ATLAS TRANSLATES

Tang Xin pushed open the door. Fu Xueli was slumped motionless over the dining table, as if she had fallen into a deep sleep. An empty bowl that had held porridge sat in front of her, not yet cleared away.

Without a word, Tang Xin went over and shook Fu Xueli’s shoulder. “Wake up. How did you end up sleeping here? Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?”

Fu Xueli had her head buried in her arms. After a while, she finally looked up at Tang Xin.

“……”

Tang Xin was startled to see Fu Xueli’s swollen, red eyelids and pale complexion. She looked dazed, with a faint smell of alcohol on her breath, as if she had been crying for a long time the night before. Tang Xin frowned, “Come on, Fu Xueli. Aren’t you usually the most carefree? How could such a small setback affect you this much?”

“It’s nothing,” Fu Xueli slowly straightened up. She felt extremely tired and weak, her voice so hoarse she could barely speak. “Why are you here?”

Tang Xin went to the kitchen and took a bottle of low-alcohol drink from the fridge. She poured some into a glass and asked casually, “Have you been online recently?”

“No,” Fu Xueli leaned sideways against the chair back, her hair a mess. Her fingers traced the smooth surface of the bowl as she stared at it for a long time.

She listened half-heartedly to Tang Xin’s words, her mind in chaos.

The last look Xu Xingchun gave her before leaving last night kept flashing in her mind.

From stormy waves to final silence. As if the last bit of light had been extinguished.

The image of his calm departure, reflected in her eyes, felt more like a searing pain.

She felt her heart constricting, a pain in her chest. She hadn’t realized she could be so cruel, to push Xu Xingchun to this point.

For a moment, Fu Xueli thought about regretting it, simply going back on her word and calling out to stop him, but then reason returned.

Her previous words had already closed off any future path for them. How could she be so heartless, shamelessly clinging to him, only to watch Xu Xingchun continue to sink into pain?

It was better for him to give up on her sooner.

Tang Xin noticed Fu Xueli zoning out again but didn’t mind. She continued to reveal information in a low voice, with a hint of a smile on her face, “Heh, did you know? Ming Heqi didn’t commit suicide for love at all. The police have already released a statement.”

“What?!” Fu Xueli’s wandering thoughts were instantly pulled back. “What’s going on?”

“The details are still confidential, and I’m not too clear either, but it’s been confirmed that Ming Heqi was murdered,” Tang Xin said casually, fiddling with her nails. “Yesterday, I bribed a paparazzo in the industry. If nothing goes wrong, tonight Weibo will explode with news about who He Lu was cheating with. No one’s going to let you be the scapegoat for free. Using my people to climb up? Not possible.”

“Oh, and don’t worry. The internet changes quickly, it’s different every day. Once today is over, I guarantee there’ll be a ‘Apologize to Fu Xueli’ tag trending on Weibo tomorrow.”

“……”

Tang Xin finished the last of her drink and put down the glass. “Alright, this matter is temporarily settled. Next month, I have a project that will probably take me abroad for a month. You should have had enough rest at home these past few days. I’ll send you the upcoming schedules on WeChat later.”

After the unexpected twist in what could be called the year’s biggest drama, all sorts of entertainment news flooded the internet. Taking advantage of the peak popularity, Tang Xin immediately arranged a press conference for Fu Xueli, with a few spots for fans to attend.

Midway through the interview, a male fan in the audience suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, tears streaming down his face in excitement: “Fu Xueli!!! The whole world owes you an apology!”

“…….”

Fu Xueli had been answering a question when she suddenly heard this guy’s rough yet slightly heartbroken voice. She found it a bit amusing. She couldn’t help but pause, controlling her facial expression to avoid laughing out loud.

But the reporters below couldn’t hold back. In twos and threes, laughter rippled through the venue. The atmosphere immediately lightened considerably.

An online media reporter continued to ask, “So, about you and He Lu—”

“—I’m sorry, we’ve already given a unified response. Our artist has no private interactions with Mr. He Lu, their relationship is strictly professional. We won’t answer similar questions, sorry,” a staff member politely interrupted the reporter.

Fu Xueli remained quiet. After a while, she picked up the microphone and said seriously, word by word, “I’ll say this one last time. Since my debut, I have never been in a relationship with anyone in the industry.”

The press conference concluded smoothly, neither good nor bad. In the afternoon, Fu Xueli had to rush to another location to film a music video. The lunch break was very short, with barely enough time to eat, apply makeup, and change clothes.

The continuous high-intensity work, with almost daily scheduled appearances, left Fu Xueli feeling extremely fatigued and barely able to keep going. She set an alarm for fifteen minutes and curled up on the sofa, falling into a deep sleep.

People seemed to come and go around her, with noises rising and falling. In her groggy state, Fu Xueli woke up and reached for her phone to check the time. Xixi had sent a few messages half a minute ago:

“Sister Xueli, I’ve got the plane tickets and packed the luggage~ I’m waiting for you in the car ^^”

As she took the elevator down to the underground parking lot, Fu Xueli held her phone and walked towards the address Xixi had just sent.

“Xiao Fang, Xiao Fang.” Xixi pushed open the door. Only Xiao Fang was left in the empty makeup room. She poked her head in and looked around, “Have you seen where Sister Xueli is? I can’t find my phone and can’t get in touch with her.”

Xiao Fang looked up, puzzled, “Huh? I just saw Xueli touch up her makeup a bit and then leave. Did she go to the bathroom?”

