ATLAS TRANSLATES

After moving into apartment 802 of Qingque Garden, besides enjoying the air of freedom, Zhan Xi’s greatest joy was: she no longer had to wake up early!

Every day she would wake up around 8, wash her face, brush her teeth, put on makeup, go out for breakfast, and after a leisurely 10-minute walk, she’d arrive at the company – still earlier than most of her colleagues.

Her rice cooker, wok, bowls, plates, and utensils had gradually arrived, and she’d bought all the necessary condiments, but she’d only cooked frozen dumplings twice at home. Most of the time, she just ordered takeout.

For her first proper home-cooked meal, Zhan Xi decided to wait for a sunny weekend.

This Saturday, she was scheduled to meet Wang He. He had become more active lately, chatting with her daily, asking what she’d like to eat when they meet, what her hobbies were, and where she’d traveled. Their conversations always followed a question-and-answer format – Wang He asking, Zhan Xi answering. She never asked about his situation because she lacked the motivation.

Chatting with Little Fish was different though. Zhan Xi would talk with him for over an hour every night, asking about his day, what he ate, and sharing interesting things that happened at her company.

She sent him a photo of her cubicle desk, showing her water bottle, computer, file holder, notebook… Post-it notes covered the partition, and in the corner sat a mini desktop Christmas tree and a can of strawberry milk.

Her cup was pink and cartoonish, with a white cat perched on the lid. Looking at the photo, Luo Jingyu thought Teacher Egg was really cute.

In exchange, he would send her photos of his pressed flower crafts, usually photographed on his desk. For items like earrings, he would hold them up to take the picture, and that’s when Zhan Xi would catch glimpses of his hands.

She hadn’t told Little Fish that whenever she saw his hands in photos, she felt like she’d won a prize.

His hands were just too beautiful! So beautiful that… Zhan Xi would secretly observe her male colleagues’ hands at work, including Lin Yan’s, but never found any that could surpass Little Fish’s beauty.

A week passed without notice.

Friday morning, after waking up, Luo Jingyu realized that apart from buying groceries every other day, he hadn’t left the house all week, not even to visit his parents. With the weekend approaching, he suddenly remembered he hadn’t fulfilled his promise to Teacher Egg.

Making crafts from morning till night was exhausting, so he decided to take half a day off to rest.

After checking his pantry, Luo Jingyu went out to buy some ingredients and two boxes of strawberries. Upon returning home, he started baking a cake.

It had been a while since he’d last baked. After the first cake base was done, he bent down to smell it – delicious! However, when spreading the cream, his rusty skills made it look a bit ugly.

Previously, when baking cakes, he never cared too much about the cream’s appearance since he was baking for himself – taste was all that mattered. But this cake was for Teacher Egg; it needed to both taste good and look good!

After pondering for a moment while touching his chin, Luo Jingyu decided to make another one. As for the ugly cake… well, he could give it to Gu Xinchi in apartment 1501 next door. Though the kid was chatty, he wasn’t annoying. However, he’d keep the strawberries – those were all for Teacher Egg.

While frosting the second cake, Luo Jingyu was as meticulous as when he made his pressed flower crafts. By 2 PM, a beautiful strawberry cake was finally complete! Luo Jingyu looked at the cake and exhaled, wondering how to deliver it. Should he really use local delivery? What if it got damaged?

He went to the balcony and gazed at that office building in the distance, making up his mind – he would deliver it himself.

After a ten-minute journey, Luo Jingyu arrived at the building’s entrance, fully equipped and carrying the cake box. He took the elevator to “Teacher Egg’s” floor, and upon exiting, observed a password-protected glass door with a reception desk not far behind it, where a young woman sat.

Ah… Teacher Egg was working just inside!

At this thought, Luo Jingyu became nervous, his heart starting to race. He dawdled for a while before moving to the glass door.

He stared blankly at the keypad, not knowing what to press, until the receptionist, Little Gong, finally noticed him and stood up to open the door.

The man before her was very tall, dressed all in black with a black mask. Little Gong felt somewhat wary and asked, “Who are you looking for?”

Luo Jingyu handed her the cake box along with an A4 paper, on which he had written: [For Miss Zhan, Phone: 135XXX… Thank you.]

He kept it simple, worried about making mistakes if he wrote more.

Little Gong took the cake box and paper, read it, and smiled: “Oh, it’s for Little Zhan again? Is it from Lin Yan? Didn’t he just buy her milk tea?”

Luo Jingyu: “?”

He could read most of her lip movements and wondered who this “Lin Yan” was. Male or female? And they bought Teacher Egg milk tea?

He simply nodded and didn’t dare linger, turning immediately toward the elevator.

Little Gong found it puzzling. She carried the cake to the HR office area, where she saw several female colleagues happily drinking the milk tea Lin Yan had bought. Yuan Sichen was teasing Zhan Xi: “Hey, Little Zhan, what exactly do you think about Lin Yan?”

Little Gong chimed in: “I don’t know what Little Zhan thinks, but Lin Yan is just too sweet!”

Zhan Xi was getting a headache. She had told Lin Yan many times not to buy afternoon tea, but he insisted he was buying it for the entire HR department, not just for one person.

That “one person” was speechless. She didn’t even drink Lin Yan’s milk tea anymore, but her colleagues were all enjoying it enthusiastically. Zhan Xi didn’t know how to handle this situation.

Hearing Little Gong’s words, Zhan Xi felt even more embarrassed. Little Gong cheerfully handed her the box: “Look, not just milk tea, but Lin Yan’s loving takeout too!”

Zhan Xi groaned: “No way!”

She took the box and casually placed it on the shared cabinet. Yuan Sichen curiously opened the lid and exclaimed: “Wow! It’s a strawberry cake! Looks so delicious!”

