ATLAS TRANSLATES

Zhan Xi stared at the text on Luo Jingyu’s phone, tears welling up in her eyes, completely stunned.

Hell mode indeed lived up to its name.

She hadn’t even dated anyone yet, wasn’t even twenty-four – how could she think so far ahead? Forget marriage and children, she hadn’t even imagined what it would be like when her mother found out.

The only thing Zhan Xi understood was that stopping young love wasn’t about how fierce the opposition was, but whether the couple could stay united. But how could she know if they could stay united when they weren’t even together yet? Now that she had mustered up the courage to try, he hit her with another blow – it was hereditary!

Zhan Xi remembered what Ji Hongzhe had said, that Little Fish’s parents, grandparents, and sister were all deaf. She had wondered if there was a hereditary history in their family, but how could she understand such complex biology, genetics, and medical information just by searching online?

She lowered her head to look at the phone. Luo Jingyu could barely see her face. His heart felt like it had been swept by a sandstorm, desolate and bleak.

He remembered Chang Ting’s reaction during the blind date – the girl’s face had changed color, showing reluctance, hesitation, embarrassment, and finally turning to silence before hurriedly leaving.

At that time, his mindset was quite calm, feeling it was perfectly normal.

Ever since understanding that he carried the deafness gene, Luo Jingyu had lost all yearning for romance. His dating options were already very limited – finding someone he mutually loved was difficult enough. This girl would also have to agree with him about not having children, and most difficult of all, she would have to be hearing impaired.

Luo Jingyu was deaf, and throughout his life, 99% of the hearing-impaired people he saw married other hearing-impaired people. His parents had taught him this too. Deaf people had a common language, could communicate smoothly in sign language, and families formed this way tended to be more stable.

Luo Xiaomei was already an exception. Luo Jingyu didn’t think he could be as lucky as his sister.

Falling in love with Zhan Xi was an accident in his life. He had never known before that liking someone could be so sweet yet so bitter.

He thought everything was over now. Surely she would understand?

There could never be anything between them. They were like parallel lines – if not for that pressed flower arrangement, they would never have met in this lifetime, wouldn’t even have greeted each other in the elevator.

Huanhuan was destined to have a smooth and happy life. Meeting him wasn’t worth it.

Thinking this way, Luo Jingyu’s mood calmed down again.

There was nothing to regret, everything just returned to the starting point. Thank you, Huanhuan, for letting him experience what it meant to have his heart flutter, even performing above his usual level – she seemed to have developed feelings for him too.

Silly girl, usually so smart, why did she have to act foolish?

Fortunately, everything was over.

Zhan Xi finally raised her head, sniffled at Luo Jingyu, not letting her tears fall, wiping them away with the back of her hand.

She didn’t want to cry. She had actually gotten her answer – Little Fish did like her, she was certain.

But Little Fish had also rejected her, just like on his birthday night. They each had their own difficulties, with one thing in common – they both thought they were thinking of the other person.

The situation came so suddenly that Zhan Xi didn’t know how to answer Luo Jingyu’s question.

He had asked “Child deaf! You willing?” She felt there was no right way to answer.

Saying “willing” definitely wouldn’t work, but saying “unwilling” wasn’t her true feeling either!

“Just because I don’t want the child to be deaf doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you!”

But her silence appeared to Luo Jingyu as a clear “unwilling.”

He was very tired, physically and mentally exhausted, and no longer wanted to argue this hopeless issue with Zhan Xi.

He put away his phone, gave her one last deep look, slowly reached up to ruffle her hair, then turned and walked away with large strides.

Zhan Xi watched his retreating figure without chasing after him. Before figuring out how to answer his question, she felt it was good for both of them to cool down. Just as it took her over ten days to figure out what to do, Little Fish also needed some time to think.

At least Little Fish now knew how she felt. Judging by his reaction, he really hadn’t known before.

What “Big Fish”? More like “Stupid Fish”!

