ATLAS TRANSLATES

As if a heart that had been dormant for many years started beating again, everything around him became vibrant, starting with her.

Her eyes were bright and clear, looking at him sincerely, every word from her tongue falling gently on his heart.

Lu Jiaheng looked down at her, suddenly raised his hand and pulled her into his arms.

He nuzzled the soft crown of her head with his nose, his voice falling softly: “Yes, I want to become a better person, for you.”

Chu Zhi’s head was pressed back into his embrace, her voice sounding a bit muffled: “Then go ahead, how many years will it take?”

“A year or two.”

Chu Zhi made an “ah” sound and said quietly: “That’s not very long.”

Lu Jiaheng paused, lifted his head, and pulled back slightly.

His long eyes narrowed slightly. His eye shape was already naturally sharp, and when narrowed while looking at someone, it always had a sense of pressure. Now wearing glasses, it added something else entirely.

Chu Zhi thought for a long while about what that word was – was it “devilish”?

As she stood there silently thinking, she heard him speak lightly: “You think the time is too short?”

Chu Zhi looked up, her expression appearing even more sincere than when she had said “I hope you become better”: “You’re so stupid, you even failed your final exams. Can you learn anything in just a year or two?”

“…”

Lu Jiaheng felt his girlfriend might have some misunderstandings about him.

The young master, who had been a top student since childhood with countless first-place rankings, felt he should correct her.

Young Master Lu struggled to explain: “Chu Chu, my grades are actually quite good, and I didn’t fail any final exams.”

Chu Zhi’s mouth opened slightly as she asked bewilderedly: “Did you bribe the teachers?”

Lu Jiaheng: “…”

Knowing that Lu Jiaheng would be leaving and they would likely have about two years of long-distance relationship ahead, Chu Zhi stopped trying so hard to maintain her image as a sensible girlfriend.

This manifested in her increasing both the number and frequency of messages she sent to Lu Jiaheng.

Of course, she would still avoid his busy times or work hours, actively reaching out to him during lunch breaks or in the evenings.

Lu Jiaheng was so happy he could almost jump for joy. His mood was great every day – his morning motivation was waiting for his girlfriend’s video call at lunch, his afternoon motivation was the evening video call when he got home, and his life motivation was taking care of his girlfriend in the future.

Though they lived just upstairs and downstairs from each other, their romance felt like a long-distance relationship, sometimes including secret meetings between the balcony and study.

It was somewhat like the bridge of magpies that connected the Cowherd and Weaver Girl, just in a bunk bed version.

Lu Jiaheng didn’t climb down anymore, but each time one would lie on top peering down while the other stretched their neck up to look, calling out to each other against the backdrop of endless snow – the scene must have looked quite strange.

Later on, Chu Zhi would run to his company during lunch breaks, sometimes stay with him during overtime, and even sneak upstairs a few times late at night when her parents were asleep.

Their romance felt like a secret affair, and they spent the entire winter break this way until early March when school started again.

On Lu Jiaheng’s last night of internship, Chu Zhi went to his company to find him.

The little girl had been coming around so often these past few days, and being both likable and sweet-spoken, the security guards and receptionists all knew her now and let her go up directly.

Chu Zhi bounced up the stairs with familiar ease, making her way to Lu Jiaheng’s office.

The office door was slightly ajar. Before Chu Zhi could enter, just as her hand touched the doorknob, she heard a woman’s voice from inside.

“Would you like to have dinner together after work?”

Chu Zhi paused, her push on the door stopping abruptly.

She hesitated for a moment, then quietly peeked through the slightly open door.

The woman looked about the same height as Lin Tong, still wearing a light-colored suit with a pencil skirt that ended just above the knee, and flesh-colored stockings.

She had changed her high heels, but perhaps due to female intuition, Chu Zhi recognized her at once – she was the coffee-bringing lady.

The coffee sister’s voice was gentle too, exuding a mature female charm from head to toe. Through the door crack, Chu Zhi could almost feel her overflowing feminine hormones.

From her angle, Chu Zhi couldn’t see Lu Jiaheng’s face, but heard him say flatly: “No, I need to go home early tonight.”

“The whole department is going. Everyone’s waiting for you. I won’t be able to explain if you don’t come,” the woman laughed, probing jokingly, “Are you rushing home because someone’s waiting? Your sister?”

