ATLAS TRANSLATES

Around 5 PM, Feng Ning packed up her things, preparing to head home. It was Wednesday, and the week’s tutoring sessions were over.

She wrote down the upcoming homework assignments for Jiang Yurong on paper, and also made her a detailed study plan.

Though it was just a short-term part-time job, Feng Ning had received good pay, so naturally she took it seriously.

Downstairs, Jiang Yuyun was playing with a dog on the lawn. Feng Ning stopped and politely said goodbye.

Jiang Yuyun had her hair in loose waves and wore elegant makeup. She smiled charmingly: “Heading home?”

The beautiful woman’s smile was captivating. Feng Ning nodded with a couple “mms.”

Jiang Yuyun raised her wrist to check her watch and said: “Wait a bit, we’re about to head out too, we can drop you off on the way.”

The driver brought the car out from the garage and stopped at the entrance. Jiang Wen, carrying Jiang Yurong with one arm, opened the back door and froze for a moment.

Feng Ning was also in the car, staring straight at them.

Jiang Yurong got excited and sweetly called out: “Tutor sister!”

The car got on the road.

Even with some distance between them, Feng Ning could still smell the scent of Jiang Wen’s shower gel. Her hands were in her jacket pockets, feeling cold coins. She shifted slightly, trying to disrupt those slightly romantic thoughts in her head.

No one spoke. After a quiet moment in the car, Jiang Yurong’s childish voice piped up: “Brother, were the strawberries tasty?”

Jiang Wen was caught off guard by the question. Something seemed to cross his mind as he stumbled slightly, managing a reluctant nod.

Jiang Yurong sought praise: “I asked sister to send them to you, did you eat them?”

Feng Ning’s gaze also swept over.

Jiang Wen was still angry, avoiding her gaze and trying to act as if nothing had happened, “I did.”

His unusual behavior was quickly noticed by Jiang Yuyun, who casually asked: “Are you feeling unwell?”

Jiang Wen maintained his position, his lips moving slightly, “I’m fine.”

“Did you check your temperature just now? Has the fever gone down?”

“Almost.”

Most of the Jiang family’s cousins were boys, so Jiang Yurong had few female cousins. Jiang Yuyun was usually busy and rarely spent time at home. After spending several days together, Jiang Yurong had grown fond of Feng Ning. Now she adorably pulled at her, “Tutor sister, I’ll show you my pretty princess dress later.”

She thought Feng Ning was going dress shopping with them.

Feng Ning said she’d look next tutoring session, but Jiang Yurong wouldn’t have it. She held onto Feng Ning’s arm with teary eyes, making a fuss and insisting she come along.

With Chinese New Year approaching and rush hour traffic, the streets were packed with cars and hard to navigate. Feng Ning didn’t like troubling others, and to avoid making the driver take a detour and waste time, she patted Jiang Yurong’s head and said, “Alright, sister will go with you to try on clothes.”

The car stopped at an entrance to the CBD’s International Finance Center mall, a place Feng Ning was very familiar with.

— She couldn’t count how many times she’d been chased by security guards here.

They entered a high-end custom clothing store with elegant interior design, even the sign looked cold and noble. Several store employees stopped what they were doing to eagerly welcome them.

Jiang Yuyun put down her bag and sat in the rest area like a regular, crossing her legs as she instructed: “Take these two to try on clothes.”

Feng Ning also sat on the sofa.

With nothing else to do, she started chatting with Jiang Yuyun. She was good at conversation and quite naturally friendly. She made Jiang jiejie laugh from time to time, keeping the atmosphere from getting cold.

Jiang Yuyun had always appreciated energetic and witty girls like her, “No wonder Little Rong likes you so much.”

Feng Ning scratched her head: “I’ve practiced a lot.”

Making a living in society required being able to warm up the atmosphere. She forced herself to read many books and deliberately memorized many jokes. Before dealing with customers, she would always rehearse conversations in her head, and gradually became an expert at it.

Collecting herself, Jiang Yuyun looked her over: “Little Wen says your grades are very good?”

“They’re okay.” Feng Ning was surprised and immediately said: “He actually praises me?”

“You two don’t get along?” Jiang Yuyun understood her brother’s personality well, “He’s been spoiled by the family since he was little, likes to act childish. He seems hard to get along with, but his thoughts are actually quite simple.”

Feng Ning strongly agreed with this, “I understand, Classmate Jiang may not talk much, but he has a warm heart despite his cold exterior.”

“Mm, do you find studying at school hard?”

“Not hard, I’m used to it.”

The manager personally brought water over, giving them each a cup with attentive service.

Jiang Yuyun took a sip and asked: “What does your family do?”

“My mom runs a mahjong parlor.” Feng Ning was very frank, “My dad passed away when I was very young.”

Though Jiang Yuyun was surprised, she didn’t show it on her face. She apologized, “I’m sorry.”