—

The next day, Zhan Xi found Ji Hongzhe’s business card and called him, getting straight to the point: “Ji Hongzhe, I need your help with something. Do you know where I can learn sign language one-on-one with proper instruction?”

“Huh?” Ji Hongzhe was stunned for a few seconds before reacting, “You want to learn sign language? Why?”

“Never mind that.” Zhan Xi said, “I want to learn until I’m like you, able to chat with Little Fish without barriers. Where can I learn?”

Ji Hongzhe laughed, “How about… I teach you?”

“No! I’m not joking!” Zhan Xi immediately refused, “I hope it’s a female teacher who can hear and speak, so I can learn faster. I’ll pay, like one lesson per week.”

Ji Hongzhe was silent for a moment, then asked, “Zhan Xi, are you serious? For Luo Jingyu?”

Zhan Xi tacitly agreed.

“To be honest, I really don’t know where.” Ji Hongzhe said, “I learned from my parents, learned it along with speaking, it’s like a mother tongue to me. I don’t know any teachers from the school for the deaf and blind, and all the sign language users I know are deaf. Even those who can hear like me don’t have time to teach you. Besides, learning to be as natural as me is quite difficult, it’s like learning a foreign language.”

Zhan Xi felt dejected: “How come I can’t even find a place to learn sign language when I’m willing to pay?”

Ji Hongzhe thought for a moment and said: “You could try asking at the Disabled Persons’ Federation?… Oh! I just remembered someone! Little Fish’s sister Luo Xiaomei, she’s a Chinese language teacher at the school for the deaf and blind. I have her WeChat. Some teachers at the school can hear – why don’t I ask her?”

“Sure, please help me ask.” Zhan Xi mumbled, “Just… could you not tell her… who I am, and that I know Little Fish, I’m just… embarrassed.”

Ji Hongzhe roared with laughter over the phone, then said: “I understand, I understand. If Luo Xiaomei knew you were doing this for her brother, she’d really die laughing.”

Zhan Xi: “…”

“Hey, seriously though.” Ji Hongzhe asked, “Have you really thought this through? With Luo Jingyu? Can you handle your mom?”

Zhan Xi sighed, not answering, instead asking him: “Ji Hongzhe, let me ask you something – is Little Fish’s deafness definitely hereditary?”

“Well, not necessarily.” Ji Hongzhe said, “I heard from my mom that Little Fish’s grandmother had several siblings, about half could hear and half couldn’t. Then in their children’s generation, most could hear, though some were deaf, like Little Fish’s dad. I don’t know about Little Fish’s generation, my mom doesn’t either. Little Fish’s family was particularly unlucky, having two children who both can’t hear, one boy and one girl, there’s no pattern to it.”

Zhan Xi asked again: “This… even if it is hereditary, can it be prevented?”

“That’s beyond my knowledge.” Ji Hongzhe said, “You’d have to consult doctors, it’s related to genes. His sister is married, right? She’s also in her early thirties, but I don’t dare ask her about this – that would be asking for trouble, wouldn’t it?”

Zhan Xi hurriedly said: “Don’t ask, don’t ask, I was just saying.”

Ji Hongzhe laughed again: “You two are amazing. Last time I saw him, he said there was nothing between you two, and just a month later, you’re already talking about having children?”

Zhan Xi: “…”

She said glumly: “Thank you, I’ll wait for your news. Hanging up now, bye!”

—

After experiencing a terrible birthday and then a terrible Valentine’s Day, Luo Jingyu completely settled down and threw himself entirely into work.

He stopped cooking altogether, ordering takeout every day and eating very simply. He messaged his parents saying he was too busy lately, making over thirty hair accessories each day from morning to night, and couldn’t come home for meals for now.

He didn’t tell them that his hands were torn up and painful, not wanting them to worry.

