ATLAS TRANSLATES

The atmosphere of the impending New Year was becoming more and more strong in the city.

Even the clinic was no longer just cold white. It was also dotted with some different colors. Two “fu” (blessing) characters were posted on the glass door, symmetrical on both sides. There were also two golden beckoning cats placed at the reception counter.

The indifference tempered by medical alcohol was less, and instead there was a subtle touch of liveliness.

Chen Jinyao tidied up simply, took off her medical mask, and pushed open the door of the consultation room. Her patient today followed closely behind her. It was not a big issue, just tooth decay. She handed her the prescription, thoughtfully instructing her a few words, then walked to the front desk to see if there were any small snacks to grab a bite.

After being in the consultation room for almost an hour, it was half past ten now. She was hungry early on.

The one sitting at the front desk was the new nurse Xiao Liu. As soon as Chen Jinyao walked over, she hurriedly stood up, still in a bit of a panic.

“Am I that scary?” Chen Jinyao couldn’t help laughing out loud, tilting her head, “What’s wrong? Were you watching TV during work hours?”

“No…no.” But it was almost the case. She was busy gossiping with her colleague from yesterday. Being teased like this, Xiao Liu became tongue-tied. She did have the feeling of being caught red-handed, with her heart thumping wildly. She was not usually like this. After quite a while, she finally found her voice back, awkward but polite as she tugged at the corner of her mouth, “Doctor Chen, your husband is here.”

She paused, “We couldn’t stop him. He’s in your office now.”

Hearing this, Chen Jinyao’s brow quirked up slightly, a flash of surprise in her eyes. For the moment, she forgot her original purpose of coming to the front desk. She lingered for a few seconds before nodding and leaving.

The taps of her small heels made rhythmic tapping sounds on the floor.

Xiao Liu watched her enter her office. Only then did she sit down and breathe a sigh of relief. Everyone at the clinic knew that Chen Jinyao had gotten married not long ago. It was through a blind date, this kind of behavior similar to hastily marrying someone she could chat with to get herself married off. Occasionally, it would become a topic of chat for them after work. What’s more, Chen Jinyao and her blind date didn’t even hold a wedding ceremony. After getting the license and finishing their honeymoon, her husband had never once picked Chen Jinyao up from the clinic. Over time, they automatically classified Chen Jinyao’s marriage as a failed one. During breaks and casual chats, they gradually began to avoid talking about this topic as well.

Survival rules in the workplace: curiosity about the supervisor’s private life should be limited.

It was no longer discussed openly, but there would always be someone harboring some thoughts privately. Xiao Liu had seen many examples of beauties paired with beasts in university. She would occasionally have some sinister thoughts, like whether Chen Jinyao’s husband was not very handsome, so Chen Jinyao didn’t want him to meet others.

Her phone dinged as the screen lit up.

It was a reply from her colleague Xiao Li.

Xiao Li was also good at catching the key point, or rather, people like them who had just entered society liked to catch the same key point—is Chen Jinyao’s husband handsome?

“He’s handsome!!!” Xiao Liu secretly lowered her head and exclaimed in voice message, “I can’t describe it well, he just looks kinda roguish and enchanting.”

Xiao Li: […………What do you mean by enchanting?]

“Oh my, I don’t know how to describe it either. Anyway, he’s tall and handsome.”

As a shallow person, she had now changed her sinister speculation, such as Chen Jinyao hiding her delicious husband all to herself?

Her fingertips hovered above the screen. Xiao Liu thought for a moment before typing: [But I always feel that Doctor Chen can’t control her husband.]

One walked unhurriedly,

The other seemingly hurried.

Hearing the sound, Yan Cheng, who was lazily sitting on the office chair playing games, raised his head.

This was the first time he saw Chen Jinyao wearing a white coat.

Or rather, this was the first time he saw Chen Jinyao’s appearance at work.

When he first entered her office earlier, he passed by the consultation room. The upper half of the consultation room door had a rectangular area fitted with transparent glass. He stopped there and squinted to watch the scene inside for a while.

The woman was half bent over standing next to the dentist’s chair. The bright light shone on her face. She wore a light blue medical mask. Her eyelashes were lowered, and some wisps of hair were draped on her cheeks. Perhaps she felt a little itchy, so she also slightly tilted her head to rub against her shoulder. Her actions were somewhat similar to Duni’s.

It was like appreciating a pantomime. Although there was no sound, it unexpectedly attracted the attention of Young Master Yan and calmed his restlessness.

For a moment, he was stunned by Chen Jinyao’s gentle indifference.

The white coat was knee-length.

It made Chen Jinyao’s tall figure even more prominent when she wore it.

In addition, it also highlighted another temperament in her.

She was always particularly casual at home, curling up lazily like a cat. Now, every move was efficient. Even the delicate brows were cold and clear, giving a sense of distance. But it seemed to make her even more attractive.

The cigarette between his fingers had burned down to the butt and was about to burn his hand, yet he still didn’t know it. The next second, Yan Cheng got burnt. He “tsked”, turned his gaze to his hand, flicked the cigarette, and threw it into the trash can.

When he raised his head again, Chen Jinyao had already walked up to him.

“What are you doing here?”

“……” Yan Cheng was a little out of breath, but still sat lazily like an idiot with his neck arrogantly held high. He narrowed his eyes slightly, “Tsk, hearing your tone, why do I feel like you’re not welcoming me?”

