ATLAS TRANSLATES

The familiar light fragrance suddenly hit him—

Jing Yi slowly raised his eyes, looking somewhat dazed, but the burning pain on his cheek clearly told him that the person protecting him was indeed Shu He.

She had witnessed this utterly miserable scene.

Jing Ze Liang methodically wiped his hands with a handkerchief, his movements precise, as if cleaning off something dirty.

His sweeping glance made Shu He uncomfortable. The man snorted lightly, his contemptuous gaze filled with cold mockery.

“Why don’t you just die.”

An icy cold sentence, filled with bottomless hatred.

After the man left, Shu He noticed blood still flowing from the corner of his lip. Suppressing her many questions, she prepared to take him to the school infirmary.

To her surprise, Jing Yi pulled his hand away from hers.

He curled his fingers tightly, eyes downcast. The red mark on his right cheek was jarring, his voice terribly hoarse: “I’m sorry… I’ll… I’ll head back first.”

Shu He watched him slowly pick up his crutch, head bowed, like an emotionless puppet.

As they passed each other, she grabbed his hand. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell me anything?”

She looked directly into his eyes, forcing him to look at her.

He swallowed with difficulty, avoiding her gaze. The wound at the corner of his mouth felt like it was tearing with pain. “I…”

“You can share your grievances, or anything else, as long as you’re willing to talk to me.” Looking at his swollen right cheek and gradually moistening eyes, her heart felt like it was being squeezed. She softened her tone: “Even if you want me to feel sorry for you, you need to give me a reason.”

Shu He stood there quietly waiting for his response, until—

His long eyelashes trembled as he slowly, inch by inch, pulled his hand away again. With his movement, Shu He’s racing heartbeat gradually grew cold.

“I…”

“I’m sorry…” He anxiously shifted his gaze, his Adam’s apple bobbing. When he spoke, his voice trembled: “I need to go back.”

Shu He stood rooted to the spot, watching his back as he slowly moved away on his crutch, shrouded in an inexplicable sense of loneliness. It was as if he was stepping out of her world one step at a time, the distance growing, never once looking back.

That evening at dinner, Xiang Lan Ye asked, “Why did Jing Yi suddenly leave?”

Shu He didn’t tell her what she had witnessed earlier. She poked at the vegetables in her bowl absent-mindedly: “I don’t know.”

The dining hall was bustling with noise. Shu He’s chopsticks paused. She exhaled deeply, looked up, her typically cool eyes betraying defeat. She repeated weakly: “I don’t know anything…”

Xiang Lan Ye was startled, noticing her distraction: “What’s wrong? Are you feeling down?”

The bright white light stung her eyes. She closed them briefly, immediately seeing the image of the man being hit and staggering.

And him avoiding her with reddened eyes.

Her heart felt terribly heavy, but she still shook her head: “It’s nothing.”

Seeing her poor state, Xiang Lan Ye walked her home after dinner.

Back home, it was empty and silent, as if no one had returned.

Shu He walked straight to the studio door and knocked several times. Her palm turned red, but there was still no response from inside.

She looked at the door gap. No light seeped through.

Yet she didn’t leave. She took out her phone and sent messages.

[Open the door, I know you’re in there.]

[Are you sure you want to keep hiding from me?]

[Jing Yi, you’re a coward.]

[It’s really unfair to me when you don’t say anything.]

He didn’t reply, so Shu He called him directly. After several unanswered calls, she couldn’t even hear any movement from inside the room.

The stinging in her palm spread. She looked down at her hand, thinking that when he was hit, it must have hurt even more.

Looking at the empty living room, Shu He felt like she had fallen into an endless abyss, not knowing where to go or why she was standing there.

She clenched her fist and banged on the door with all her might several times. She said coldly: “Go ahead and never come out!”

But only endless silence answered her.

—

For several consecutive days, Shu He didn’t see Jing Yi.

Unlike before, he seemed to have completely disappeared, not even responding to WeChat messages.

The coffee shop was temporarily closed as Xiang Lan Ye and her team needed the space for filming. As the shop owner, Shu He had to supervise every day.

“Haven’t you been sleeping well these past few days?”

During a break, Xiang Lan Ye came over to chat.

Shu He tugged at her lips: “Really?”

Xiang Lan Ye nodded. Seeing her bad mood, she changed the subject, “Do you know Yue Yi Han?”

Yue Yi Han was the female lead in this short drama. Shu He followed her gaze. The woman didn’t have time to look away, and their gazes suddenly collided in mid-air.

She calmly looked away: “I don’t know her.”

“That’s strange,” Xiang Lan Ye rested her chin on her hand: “Haven’t you noticed she’s always looking at you? Even yesterday when we first arrived, I noticed something odd about the way she looks at you.”

