ATLAS TRANSLATES

Yu Nuo looked at Chen Yuzheng’s message, raising her hand to rub her chest.

Her heartbeat was so irregular it gave her the illusion of pain. She unconsciously bit her lip, falling into distress.

Fu Yidong asked urgently: “How is it, did he agree?”

Yu Nuo shook her head.

Fu Yidong was surprised: “He refused?”

Yu Nuo shook her head again.

Fu Yidong clicked her tongue, leaning over to slide her index finger across Yu Nuo’s phone screen. After reading their chat history, she kept exclaiming in amazement, unable to stop laughing: “Damn, Chen Yuzheng is quite smooth.”

The series of events that happened in just half an hour directly stunned Yu Nuo’s brain. She sat on the floor, exhaustedly leaning against the edge of the sofa, not moving for a long while. She could barely distinguish if this was a dream or reality, muttering: “What should I do?”

“What do you mean what should you do?”

Yu Nuo obediently answered: “I have no experience pursuing someone.”

“…….”

Fu Yidong was speechless.

She felt that Yu Nuo was sometimes really quite naive, especially when it came to matters between men and women – she really didn’t seem like someone three years older than Chen Yuzheng.

Fu Yidong poked her head, saying in frustration: “What’s there to pursue! Tomorrow you just need to dress up nicely and have a good date with Chen Yuzheng, isn’t that enough!”

…

…

Because of Chen Yuzheng’s one sentence, Yu Nuo was on tenterhooks all night, unable to sleep, consulting Fu Yidong about many dating precautions.

By five or six in the morning, when even the roosters were about to crow, Fu Yidong could barely keep her eyes open, but was still listening to Yu Nuo’s endless chatter beside her ear.

She paused and asked: “What do you think about going to an internet cafe with him tomorrow?”

“What??” Fu Yidong used her index finger to prop up her eyelids, saying with disdain: “Could you be any more foolish? Why go to an internet cafe? It’s all cigarette smoke, you’ll suffocate.”

Yu Nuo looked serious: “I just searched many places on my phone, but I’m afraid he won’t be interested in them. I feel like he would probably like going to an internet cafe to play games.”

Fu Yidong was speechless, yawning: “If you don’t know where to go, just watch a movie. The movie theater is the best place to develop ambiguity. Think about it – dim lighting, private seats, a restless young couple…”

As she spoke, Fu Yidong’s voice gradually got smaller, then disappeared.

Yu Nuo turned to look – Fu Yidong was sprawled on the bed, already fallen into deep sleep hugging a pillow, even starting to snore lightly.

Yu Nuo didn’t have the heart to wake her, silently sighing to herself.

Turning off the desk lamp, Yu Nuo also lay down, lying on her side, continuing to scroll through various apps on her phone in the darkness, searching for 108 tips on how to pursue boys.

By the end, she didn’t know what time it was. As drowsiness hit, Yu Nuo couldn’t hold on anymore. Her eyes closed and she also fell into dreamland.

—

When she became conscious again, it was already bright outside.

Fu Yidong was still sleeping beside her. Yu Nuo’s head felt dizzy and heavy. After the brief vertigo passed, she sluggishly picked up her phone, squinting to check the time.

Her brain started slowly working, recalling last night’s events. Yu Nuo’s thoughts suddenly stopped and she scrambled up from bed.

Chen Yuzheng!

She hurriedly opened Chen Yuzheng’s WeChat.

At 7 AM, he had sent her a message: “.”

At 8 AM another: Conquer: “?”

9:30 AM. Conquer: “Still not awake?”

11 AM. Conquer: “?”

2 PM. Conquer: “Did you block me?”

Reading through them, Yu Nuo felt regretful, smacking her forehead. On such an important day, she had actually slept until 3 PM.

Yu Nuo hurriedly threw off her blanket and got out of bed, messaging Chen Yuzheng while brushing her teeth:

“Sorry, I just woke up. I slept a bit late last night and forgot to set an alarm. Have you eaten?”

While waiting for his reply, Yu Nuo put her phone on the edge of the sink, bent over and washed her face.

After washing her face and brushing her teeth, wiping her face dry with a towel, Yu Nuo looked at her phone.

Conquer: “Haven’t eaten”

After a while.