Actually, when Fang Xu had asked the hanfu group to choose between two themes, Luo Jingyu had hoped the girls would choose spring orchids, but his two sample pieces showed that the pink peony was indeed prettier, so after deciding on peonies, he was mentally prepared – for the next half month, his left hand wouldn’t be getting any better.

Making peonies with pressed flowers involved a very special step.

A peony consists of three parts – large petals, small petals, and the center. The center has six petals, while the large and small petal layers each have twelve petals. After each petal is dyed and dried, it needs to be folded in half, wrapped in a piece of gauze, then pressed down with the flesh below the left thumb against the table. Then the right hand pulls the gauze hard, leaving the gauze’s texture on the petal, creating a very natural and realistic wrinkled effect.

This motion was very damaging to the left hand. A few times was fine, but doing it repeatedly would definitely cause the skin to break and bleed where it pressed against the gauze.

But this was how peonies had to be made. Many pressed flower craftspeople had tried various methods to avoid injury: like using bandages, but these got in the way and their texture would imprint on the petals; like wearing medical rubber gloves, but these couldn’t create the wrinkles; like using other parts of the hand when that fleshy part hurt too much, like the back of the hand or fingers, but wherever they pressed would get worn raw.

So after making dozens or hundreds of peonies, the entire left hand would be unsightly, covered in raw wounds. Fortunately, they were just surface wounds that wouldn’t leave scars once healed.

Working like a machine every day, Luo Jingyu rarely had time to think about other things.

Surprisingly, he had thought Zhan Xi would give up and completely cut ties with him, but that girl didn’t do as he wished. She would occasionally send him WeChat messages, talking about little things from her work and life as if talking to herself, sometimes even sending photos, mostly of Gift’s cute appearances.

Luo Jingyu rarely replied, he really had no time to chat, sometimes seeing her messages hours after she sent them.

His most frequent response was: [I’m working, can’t chat.]

Yet every night before sleep, he would download all the photos she sent, and review all her messages again, only then could he sleep peacefully.

Zhan Xi didn’t know about the Flower Festival work details, only knew that Little Fish was very cold, always working, never chatting.

She didn’t want to pressure him, and wouldn’t constantly bother him, maintaining a rhythm of three or four WeChat messages per day, like a gentle breeze rippling across a lake surface, creating tiny ripples in his heart’s lake, but once the wind passed, the lake water would return to its peaceful stillness.

On the weekend, commissioned by their mother, Luo Xiaomei brought ingredients to Qingque Garden to improve her brother’s meals.

Upon entering, Luo Xiaomei saw the transformed living room and asked Luo Jingyu in sign language, surprised: [How did you think to decorate the house? This cat tree is so cute! Where’s your cat? Let me see, that little white cat?]

Luo Jingyu: “…”

Ahh, so annoying!

Luo Xiaomei made six dishes for her brother. Luo Jingyu hadn’t eaten proper home-cooked meals in a long time and sat at the dining table eating with great appetite. Luo Xiaomei sat across from him, examining his hair, signing: [Little Fish, how long since you’ve had a haircut? Your hair’s too long.]

Luo Jingyu touched his hair – it had been over two months since his last cut. He’d been too busy to go out, and now it was back to being very fluffy, becoming a puffball after waking up.

Luo Xiaomei: [Let me take you for a haircut later, and buy some fruit for you to take back. Haven’t you been out in a long time? It’s good to take a walk.]

Luo Jingyu thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Luo Xiaomei saw his battered left hand and felt heartbroken: [What happened to your hand?]

Luo Jingyu glanced at his left hand, answering casually: [It’s nothing, I’m used to it.]

His gaze fell on Luo Xiaomei’s left hand, where she wore a wedding ring on her ring finger. Luo Jingyu stared at it for a while, then signed to ask his sister: [Sis, can I ask you something – why did you agree to be with brother-in-law back then?]

The struggles Luo Jingyu faced in choosing a partner, Luo Xiaomei would have faced too – they all had hereditary genes. Why was Luo Xiaomei willing to accept Gao Yuan? Didn’t his family mind? Or was it because Gao Yuan was physically disabled, so his family felt satisfied that he could find a physically complete girl to help with his life?

