ATLAS TRANSLATES

Shu He’s heart beat faster. She pushed him away firmly and questioned suspiciously, “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

He picked up his crutch slowly to support himself. “No.”

Shu He pretended not to hear his self-pitying tone. She glanced at his long legs and coldly dragged her suitcase back to the bedroom.

Jing Yi followed behind her, standing at the bedroom door without entering. Just as he was about to say something, his phone rang.

Seeing it was Liang Xu, he had no reaction and hung up immediately. But this person was truly annoying. He answered with a frown, his tone somewhat heavy, “What is it?”

“Tonight my wife and I will come visit you, you lonely old man. Remember to open the door.”

Jing Yi’s gaze kept following her figure. He replied absent-mindedly, “No need.”

“What do you mean no need?” Liang Xu’s voice was loud. “During the New Year holiday, what are you going to do alone?”

“I’m not alone.” His tone lifted slightly at the end: “She’s back.”

Shu He came over to drive him away: “Why are you standing at my bedroom door? Go away.”

Before Jing Yi could say anything, Liang Xu had already heard her voice and shouted loudly, “Shu He! Shu He! Perfect timing that you’re back. How about we have a meal together? It’ll make the New Year livelier.”

Jing Yi didn’t care at all that he could hear, and said openly to her, “It’s fine if you don’t want to.”

Shu He paused briefly and said to the phone, “But I’ve made plans with a friend.”

The person standing in front of her visibly deflated. Liang Xu made an “ah” sound: “That’s fine! You can ask if your friend wants to join us. If not, that’s okay too.”

Shu He thought for a moment: “I’ll ask her then.”

“Great!”

After hanging up, Jing Yi’s gaze followed her, his tone obviously disappointed: “So you came back because you had plans with someone else?”

He was so tall blocking the doorway. Shu He couldn’t help but glare at him: “Move.”

He slowly moved aside, then followed behind her with his crutch. Shu He felt something was off. She turned back: “You’re not using a wheelchair anymore?”

“No, trying to use crutches when possible.”

Shu He made an “oh” sound. She went to check on the mint leaves, and he still followed her. No matter where she went, he followed like a tail that couldn’t be shaken off.

“If you’re fine, can you just go sit down?”

He blinked, answering irrelevantly: “I’m not tired.”

“Who cares if you’re tired or not.” Shu He said coldly: “I’m saying you following me is annoying, understand?”

“…..”

When he used to chase after her, she would often say: “You’re really annoying.”

He seemed to always make her feel bothered.

Shu He asked Xiang Lanye about having dinner together, and she gladly agreed.

Since everyone was coming to eat at home, she also ordered some fresh fruit online.

After she finished tidying up, the food delivery arrived. Coming out of the bedroom, she saw a certain someone sitting on the sofa with his back to her, not moving even when he heard her come out.

Xiang Lanye arrived before Liang Xu and the others. She was in a hurry, and her expression seemed a bit off.

Shu He took her to the bedroom. When they came back out, Xiang Lanye had changed her trousers. Liang Xu and Ni Sui had also arrived.

They ordered takeaway for dinner. Everyone sat around chatting animatedly.

Xiang Lanye was complaining about being pressured to get married during the New Year when she suddenly changed the subject and asked the person beside her: “Shu Shu, how’s that blind date of yours?”

Instantly, a certain someone looked up, his gaze fixed on her profile.

Liang Xu enjoyed stirring up trouble: “Got photos?”

Shu He, the person in question, remained calm: “He’s quite nice. No photos.”

“What does he do?”

“Lawyer.”

Ni Sui tugged at Liang Xu’s sleeve, signalling him to stop asking.

Liang Xu reassuringly held her hand while glancing at a certain someone who was about to snap his chopsticks in half, and continued to provoke: “If you get married, remember to send us an invitation.”

Jing Yi’s gaze could almost kill him. Shu He smiled faintly, without directly answering his question: “Have you and Ni Sui set a date for your wedding yet?”

The topic was thus diverted. Throughout the meal, the person beside her barely spoke, while Shu He occasionally responded.

She drank quite a bit, so Xiang Lanye didn’t let her see them off.

After everyone left, the living room fell into lengthy silence again.

Jing Yi slowly walked to the sofa. He saw her sitting cross-legged on the floor mat, opening the coffee table drawer looking for something.

Hearing movement, she asked without looking up: “Do you have any games?”

He paused: “No, don’t sit on the floor.”

Shu He impatiently shook off his hand. Her cheeks were flushed, and her clear eyes had become hazy with intoxication.

Jing Yi simply put his crutch aside, sat on the sofa, and coaxed her to get up from the floor.

Shu He was actually quite docile when drunk. She hugged a cushion, tilted her head against the sofa, and squinted warily at the blurry figure in front of her: “Who are you?”

Jing Yi paused slightly and said his name.

Shu He seemed confused, her drunken eyes looking bewildered. She suddenly let go of the pillow and slowly moved closer to him.

The alcohol-laced breath approached. Jing Yi’s throat felt dry. He stared at the beautiful face he had missed for so long, unwilling to look away for even a second. If he moved forward just a bit more, he could kiss her.

Shu He suddenly giggled. She moved her body limply back, hugging the cushion with her cheeks slightly puffed out.

