ATLAS TRANSLATES

Zhao Binlin was called awake around four to five in the morning, rushing to Pason in a hurry.

The club was quiet, with only a few customers left. After searching around, he finally spotted Jiang Wen’s hunched silhouette in one of the booths.

He walked over, seeing messy bottles scattered across the table. Zhao Binlin reached out and patted Jiang Wen’s shoulder.

In the darkness, Jiang Wen had his back to him.

Getting closer, he could smell the strong scent of alcohol. Zhao Binlin pushed his forehead again, “Bro?”

Jiang Wen opened his eyes hazily, turning his head after a delayed moment.

The figure before him was blurry and swaying. After a while of trying to recognize him, Jiang Wen mumbled, “Who are you?”

Zhao Binlin: “I’m your father.”

“……”

After a confused moment, Jiang Wen dropped his head again.

Zhao Binlin couldn’t stand it: “Why are you drinking alone here?”

Jiang Wen said a few words.

He spoke in fragments. Zhao Binlin bent down to listen, only catching a few words, “What? What hurts? Speak louder.”

Jiang Wen picked up the bottle, pouring it against the glass rim, “…my heart.”

Zhao Binlin found it amusing: “Your heart hurts?”

After chatting briefly, the anger from being woken up in the middle of the night had dissipated somewhat. Zhao Binlin sat down next to Jiang Wen, grinning as he nudged him with his elbow: “Brother, we’re almost thirty, are you still playing this drowning-your-sorrows game? Isn’t that childish?”

Jiang Wen propped his forehead with one hand, his voice hoarse: “Help me make a call.”

“Make a call?” Zhao Binlin was puzzled, “To whom?”

After a while, Jiang Wen said a name.

Zhao Binlin burst out laughing, then in disbelief: “Feng Ning?! Call her?”

“Mm.”

“Now?!”

Jiang Wen’s voice lowered: “Mm.”

Zhao Binlin took out his phone and held it in front of this idiot’s eyes, “Do you know what time it is? Look.”

Jiang Wen swatted his hand away, “I want her to come here.”

“……”

Zhao Binlin pleaded with him: “Are you serious? Stop this, brother. You and Feng Ning, when will this ever end?”

Jiang Wen stared at him for ten seconds, saying clearly: “Between me and her, it’s not over.”

“Not over? Still not over?”

Having studied in Beijing for a few years, Zhao Binlin’s speech carried a hint of northern accent, sounding somewhat sarcastic, “How many years has it been? Seven or eight years?! Now you know it’s not over? Where were you before?”

Without waiting for Jiang Wen to interject, Zhao Binlin answered his own questions, “Oh, right, you were being a coward earlier, so cowardly that you only dared to have me keep an eye on her. What now? What triggered you? Getting on in years and finally ready to pursue love?”

Jiang Wen went still again, his eyes vacant.

“Are you going to call or not?” When he spoke again, it was still the same question.

Zhao Binlin’s mouth twitched, seeing his stubborn expression, he took out his phone and said resentfully: “You bastard, your grandfather must have owed you in his past life.”

It took two tries to get through.

Calling at this hour made Zhao Binlin a bit nervous. When introducing himself, his tone carried a hint of appeasement: “Feng Ning? It’s Zhao Binlin.”

There was silence on the other end for a moment, “Zhao Binlin?”

“Yes, it’s me.” Zhao Binlin asked a redundant question, “Were you, were you sleeping?”

Feng Ning: “What do you think?”

Zhao Binlin quickly said: “I’m so sorry, I really didn’t want to disturb you this late.” At this point, he glanced at Jiang Wen again, hesitating, “But something’s happened to Jiang Wen.”

Feng Ning sounded confused: “What happened?”

“Nothing serious.”

Zhao Binlin glanced at Jiang Wen.

This guy wasn’t moving, intently eavesdropping on their conversation.

Zhao Binlin thought he should really record this moment and show it to Jiang Wen tomorrow. Looking at himself in this state, he’d probably want to find a hole to crawl into.

