ATLAS TRANSLATES

In the evening, Zhan Xi received a call from her brother.

Zhan Jie said, “Huanhuan, come to Lili’s engagement ceremony tomorrow. Bring Luo along – Mom promised she won’t give him a hard time.”

“I don’t believe her,” Zhan Xi’s voice was cold. “I absolutely won’t let anyone hurt Little Fish.”

“She really promised, Dad heard it too.” Zhan Jie sighed. “After you left this afternoon, Mom cried for a long time. Dad and I kept trying to reason with her. Later, I found a chance to show her the gifts Luo bought. After seeing them, she told me to bring him tomorrow when you come. Last time she saw Luo, he got beaten up and she didn’t get a good look at him. She just wants to see him properly tomorrow.”

Zhan Xi repeated firmly: “I don’t believe her. I don’t believe a single word she says.”

“…” Zhan Jie tried explaining to his sister, “Huanhuan, listen – our relatives already heard about this today, and more people will know tomorrow. We can’t keep it hidden anyway. Besides, tomorrow is Lili’s engagement – it’s a joyous occasion. Would Mom really cause trouble on a day like this? Wouldn’t that make Aunt furious? Just bring Luo to meet everyone. You don’t have to stay all day – you can head back to Qiantang after the ceremony. Plus, Dad wants to meet him too. He hasn’t met Luo yet.”

Zhan Xi still couldn’t agree. She sat on the bed pouting with her knees drawn up. Luo Jingyu sat beside her watching, unable to hear Zhan Jie’s words and not understanding what was happening.

“I think Luo can handle meeting people.” Zhan Jie continued persuading. “His height and looks are great, and he has a good temperament. Everyone knows about his hearing now, you really don’t need to worry. Look, I’ll promise you this – if anyone bullies him, even if it’s Mom, I’ll stand up for you, okay?”

Zhan Xi thought for a moment and said, “I’ll ask him first. He might not even want to go. I’m so annoyed with Aunt – she has no class at all.”

“That’s just how her family is, you know that. Why get angry? You won’t have to see her much anyway,” Zhan Jie said. “Really, bring Luo along. You and Lili have been best friends since childhood – she’ll be upset if you don’t show up at her engagement after coming all this way.”

“I’ll message you back in a bit,” Zhan Xi said. “Let me discuss it with Little Fish first.”

After hanging up, Zhan Xi looked at Luo Jingyu and asked, “Little Fish, would you like to come with me tomorrow to my cousin’s engagement ceremony?”

When Huanhuan had come crying that afternoon, she hadn’t explained the details to Luo Jingyu, but he could guess what happened – her family had found out he was deaf and disapproved of their relationship.

Luo Jingyu realized his mindset had improved a lot. In the past, he probably would have withdrawn into himself. Now he felt their attitude was normal – it would be abnormal if they accepted him right away.

Maybe it was because Huanhuan had given him enough confidence, along with the support from “big brother-in-law” and “father-in-law”. He wasn’t fighting this battle alone – he had comrades and reinforcements.

He thought that if he performed well and showed Huanhuan’s family his sincere feelings for her, they would eventually get past this hurdle.

Luo Jingyu didn’t think about avoiding it at all. He nodded at Zhan Xi and signed: [I want to go with you. I want to meet your family. I’m not afraid.]

“Afraid of what? Afraid they’ll eat you?” Zhan Xi said as she hugged him. “Little Fish, I fought with my mom. I feel like my relationship with her… will never go back to how it was when I was little.”

Luo Jingyu gently touched her left cheek. He had noticed something unusual there that afternoon and asked about it. She said her mom had slapped her.

A month ago, Luo Jingyu had also been slapped by Yan Yajuan over the Luo Xiaomei incident. He wondered why moms liked to slap people. It really hurt – his mind had gone blank in that moment.

He very seriously signed to Zhan Xi: [Tomorrow, don’t let your mom hit you. If she gets angry, let her hit me instead. I’m not afraid of pain. You’re a girl – she shouldn’t hit you anymore. Hitting me is fine.]

