ATLAS TRANSLATES

Chapter 53

She didn’t come that Friday. Xu Si heard the class bell ring and glanced at the empty seat beside him. Strange. The bell had already rung, yet the little rigid girl hadn’t arrived yet. Even by the third period, the seat next to Xu Si remained empty. He looked up at the teacher at the podium, then sent Jiang Qiao a message.

[Xu Si]: What’s up? Overslept, little rigid girl?

All morning, his messages were met with silence. Very strange.

“Qiao Qiao, do you want to eat something?” Jiang Qiao shook her head and said, “I’m going to the bathroom.”

“Let me help you there.”

“No need.” She wore loose hospital clothes that made her look even smaller and frailer. Her usually rosy lips were now pale.

Jiang Qiao held onto the wall as she went to the bathroom. Though her stomach was empty, she couldn’t help but retch, bringing up nothing but stomach acid. Her mouth tasted bitter.

Tian Ling stood at the bathroom door, listening to the sounds inside. Her heart was in knots, wanting to go in several times but not daring to.

When Jiang Qiao opened the door, her already pale face had grown even more ashen. Tian Ling helped her back to bed and asked, “Qiao Qiao, Mom made you some soup. Won’t you drink a little?”

Jiang Qiao shook her head. “Leave it there. I want to rest.”

Tian Ling didn’t want to disturb her further. She turned off the lights, closed the hospital room door, and left.

Jiang Qiao still felt the discomfort in her stomach. She lay there staring at the ceiling, just like the countless times during chemotherapy. Birds chirped outside, and sunlight filtered through the curtains. She saw the rays of light and reached out her hand, letting the light fall on her pale fingers.

She pulled back the covers and got out of bed, fully opening the curtains. Her hospital room was on the third floor. Outside stood a tall tree with a bird’s nest at its top – the source of the chirping she’d heard.

After watching from the window for who knows how long, she closed the curtains again. The room returned to darkness, and Jiang Qiao lay on the bed, eventually drifting off to sleep.

Xu Si pulled out his phone and opened their chat again, seeing his morning message still unanswered. He closed his phone. She must have taken a day off.

Yang Shikun also noticed Jiang Qiao’s absence. He looked back at the empty seat and asked, “Si Ge, did Jiang take the day off? She hasn’t shown up all afternoon.”

“Don’t know.” For some reason, Yang Shikun thought Xu Si’s expression looked sour. Had someone upset Si Ge? Why did he look so unhappy?

While Yang Shikun was puzzled, Luo Xing suddenly spoke up: “I think she took time off for tutoring. Didn’t Qiao Qiao go to tutoring a few weeks ago too?”

“Damn, Jiang’s grades are already so good and she still gets tutoring? Is she leaving any path for the rest of us?”

Luo Xing laughed, “Haha, but Qiao Qiao really is both smart and hardworking, and she’s such a nice person too.”

“Plus she’s pretty and gentle,” Yang Shikun added.

Xu Si kept his head down, taking in every word of their conversation. He found himself opening their chat again. Still no response from Jiang Qiao.

Xu Si got the book back from He Guoshi, but not without listening to quite a lecture. Remembering that he’d checked Jiang Qiao’s grades yesterday, He Guoshi nagged Xu Si: “Return the book to Jiang, and if I catch you reading books in class again, you’ll be sweeping the grounds for a month.”

“Alright, I got it.”

After school let out and everyone had left, Xu Si picked up a broom to head downstairs. Yang Shikun and Hao Ming immediately grabbed brooms and followed.

“We’ll sweep with you, Si Ge,” Yang Shikun said.

Xu Si didn’t say anything, letting them follow.

The scrapes on Yang Shikun’s arms and legs had scabbed over but still hurt when he moved. As he and Hao Ming swept, their task quickly turned playful.

“Take this, big-head Hao!”

“Get lost, you dog Yang, I’ll whack you!”

“White crane spreads its wings!”

“Dragon tail sweep!”

Though Yang Shikun’s movement was limited by his injuries, it didn’t stop him from chasing Hao Ming with his broom. Xu Si watched the two of them, unable to bear the sight. Their horseplay had scattered the newly swept leaves.

Yang Shikun complained to Xu Si: “Si Ge, I’m still injured and he’s bullying me. He just hit me with his broom!”

Looking at the scattered pile of leaves they’d just swept, Xu Si said: “If you two keep messing around, you can get lost.”

At that, Yang Shikun immediately started sweeping properly again.

By the time they finished sweeping, the sunset had painted half the sky red. Yang Shikun handed his phone to Hao Ming: “Take a photo of me, make sure you capture my cool silhouette.”

Hao Ming: “…”

He watched Yang Shikun pose and took several photos. Yang Shikun looked at his phone and frowned unhappily: “What kind of photos are these? You didn’t capture even a fraction of how cool I am.”

He handed his phone back to Hao Ming: “Take them again.”

Hao Ming sighed: “No more photos.”

“Just one more shot, just one.”

In the end, Yang Shikun pestered Hao Ming into taking several more photos.

Xu Si looked at the pink-tinged sky, then took out his phone and took a few pictures.

[Xu Si]: Taking a day off without saying anything isn’t very nice, classmate. I had to sweep by myself today.

He sent the message, turned off his phone, and put it back in his pocket. “Let’s go.”

“Alright, Si Ge.”

At the bookstore, Chen An Xia sat at the table nearest the door, looking up at almost everyone who came in. He waited until sunset and darkness fell, but never saw that girl from last time.

He’d already finished the book that girl had been reading last time. He’d imagined their next meeting – he would say, “What a coincidence to meet again.” How would she respond? Maybe “What a coincidence” or maybe she’d just give him a shy smile.

He checked his watch – it was past seven. It seemed unlikely that girl would come today. He remembered how she looked the first time he saw her, like the purest white jasmine flower, pristine and clean. He regretted not asking for her contact information last time.

Xu Si stroked his cat while talking: “You’d think even if she’s at tutoring, it wouldn’t take all day, right?”

Yuan Yuan nuzzled his palm, as if agreeing with him.

Xu Si picked it up: “You think so too, don’t you?”