Looking away, Zhao Binlin laughed, his tone mocking: “He’s drunk, and keeps insisting on seeing you. I can’t talk him out of it. He says if you don’t come, he’ll end it all and jump into the river at the Bund.”

Feng Ning: “…….Jump into the river?”

“Really, I’m not lying.”

After a few more words, Zhao Binlin made a sound, “Alright, I’ll pass the phone to Jiang Wen then.”

Feng Ning was still relatively gentle, calling his name twice, “Jiang Wen?”

Hearing her voice, Jiang Wen gripped the phone tightly, his mind completely blank.

Feng Ning was quiet for a moment, her voice heavy with sleepiness: “You want to see me?”

“Feng Ning.” Jiang Wen’s gaze was unfocused as he spoke, “I…”

Perhaps due to the phone connection, his voice sounded somewhat distorted. The room was pitch black and silent around them. Feng Ning’s mind was still foggy as she reached out to turn on the desk lamp.

The sudden light made her eyes uncomfortable, causing her to squint slightly. Feng Ning sat up a bit, “What’s wrong?”

“Having a drink.”

“I know that, are you drunk?” Feng Ning said, “It’s so late, did you need something?”

Jiang Wen grabbed his glass and took another drink. Frowning, he pressed his lips together, “I’m not drunk, go back to sleep. Zhao Binlin was just messing with me.”

His tone was calm, his speech coherent and logical, not at all like someone who was just drunk.

Zhao Binlin beside him gradually widened his eyes, lowering his voice to curse: “Jiang Wen, you bastard, you coward, damn your grandmother’s chicken leg, making your brother take the blame for everything.”

…

He only said three sentences to her in total.

After hanging up, Jiang Wen remained in the same position. He quietly stared at the call display on his phone, making no further moves.

He seemed frozen in place.

Zhao Binlin watched for a while, suddenly noticing something wasn’t right: “What’s wrong with you today?”

“Nothing.” Jiang Wen replied listlessly, supporting himself on the table as he stood up, “Let’s go.”

After settling the bill, they left Pason. Zhao Binlin went to the parking garage to get the car.

Jiang Wen stood by the roadside, smoking, his arm hanging at his side with a cigarette between his fingers.

He honked once.

Zhao Binlin: “So, should I take you home?”

Jiang Wen was mostly sober now. He got in the car, tossed his cigarette pack aside, fastened his seatbelt, “Is anyone at your place today?”

“If someone was there, would I have come to pick you up?”

Jiang Wen made a sound of acknowledgment, “I’ll go to your place today.”

“My place?” Zhao Binlin turned the steering wheel, giving him a strange look, “Why?”

Jiang Wen: “Don’t want to be alone.”

The city night wasn’t particularly noisy. Jiang Wen closed his eyes, leaning back in his seat, suddenly asking an out-of-nowhere question: “Do you think there’s still a chance between me and her?”

As if not understanding, Zhao Binlin honked the horn twice, “What?”

“Is there still a chance between me and Feng Ning?”

No response.

Jiang Wen turned his head, “Is there or not?”

Zhao Binlin thought for a moment, saying: “Both unmarried, what’s impossible? If you hadn’t been such a coward back then, if you hadn’t gone abroad, maybe you and Feng Ning would have kids running around by now. It all comes down to you being a coward.”

Surprisingly, Jiang Wen didn’t argue.

Zhao Binlin pondered, honestly expressing his thoughts: “But, not to jinx you, you two, I think maybe you just weren’t meant to be. Otherwise, after all these years, if you were meant to be together, you would have been together already. Since you couldn’t be together, this life might just be like this, you should get over this hurdle, you’ve wasted enough time…”

“Zhao Binlin.” The person beside him called his name.

Zhao Binlin made a couple of acknowledging sounds, “What?”

“If you don’t know how to talk.”

Jiang Wen glanced at him, looking somewhat unwell, “You can say less.”

Zhao Binlin: “……?”

..

Jiang Wen propped his head with one hand, gazing ahead on his own.

His elbow rested on the car’s edge. His watch knocked against the glass, making a slight sound.

As everything quieted down, he couldn’t help but think of those papers again.