Zhan Xi nearly died laughing: “No one should be hit! Mom should be calmer tomorrow. But if she says or does anything bad to you, we’re leaving immediately.”

Since Luo Jingyu had a harmonious relationship with his mother, he felt guilty: [Don’t be angry with your mom because of me. It would make me sad.]

Zhan Xi shook her head: “It’s not just because of you – it’s also for myself. My mom and I have too many conflicts. The only solution I can think of is to see her less. Have you heard the phrase ‘distance makes the heart grow fonder’?”

Luo Jingyu furrowed his brows slightly. He couldn’t understand this unfamiliar phrase, so Zhan Xi signed each word to translate: [Between people, distance means fragrant, closeness means stinky.]

“Distance makes the heart grow fonder – understand now?” she asked, looking up at him.

Luo Jingyu suddenly understood. He lowered his head to kiss her lips, then pulled back with bright eyes to sign: [But you’re very close and still fragrant.]

They had both showered and were indeed fresh-smelling.

Zhan Xi discovered that Luo Jingyu was quite particular about his daily life. Even for just one night at a hotel, he brought travel-sized versions of his usual shampoo and body wash, along with his own towel, toothbrush and toothpaste. She wasn’t sure if this was for environmental reasons or mild germaphobia.

His comment made Zhan Xi sniff him like a puppy. Little Fish smelled good too, with a rich milky scent from his body wash. Looking into his eyes, she thought how beautiful they were – those long lashes and dark pupils were as pure and innocent as a child’s.

If possible, please let him maintain this simple purity. This world had both good and evil – Zhan Xi couldn’t bear to see him corrupted by impurities.

He could become more mature, more steady, with a stronger and more resilient mindset. But please don’t let him become someone calculating, opportunistic and insincere.

There were far too many people like that in this world. But there was only one Luo Jingyu.

Zhan Xi’s teasing of Luo Jingyu quickly met with his resistance. The result was… well, fortunately there weren’t any on the hotel nightstand.

Because he couldn’t hear sounds, when the kitten and fish played their game, the fish needed a light on. He needed to see her face and expressions to sense her emotions.

This made the kitten very shy. As a novice, she naturally felt safer in complete darkness, but Little Fish wouldn’t agree.

Total darkness was fine for sleeping, but for playing games, being unable to hear or see with no feedback was too hard for him to bear.

Little Fish looked so pitiful that the kitten’s heart softened and she agreed.

However, this fish wasn’t satisfied with just having the light on. Sometimes he would seriously sign questions that made her too embarrassed to answer, like:

[Do you make sounds? Do girls make sounds too?]

[Does it hurt?]

[Does it feel good?]

[Did I make a sound?]

[I really made a sound? Was it unpleasant? I don’t know, I couldn’t help it.]

[Do you prefer when I make sounds or when I don’t?]

[Am I good?]

…

So annoying! The kitten wanted to throw this fish back into the sea. She didn’t want to play anymore – how childish!

Of course Luo Jingyu didn’t think he was being childish. He felt he had completely become a man – a very excellent and capable man!

It was just that there were many things he didn’t understand. If he didn’t understand, he wouldn’t know what to do. If he didn’t know, he had to ask – he needed to consider the girl’s feelings, not just focus on himself.

Huanhuan didn’t like when he made sounds, so he could hold them back, even though it was very difficult – that took effort. But Huanhuan said she liked it, liked hearing his voice, said it was very sexy.

Luo Jingyu had trouble understanding how his voice could be considered sexy. He couldn’t imagine how Huanhuan felt when she heard his voice.

From childhood, all the feedback he’d received told him that his kind of vocalization was unpleasant – many people hated it. He had held back from making sounds in front of people for over a decade, until it became almost instinctive. Only with Huanhuan could he relax.

Huanhuan told him he didn’t need to hide himself around her. He could make whatever sounds he wanted – coughing, sneezing, yawning, clearing his throat… anything was fine, no need to worry. If he wanted to try imitating others speaking, that was okay too – she loved hearing all of it.

