ATLAS TRANSLATES

Jing Yi desperately wanted to explain what happened back then, but his throat tightened, and he couldn’t speak a word.

The air remained silent for a moment. Seeing his dejected, silent appearance, Shu He’s fingertips loosened.

She got up to take the cake she had brought back and gave a portion to Li Minyu. She had originally planned to save this piece for tomorrow’s breakfast.

She placed the cake in front of the man. Meeting his wet yet bewildered gaze, her expression remained cold.

“Your stomach hurts. You can’t eat nothing.”

For some reason, her mind recalled what she had said to Xiang Lanye—that all those couples who parted on bad terms secretly hoped the other person would be worse off than themselves.

Wishing the other would have no chopsticks to eat with, choke on water, trip on flat ground, or get hit by a car when crossing the road.

The worse, the better.

Shu He sighed to herself—well, consider it an act of kindness.

He seemed not to have fully processed what was happening, staring blankly at the small cake before him. His lips parted slightly, his wet eyelashes didn’t blink, and his reddened eyes revealed fragmented joy.

“Thank you…”

He picked up the cake, sniffling his red nose softly, the corners of his lips lifting involuntarily.

As if she hadn’t done anything yet, and he was already… satisfied, so easily comforted.

Since their reunion, Shu He had accumulated many questions and resentments in her heart.

She wasn’t such a generous person that she would still have a soft heart for an ex.

But watching him quietly eating cake, his eyes still red at the corners, somehow made him look… extremely docile.

So docile that one couldn’t bring oneself to speak a harsh word of rebuke.

Shu He stared at him without blinking, as if trying to expose his disguise, to tear apart this pitiful shell and see how hard his heart truly was, to be acting like this now…

After all, he was the one who had broken up with her.

Without even giving her an explanation.

Perhaps noticing her gaze, he looked up, his dark eyes regarding her in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

Whether deliberate or not, there was still cream on his lips. With his pale face devoid of any aggression, anyone who saw him would involuntarily soften.

Shu He forced herself to pretend she hadn’t noticed, her gaze falling on his hands covered with plasters.

All ten fingers had plasters on them, making them impossible to ignore.

“What happened to your hands?”

She asked instinctively.

Following her gaze, he curled his fingers around the fork, his lips twitching slightly, but he suppressed it.

“When I was taking medicine, I couldn’t hold the hot water properly. While cleaning up, I got cut.”

No wonder she hadn’t seen that glass cup that day.

His tone was low, eyelashes lowered, sitting quietly in the wheelchair, still holding a cream cake with a few bites taken out.

Shu He strangely imagined him sitting in the wheelchair, movement difficult, head drooping as he clumsily cleaned up the fragments, only to cut his hands on the glass—a pitiful sight.

She wondered if he had cried again.

Two years had passed, and who would have thought this person would now so easily tear up.

In such a sorry state, she should feel happy, shouldn’t she?

Shu He folded her arms, her face still cold. “When you lived alone before, did you clean up yourself?”

Jing Yi shook his head and replied, “A cleaner would come once a week.”

Shu He frowned. “I thought you were in financial difficulty. How could you afford a cleaner?”

Jing Yi paused, his tone somewhat light: “Liang Xu arranged it. He was afraid I would become withdrawn if left alone, and then I wouldn’t write songs for him anymore.”

After saying this, he lowered his eyes again, slowly scooping up a piece of cake with his fork.

Shu He caught the key point in his words, staring directly at him: “You became withdrawn?”

She could sense something had definitely happened to him.

His legs, his personality, his withdrawal, that breakup message…

She had never been someone who believed in fate; she preferred to hold control in her own hands.

He wouldn’t say.

But she would ask.

The man’s long eyelashes trembled, and the air remained silent for a while. Shu He only felt tired. She got up disappointedly as the wheels made a hurried sound on the floor. Suddenly, her clothes were grabbed.

