ATLAS TRANSLATES

The hotel’s dim lighting spread an ambiguous atmosphere, like a thin veil enveloping the two of them.

After a day of exhaustion, plus the sudden fright, Shu He was now completely drained of strength. Her tongue felt numb, and her whole body slumped weakly against him, yet she still felt it wasn’t enough.

The black hoodie was mercilessly tossed to the floor. Their ragged breathing intertwined with the all-pervading heat. The two collided like fierce waves. He fell onto the sofa, holding her face, kissing her while letting her hands urgently caress him.

…

…

In her dazed state, Shu He felt the scar on his wrist. Since getting back together, she had never examined his scars as carefully as now. But he seemed unwilling to let her see these ugly marks. He turned his hand to grip hers, kissing her intensely, his warm breath lingering on every part of her body.

After a long while, he asked her a question in a husky voice by her ear, sounding somewhat sensual.

The earlier panic had left her feeling as if she stood at the edge of a cliff. The suffocation, irritation, and fear after their narrow escape made her uncomfortable, as if she couldn’t recover. Shu He had never felt so strongly that it wasn’t enough—she just wanted him to make her cry.

She bit his shoulder with irregular breathing, her usually cool voice now somewhat hoarse: “That depends on how many times you can go.”

…

Two hours later, the chaotic hotel room was empty except for torn packages scattered on the floor.

In the cramped bathroom, Shu He sat on the sink counter, supporting herself with some difficulty. Her flawless skin was like white jade. She resembled a delicately blooming lotus flower, except now the white jade was flushed pink.

When they had ridden roller coasters before, that extreme thrill had stayed with her for a long time. She loved that feeling, and also the comfortable satisfaction after the wave of excitement.

Jing Yi, this intruder, having entered her territory and satisfied himself, now leisurely began to savor his dessert.

He was like a delicate balm, soothing her discomfort. But applying balm only on the outside wasn’t enough—

In the moment of Shu He’s startled cry, his vision grew increasingly dark until he could see nothing. Like a greedy bee, he meticulously tasted the sweet honey.

“You jerk!” she cursed him with a trembling voice, tears of physical reaction spilling from the corners of her eyes.

…

Shu He tried hard to shift her attention… thinking he should get a haircut… his fluffy black hair was like a puppy’s, really ticklish.

But then she hazily wondered… would shorter, stiffer hair be more prickly?

…maybe the current softness was better after all.

He tasted her for who knows how long. Knowing she was getting impatient, he rinsed and brushed his teeth before coming back to kiss her.

Under the shower, his palms were full of rose-scented foam. Shu He slapped his mischievous hands, but she wasn’t behaving either as she reached for his firm chest.

They played around messily, water splashing everywhere. Shu He took his hand, placing soft kisses all over the scars on his wrist.

He withdrew his hand slightly, but she held it firmly.

A trace of bitterness crossed his heart. Feeling awkward, he turned his head away, his voice still hoarse: “They’re ugly… don’t…”

“They’re not ugly.”

She kissed each wound until finally, standing on tiptoe to kiss him: “Not ugly at all. I like them very much.”

“Really, I really like Jing Yi, love Jing Yi, and I love every scar on your body.”

Their irregular breathing intertwined again. He kissed her fiercely, as if desperately craving something.

In the confined space, Shu He felt parched. The intense, boiling passion made her emotions somewhat uncontrollable. She opened her reddened eyes to see his eyelids also red, his eyes moist—unclear whether from shower water or tears.

But when he opened his eyes, she was certain—he was really crying.

Catching her gaze, his eyelashes trembled as he tried to cover her eyes, but she blocked him first.

“Are you crying?”

He was silent for two seconds, still kissing her intensely: “Are you crying too?”

Shu He couldn’t speak. Complete satisfaction had shattered all the negative emotions in her heart, now flooding forth overwhelmingly.

They had walked so far stepping on sharp fragments, and now, pulling out these deeply embedded shards, the wounds still hurt terribly.

The aftereffect of regaining what was lost was tremendous. Tears were release, but also happiness.

But this would be the last time it hurt.

Shu He let her tears flow, not wiping his tears either, until the salty tears seeped into their intertwined lips and teeth. Their two boiling hearts seemed to completely merge together.

…

The next day.

Shu He didn’t know what time it was. Eyes closed, she felt for the person beside her but touched nothing.

She opened her eyes somewhat bewildered and stared blankly for a long time. She propped up her tired body to sit, calling Jing Yi’s name in a hoarse voice several times.

The room was empty. He wasn’t there.

For a moment, Shu He felt annoyed.

She lay back down, her mind full of last night’s chaotic scenes.

Coming out of the bathroom, stumbling back to bed, doing it again… Shu He clearly felt some discomfort, like their first time together.

It seemed because his leg had just recovered, she said she couldn’t bear him carrying her, being somewhat worried…

She couldn’t help grabbing his hair then, causing his scalp to sting.

But whether because he enjoyed her grabbing him, he became even more intense.

She coaxed him with a few words, calling his name, only to feel something warm dripping onto her—like tears.

Until she opened her misty eyes and met his bloodshot ones.

This fool was really crying again.