After she said these things, Luo Jingyu buried his face in her shoulder, stroking her skin and breathing in her scent as his eyes gradually grew wet.

His biggest regret in life was not being able to hear Huanhuan’s voice.

An author once wrote “Three Days to See” – he thought he didn’t need to experience three days in the hearing world. He didn’t care about other sounds, he just wanted to hear Huanhuan’s voice.

Even a few seconds would be enough – he could remember it for a lifetime.

—

Qiantang didn’t have engagement customs, so Luo Jingyu had never attended an engagement ceremony before. Zhan Xi said there weren’t many requirements for guests – they were just going as female relatives to show support and add to the celebratory atmosphere.

Luo Jingyu put on his newly bought shirt, suit and leather shoes, and used some hair gel as he looked in the mirror.

Zhan Xi stood beside him and gave a thumbs up at their reflection: “Handsome!”

Luo Jingyu thought he looked quite handsome too. He had felt a bit uncomfortable dressed like this when meeting Du Hengzhi, but now he was more used to it. Thinking about it, he was already seventeen – indeed old enough to confidently wear formal attire.

He was a man now – a very excellent and capable man!

Hehe.

Zhan Xi and Luo Jingyu took a taxi to her aunt’s house. As they got closer to their destination, Luo Jingyu felt somewhat nervous.

Fortunately, Huanhuan held his hand the whole time, which helped ease his anxiety.

When they arrived at her aunt’s house, Zhan Xi noticed there were many people. Groups of uncles and brothers stood outside the courtyard, with firecrackers laid on the ground, presumably to be set off when the groom-to-be arrived.

Someone spotted her and called out excitedly: “Huanhuan is here, Huanhuan is here!”

“Oh, is that her boyfriend?”

“I heard he’s deaf and mute.”

“So what if he’s deaf and mute? He’s an artist who can earn over 400,000!”

“He’s so tall and handsome – he matches well with Huanhuan.”

“You can’t even tell he’s deaf and mute. He looks really good.”

…

Zhan Xi and Luo Jingyu walked hand in hand through the relatives. Luo Jingyu kept a sincere and warm smile on his face, without any hint of strain.

Several familiar relatives came over. Zhan Xi introduced Luo Jingyu to them. Since he couldn’t verbally greet people, Zhan Xi simply told him who each uncle and cousin was. Luo Jingyu nodded in acknowledgment and confidently shook hands with some of the male relatives.

Zhan Jie heard the news and came out from the courtyard. When Zhan Xi and Luo Jingyu saw him, they felt relieved. Zhan Jie patted Luo Jingyu’s arm: “You’re here? Looking good!”

Luo Jingyu smiled and signed to him: [Hello, brother.]

Zhan Jie: “…”

Zhan Xi had taught Zhan Jie how to sign “brother”, saying Little Fish would call him that and he needed to understand it.

In Qiantang, Luo Jingyu hadn’t “called” him so formally before. This was Zhan Jie’s first time seeing it, and he felt surprisingly touched and a bit emotional.

Someone came over to offer cigarettes to Zhan Jie and Luo Jingyu. Luo Jingyu pointed to himself and shook his head gently. Zhan Jie spoke for him: “Our Luo doesn’t smoke.”

Hearing Zhan Jie say “our”, Luo Jingyu’s eyes widened, then curved into happy crescents. He wanted to hug his big brother-in-law.

Zhan Jie said to Zhan Xi: “Let’s go. I’ll come with you. Mom and Dad are inside. Don’t worry, nothing will happen. Today is a happy occasion, everyone’s in a good mood.”

Zhan Xi held Luo Jingyu’s hand again and followed Zhan Jie into the courtyard.

Her aunt’s house had been specially decorated for Yin Li’s engagement. Red double happiness characters were pasted everywhere, and traditional engagement ceremony foods were laid out on the living room table. The whole house was filled with festive cheer.

When people inside saw Zhan Xi arrive, there was another stir. Chi Guixian came over first: “Huanhuan’s here? Oh my! Is this your boyfriend? He’s so handsome – completely different from last time!”

