ATLAS TRANSLATES

Yu Ge came out after his shower and went straight to the bedroom.

Yu Nuo paced around in the living room for a while before walking to his door. The door wasn’t completely closed, leaving a small gap. She knocked twice and poked her head in. “Brother.”

Yu Ge was half-leaning against the bedside table, looking at something on his phone. When he saw her come in, he raised his eyes. “What is it?”

She carefully said, “If you have time… can I talk to you?”

“About what?”

“About Chen Yuzheng…” she quickly added, “I’m sorry brother, I shouldn’t have hidden it from you, I—”

Yu Ge showed some impatience: “What does your relationship with him have to do with me?”

Seeing his obviously cold expression, Yu Nuo’s words came to an abrupt halt. She moved her mouth again but ultimately said nothing. She lowered her eyes in disappointment, just standing at his doorway.

Yu Ge glanced at her, then moved his gaze back to his phone.

Yu Nuo stopped bothering him and gently closed the door, walking back to sit on the living room sofa feeling lost. She looked in the direction of Yu Ge’s room several times. Confusion mixed with other messy emotions, turning her heart into a tangled mess.

If she had been honest with Yu Ge from the start, things wouldn’t have become so difficult to handle today.

But at the time she had held onto a sliver of hope. Back then she was completely immersed in her own world, and even when she occasionally thought of Yu Ge, she found it troublesome and subconsciously didn’t want to think deeply about it, wanting to delay it as long as possible.

Things developing this way was entirely Yu Nuo’s own doing.

Yu Nuo sat dazed on the sofa and noticed Yu Ge coming out of his room. She immediately stood up.

Yu Ge walked to the entrance to change his shoes.

Yu Nuo followed closely behind him, “Brother, are you going out again?”

He replied briefly: “Have something to do.”

“Will you be back for dinner tonight?”

“Don’t know.”

She watched him stand up, “If you’re coming back, send me a message and I’ll cook for you in advance.”

Yu Ge’s movements paused as he opened the door, but he didn’t respond to her and pushed the door open to leave.

…

…

These past two days Yu Ge had been staying at home, though he would only come back very late to sleep and leave in the afternoon.

Living under the same roof, not only was there no communication, it was even difficult to see him.

Yu Nuo had cooked for him several times in a row. Sometimes she waited until the dishes went cold but still couldn’t wait for Yu Ge to return, so she would hurriedly eat by herself, barely taking a few bites before cleaning up.

After that phone call with Chen Yuzheng that day, he hadn’t asked to meet with her again. Yu Nuo finished her shower at night and lay in bed scrolling through social media.

She suddenly thought of Chen Yuzheng. Yu Nuo clicked into his profile to look and found that he had been sharing songs every day these past few days.

They were: “Bitter Smile”, “How Could You Let Me Suffer”, “I’m Really Hurt”, “Heartache”

The latest post was a screenshot of lyrics from “A Maiden’s Prayer”, right at the line: “Praying for heaven and earth to spare a pair of lovers.”

The comment section couldn’t take his spamming these past few days, with a string of people cursing at him.

Ultraman: Night King?

Killer: Brother Zheng, going through an angsty teen phase lately?

Thomas: Are you possessed? If you post more of this crap I’m blocking you, idiot!

Van: [heart][heart][heart] Old cloud music depression

Yu Nuo finished reading their comments, laughing while unable to hold back a sigh, knowing he was using this method to sulk at her. She went back to their chat window and actively messaged Chen Yuzheng: “Stop posting those songs.”

Conquer: “Already getting the cold shoulder treatment, and now you want to take away my right to post on social media?”

Yu Nuo: “I know you’re posting them for me to see, I’m not giving you the cold shoulder. I was a bit harsh when talking to you the other day, don’t take it to heart. I just haven’t been in a good mood these past few days.”

Yu Nuo: “My brother has been home these past few days, wait until I sort things out and I’ll come find you.”

The other side showed “typing”, Yu Nuo waited for a long time but didn’t receive Chen Yuzheng’s message. After a few minutes, his message finally came through.

Conquer: “He’s been home these past few days?”