Luo Xiaomei was startled, then smiled and signed: [Your brother-in-law pursued me, pursued for over half a year, remember?]

Luo Jingyu: [I remember, I mean, did he know about our hereditary deafness from the beginning?]

Luo Xiaomei nodded: [Of course, I told him right away.]

Luo Jingyu: [He didn’t mind? He doesn’t want children?]

Luo Xiaomei thought for a moment, then answered Luo Jingyu: [It went like this – he pursued me first, I didn’t agree, told him our family’s deafness might be hereditary, having children would be risky. But he said he liked me as a person, hadn’t thought about having children yet. If we got along well we’d marry, if we didn’t get along, talking about children would be meaningless. Later our relationship was quite good, so we agreed before marriage not to have children – his legs aren’t good, you know, always felt we’d be doing a child a disservice, even if the child was healthy.]

[But now, after three years of marriage, our relationship keeps getting better, the family income is stable, we have a house and car, we started thinking about wanting a child. This thought only came in the past two years, we didn’t dare think about it before. We’ll have to see doctors and hear what they say.]

Luo Jingyu stopped asking, thinking his sister’s experience wasn’t comparable to his. His sister and Gao Yuan were both college graduates – his sister was deaf, Gao Yuan was physically disabled, in some ways they were well-matched and could help each other in life.

He and Huanhuan weren’t like that at all – they weren’t compatible in any way. He wasn’t well-educated, while Huanhuan was smart and healthy and beautiful.

Luo Xiaomei observed her brother’s dejected expression, waved at him, and when Luo Jingyu looked up, she asked: [Little Fish, are you dating someone?]

Luo Jingyu quickly shook his head in denial.

Luo Xiaomei had her doubts. Before the New Year, whenever Luo Jingyu came home, he would secretly smile at his phone, and the matter of taking four braised ducks over two weekends was still being laughed about by their mother. At that time, he really had the sweet appearance of someone in a relationship.

But during the New Year things changed – Luo Jingyu became depressed and downcast, sitting motionless in a corner during the New Year’s Eve dinner, not even looking at his phone, just spacing out.

When he came to their parents’ home for the Lantern Festival dinner, he still had that half-dead appearance. Yan Yajuan privately asked Luo Xiaomei if “Little Fish had a breakup,” but Luo Xiaomei said she didn’t know and didn’t dare to ask.

Now, Luo Jingyu was asking about her relationship with Gao Yuan, and Luo Xiaomei felt things were very clear – her brother must be facing relationship troubles.

Silly boy, he couldn’t even hide his feelings, how could he pursue a girl!

Luo Xiaomei wanted to give Luo Jingyu some advice: [Little Fish, listen to me. You’re not young anymore. If you meet a girl you like, you can be more proactive in pursuing her. Although we can’t hear, you have many good qualities and are a man worthy of a girl’s love. Don’t always think about the hereditary deafness issue, don’t sentence yourself to death from the start. Don’t say there might be medical solutions nowadays, even if there aren’t, you can’t reject love because you can’t have children. The reason for dating and marriage is because you love someone and want to live life together, not for having children. If you always worry about heredity, you might miss the right girl.]

Luo Jingyu understood, raised his hands hesitantly for a long time, then bit his lip and asked: [Sis, what if that girl is healthy?]

This was something Luo Xiaomei hadn’t expected. Her brother had few friends since childhood, even fewer hearing friends. He was even distant from Xiaozheng, yet he actually fell for a hearing girl? How much courage must that have taken?

Luo Xiaomei replied: [It will be harder indeed, but not impossible. No one can predict matters of the heart. I never thought I’d find a hearing person as a partner either, but now I’m very happy with your brother-in-law. As long as you can communicate with her well, your deafness isn’t an obstacle. Does she know sign language?]

