ATLAS TRANSLATES

Although she had mentally prepared herself, the deliciousness of this restaurant still far exceeded Ruan Mian’s expectations. So much so that despite claiming to have no appetite before coming, she ended up eating until seven-tenths full before putting down her chopsticks.

Not long after she stopped, Chen Yi also put down his spoon and asked, “Full yet?”

“More or less.” Ruan Mian drank some water, her eyes glancing at the dessert still on the table, her fingers fiddling with the dessert spoon, struggling over whether or not to eat it.

In fact, she wasn’t completely full, but it was rare for her to eat dessert in addition at this level of satiation. However, eating just a little also didn’t seem satisfying enough.

Chen Yi noticed her actions and thought she was afraid of getting fat so didn’t dare eat more. He said in a well-intentioned manner, “Go ahead and eat if you want, you’re not fat anyway.”

What he said wasn’t false. Ruan Mian really wasn’t fat. She belonged to the naturally slender body type who couldn’t gain weight no matter how much she ate, plus her small bone structure. Even after so many years where she had grown five to six centimeters taller compared to high school, her weight still remained in the thinner range of standards.

After an internal struggle, she still did not pick up the sinful spoon in the end. “It’s not about fearing getting fat, mainly I just can’t eat any more.”

“Then get it to-go. You can eat it later.” Chen Yi rang the bell to call over a server, asking them to box up just the dessert.

By the time they left the restaurant, it was already dusk. Their meal had taken a not too long, not too short amount of time, and the originally full day date was condensed down to just half a day due to both their work schedules.

The north’s summer was hot, but not oppressively hot and muggy like the south’s. As long as they stood in the shade, it wasn’t so stuffy.

Their car was parked far away, so they walked along the tree-lined path. At dusk, there were noticeably more pedestrians and bikers returning home from work along the way.

At the traffic light intersection, Ruan Mian squeezed into the crowd rushing for buses and subways. She leaned against Chen Yi, feeling the warmth of the asphalt road that had been baking in the sun all day.

After over ten seconds, the red light turned green and the people around them began to move. As the two walked among the crowds, their hands unintentionally touched then moved apart.

Another touch, but this time Chen Yi didn’t withdraw his hand. Instead, he reached over to grab her hand, his fingers threading through the gaps between hers, interlocking their ten fingers.

Ruan Mian’s heart skipped a beat as she looked up at him. The man tilted his head, eyes watching the traffic pass by, showing her his exquisite, handsome side profile.

She tightened her grip and smiled downwards.

Just walking on the wide streets without shade was already plenty hot this season. The two held hands the entire way, palms sweating a thin layer, yet neither said to let go first. They remained clasped like that until reaching the parking garage.

Once seated in the car, they didn’t hurry to leave either, blasting the AC to cool down for a bit. Ruan Mian’s phone rang and she turned to look out the window as she answered the call.

Chen Yi’s hand grasped the steering wheel, fair and slender fingers completely cooled from the lingering warmth that had been in his palm earlier.

He waited for Ruan Mian to finish her call before asking caringly, “What’s up?”

Ruan Mian shook her head. “Nothing, just my senior. Her boyfriend’s younger sister came over to their place, so looks like she’ll be staying the night. She called to give me a heads up.”

“Oh,” he responded. Then asked again, “Where to now? See a movie?”

“Anything is fine, we don’t have much else to do anyway.” As Ruan Mian spoke, she took out her phone to check the showtimes at nearby theaters. For some reason, she recalled Lin Jiachui previously telling her that next time she went to see a movie with Chen Yi, they should choose either a lingering, moving romance or a thrilling, suspenseful horror. Moreover, they had to choose good seats.

If not booking a couple’s seat in the VIP room, then pick the furthest back corner seats in the regular theater.

At the time, she hadn’t considered the possibility of any future with Chen Yi, casually brushing off Lin Jiachui’s words.

Now, Ruan Mian subconsciously turned to glance at the man sitting beside her, only to meet Chen Yi’s gaze head-on as he tapped the steering wheel and drove out of the parking garage. “What’s up?” he asked.