Perhaps not expecting her to suddenly open her eyes, he covered her eyes. As they reached the peak together, his hoarse voice held a faint crying tone, whispering in her ear over and over: “Shu He… I love you so much.”

…

Toward the end, Shu He couldn’t remember clearly.

She only remembered he seemed to ask something, the words blurry, unclear—

“Sister, can we not go out tomorrow, can we do this all day?”

“……”

As sunlight streamed in, Shu He barely recalled that word… “do this all day” indeed, but now she woke up and he was gone.

But thinking about how they had cried together at such a moment… tears mingling, breathing unsteady, disheveled yet longing—she really… actually felt somewhat embarrassed.

She cursed this jerk several times in her heart. He’d better be handling something urgent. Just then, with a beep at the door, someone returned.

Jing Yi held a familiar bag in his hand. He had changed into a new hoodie. His black curly hair was somewhat fluffy, looking fresh and energetic, like a happily risen little bread. Seeing the expressionless person glaring at him from the bed, he blinked, put down his things, went to wash his hands in the bathroom, and when he came out, Shu He was sitting up.

Her hair was messy, but she still looked beautiful. He couldn’t help swallowing, affectionately moving closer to kiss her: “Good afternoon.”

“…..”

“Where did you go?”

Her tone clearly revealed dissatisfaction. Jing Yi took out the bag, and a sweet aroma immediately filled the air. “Went to buy egg tarts.”

Seeing the brand name on the bag, Shu He’s anger instantly dissipated: “Why suddenly buy these?”

“Didn’t you say a few days ago you wanted egg tarts from this place?”

The flaky, crumbly egg tarts were truly tempting. Shu He couldn’t resist taking a bite, then remembered something. “So you went to buy these yesterday too?”

He nodded, his gaze fixed on the golden pastry crumbs at the edge of her red lips. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he restrained himself with a “Mm.”

“Then why buy them again? Yesterday’s could have been warmed in the microwave.”

Jing Yi blinked. “Didn’t you say freshly baked ones taste best? Even if reheated the next day, they’re not at their best.”

Back in university, she loved the egg tarts from this shop. He remembered her words clearly.

Shu He ate one egg tart, but her stomach still felt empty. After washing up, the lunch they ordered was delivered just in time.

Originally, they had planned to return after handling the shop’s affairs, but now they needed to find a new store location, which would likely take longer.

After eating, Shu He comfortably lay on the sofa and kicked him lightly.

Jing Yi obediently came to her side, listening to her while massaging her.

“Should we go back to the apartment in a few days? The cleaners should be finished by then?”

He made an affirmative sound. Whatever she said was fine with him; he would just follow along.

But soon, Shu He couldn’t help grabbing him: “Aren’t you tired?”

He pretended not to understand: “Didn’t you promise me we could do this all day?”

“……”

In this sitting position, it felt too uncomfortable, making her feel like she was being pressed and pinned to her lower abdomen.

She panted, struggling to say: “…I never promised you that.”

She really hadn’t said anything at that time.

But when it came to being unreasonable, she could never match him.

“Not saying anything means agreement.”

“…You jerk.”

Her back accidentally hit the dining table, her elbow seemingly knocking over a cup that rolled to the floor. Clear water spread out.

“Careful! The cup fell!”

“……”

As if he couldn’t hear her, accompanied by strange creaking noises, the water on the carpet—whether from the long-undried cup of water or something else—remained.

The two really went wild for a long time, on and off, resting a bit then continuing. They didn’t leave the hotel for two consecutive days.

It had been a very, very long time since she’d been this crazy, to the point where she really couldn’t take it anymore.

Jing Yi, watching her lazily curled up and resting, couldn’t help muttering softly: “Sister, have your daily yoga practices not been effective enough?”

“……???”

Shu He understood the meaning behind his words—was he saying her body was weak?

She angrily kicked him, her voice still hoarse: “Whose fault is that? Go sleep on the sofa!”

“…..”

When she got angry, he immediately reverted to his clingy self, half-coquettishly, half-pleadingly kissing her and begging for forgiveness.

Shu He was tired of his antics, half-reluctantly allowing him to have her once more. After showering, she curled up on the sofa eating fruit to replenish her energy.

When he came out again, he was wrapped in mist, wearing the same pajamas as hers. As he dried his hair, the red bracelet on his wrist was particularly eye-catching.

But Shu He’s gaze fixed on his ankle.

The anklet wasn’t very thin. The red made his skin look very white. The man’s ankle bones were distinct. As he moved, the golden safety charm swung back and forth.

Shu He had never before felt that an anklet could be such a sensual existence.

A tall, long-legged person like him seemed to be bound by this thin red string.

He wore the bracelet and anklet she gave him, had a tattoo belonging to her on his wrist, wore the same scent as her, and on his exposed collarbone was her bite mark.

His entire body was covered in her marks.

It was as if he completely, entirely belonged to her.

The hesitation she had before completely collapsed in this moment. They had experienced sweetness and pain. That day’s scare had pulled out her last thorn, and an impulse surged overwhelming within her.

Besides Jing Yi, she would never love anyone else.

After the surging and ultimate satisfaction, her heartbeat was especially calm.

When he came over, she nestled into his arms like she had no bones. “After we return to Qingxu, let’s go get our marriage certificate.”