Poor Luo Jingyu – when Chi Guilan and Chi Guixian sisters had last seen him, he had just been beaten into a pig’s head. It would take a while to forget such a terrible first impression.

But Chi Guixian quickly accepted that Luo Jingyu was a handsome young man. She asked Zhan Xi to introduce him to everyone – they all wanted to meet him.

Duo Duo looked at this “future cousin-in-law” with starry eyes, nearly letting out a groundhog-like shriek. Wuwuwu… he was too handsome, like a character who had walked out of a manga.

Zhan Jie kept guard nearby. No one would dare say anything inappropriate under the siblings’ watch, so all Zhan Xi heard was praise.

The relatives’ praise wasn’t insincere – Huanhuan’s boyfriend really did have outstanding looks! The young man had a tall, straight figure and broad shoulders. His gray suit made him look elegant and distinguished, and his leather shoes were polished to a shine.

His hairstyle was stylish, his complexion fair, his features handsome. His temperament was especially unique – that kind of gentle shyness couldn’t be found among the young men in their small town. Because of his “artist” status, everyone felt his every movement carried a strong artistic aura.

Her aunt’s wife sat to the side watching coldly. Earlier when everyone was discussing whether Zhan Xi would bring her boyfriend, she had confidently said she wouldn’t – wouldn’t that just be asking to be laughed at?

But they really came.

When she heard Zhan Xi and her boyfriend had arrived outside, she had been planning how to make some cutting remarks to get back at Zhan Jie for the other day. But when she saw them, her confidence deflated.

Look at Luo Jingyu – so confident! Then look at her own son hunched over playing games, who couldn’t even wash his hair for an engagement ceremony and had an acne-covered face. She felt completely deflated – how could she still have the face to criticize others?

Besides, Zhan Jie was right there – she might get hit if she said anything.

Luo Jingyu made it through the rainbow shower of compliments in a daze. Finally breaking free, Zhan Jie called him upstairs, saying their parents were up there. Chi Guixian followed worriedly.

They walked to Yin Li’s bedroom where Zhan Xi saw her cousin sitting on the bed wearing a bright red festive outfit, and also saw her own parents.

Luo Jingyu formally appeared before Zhan Qiang and Chi Guilan. His heart was pounding, but he pretended to be calm as he looked at Huanhuan’s parents, once again showing a gentle smile.

He told himself not to be nervous, not to be nervous. In this kind of occasion, Huanhuan’s mom probably wouldn’t hit anyone… right?

Zhan Qiang looked at the young man beside his daughter. He really did look talented – more outstanding than all the young men here inside and out. Who could tell he was deaf and mute?

He walked over, not knowing how to speak with him, and said to his daughter: “Huanhuan, this is… introduce him?”

“Dad, this is my boyfriend, Luo Jingyu. You can call him Little Fish.” After speaking to Zhan Qiang, Zhan Xi then signed to Luo Jingyu: [Little Fish, this is my father.]

She deliberately signed it. Usually, Luo Jingyu could read her lips without pressure, but in this room, she didn’t want him to be the only one using sign language. No matter what she said to him, she would use signs, letting everyone know that their communication had no barriers.

Luo Jingyu signed to Zhan Qiang: [Hello uncle, I’m Luo Jingyu. Nice to meet you, please take care of me.]

Zhan Xi translated his words for her dad, and also told him that Little Fish could read lips – just speak a bit slower when talking to him.

Watching the young couple signing to each other, Zhan Qiang felt strange and constrained, but he still shook hands with Luo Jingyu and patted his arm: “Ah yes, good, good. You’re really tall, almost as tall as a door!”

Luo Jingyu: “?”

Zhan Xi laughed: “Dad!”

Zhan Qiang caught himself: “No no no, ah yes… anyway, good boy! You’re a good boy!”

Zhan Xi knew her dad was nervous too, becoming incoherent.

At this time, Zhan Jie called Chi Guilan: “Mom, come meet Little Luo.”

Since they entered, Chi Guilan had been standing beside her sister without moving, only scrutinizing Luo Jingyu from afar.

