ATLAS TRANSLATES

Chu Zhi had underestimated Lu Jiaheng.

Not only did he have his own private office, but it was quite spacious – an end unit with floor-to-ceiling windows that let in plenty of natural light. Near the door was a small two-person sofa and a coffee table.

Why did an intern at this company have such nice working conditions?

Chu Zhi figured he must have pulled some strings. His father was probably a manager or department director or something.

These privileged people with their connections were really enviable.

Actually, Chu Zhi had misunderstood. Just two days ago, Lu Jiaheng was still sitting in a cubicle in the open office. He had just moved into this office, and she happened to catch him right after the move.

Chu Zhi sat properly on the sofa, still holding her little lunchbox.

When Lu Jiaheng came over, she slowly took out the lunchbox and placed it on the coffee table. She removed it from the insulated bag and opened it, arranging the small containers one by one on the table – three dishes, with white soup simmering below, and rice separately in a small container, pearly and soft.

Lu Jiaheng felt like he was being fed: “Did you make all this?”

Chu Zhi propped up her face honestly: “My mom made it. I don’t know how to cook, I just reheated it.”

When she put her hand up to her face, a band-aid peeked out from her sleeve.

Lu Jiaheng’s gaze fell on it and paused before he picked up a piece of spare rib and placed it on the rice: “You don’t need to learn. I’ll cook in the future.”

Chu Zhi clearly didn’t believe him and looked at him seriously: “Lu Jiaheng, are you trying to starve me?”

“…”

Lu Jiaheng had a meeting in the afternoon. Chu Zhi had planned to leave after he finished eating, but he pulled out a small blanket from somewhere and handed it to her, then lowered all the blinds: “Take a nap if you’re tired. I’ll get off work early today and take you home.”

With the daylight completely blocked, the office grew dim. The central air conditioning kept it warm, the sofa and blanket were soft, and the air seemed filled with drowsiness.

Chu Zhi leaned back on the sofa, pulled up the small blanket, and slumped down softly: “What time is your meeting?”

“Three o’clock.”

Hearing this, Chu Zhi sat up again, forcing herself to stay alert with wide eyes: “Then I’ll keep you company a bit longer.”

Lu Jiaheng licked his lips and smiled, walking over to sit beside her. He pulled her into his arms, tucked the blanket around her, and patted her like comforting a child: “Sleep now.”

Chu Zhi was very cooperative, quickly finding a comfortable position in his arms, her nose nuzzling against his shirt fabric as she burrowed her head closer.

For a moment, Lu Jiaheng felt a sense of déjà vu.

It was like being back several months ago, in the car returning from Cangyan Mountain, with the little girl sleeping comfortably against him, smelling sweet and nuzzling against him like a small animal.

Back then his feelings had been hazy and unclear, careful and cautious, finding himself wanting to smile at her sudden closeness without fully understanding why.

Now this girl was his.

Her head buried in his embrace, her whole body wrapped in his arms like a big doll, from head to toe she belonged to him alone.

Lu Jiaheng silently curved his lips into a smile.

The next second, he remembered what Old Master Lu had said to him before.

Lu Jiaheng’s smile slowly faded as he lowered his eyes to look at the young woman’s long, thick eyelashes in his arms. He raised his finger to gently touch them and asked softly: “Chu Chu, how many hours do you usually sleep at night?”

Chu Zhi felt a bit ticklish and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand: “I need twelve hours.”

Lu Jiaheng laughed and fell silent.

After two minutes, he raised his hand to touch her eyelids again.

Chu Zhi frowned unhappily and opened her eyes to give him a bleary look. She tilted her head and buried her face in his chest, burrowing deeper as she made a drowsy sound of protest.

Lu Jiaheng licked his lips and bent down slightly to kiss her earlobe: “Sleep well, little lazy pig.”

When Chu Zhi woke up and opened her eyes, Lu Jiaheng was gone.

The office was quiet, the blinds drawn tight, the light dim and dark, making it momentarily difficult to tell if it was day or night.

Chu Zhi yawned twice, her eyes watering, and lay straight on the sofa for a while before getting up and grabbing her phone from the coffee table to check the time.

It was nearly five o’clock.

Lu Jiaheng had been in his meeting for about two hours. Chu Zhi didn’t know how long company meetings usually lasted. She knelt on the sofa and realized someone had taken off her shoes too.

She got down, put on her shoes, and walked to the window to open all the tightly drawn blinds. The sky was painted with sunset colors, blood red everywhere, and below were the uneven steel forests of buildings.

