ATLAS TRANSLATES

The winter break had ended.

Spring came, and spring went.

Another summer arrived, with cicadas starting their hysterical singing once again.

Qi Lan’s breast cancer relapsed in spring, and the mahjong parlor in Yu Jiang Lane had been closed for a long time.

Life probably wouldn’t get better.

The bar closed around three in the morning, and Tong Tong was cleaning the tables.

A drunk woman was squatting at the entrance. Feng Ning was used to such sights. She put down her broom and went to help the woman into a chair. She found the woman’s phone in her pocket, held open her eyes for face recognition unlock, and opened the contacts to call someone on speed dial.

Zhao Huiyun was checking today’s accounts at the bar counter. Feng Ning walked over and said, “Boss, I need to take a month’s leave. My mom isn’t well and is in the hospital. I need to take care of her.”

Her tone showed no unusual emotion.

“Sure, no problem.” Zhao Huiyun knew about her family situation and added after thinking, “Let me know if you need any help.”

Feng Ning rode her electric scooter home. The late-night streets were empty with barely anyone around. She fumbled for her keys to open the door; no one was home.

Turning on the lights, the yellow dog curled up in the corner gave her a lazy glance before going back to sleep. Feng Ning went to the kitchen and cooked herself some noodles while listening to English audio lessons.

The next day at noon, Shuang Yao accompanied her to the hospital, bringing a thermos of food made by Shuang Yao’s parents.

Last night, Zhao Weichen’s mother had stayed overnight at the hospital.

Qi Lan was eating inside, while Feng Ning stood in the hallway outside, listening to the doctor explain her mother’s condition.

The doctor flipped through some papers: “There are many treatment options for breast cancer. With this relapse, the patient needs to maintain a good mindset and not be overly anxious. However, you family members should also be mentally prepared. After trying cryotherapy, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, the test results, honestly, aren’t very optimistic. There are signs of metastasis. Currently, the illness is in a delay period. We’ll try our best to reduce complications.”

In just a few seconds, Feng Ning’s expression had already returned to normal. She nodded, “Thank you for your help.”

Before leaving, the doctor asked, “How old are you, young lady?”

“In high school.”

“No other adults at home?”

“No.”

The doctor, who had a child about the same age at home, looked at Feng Ning with complex emotions after hearing her answer. However, in their line of work, they were used to life and death, and everyone had their own struggles. He left without saying more.

Feng Ning sat on the long bench outside, spacing out for three minutes she allowed herself. When time was up, she stood up, rubbed her face, put on a light expression, and pushed open the hospital room door.

Just like before, no matter what happened, she would never show any weakness in front of her mother.

Qi Lan forced herself to drink some porridge but threw it up shortly after.

Feng Ning wet a towel with hot water, wrung it out, and carefully wiped her mother’s mouth. “Not feeling hungry today?”

Qi Lan: “Feeling a bit unwell.”

“It’s okay, mom.” Feng Ning cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks. “Don’t force yourself to eat, you can eat later.”

Shuang Yao tried to liven up the atmosphere while Feng Ning helped Qi Lan get out of bed to walk around.

The sunlight was beautiful today, everything in midsummer showed vibrant signs of life. Qi Lan stroked Feng Ning’s hair: “Don’t worry about me, just focus on your studies at school.”

“I know.” Feng Ning gave a small smile. “If middle school Feng Ning could get through tough times with Ms. Qi Lan, high school Feng Ning has grown up and evolved into big Feng Ning! How could I be afraid of these small challenges?”

“What big Feng Ning.” Knowing her daughter was trying to be funny, the painful feeling still surged in her heart. “Other kids your age are still children, loved by both their father and mother.”

“Then I’m your child.” Feng Ning pouted. “Forever mommy’s beloved little princess.”

Feng Ning applied for partial boarding at school, staying at the hospital every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights, with Shuang Yao and Zhao Weichen’s parents taking turns on the other days.

The adults in Yu Jiang Lane had suggested letting Feng Ning continue full boarding at school, but she refused, “I’m not afraid of being tired, I just want to spend more time with my mom.”

Once she made up her mind, nothing anyone said could change it.

During nights at the hospital, Feng Ning would set up a small table at the foot of the bed and study under a desk lamp. Wearing her coat over pajamas while doing homework, she said, “Ms. Qi Lan, you better get well soon.”

“Why?”

“I’ll be graduating in two years.” Feng Ning put down her pen, counting on her fingers, chattering away, “After I graduate, I’ll make it through and earn lots of money. Then, I’ll give you thousand yuan for pocket money every month, buy a huge house for us to live in together, and open a chain of mahjong parlors for you.”

“Haha.” Qi Lan was very happy hearing this. “Other children dream of becoming scientists or police officers, why is my daughter so materialistic, wanting to buy big houses and make lots of money?”