“Nothing.” Ruan Mian turned off her phone, also cutting off those random thoughts.

There weren’t any particularly big theaters nearby, so Chen Yi found a private theater cafe on Meituan and directly booked a private room.

He passed his phone to Ruan Mian. “Pick what type of movie you want to watch and just let them know.”

Ruan Mian took his phone. It was open to his chat with the cafe’s staff member, who had also given recommendations of various genres.

She had difficulty deciding in the end and let the staff member make the choice. Right before exiting the private chat, the other side asked if they were a couple or friends watching together.

Ruan Mian truthfully replied couple. The staff simply responded with an “Enjoy” and said no more.

The drive over wasn’t congested and they arrived at the nearby parking garage in around twenty minutes. On the way up to the cafe, Chen Yi asked, “What movie did you pick?”

“Didn’t pick, I let the boss recommend something.” Ruan Mian looked at their interlocked hands reflected in the elevator mirrors. “I didn’t know what to choose anyway.”

Chen Yi didn’t seem to care much what they watched. He made no comment upon hearing her reply.

After validating their purchase voucher, the front counter staff led the two down the hallway to the furthest private room, chatting as they walked, “Customers who watch this movie with their girlfriend all say it’s good.”

Ruan Mian grew curious. “What movie is it?”

He just smiled mysteriously. “It’s a secret.”

Seeing his ambiguous smile, Ruan Mian couldn’t help but let her thoughts stray. She asked, “If we don’t like it, we can switch to another movie, right?”

“Of course, we sell by time block here, not by movie.”

Upon reaching the private room, the staff got the equipment ready. Right before leaving, he turned off the lights and stuck his head back in to remind, “There are no cameras inside the private rooms, just so you know.”

Fortunately the lights were off, visibility becoming obscured. Relying on this innate advantage, Ruan Mian feigned calmness as she took a seat on the far side of the two-person couch.

Soon, the seat beside her also sank under a weight.

Despite still being palm’s width apart, the man’s light and cool fragrance seemed to encase her in this small space, wrapping her up tightly like a cocoon.

Ruan Mian was nearly as anxious as sitting on pins and needles. Her back rigidly straight, eyes fixed on the screen. She even mentally prepared herself that if it turned out to be one of “those” movies, she would immediately rush over and yank out the power cord.

Luckily, this theater operated lawfully. After an eerie, suspenseful melody, the curtain displayed a few bloody words in large font. Based on the background music and this title, even a slow-witted person could deduce this was a horror movie.

Ruan Mian breathed an inaudible sigh of relief and unconsciously relaxed, leaning back against the sofa. For comfort, she placed a pillow behind her head.

After watching for a few minutes, she suddenly recalled something. “We can switch movies if you don’t want to watch this. I’m fine with anything else.”

“No need, this works.” Chen Yi glanced at the screen then quickly shifted his gaze away. For a long stretch of time afterwards, he continued propping his elbow on the armrest, fingertips blocking his view every so often.

In the meantime, the server from the store knocked on the door to deliver snacks and a fruit platter. The bright light from outside leaked in, and Chen Yi breathed a small sigh of relief.

Ruan Mian didn’t have much interest in the seasonal fruits on the platter. She reached for the dessert she had packed from the store earlier and started eating it in small bites.

The sweet fragrance unique to desserts diffused into the air.

Chen Yi tilted his head to look over. Through the dim light, he saw her left cheek bulging slightly. Not knowing if she had finished chewing, she stuffed another spoonful into her mouth.

He lowered his head to look at her. “Is it good?”

“It’s alright, it gets a little cloying if I eat too much.”

Ruan Mian turned her head to meet his gaze, her lips coated with a layer of wetness, the fruit aroma rich.

Chen Yi lowered his eyes, raising his hand to wipe away a bit of residue from the corner of her lips.

Their gazes inevitably locked, creating a moment of subtle ambiguity. Even the unusually fitting background music couldn’t break the spell.

Ruan Mian’s breathing stilled slightly. At the same time her eyelashes fluttered, the person in front of her suddenly closed the last bit of distance between them to none.

