ATLAS TRANSLATES

Yu Nuo’s face turned red at his words.

She had no experience dealing with young men. The male she interacted with most was Yu Ge. Though Chen Yuzheng’s face remained serious when he spoke… she couldn’t shake off the feeling of being teased.

Chen Yuzheng looked at her: “What’s wrong, won’t call me that?”

Yu Nuo: “You’re so much younger than me… I can’t bring myself to say it.”

He seemed puzzled: “Weren’t you calling me that quite naturally yesterday?”

Yu Nuo fidgeted uncomfortably: “…That’s because I was drunk…”

Chen Yuzheng didn’t push her further and slowly reduced the car’s speed back to normal. It seemed like asking her to call him “brother” was just a harmless joke¹.

He continued driving. Soft instrumental music played inside the car, occasionally interrupted by the mechanical voice of the GPS. Yu Nuo tried to stay alert and chatted with him for a while.

As they talked, her head started nodding several times. Unable to fight off drowsiness, she finally closed her eyes and fell asleep.

…

…

She didn’t know when the car stopped or how much time had passed.

Yu Nuo woke up feeling cold. She opened her tired eyes, feeling disoriented about the time and place. It took a full minute for her to become fully alert. As she sat up slightly, the jacket covering her slipped down.

Turning her head, she found the seat beside her empty.

Chen Yuzheng was gone.

Outside, it was still dark, though dawn was approaching. A translucent crescent moon hung in the sky.

Yu Nuo searched around and found her phone. She opened the car door and stepped out into the cool air. She shivered and pulled her clothes tighter, taking a deep breath that helped clear her mind considerably.

The wind rustled through tree leaves, creating soft whispers.

Yu Nuo looked around, surprised to realize…

Were they… at the beach?

Dawn was gradually breaking.

Yu Nuo used her phone’s light and walked forward slowly, stepping onto the soft sand. She called out: “Chen Yuzheng?”

He was wearing a clean t-shirt, standing with his back to her. Hearing her voice, he turned around.

Yu Nuo walked down the steps and sat beside him, “Where are we?” “Hawaii.”

Yu Nuo: “…”

She sat quietly with him for a while.

The sand was soft beneath her feet. Yu Nuo lifted her foot, making a footprint, then kicked at it with her toe, sending sand flying.

After playing for a bit and noticing his silence, she asked: “Why did we come here?”

Under her confused gaze, Chen Yuzheng lifted his chin, gesturing with his eyes for her to look ahead.

Yu Nuo turned to look, not understanding at first.

She froze for a moment, then held her breath.

In the distance, a semicircular sun slowly emerged from behind thin clouds, rising from the ocean’s horizon. Golden fragments of light grew stronger, spreading and scattering across the sparkling sea surface. Where water met sky, it all blended into brilliant light.

Suddenly, the sound of waves arose as the sea began to churn.

— In that instant, the entire world was illuminated.

She remained mesmerized. Unable to help herself, she looked at Chen Yuzheng again. She opened her mouth to speak, then stopped.

He was squinting carelessly, a cigarette between his lips, smiling. The white smoke he exhaled blurred his profile.

She pondered: “Did you… bring me to watch the sunrise?”

Chen Yuzheng glanced at her.

Their eyes met for one second, two seconds… Her heart started racing again, and Yu Nuo frantically tried to look away.

Chen Yuzheng: “Keep watching. Why are you looking at me?”

Yu Nuo obediently turned back, her heart suspended, tingling.

Neither spoke as they continued watching the sunrise.

It was as if all the world’s sounds had vanished except for the faint waves, creating a strange tranquility. At the edge of the sky, the dazzling gold gradually spread, and something peculiar overflowed in her heart as well.

Yu Nuo didn’t know what it was, nor did she fully understand this feeling.

But for a moment, she suddenly had a thought that if time could stop forever at this moment, it would be wonderful.

The beach sunrise was too beautiful, too beautiful for her to describe with any words she knew.

She just felt that this scene was beautiful, so beautiful.

So beautiful that she felt she would never forget it in this lifetime.