“Hehe, you know how much I love money.” Feng Ning grinned: “I buy lottery tickets every Wednesday now, hoping my sincerity will move God and I’ll win a big prize.”

“Then I must have moved God before.”

Feng Ning was curious: “You’ve won some prize you haven’t told me about?”

“You – having such an obedient and capable daughter like you is the biggest prize I’ve won in this life.” Qi Lan showed a slight smile. “I can go find your father with peace of mind now.”

“I don’t want to hear it, I don’t want to hear it, I hate hearing this, you’re not allowed to say that.” Feng Ning covered her ears, her face scrunching up. “Why do you want to go find dad? I don’t want that, I want you to stay with me.”

Qi Lan sighed, “Go finish your homework.”

“I don’t want to anymore.” Feng Ning carefully climbed onto the bed, kicking off her slippers, and hugged her mother’s waist. The hospital’s unique mix of disinfectant and bitter Chinese medicine smells didn’t bother her at all. “Mom, I want to sleep with you tonight.”

“So clingy even at this age.” Qi Lan raised her arm and held her daughter close. “You don’t need to come at night when you have school. Mom will be fine alone, it’s too tiring.”

“I’m not tired at all, really, I don’t feel tired at all.” Feng Ning said, “Get better soon, Shuang Yao’s mom is still waiting to play mahjong with you.”

Qi Lan made a sound of agreement.

Feng Ning,

Feng Ning?

Feng Ning!

Before the fourth call, Feng Ning’s gaze finally focused.

The Iron Lady stood beside her, slightly displeased but controlling her voice: “This is the third time you’ve zoned out during class.”

Other students in class were reading textbooks. Some noticed the teacher walking to Feng Ning’s side but couldn’t hear what they were saying. This was the treatment good students got. Even the Iron Lady’s criticism became very gentle when dealing with her star pupil.

“Come to my office after class.”

The cancer hospital and Qide were at opposite corners of the city. Just the subway ride required several transfers. Feng Ning stayed at the hospital at night to care for her mother, and sometimes Qi Lan needed injections until midnight, meaning Feng Ning had to wake up at five or six the next morning.

Feng Ning had expected this, having shuttled endlessly between the hospital and school for several days, trying her best to balance school and life matters. But with limited energy, she inevitably felt mentally exhausted.

“Second year of high school is a watershed moment, and the study load will get heavier. For ordinary people, these two years are the most important in life, and there are no do-overs. You used to be my most reassuring student, but I’ve noticed your concentration has been very scattered lately. Your current study state worries me. Look at your rank in this monthly exam – how did you drop so low? Are you struggling with any particular subject?”

No matter how earnestly the Iron Lady tried to persuade her, Feng Ning only replied, “I’m sorry teacher, I’ll adjust quickly.” If asked further, she would at most add “there’s some family matters,” but wouldn’t say anything else.

The Iron Lady had no choice but to let her return to class.

In the afternoon, Qi Lan had chemotherapy scheduled, so Feng Ning took a day and a half off to accompany her at the hospital. She didn’t return to school until the next evening. Just as she sat down in the classroom and was organizing her things…

A voice came:

“—Your integrated science test paper.”

Looking up, it was Jiang Wen. He had just finished playing basketball, holding a bottle of mineral water, still sweating, with his sleeves rolled up above his biceps.

“Thanks.” Feng Ning replied casually.

Though they were in the same class, she had almost forgotten when she last saw him.

Feng Ning briefly recalled – it wasn’t that long ago actually.

It seemed just a few days ago, after she finished eating in the cafeteria, she saw Jiang Wen and Pei Shurong talking at the supermarket entrance, with a slight smile on his face. She pretended not to see them and deliberately took a detour around them.

“I got first place this time,” Jiang Wen suddenly said.

“What?” She was slightly confused, still puzzled.

“First in class, first in the grade.”

Feng Ning realized he was talking about the monthly exam scores. She nodded and commented: “Not bad, congratulations.”

Young Master Jiang made a sound through his nose, maintaining his usual pride.

For a casual remark, he had been competing with her silently until now.

Something about those words loosened a nerve in her brain. Feng Ning’s mood improved, she took a couple of breaths of fresh air, showed a toothy smile, and opened the integrated science paper to check the wrong answers.

She only got the first small question right on the last big physics problem.

She hadn’t come to class this morning and didn’t know if she had just calculated the result wrong or if the entire process was incorrect. With two days of homework to catch up on, she didn’t have time to recalculate.

With no one else to ask, Feng Ning called out to Jiang Wen who had just sat down, “Can I look at your test paper?”

Their seats were just separated by an aisle. Same row, Feng Ning sat in group four by the wall, he sat in group three by the aisle.

“The last physics problem – your process is so simple, I don’t quite understand it.”