In the narrow, dark space, the friction of fabric and leather sofa made faint noises. Chen Yi released his hand but did not pull back far. His tone matter-of-fact, “Not cloying at all, quite sweet.”

Ruan Mian was stunned for a few seconds before she came back to her senses about what he was referring to. She shrank back uncomfortably.

Chen Yi did not stop her, only raised his arm to rest it on the back of the sofa behind her, as if declaring ownership to the air.

There was still over half an hour left of the movie. Ruan Mian had been interrupted earlier and found it disjointed picking back up. She still didn’t understand by the end how the second male lead became the villain behind the scenes.

But she didn’t pay it too much mind either. After the movie ended, she and Chen Yi left the private booth. On their way out, the staff were exceptionally professional and asked them to leave a good review.

By then, it was after 8 pm. Night had fallen, the city’s tall buildings and skyscrapers glimmered with light. On the streets, the car and street lights shone on each other, connecting into a strip of lights.

There was a night market nearby. Chen Yi held her hand. “Let’s go take a look over there.”

Ruan Mian did not refuse and strolled aimlessly down the street with him. She casually asked, “Are you taking two days off again this time?”

“Mm, just these two days. I have to go to a district meeting this weekend.”

Chen Yi asked, “I estimate my next break will be in August.”

It was only July now, still over half a month from August. At an intersection, there were traffic police on duty. As the two passed by, Ruan Mian asked, “I’ve always been curious, you used to be interested in physics before, so how come you returned to China and became a soldier later on?”

“I figured it out.”

Chen Yi was fiddling with her fingers unconsciously and told her about his initial passion for physics, as well as the incident with the professor in La Tacia. “In one’s lifetime, there are some things that you have to experience before you know if it’s what you want.”

The riots in La Tacia were not the first nor the last. In the corners of this world, the same things happen every day. Chen Yi did not want to be the one protected forever.

A great country relies on its strong men. To devote one’s life without hesitation or regret.

That night, the two chatted about this issue the entire way. Though they were dating, they discussed it as seriously as an academic research.

Later, Chen Yi sent Ruan Mian home. Before leaving, he asked, “Do you work tomorrow?”

“Yes, early shift.”

“Okay, I’m going to visit grandpa and grandma tomorrow.”

Chen Yi thought about it and still got out of the car. “I’ll come find you later at night.”

“You go about your business first.”

Ruan Mian said, “I don’t know if I’ll be free then.”

She added, “I’ll call you if I have time.”

Chen Yi laughed softly. “Alright.”

There were people coming and going in the corridor, so Chen Yi did not do anything too intimate. He pinched her cheek and told her to go up and rest early.

“Okay, drive safely on your way back.”

“Mm.”

Chen Yi watched her go in before driving away.

When Ruan Mian returned home, there was no one. After showering and tidying up simply, she set her work alarm. Only after Chen Yi messaged her that he was home did she put down her phone to sleep.

A dreamless long night.

The next morning, as usual Ruan Mian arrived at the hospital at her regular time. After the morning meeting, she did rounds and wrote up medical records. With no surgeries or emergencies that morning, it was unusually tranquil.

Near lunchtime, Ruan Mian suddenly received a food delivery call. After carefully confirming the name, address, and phone number were correct, she asked for the name of the restaurant. It happened to be the Chinese restaurant she and Chen Yi ate at yesterday.

When she went downstairs to get the delivery, Ruan Mian called Chen Yi. He didn’t pick up the first time, but called her back afterwards. “What’s up?”

Ruan Mian entered the elevator. “You ordered takeout for me?”

Chen Yi: “Mm, have you gotten it?”

“Not yet, going to get it now.”

“Right on time.”

Chen Yi said, “Can they let deliveries in at your office area? If so, next time I’ll have them bring it straight to your floor.”

She was surprised. “Next time?”

“Mm?”

His tone was nonchalant. “Oh, I forgot to tell you last night. I placed a half year meal order for you at this restaurant. From now on they’ll deliver to you every work day.”

Like an old father, he said, “Eat less takeout.”