, feeling somewhat regretful.

Sure enough, Lu Jiaheng was silent for a few seconds, his arms tightening around her.

He lowered his head slightly, his forehead touching hers, his voice deep: “Chu Chu, I don’t have a good relationship with my father, and I don’t have a mother anymore.”

Chu Zhi froze.

She had considered that his parents might be separated, but hadn’t thought that his mother had passed away.

Chu Zhi raised her lowered lashes, frowning, her eyes both guilty and at a loss, not knowing what to say.

She felt like she had reopened his wounds, and anything she could say now would be superfluous.

She lowered her eyes: “I’m sorry…”

Lu Jiaheng’s expression didn’t change much, he even smiled, ruffling her soft hair: “It’s been a long time.”

Chu Zhi didn’t speak, still looking down, appearing very sad.

After a while, she said softly: “You’re not hidden from view…”

Her voice was so quiet, each sound barely leaving her lips, but Lu Jiaheng heard clearly.

He gazed at her, waiting for her next words.

Chu Zhi stopped speaking, pressed her lips together, took a deep breath, raised her head – he held her steady while her legs swung back and forth – “Let me down first.”

About having a boyfriend, she didn’t dare tell Father Chu. Although he usually seemed good-tempered and never angry, when he did get angry it was terrifying. Chu Zhi thought she might get beaten.

Lu Jiaheng used his foot to sweep the broken porcelain pieces aside, clearing a clean spot on the floor, and put her down.

Chu Zhi finally stood steady and looked up at him.

He looked a bit disheveled, with two bleeding bite marks on his chin, and his forehead was slightly red, probably from when she had hit him.

The sound of high heels on marble flooring came from outside the stall, along with conversation.

Someone had come in.

Then came the sound of running water.

Chu Zhi stood on her tiptoes, stretching upward. Lu Jiaheng, seeing this, cooperated by bending down.

Using the water sound as cover, she moved to his ear and whispered: “I’ll go out first.”

“You leave after ten minutes.”

Lu Jiaheng: “…”

What happened to not being hidden from view?

Chu Zhi even thoughtfully reminded him seriously: “Remember to be quiet, wait until people outside leave before coming out, otherwise you’ll be arrested as a pervert.”

“…”

For some reason, Lu Jiaheng felt his little girl seemed to have learned some bad habits.

During previous winter breaks, Chu Zhi would fall into a terrible sleep cycle of staying up late and waking up late.

“Staying up late” really just meant going from the usual 10 PM to before midnight, but her wake-up time became indefinitely delayed, often sleeping half the day away, wanting to laze in bed all day until Mrs. Deng pulled off her covers and dragged her up.

This time, she woke up quite early the next day.

But every time she closed her eyes, all she could see were scenes of him holding and kissing her.

Their lips and teeth meeting, tight and lingering, his overwhelming presence.

Her lips being licked, bitten, and sucked, a numbness and pain mixed with some strange other feeling.

She unconsciously licked her lips, then suddenly caught herself, her face burning red as she clapped both hands over her mouth. She pulled the covers over herself and kicked her short legs wildly under the blanket, letting out muffled screams.

After screaming like a madwoman for a while, she calmed down and stared quietly at the ceiling.

She had thought she would be angry.

Or maybe too embarrassed to want to see him for a hundred years.

But it wasn’t really like that.

Just one night had passed, and she was already starting to miss him a little.

And his scent… she really liked it.

Except he was a bit fierce, biting her so it hurt.

As soon as this thought emerged, Chu Zhi started frantically kicking her legs in embarrassment again.

After doing her “exercise bike” routine under the covers for a while, she suddenly threw them off, turned over to lie on her stomach, and buried her head deep in the pillow. She grabbed her phone from beside her and stared at it for a long time, spacing out with a red face for another ten minutes.

While she was spacing out, her phone notification sounded.

Chu Zhi unlocked her phone, and a WeChat message popped up.

Lu Jiaheng’s contact name was still the “Brother Lu” he had entered himself. Chu Zhi hadn’t changed it, though she had changed his WeChat nickname during the school anniversary when she was angry, changing it to “bastard.”

She had forgotten about it since then, and since Chu Zhi usually recognized people by their avatars, she had overlooked the nickname issue and ended up dating this “bastard” for over half a month without thinking to change it.

Now, Chu Zhi felt this nickname suited him perfectly and never intended to change it.

The bastard was officially starting his internship today – he had told her this when sending her home last night. Now he sent her a photo, probably taken in front of the company bathroom mirror, wearing a white shirt with the collar loose and no tie, suit jacket draped over his arm, head tilted lazily.

The only flaw was the two bandages on his chin.

Bastard: Here’s a chat background for you.

Chu Zhi was shocked by how flirtatious this person was.

She quickly opened her album and struggled to find two photos among a mess of food pictures and various wallpapers. Both were taken by her roommate, and she chose the one she liked better to send him: Here’s a wallpaper for you!

Lu Jiaheng leaned against the bathroom sink and chuckled softly.

He opened the picture, which showed a girl standing in front of the library, wearing a white top and black skirt, holding an ice cream cone, turning to smile at the camera.

Her long hair was tied in a ponytail, her doe eyes black and bright, curved into smiles like two small crescents.

Lu Jiaheng quietly looked at the person in the photo, his eyes lowered, his expression tender.

So full that he couldn’t see anything else.

As if what he was looking at right now was his entire world.

He tilted his head slightly, first saved the photo, then exited the chat interface.

His current lock screen was an obvious candid shot, showing only a very angled side profile. The background was a classroom, with the girl sitting in the front row, head slightly turned, pen tip pressed against her cheek, listening to someone speaking beside her.

Lu Jiaheng set the new photo as his home screen when a deep voice suddenly came from behind: “Girlfriend?”

Lu Jiaheng turned around.

Lu Hongshen stood behind him, casually walking to the side and turning on the faucet to wash his hands: “Already set as your wallpaper, you must really like her?”

Lu Jiaheng discreetly locked his phone and put one hand in his pocket, saying nothing.

Lu Hongshen, getting no response, didn’t mind, leisurely finishing washing his hands and pulling a paper towel: “It’s fine to have a proper relationship, girls need companionship, especially now during the break. I have meetings all afternoon today anyway and won’t have time to supervise you, so I’ll give you half a day off. Go have fun.”

Lu Jiaheng raised his eyes: “I’m here to learn.”

Lu Hongshen said impatiently: “Even if you go, what could you understand? Besides, since when can an intern just casually sit in on high-level meetings because they say they want to learn? Do you think having the Lu surname gives you special privileges? Start from the bottom like everyone else!”

Lu Jiaheng’s lips curved into a light smile, though his eyes showed no amusement.

He was taller than Lu Hongshen, and now looked down at him with lowered lashes, saying carelessly: “Of course I have special privileges, after all, I’m your future boss.”