ATLAS TRANSLATES

Li Minyu took her to see two other apartments.

Shu He looked around each one. Actually, the environments were all nice, but she still preferred the first one. It felt more right to her, plus the shared rent for the first place was indeed cheaper.

She thought about it briefly, then quickly made her decision: “Let’s go with the first one.”

This was already the most suitable place she’d seen during this time.

Li Minyu still felt somewhat guilty. Although she sympathized with Jing Yi, she was even more reluctant to deceive the young woman.

As she was struggling with whether to be honest, Liang Xu’s call came through.

“Auntie, are you still at Jing Yi’s? Someone went to find him but no one opened the door. I think he’s working now and didn’t hear them. Can you help open the door?”

Li Minyu answered with a couple of “yes’s.” Shu He vaguely heard some of the content and Li Minyu promptly agreed to take her there.

When they arrived at Jing Yi’s place, they saw a red-haired man squatting at the door with a baby face, carrying a large bag of items.

“Little Yu? How come it’s you?”

Li Minyu recognized him. Yu Mo scratched his head and stood up. When he smiled, a pair of cute dimples appeared on his baby face. “Yes, Brother Xu asked me to come give someone a haircut.”

Li Minyu’s red curls were styled by him. The two seemed quite familiar with each other. Shu He followed them into the house. As she lowered her head to change her shoes, she wondered to herself how much her future roommate must dislike going out if they needed someone to come give them a haircut at home.

That was good though. Shu He preferred a quiet atmosphere.

Yu Mo put on shoe covers and went straight to knock on a door.

Shu He was somewhat confused. Earlier, Li Minyu had knocked on a different room, and hadn’t they said the person wasn’t home?

“Brother Jing Yi?”

Suddenly hearing those familiar words, Shu He’s heart skipped a beat.

The door opened from inside. There seemed to be something rolling across the floor with a scraping sound, slowly emerging.

Their gazes collided unexpectedly.

Shu He hadn’t thought that Li Minyu’s other tenant would actually be him.

He looked surprised to see her too.

The man’s dull, indifferent expression seemed to crack open. His pale face was completely bloodless. The wheelchair stopped right there. When he noticed her slightly furrowed brows, his pupils contracted, a bitterness rose in his throat. Before anyone could react, he pressed a button and the wheelchair retreated back into the room. The bedroom door slammed shut with a “bang.”

“…..”

Jing Yi clutched his chest. The flame of hope in his heart was unexpectedly extinguished by cold water.

He was unwilling to admit it, unwilling to think about it in detail—whether the furrow of her brow showed impatience or disgust.

Whichever it was, he couldn’t accept it.

She couldn’t look at him like that.

Before, she had always doted on him.

She would never look at him like that.

Meanwhile, the people outside were somewhat stunned.

Yu Mo looked confused. Li Minyu glanced secretly at Shu He and laughed awkwardly: “He might be… a bit socially anxious.”

She actually had a private intention—after all, they would be sharing a place, and Shu He being a young woman should meet her potential roommate first.

Shu He composed her emotions. Her tone remained gentle, “Auntie Li, let me think about it some more, but thank you anyway.”

Li Minyu heard this response and breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, good, you think it over.”

After sending Li Minyu back, Shu He drove to her shop and stayed busy all afternoon. When she returned to her apartment complex, the elevator still wasn’t fixed.

A sense of helplessness rose from the bottom of her heart as she climbed the stairs with an expressionless face.

When she got home, after showering and lying in bed, the image of that figure in the wheelchair inexplicably floated into her mind.

He had a sickly paleness about him, with lowered eyebrows and eyes shrouded in gloom and coldness. His thick black hair was no longer curly but hung down obediently. His dark eyes no longer shone brightly as they once did.

From head to toe, he was nothing like his former self.

Li Minyu said he was somewhat socially anxious.

Shu He let out a scornful laugh.

Back when he pursued her, he had been passionate and vibrant, completely undisguised in his affection for her.