Chu Zhi wandered around the office for a few circles, looking here and there. She didn’t touch any of his documents on the desk, just looked at the small decorations.

Chu Zhi sat in the chair and played with the globe on the desk for quite a while, looking at Australia, Africa, and Oceania piece by piece until she finally got bored.

She put the globe back in its original position, and her gaze shifted to a stack of books at the edge of the desk.

Chu Zhi paused, hesitated, but still rolled the chair over and quietly looked.

A large pile of GAT study materials and textbooks, along with several forms from top international business schools.

Everything was brand new, showing no signs of being used.

When Chu Zhi was in her senior year of high school, Ms. Deng had also wanted to send her abroad for university.

She had specially learned and taken the IELTS, scoring a 7, but in the end her father changed his mind at the last minute, absolutely refused to agree, and with Chu Zhi also not wanting to be so far from home, they eventually gave up the idea.

During that time, Chu Zhi had learned about various study abroad related tests, including the GAT and GRE, which were used for graduate studies abroad.

Chu Zhi’s fingers became a bit stiff as she bit her lip and carefully closed the books, organizing them neatly.

Just as she was about to stand up, the sound of the office door handle turning suddenly rang out. Chu Zhi froze, thinking Lu Jiaheng had returned, and instantly felt guilty like a thief.

Seeing the door about to open, Chu Zhi quickly crouched down, crawling on all fours under the huge desk.

After crawling under, she realized this action probably didn’t serve any real purpose.

Just as she was about to crawl out, a pair of legs appeared before her.

A pair of straight, slender legs in sheer stockings, with delicate ankles, wearing black high heels.

Chu Zhi was stunned, her hands pressed against the carpet. Her original intention to crawl out changed, and she shrunk back further inside.

There was a light sound on the desk above her head, like something being placed on it. Chu Zhi instantly became alert and secretly lowered her head, trying to catch a glimpse of the person’s face.

At home, she would watch TV dramas with Ms. Deng, and this kind of scene usually involved someone sneaking in during meetings to steal documents or work reports, business secrets and such.

Chu Zhi’s mind immediately conjured up an image of Lu Jiaheng looking shocked and defeated in a business battle, his opponent having obtained all his plans, catching him completely off guard.

However, looking up, she could only see the edge of a light-colored suit skirt, a waist so slim it could be encircled by one hand, and the rest was blocked by the desk edge.

Even with her head almost pressed against the carpet, Chu Zhi couldn’t see anything else.

The woman turned and left, her high heels muffled by the carpet. Chu Zhi waited a while before quietly crawling out and looking down.

Nothing was missing from the desk – instead, there was an additional cup of coffee.

It sat on an elegant lace coaster with a napkin in the saucer holding two sugar cubes.

Chu Zhi was stunned.

She stood at his desk, not noticing Lu Jiaheng come in.

Until he walked over and lightly tapped the desk.

Chu Zhi looked up, her expression still a bit dazed: “Are you done with your meeting?”

There was no mirror in his office, and she hadn’t fixed herself after waking up. Her hair was slightly messy from sleep, the ends slightly turned up where they had been pressed.

Lu Jiaheng reached up to smooth her hair, then proceeded to pat her head: “Mm, let’s go, time to head home.”

Chu Zhi didn’t react, just stood there in a daze.

After a while, she lowered her eyes and slowly said “Oh”: “Then let’s go.”

Before leaving, she looked back at the pile of materials and textbooks on his desk.

She rubbed her eyes and called to him: “Someone came in earlier to bring you coffee.”

Lu Jiaheng was getting her coat ready, shaking it out: “Hmm?”

Chu Zhi was now very used to his attentiveness, obediently spreading her arms to put on the coat as she looked up at him: “Aren’t you going to drink it?”

Lu Jiaheng crouched down to wrap her scarf: “No.”

“Ah, how can you be like that? She made coffee for you, you should drink it!” Chu Zhi’s little eyebrows furrowed as she lectured him.

Lu Jiaheng pulled at the edge of her scarf: “Will you make it for me?”

Chu Zhi blinked.

“If it’s not made by you, why should I drink it?”

Chu Zhi couldn’t think of what else to say to him, and could only say dryly: “That’s a bit wasteful.”

Lu Jiaheng’s gaze softened slightly as he suddenly leaned in: “Did you see who brought it?”

“I saw.” Those long legs.

Chu Zhi looked down at her own legs, feeling they weren’t even two-thirds as long.