Conquer: “Sister, your way of pursuing someone seems a bit half-hearted, huh?”

Yu Nuo paused.

Through the screen, she could imagine Chen Yuzheng’s impatient expression right now. She replied guiltily: “Sorry…”

Yu Nuo: “Why don’t you eat something first to fill your stomach, I’ll get ready and then come find you?”

Conquer: “No need, I’m outside, send me your location.”

Yu Nuo checked her notes and shared with him a food court she had found last night.

She didn’t dare delay anymore, putting down her phone and quickly washing her hair and taking a shower.

Fu Yidong rolled over, throwing aside her pillow. Woken up by the clattering noises outside, she took a moment before also getting out of bed.

Walking out of the bedroom, Fu Yidong saw Yu Nuo kneeling in front of the living room drawer, anxiously searching for a hair dryer. She couldn’t help but laugh: “What are you doing, going on a date or going to war?”

Yu Nuo looked anxious, lifting her head to reply: “Dongdong, there’s no time, help me pick out an outfit.”

Fu Yidong crossed her arms, sighing: “Alright, you don’t need to rush. A duck in your mouth isn’t going to fly away.”

While Yu Nuo sat in front of the makeup mirror doing her makeup, Fu Yidong stood behind her helping braid her hair.

She had specifically learned from a skilled teacher before. Fu Yidong’s fingers were nimble, taking just ten minutes to braid Yu Nuo’s long hair into a loose braid, tied to the side and twisted, secured with a fresh and simple hairpin.

Yu Nuo had an oval face, big eyes and small mouth, with delicate features. The few strands of hair hanging down on both sides of her face made her features look even softer.

Fu Yidong propped her chin thoughtfully for a moment, taking the curling iron beside her to slightly curl the loose strands inward.

An hour later, the masterpiece was complete.

Fu Yidong sprayed some perfume in the air around Yu Nuo, clapping her hands: “Done, beautiful.”

Yu Nuo stood in front of the full-length mirror, lowering her head to inspect her outfit from head to toe, checking multiple times: “Is it really okay?”

Her hair was pinned up, showing her long neck, with a pair of thin diamond studs in her ears that caught the sunlight with subtle sparkles. She wore a little red dress that ended just above her knees, revealing slender arms and legs with skin as white as snow.

“What wouldn’t be okay?” Fu Yidong confidently patted her chest, “I guarantee my idol will be completely enchanted.”

—

Taking a taxi to the meeting point, Yu Nuo looked around but didn’t see Chen Yuzheng.

She was about to send a message when someone tapped her shoulder.

Yu Nuo’s back stiffened and she turned around.

Chen Yuzheng had his hands in his pockets.

Today he also wasn’t dressed too formally, wearing a plain black t-shirt that made him look tall and straight. After just half a month of not seeing him, his hair seemed to have grown a bit longer, soft black strands falling over his forehead, his dark eyes staring at her.

Yu Nuo wasn’t mentally prepared and didn’t dare meet his gaze, nervously swallowing before blurting out: “H-hello.”

Chen Yuzheng paused before replying: “Hello.”

As they walked inside, Chen Yuzheng casually asked: “What are we doing today?”

Yu Nuo recalled what Fu Yidong had taught her last night, going through it in her mind, “Um… first let’s eat, after eating we can walk around, there’s a movie theater nearby, we can watch a movie.”

After speaking, she observed his expression, “What do you think?”

Chen Yuzheng lazily nodded, “Sure.”

They took the elevator to the third floor.

Yu Nuo preferred lighter flavors. After asking Chen Yuzheng’s opinion, she took him to a private restaurant she had been to before with her roommates that was quite good.

The restaurant played soft music, and at this afternoon hour there were basically no customers. The environment was elegant, even the servers spoke in hushed tones.

The two sat facing each other.

Chen Yuzheng, tall and thin, just lazily slouched in the leather chair with no regard for image.

Ji Gaozhuo: “How is it?”

Conquer: “Eating”

Ji Gaozhuo: “Person next to you?”

Conquer: “Across from me”

Ji Gaozhuo eagerly sent several messages: “Quick quick, get a photo, I want to see which young lady could make our Chen Flower Grass so nervous?”

Conquer: “Are you sick? When was I nervous?”