Luo Jingyu shook his head dejectedly.

Luo Xiaomei: [A few days ago Xiaozheng came to ask me about a friend who wants to learn sign language – a healthy girl who wants to communicate freely with the boy she likes. I introduced her to Teacher Zhou. See, there are girls like that too! And your brother-in-law learned sign language to know me, now his signing is no worse than Xiaozheng’s. Practice and chatting are key. As long as the girl you like cares about you, this really isn’t a problem.]

Luo Jingyu didn’t know about Ji Hongzhe and Zhan Xi’s prior connection, naturally couldn’t guess they would contact each other again. He just envied Xiaozheng’s friend’s crush, having a girl willing to specially learn sign language for him – that person was truly blessed.

He raised his hands to sign to Luo Xiaomei: [Actually communicating with her is fine. Although she doesn’t know sign language, we’ve always chatted happily. The biggest problem between us is that she’s too perfect. I’m afraid she’ll be laughed at if she’s with me. I don’t want her to face any harm because of me.]

Luo Xiaomei looked at her brother gently, comforting him: [I know you’re thinking of her, but Little Fish, you have to try to know. Dating is dating – how do you know if you love each other if you don’t even date? If it really doesn’t work out, then break up. I think the only one who can hurt her is you. If you’re good enough to her, she won’t be hurt.]

Luo Jingyu carefully pondered his sister’s words.

After lunch, Luo Xiaomei helped prepare dinner for her brother, telling him to heat it up later, then called him to go out for a haircut.

When Luo Jingyu was about to leave, he wanted to wear a mask, but Luo Xiaomei stopped him: [Don’t wear it! Such a handsome young man, acting like you can’t be seen in public.]

Luo Jingyu didn’t insist.

The two took the elevator down. At the eighth floor, the elevator stopped. Luo Jingyu looked up at the floor number, his heart almost stopping. His first reaction was to pull up his hood, his second was to touch his face – oh no, no mask! So he could only pray: not her not her not her…

Luo Xiaomei looked at him suspiciously.

The elevator doors opened, and a young beautiful girl stood at the entrance. When she saw them, her eyes widened, then she smiled and walked into the elevator.

Luo Xiaomei smiled back at her, moving closer to Luo Jingyu. The girl stood on the other side, then after a while turned to look over, her gaze moving between them. When she met Luo Xiaomei’s eyes, she seemed startled and quickly turned her head back, her cheeks flushed red.

Luo Xiaomei: “?”

She looked at Luo Jingyu again and found her tall brother wearing his hood, almost shrinking into a mushroom in the corner.

Luo Xiaomei: “…”

When the elevator reached the first floor and the doors opened, Luo Jingyu was the first one out. Luo Xiaomei followed him, and the young girl came last.

Little Fish was walking so fast! Luo Xiaomei could barely keep up. She sensed something was going on and looked back – sure enough, the young girl was also walking very fast, jogging to follow them.

Seeing her look back, the girl startled again, pretending to fix her hair and clothes, not knowing where to look.

Luo Xiaomei had a strange suspicion and decided to test it.

She walked up to Luo Jingyu and linked her arm with his, even intimately resting her head on his shoulder.

Luo Jingyu: “?”

— Why is big sis suddenly acting coy?

Luo Xiaomei felt this wasn’t enough, so she reached up and pulled down her brother’s hood, ruffling his fluffy hair.

Luo Jingyu: “??”

He didn’t dodge, and at this moment Luo Xiaomei suddenly turned back, very satisfied to see the girl standing dumbfounded, watching them leave.

Not until they walked out of the complex gates did Luo Jingyu return to normal. Luo Xiaomei excitedly asked him: [Little Fish, who was that girl just now? It’s her, right? It must be her! She’s so pretty!]

Luo Jingyu glared at her, refusing to answer with a red face.