Yu Nuo: “Yes”

Conquer: “How do you plan to handle it?”

Yu Nuo: “I want to talk to him but haven’t found the chance, he’s probably still angry… I’ll wait until his anger subsides before finding him.”

Chen Yuzheng seemed too lazy to type and sent a voice message instead, “Don’t worry about it, leave it to me.”

Yu Nuo sat up straight, thinking Chen Yuzheng was going to try to make his presence known to Yu Ge again, and quickly typed: “What are you planning to do? Don’t be impulsive…”

Another fifty-second voice message came: “I still think that we like each other and are dating at the most beautiful age, it’s not illegal, I don’t think I did anything wrong. But I know your brother is more important than me, I’ve also reflected these past few days, I admit sometimes I’m not very sensible, but I haven’t disrespected him right? I’m not asking you to care about me more than your brother, but you can’t be so unfair, your brother is unhappy, well I’m unhappy too, how come I don’t see you caring about me?”

Yu Nuo listened to his voice message twice, feeling somewhat helpless. She carefully considered before replying:

“My brother is family, you are the person I like, you are both very important to me. I’m worried my brother is prejudiced against you, so I’m a bit anxious. The things I said to you before were emotional, don’t take them to heart.”

Conquer: “Got it”

After chatting with Yu Nuo, Chen Yuzheng’s irritation finally lessened. He scrolled through their chat history in a good mood, feeling satisfied with how he had played the victim.

Ji Gaozhuo started frantically messaging him again: “What have you been up to lately?”

“Didn’t you say you were on break, how come I haven’t even seen your shadow???”

Conquer: “Busy being depressed, do not disturb”

Ji Gaozhuo: “What the fuck are you depressed about, want to hang out tomorrow?”

Conquer: “Not going, busy”

Ji Gaozhuo: “Busy with what?”

Chen Yuzheng opened NetEase Music and shared a song with him.

— “Being a Jerk”

—

On Friday, OG held an offline fan meet.

Wen saw Yu Ge sitting alone in the break room and walked over to sit down, “How is it, have you talked with Yu Nuo?”

He was still the same: “Nothing to talk about.”

“You’re just being stubborn.” Wen rolled his eyes, “If you really had nothing to talk about with your sister, why did you go back to stay there? Isn’t it just because you’re worried about her but can’t bring yourself to admit it?”

Yu Ge: “Don’t meddle in my business.”

The fan meet lasted over two hours, afterwards the OG members went to have a meal together.

It was past ten when Yu Ge drove home. Coming out of the parking garage, he paused his steps when he reached the building entrance.

Someone was sitting on the long bench, idly playing with their phone.

Yu Ge kept his eyes forward and walked past him.

Someone called out: “Hey, bro, no, Yu Ge, wait.”

Yu Ge pretended not to hear and continued walking.

Chen Yuzheng stepped forward, moving in front of Yu Ge. He held out one hand to block Yu Ge’s path, “Have time for a meal?”

Yu Ge’s expression was blank as he walked around him and continued forward.

During this time when Yu Ge came home, Chen Yuzheng would somehow appear behind him out of nowhere. No matter what he said, Yu Ge never responded, and when he got home, Yu Nuo never mentioned this matter either.

Usually after ten, Yu Nuo wouldn’t go out unless necessary, so she probably didn’t know about Chen Yuzheng ambushing him downstairs every night.

She didn’t bring it up, and he couldn’t be bothered to mention it.

Chen Yuzheng’s footsteps followed backward, rubbing his nose, “I’ve been waiting here for so many days, you have to give me a chance right?”

Yu Ge finally stopped walking and said flatly: “Stop following me, or I’ll call security.”

Chen Yuzheng rubbed his nose bridge: “Just have a meal with me, I promise I won’t bother you after this.”

Seeing him about to leave, Chen Yuzheng grabbed Yu Ge’s arm, “If you don’t have a meal with me, I’ll just have to keep waiting for you every day.”

Yu Ge hated being threatened most in his life, he shook off his hand directly, “Whatever.”

Chen Yuzheng’s voice came from behind: “I’m not leaving today, I’ll wait right here!”

