ATLAS TRANSLATES

“I have separation anxiety, Shu He. Can you come back earlier?”

“….Do you have to be so clingy?”

“I miss you.”

In the past when they were dating, whenever she needed to go home for the New Year, he would always be this sticky and affectionate, wanting her to return soon.

Shu He turned around and pulled her jumper from his hand. “Can you please keep some distance with your female flatmate?”

“…..”

The man’s eyes drooped, looking quite unhappy.

Shu He remembered a video she had seen before. When owners were about to leave home, dogs would whine and follow behind with reluctant eyes, even jumping into suitcases to show how much they didn’t want to be separated.

Why did she suddenly feel like… she was keeping a dog?

—

On the 16th, Shu He came out of the bedroom with her suitcase. Jing Yi had been waiting in the living room. His dark eyes watched her longingly. Seeing she wasn’t wearing the scarf he gave her, he was visibly disappointed but still asked, “How are you getting there?”

“Taxi.”

He let out a dry “oh”, seeming to have more to say. Shu He dragged her suitcase to the door, glanced back at him once, but didn’t ask him anything and simply turned to leave.

As he watched her enter the lift, Jing Yi returned to the balcony. Soon Shu He came out, looking down at her mobile, texting someone.

“Probably booking a ride.”

He thought jealously, if his legs were better, why would she need to book a ride?

His phone buzzed, but he paid no attention, still staring at the slender figure below until she got into the car. Slowly, he took out his phone, but his gaze suddenly froze—

Shu He: [Do you know what you look like hiding upstairs and staring at me?]

Jing Yi’s first reaction was surprise that she knew he was watching her.

His heart leapt, and he quickly typed back: [What?]

Shu He: [A stalker.]

“……”

—

Many relatives had come to visit, but Shu He didn’t enjoy socialising, so she stayed in her room.

With the curtains open, warm sunlight poured in, making her feel drowsy.

During these days away, a certain someone hadn’t stopped messaging her. Now asking what she’d eaten, now sending photos of mint leaves from home, proudly announcing: [The mint leaves are doing well without you.]

Speaking of mint, Shu He originally disliked anything mint-related. So did Jing Yi.

But she encountered it often while working at the coffee shop, and gradually grew accustomed to it, even becoming addicted to mint drinks.

People are strange—things once disliked can suddenly become beloved at certain moments.

Once she made a mint sparkling water for him to try. He lazily bit the straw, slouched on the sofa, his hoodie collar askew, thick black hair half-covering his drowsy eyes. His Adam’s apple slid along a sexy curve as he drank, but he said nothing about whether it tasted good.

She ran out of patience and knelt beside him. “Does it taste good?”

He mumbled around the straw, “Not good.”

Shu He reached out to take it away. “Then don’t drink it.”

She wasn’t angry, just thought if he didn’t like it, he shouldn’t force himself.

But he dodged, as if afraid she’d snatch it, and quickly finished drinking before leisurely complaining, “You made it for me. How can you take it back halfway?”

“Don’t force yourself if you don’t like it.”

“I’m not forcing myself.”

He put down the cup and pulled her into his arms.

Shu He’s t-shirt rode up slightly, revealing a slim, snow-white waist. The sparkling water had lots of ice, making his palms cool. When he placed them on her waist, she instinctively shivered from the cold.

“Have you tried it?” he asked.

Shu He stared at his glistening lips, feeling oddly parched. “I don’t think so.”

A light snort escaped his nose as he leaned down to kiss her. “Then you should try it too.”

Two people who didn’t like mint somehow became strangely addicted to it.

—

Yao Qing came in to call her for dinner. Shu He put away her phone. Many relatives had come, making the house quite lively.

After dinner, she accompanied her little niece setting off fireworks. Back in her room, she discovered someone had secretly stuffed a red envelope under her pillow.

Yao Qing had been doing this for several years.

Shu He didn’t feel particularly happy about it, but she didn’t have other emotions either. At some point, her happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy seemed to have been extracted from her bones, turning her into a person without much feeling. She rarely experienced significant emotional fluctuations anymore.

That’s why people often described her as cold, even to the point of being cold-hearted and unapproachable.

—

Shu He scrolled through her social media feed. Li Minyu was still travelling. She liked the post. Scrolling further, Liang Xu and Ni Sui had posted their New Year’s Eve dinner, looking happy. Lan Ye showed off her red envelopes. Everyone seemed to be doing well.

Something prompted her to switch to the shop’s WeChat. She saw two red dots by a certain person’s avatar.

Jing Yi: [I can walk ten steps today.]

Jing Yi: [Sister, when are you coming back?]

The two sentences looked oddly lonely in the chat box. She slowly typed, checked it once, and sent—

Tiantian Coffee Shop: [Happy Year of the Dragon! [firecracker] In the new year, Daily wishes you good health, good fortune, and success in everything! [fireworks][fireworks]]

His name showed “typing” for a long time. Just when Shu He thought he wouldn’t reply, his clearly resentful message came through: [A mass text?]

Shu He deliberately played dumb: [If you find it bothersome, you can block me.]

Jing Yi: [……]

After a while, he messaged again: [Why haven’t you accepted my red envelope?]

Shu He was casually looking for a film to watch on her tablet. She replied indifferently: [We don’t have any relationship. Why should I accept your red envelope?]

He argued: [Flatmates is a relationship too.]

Shu He stared at these words for a while, then suddenly narrowed her eyes: [You creative types earn a lot?]

He didn’t know why she suddenly asked this but obediently answered: [It’s alright.]

He told her directly how much he earned for writing one song. It was quite a lot, but Shu He knew he’d grown up wealthy, so perhaps this amount wasn’t much to him.

Before she could ask more, he eagerly volunteered all his details: [I also own some shares in Liang Xu’s company.]