Lu Jiaheng raised an eyebrow: “Someone makes coffee for your boyfriend, and you’re actually encouraging me to drink it?”

Chu Zhi’s expression was quite confused: “Doesn’t everyone get this?”

“…”

Lu Jiaheng gritted his teeth: “No, only I get it.”

Hearing this, Chu Zhi’s expression instantly became serious: “Lu Jiaheng, if you don’t like someone, you should properly reject them and apologize.”

Lu Jiaheng felt he might have some psychological condition, like masochistic tendencies. Instead of getting angry at him or throwing a tantrum, she was earnestly teaching him with such understanding, which actually made him feel uncomfortable all over. “I’ve only seen her a few times during meetings, never alone.”

Unexpectedly, Chu Zhi didn’t disappoint him. She suddenly looked alarmed, then angrily started whipping her scarf at his face: “You want to see her alone?!”

“…”

After rewrapping the scarf she had pulled loose, they went downstairs. It was rush hour and traffic was completely gridlocked. Having slept all afternoon, Chu Zhi was wide awake, sitting quietly in the passenger seat with her head against the window, lost in thought.

The little girl who had been chattering away at lunchtime was now completely silent. Lu Jiaheng turned to look at her: “Are you cold?”

Chu Zhi shook her head.

“Hungry?”

Chu Zhi shook her head again.

Just after shaking it, her stomach made a soft growling sound.

“…”

Chu Zhi puffed up her cheeks, let out a “poof” of air, and blinked as she turned around, looking somewhat careful: “Senior, what are your plans after graduation?”

This form of address was quite rare now – he had gotten used to her calling him by his full name “Lu Jiaheng”. Hearing it was a bit surprising, and he turned back: “Planning to wait for you to grow up and give me a little Chu Zhi.”

“…”

With a boom, Chu Zhi’s face seemed about to burst into flames.

She quickly raised both hands to cover her burning ears, stammering: “What are you saying! Aren’t you embarrassed! I don’t want to have a little Chu Zhi!”

Lu Jiaheng licked his lips with a smile and said lazily: “Fine then, I’ll have it.”

“…”

Now he was just being ridiculous.

Mid-February was approaching, with Spring Festival drawing near.

During Laba Festival, the weather was extremely cold, and Chu Zhi, who was already reluctant to go out in winter, became even more unwilling.

For many days in a row, Chu Zhi seemed somewhat preoccupied.

She couldn’t even sleep well at night. She dreamed of Lu Jiaheng hunched over his desk, head down, doing something unknown. When she curiously walked over, she saw the GAT exam materials on his desk.

Those materials had come alive, growing hands and feet, jumping around on the desk, looking at her smugly while making strange laughing sounds, saying while laughing: “Let’s break up, you’re no match for us!”

At this point, Lu Jiaheng finally raised his head and smiled at her: “I love studying, the most beautiful two characters in my life are ‘studying’, not ‘Chu Zhi’.”

The Chu Zhi in the dream thought: Isn’t this quite good?

How positive and proactive.

The awake Chu Zhi was terrified, feeling like she had gone crazy.

She agonized over it for a long time, wanting to ask him but also not wanting to.

Studying abroad for a graduate degree would mean at least three years before returning. Chu Zhi felt this was quite an important matter. He would start his senior year next year – it was approaching quickly, yet he hadn’t said anything to her about it.

It seemed like he had no intention of telling her or discussing it with her.

Was it that he didn’t want to tell her, or that he felt there was no need to?

Chu Zhi told herself that he probably just hadn’t found the right time yet, after all it was only the second semester of his junior year, maybe he hadn’t found the opportunity to tell her about this.

Since he hadn’t said anything, he must have his own considerations and thoughts, Chu Zhi thought.

So she would wait a bit longer.

Wait a bit more, and if after school starts he still hasn’t mentioned it, then she would ask.

At 9:30 PM, Chu Zhi sat on her bed, eyes lowered, lost in thought for a while.

The more she thought about it, the more upset she felt.

She sat there for a good while with puffed up cheeks, letting out “poof poof” breaths of air like a little pufferfish, getting more and more unhappy as she stewed in her own anger.

Chu Zhi raised her arm to grab her phone from the bedside table and sent Lu Jiaheng a message: I hope you get constipated tomorrow!!!!!

Author’s Note:

Crown Prince: “…”

Constipation was probably the most vicious curse Chu Zhi could think of.

After all, in our country, nine out of ten men have hemorrhoids…