…

…

Yu Nuo raised her phone, opened the camera, and took several photos of the sunrise.

She stood up, making an excuse: “The angle isn’t great here, I’ll go somewhere else to take photos.”

Chen Yuzheng didn’t notice her awkwardness and just made a sound of acknowledgment.

Yu Nuo clutched her phone and ran up to the steps behind them in a few strides.

She aimed her phone’s camera grid at the horizon and took several photos. After hesitating, she moved it down slightly.

The focus blurred then refocused on someone’s back.

The sea breeze tousled his short hair. Against the misty blue background, Chen Yuzheng sat hunched on the bench, face slightly turned, cigarette glowing at his fingertips.

Click.

That second’s image was now captured in her hands.

—

She didn’t know how long they sat there. When the sky was bright, Yu Nuo looked down and sneezed.

There were elderly people coming for morning exercise nearby. Chen Yuzheng stood up from the bench, “Let’s go.”

“Mm.” Yu Nuo was freezing and sneezed again.

He hadn’t slept all night, and it would take several hours to drive back.

Yu Nuo couldn’t drive and worried about him driving while tired: “Why don’t you sleep for a bit first?”

Chen Yuzheng looked tired and thought for a moment, “Set an alarm and wake me up later.”

They switched positions. Chen Yuzheng pulled down the sun visor, covered his face with his jacket, and lay back in the passenger seat.

Afraid of disturbing him, she put her phone on silent.

No longer sleepy, Yu Nuo opened her photo gallery and looked through the pictures she had just taken.

The phone on the center console lit up with an incoming call on Chen Yuzheng’s phone. It was from Killer.

Worried it might be something urgent, but reluctant to wake him when he’d just fallen asleep, Yu Nuo picked up Chen Yuzheng’s phone and quietly stepped out of the car.

Standing a short distance away while keeping an eye on the car, Yu Nuo answered, “Hello?”

The other end was silent for a few seconds, then muttered, “Wrong number? Why is it a girl’s voice?”

Yu Nuo: “It’s me.”

Dead silence, then Killer tentatively asked: “You… Yu Nuo?”

She made a sound of agreement.

“Where’s Chen Yuzheng? Is he dead? He hasn’t returned to base all night, why do you have his phone?”

“No.” Yu Nuo explained, “He’s sleeping next to me.”

“WHAT?!!!!” Killer was like he’d been struck by lightning, “Chen Yuzheng is sleeping next to you? You two spent the night together?”

“…”

“No.” Yu Nuo’s face turned red as she tried to figure out how to explain, “I was drunk yesterday, and then…” Killer was even more shocked: “You got drunk yesterday, and then spent the night with Chen Yuzheng???”

“It’s not what you think…”

Yu Nuo got flustered and couldn’t organize her words. She tried to continue but Killer interrupted.

“Okay, okay, no problem, carry on, I won’t disturb you two.”

“…”

She was speechless, tried to speak, but Killer had already hung up.

…

…

Back in the car, Yu Nuo thought for a long while before sending Killer a message:

[You misunderstood, I didn’t explain clearly. I was drunk yesterday, and Chen Yuzheng took me to his cousin’s place (covering face)]

After typing and deleting repeatedly, Yu Nuo stared at the screen thoughtfully for a long time, nervously biting her finger.

After much hesitation, she still didn’t tell Killer about watching the sunrise at the beach with Chen Yuzheng.

Yu Nuo had always been well-behaved, never doing anything out of the ordinary.

Until today, when a romantic little secret suddenly appeared in her mundane life.

It might be insignificant to Chen Yuzheng or others, but Yu Nuo found it precious.

So precious… that she didn’t want to share it with anyone.

—

Sleeping in the car was uncomfortable, and there was noise outside. Chen Yuzheng frowned and opened his eyes.

The jacket had slipped to his neck. He turned his eyes slightly.

Yu Nuo was leaning on the steering wheel, head resting on her arms, facing his direction, staring without blinking. It wasn’t clear if she was spacing out or doing something else.

As his consciousness slowly returned, Chen Yuzheng raised an eyebrow.