—

On Sunday, the provincial exam arrived as scheduled. This time, Zhan Xi was more prepared than for the national exam, feeling she did okay – exactly how well she’d done, she’d have to wait for the results to know.

Walking out of the exam room, she took the subway home, thinking about what she’d seen yesterday.

Who was that girl? She looked so gentle. She and Little Fish came down from the fifteenth floor together – was she visiting his home? They went out together, arm in arm, very intimate. Little Fish wasn’t even wearing a mask! That girl even rested her head on his shoulder, ruffled his hair, and finally gave her a challenging look.

Did she know who she was? Had Little Fish told her?

They didn’t look like just friends – no ordinary friends would walk arm in arm. Little Fish didn’t push her away either, though his eyes kept avoiding her.

Did he go on blind dates during the New Year? From his birthday until now, over a month had passed. Zhan Xi had only seen him three times – once at the birthday party, once on Valentine’s Day, and finally yesterday.

If Little Fish really went on blind dates and got to know someone for half a month, establishing a relationship now would be about right timing-wise.

Was it true? No wonder he’d been so cold lately, not responding to her messages.

Ah… men really changed quickly, in just a few days he’d already brought another girl home.

—

After the elevator encounter, Zhan Xi never sent Luo Jingyu WeChat messages again.

Luo Jingyu was busy every day and didn’t notice at first, only realizing something was wrong when checking WeChat before bed two days in a row.

Huanhuan… wasn’t talking to him anymore?

He waited another two days, still receiving no messages from her.

She finally… “gave up”?

Luo Jingyu discovered he wasn’t as relieved as he’d imagined.

He sat at his workbench applying hand cream.

His left hand hurt too much – the broken skin would scab over then break again, break then scab over. His entire hand was covered in wounds. He shouldn’t really use hand cream, but he wanted to – it could moisturize a bit, and somehow… it seemed to hurt less when he did.

If he took a photo of this hand and posted it on Moments now, what would Huanhuan say?

She wouldn’t say anything – Huanhuan wasn’t talking to him anymore.

After finishing work late at night, Luo Jingyu didn’t immediately go to his room to sleep, but lay on the couch staring at the whale lamp, lost in thought.

Huanhuan was really amazing, actually finding a whale lamp. She hadn’t seen this lamp in person yet, right? If she saw it, would she say it was beautiful?

She wouldn’t – Huanhuan wasn’t talking to him anymore.

Luo Jingyu suffered from insomnia.

While using the neck massager before bed, he thought of many things.

Huanhuan said she had an exam at the end of the month – had she taken it? How did it go?

Had Huanhuan’s company annual party happened? Did her dance performance go well?

Gift was three months old now – when could it eat dried fish and cat food?

Had Huanhuan been eating properly lately? When he saw her that day, she seemed thinner.

Should he continue making the pressed flower accessories he wanted to give her?

He still hadn’t made her Tom Yum Kung soup or curry chicken, hadn’t treated her to the promised steak either – he still owed her a meal! That KFC didn’t count!

Huanhuan said Mrs. Wu wanted to make a peony arrangement. After he finished the Flower Festival work, would Mrs. Wu still wait? Would Huanhuan still help him contact her?

That day in the elevator when they saw Huanhuan, they didn’t greet each other – was that why? He pretended not to see her, so she stopped talking to him too?

Huanhuan really wasn’t talking to him anymore…

—

Qiantang was about to bid farewell to the cold, dry winter. Temperatures rose daily as spring approached, and rain became more frequent.

On the last day of February, Zhan Xi’s company held their annual party at a luxury hotel.

The weather forecast predicted rain that night. Zhan Xi had thought about bringing an umbrella, but when leaving with her performance costume, she was too busy and forgot. She figured it was fine – worst case she could take a taxi home.

The annual party was grand, with over seven hundred people attending including workers. The banquet was spectacular with continuous programs, lucky draws, and games, but Zhan Xi was listless, just wanting to get her dance over with.