Countless times, he had directly expressed his feelings.

When she finished her part-time job, she could always see him at first glance.

He liked to call her name: Shu He, Shu He, Shu He… deliberately lingering on the syllables with affection. When she grew somewhat impatient, he would smile at the corners of his eyes, his bright eyes seemingly glued to her: “Shu He, when will you like me?”

In Xiang Lanye’s words, whenever she appeared, it was as if Jing Yi had a fluffy, big tail wagging frantically behind him.

This person came on strong, giving her all his goodness, all his love without reservation, making her heart boil to the extreme.

But when he left, it was without a sound, leaving her without a trace.

A heart suddenly dropped from the boiling passion of love, all emotions unexpectedly and cruelly frozen, giving her no preparation at all.

And now.

He had appeared again.

He was always like this.

Coming when he wanted, disrupting her life into chaos.

—

Two days later, Shu He contacted Li Minyu. She still decided to share the apartment.

Li Minyu was somewhat surprised, but thinking that Shu He had already met him, she must have considered it, so she felt relieved.

The rent was paid quarterly, and Shu He initially signed for only three months to see if it would work out.

Li Minyu agreed, and Shu He was very grateful to her.

Previously, there had been another owner who wanted to rent the coffee shop space.

But seeing she was a woman, that person had directly mocked her to her face: “Young lady, don’t waste your money out here. Go find a stable job and go home.”

Li Minyu had immediately thrown the man out and rented the shop to Shu He.

This time she helped with finding housing again. Shu He wanted to treat her to a meal, and Li Minyu wasn’t one to be coy, “Let’s do it after you’ve moved in. I see you’ve been quite busy lately.”

“Alright.”

With the housing sorted, Shu He prepared to move.

When Xiang Lanye learned about this, she clicked her tongue: “You must be the first person in the world to share an apartment with an ex-boyfriend.”

Shu He put her phone on speaker while sitting on the floor organizing her things.

“The rent is cheap, and it’s close to the shop, which makes travel more convenient for me. With such good conditions, why should I give up because of him?”

“That’s true.” The sound of Xiang Lanye typing on her keyboard suddenly paused. “But from what you’re saying, Jing Yi isn’t doing well now, is he?”

Can’t even afford rent. Could his family have gone bankrupt?

Shu He was getting tired from organizing. She took her phone into the bathroom and looked at the calm face in the mirror. While tying up her hair, she responded casually to her friend’s words.

“I’ll help you move and drive my car back.”

“Alright.”

On the weekend, Shu He called a moving truck.

The driver helped move everything in. When Shu He walked into her bedroom, she paused involuntarily.

It was different from her last visit.

Last time the room was empty, but now even the bed had been replaced with a larger one. The overall color scheme was light green, and there was a new dressing table and wardrobe. Even the walls seemed to have been repainted, making it all look cozier.

She guessed it might have been arranged by Li Minyu and messaged her, but she never replied.

By the time she had finished organizing half of her things, it was almost evening.

She changed clothes and went out to eat. During this time, that tightly closed bedroom door with the “Do Not Disturb” sign showed no signs of movement.

Shu He went to pick up Xiang Lanye first. The restaurant happened to be near the coffee shop, so after dinner, they went to the shop together.

With Christmas approaching, Shu He had started a promotion offering free desserts for check-ins. There were still many customers at this hour. She and Xiang Lanye found an empty spot to sit down while discussing new products.

The wind chimes tinkled as the coffee shop door opened from outside, and a familiar figure walked in.

Liang Xu, wearing a black trench coat, walked straight to the counter to order.

“Is the check-in promotion for mint brownies still available?”

Tong Yuan and the other staff checked, and she apologized: “I’m sorry, the last one was just given away.”

Liang Xu didn’t insist: “Then pack a hot flat white and an iced Americano, separately please.”

“Sure.”

Liang Xu hadn’t noticed Shu He, but she saw him.

She turned her head to look outside where a familiar black sedan was parked in front of the store. The driver’s window was open, and the man got into the car, leaning back as if talking to someone in the back seat.