Shu He didn’t know this. Jing Yi explained: [Not many, just a certain percentage.]

She recalled when Liang Xu wanted to sign him, they thought he was a scammer. It was a startup without much reputation, and Jing Yi was the first singer he signed.

Back then, he both created and sang his own songs. As the company expanded, and after his accident, he retired to become a songwriter, though Liang Xu still called himself his boss.

He had nearly spilled all his secrets, then realised something and eagerly sought reasons for her: [Are you worried I don’t have money, is that why you won’t accept it?]

Shu He oddly felt as if those words had a wagging tail, betraying some secret joy.

She typed slowly: [You’re overthinking. I’m just too embarrassed to accept money from someone I’m not close with.]

Jing Yi: [….Are we really not close?]

Shu He: [What kind of relationship do exes have if not a distant one?]

Before he could answer, she sent another message: [Do you know how many people hope never to see their exes again and wish them a lifetime of misery?]

He didn’t reply for a long time. Shu He focused on watching a film, snuggled in her blanket. Outside, fireworks kept exploding nonstop. After some time, feeling drowsy, she flipped her tablet over, ready to sleep, when someone called her.

An unfamiliar number rang persistently. Shu He’s heartbeat grew louder. She stared at the number for a long time before finally answering.

Outside her room, relatives seemed to be still talking. After a long silence on the line, Shu He spoke, “If you’re not going to talk, I’m hanging up.”

Jing Yi’s voice carried tentative joy: “You knew it was me?”

Over the years, she had never changed her number. Shu He snorted lightly: “I didn’t know. I thought it was a spam call.”

“….Yet you waited for a spam caller to speak first.”

He gently retorted, but Shu He gave him no quarter: “I’m hanging up.”

“Hey—sister.”

“Who’s your sister?” Shu He deliberately contradicted him. “If you’re trying to scam people, you can’t just call anyone. I don’t have a brother.”

“….Shu He, I miss you a bit.” He softly called her name, sounding pliant, like a puppy gently scratching her heart.

Shu He knew she should resolutely hang up, but strangely, watching the time tick by on the screen, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“You called just to say this?”

He paused, his magnetic voice coming through the speaker, not quite answering her question: “Happy New Year.”

Shu He felt even drowsier. She muttered, “You didn’t need to call specially for that. Couldn’t you have said it on WeChat?”

She thought he hadn’t heard, but his ears were sharp: “These words were meant for you.”

Not for Tiantian Coffee Shop.

Shu He understood his meaning. She rubbed her tired eyes: “Oh, you’ve said it. Can I hang up now?”

“….Wait.” He called to her again, asking eagerly: “When are you coming back?”

Shu He was so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open. In her dazed state, she didn’t hear clearly what he was asking and fell asleep still holding the phone.

When she woke the next morning, she discovered he hadn’t hung up.

Hearing movement on her end, there was also rustling on the man’s side. His voice was a bit hoarse, as if he’d just woken up too: “You’re awake?”

Shu He looked at the phone, feeling a strange awkwardness.

Who would stay on a call all night with an ex-boyfriend?

Fully awake now, she refused to acknowledge what happened, returning to her cold, heartless self, and hung up directly.

Soon, his WeChat message came through, each word filled with confusion: [What’s wrong?]

Shu He hadn’t slept well for years and wondered if she had talked in her sleep. Thinking about this, she felt annoyed, sat up in bed, and typed furiously: [Why didn’t you hang up?]

He typed for a long time before responding: [I forgot. I fell asleep too.]

Shu He stared at his pretend-innocent words for a while, then snorted coldly: [Then did you also forget what I said?]

Jing Yi: [What?]

Shu He: [Please keep your distance from your female flatmate, thank you.]

Jing Yi: [….I am keeping distance.]

Shu He: [?]

Jing Yi: [I’m fifty kilometres away from your home. Isn’t that far enough?]

“……”

—

After staying home for two days, Shu He prepared to return. Yao Qing was reluctant to see her go. Shu Hua stood there with a stiff neck, not saying anything, but clearly unhappy.

Back at the flat, she entered the door code and pushed it open, suddenly meeting a pair of surprised dark eyes.

He wasn’t sitting in the wheelchair but standing in the middle of the living room with crutches, wearing a loose beige jumper. His black hair was fluffy and messy. He stared at her for two seconds, then his eyes lit up with joy: “You’re back.”

Shu He stared at his legs. She walked in, closing the door behind her: “You can walk now?”

He nodded and slowly came to her side, his bright black eyes glued to her: “Why didn’t you tell me in advance?”

His lips curled upward, happy about something unknown.

Standing up, the man was much taller, forcing Shu He to look up at him. Meeting his bright dark eyes, her throat caught, and she looked away, casually asking: “Are you rehabilitating at home?”

He nodded, seemingly finding nothing odd, and followed behind her: “There’s only me at home anyway, with nothing to do, so I practised more. I wanted to surprise you. Oh, I’ve taken good care of your mint leaves. These days I’ve been home, following your instructions to ventilate often, not using perfume. I didn’t enter your room. Are you hungry? Why did you come back so early? Any urgent business?”

Shu He only asked one question, but he rambled on.

She turned around, but this person—whether deliberately or not—suddenly stumbled. She reflexively caught him. The crutches fell with a loud clatter. Shu He found herself holding him as he collided with her. Such a tall person, soft as boneless, embracing her, the sudden weight making her step back.

He was already unsteady, his footsteps following her missteps. Shu He gritted her teeth to stand firm. Before she could say anything, the person in her arms let out a light groan. His thick black hair lightly brushed her neck, his nose filled with her faint fragrance.

“Sister, I’ve fallen several times before you came back.”

“Thankfully you caught me this time.”