After finishing her stage makeup, she took some photos with Yuan Sichen and Qian Yun, choosing one she liked and casually posting it to Moments.

[Egg Pudding]: I’m the monster! [grin] Photo: Three girls in heavy makeup.jpg

After posting, likes and comments poured in. Among the messages, Zhan Xi actually saw one from Luo Jingyu.

[Big Fish]: It’s raining, do you have an umbrella?

It was like… a miracle at Qingque Garden!!

How long had it been since Little Fish actively messaged her?

[Egg Pudding] replied to [Big Fish]: Forgot to bring one, it’s fine, I’ll take a taxi back.

[Mrs. Wu]: Teacher Luo should go pick her up!

[Dong Cheng]: [thumbs up]

Zhan Xi thought, you’re the real monsters!

When going on stage, Zhan Xi was confident as Teacher Qiu had said. The three of them had practiced very hard, not wanting to let HR down.

Zhan Xi’s performance outfit was a bright red PU leather top with black shorts showing off her long, slender legs, wearing 6cm high leather boots – slightly over the top, but that’s how annual parties were.

She tied her hair in a high ponytail, with glitter on her cheeks and a row of rhinestones, bright red lipstick, and such heavy eye makeup her mom wouldn’t recognize her. When Lin Yan saw her, he stared for a while before saying: “You look… pretty.”

Zhan Xi: “…”

Finally the intro music started. Zhan Xi stood in the C position and closed her eyes, looking at the dense round tables below, thinking of Luo Jingyu.

Every time she practiced dancing after Valentine’s Day, she thought of him.

This was the last time she’d dance this song. She felt rather reluctant to part with the naive girl in the lyrics, wishing her and that boy could be happy together, unlike her own messy situation.

The three girls danced very well – coordinated and passionate, each one very focused with cute, playful expressions.

Applause and cheers rose and fell. Wen Qin stood below the stage recording the entire dance on her phone. At the end, Zhan Xi struck her pose, catching her breath, like a C-position member in an idol group competition, winking at the audience below. The male colleagues in the front row whooped and hollered, even Lin Yan’s face turned slightly red.

She thought she could eat in peace after finishing the dance. Zhan Xi didn’t even bother removing her makeup, but after just a few bites was called up by Wen Qin, dragging the HR team to toast the executives.

Zhan Xi had never experienced such a lively scene before, somehow ending up with red wine poured for her, and somehow drinking it down. After the executives, Wen Qin went to toast the Marketing Department, Technical Department, Finance Department, Planning Department… The HR people were socially skilled and good at talking. After several rounds, Zhan Xi had somehow drunk several glasses of red wine, feeling dizzy and a bit drunk.

“Sichen jie, I can’t drink anymore, my head’s spinning,” she told Yuan Sichen.

“Oh you’re so honest, drinking everything they gave you?” Yuan Sichen was impressed, “Stop drinking, stop drinking, just pretend from now on.”

After all the commotion, the annual party finally ended around 10 PM. Zhan Xi was lucky enough to win a third prize – a juicer. She hugged the gift box and walked out of the hotel with her colleagues, only to find it was pouring rain, coming down in sheets with no way to rush through it.

Colleagues with cars arranged rides home by route. Lin Yan squeezed next to Zhan Xi and said: “I’ll take you home, we’re going the same direction, there’s one empty seat.”

Zhan Xi hesitated, but Lin Yan said: “Come on, it’s raining too hard and they’re all waiting.”

His car already had three colleagues in the back seat. Somehow they were all in the back, so Zhan Xi had to sit in the passenger seat. As she got in, she heard low laughter from the back.

Lin Yan remained calm as usual, telling Zhan Xi to fasten her seatbelt before starting the car.

On the way, the colleagues in back kept praising Zhan Xi’s dancing, saying she was beautiful with a great figure. Little Ma asked with a grin: “Does little Zhan have a boyfriend?”

Another older woman said: “I don’t think so. If she did, he’d be here to pick her up in this heavy rain!”

