ATLAS TRANSLATES

The bed that used to be able to allow one person to flip around now suddenly seemed a little crowded with an extra person. Even just moving an arm could result in one bump into the other.

Ruan Mian originally still had some drowsiness. After accidentally bumping Chen Yi’s arm countless times, she was completely awake.

A few minutes ago…

After she finished saying that sentence, the living room suddenly fell into a subtle silence. Chen Yi’s frank and profound gaze seemed to have temperature.

Ruan Mian’s eyes flashed, and she was so anxious to explain that she almost bit her tongue. “I didn’t, I just…”

Before she could finish speaking, Chen Yi interrupted and said, “Okay, you go back to sleep first, I’ll come accompany you right away.”

Ruan Mian was stunned for a good few seconds before she pieced together the few words in his sentence and read out their meaning.

I’ll come to accompany you right away?

Huh?

Is that what she meant?

She didn’t!

Ruan Mian pursed her lips, unable to refute for a moment, and could only look at him several times with some hesitation.

Chen Yi, however, didn’t seem to care that there was anything wrong with what he said. He lowered his head and bent down to pick up the blanket that had fallen on the ground. When he straightened up and saw her still standing there, he raised his eyebrows slightly, just about to say something, Ruan Mian suddenly came back to her senses and quickly walked back to the room.

He smiled and put down the blanket in his hand and followed her in.

At this moment, neither of them seemed to be sleepy at all. Chen Yi slept well and remained in that posture after lying down.

On the other hand, the person sleeping next to him kept tossing and turning, and with just a few motions, she had taken away most of the quilt on his side without realizing it at all.

Before the quilt was about to be completely pulled away, Chen Yi suddenly reached out and pulled her into his arms, with his chin against her head, and said in a low voice, “Can’t sleep?”

Ruan Mian didn’t expect him to make this move. She stiffened there for a moment, unable to speak. She could feel his body temperature from top to bottom. Her ears began to burn.

After waiting for an answer for a long time without getting a response, Chen Yi reached out and pinched her face, “Why aren’t you talking?”

“No.”

Ruan Mian was relieved that her back was against him. She buried her face in the pillow and said hoarsely, “I’m a little not used to the bed.”

Chen Yi let go of her wrist and held her wrist instead, leaving his fingertips there to rub back and forth. Although she was petite, no matter which part he pinched, it was soft and tender, and felt especially good, making him a little reluctant to let go.

There was no light in the room at all, so other movements sounded rather clear–the ups and downs of breathing, the rustling of clothes, and even every heartbeat between them.

The two of them used the same shower gel, and the scent surrounding them was the same. Chen Yi rubbed her wrist back and forth, occasionally reaching down to pinch her fingers.

Under such a warm atmosphere, Ruan Mian also gradually relaxed. Her fingertips occasionally poked his palm. Due to her job, her ten fingernails were trimmed round and clean, so when she poked him, there was only the soft touch of her fingertips.

Chen Yi grabbed her fidgety fingers and asked, “When do you want to tell your parents about us?”

“I’ve always wanted to say it.”

Ruan Mian turned to face him. In the dim light, even so close, they couldn’t really see each other clearly. “But I never found the right time to say it.”

From the beginning, their relationship had been kept secret from both sides’ elders. As a result, if they confessed, it might make their parents surprised at the speed they got together, thus making them suspicious of this relationship. Not to mention, there was still the hurdle of Fang Ruqing now.

She suddenly thought of a brilliant idea and said, “Why don’t you say it first? I’ll wait for my dad to ask me, then I’ll tell him.”

Chen Yi laughed and readily agreed, “Okay.”

As he spoke, he was about to reach for his phone. Ruan Mian didn’t expect him to be so eager. She quickly raised her hand to stop him and murmured, “It’s so late, just do it tomorrow, okay?”

“How about this, I’ll go home for dinner with you tomorrow night?”

Chen Yi said, “It’s also a way to make our relationship public.”

Ruan Mian didn’t speak anymore. Chen Yi was not in a hurry either and waited quietly for a while before asking again, “Don’t want to go?”

“No.”

She sighed. “I’m nervous.”

Chen Yi pinched the back of her neck and said, “Then let’s not go.”

“Really?”

He laughed and didn’t want to force her too much. “Let’s wait until next time. I didn’t tell them in advance either.”

“Oh, then you have to let me know in advance next time too.”

Ruan Mian thought for a moment. “Half a year in advance will be good.”

Chen Yi hummed twice, and hooked her fingers to play with again, as if asking unintentionally, “Which friend did you celebrate their birthday with last time?”

“He Zechuan. He was my classmate in cram school. Later when I went to university, we…”

Before she could finish speaking, Chen Yi used a kiss to cut her off.

The two were calm for a while. After the previous hint of ambiguity dissipated, Chen Yi got up to drink a glass of water, then came back and hugged her again, somewhat childishly saying, “I don’t like listening to you talk about other men.”

Ruan Mian still didn’t realize the seriousness of the problem. She refuted instinctively, “I’ve known He Zechuan for a long time. We’re just friends, in the past, now, and in the future we will only be like this.”