But the contents of those papers… Jiang Wen didn’t dare to recall them in detail.

Those words, just running through them once in his mind made his internal organs ache.

Since waking up in the morning, her right eyelid had been twitching. On her way to work, Feng Ning suddenly received a WeChat message from Shuang Yao.

Shuang Yao ah Yao: [Ning Ning]

She was waiting at a traffic light and took a moment to send a voice message back: “What is it?”

Shuang Yao ah Yao: [Nothing, I’m just checking on progress for my mom, how are things going with that Jiao Tong University PhD?]

Feng Ning thought for a moment, “Oh, he asked me out for dinner after work today.”

The red light turned green ahead, and Feng Ning put down her phone.

After driving all the way to the company, when she checked her messages again, Shuang Yao had already frantically sent three or four messages.

Shuang Yao ah Yao: [What? Today?!!! That’s too fast! Not very appropriate…]

Shuang Yao ah Yao: [Don’t you want to think about it more?]

Shuang Yao ah Yao: [hello????]

After entering the building, Feng Ning put on her work badge and pointed at the white roses on her desk, asking, “Who sent these?”

Xiao Zhu: “Don’t know, they were just delivered by courier.”

Feng Ning didn’t think much of it, plucked one flower and held it under her nose to smell while replying to Shuang Yao’s messages.

Ning: [Weren’t you the one rushing me before?]

Shuang Yao ah Yao: [Ah, was I…. But I suddenly regret it a bit… How about this, I’ll help you send him away. I’ll introduce other girls to him instead, because I suddenly feel like you’re not very suitable with this intellectual type, honestly.]

Ning: [? I already agreed to meet him, at least let me have this meal.]

Shuang Yao ah Yao: [You’re better off with true love, I’ll never rush you to find a boyfriend again.]

Ning: [What’s wrong with you today?]

After a while, Shuang Yao shared a song “Don’t Compromise” from NetEase Cloud Music.

Feng Ning laughed out loud and replied with a string of ellipses.

The dinner location with her blind date was a French restaurant. This high-level intellectual named Wu Tong looked much better than his photo, and his manners were quite refined.

Feng Ning chatted with him back and forth for a while.

Wu Tong said: “You’re a bit different from what I imagined.”

“Oh?”

“I don’t know how to explain it.” Wu Tong smiled, “I’ve met quite a few people before, but I feel like I have the most in common with you.”

Feng Ning nodded.

The two chatted casually for a while longer, then Wu Tong said: “My family has been pressuring me to get married these past couple of years, especially my mom, who talks about wanting grandchildren every day.”

Feng Ning: “That’s nice.”

“Hasn’t your family been pressuring you?”

“Me?” Feng Ning said very calmly, “My parents are no longer with us.”

Wu Tong was a bit surprised, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“It’s fine.”

Seeing that he was almost done eating, Feng Ning checked her watch, “It’s getting late, and I still have some work to finish, shall we end here for today?”

“Sure, I’ll drive you home.”

Feng Ning thanked him.

Outside, it had started drizzling at some point. As the wipers swept across the windshield, Wu Tong drove while continuing their earlier philosophical discussion.

Feng Ning listened very patiently.

Her phone vibrated, and she checked the caller ID but didn’t answer.

Just as that call ended, another one came right after, persistent.

Feng Ning made an apologetic gesture to Wu Tong, who was still speaking, “I’m sorry, I need to take this call.”

Answering it, she turned her head slightly, “What do you want?”

Jiang Wen said coolly: “I need to talk to you about something.”

“What is it? I’m busy.”

He asked: “What are you doing?”

Feng Ning unconsciously lowered her voice to answer: “Just finished dinner with a friend.”

Wu Tong, while driving, turned his head, “It’s fine, don’t feel constrained.”

There was silence on the other end, then Jiang Wen said: “A man?”

Feng Ning didn’t answer him, “If you have something to say, say it. If not, I’m hanging up.”

He suddenly said, “When are you coming home?”

Feng Ning’s right eyelid twitched again.

What day was it today? Why was everyone acting so strange?