Ji Gaozhuo: “Son of a bitch, who was it that came to my house at 8 AM, made me wait with him for 7-8 hours, restlessly looking at his phone? Not you? Not you??????”

Ji Gaozhuo: “Seriously Chen Yuzheng, knowing you for so long, never thought you’d be such a simp. What use is being handsome?? Still simping all the same!”

Chen Yuzheng coldly laughed and blocked Ji Gaozhuo.

…

…

After finishing dinner, the sky outside had already darkened.

Yu Nuo originally wanted to go to the front desk to pay.

As she was about to scan the code, someone pulled her back from behind. She watched helplessly as Chen Yuzheng handed his phone to the server.

After going outside, she quietly asked: “Wasn’t I supposed to treat you?”

Chen Yuzheng: “Are you pursuing someone, or planning to keep a pretty boy?”

Yu Nuo was stumped by his response.

After a while, she asked again: “How did you find the taste of this place… was it good?”

“Passable.”

Because she had overslept today, many planned activities couldn’t be carried out. She checked the nearest movie showings and discussed with Chen Yuzheng: “What kind of movies do you like?”

Chen Yuzheng was indifferent: “Anything is fine.”

Feeling like he wouldn’t give much input, Yu Nuo had to choose herself.

She struggled for a bit, checking some reviews, and with a bit of deliberate consideration chose an animated film called “Hip Hop Hero”.

The movie was scheduled for 8:30 PM.

When they arrived, it was just a few minutes before showtime.

Chen Yuzheng looked around and found the entire theater empty, not a single other person. He stopped and asked Yu Nuo who was standing beside him: “What movie did you pick?”

“Ah?” Yu Nuo had a guilty expression of being caught out, stammering: “I don’t know what movie it is either, I just randomly picked one.”

Chen Yuzheng: “…….”

With such low attendance, even thinking with your feet you’d know it was an epic flop. Yu Nuo watched for half an hour but really couldn’t continue. Even the popcorn in her mouth lost its taste.

She secretly turned her head to look at Chen Yuzheng.

He had already tilted his head and fallen asleep long ago.

The alternating bright and dark light passed over his face, across his eyelashes, high straight nose, slightly thin lips, Adam’s apple, collarbone…

On the big screen, Kung Fu Panda was saying incomprehensible lines. Yu Nuo didn’t dare make any noise, just quietly watching him like this, separated by a small distance, secretly tracing his profile with her finger.

Until the movie ended and all the lights came on, with cleaning staff coming in calling out, Chen Yuzheng finally woke from his sleep.

He frowned slightly, opening his eyes and glancing to the side.

Yu Nuo sat obediently with her bag on her lap, “You’re awake?”

Chen Yuzheng raised his hand to rub his nose bridge, “How long did I sleep?”

Yu Nuo said somewhat helplessly: “You slept through the entire movie.”

“Was the movie good?”

Yu Nuo shook her head: “Not good.”

Actually she hadn’t watched it either.

…

…

After the movie ended, it was almost 11 PM. Chen Yuzheng drove her home.

Yu Nuo looked at the night scenery outside the window, feeling a bit defeated.

The private restaurant she chose today, he didn’t seem to like the food very much. Later deliberately choosing an empty movie, he slept through the whole thing…

Yu Nuo spaced out for a while. The car stopped at a red light and she turned her head: “Chen Yuzheng, I lied to you about something.”

He held the steering wheel, also looking over: “What?”

“Actually, today is my birthday.” Yu Nuo lowered her head, playing with the strap of her bag, “After midnight, I won’t be 22 anymore.”

Chen Yuzheng took two seconds to react, understanding her meaning: “You’re quite good at seizing opportunities.”

The light turned green and the car started moving again. Yu Nuo looked at his profile, wanting to say something but holding it back.

She felt she hadn’t been able to make Chen Yuzheng happy today, so she wasn’t sure about his meaning and didn’t even have the courage to ask him…

—

The car stopped at the entrance of the residential complex. The two hadn’t spoken the whole way as Chen Yuzheng walked her to the building entrance.

“Which floor do you live on?”

“Fifth floor.”

Chen Yuzheng roughly judged the position, “Point it out to me.”

In the night, the scenery wasn’t very clear, but Yu Nuo still patiently said: “It’s the one with potted plants on the balcony, can you see it?”