Feng Ning didn’t mind at all. After a moment of silence, she changed the topic: “Sister, why do you and Yurong have three-character names, but Jiang Wen only has two?”

Jiang Yuyun explained to her: “Everyone in our generation has ‘Yu’ in their name. His full name was actually Jiang Yuwen, but grandfather thought it sounded too feminine, so they dropped the middle character.”

“Jiang Yuwen, that sounds nice.” Feng Ning smiled, showing a few teeth.

A few minutes passed, and suddenly low murmurs arose. Jiang Yuyun stood up, and Feng Ning also turned to look.

Jiang Yurong came out. She was wearing a white puffy tulle dress, showing arms like white lotus roots. Being carried by someone, her pink chubby face made her look like a doll in a display window, very lovable.

Feng Ning immediately took out her phone and snapped several photos. She cleverly thought that when she saw the chubby kid later, she could sell him each photo for five yuan.

At the same time, the semicircular curtain on the other side was pulled back, revealing mirrors on all four sides. Under the soft lighting, an excessively handsome face appeared. Store employees surrounded him, carefully adjusting the clothing details.

Amidst the crowd, Jiang Wen wore a single-breasted suit with a patterned tie. He was tall with broad shoulders, already able to fill out the light-colored shirt, his waist pinched in very slim, with the shirt tucked in, and the suit pants wrapping straight long legs. He had an elegance somewhere between youth and mature man.

Someone teased Jiang Yurong, “Look at brother, is brother handsome?”

Jiang Yurong nodded, “Brother is handsome, when Little Rong grows up she wants to marry brother.”

The innocent child’s words made all the adults laugh. Jiang Yuyun also laughed, gently pinching her little sister’s mouth, “What nonsense are you saying?”

Feng Ning was chatting with Shuang Yao, glancing that way and quickly taking advantage of moments when no one was watching to snap photos of both sister and brother.

Ah, these siblings, how pleasing to the eye.

Within ten seconds, her phone vibrated repeatedly. Shuang Yao’s chat window popped up one after another:

Shuang Yao: Oh my god!!! Is that Jiang Wen!!!!!!! He’s so handsome!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my god!!!!!!!!!!!! His body looks so good!!!!!!!!

The rows of exclamation marks were enough to show how excited she was.

Feng Ning thought to herself, yeah he does look good. Heaven knows she had even seen what he looked like wearing nothing just earlier. Unconsciously her thoughts wandered, thinking about the lines of his waist and abdomen, then lower… she forced herself to stop.

Silently spitting at herself, damn, why was she getting more and more perverted.

Feng Ning held her phone, focused on chatting.

Shuang Yao: [I have a bold dirty thought]

Feng Ning: [What?]

A voice message came through from the other side, Feng Ning played it and Shuang Yao’s voice burst out like a flood: “I want to see Jiang Wen kneeling in formal wear!!”

She replied:

[What’s kneeling in formal wear, S&M?]

Shuang Yao: [You don’t know what kneeling in formal wear is???!!]

Feng Ning: [Nope]

Shuang Yao: [It’s when he’s wearing a celibate white shirt and black suit pants, hands tied behind his back kneeling in front of you!!!!!!!!!!]

[Wuwuwuwu who could resist that, it’s too tempting, just imagining it feels so intense and sensual~]

Feng Ning pictured Jiang Wen’s face and imagined that scene, saying from the bottom of her heart: “I have to say, you’re really perverted.”

Even as she said this, she couldn’t help looking up at Jiang Wen again, and that damn visual immediately came to mind.

Unconsciously swallowing, Feng Ning lowered her voice and added: “Although it’s a bit perverted, it seems kind of hot.”

Qi Lan called several times urging Feng Ning to come home for dinner. Jiang Yuyun accompanied Jiang Yurong to change clothes and told Jiang Wen to see Feng Ning out.

This was a bustling commercial district, with beautiful light streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows of various stores. Gentle love songs played from the nearby plaza as he stood by the road calling the driver.

Feng Ning stopped him, “No need, I’ll take a taxi back myself.”

He glanced at her but didn’t respond.

“Really, no need.”

After a couple questions from the other end, Jiang Wen said, “It’s fine,” and hung up. He raised his hand, preparing to hail a taxi for her.

Actually being alone together, the atmosphere was still a bit awkward and stiff. Hopping in place a couple times, Feng Ning took the initiative: “This is where we first met.”

Jiang Wen had no expression and made an “oh” sound, “You still dare to mention that.”

There was a good mood in his voice that only he could detect.

Feng Ning said naturally, “I have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

He turned to ask: “Where’s my clothes?”

Feng Ning acted annoying and started provoking again: “Didn’t I say? Used as an umbrella! This might be the most expensive umbrella I’ve ever used.”

Jiang Wen turned his face away.

“I’ve never met someone like you in my whole life.” She smiled, “Someone who can write ‘disdain’ from head to toe with every hair.”

Jiang Wen became unhappy and mocked: “Who told you to be like a beggar.”