What Shu He didn’t know was that at the same moment she looked over, Jing Yi, sitting in the car, was also looking at her.

Through the thin layer of dark car window, catching her gaze, he was greedy, unwilling to look away for even a second. In his mind, however, he recalled what Liang Xu had said earlier.

Even if she came before him, he didn’t have the ability to walk toward her.

“Dr. Lin said if you keep persevering, you’ll be able to walk soon.”

Liang Xu was still muttering beside his ear, but he seemed to hear nothing, staring unblinkingly at the woman sitting by the window.

“Oh wow, it’s snowing!”

Liang Xu suddenly exclaimed. It hadn’t snowed in Qing Yu for many years.

White snowflakes fell steadily in the twilight. The car door opened and closed, the wind chimes rang, and a cold gust rushed in, gently lifting Shu He’s skirt hem.

Her hand around the cup tightened. As Xiang Lanye took photos of the snowy night with her phone, Shu He’s thoughts drifted away.

She and Jing Yi had gotten together on a snowy day.

She didn’t really like winter—it was too cold, and she feared the cold.

That day, she was working part-time at a celebrity concert, and when Jing Yi found out, he signed up too.

Perhaps because she hadn’t rested well during that period, Shu He clearly felt unwell, dizzy and weak.

Jing Yi had been assigned to another area, but when he ran over to find her, he immediately noticed something was wrong.

Without giving her a chance to refuse, he took her to the hospital. Shu He had no strength to resist. Along the way, perhaps seeing her frown in pain, in her hazy state, she was embraced against someone’s chest that had a crisp, addictive mint scent.

At the hospital, honestly, she was in a daze and couldn’t hear anything.

She only remembered that someone kept holding her hand, asking her to sit and wait for him. When she didn’t respond, he childishly pinched her cheek until she acknowledged him, only then did he run off.

On the way back, she staggered and almost fell.

The person supporting her let go, and she looked over in confusion to see him crouching in front of her. “Get on, I’ll carry you.”

Shu He couldn’t remember how long he had been following behind her at that time.

She only remembered that at that moment, she didn’t want to pretend to be strong anymore, and silently climbed onto his strong, solid back.

On the way back to school, perhaps fearing she would fall asleep, he kept talking to her.

With her mind cleared somewhat by the cold wind, Shu He hugged the young man’s neck and strangely discovered that his ears seemed to be a bit red.

Her impression of Jing Yi had always been that he was bright and sunny. When he smiled, his dark eyes sparkled, like a feather gently tickling her heart. With such an exceedingly handsome face, it was truly unfair.

He was terrible at hiding his feelings, expressing his affection passionately and directly.

Although Shu He had rejected him, he still followed her like a tail, yet never did anything that made her dislike him.

Sometimes she would think, his family background must be good. He knew when to advance and retreat, was gentlemanly, yet his entire being, down to his hair, exuded a dazzling vibrancy.

Shu He’s initial cold rejection gradually softened, creating a small dent, as if she had unknowingly made room for him.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have allowed him to always follow behind her.

“Jing Yi, why do you like me?”

On that snowy day, she asked this question.

She didn’t really understand love, nor did she believe that one person could like another so deeply.

But he had pursued her for nearly a year.

In this era of fast-food romance, sincerity seemed to have become rare.

His eyes, when looking at her, were always direct, bright, and brilliant, reflecting her image.

If this was a scam…

Then he had succeeded.

She had indeed taken the bait—she had developed feelings for Jing Yi.

“I seem unable to find a reason to answer this question.”

He tilted his head slightly, his footsteps slow and steady in the snow. Shu He looked at the two shadows crisscrossing on the ground and heard him say: “But I’m very grateful to be by your side tonight.”

Shu He didn’t say anything more. She was actually a slow-to-warm, cold-hearted person who didn’t care much about anything except herself.

But at that moment, instinctively and somewhat greedily, she tightened her arms around his neck, silently burying her head in the crook of his neck.