She looked down to meet his deep black eyes. He pressed his lips together, his tone somewhat panicked: “Don’t be angry…”

She didn’t speak, making him increasingly anxious.

The hand clutching her clothes whitened. Jing Yi’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he struggled to utter a few words: “…I’m sorry.”

A strange anger rose in Shu He’s heart. She slapped his hand away with a crisp sound, and his pale hand immediately turned red.

“You break up without a word, and now all you have to say is sorry?”

“Or do you think that after two years, we can pretend nothing happened?”

“No…” He was utterly helpless. Shu He’s voice hardened: “No what? You cheated and then broke up?”

“No!” His pupils contracted, and he was so anxious that the veins in his neck pulsed: “That’s not it. I never cheated. There has never been anyone else.”

“Shu He, I only liked you.”

“Oh, so you just got bored?” Shu He deliberately provoked him. Jing Yi was so anxious he wanted to stand up from the wheelchair. He carefully grabbed her clothes again. She didn’t push him away this time, just looked down at him coldly, her expression still indifferent.

Jing Yi couldn’t bear her cold gaze. His nose stung, but he still held back his emotions: “I didn’t get bored.”

“Sister, I really, really wanted to marry you.”

Shu He’s heart felt as if it had been stabbed. His hand seemed to tremble, his voice as low as dust: “You wouldn’t want to know…”

“If you knew, you wouldn’t want me either.”

Shu He keenly caught the “either” in his words. Under the cold white light, after a long time, she finally spoke: “Jing Yi.”

In the past, when she called his name, the ending would involuntarily lift, filled with intimacy.

But now, it was particularly cold.

“Neither then nor now do you have the right to make decisions for me.”

“How would you know what I think if you don’t tell me?”

Jing Yi’s throat tightened, and he remained silent.

After a long while, seeing him with lowered brows and eyes, Shu He pulled away his hand.

Meeting his red eyes full of grievance, she couldn’t help but bite her teeth, her heart deflating, angrily and pathetically softening.

As she turned to leave, he called out to her again.

“How much is this cake? I’ll pay you.”

He looked at her expectantly. Shu He, wanting to give him a hard time, named an extortionate figure: “One thousand.”

Jing Yi’s expression didn’t change at all. He treasured the cake, took out his phone, and even looked at her with some anticipation: “Then can I add you on WeChat? I’ll send you the money.”

“…..”

In his dark gaze, his intention was obvious.

Shu He looked at him suspiciously, “You have money?”

She hadn’t forgotten what Li Minyu said about her roommate being somewhat financially tight.

Jing Yi’s face remained unchanged: “A little.”

“Don’t worry, I still have some savings.”

Shu He gave him a once-over, her clear eyes cold: “Did you block me?”

“No!”

Jing Yi explained dryly: “I lost my phone.”

“I….”

Shu He suddenly smiled mockingly: “So you threw it away after sending the breakup message? Why do you want to add me on WeChat now?”

Jing Yi felt suffocated under her gaze. Bitterness filled his throat. “I didn’t want to throw it away… I’m sorry.”

His voice was somewhat light, but Shu He heard it clearly.

She didn’t want to force him, but she still felt angry inside.

“I don’t add exes on WeChat.”

Jing Yi was at a loss. His lips moved, and then Shu He took out her phone, clicked a few times, and then handed it to him, saying in a businesslike manner: “Since you want to transfer money, add the shop’s WeChat.”

The WeChat QR code on the phone clearly displayed the words—”Tian Tian” Coffee Shop.

Jing Yi was stunned. He almost instinctively said “oh,” his tone noticeably lower, somehow sounding disappointed.

Shu He deliberately picked a fight: “What do you mean? Don’t want to add it? Then Alipay transfer works too.”

“I’ll add it!”

He nervously scanned the QR code, then looked at her eagerly, “I’ve added it. I have.”

Shu He put her phone away without looking at him again and turned back to her room.

The large living room fell silent again. Jing Yi sat alone in his wheelchair, feeling both sour and stuffy.