Chen Yuzheng saw it clearly, “Oh, got it.”

Yu Nuo had something weighing on her mind. After hesitating for a moment, she tentatively said: “Then I’ll… go?”

Chen Yuzheng also didn’t seem to have anything else to say, nodding, “Go on.”

She stood in place for a moment, telling him: “Then drive carefully when you go back, send me a message when you get home.”

Chen Yuzheng perfunctorily made some agreeing sounds.

Yu Nuo kept looking back as she walked. Even though she had only spent half a day with him, the reluctance to part at this moment was particularly strong. She had already walked into the building entrance. While waiting for the elevator, she looked back and found Chen Yuzheng still standing in place seeing her off.

Yu Nuo’s mind went blank and she didn’t know where she got the courage from, but she turned around, pushed open the building door, and ran back.

Chen Yuzheng was clearly somewhat surprised, raising an eyebrow: “You have something else?”

Yu Nuo shook her head, feeling a bit embarrassed as she asked him: “Do you… want to come up and sit for a while?”

Chen Yuzheng: “………”

He looked at her with an ambiguous smile: “Is anyone at your home?”

“Hm?”

Yu Nuo was quiet for a moment before answering, “No…”

“Then…” Chen Yuzheng drawled, “Are you sure you want me to go up now?”

A man and woman alone together late at night in a room would certainly make people think inappropriately. Yu Nuo realized inviting Chen Yuzheng to her home wasn’t quite proper. She said, “….Then never mind, you should head back early.”

Fortunately the street light here was broken and pitch black, so Chen Yuzheng couldn’t notice Yu Nuo’s blushing.

This time, she didn’t even dare look at him when saying goodbye, hurriedly returning.

…

…

Back home, Yu Nuo undid her hair, and the first thing she did was take out her contact lenses. Blinking her sore eyes, she sat on the sofa and found her eye drops to put in a few drops.

Taking a bottle of mineral water from the fridge, Yu Nuo leaned against the counter edge and spaced out again.

WeChat rang once, with Fu Yidong messaging: “How is it? Are you and Chen Yuzheng together now?”

Yu Nuo replied listlessly, taking her ice water back to sit on the living room sofa: “No…”

Fu Yidong: “Are you still out?”

Yu Nuo: “I’m already back”

Fu Yidong: “What?”

Yu Nuo: “The date seems to have failed…”

Fu Yidong called, asking anxiously: “You got rejected?? That’s impossible!!!”

Yu Nuo’s mood was low, and after a while she said: “I didn’t confess… I couldn’t say it in person.”

Fu Yidong sighed in relief, “Then that’s not failing! Dating is about taking it slow, don’t rush. Just take your time.”

Yu Nuo said very slowly: “He seemed really bored spending time with me.”

Fu Yidong knew her old habit was acting up, “Don’t be like this. You’re so great – if I wasn’t a girl, I’d definitely pursue you. Besides, you were so obvious with him yesterday and he didn’t reject you. Maybe he just wants to spend some time getting to know you better?”

Fu Yidong consoled her for a while on the phone. After hanging up, Yu Nuo noticed Chen Yuzheng had sent her a message a few minutes ago.

Conquer: “Take a picture of the moon for me to see”

Yu Nuo: “Right now?”

Conquer: “Right now”

Yu Nuo was puzzled, thinking his request was a bit strange, but she still replied: “Okay, wait a moment”

She stood up from the sofa and opened the glass door to the living room balcony.

The residential complex was hidden in thick darkness, and being slightly nearsighted, everything far away blurred into black shadows for her.

Squinting her eyes, barely making out the moon’s position, Yu Nuo raised her phone, turned on the flash, and took two photos to send to Chen Yuzheng.

The balcony railing was very high – Yu Nuo’s arms raised up could just rest on top of it. A gentle breeze blew past and her mood finally relaxed a bit as she let out a comfortable sigh.

A few minutes later, the phone in her palm vibrated. Yu Nuo slightly lifted her wrist to look.

WeChat was still on her chat with Chen Yuzheng, and he had also sent her a photo.

She thought he had also taken a picture of the moon for her. When she opened it to look:

An upward angle, tall buildings, a few homes with lights on, two very obvious white spots, and in the dark night an identical crescent moon. As she looked, she suddenly realized something was off.

