ATLAS TRANSLATES

Chen Jinyao appeared much more irritated than Yan Cheng.

Abandoning her usual calm composure, her sudden anger made her come alive. Yan Cheng’s clear eyes narrowed slightly, the gloom on his face instantly dissipating somewhat.

After embracing in silence for a moment, he stopped pretending to be pitiful for sympathy. Even at this time, he still had the mood to do something else. His large hand held the back of Chen Jinyao’s head as he lowered his head and gave her a fierce kiss.

…If time allowed, he might have done more.

“Alright, just enjoy yourself for me, take lots of photos. I hear watching the sunrise and feeling the sea breeze at Mount Putuo is most pleasant. Don’t waste this rare trip,” Yan Cheng said softly. After a few seconds, he worriedly brought up the old topic again, “And don’t go today, refund the tickets. Wait until Jin Lin arrives.”

He hurriedly mumbled all the reminders he thought necessary in detail. When he saw the time was about right, Yan Cheng finally let go of Chen Jinyao, telling her to relax and get some more sleep.

Chen Jinyao was pushed back into the blankets. She frowned, her expression serious, feeling uneasy: “Should I take the next flight back?”

“No need.” Yan Cheng pinched her cheeks and smiled, lowering his eyes and saying casually: “It’s just normal procedure, nothing major.”

“…” There was nothing wrong with these words. If you haven’t done anything wrong, there’s nothing to fear. Chen Jinyao suppressed her unease and finally nodded slowly.

Two and a half to three hours later.

Yan Cheng returned to the capital.

A Tai picked him up from the airport. He didn’t go to Er Guan first, nor to the police station, but went to the Chen family home to find Chen Jin Lin.

Yan Cheng didn’t say much about what was happening, only that he had something urgent come up and wanted her to go to Hangzhou to keep her sister company, then accompany her sister to pray at Mount Putuo.

“A paid vacation?” Chen Jin Lin was surprised and eager.

Yan Cheng: “Yes, all expenses for you sisters these few days will be on my account.”

As he spoke, he took out his phone, his long fingers moving nimbly on the screen. Not long after, Chen Jin Lin received a transfer notification on her WeChat.

It was a huge sum. Chen Jin Lin took a sharp breath, thinking how good it was that her sister had married well.

However, even without this development, Chen Jin Lin would have definitely agreed without hesitation. Sisterly love was one thing, but most importantly, her boyfriend was from Hangzhou.

School had just let out, and they were facing two months of long-distance relationship. With such a heaven-sent opportunity, it would be strange if she didn’t firmly grasp it.

Just two girls out there.

Yan Cheng was still a bit worried.

He shifted his gaze to A Tai, looking him up and down for a moment. Just as he was about to make a decision, he heard Chen Jin Lin say: “My boyfriend can be our local guide.”

Hearing this, Yan Cheng swallowed his words. He narrowed his eyes at Chen Jin Lin, his lips curving upward: “Your boyfriend is in Hangzhou?”

Chen Jin Lin nodded repeatedly like a pecking chick.

“Alright, let him show his worth. This way, he can get direct approval from your sister and brother-in-law.” Yan Cheng knew somewhat about Chen Jin Lin’s concerns that her parents wouldn’t accept an out-of-town son-in-law. Young people’s love in the heat of romance was so intense that even a chainsaw couldn’t cut through it. Yan Cheng shamelessly and righteously took advantage of this point, saying: “When it’s time to meet the parents, your sister and brother-in-law can stand on your side and speak up for you to Mom and Dad.”

“…” This deal wasn’t a loss at all. Chen Jin Lin agreed almost without hesitation, “I’ll pack up and go tomorrow.”

Yan Cheng: “Pack now, book the tickets now, leave this afternoon. I’ll send you your sister’s hotel address later.”

Chen Jin Lin: “…”

Chen Jin Lin was dumbfounded. From an observer’s perspective, although she felt her brother-in-law was making too big a deal of things, she couldn’t deny that this excessive concern and care really touched a woman’s heart. Her sister was truly blessed.

Du Ni had been wagging its tail and rubbing against his feet affectionately since Yan Cheng entered. After saying what needed to be said, Yan Cheng bent down to pick it up, stroked its fur, making it purr contentedly with narrowed eyes: “I’m taking Du Ni with me.”

“Okay.”

Chen Jin Lin stretched and yawned, the dark circles under her eyes very obvious – clearly she hadn’t slept well. Before turning to leave, Yan Cheng asked one more question.