Little Ma said: “If not, consider our Lin Yan – he’s definitely husband material!”

They had all been drinking except Lin Yan, and now emboldened by alcohol, they said these things openly, not caring if Zhan Xi got angry.

Zhan Xi’s head was spinning and she stayed silent. Lin Yan spoke up to stop them: “Little Ma you’re drunk, stop talking nonsense.”

Little Ma chuckled sheepishly, and Zhan Xi tiredly closed her eyes.

Lin Yan dropped them off one by one. Zhan Xi lived farthest, so in the end only she was left. Lin Yan said: “Sorry about their joking earlier, don’t be angry.”

Zhan Xi smiled: “I’m not angry.”

When they reached Qingque Garden, Zhan Xi thanked him and prepared to get out, but Lin Yan said: “Wait a moment.”

He got out in the rain, took an umbrella from the trunk and opened it, then opened the passenger door for Zhan Xi to get out.

Lin Yan held the umbrella over both their heads. They stood very close as he asked: “Want me to walk you in?”

Zhan Xi said: “No need, it’s late, thank you for driving me home. You should head back quickly.”

“Then take the umbrella.” Lin Yan pushed the handle forward, “I won’t need it later, my car goes straight to the underground garage.”

“Okay, thanks.” Zhan Xi took the umbrella and stepped back a bit. Lin Yan got in his car and left.

Zhan Xi hugged the gift box in her left hand, holding her bag and umbrella in her right as she walked into the complex.

The rain was very heavy – without an umbrella, she would have been soaked through walking from the complex entrance to her building.

Zhan Xi’s head was heavy and her steps unsteady. She knew she was drunk and thought about taking a shower first when she got home. Tomorrow she had her first lesson with the sign language teacher and couldn’t sleep in.

As she walked, she suddenly had a strange feeling, like… someone was watching her.

Ahead was the dimly lit main path, rain falling densely. It didn’t look like anyone was there. She looked around but saw nothing unusual, yet that feeling persisted.

Zhan Xi’s heart skipped a beat as she remembered Little Fish’s comment: [It’s raining, do you have an umbrella?]

Zhan Xi suddenly turned around, looking back toward the complex entrance. About twenty meters away, by the security booth, there was indeed a tall dark figure in the shadows!

“Little Fish!” she murmured, walking toward him.

The figure in the shadows moved, suddenly breaking into a run toward the complex exit.

Zhan Xi was dumbfounded and shouted: “Little Fish!”

Why was he running? Wasn’t he here to meet her? Worried she’d get wet? Bringing her an umbrella?

What was there to run from?! Just because she saw him? Or because she already had an umbrella? Why on earth was he running?!

Zhan Xi immediately chased after him, but she was carrying too many things, and had forgotten she was wearing those 6cm high heels, and that she’d had several glasses of red wine!

After running about ten meters, not even reaching the security booth, she stepped on a raised stone. Her ankle twisted and with a cry of “Ah!”, she fell face-first onto the muddy main path.

Her bag fell, the juicer gift box fell, the umbrella flew away, and rain instantly poured down on her.

Zhan Xi didn’t have time to feel heartbroken. She quickly got up, picked up her things one by one, finally opened the umbrella, and limped to the complex entrance, but how could that person still be there?

Only then did she feel the pain in her leg. Looking down, she saw her stockings were torn, her knee was scraped, her ankle was twisted, and her clothes were in an awful state.

Zhan Xi felt wronged, thinking what’s wrong with this person?! Why run?! It’s not like he’s a thief! Wasn’t he just bringing her an umbrella?!

Made her fall too – such a big person, how many years since she’d fallen like this?!

The security guard saw her and called out: “Miss, what happened? Did you fall?”

Seeing her face, he exclaimed again, his tone changing, “Oh my, did you just finish a performance?”

Zhan Xi looked at him, her lips trembled, and she burst into tears with a “wuwuwu.”