Jiang Wen thought for a moment: “The teacher said this question was beyond the syllabus, it needs to be solved using limits. Just leave it blank if you can’t do it.”

“How can I do that?” Feng Ning said casually, beckoning him over. “If you can do it, why can’t I?”

“I’ve won physics competition awards.” Despite saying this, Jiang Wen still got up and came over, sitting beside her.

Feng Ning passed him a piece of scratch paper, “Begin your performance.”

Seeing Jiang Wen’s hand resting on the edge of the desk but not moving, she asked, “What’s wrong, playing hard to get?”

“Don’t you…” Jiang Wen’s OCD acted up, “have any clean paper?”

“Besides the few formulas I just wrote, how is this paper not clean?” Feng Ning was bewildered.

He answered very reluctantly: “It’s not clean anywhere.”

First time seeing someone like this, needing snow-white paper just to explain a problem. Feng Ning laughed softly, “Young master, you should fix this fussy habit of yours.”

Jiang Wen propped his left hand on the chair, held the pen in his right hand, explaining while writing the process on the paper.

His handwriting was completely opposite to his appearance.

—As delicate as his looks were, his handwriting was equally messy.

Feng Ning thought to herself that she should give Jiang Wen a calligraphy copybook someday. Chicken scratches made by throwing rice on paper would be neater than his handwriting.

She said sincerely: “Jiang Wen, with handwriting like yours, you really don’t match your pickiness about scratch paper. Isn’t this a waste?”

His pen stopped, lost for words. He glared at her, “Do you still want to listen or not?”

“Yes, yes, of course.”

“Assume the circle is tangent to the right boundary of the magnetic field at point d, the radius of the particle’s trajectory in the magnetic field satisfies this.” As he spoke, he wrote out a formula in his scrawl, “Then based on geometric relationships, use limits to derive.”

Jiang Wen had clear thinking and explained quickly. When explaining problems, he liked to look at people, and his naturally upturned eyes, devoid of emotion, always appeared deeply affectionate.

She got slightly distracted and didn’t catch his previous steps clearly, asking confusedly, “How do you calculate the time the ball spends in the magnetic field?”

“Several equations solved simultaneously.” Jiang Wen held back his frustration, “Are you listening seriously?”

“Ah, I’m tired, my reactions are a bit slow.” Feng Ning rubbed her eyes and patted her face, “Okay, continue explaining.”

In the height of summer, her fingers were unusually cold, making her shiver.

Jiang Wen noticed the dark circles under her eyes and frowned slightly, “What have you been busy with lately?”

He asked very casually, very restrainedly, keeping their distance within reasonable boundaries.

“Many things to be busy with, which one do you want to hear first?” Feng Ning deliberately kept her tone light. A strand of hair fell by her cheek as she continued looking at the problem, wearily trying to organize the solution steps in her mind.

He had several things on the tip of his tongue but still didn’t say them.

The ball on the arc seemed to really start moving along its trajectory. Feng Ning shook her head, forcing herself to stay alert.

Jiang Wen looked at his watch – exactly seven o’clock. He put down his pen, “Get some sleep.”

“Hm?”

“I’ll continue explaining at seven-thirty.”

“Oh… okay.”

Feng Ning was tired and exhausted, no longer pretending to be strong. She pulled out her school uniform jacket from the drawer, rolled it up, put it on the desk, and lay down.

Zhao Binlin noisily entered the classroom, calling out: “Jiang—” He received a faint glance, and after seeing the situation clearly, he froze, automatically swallowing the rest of his words.

Turning around, he spread his arms and pushed everyone who was about to come in back outside, “Go, go, everyone go.”

“What’s going on?” Xia Gaoyuan shouted, “Where’s Jiang Wen? Not in the classroom?”

“Just pretend he’s dead.”

The summer school uniform was very thin. Her slender arm was bent, face turned toward the wall as she slept, her ponytail brushing against his wrist.

Jiang Wen glanced at the black strands, didn’t move, absorbed in thought.

After a long while, the fresh night breeze came through the window, and he withdrew his observing gaze.

Feng Ning was already asleep, with light, shallow breathing sounds that were very regular. Outside the window was a tree, and in the tree was a late cicada, calling intermittently.

Students passed by downstairs, the wind carrying their whispering conversations into the distance.

Jiang Wen felt very peaceful.

He put on his headphones, focusing intently on the clock hanging in the center of the classroom.

Insects circled around under the lights, the second hand completed a circle, the minute hand moved one mark.

The moon through the window was blurred, but the moonlight was still beautiful. A male voice sang in his headphones.

“he’s a hypocrite and”

He is a hypocrite

“she should locked in a cage”

She should be locked in a cage

If only time could go slower.

Even slower.

Stop at seven twenty-nine.

The minute hand would never reach its destination.

She would keep sleeping obediently beside him like this.