Yu Ge didn’t even look back, walking straight into the building. When he got home, the dining room light was still on. He glanced sideways, several dishes were on the table, untouched.

He tossed his car keys onto the table. When he walked to the living room, someone was curled up on the sofa.

Yu Ge stood there watching for several minutes.

…

…

Sensing someone covering her with a blanket, Yu Nuo stirred and opened her eyes. In her daze, she saw Yu Ge straightening up and immediately woke up. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, “Brother, you’re back?”

She pushed aside the blanket, put on her shoes, feeling somewhat embarrassed: “I made dinner, sent you a message but you didn’t reply, I fell asleep while waiting.”

Yu Ge: “Look what time it is now.”

Yu Nuo lowered her head meekly, “Have you eaten? If not, I can reheat the dishes.”

This was the first time in many days that the two had eaten face to face.

Yu Nuo looked at Yu Ge sitting opposite her, her eyes stinging, and quickly lowered her head to take a few bites of rice.

Actually, he had already eaten with the OG members and wasn’t hungry at all. Yu Ge ate with her for a while before putting down his chopsticks.

Yu Nuo kept watching him and also stopped eating when she saw this: “Are you full?”

Yu Ge leaned back in his chair looking at her and made a sound of agreement.

Yu Nuo smiled slightly, “Okay, just leave it here, I’ll clean up after I finish eating.”

Yu Ge’s expression was calm as he suddenly said: “What did you want to tell me?”

Yu Nuo was stunned.

The dining room was silent for a moment. Yu Nuo was completely unprepared, she tried to hide her expression, “I just wanted to talk to you about Chen Yuzheng and me.”

After speaking, she paused.

Yu Ge: “Continue.”

“Brother, I’m sorry.” She apologized again, “I shouldn’t have lied to you… it wasn’t that I wanted to trick you. I know you don’t like Chen Yuzheng, that’s why I never dared to tell you. But, can you give him some time? I don’t think he’s as bad as you think, and he’s not that kind of unserious person.”

Yu Ge: “How long have you known him to understand his character so well?”

Yu Nuo shook her head.

Yu Ge: “I’ve already said what needed to be said before, if you don’t want to listen to me, I can’t control you. If you’ve made up your mind, you don’t need to care what I think.”

Yu Nuo’s voice was urgent: “That’s not it, it’s not that I won’t listen to you, I can’t not care what you think.”

“But, I…”

“You what?”

Yu Nuo gathered her courage and looked directly at Yu Ge. She spoke slowly but with absolute determination: “I like Chen Yuzheng, I really like him. I don’t know what will happen in the future. But I know that even if we don’t have a good ending, I won’t regret being with him.”

Yu Ge fell silent.

…

…

After finishing washing dishes in the kitchen, she heard movement outside. Yu Nuo turned off the tap and ran to the door to look, calling out, “Brother, it’s so late, are you going out again?”

Yu Ge made a sound of agreement.

Before opening the door, he turned back.

Seeing Yu Nuo standing anxiously at the kitchen doorway, he said, “Go to bed early, I’ll be back later.”

Yu Nuo obediently replied: “Okay.”

—

The welcome chime of the barbecue restaurant rang out.

The owner’s wife who was watching a drama looked up and was stunned for a moment seeing the two customers who entered.

Two equally handsome men sat down at the innermost seat. After sitting down, they just silently stared at each other, not speaking.

The owner’s wife stood beside the table and held out the menu, but no one took it.

The way one person looked at the other wasn’t like friends, more like enemies… especially the one in black clothes, it felt like he could grab a chair and smash it into the face of the one in white clothes at any moment.

Sensing something off, the owner’s wife gave a dry laugh and didn’t dare to bother the intimidating one in black, tactfully asking the one in white clothes, “Handsome, what would you like to eat?”

Chen Yuzheng took the menu and casually ordered a few dishes, “Bring more alcohol.”

Walking towards the kitchen, the owner’s wife worriedly glanced back at their corner again.

The waiter asked curiously: “What are you looking at?”

The owner’s wife instructed the male waiter, “Keep an eye on those two later, they might start fighting any moment, definitely don’t let them wreck my shop.”