Not only was there not the slightest hint of surprise, she unconcealedly started being critical.

“You should at least come over excitedly and hug me warmly.” His smile was ambiguous.

Chen Jinyao couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She looked at him like he was a neurotic. “Shut up and talk properly.”

Perhaps noticing that Chen Jinyao had two different faces at home and outside, and that the outside one was too cold, Yan Cheng leaned against the desk with his long legs crossed. He gritted his molars and felt upset. “That won’t do.”

“What won’t do?” She went to get some hot water with her teacup.

Silence for a moment.

Yan Cheng accused her, “You should have an attitude regarding our marriage.”

He himself didn’t know why he suddenly brought up this topic either.

It was probably because Chen Jinyao’s coldness towards him provoked the rebellious psychology in his bones.

Then the rebellious mentality developed into the earnest heart-to-heart talk at this moment.

To put it bluntly, his rebellion wanted to set things straight.

However, this statement was really novel.

Especially coming out of Yan Cheng’s mouth, it was as novel as could be.

Chen Jinyao blew into the water in the teacup, interested as she quirked a brow.

“For instance, now, I have come to your clinic excitedly……” The man suddenly stopped short, seemingly organizing his words, “I have two purposes. First, to declare my ownership at your turf. Second, to ask you out for a meal to cultivate affection.”

The first purpose was like a dog peeing to mark its territory. As for the second purpose, Yan Cheng believed it was something that must be put on the agenda for their future relationship.

“You see, I’m at least actively positive about our marriage.” He said.

Before Chen Jinyao could refute, Yan Cheng interrupted her again and mumbled to himself indignantly, “From the moment you pushed the door and entered until now, you haven’t looked straight at me once. You’re being passive and negligent.”

“…………………………”

This accusation covered her perfectly.

Chen Jinyao didn’t feel she was passive or inactive. She just believed in letting nature take its course. As for Yan Cheng accusing her for not having surprise in her eyes when she saw him, she could only say she had mentally prepared herself after being informed by Xiao Liu beforehand. Moreover, she didn’t like people barging into her office uninvited.

“You’re like a resentful husband now.” Chen Jinyao objectively evaluated.

Yan Cheng froze for a moment, the corners of his eyes secretly hooked up as he neither confirmed nor denied it.

He sighed lazily and started being roguish, “As mentioned, you haven’t looked straight at me. Compared to last night when you trembled shyly beneath me, the gap is just too huge. I can’t stand this gap. Of course I’d resent.”

“……………………” Hearing this, Chen Jinyao was choked up, blushing.

What trembling shyly!!

There was no trembling shyly at all!!!

She put down her teacup with a thud.

“Let’s go eat.” Her tone was a little aggressive. She was annoyed and embarrassed.

Yan Cheng: “Don’t be shy.”

In the end, this earnest talk that was supposed to rise to a higher level failed to have an in-depth conversation. Being interrupted like this, all previous efforts were in vain.

There were indeed problems between them.

The most obvious one was—there were no feelings between them.

A marriage without feelings was like cold boiled water.

Although it could quench thirst, it couldn’t stand its bland taste.

Existing in another plain and ordinary form, it couldn’t even pass the night.

The contradiction it held was implicit. In a certain sense, it was more precarious than a marriage formed out of love worn down by mundane daily trifles. The terms and restrictions on the agreement were not indestructible bonds. They were far less powerful than emotional ties.

If left unresolved today, it might suddenly erupt violently one day in the future.

Whitewashing could only keep up superficial appearances for so long before it collapsed.

……

They randomly picked a restaurant.

While noisily eating, they didn’t forget to continue the unfinished conversation from the clinic just now. But it wasn’t any profound discussion about marriage.

Rather, it was about dogs peeing to mark territory.

Yan Cheng said there must be reciprocity. He had already sneaked around her clinic, “When Hechang Teahouse reopens, I’ll take you to see the achievements I’ve accomplished.”

“……” Chen Jinyao picked up a napkin and wiped her mouth. She also lazily lifted her eyelids to glance at him. After quite a while, she nodded. After a few seconds of pause, she suddenly laughed and rapped the table, “Oh, from now on, I’ll be the young missus of the teahouse.”

“Yes, young missus.”

About half an hour later.

Just as they were talking about what each of them would do in the afternoon and where to eat dinner at night, Chen Jinyao received a call from her mother.

The meaning to be expressed in the call was very clear. It was for the young couple to go back to the Chen family home for dinner at night, implying they would be paying New Year visits in advance. For some reason, Chen Jinyao’s parents had decided to go on vacation during the Spring Festival break.

A family banquet before departure was compulsory.

“You gave notice too late. You should’ve notified a few days in advance.”

Chen’s mother laughed, “The vacation was decided just now.”

“………………………” Chen Jinyao was speechless.

She had turned on the loudspeaker. Yan Cheng next to her listened to this Q&A as he sprawled lazily into the chair, working very hard to hold in his laughter.

Yet who would’ve known, this unexpectedly turned out to be an unconventional “Hongmen Banquet”¹.

1. ??? / Hong Men Yan / Hongmen Banquet – Refers to a historical event where someone was lured into a trap under the guise of a banquet invitation. So it’s used here to foreshadow something bad awaiting them at the dinner. Read more about the background story of the Hongmen Banquet here; it’s quite interesting! ↩︎