But this “oddness” didn’t contain any malice.

Shu He listened disinterestedly, not particularly curious.

After work, Xiang Lan Ye ran over to invite her to dinner: “Our crew’s director is treating us. Since we’re using your place, you should come along.”

Shu He wanted to refuse, but the director passed by and also invited her.

In the end, she went. Coincidentally, Yue Yi Han sat to her left.

Although she tried to be discreet with her glances, Shu He still noticed.

“Do we know each other?”

Caught looking, Yue Yi Han was embarrassed. She hesitated, “Senior, we attended the same high school.”

Shu He clearly hadn’t expected this connection with Yue Yi Han. She paused, then mentioned the high school’s name.

Yue Yi Han nodded. She seemed rather shy, completely different from her confident demeanour during filming.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

Shu He had been quite detached from social life during school. Forget Yue Yi Han—she might not even remember some of her own classmates if they appeared now.

Yue Yi Han revealed her adorable dimples. “It’s fine, Senior. You were the top student in our year. Our teachers often used you as an example.”

Shu He’s lips curved slightly. She picked up her glass to drink. Yue Yi Han seemed to have more to say but was hesitating.

Meeting her gaze, Yue Yi Han hesitated before finally saying: “You and Jing Yi must stay together.”

“Jing Yi?”

Shu He froze. Yue Yi Han quickly explained: “Please don’t misunderstand. There’s nothing between Jing Yi and me. I was just his high school classmate.”

“I just… really admire him.”

“Admire?”

Yue Yi Han nodded, sincerely saying: “I just admire that he actually got together with the person he secretly loved.”

Shu He was clearly stunned. Her heart skipped a beat, and she reflexively asked: “Together with someone he secretly loved?”

“Yes.” Afraid of being misunderstood, Yue Yi Han explained, “I saw you two earlier when I was filming in Li Tang.”

Shu He’s red lips parted slightly, as if stunned by her words.

She repeated awkwardly, “Are you saying that in high school, Jing Yi had a secret crush on me?”

Yue Yi Han looked confused. She hesitated for a moment: “You… didn’t know?”

For a moment, she worried she had said something wrong.

In high school, Shu He never knew there was a gaze following her, someone who had secretly loved her for a long time.

Similarly, Yue Yi Han’s secret crush was never discovered by anyone.

After starting university, she worked part-time as an actress. By chance, she went to Li Tang and met him.

She felt joy at first, but just like in high school, Jing Yi’s gaze never turned to others. The person by his side was actually Senior Shu He.

They were truly together.

The young man held her hand, his eyes full of love for her.

When she thought it was fate to meet him again, he was already standing beside her.

So dreams really can come true. At that moment, Yue Yi Han deeply envied Jing Yi, even though he loved someone else.

That’s why when she saw Shu He again, she couldn’t help looking at her. She thought they should still be together.

Shu He was lost in thought long after hearing her words, until the noise nearby grew louder and someone sat beside her.

“Sister Shu He.”

Shu He looked up, seeing a somewhat familiar face. It took her a while to recall a vague name: “Xu Yi Chi?”

The young man laughed cheerfully, his black eyes behind the glasses seemingly lit with light: “Yes, it’s me, Sister.”

“Hey, Yi Chi, you know Boss Shu?” someone asked.

Xu Yi Chi nodded an affirmative. His lips curved in a faint smile: “Sister used to be my tutor.”

Xiang Lan Ye was extremely surprised. She looked at Shu He, who also seemed somewhat surprised.

“Weren’t you studying abroad?”

When she was tutoring, Xu Yi Chi was only in his second year of high school. Later, her tutoring job ended because his family arranged for him to study overseas.

Xu Yi Chi: “I came back early. Who knew that as soon as I returned, Director Li would catch me.”

Director Li immediately burst into laughter, telling those around him how he recruited him into the entertainment industry.

Shu He didn’t usually follow entertainment news. Only now did she learn that he had become a small-time actor. Though not very famous, last year he gained a bit of recognition from a guest role.

This short drama was his first male lead role.

Xu Yi Chi was called away, and Xiang Lan Ye returned to her seat, unable to hold back a grunt: “How did he end up in my seat?”

Hearing a hint of displeasure in her voice, Shu He asked: “Isn’t he your male lead?”

Xiang Lan Ye affirmed with a hum, whispering to her: “But he wasn’t the original choice. I don’t know what tricks he pulled to edge out the other person. Don’t listen to Li Dao’s noble-sounding explanation. It’s really just about having strong backing.”

Shu He remembered that Xu Yi Chi indeed came from a wealthy background.

“Also, don’t you think he looks familiar?” Xiang Lan Ye observed Xu Yi Chi in the crowd, suddenly widening her eyes: “Don’t you think he’s practically a copy of Jing Yi?”

