ATLAS TRANSLATES

Xiao Mi Yu heard the light clink of glasses and the “happy birthday” wish. She instantly widened her eyes.

A secret joy bubbled in her heart. She raised her wine glass, said thanks, and drank it down.

Just as the last of the wine passed down her throat, both her and Ji Feng’s shoulders were simultaneously slapped by someone.

It was Xiao Mi Yu’s college classmate elbowing his way between them. He draped an arm over each of their shoulders, leaning in to loudly say: “Mi Yu, don’t just hide here drinking with your colleague. We haven’t seen each other in ages!”

His face was flushed, clearly having had a lot to drink already. The alcohol made him lively, his casual manhandling of Ji Feng indicating he didn’t take him for an outsider.

Xiao Mi Yu quickly responded: “I’m not hiding. I’m not.”

As she spoke, she noticed Ji Feng frowning. He still clearly wasn’t used to, much less liked, physical contact from strangers. But strangely tonight he was making an effort to restrain himself. She and her classmates were ordinary people, interacting normally. Ji Feng’s noble aura made him seem somewhat out of place sitting here.

Worried his restraint would snap any second, she hurriedly stood up. Carefully shifting her classmate’s arms off her and Ji Feng’s shoulders, she said: “Plus my boss and I…my colleague and I don’t see each other every day.”

But her classmate immediately pressed her shoulder again, forcing her back into her seat: “Sit and chat, what’re you standing for. Tiring.” Then his other hand naturally landed on Ji Feng’s shoulder, even patting it. “Since you two don’t meet often, I take it you’re not on the same floor?

Watching Xiao Mi Yu’s university friend, Xue Rui kept nervously holding his breath. He felt this guy was dangerously toeing the line.

Li Qiao Qi was reminiscing with other former classmates opposite them. Xue Rui focused on staying by Ji Feng’s side, ready to intervene – the moment Ji Feng lost patience and lashed out with his trademark cold mockery, “Who allowed you to touch me?”, he would jump in to diffuse the awkward “Why’d you touch me, what’s it to you?” standoff.

When Xiao Mi Yu heard her classmate ask if they weren’t on the same floor, she strangely felt like laughing.

Weren’t they indeed not on the same floor, the difference akin to heaven and earth. She worked the front desk on the ground floor while he lorded in the luxury penthouse as the boss.

If not for this “Nightlife” location, the vast distance between heaven and earth would have given them little chance to ever sit together drinking, much less have their shoulders simultaneously slapped by the same person.

She heard Ji Feng also candidly answer her classmate’s question: “We’re not on the same floor currently. But getting assigned to the same floor is simple enough, just takes a word from the boss.” As he spoke, he looked at Xiao Mi Yu.

Xiao Mi Yu felt his gaze tonight seemed somehow different from usual. It contained a touch of sullenness and stubbornness, like he wanted to justify being neglected by someone.

At the same time, Xiao Mi Yu also felt something was off with herself tonight. She didn’t quite dare meet Ji Feng’s eyes.

Her classmate not only didn’t leave after Ji Feng’s words, he even pulled over a chair to sit behind them. Facing Ji Feng more, he said: “C’mon Mi Yu, pass me your boss’s glass. I wanna drink with your colleague! I can already tell from this that your colleague must be pretty close with your boss!”

“……” Xiao Mi Yu didn’t know how to respond. She silently reached out and refilled the wine glass, passing it over.

“Pour your colleague one too!” her classmate urged.

“Huh?” Xiao Mi Yu hesitated. She still didn’t quite dare get roped into this shady drinking session with her classmates and Ji Feng – she was afraid if she poured for Ji Feng, he would see it as her wanting to take advantage and seduce him.

In his eyes, everything she did seemed like seduction anyway.

She tentatively glanced at Ji Feng.

Ji Feng met her gaze.

Still gripping the wine bottle, Xiao Mi Yu took a deep breath and immediately turned to her classmate, saying: “Why don’t you toast me instead, we’ll drink.”