Before he could speak, she jumped like she’d been startled, immediately straightening up and stammering: “You, you’re awake?”

Chen Yuzheng grabbed his phone and checked the time. His voice was hoarse from just waking up, “Why didn’t you wake me?”

Caught staring, Yu Nuo felt extremely guilty: “…You looked very tired, I wanted to let you rest longer.”

Chen Yuzheng turned his sore neck and sat up a bit.

He seemed not fully awake, still groggy from sleep.

Yu Nuo pressed her lips together, secretly relieved. She had been counting his eyelashes, getting too absorbed in it…

Chen Yuzheng dropped her off at the school gate.

It was nearly three in the afternoon. Yu Nuo saw his face was slightly pale and worried, “Why don’t I take you to get something to eat?”

“No need.” Chen Yuzheng had no appetite, looking listless, “I’m heading back to base.”

“Then rest well when you get back, send me a message when you arrive.”

Chen Yuzheng made a sound of agreement.

After the car drove away, Yu Nuo waited for a while.

Only after the red car completely disappeared from sight did she turn and slowly walk towards her dorm. Despite being up all night, Yu Nuo felt like she might be having a final burst of energy – she wasn’t sleepy at all.

After showering, Yu Nuo stood in front of the mirror, wiped away the fog, and examined herself several times.

While drying her hair, Yu Nuo searched on Weibo and found all the recent esports media accounts were posting about OG’s progress at MSI.

This week, they had advanced through group stage and into the knockout stage. Next week they would have semifinals and finals on consecutive days.

After drying her hair and closing the dorm curtains, Yu Nuo climbed into bed with her phone. She couldn’t help but look at the photos from the beach again. One by one, she examined them carefully. As she scrolled, she came to the photo of Chen Yuzheng.

She paused.

Her thumb lightly traced his profile.

Turning off her phone, Yu Nuo rolled over, closed her eyes, and her mind was filled with everything that had happened last night.

After tossing and turning for a while, still unable to sleep.

She climbed down from bed, crouched down, and opened a drawer. After searching for a moment, she found the delicate little box.

Yu Nuo took out the smile bracelet. The thin rose gold chain caught fragments of light even in the darkness.

After examining it in her palm for a while, she bit her lip and put it on her left wrist.

—

After that day, Xu Yitong asked Chen Yuzheng for Yu Nuo’s WeChat and actively chatted with her several times.

Yu Nuo was grateful for her taking her in that night, and when returning the clothes, she specially brought some homemade cranberry cookies to give to Xu Yitong.

Xu Yitong had a sweet tooth and was greedy, after finishing them she shamelessly asked Yu Nuo for more. She even invited her out to play a few times, and just like that, the two became familiar with each other.

…

…

The MSI schedule was coming to an end. The Korean team was upset in the semifinals, eliminated by the European team. Historically in finals, LPL had an amazing win rate against European teams, rarely ever losing.

When news of OG’s championship victory across the ocean reached Weibo, it erupted in celebration.

Xu Yitong had followed some esports accounts because of Chen Yuzheng. But she wasn’t very interested, just briefly scanning before scrolling past.

After watching a beauty video for a while, Xu Yitong sighed boredly. She had been feeling lonely lately, with all her close friends ABCD flying to different countries, leaving her with no one to hang out with.

After thinking about it, Xu Yitong messaged her recent new favorite on WeChat: [Sister, I’m so bored, where are you? Can I come find you to play?]

After a while, Yu Nuo replied:

[With my brother, about to eat.]

Xu Yitong had been pampered since childhood, with parents and friends indulging her unconditionally, so she had no awareness of whether she might be bothering others. When she saw Yu Nuo’s message, she immediately asked very casually: [Can I come too, I haven’t eaten either! Let me join you guys.]

Yu Nuo was never good at refusing others’ requests. After checking with Yu Ge, she sent Xu Yitong the address.

OG was very popular recently, so to avoid being recognized, they specifically found a private room in a corner. When Yu Nuo was with Yu Ge, she became very talkative, wanting to tell him everything.