The male waiter made a sound of acknowledgment and studied Yu Ge and Chen Yuzheng for a while, scratching his head and mumbling thoughtfully, “Strange, why do they look so familiar…”

This was Yu Ge’s third meal today. He raised his hand to check his watch, his expression unfriendly: “I don’t have time to waste with you, say what you need to say quickly.”

Chen Yuzheng poured himself a full glass of baijiu, then poured another and pushed it in front of Yu Ge.

Yu Ge didn’t move at all.

Chen Yuzheng picked up his glass and, under Yu Ge’s gaze, downed the alcohol in one go.

After the burning sensation in his throat passed, Chen Yuzheng took a moment before speaking: “I’ve been quite a troublemaker since I was young, with basically no emotional intelligence. So if I’ve offended you before, I want to sincerely apologize today.”

Yu Ge watched him unmoved.

Chen Yuzheng’s expression didn’t change as he continued pouring alcohol into the empty glass. After downing three glasses of baijiu in a row, he spoke again in a humble tone: “These drinks are to make amends.”

When he said these words, he had completely put away his usual frivolity.

All the dishes were served, but neither person touched their chopsticks.

The male waiter looked their way again after leaving. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and quickly searched something on Weibo on his phone.

A few minutes later, the male waiter looked up in disbelief, and after triple checking, he raised his phone and quickly snapped a photo of Chen Yuzheng and Yu Ge.

Rushing to the kitchen, the male waiter shakily sent the photo he just took to his active gaming group chat:

[Look who these two are @everyone]

As expected, two minutes later, the group chat exploded, reaching 99+ messages in seconds

[Fish and Conquer???]

[Holy shit, holy shit, I’m stunned, is it really Conquer and Fish????]

[Am I seeing things, is that really Fish in black???]

[Can you help get Conquer’s autograph? Price negotiable QAQ]

[My two gaming crushes, damn, this is insane!]

[Don’t know what they’re talking about but it feels gay, look at this photo closely, the way Conquer looks at Fish is so intense, god, I can’t take it]

[I’m confused? Aren’t their fans always fighting on Weibo? Are they actually this close in private???]

…

…

Two grown men couldn’t say anything too sentimental. Chen Yuzheng sat across from Yu Ge, pouring himself drink after drink and emptying them.

Half an hour later.

Yu Ge’s expression remained cold as he made no move to stop him, saying flatly: “Even if you drink yourself to death in front of me, I won’t care.”

“It doesn’t matter if I drink myself to death, no need to care about me.”

Chen Yuzheng’s vision was already blurry, barely hanging on with his last bit of strength.

His face was completely red, his gaze unfocused. His movements were slow, and he could barely hold the bottle steady. When pouring himself a drink, he spilled most of it outside the glass.

The clear liquid almost overflowed the glass rim. Chen Yuzheng stopped pouring and lifted it straight to his mouth.

He looked at Yu Ge and gave a self-mocking smile: “Give me a chance, will you?”

After saying these words, before getting a response, Chen Yuzheng collapsed onto the table, completely passing out.

—

Yu Nuo had just slept for a while and wasn’t tired, so she sat in the living room watching TV, waiting for Yu Ge to come home.

Randomly pressing the remote to change channels, Yu Nuo occasionally glanced at the clock in the living room. Just as she was about to take out her phone to send Yu Ge a message.

The doorbell suddenly rang, Yu Nuo immediately threw down the remote and ran to the door, calling out, “Who is it?”

Hearing Yu Ge’s voice, she immediately pulled the door open.

A strong smell of alcohol hit her face.

The sensor light outside hadn’t turned on, Yu Ge’s figure was hidden in the darkness. Yu Nuo stepped back, seeing another person hanging their head like a sack over Yu Ge’s shoulder, one arm wrapped around his neck, mumbling something non-stop.

Yu Ge looked extremely annoyed.

She was startled and wanted to help: “Who is this?”

The moment Yu Nuo clearly saw Chen Yuzheng’s face, Yu Ge’s cold voice rang out: “Your boyfriend.”