She was somewhat confused, not understanding what was wrong with Jiang Wen today, “Why do you care when I come home?”

“I told you, I need to talk to you about something.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll tell you in person, I’m waiting for you.”

Vaguely feeling something wasn’t quite right, but unable to put her finger on it, she asked: “Waiting for me? Where are you waiting?”

“Downstairs at your place.”

Feng Ning thought she had misheard, “Where??”

Jiang Wen’s voice showed no obvious emotion: “Downstairs at your place.”

…

…

The car stopped near Yu Nan City.

Feng Ning said goodbye to Wu Tong and got out. After watching the car disappear down the road, she started walking toward the residential complex.

Jiang Wen was leaning against a stone pillar waiting for her. It was a windy spot, and he was dressed casually in a blue windbreaker and black pants. He was looking into the distance, as if lost in thought.

The winter night had a desolate feel to it. Jiang Wen looked the same as usual, still handsome, though his face was pale and he appeared somewhat haggard.

Feng Ning walked over.

It was dark, but in the lamplight, she could see that his shoulder was soaked through. Feng Ning frowned, “How long have you been waiting?”

“Eight years.”

She hadn’t heard clearly, asking: “What?”

Jiang Wen was backlit, his features unclear. He silently looked at her for a while, then turned his head to look elsewhere.

Seeing him like that, Feng Ning hesitated: “What did you want to see me about?”

Jiang Wen pretended to be nonchalant: “Look down.”

Feng Ning heard a familiar whimper.

She paused, then realized what it was, her eyes brightening with excitement as she said: “Xiao Huang?”

Woof woof.

The skinny little dog lying on the ground responded to her.

Feng Ning was delighted: “Where did you find it?” She bent down, preparing to pick up the little dog.

But it wriggled in mid-air, jumping back down and running to huddle by Jiang Wen’s feet.

Feng Ning: “……”

She crouched down to check the little yellow dog’s injuries.

In the darkness, Jiang Wen was also watching her.

Some emotion was being painfully suppressed.

Just then, a phone rang.

It was Wu Tong. He said: “Feng Ning, I think you left something in my car.”

“What is it?”

“A blue folder, is it yours?”

Feng Ning remembered and quickly said, “Yes, it’s mine.”

“Alright, come out to where we were just now, I’ll bring it back to you.”

Feng Ning responded, “Thanks, sorry for the trouble.”

After hanging up, Jiang Wen said: “The guy who just dropped you off?”

Feng Ning made a sound of agreement.

She said to Jiang Wen: “Help me watch the dog here, I’ll be right back after getting something.”

Guan Tongfu had sent her a work WeChat message. Feng Ning opened it to check, not paying any more attention to Jiang Wen as she replied to the message while walking toward the complex entrance.

She stood under a tree waiting for a while when suddenly Wu Tong’s voice sounded nearby.

Feng Ning took the item and thanked him again.

“No need for thanks, it’s what I should do.”

Glancing to the side, she saw Jiang Wen had come over too.

The limping little yellow dog was still wobbling along beside him.

Man and dog stopped a few meters away. Jiang Wen had one hand in his pocket, carrying his natural arrogance, not speaking, just staring at Wu Tong.

For some reason, Wu Tong felt something was off. Out of politeness, he still asked, “Is this your friend?”

Feng Ning glanced at Jiang Wen, “My high school classmate.”

The young master Jiang turned his face away.

Somehow, it suddenly felt like there was gunpowder in the air. Wu Tong took the initiative to say: “Hello, I’m Feng Ning’s friend.”

“Friend?”

Wu Tong exchanged a glance with Feng Ning, with a hint of a smile, suggestively saying: “For now, we’re just friends.”

Jiang Wen made a sound of acknowledgment.

It must be said that every time he put on this affected manner, it made anyone who saw it very angry.

Not knowing what drama this was, Feng Ning said goodbye to Wu Tong and prepared to leave.

“Feng Ning.” Jiang Wen called her name in his lazy tone.

Feng Ning turned back.

Jiang Wen maintained his habitual arrogance, his words floating lightly: “What’s this? You just chase after me and now you’re planning to two-time?”