This place… looked a lot like downstairs from her building?

Yu Nuo held her breath and zoomed in on the image a bit. Besides the moon, the other white spot in the photo–

Was her phone’s flash when she had just raised it to photograph the moon.

Yu Nuo’s heart skipped a beat and she immediately asked:

“You haven’t left?”

Conquer: “Haven’t left”

Yu Nuo: “Wait for me, I’ll come down right away”

Yu Nuo: “Just a few minutes”

Yu Nuo didn’t know why she suddenly made this impulsive request.

She didn’t know why she wanted to go down, what she would say to him, why she didn’t want Chen Yuzheng to leave.

She only knew that right now, she really wanted to see him.

Really, really wanted to.

Even though they had only been apart for half an hour, Yu Nuo felt like this longing would drown her.

She even forgot to change her shoes, just grabbed her phone and ran outside.

This building had 31 floors total and only two elevators. Yu Nuo anxiously pressed the button, while the numbers beside her slowly ticked by.

Time seemed to pass especially slowly.

The signal was bad here and her messages wouldn’t send.

She got a bit anxious and pressed the elevator button several more times. Unable to wait any longer, she pushed open the fire escape door next to her and ran down the stairs.

The entire stairwell was empty, motion sensor lights turning on with each step, quiet enough that Yu Nuo’s hurried footsteps and breathing seemed especially loud.

Running down five flights of stairs in one go, her heart felt ready to burst.

Pushing open the stairwell door, Yu Nuo’s vision was blurry as she stood in place looking around.

Finally she saw him.

Chen Yuzheng was sitting on a bench under the trees.

She went over.

After running so much, when she stopped in front of Chen Yuzheng, Yu Nuo’s face was still flushed. Sweat dripped freely down her forehead and into her neck.

Chen Yuzheng’s phone screen cast a faint light as his gaze swept her up and down.

Several seconds of silence.

Only cicadas could be heard chirping intermittently.

Yu Nuo wiped away some sweat with the back of her hand, her heart still pounding as she caught her breath and slowly said, “Why… haven’t you left yet.”

Chen Yuzheng didn’t speak.

Yu Nuo sat down nervously beside him.

Up close, she saw his phone had a timer counting down.

Yu Nuo was a bit confused: “What’s this?”

“Your birthday.”

“Hm?”

“One more minute until midnight passes.” Chen Yuzheng smiled, “Forgot to say earlier – happy birthday, sister.”

Yu Nuo paused, “Thank you.”

They exchanged a few words as the timer counted down from 1 to 0, passing midnight.

Chen Yuzheng turned off his phone and turned to look at her, “You’re four years older than me now.”

Hearing this, Yu Nuo stiffened.

She hadn’t forgotten what he said before about wanting to find a girlfriend three years older than him…

Throughout today, from the movie to dinner to Chen Yuzheng driving her home, he hadn’t brought up yesterday’s conversation, and she didn’t have the courage to ask him about it.

She thought she wouldn’t get his answer.

But now… was this a rejection?

After a long while, Yu Nuo’s mood sank again and she gave a barely audible “mm.”

Seeing her silence, Chen Yuzheng laughed in the darkness: “I forgot to get you a gift, what should I do?”

Yu Nuo murmured: “It’s okay.”

Chen Yuzheng asked her seriously: “How about if I give myself to you, do you want that?”

Yu Nuo was completely stunned, unsure for a moment if he was teasing her. She tried to speak but her throat felt choked.

He asked again: “Do you want me?”

After such emotional ups and downs, Yu Nuo felt her eyes mist over with tears. She carefully asked: “Can I… have you?”

Chen Yuzheng laughed: “Why are you crying?”

Yu Nuo took a moment to realize she really was crying. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she turned away slightly to wipe away the tears that were falling like broken strings.

But her wrist was caught and pulled.

Yu Nuo sat unsteadily and half-fell against him as Chen Yuzheng leaned in close.

Hot breath ghosted over her ear, her nose filled with a faint lemon scent. Yu Nuo froze in his arms like a wooden block, not daring to move at all.

“Sister… I like you.”

His Adam’s apple moved slightly, his expression carrying a hint of teasing, but his voice was clear with every word: “Whether you’re three years older or four years older than me, I like you, understand?”