“What are you talking about?” Her eyes weren’t clear, but she looked at him laughing: “Jing Yi is gone.”

Her pronunciation was slurred, but each word stabbed at his heart—

“My boyfriend Jing Yi disappeared, and I’ve been left behind again.”

She giggled, but as she laughed, tears spilled from the corners of her eyes.

Jing Yi felt as if someone was gripping his throat. His lips moved, and he carefully reached out to gently wipe away her tears.

“He didn’t leave by choice.” He paused with difficulty, his voice hoarse when he spoke again: “He was taken away.”

“He never, ever wanted to leave you.”

Shu He tilted her head slightly. Tears ran down along his fingertips, her eyes misty, confused and bewildered: “Then why didn’t he come back to find me?”

Jing Yi realized that only at times like this did he dare to look at her without reservation, dare to expose all of himself to her: “Because he was locked up, he couldn’t come back, because he caused someone’s death, because he was afraid.”

Shu He leaned against the sofa for a long time. It wasn’t clear if she understood what he said, as she murmured: “With him gone, no one builds snowmen for me anymore.”

In an instant, Jing Yi’s eyelashes trembled as he said softly: “I did.”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t.” She seemed not to hear his words. She closed her eyes, her long wet lashes trembling, repeating to herself over and over: “Anyway, I don’t like winter or snowmen.”

Jing Yi felt as if she had seized his breath. His eyes reddened. “I’m sorry.”

She fell asleep on the sofa. Jing Yi composed himself, slowly returned to his room, and came back with his wheelchair, which made a slight noise as it rolled across the floor.

He carefully lifted her onto his lap. Almost instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her warm breath falling on him, making his heartbeat irregular.

He carried her back to her room and placed her on the bed. Shu He opened her bleary eyes.

She found her phone, pressed it a couple of times, but the screen remained black. Her voice suddenly had a tearful quality: “Why is it broken? Why is it broken?”

Jing Yi didn’t understand what she wanted to do. He took the phone and reassured her: “It’s just out of battery. I’ll charge it for you.”

She opened her reddened eyes but didn’t look at him, stubbornly holding the phone, pressing it every now and then.

Jing Yi watched her quietly, his chest feeling tight, his heart uncomfortably dull.

She had always been calm and composed, as if nothing could disturb her peace. During their passionate relationship, she began to show a temper and smiled more, but never shed tears.

Once the phone turned on, she sniffled, wrapped herself in the blanket again, turned her back to him, holding the phone tightly. Familiar music slowly played in the silent bedroom—

Jing Yi’s heartbeat seemed to shatter his heart, his blood freezing. He was shocked as he looked at her.

This was the song he wrote for her in university.

She said she hadn’t listened to any songs he’d created in the past two years. He thought she had cut off everything related to him.

Her breathing gradually steadied without any more sobbing sounds, but Jing Yi felt like he was dying from pain.

He quietly watched her sleeping face, his chest rising and falling slightly, silently crying tears he couldn’t stop.

The song kept playing on repeat, like a giant net binding him. The once-familiar melody now felt like a brutal interrogation, asking why he was so useless, why he made her sad, why he made her cry.

He took the phone from Shu He’s hand. The bright white light fell on his face. Several messages from Xiang Lanye popped up at the top of the screen, but he seemed not to see them, staring motionlessly at the song on repeat.

In her playlist, there was only this one song.

He bit down hard on his teeth, holding back the choking bitterness in his throat, helplessly lowering his head as tears dripped onto the screen. He felt so miserable he could barely breathe.

He didn’t understand. He just wanted to be with Shu He. Why wasn’t even that possible…

—

Xiang Lanye forgot something and hurriedly came out of the lift. The one who opened the door wasn’t Shu He.

The words on the tip of her tongue faltered. The man before her didn’t look well. His pale face was bloodless, his eyes red, clearly showing he had just been crying.

She took the bag, looking past him: “Where’s Shu He?”

His voice was hoarse when he spoke: “Asleep.”

Xiang Lanye was silent for two seconds. Before leaving, she suddenly turned back and called out to him: “Are you trying to get back together with her?”

Jing Yi just looked at her silently. Xiang Lanye didn’t wait for his answer but continued: “Don’t you think you’re actually quite cruel?”

Shu He was a person with strong defences, yet she gradually fell into his passion.

From passionate love to sudden coldness.

Xiang Lanye didn’t know what difficulties he had, but as Shu He’s friend, she just felt biased that he was extremely cruel.

—

When Shu He woke up the next day, not only did her head hurt, but her eyes hurt too.

She sat up and took a moment to gather herself before picking up her phone. Her gaze fixed sluggishly on the screen—

Xiang Lanye: [Shu He He He!!! Did you take advantage of being drunk to sleep with Jing Yi? My goodness, I can’t believe it! But thinking about it, he looks so fragile now, he probably couldn’t refuse you.]

Shu He, who always had amnesia after drinking: [???]

Xiang Lanye replied quickly, completely different from her cold and merciless appearance in front of a certain someone yesterday: [Otherwise, why would he have red eyes yesterday, looking pitiful and wronged, like someone who had been bullied badly?]

Shu He: “……..”