ATLAS TRANSLATES

Ruan Mian had a dream.

She dreamed that she returned to No. 8 Middle School, and became deskmates with Chen Yi again. The scenes from the past replayed one by one in the dream, and the bitterness and sadness from back then also returned, making the Ruan Mian in the dream unable to let go for a long time.

The dream was very long and chaotic, with many fleeting fragments. She watched as an onlooker the fearless Ruan Mian at the school sports meet, the Ruan Mian who was sad for a long time because of a word from the person she liked, and the Ruan Mian who secretly cried and tossed and turned countless nights.

The her in the dream was always chasing after a shadow she could never catch up to.

Suddenly, that shadow disappeared, and the scenes at No. 8 Middle School started to change rapidly. The tall buildings became ruins, and the surroundings were vast and empty. The entire sky was murky and gloomy.

Ruan Mian heard someone crying in the distance. She followed the sound and saw many people standing around a pile of rubble.

As she slowly approached, those people seemed to have noticed her, their eyes full of words left unsaid.

At this moment Ruan Mian saw Shen Yu kneeling on the ground, and the bloodied motionless man lying in front of him.

Shen Yu stood up and walked over to her.

Ruan Mian heard herself asking him, who is this?

Shen Yu looked reluctant to tell her. Ruan Mian took a step forward and grabbed his clothes, barely able to stand. She cried and screamed, asking him who this was.

“Chen Yi,” dream Shen Yu said. “Ruan Mian, this is Chen Yi. He’s dead.”

He’s dead.

Those three words echoed endlessly in Ruan Mian’s ears like a spell. She completely collapsed and couldn’t help sobbing loudly, her vision blurring.

The sky around them suddenly darkened. Ruan Mian saw two people next to her, pulling another “Chen Yi” out of his body.

She grabbed Shen Yu’s clothes and said someone was taking Chen Yi away, but Shen Yu said he didn’t see anyone else, and Chen Yi was still lying there.

The silent people around looked at her as if she was a monster. No one believed Ruan Mian’s words. She collapsed and cried desperately, panicking as she chased after the three shadows, using all her strength to shout: “Chen Yi!”

“Chen Yi!”

The daylight poured in abruptly as Ruan Mian woke up from the nightmare with a start, drenched in cold sweat.

The despair and helplessness in the dream still left her shaken. She didn’t even dare close her eyes again.

“You’re awake?”

The sudden voice beside her brought Ruan Mian back to her senses. She turned her head left to look, her expression both startled and delighted. “How come you’re here?”

“On a business trip, and happened to pass by here, so dropped in along the way.”

He Zezhou picked up the glass on the table and handed it to her. “Have some water.”

Ruan Mian rubbed her face and sat up on the hospital bed to take the water. She drank half the glass before asking, “When did you arrive?”

“Early this morning, around 5 am.”

Leaning against the headboard, Ruan Mian could feel the warmth of the sunshine coming in from outside, which gave her a sense of being alive in this world.

He Zezhou stared at her somewhat pale complexion for a few seconds. Recalling the despairing “Chen Yi” from earlier, he averted his gaze.

The hustle and bustle around them continued. Ruan Mian put down the glass and threw off the blanket to put on her shoes. “When are you going back?”

“Today.”

He Zezhou asked, “How about you all, when are you going back to B City?”

“Probably in a couple days.”

The rescue work here had entered a follow-up stage. A new batch of medical staff had arrived in Luolin yesterday to gradually take over.

He Zezhou watched as she put on her shoes and stood up before also standing up himself. His tall shadow fell on the white hospital bed in the light. “Let’s go. I brought some food for you, do you want to eat in my car or should I bring it in here?”

“Let’s go to your car. I’ll freshen up first.”

With people coming and going, it wasn’t very convenient here. Ruan Mian had slept for a long time and her whole body felt sore.

As she walked out rubbing her shoulders, He Zezhou saw and reached out to massage her shoulders a couple times, not forgetting to quip, “You’re so skinny now it hurts to touch you.”

Ruan Mian glanced back at him wordlessly, smiling wryly. “Come stay in this place for a week and let’s see if you get skinnier or not.”

He Zezhou didn’t argue back, only increased the force of his massage.

“Ow! You’re such a pig, He Zezhou!”

Ruan Mian yelped, standing next to him rubbing her shoulder. Unexpectedly, this scene was seen by Chen Yi, who had come to find her.

The three of them stood in a triangle. He Zezhou reacted first. He actually wasn’t a stranger to Chen Yi, having gotten to know Ruan Mian and chatting openly with her about relationship matters. That was when he’d seen a photo of Ruan Mian and Chen Yi together.