Chen Jin Lin: “Don’t mention it, police went to the Huo family next door last night, saying they were looking for Huo Qi Dong to understand the situation.”

She had seen quite a commotion and couldn’t resist her curiosity.

She finished by muttering: “Wonder what trouble Huo Qi Dong got into.”

Yan Cheng raised his eyebrows, clearing his throat: “Huo Qi Dong lives in the old house?”

He hadn’t paid attention to such trivial matters of others for a long time.

Chen Jin Lin nodded: “Yeah, I heard he wanted to divorce Zhou Xue, but Zhou Xue isn’t easy to deal with and absolutely refused to divorce. With no choice, he moved back to the old house. Isn’t it said that you can divorce after two years of separation? Guess that’s what he’s planning.”

“I heard from Huo Qi Dong’s sister that because of Zhou Xue’s cousin’s matter, Huo Qi Dong has come to hate Zhou Xue. Sigh, he once made a big show of only wanting to marry her out of true love, now they’re more like bitter enemies. Their marriage has become a joke in their social circle.” Then thinking of her sister, she added angrily, “Hmph, serves them right.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Chen Jin Lin seemed to suddenly remember something. She abruptly fell silent, swallowed, and carefully looked up to observe Yan Cheng’s current expression. Seeing no emotional fluctuation as if he was hearing about something that only concerned others, she discreetly let out a breath. It seemed she was still stuck in overthinking.

Now, her sister was good, and her brother-in-law was good too.

They were living a life that no one had expected at first.

Those thought to become bitter couples became perfect matches instead.

Just like the TV dramas she loved watching as a child.

Getting on the wrong bridal sedan but marrying the right person.

It was just a fortunate mistake.

Thinking back carefully, Chen Jin Lin always felt something wasn’t quite right.

Suddenly, a flash of insight hit her, and she had a bold guess – perhaps from the beginning, the ones who were deceived were the outsiders like them who thought they understood the situation.

She secretly glanced at Yan Cheng’s retreating figure, couldn’t help but sigh.

At this moment, Yan Cheng’s eyes narrowed, the scattered light in his dark pupils flickering slightly. As he strode forward, he frowned and lowered his eyelashes, deep in thought.

“To the police station.”

---

“I thought you’d take me to an interrogation room.” Yan Cheng lazily leaned back in his chair, his peach blossom eyes narrowed, his handsome eyebrows slightly raised.

He had returned to his usual arrogant appearance.

Or rather, this was his true face.

A puppy at home, a wolf outside.

Deng Chuan poured him tea, placing the paper cup of hot water steadily on the table. Yan Cheng lowered his eyelashes, watching the ripples forming on the water’s surface. Then, he heard Deng Chuan say: “Interrogation rooms are for suspects.”

Yan Cheng shrugged, carelessly pulling out an insincere smile.

Deng Chuan was now speaking with hindsight: “We’ve also learned that when Zhou Chao died, you were in Hangzhou, with a solid alibi.”

Yan Cheng contemptuously rolled his eyes, thinking that this wasn’t their attitude in the middle of the night yesterday. The fact that he wasn’t pounding the table and confronting them now was already a blessing.

“Zhou Chao is dead, his family is very agitated, almost creating pressure for us police from the moment they discovered his body. You saw them earlier too, Zhou’s family crying at the police station entrance.” Deng Chuan had clearly been criticized by his superiors, and actually apologized: “I was wrong yesterday, there were orders from above and I was anxious, but please actively cooperate with the investigation. Tell us everything you know about Zhou Chao, and about your old grudge with him.”

“…” After several seconds of silence, Yan Cheng nodded, “Alright.”

The difficult part of the case was that the surveillance cameras near Zhou Chao’s apartment were all broken.

They had been broken for some time, and the property management hadn’t dealt with it. As long as nothing major happened, they completely ignored it.

Without surveillance, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The main suspect was naturally the woman who went home with Zhou Chao.

However, the woman’s motive for killing Zhou Chao was still unclear, and until now, she had completely disappeared, impossible to find.

The forensic examiner’s preliminary conclusion was that it was a fatal single stab.

A fruit knife to the heart, and besides this, there were no defensive wounds. This proved that Zhou Chao had no defenses when he died, he completely trusted the killer.

Because of this, this woman was the prime suspect. They couldn’t rule out the possibility that she suddenly stabbed him during their intimate moment.