Yu Ge had just returned to the country two days ago and only started adjusting to jet lag yesterday, so he wasn’t in great spirits. He responded to her half-heartedly.

As they were talking, a complaining voice came from the door, “Ugh, what a dump, took me forever to find this place.”

The half-closed door was pushed open.

Yu Ge turned to look.

Xu Yitong walked in carrying the latest Hermès bag, wearing sparkling 10cm high heels.

There was a moment of silence.

Yu Nuo stood up and called her: “Tongtong.”

Xu Yitong hadn’t noticed Yu Ge sitting in the shadows at all. She glanced around the room’s decoration with slight disdain, “Nuonuo, why are you eating at a place like this? The hygiene looks so bad.”

Yu Ge: “…”

After spending time together, Yu Nuo was used to her princess-like behavior and comforted her: “This is a home-style restaurant I often come to, it’s very clean and the food is good.”

Xu Yitong completely ignored the third person in the room. She sat down next to Yu Nuo, put down her bag, and eagerly showed Yu Nuo her new manicure, chattering on and on.

Yu Ge had never met a girl who could be so noisy.

Since she was Yu Nuo’s friend, he didn’t say anything, just put on his headphones and started watching an old movie.

As Xu Yitong was talking, she suddenly noticed a man sitting in the corner opposite them. Her words stopped as her attention was caught, and she blinked twice.

Yu Ge always dressed very casually when going out, wearing a plain black t-shirt with the OG-Fish logo on the sleeve.

He kept his eyes down, eyelashes half-lowered, his face in shadow showing only his jaw outline. His lips were thin.

Yu Nuo noticed her silence and asked: “What’s wrong?”

Xu Yitong snapped back: “Hey, is that your brother?”

Yu Nuo sensed something unusual but nodded.

Xu Yitong enthusiastically called out to Yu Ge, “Hey handsome, let’s get to know each other! I’m Xu Yitong.”

She extended her hand.

Yu Ge looked up at the sound.

His gaze was indifferent as it moved to Xu Yitong’s face. His lips moved slightly, speaking two words with a hint of perfunctory casualness: “Hello.”

He seemed too lazy to say more and didn’t shake her hand or introduce himself. But Xu Yitong had a thing for deep voices.

When the man opposite spoke in his bass voice, she instantly melted.

The food hadn’t arrived yet. Xu Yitong lowered her voice and asked Yu Nuo: “What’s your brother’s name?”

“Yu Ge.”

Xu Yitong: “Which ‘ge’? Like the ‘ge’ in song?”

“The ‘ge’ in Gobi Desert.”

Xu Yitong stared at the ID on Yu Ge’s sleeve for a while.

OG…Fish…why did it look familiar…

Unable to contain herself, Xu Yitong made an excuse to go to the bathroom. She found a spot to sit, crossing her legs and taking out her phone to search on Weibo.

After reading, she opened WeChat and started frantically messaging Chen Yuzheng.

Chen Yuzheng sent back a question mark.

Xu Yitong: [Need to ask you something]

Conquer: [?]

Xu Yitong: [Do you know that Fish from OG? Like, Yu Ge.]

Conquer: [What about him?]

Xu Yitong: [Give me ten minutes, I want all his information.]

…

…

Satisfied, Xu Yitong put away her phone. Like a princess on parade, she slowly wandered around the small restaurant before returning to their dining area.

She leaned against the doorframe and took out her phone again, reopening WeChat. Chen Yuzheng’s message from a few minutes ago appeared on screen:

— [Go see a doctor if you’re sick]

1. T/N: I’m not sure if I’ve explained this or if anyone’s confused by this, but “?” (ge) or gege literally means “older brother’. However, its usage can carry romantic undertones depending on the context. It can be showing intimacy/kinship, or a form of flirtatiousness – which in this case it is. A playful, coy quality used in a sweet, affectionate way that suggests attraction while remaining somewhat indirect. Something particular to East Asian culture; you also see it with ‘oppa‘ in South Korea (can be both familial or romantic) or ‘senpai‘ in Japan (which can have romantic undertones when used by younger women to address older male figures). It’s a cute interaction – please believe me!!! ↩︎