The boy stood against the backdrop of a cloudless blue sky. His features were extraordinarily handsome, and when he smiled, his eyes and brows radiated dazzling charm.

No wonder Ruan Mian had fallen for him. A boy like this was really hard to forget.

Although He Zezhou had never actually met Chen Yi, at this moment he seemed to have a flash of intuition and recognized who the person before him was with one glance.

He tilted his head closer to Ruan Mian and whispered, “Isn’t this your secret crush?”

“Oh hush, you.”

Ruan Mian dropped her hand and took a few steps forward, recalling the dream from earlier. “Aren’t you guys going to the site today?”

“No, we’re going in the afternoon.”

Chen Yi raised his hand to rub his brow. “Are you feeling better?”

“Much better.”

Ruan Mian laughed, recalling the scene right before she’d fainted yesterday. “I must’ve given you and Shen Yu a huge scare yesterday, right?”

Chen Yi mumbled in agreement, glancing at He Zezhou standing behind. In a tone devoid of emotion he said, “I’ll leave you to it then, something else came up. I’m going first.”

“Okay.”

Ruan Mian thought for a moment before adding, “Take care and stay safe.”

He nodded and strode off.

He Zezhou slowly approached Ruan Mian again. “Didn’t you say before your secret crush went abroad to study physics? How come he’s in the military now?”

Ruan Mian shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“You didn’t ask?”

“No.”

Since their reunion, Ruan Mian actually had many questions she wanted to ask Chen Yi, but she didn’t know how or where to start.

He Zezhou didn’t press further. “Alright, let’s not talk about this. Let’s go eat.”

The two walked out side by side, with Ruan Mian going to the rest area to freshen up as He Zezhou stood by and updated her on what had been happening outside lately.

People were coming and going all around. Not far away on the flat ground, several soldiers were sitting there resting. Shen Yu was talking to Wu Muyi over there, his eyes casually glancing to the side.

Wow, with just this glance, his eyes lit up.

Shen Yu retracted his gaze and turned to look at Chen Yi, who was standing to the side. He smiled gloatingly. No wonder, this guy had been a little off ever since he came back from the center. So it turned out he had run into this situation, huh.

He got up from the ground, dusting off the dry grass on his pants, and walked over to Chen Yi, “Hey, isn’t that Ruan Mian over there?”

Chen Yi twisted his head back to take a look but didn’t respond.

Shen Yu stroked his chin and continued, “Who’s that guy next to her? Can’t be her boyfriend, right? They look pretty good together.”

Chen Yi looked at him, “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

Shen Yu was delighted. He put his arm around Chen Yi’s shoulder, “I’m free, of course I’m free. And I’m so free right now that I have to play matchmaker for my old classmate.”

But Shen Yu didn’t say any more to him. He put on his hat and strode forward in big steps. When Wu Muyi asked where he was going, he replied, “Going to scout out the situation for Captain Chen.”

Wu Muyi was puzzled by his cryptic words and went to ask Chen Yi instead.

Chen Yi lowered his eyes, stroking his hat apathetically, “Are you that free too?”

Wu Muyi pursed his lips and slowly turned away.

On the other side, before Shen Yu could even get over there, he saw Ruan Mian about to leave with the other person. He took a few quick steps to catch up.

“Hey, what a coincidence?”

He caught his breath and said, “You’re looking better, right? You scared me yesterday when you fainted. Chen Yi too, he rushed right out and carried you away.”

Although Ruan Mian had some impression of what happened before she fainted, she had no idea what transpired after losing consciousness. Hearing Shen Yu’s words now, she was visibly startled for a moment before recalling to say, “Much better, it was nothing serious. Thank you both for yesterday.”

“Just thank Chen Yi, he was the one who carried you in.”

Hands on his waist, Shen Yu looked at He Zechuan, “This is your friend?”

“Yes.”

Ruan Mian was flustered by his repeated emphasis on certain words, but still tried to remain calm as she introduced them, “This is my high school classmate, Shen Yu. And this is my college friend, He Zechuan.”

The two men briefly shook hands, exchanging polite but distant hellos.

In fact, He Zechuan had recognized Shen Yu at first glance, because he was also in that group photo from back then. And He Zechuan’s memories related to Ruan Mian and everything associated with her were always vivid.

Sometimes he was amazed by this ability of his.

The three didn’t chat for long before an emergency assembly signal sounded from the military district. Shen Yu hurried back again. Following his figure, He Zechuan saw Chen Yi sprinting in the same direction.