Zhan Xi’s heart skipped a beat, and she almost pounced over to look – it really was a square strawberry cake! Fresh strawberries covered the cream topping. She asked Little Gong: “Where’s the delivery slip?”

“There wasn’t one,” Little Gong shrugged. “Oh! But there was a handwritten note, I threw it in the trash.”

“Which trash can?” Zhan Xi asked urgently.

Little Gong said: “The one by the reception desk.”

Zhan Xi immediately headed out, turning back to shout at Yuan Sichen: “Sister Sichen, don’t touch my cake!”

Yuan Sichen laughed: “I know! It’s from Lin Yan, no one dares touch it.”

Zhan Xi retrieved the crumpled paper from the trash can. Little Gong asked awkwardly: “Is it… important?”

“No, it’s fine, I just wanted to look,” Zhan Xi unfolded the paper and saw the neat, elementary school-like handwriting. She understood everything.

However, she could never have guessed who had come to deliver the cake. Trying to smooth out and fold the paper, Zhan Xi returned to the open office and told Yuan Sichen: “Sister Sichen, let’s all share the cake. Just save me a quarter, I can’t eat it all myself.”

Yuan Sichen happily went to the break room to find a fruit knife. Looking at the strawberry cake, Zhan Xi suddenly felt very touched.

Little Fish, this silly boy, didn’t even tell her beforehand – was he trying to surprise her?

This was a cake he made himself! This kid… was just too adorable.

—

Zhan Xi held back all afternoon and evening, but Little Fish hadn’t sent her any messages. Finally, unable to contain herself anymore, she messaged him first.

[Egg Pudding]: Little Fish, thank you for the cake, it was really really really delicious!

Big Fish: I told you I wouldn’t lie about good food. [grin]

[Egg Pudding]: Why didn’t you tell me you were sending me a cake?

Big Fish: I was nervous.

[Egg Pudding]: Nervous about what?

Big Fish: I was afraid you’d find me annoying.

[Egg Pudding]: How could I find you annoying? You’re so cute! [kiss]

[Egg Pudding]: Let me tell you something, I’m the one who should be nervous. [pout]

Big Fish: What is it?

[Egg Pudding]: I have a blind date tomorrow!!! Wuwuwuwu! [crying]

Luo Jingyu looked at these words, suddenly feeling a lump in his throat. He thought of what the girl said this afternoon and hesitantly asked—

Big Fish: Is his surname Lin?

[Egg Pudding]: Huh? No, why do you ask?

Now he was stuck, unable to make up a convincing lie. Luo Jingyu broke into a nervous sweat.

Big Fish: My friend who helped deliver the cake told me someone gave you milk tea, seemed to have the surname Lin, he overheard it.

[Egg Pudding]: Uh… the Lin person is my colleague, he did buy milk tea for our department today, but it was for everyone, we all got some.

Big Fish: Is he male?

[Egg Pudding]: Yes, he’s male.

Luo Jingyu curled up in his chair, pulling his long legs up, making himself into a ball.

Big Fish: Tomorrow’s blind date, is it with someone else?

[Egg Pudding]: Yes, my mom introduced him.

Luo Jingyu sent each message very cautiously.

Big Fish: Is he a good catch?

[Egg Pudding]: He’s okay, I think he’s better than me, he has a master’s degree.

A master’s degree… even more educated than Teacher Egg.

Big Fish: Your conditions are already very good, really I think you are a very excellent girl.

[Egg Pudding]: But I don’t think it will work out.

[Egg Pudding]: I don’t have any feelings for him.

Big Fish: You haven’t met him yet, how can you know about feelings? You’ll know after meeting.

[Egg Pudding]: I’ve been chatting with him for almost three weeks.

Luo Jingyu blinked several times rapidly, feeling extremely puzzled.

Big Fish: Three weeks? I’ve been chatting with you for three weeks too.

[Egg Pudding]: Ah, that’s right! We’ve been chatting for almost three weeks too!

[Egg Pudding]: Hahahahaha! The way you say it makes me sound like a player! Actually, I barely chat with him!

Big Fish: What’s a player?

[Egg Pudding]: A player is someone who has many romantic interests at the same time!

Big Fish: shocked whale face.jpg

[Egg Pudding]: I’m not a player!!!

Big Fish: Teacher Egg, I want to ask a question, may I?

[Egg Pudding]: Go ahead.

Big Fish: What are your conditions for the guy you like?

[Egg Pudding]: Are you asking what type of guy I like?

Huh? Why would he ask this question?

Zhan Xi stared at her phone screen, thinking. Remembering how Little Fish always said his conditions weren’t good, it probably had to do with height and appearance? She couldn’t discourage him more! Zhan Xi decided not to mention anything about appearance, but she could mention personality traits similar to his to boost his confidence.

[Egg Pudding]: [shy] Not talking about appearance, personality-wise, I like guys who are humorous and witty, talkative, who can make me laugh.

[Egg Pudding]: Little Fish, though I talk a lot with you, I actually speak very little in real life, I’ve been quite introverted since childhood. If my boyfriend is also quiet, it would be a disaster when we’re together. I can already predict tomorrow’s blind date will be awkward, I barely talk during blind dates, I’m really a very boring person in reality.

Luo Jingyu didn’t respond for a long time because he had already been crushed by the first reply.

— Humorous and witty, talkative, someone who could make her laugh.

Do girls really have such requirements when looking for a partner? Shouldn’t they be looking at a man’s career, whether he owns a house, or has savings?

Never mind being talkative or quiet, Luo Jingyu couldn’t speak at all, not a single word.

He buried his head in his arms, curling up even tighter.