Her voice hadn’t fully recovered yet, and was particularly coquettish.

Chen Yi imperceptibly increased the distance between them and said plainly, “Oh.”

But Ruan Mian was completely unaware. She rolled back into his arms again, bypassing the topic, “Why didn’t you make a wish last night?”

“Hmm?”

Chen Yi moved back again and said lightly, “There’s nothing I want anymore.”

She squeezed over again. “Nothing at all? Not even things like getting a promotion or making a fortune?”

“Don’t want them. One shouldn’t be too greedy.”

Chen Yi didn’t dodge this time. He put his arms around her and said gently, “After all, I’ve already gotten what I wanted.”

Ruan Mian didn’t react. “What?”

He lowered his head and kissed her ear. His voice was very low, and the last syllable carried a hint of laughter. “You.”

The next morning, due to his biological clock, Chen Yi woke up a little after 6, but it wasn’t the warm scene he imagined.

The person who had been lying in his arms didn’t know when she had rolled to the edge of the bed. Not only that, she had also taken away most of the quilt and wrapped herself up tightly.

Chen Yi woke up from the cold around 4. He reached out and pulled back a corner of the quilt. By morning, there was only a corner left hanging on his legs.

He looked at the person sleeping dead to the world next to him with some amusement. He gently picked her up and put her back in the middle of the bed before getting up. He felt a little stuffy nose, like the prelude to a cold.

Afraid of waking Ruan Mian, Chen Yi went to the bathroom outside to wash up, but unexpectedly, Liang Yiran and Meng Xinglan had woken up even earlier and were sitting in the living room eating breakfast.

Chen Yi walked over. “How come you two are up so early? Don’t pregnant women need more sleep?”

“It’s because I’m pregnant that I can’t sleep!”

Meng Xinglan had a hint of dark circles under her eyes. “It was so turbulent, I barely slept at all last night.”

As she spoke, Liang Yiran peeled another egg and put it on her plate. “Eat first, then sleep a while longer.”

He looked at Chen Yi again. “We also bought breakfast for you. Ruan Mian’s not up yet?”

“Mm, still asleep.”

Chen Yi went into the bathroom. After washing up and coming out, Shen Yu had also walked out of the room next door. The four of them sat at the table and ate breakfast together.

After becoming a mother, Meng Xinglan’s thoughts became much more delicate. Hearing the abnormality in Chen Yi’s voice, she asked him, “Are you catching a cold?”

Chen Yi lowered his head to drink some porridge. “Probably a little.”

She seemed to think of something and laughed. “Is it because Ruan Mian snatched your blanket?”

He nodded with a hmm.

“I knew it. When I slept with her before, I was tugging the blanket with her all night.”

Meng Xinglan found it amusing. “I don’t know what habit this is of hers.”

After the four of them finished breakfast, Meng Xinglan went back to the room to sleep some more. The three men cleaned up the trash and prepared to go out and buy groceries.

Chen Yi suddenly remembered something and went back to the bedroom. The person he had put back in the middle of the bed before getting up had now rolled with the quilt back to the corner again.

He walked over and crouched by the bed. “Ruan Mian?”

She didn’t respond the first time he called. Later, after calling her several more times, she finally reacted. Her voice was full of lingering drowsiness. “…Mm?”

“What do you want to eat for lunch?”

She just hmm’ed again.

Chen Yi found it funny. He didn’t bother her sleeping anymore. Just as he was about to leave, he thought about putting her back again, but gave up on the idea.

Let it be like this then.

Later, when buying groceries, Chen Yi asked Liang Yiran to ask about Ruan Mian’s preferences. She only named one dish: braised pork ribs.

Meng Xinglan: This one dish is better than a table full of exotic delicacies.

Meng Xinglan: I guess whether it tastes good or bad is not important anyway, because back at school, no matter how bad the ribs were at the cafeteria, she could eat them.

Chen Yi: “…”

After buying the groceries and coming back, Chen Yi rummaged at home and took two cold medicine pills. Seeing there was still time, he decided to go back to the bedroom to sleep a little more.

Ruan Mian was still sleeping very soundly, but because he had turned up the air conditioner before leaving, she wasn’t wrapped up too tightly in the quilt this time, only having rolled from this side to the side he slept on last night.

Chen Yi changed into pajamas and lifted a corner of the quilt to lie down. After a while, as if sensing something, she slowly shifted into his arms.

He didn’t dare move too drastically. Coupled with the grogginess from the medicine, he soon fell asleep.

The room became quiet again. Outside, the sun rose higher and higher. The thick curtains blocked all the light, and the room remained dark.

Suddenly, the ringing of a cell phone broke the tranquility.

Ruan Mian was the first to be awakened by the noise. She reached out next to her but didn’t find her phone. Frowning, she opened her eyes. Chen Yi had already picked up the phone from his side and hoarsely said, “Hello?”

There was no sound from the receiver.

Chen Yi took the phone down and, seeing the caller ID was Dad, before he could react, Ruan Mian had also gotten up and approached. At this moment, a slow and hesitant voice came through the receiver….

“Mian Mian?”