Suddenly, he felt a little uncomfortable, the same as a long time ago when he found out Ruan Mian was with his mentor.

Preoccupied by her own thoughts, Ruan Mian didn’t notice his abnormality. She shook the water off her hands and said, “Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

The two ate breakfast absentmindedly. Ruan Mian held a small bowl of chicken soup, sitting in the open trunk, but didn’t move for a long time.

He Zechuan waved his hand in front of her eyes, “What are you thinking about?”

She came to her senses and smiled lightly, “Nothing.”

“Thinking about your secret crush?”

He Zechuan also sat down, long legs touching the ground. “You’ve practically got ‘Chen Yi’ written on your face.”

“Is it that obvious?”

Ruan Mian drank up the last bit of soup in a few gulps and set the bowl down. She was silent for a moment before saying, “I always thought I didn’t like him as much anymore, but it seems I overestimated myself and underestimated how much those feelings weighed. But I really don’t want to go back to being that Ruan Mian again.”

So humble and blindly devoted, yet hopelessly trapped, letting someone else’s words confuse her heart with just a sentence.

“Do you regret liking him then?”

Ruan Mian barely had to think about it and shook her head, “No.”

Liking Chen Yi was something Ruan Mian never regretted, but if she had the chance to do it again, she hoped the 16 or 17 year old Ruan Mian could have been braver and confessed her heart’s feelings at the most suitable age. Even disappointment would have been better than the pretense and avoidance now.

Looking at her, perhaps out of his own selfishness, He Zechuan was silent for a moment before saying, “Then keep looking forward. After all, you’ve done very well these past few years.

Although they say fortune favors the bold, who can guarantee the ending of that story will be good or bad? Since that’s the case, it’s better not to be proactive, just leave it at the best place. Looking back when you’re old, it might still be a blessing.”

“Maybe.”

Ruan Mian smiled ruefully, not continuing the topic further. “Alright, I have to get to work. What’s your plan next?”

“We’ll see. I’ll probably leave once things wrap up here.”

He Zechuan’s trip here wasn’t only to see Ruan Mian. He had also brought a batch of supplies, and would probably still need to meet with the local leadership in Luolin later.

“Drive safely on your way back.”

Ruan Mian picked up the white coat beside her and put it on. “See you again when you’re back.”

“Okay, you be safe here too.”

Ruan Mian gave an “Mm,” then turned and walked away. He Zechuan stood there watching her retreating figure for a very long time, before finally sighing softly.

For the rest of the day, Ruan Mian didn’t run into Chen Yi again. Later, Meng Fuping and Jiang Jinhai gathered the medical team for a meeting to arrange the upcoming withdrawal.

They would be returning the day after tomorrow early morning, so they needed to hand over all their work within the next two days. After the meeting, Ruan Mian walked back with Lin Jiahui.

The two inevitably began chatting about Chen Yi again. Lin Jiahui asked, “What’s your plan?”

“What?”

“Still pretending with me?”

Ruan Mian lowered her head, “What can I plan? Just take it one step at a time.”

He Zechuan was right. Not every story with initiative had a happy ending. She was no longer the 16 or 17 year old Ruan Mian, and her feelings for Chen Yi had long been worn down by time. Perhaps deep down, some of that original flutter still remained, but so what? The present Ruan Mian was past the age of recklessness. For her, going with the flow might just be the best approach.

When it came to matters of the heart, Lin Jiahui could advise and assist, but she couldn’t make decisions on Ruan Mian’s behalf. Having come to this point, there was little left to say, so she dropped the subject.

On the military side, Chen Yi was also preparing for the withdrawal. Their relief team was among the first to arrive, so they would also be returning the day after tomorrow.

After relaying the necessary tasks, everyone jogged back to their own tents at the dismissal. Chen Yi stood there for a while before Shen Yu came over and asked, “Aren’t you going to say something to Ruan Mian?”

Chen Yi gave him a look, “Later.”

From the reunion until now, Chen Yi had been immersed in Ruan Mian’s changes over the years, neglecting the reasons behind those changes, as well as some very important matters.

As a result, when he saw Ruan Mian chatting and laughing with He Zechuan at the center this morning, he was at a momentary loss for what to do.

Ruan Mian’s interaction with He Zechuan was different from Shen Yu with him. Chen Yi could sense she was completely relaxed around He Zechuan, just like back in high school when she was different with Li Zhi compared to with him.

He felt like he was overlooking something, but try as he might, he couldn’t figure out what it was.