Shu He’s heart skipped a beat. She looked up at Xu Yi Chi and also noticed something wasn’t right.

The same curly hair, silver-rimmed glasses, black high-end coat with a clean white shirt underneath, the top button undone.

Even when he picked up his glass, his fingertips would tap on it consciously or unconsciously.

From his attire to small habits, everything seemed to shadow Jing Yi.

—

After dinner, Shu He and Xiang Lan Ye were about to take a taxi back. Xu Yi Chi approached them.

“My driver took leave today. Would it be alright if I shared a ride with you? I can cover all the fare.”

Xiang Lan Ye looked at him suspiciously: “Why don’t you just get your own taxi?”

Xu Yi Chi scratched his head, looking particularly harmless: “I’ve seen so many ride-sharing murder cases overseas, I’m a bit scared.”

“……”

Xiang Lan Ye exchanged a glance with Shu He, saying with some exasperation: “This is a society of law and order, and nowadays ride-sharing systems have safety alerts.”

Despite her words, Xu Yi Chi wasn’t upset. Instead, he good-naturedly pleaded: “Teacher Xiang, just consider me a coward and don’t hold it against me.”

If it were someone else, they might have fallen for his act, but Xiang Lan Ye was completely immune.

Both looked to Shu He. She hesitated but didn’t refuse.

Xiang Lan Ye was the first to arrive home. As she got out, she signalled Shu He to check her phone.

Xiang Lan Ye: [I feel like this guy has dubious intentions, keep your distance.]

“Is Teacher Xiang saying bad things about me?”

Xu Yi Chi proactively asked. Shu He put away her phone and shook her head: “No.”

Xu Yi Chi raised his hand to adjust his glasses: “I know Teacher Xiang has some issues with me, but I can prove that my playing this role won’t make anyone regret it. Sister, can you believe me?”

In the quiet car, Shu He’s emotions remained flat. She simply said coolly: “I’m not your teacher anymore, you don’t need to call me sister. Just use my name.”

Xu Yi Chi looked at her for two seconds, then suddenly smiled: “Wouldn’t that be impolite?”

Shu He tugged at her lip: “It’s fine, I don’t mind.”

“Alright then, Shu He?”

“Mm.”

When they reached the residential area, Shu He got out, and he followed.

“Driver, please wait for me a moment.”

Xu Yi Chi held a small gift bag in his hand. “I forgot to give you the gift.”

Shu He didn’t reach out to accept it. She still refused, “Really, there’s no need.”

Xu Yi Chi’s hand froze for two seconds. He seemed downcast: “I didn’t expect that after studying abroad, my relationship with sister would become so distant. Or, could you not accept it even as a thank-you gift?”

His silver-rimmed glasses caught a streak of light in the dim lighting. Shu He thought she liked silver-rimmed glasses, but now she realised it might not be that.

Shu He remembered how he used to secretly slip perfume to her, and felt somewhat helpless: “I was only your tutor for one semester, really, there’s no need.”

She refused repeatedly, her words clearly distant.

Xu Yi Chi nodded, saying dejectedly: “Alright then, I’ll be going now.”

After he left, Shu He turned and walked into the lift, looking down at the unread messages on her phone.

Shu Hua had learned about her rejection of Tang Yun and called several times. Seeing she hadn’t answered, she sent a long text criticising her for making a mistake, that she shouldn’t have refused.

Shu He irritably put away her phone. The lift dinged as it reached her floor. She pushed open the door, the bright light somewhat dazzling, and immediately saw the person sitting in the wheelchair.

Despite not seeing him for days, she didn’t approach him as she had in previous days.

“Sister.”

She remained extremely cold, not pausing in her steps once.

His voice, unused for so long, was terribly hoarse: “Are you looking for a new boyfriend?”

Shu He didn’t know yet, but a photo of her and Xu Yi Chi talking together had been taken and was now trending.

She didn’t feel like answering. Jing Yi’s heart sank heavily. He reached out his hand, only to touch hers briefly before she shook him off.

In an instant, the emotions that had built up in Shu He’s heart seemed to collapse: “I asked if you were hiding something from me again, but you chose to run away.”

Her voice was ice cold. Jing Yi just sat in his wheelchair, his face deathly pale, as if someone had cut off his breath, unable to say a word.

“I really don’t understand why you’re acting so strange, hiding everything from me, shutting yourself away, and now suddenly appearing to question me.”

“I’d really like to ask what right you have to ask me this question?”

Her gaze was as cold as the day they met again. Standing tall before him, looking at him like a stranger, each word stabbed into his heart, leaving him nowhere to escape.

“What gives you the right to question me?”