Abruptly her wrist was seized. Looking down, she realized Ji Feng had grabbed her.

Her wrist instantly burned where he touched, making her heart skip a beat. She nearly lost grip on the bottle and dropped it.

Ji Feng pulled her wrist over to his glass, then released it.

“Pour it.”

Xiao Mi Yu was still a little stunned. “Huh?”

“Pour the wine.” Ji Feng crooked his long, elegant fingers, rapping the table and staring hard at her. “Pour it,” he repeated.

Snapping out of her daze, Xiao Mi Yu swiftly filled his glass with red wine. She explained to her classmate: “My colleague can only drink red wine. He gets drunk on one glass of white.”

Hearing this, Ji Feng gazed at Xiao Mi Yu. She had unknowingly memorized his habits and taboos.

Her classmate magnanimously said: “Then let your colleague drink red, no problem!”

Then he slapped Ji Feng’s shoulder again. Watching her classmate’s actions, Xiao Mi Yu was exasperated yet apprehensive.

She shot Xue Rui a swift glance. Their eyes instantly conveyed mutual readiness to intervene at any moment. Even just through that exchanged glance, they had divided the roles:

• If the Chairman snaps later, you hold him back.
• If the Boss loses it, you pull your classmate away.

Instead of hurriedly drinking, her classmate chatted with Ji Feng first after slapping his shoulder.

“Your surname is Ji?”

“Yes.”

“Same age as Mi Yu and the rest of us?”

Xue Rui cut in: “He’s half a year younger than Sis Mi Yu.”

Ji Feng whipped his head to glare fiercely at Xue Rui, as if this age difference loss of face was unforgivable.

Her classmate guffawed loudly: “Half a year doesn’t count. Roughly the same age!”

After laughing, his tone abruptly shifted intimate: “Little Ji, since you’re Mi Yu’s colleague and not an outsider, I won’t stand on ceremony.”

Xiao Mi Yu and Xue Rui both sucked in a breath.

Little Ji…

Calling Ji Feng that meant courting death.

Xiao Mi Yu carefully and anxiously glanced at Ji Feng. Surprisingly, he had endured being called Little Ji without showing any irritation.

“Little Ji, you don’t know – Mi Yu was the classic unaware campus belle in our class. Good looks, sweet temper, able to cheer people up. Never says a bad word about anyone, always thinking of others first like an angel. A beautiful angel!”

He accentuated each statement with a slap to Ji Feng’s shoulder. Xiao Mi Yu tensed apprehensively along with each slap. Yet oddly, Ji Feng kept bearing it without reacting.

Xiao Mi Yu found her classmates’ enthusiastic warmth toward Ji Feng a bit strange tonight. She looked around and located Li Qiao Qi. Li Qiao Qi sat on the other side primly smiling as she watched this way.

Xiao Mi Yu gestured at her phone, then typed: Are Qiang Ge and Zhang San being a bit excessive? Did you goad them into coming over to toast?

Li Qiao Qi’s swift reply popped up: Yeah, kinda. But not entirely. I only verbally egged them on a bit – taking action was their own idea. Don’t worry, won’t let them get your boss smashed. Calm yourself and watch how things develop. Qiang Ge and Zhang San might be able to dig something out of your boss!

Xiao Mi Yu lifted her head to look at Li Qiao Qi. Li Qiao Qi winked at her.

Xiao Mi Yu wondered, what could they possibly dig out of Ji Feng?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Zhang San’s voice. He still hadn’t released Ji Feng’s hand, even talking while patting it, smoothly shifting into heart-to-heart mode as well.

“Little Ji, Qiang Ge told you right? We all really liked Mi Yu back then. You’re lucky now to be colleagues with Mi Yu!” He emphasized this with a heavy pat to Ji Feng’s hand.

Xiao Mi Yu tensed along with it. She was puzzled why Ji Feng had endured it again.