At first, there really wasn’t a “deaf-mute” impression. She just thought he was a tall and handsome young man. But when he started signing to communicate with Zhan Qiang, Chi Guilan clearly realized he was indeed deaf and mute – couldn’t hear sounds, couldn’t speak. Her feelings were hard to describe.

She also saw her daughter signing, doing it openly and naturally in front of everyone, and quite skillfully too. When the young couple looked at each other, their eyes were full of gentle smiles, as if others’ gazes didn’t exist. Chi Guilan didn’t know what attitude she should give anymore.

When Zhan Jie called her, she stubbornly refused to step forward. Her sisters persuaded her on both sides, someone pushed her slightly, and she finally took a step forward.

Seeing Huanhuan’s mom approach, Luo Jingyu became nervous again. He wasn’t afraid of anything else, just afraid she would hit someone. He secretly shifted forward slightly, positioning himself in front of Zhan Xi. This tiny movement was caught by Chi Guilan, making her feel ashamed, angry, resentful and regretful all at once.

She didn’t walk too close, keeping her face stiff. Zhan Xi said: “Mom, this is Luo Jingyu, my boyfriend.”

Not caring about mom’s reaction, she signed to Luo Jingyu: [Little Fish, this is my mom.]

Ah! Let’s just get this over with! Zhan Xi didn’t want to try understanding mom’s thoughts at all, didn’t want to know what kind of attitude she was putting on, what sarcastic words she was thinking, was she trying to intimidate Little Fish? Or did she want them to beg for reconciliation?

Forget it! These games were really trying her patience.

She and Luo Jingyu came to the engagement ceremony completely out of consideration for dad, brother and Yin Li. Zhan Xi didn’t care at all about mom’s attitude toward Luo Jingyu. Accept him or don’t – whatever, do what you want, just don’t make a crazy scene.

When a person has this kind of mindset, the other party can sense it. Chi Guilan quickly realized that perhaps no matter what she did in the future, her daughter wouldn’t care much anymore.

Chi Guilan didn’t speak, but Luo Jingyu obediently signed: [Hello auntie, I’m Luo Jingyu. You can call me Little Fish.]

Zhan Xi translated once, and seeing mom still in a daze, she became completely impatient. She pulled Luo Jingyu to Yin Li’s side to introduce them to each other.

[This is my cousin, Yin Li. Remember that accounting statement? She’s the one who helped you check it. She’s an accountant.] After Zhan Xi finished signing, gratitude appeared on Luo Jingyu’s face. He also signed a string of words to Yin Li, then had Zhan Xi take out a jewelry box from her bag to give to Yin Li.

Yin Li was delighted. Inside the box was an exquisite pressed flower brooch in bright red. At the flower’s center was even a tiny golden heart – Luo Jingyu had specially bought a small pure gold pendant to add there.

“Wow! It’s so beautiful! Thank you!” Yin Li loved it. The female relatives gathered around to look. Zhan Xi told them this was Luo Jingyu’s craft – he was a master of pressed flower art, and this brooch was made by him personally, each petal crafted by hand.

Chi Guilan: “…”

Luo Jingyu noticed Huanhuan’s mom’s gaze and felt very guilty. He had originally wanted to make a pure gold pressed flower brooch for her too, but Huanhuan said not to do it yet – she wouldn’t appreciate it now, maybe later.

Now Luo Jingyu felt… not making one seemed even worse. Huanhuan’s mom looked very unhappy.

This counted as meeting the family.

Luo Jingyu and Zhan Xi were no longer the focus of the relatives’ attention. After returning downstairs, he quietly retreated to the side to wait for the engagement ceremony to begin.

Some young elementary school children were very curious about Luo Jingyu. They crowded around him, each one asking questions with childish directness:

“Uncle, you really can’t hear anything at all?”

“My mom said you can’t talk, is that true?”

“Can you hear what I’m saying? Ah— You can’t hear even when I’m this loud?”

…

Zhan Xi knew Little Fish wouldn’t mind the children, but these questions were really impolite. She thought of a way to change the topic, asking the children: “Do you want to learn sign language?”