Night fell, traffic flowing steadily as Jiang Wen held his phone, hailing a taxi while talking with Feng Ning.

Not far away, someone wearing a mask and hat slowly walked toward them. Neither of them noticed, still mockingly bantering with each other.

When they got close, without warning, the man in black suddenly rushed over, snatched Jiang Wen’s phone, and ran.

They both froze for a moment.

Feng Ning reacted first, shouting: “Robbery!” She threw her bag at Jiang Wen and sprinted after the thief.

Jiang Wen finally came to his senses and anxiously called after her: “—Hey!”

Since elementary school, Feng Ning had won all sorts of long-distance and sprint races at sports meets. She had even participated in a marathon during summer break, and regularly ran for exercise, faster than most boys.

Like in a Hong Kong movie scene, with car horns blaring, Feng Ning and the black-clothed thief ran one after another through the streets and alleys. It was peak hours, and the man in black kept bumping into pedestrians as he ran, with Feng Ning relentlessly chasing behind.

Jiang Wen’s clothes and shoes made running difficult, and there were many obstacles blocking his view ahead. He craned his neck, staring at Feng Ning’s back, watching anxiously as he was about to lose sight of her.

“Catch the thief—”

Feng Ning shouted ahead while grabbing whatever was nearby to throw at the person.

After chasing through two streets, at a corner alley entrance, the man in black was tripped by a group of people who had just finished dinner.

He rolled on the ground twice, and Feng Ning rushed over, screeching to a halt and picking up the dropped phone.

She stood in place, hands on knees breathing heavily.

Jiang Wen barely caught up to them. Pushing through the crowd of onlookers, his sharp eyes caught the man in black getting up, secretly pulling out a fruit knife from his pocket.

His pupils contracted violently as he desperately shouted: “Feng Ning, watch out!” In extreme terror, people can’t move – Jiang Wen stood several meters away, his breathing almost stopping.

Feng Ning turned around, catching a flash of white in her peripheral vision. She nimbly dodged to the side while several of the earlier helpful pedestrians swarmed over, quickly subduing the robber.

Someone called the police.

During the dodge just now, Feng Ning was too rushed and off-balance, accidentally falling. Her clothes were dusty as she knelt in an awkward position, looking a bit disheveled. The back of her hand was scraped and bleeding slightly.

Finally catching her breath, she got up from the ground. Feng Ning shook her hand, wincing in pain. She limped over and handed him the phone, “Here.”

Jiang Wen’s face was deathly pale, cold sweat on his back, still not recovered from what just happened. His heart was pounding as he stood motionless.

Feng Ning held the phone out again.

All he could see was the image of that person approaching Feng Ning with a knife. Jiang Wen’s rationality somewhat collapsed. He breathed rapidly, lowering his head to coldly laugh at her: “Feng Ning, you really like playing hero, don’t you?”

Feng Ning was puzzled, “Hm?”

His hand formed a fist, nails digging into flesh, angry almost to the point of losing reason yet not knowing how to express it: “Do you think you’re really amazing?”

Feng Ning choked: “Why are you being so passive-aggressive?”

The two of them, one tall and one short, started arguing without regard for appearances on the busy street. Amid the noise and bustle, the shorter one looked somewhat disheveled while the taller one was dressed elegantly, like a young master who had snuck out of a banquet.

“Did I ask you to chase?” Jiang Wen asked again. His jaw tightened as he tilted his chin up slightly, repeating word by word, “Did I ask you to chase? You think I’ll thank you for this?”

“…”

This was ridiculous, no good deed goes unpunished.

Feng Ning was furious, her tone impatient: “I can’t be bothered with you anymore.”

“Do you know how dangerous that just was?”

She couldn’t contain her temper, “What’s so dangerous about it, I’m fine aren’t I? What are you making such a fuss about?”

“You think this phone is very important to me?”

Jiang Wen completely lost control, his throat bobbing slightly as his chest heaved. He looked at the phone and the next second, threw it forcefully.

—The phone traced an arc through the air before smashing to the ground, instantly shattering into pieces.

Feng Ning was utterly speechless, almost angry to death: “Fine, just consider me nosy then.”

She turned to leave.

He wouldn’t let her leave, stepping forward to block her path.

“What do you want?” Feng Ning was angry, violently pushing away Jiang Wen’s hand as she continued forward, when unexpectedly her arm was grabbed. She stumbled a couple steps, almost crashing into Jiang Wen’s chest.

“What are you going crazy about?” She pushed him.

Jiang Wen stumbled back two steps from her push, “I don’t care about the phone.” He knew he had gone too far just now and was deeply regretful. His mind was in chaos, lost and distracted.

“If you don’t care then don’t care, what’s it to me!” Feng Ning mocked, “Anyway, you’re so high and mighty, what could you possibly care about? Just consider it this poor person being presumptuous.”

Jiang Wen shouted with a hint of desperation, “I care about you.”