He paused: “I don’t have a sister.”

The woman hesitated: “Then that girl who often comes to see you is…?”

Chu Zhi stood sneakily at the door. She could only see the woman’s profile, so she leaned forward trying to see Lu Jiaheng’s expression.

She had a single-shoulder bag with a thin strap. As she leaned forward, the bag swung down slightly, swaying gently in the doorway.

Chu Zhi didn’t notice this at all, her attention fully focused inside. She heard Lu Jiaheng stay quiet for a while before slowly speaking, his voice carrying a hint of smile: “My wife.”

Chu Zhi: “…”

Female secretary: “…”

With a soft “thud,” Chu Zhi’s shoulder bag slipped down and fell on the soft carpet, making an almost inaudible sound.

But the people inside clearly heard it. The female secretary turned her head to look at the woman’s bag in the doorway.

Chu Zhi had already pulled back her head, hiding by the door with bright red ears. She rubbed her face and tugged at her ears. Even though she had been discovered, she still didn’t want to go in.

While mentally chanting “you can’t see me, you can’t see me,” Chu Zhi crouched down and quietly tried to pull her bag strap out.

From inside, what Lu Jiaheng and the female secretary saw was a small white delicate hand slowly reaching in through the door, hooking the bag strap, then gradually and carefully pulling it back, inch by inch disappearing behind the door.

Like a cat dragging a toy or doll bit by bit back into its den.

Lu Jiaheng chuckled lazily: “See, isn’t my wife adorable? Like a little mouse.”

Chu Zhi: “…”

Female secretary: “…”

Halfway through pulling the bag out, when it was almost through the door, it stopped moving.

After a few seconds, the office door was slowly pushed open. Chu Zhi crouched at the entrance looking up with a resentful expression at the man inside.

Lu Jiaheng sat behind his desk where neatly arranged things lay, his chin resting on a thick stack of documents as he looked at her with curved lips.

Perhaps because Chu Zhi had never seen him studying before, she only recently learned that he wore glasses. Behind the thin lenses, his peach blossom eyes were narrow and slightly upturned at the corners, with delicate eye bags as he said gently: “Baby, come here.”

No matter how bewitching the person before her looked, Chu Zhi still wanted to grab her bag from the ground and throw it straight at his face while roaring “Who looks like a little mouse?!”

Chu Zhi puffed her cheeks and glared at him, then glanced at the woman standing beside him.

She was crouching at the door like a thief, sneaking around in her thick down jacket and pants, making her look like a swollen, chubby clam.

Meanwhile, her rival wore a high-end suit that showed off her slim waist and long legs, elegant like a swan.

Chu Zhi was very unhappy.

She shot up, grabbed her bag and put it back on her shoulder, then marched into the office boldly with her back straight as a rod. She walked very imposingly to the desk, looked at the man sitting behind it, and took a deep breath.

There was a desk between them. After thinking for a moment, still feeling it wasn’t enough, she simply walked around to the back of the desk and stood in front of him: “Lu Jiaheng.”

Lu Jiaheng looked at her slightly puffed cheeks, resisting the urge to poke them as he raised his eyes, waiting for what she would say next.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Chu Zhi glared at him for a while, then suddenly her little mouth turned down unhappily as she said in a muffled voice: “I’m hungry…”

“…”

Lu Jiaheng laughed deeply, finally unable to resist pulling her hand to bring her into his lap and hold her. His other hand reached up to poke her round, fair cheeks: “Our baby is hungry. What does our baby want to eat?”

Chu Zhi was already used to this, and had even started automatically and skillfully finding the most comfortable position in his embrace.

Still unable to let it go, she lay against his ear and said very resentfully: “Why did you say I’m a mouse?”

Lu Jiaheng played along, lowering his voice: “Because I think mice are cute.”

Chu Zhi couldn’t understand what was cute about mice at all.

She was still huffing: “They’re not cute at all, and you actually called me a mouse in front of another woman!”

“…”

The female secretary thought these young lovebirds should just shut up already – did they think she was deaf?

Lu Jiaheng’s expression remained calm and natural: “What other woman? In my world there are only men and my little Zhi.”

“…”

The female secretary’s ears slipped and didn’t catch it clearly, staring at them in shock.