She was never so fierce to others.

But now she was fierce to him.

So fierce, sister.

So fierce it made him uncomfortable.

But she must care about him.

Otherwise, why would she only be fierce to him…

His wet eyes gradually filled with a smile. After composing himself, he let out a deep breath and lowered his head to eat the cake in small bites.

….

After Shu He finished her shower, she picked up her phone, originally intending to play some music, only to find she hadn’t accepted his WeChat request yet.

Her fingers paused, then she accepted it and righteously checked the man’s Moments, only to find it completely empty.

She lost interest and put her phone away, applied a face mask, blew her hair dry, and stretched. After finishing everything, her WeChat, which she hadn’t switched back from, showed several red dots.

Jing Yi: [The cake was delicious.]

Jing Yi: [I also gave a five-star recommendation on the app.]

Jing Yi: [Sister, can I order coffee tomorrow?]

Besides this, he had transferred one thousand yuan to her.

Shu He quoted his last message: [Order if you want, what’s it to me? Just pay for it.]

Then, she unceremoniously accepted the money he transferred.

Consider it a… service fee for finding medicine for him these past few days.

Jing Yi: [Okay, I’ll only drink one cup a day, no more. Don’t worry.]

Shu He: [You can drink ten cups a day for all I care.]

Jing Yi: [I was wrong. It won’t happen again.]

Shu He: [……..]

Shu He couldn’t be bothered to respond, but he seemed relentless.

Jing Yi: [In the future, can I contact you on this WeChat to make purchases?]

Shu He: [What do you mean? Want me to bring it back for you?]

Jing Yi: [I can pay extra.]

Shu He thought he was strange—he could easily order delivery, yet he wanted her to bring it.

She deliberately replied: [Our shop doesn’t accept WeChat purchases, only delivery orders.]

Jing Yi: [.]

She could somehow sense the silent and depressed meaning in this full stop, which finally made her feel a bit better.

She switched back to her personal WeChat. Xiang Lanye had forwarded content praising the scriptwriter of that web drama—which was herself.

She was extremely pleased, and Shu He was genuinely happy for her.

Xiang Lanye had a rough idea for her next project, with the main characters being a medical student and a radio host.

But her knowledge in this area was shallow, and she was worried about where to start. Shu He thought of Ni Sui.

However, they weren’t very familiar, and their only mutual connection was Liang Xu.

As for radio, she had worked in the school’s broadcasting room during high school and knew some basics.

She thought about finding an opportunity to ask Ni Sui for help. After chatting for a while, she seemed to remember something and switched back to her WeChat alternate account. During the few minutes she hadn’t responded to him, he had sent more messages—

Jing Yi: [Are you asleep?]

Five minutes later.

Jing Yi: [Good night.]

Six minutes later.

Jing Yi: [By the way, I bought ten coffees, but the shop might have been too busy and forgot to include brownies. I’m not complaining, just wondering if you could bring one back for me tomorrow?]

Afraid she wouldn’t agree, he anxiously sent another transfer.

Another thousand.

Shu He frowned: [Didn’t I give you my cake?]

He seemed to be waiting by his phone, replying quickly: [That wasn’t a brownie…]

What she had brought back was a strawberry cream cake.

Afraid she would misunderstand, he followed with another explanation: [I just want to eat a brownie… just consider it as me buying it, okay?]

She had given him the cake because she saw his stomach wasn’t well, but forgetting the brownie was indeed the shop assistant’s mistake.

After a long while, Shu He didn’t accept the money but replied: [Fine.]

These simple words made the person clutching the phone smile slightly.

Jing Yi searched for an emoji for a long time, finally selecting one that showed he was craving cake—a yellow face with heart eyes, drooling.

But the next second, the “Tian Tian” Coffee Shop, topped with two mint leaves, coldly threw back a few words—

[Do not flirt with the shop owner. Next time you’ll be blocked.]

“…..”