It was then that she discovered this person, though composed on the surface, had ears that seemed to turn redder. His eyelashes trembled lightly, as if he was a bit nervous.

She couldn’t help but curve her lips. He was really… quite cute.

When they returned to the dormitory, fortunately it was Sunday, so there was no curfew.

Jing Yi set her down and handed her the medicine bag, still muttering instructions.

“How old are you this year?”

She suddenly interrupted him. Jing Yi was stunned for a moment, then answered her question.

Shu He was somewhat puzzled, “You skipped grades?”

“Yes.”

Shu He nodded. Two years younger than her didn’t seem that unacceptable.

Jing Yi didn’t know what she was thinking. He withdrew his hand, his lips moving just as Shu He’s voice joined his—

“Then I—”

“Jing Yi.”

Her clear eyes looked at him steadily. “If tomorrow it doesn’t snow, let’s be together.”

The moment her words fell, Jing Yi’s pupils contracted. He instantly became somewhat flustered. In the next second, Shu He saw him take out his phone to check the weather forecast.

The phone showed that the snow would stop tomorrow afternoon.

He immediately smiled, “I’ll come find you tomorrow. You won’t go back on your word, will you?”

Shu He’s lips curved up slightly. She didn’t answer his question, only turning away after saying two words—

“Good night.”

Because of her illness, plus having no class the next day, Shu He slept until the afternoon.

When she got up, her roommate had just returned.

Seeing an umbrella in her hand, Shu He slowly came to her senses, and last night’s events surfaced in her mind.

“Is it still snowing outside?”

“Yes.” Her roommate was just about to look for her. “I just saw that junior who’s always chasing you downstairs. He was already there when I went out, and he’s still waiting. Did he make you angry?”

Hearing this, Shu He’s heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly put on her clothes, carelessly wrapped a scarf around her neck, and ran downstairs, forgetting even to take an umbrella.

Shu He spotted the young man standing under the big tree almost immediately.

At this time, most people weren’t going out, so there weren’t many people on the road.

Amidst the white blanket of snow, he stood under the big tree with a transparent umbrella, wearing a black woolen coat. His figure was tall and straight, his gaze slightly upturned, the handsome profile clear and distinct.

Shu He ran over. Jing Yi held the umbrella over her. Before he could say a word, she somewhat unhappily said: “It’s so cold, what are you doing here?”

Whether it was an illusion or not, his dark eyes weren’t as bright as before. His lowered eyelashes trembled slightly, his black pupils seemed to hold some grievance.

“The snow hasn’t stopped.”

She had said that if the snow stopped, she would be with him.

“Why don’t you… go up first? Maybe… maybe it will stop in the afternoon.”

The fluttering snowflakes hit their faces, showing no sign of stopping.

“Why not come in the afternoon?”

Jing Yi’s hand still held the umbrella. He smiled gently, his dark eyes seemingly containing scattered light, still looking directly at her. “I wanted to see you the moment the snow stopped. Shu He, I want to be with you, I want to be your boyfriend.”

At that moment, Shu He’s heart suddenly trembled, softening. The emotions she had suppressed for so long spread uncontrollably.

“What if the snow never stops?”

Her question made Jing Yi’s heart skip a beat. His thin lips moved, but Shu He suddenly didn’t want to wait for his answer.

She stepped forward and, under his restrained, anxious gaze, took off her scarf and wrapped it around him, loop by loop.

Jing Yi maintained his slightly bent posture to accommodate her. The yellow checkered scarf made his skin look very white, still seeming to retain her warmth.

He stared at her in surprise, but Shu He didn’t withdraw her hand. She gently caressed the young man’s cheek, and he almost instinctively tilted his head, nuzzling her palm. His warm breath caught, his eyes filling with joy and disbelief.

Shu He curved her lips, a hint of gentle smile rippling: “Even if today’s snow doesn’t stop, I still want you to be my boyfriend.”

“Jing Yi, let’s be together.”