Your what? Your little nephew???

The female secretary thought rich people really had strange tastes.

March brought the awakening of insects, and as mid-spring began, the weather started becoming unstable, alternating between cold and warm.

Lu Jiaheng’s move from the company to school didn’t give him much free time.

There was a lot to prepare for studying abroad – GPA from four years of school, IELTS or TOEFL scores, GAT scores were all important. Lu Jiaheng’s test scores over the three years had actually been quite good, except for the PE test where he had messed up and had to talk to the dean to fix it.

To enrich his application resume and show diverse college club experience, Lu Jiaheng specifically joined the student council.

As a senior parachuting in, within two months he became the departmental student council president.

Chu Zhi found it amazing.

She learned about this news from Xue Nannan. At the time, she was on a library date with Lu Jiaheng – they had found a corner spot where Lu Jiaheng had a set of GAT practice papers in front of him while Chu Zhi held a Communication Theory textbook and was checking WeChat in the dorm group. Just as she was about to put her phone down, Xue Nannan’s Garfield avatar appeared, announcing this major news in the group.

Chu Zhi patted the arm of the person next to her twice. The pats made Lu Jiaheng’s hand slip, drawing a long line across his test paper.

He turned his head: “What’s wrong?”

“You became student council president?”

“Mm.”

Chu Zhi’s eyes widened: “How did you do it?? You just joined the student council.”

Lu Jiaheng’s expression was quite calm as he turned back to look at his papers: “Because the previous student council president was Lin Baiyang.”

“…”

These evil backdoor deals were really enviable.

She was thinking silently when Lu Jiaheng suddenly turned his head to look at her with an ambiguous smile: “What, you want to join too?”

Chu Zhi’s eyes sparkled hopefully as she looked at him: “Can I not do any work?”

Lu Jiaheng’s fingers skillfully spun his pen a couple times as he licked his lips: “Sure, you can be my secretary. Let me exploit you a bit, have a secret underground romance in the student council president’s office.”

After he said this, Chu Zhi was dissatisfied again. She leaned in close to glare at him: “Why does it have to be a secret underground romance?”

Lu Jiaheng raised his eyebrows, thinking girls were truly mysterious creatures.

She was the one who wanted to keep it secret and hadn’t told anyone, but as soon as he said anything along those lines, the little girl immediately objected.

“Little Chu Zhi, you’re the one who didn’t want me to see the light,” Lu Jiaheng reminded her.

Chu Zhi thought it did seem that way. She looked at him seriously and called out: “Lu Jiaheng.”

“Mm?”

“When you leave, it’ll be for two years, right?”

Lu Jiaheng paused and looked up: “Maybe not.”

“But that’s just maybe.”

“I’ll come back during breaks,” he paused and added, “No matter how short they are.”

But Chu Zhi looked quite disapproving: “Don’t tire yourself out going back and forth. You’re going there to study properly, don’t think about other things, otherwise you might as well not go.”

Her little adult manner was both cute and funny. Lu Jiaheng nodded very obediently: “Okay, then I won’t come back.”

Chu Zhi glanced at him and continued: “We shouldn’t keep in touch either, otherwise you’ll be distracted.”

Lu Jiaheng lifted his eyelids but didn’t say anything.

As the days passed, thinking about him leaving and them being separated by half the globe, Chu Zhi grew more depressed each day.

Though her way of expressing this anxiety, depression and unhappiness was quite peculiar, often saying strange things, sometimes letting her imagination run wild and starting to talk nonsense.

The little girl worried to herself for a while, then propped her face in her hands: “Lu Jiaheng, why don’t we break up?”

Lu Jiaheng’s movements stopped.

He thought he had misheard: “What?”

Chu Zhi was actually just being mischievous. She counted the days on her fingers while seriously talking nonsense: “You’ll be gone for so long, what if you find a girl you like over there? And you’re blocking my potential romances this way – what if some boy likes me and confesses—”

She was rambling halfway through when she looked up and met his dark eyes.

Chu Zhi’s little mouth opened with an “ah” sound, stopping mid-sentence. She blinked, looking very innocent.

Lu Jiaheng was both amused and annoyed by her. He threw his pen on the desk, raised his hand, and flicked her forehead, his voice seeming to squeeze through his teeth: “You little ingrate.”