“Mi Yu was the most wonderful, virtuous girl in our class. She can do anything, really everything – she knows several languages alone. Yet she’s so modest, unaware of her own abilities. And she’s kindhearted, willing to help anyone out. But sometimes she’s too nice. It makes all of us unable to resist wishful thinking, imagining that because she’s willing to help us, looks at us with such sincere eyes, and smiles at us so beautifully, it must mean she likes us.”

As Zhang San spoke, he sheepishly smiled and patted Ji Feng’s hand again.

The previous pats made Ji Feng feel uncomfortable, but he had bore it. Now this pat resonated within him – it was like he and Zhang San, and all the male classmates, achieved some kind of resonance through it. That feeling of believing she must reciprocate because she liked him back.

Ji Feng’s heart thudded heavily.

Could he also be afflicted by this delusional disease?

Had he all along mistakenly thought she was deliberately or unintentionally seducing him, when in fact she wasn’t at all? Turned out the misunderstanding was his own doing start to finish.

This reversal left him unwilling amidst the alcohol fumes. Why was she so innocent? Leading him on until he had already begun to take the bait, only to let him discover she actually hadn’t intentionally seduced him at all. So how exactly had he ended up hooked by her?

If she hadn’t captured his notice, was it just that he noticed her far too much himself?

Why should the final deduction be such a result?

He was unwilling to accept this conclusion. So beneath his calm exterior, silent but turbulent irritation and displeasure brewed.

Bearing these silent, churning emotions, he quietly watched her by his side.

Watched her propping up her dizzy head with eyes closed, resting. Watched her lashes flutter faintly, breath rising and falling. Watched the lighting coat her fair skin with a fuzzy halo.

Watched her suddenly jolt awake by her phone’s buzz.

Watched her flip open her phone to a new message.

Alcohol fanned recklessness. He actually leaned over to peek at the message content.

The sender’s number was a string of digits, meaning she didn’t have it saved.

The content read: Mi Yu, it’s Yu Cheng. I know you blocked my number, so I deliberately got a new one. Although it’s past midnight, I still wanted to wish you happy birthday! I spent this day with you every year before. Don’t know if anyone is with you this year? Will you be lonely? I endured all day trying to forget your birthday. I resisted messaging you. But in the end, I couldn’t hold back. Mi Yu, what should I do? I really miss you!

Xiao Mi Yu directly turned off her phone after reading, unwilling to reminisce or respond.

Setting the phone back down, she inadvertently turned her head and met Ji Feng’s gaze. He had leaned over to peek but failed to withdraw in time.

Xiao Mi Yu froze for a second before blasting indignantly, words even tripping over themselves: “Why, why peek at someone else’s private messages?”

Ji Feng was also inexplicably irritated and unhappy at the moment. He immediately retorted: “Are you afraid of the message being seen, or afraid of your residual feelings for your ex-husband being seen?”

Xiao Mi Yu’s eyes widened, finding his attack unbelievable: “You really are, just utterly unreasonable!”

The alcohol temporarily dissolved their differences in status, letting them bicker like ordinary people.

“Am I unreasonable or are you feeling guilty because I saw through you?”

Xiao Mi Yu’s mind was muddled. She was very angry but also too incoherent from tipsiness to find words to continue arguing.

She choked on her resentment, chest heaving up and down with agitated breathing.

She knew she was truly furious now.

Sensing the discordant atmosphere, Xue Rui hurriedly came over with a bottle, drinking together to smooth things over.

Both Xiao Mi Yu and Ji Feng obstinately drank.

As they drank, they forgot about arguing. As they drank, neither was mad at the other anymore. Tippingsy Xiao Mi Yu even started giggling.

Magnanimously waving her glass at Ji Feng, she said: “Forget it, my anger’s gone. After all, you came to celebrate my birthday. And I’m half a year older, so I’ll let it go and not quibble with you!”

She was quite drunk now, thoroughly revealing the other persona of drunk Xiao Mi Yu – a charming woman who could be casual and playful despite nearing thirty.

Ji Feng watched her. The alcohol sliding into his stomach seemed to transform into a childish hand scraping annoyingly at his intestines, scraping until his entire being grew hot and restless, heart itchy, throat dry.