Four or five children raised their hands cheering: “Yes!”

“Come on, Auntie Huanhuan and Uncle Little Fish will teach you together. Uncle Little Fish will sign, and you guess what it means, okay?”

“Okay!”

So they started playing games. Luo Jingyu signed very visual nouns like “chicken”, “snake”, “swimming”, “running” and such. The children had endless fun guessing while Zhan Xi helped reveal the answers. Later, the children learned quite a few signs and each slowly signed to Luo Jingyu:

[Uncle Little Fish, nice to meet you, you’re so handsome, I like you very much!]

This was taught by Zhan Xi, making Luo Jingyu blush while Zhan Xi laughed heartily on the side.

From afar, Chi Guilan kept secretly observing him, while Zhan Xi hadn’t looked at mom once.

When thunderous firecrackers sounded outside, Zhan Xi knew the groom-to-be had arrived.

She signed to Luo Jingyu: [They’re setting off firecrackers outside. Very loud.]

Luo Jingyu stood up with her, holding hands as they went out to watch.

The groom-to-be Little Liu brought abundant engagement gifts. The stacks of hundred-yuan bills tied with red string on top of the boxes shocked Luo Jingyu. He secretly counted – my goodness! Sixteen stacks?

He quickly calculated his savings in his mind and found he was far short.

He and Huanhuan were planning to open a shop, which would cost a lot of money, so he would have even less money to marry Huanhuan…

This silly fish didn’t know that in Fu Qin Town’s customs, although the bride price was high, the dowry was also substantial. There was give and take – it was really just a formality.

After the ceremony ended, Zhan Xi and Luo Jingyu once again congratulated Yin Li and Little Liu. After saying goodbye to Zhan Jie, they bid farewell to the relatives and prepared to take the bus back to Qiantang.

Zhan Xi had Zhan Jie pass a message to dad. Dad was still with mom, and mom was still putting on a sour face. Zhan Xi didn’t want to go over to talk.

They had already walked out of the courtyard when Zhan Xi suddenly heard her father’s voice from behind.

“Huanhuan, Huanhuan, dad’s here!”

She and Luo Jingyu turned around to see Zhan Qiang running up to them, panting, as he took out a thick red envelope from his jacket pocket and stuffed it into Luo Jingyu’s hand.

Luo Jingyu looked at him in surprise.

“Little Luo, this is from uncle and… auntie.” Zhan Qiang glanced at his daughter and explained to her, “Your mom knows about this, really knows. Dad’s not lying – it’s from both of us.”

Zhan Xi: “…”

Zhan Qiang looked at Luo Jingyu again: “I’m sorry, Little Luo, we weren’t good hosts this time, didn’t invite you to sit at our home. Uncle and auntie received the things you bought – too many things, really… sigh… So, New Year’s Day, come home with Huanhuan for a meal. Uncle and auntie will cook good food for you. Come, okay?”

Zhan Xi: “…”

Such sudden happiness! Luo Jingyu understood Huanhuan’s father’s lip movements and didn’t even ask Huanhuan’s opinion, eagerly nodding his head and signing a long string of words.

Zhan Qiang looked at his daughter to help translate. Luo Jingyu also looked at Huanhuan expectantly for translation.

Zhan Xi looked at them both and burst out laughing. Linking arms with Luo Jingyu, she said to her father: “I got it, Dad. Little Fish and I will come back for New Year’s Day, but we can only stay for the evening. We’re both really busy with work lately, can’t get away for long.”

“Ah yes, good, good, coming back is good, coming back is good.” Zhan Qiang completed his task, smiling very contentedly.

Zhan Xi and Luo Jingyu said goodbye to Zhan Qiang together and turned to leave again.

Zhan Qiang watched his daughter and “novice son-in-law” walk away arm in arm, secretly wiping his eyes.

His daughter had really grown up, and he had aged too.

Little birds would eventually grow strong wings and fly from the nest – how could parents hold them back?

Hope… her mother could try to understand too.