When Deng Chuan gave this theory, the forensic examiner asked: “What’s the motive?”

“That’s what we need to ask the killer,” Deng Chuan said.

The DNA test results from evidence left at the scene hadn’t come back yet.

The only thing they could do was investigate through personal relationships.

The surveillance footage from Er Guan showed the woman wearing a mask similar to those worn at masquerade balls. She kept her head down as much as possible, and even when she didn’t, you couldn’t see clearly who she was, since Er Guan’s lighting at night was dim and ambiguous.

Moreover, she only moved through the dance floor, never going up to the second-floor private rooms. They didn’t register customer information for those who only danced in the main area. As for Zhou Chao, after drinking with a group of people in a second-floor room, he stumbled down, went to swing his hips and dance for a while, and then hooked up with this woman…

Not long after, they left Er Guan together.

They had questioned the people who came to drink with Zhou Chao at Er Guan, but they were all dead drunk. How could they have had the energy to observe others? They saw Zhou Chao with a beauty in his arms, the beauty shyly buried in his chest, they just whistled lewdly and made some crude jokes to tease him, and that was it. There was nothing more they could tell.

For now, after understanding the victim’s relationships, they could only wait for the DNA test results from the traces left after their intimacy to identify the woman.

Yan Cheng: “People who had grudges against him could probably circle the capital several times.”

Yan Cheng: “My old grudge with him was resolved long ago. I usually take revenge immediately. When he messed up my Er Guan before and reported to the police that I [censored], shortly after I got out, I had people put him in the hospital.”

Deng Chuan was choked by his righteousness: “…”

Yan Cheng: “After that, he had no more dealings with me. As long as he didn’t provoke me, I wouldn’t mess with him.”

After a pause, he raised his eyebrows again: “In fact, except for frequently patronizing my Er Guan’s business, he hadn’t provoked me.”

Deng Chuan’s expression was blank, and he believed Yan Cheng’s words, but he was certain that if Zhou Chao hadn’t died, he would have provoked this great Buddha. He pursed his lips and said: “Zhou Chao organized a party at your Er Guan for pleasure seeking, did you know he and his friends were doing drugs?” This was what Zhou Chao’s unsavory friends had confessed, deliberately going to Er Guan…

Drug use was a serious matter. To be frank, even if Yan Cheng knew nothing about it, when they were caught on the spot, Er Guan would still be implicated.

“…”

After several seconds of silence, the air froze, then instantly thawed as Yan Cheng stood up directly, slamming his palm on the table, “Fuck, that bastard.”

He narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth: “He deserved to die.”

Several days later.

Chen Jinyao and Chen Jin Lin, along with Chen Jin Lin’s boyfriend Luo Xiao, headed to Mount Putuo.

Chen Jinyao was thinking of Yan Cheng,

Taking every chance to call him and check on the situation.

Having no secrets was something they had agreed upon earlier, and Yan Cheng told Chen Jinyao everything he knew.

Only they knew how angering the content was. Even the usually easy-going Chen Jinyao couldn’t help but join in the shared hatred, even if the object of their hatred was just an extremely unfortunate scumbag who had just entered the underworld.

Hearing Chen Jinyao’s voice, Yan Cheng became pitiful and whiny again.

Chen Jinyao rolled her eyes: “Enough already.”

“Oh.” He still sounded unwilling.

“…”

“Is Mount Putuo beautiful?” He had already seen the photos Chen Jinyao took, “Just enjoy yourself with Jin Lin, and don’t forget the most important thing – praying to the Buddha.”

Chen Jinyao sighed: “Don’t mention it, I feel like a third wheel.”

Yan Cheng: “…”

A third wheel’s awkward existence…

Yan Cheng narrowed his eyes: “Where are you now?”

“In the hotel room, why?”

“Where are they?”

“Out playing, I guess.” Chen Jinyao said flatly, “They’re young after all, full of energy.”

Yan Cheng felt he had made a mistake.

He thought he shouldn’t have sent the “disloyal when love-struck” Chen Jin Lin.

At this moment, the “disloyal when love-struck” Chen Jin Lin was very sincerely kneeling before the Buddha statue, praying for her sister.

More than ten minutes later, walking out.

Luo Xiao awkwardly asked: “You were…”

Before he could finish organizing the second half of his sentence, Chen Jin Lin intuitively completed it. Chen Jin Lin curved her eyes, “Hoping my sister and brother-in-law can have a child soon.”

“…”