“When was that?” Time was running short, and Xixi asked anxiously, “There’s a bit of traffic on the road now, I’m afraid we might miss the flight.”

Xiao Fang thought for a moment, “About fifteen minutes ago, I think.”

East Street Garden Residential Area.

“Is the suspect living here?” Liu Bo closed the police car door, surveying the half-dilapidated old-style house.

Lin Jin nodded gravely, “It should be correct.”

They had been fighting criminals for so many years. From the beginning, although they sensed that Ming Heqi’s case wasn’t simple, they had no leads for a long time.

The internet kept hyping up this incident, leaving them overwhelmed for a while. After preliminarily confirming that Ming Heqi hadn’t committed suicide, the case was filled with layers of doubts and contradictions.

The scene hadn’t left any clues that could be compared, and the statements of everyone who appeared at the hotel that day were basically consistent, with no flaws to pick at. So after repeatedly watching the videos, assuming the crime scene, and finally screening targets, the suspect they locked onto turned out to be Ming Heqi’s assistant.

That frail little girl who had cried to the point of nearly fainting while giving her statement at the police station.

“Although I haven’t found the suspect’s motive for the crime yet, this assistant must be connected to Ming Heqi’s death,” Lin Jin said with certainty. “She must have lied to us. The surveillance footage from a street near the hotel shows that on the afternoon of August 17th, Zhu didn’t go out at all, but stayed in a black Honda, waiting for half an hour after the incident before returning the same way.”

“Let’s go up and take a look,” Xu Xingchun spoke up from the side.

Zhu Xia’s home was on the third floor. It was a rather circuitous suite. The police officers investigating the case looked around the place. The walls were already mottled, with spider webs in the corners. Despite it being the hot summer, there was a hint of chilly coolness here.

“Knock on the door,” Liu Jingbo stood by the door, silently drawing his gun. The others instinctively hid on both sides.

Xiao Wang took two deep breaths and knocked on the door twice.

After waiting for half a minute with no response, he knocked twice more.

Still no response. As Xiao Wang was about to put his ear to the door to listen, the silent Lin Jin beside him couldn’t help but remind him, “Press the doorbell.”

“…..” Xiao Wang felt a bit embarrassed. He glanced at them and reached out to press the doorbell.

There should be no one at home. Liu Jingbo and the others exchanged looks, finally deciding to break in forcefully.

As soon as the heavy security door was opened, everyone present drew in a sharp breath at the sight inside the house.

Covering every inch of space were posters of He Lu, big and small. Xu Xingchun bent down and picked up a crumpled paper ball, unfolding it.

It was densely covered with He Lu’s name, written in black water-based pen.

Xiao Wang exclaimed, “This is so scary. I didn’t expect this Zhu to be He Lu’s crazy fan. Wasn’t Ming Heqi He Lu’s girlfriend?”

After seeing all this, Lin Jin and the others had already formed a simple judgment about the case in their minds. At this time, an investigator found a blood-stained fruit knife during the search of the house. He put the fruit knife into an evidence bag, “This should be the knife Ming Heqi used to slit her wrists at the scene. We’ll take it back to compare the blood stains and DNA. Once the results are out, we can confirm.”

Lin Jin nodded.

Liu Jingbo continued to wander around the small room. Zhu Xia probably rarely stayed at home and didn’t pay attention to personal hygiene. Many places were dusty, and the kitchen was dirty and messy. He strolled from the bathroom to the living room, and as he turned his head, he saw Xu Xingchun standing motionless at the bedroom door.

“What’s wrong, Captain Xu? Any new discoveries?” He walked up.

Looking around, Liu Bo followed Xu Xingchun’s gaze and saw two large posters in the bedroom. One was of Ming Heqi, her face already scratched up by something sharp. And the other—

Liu Jingbo’s hair stood on end.

Although the eyes of the woman in the poster had been gouged out, leaving only two black holes, Liu Jingbo immediately recognized her.

It was Fu Xueli.

—Not good, something must have happened!

Xiao Wang, holding his phone, hadn’t been able to get through to Fu Xueli for a long time. He tried dialing several more times, but all showed “out of service area.”

Everyone around him was anxiously watching this call. Xiao Wang’s palms were also starting to sweat, “Celebrities are always very busy. Maybe she hasn’t checked her phone for a while. It’s normal not to answer calls, right?”

Lin Jin’s brow furrowed deeply, “Quickly notify the people around Fu Xueli. If I’m not mistaken, the suspect probably knows she’s been exposed. The next target is likely to be her, with a high probability of crime.”

“No need to rush,” Liu Jingbo was about to say something when he caught sight of Xu Xingchun’s expression. He opened his mouth, “Quickly contact the bureau and have them pull out the phone numbers of Fu Xueli’s assistant and manager.”

The response was very quick, and soon two strings of numbers were transmitted.

Xiao Wang called one, which showed as powered off. Dumbfounded, he dialed the other. Tang Xin immediately picked up, “Hello?”

“Hello, we are police officers from the Jinliang District Public Security Bureau of Shanghai. I’d like to ask, is Fu Xueli with you right now?”

The voice on the other end was very anxious, “Fu Xueli isn’t with me, her phone is off, and I don’t know where she’s gone! She’s not at home either. We’re about to check the parking garage surveillance footage now!”

The phone was on speaker, and hearing this, everyone present looked at each other in silence, their hearts sinking.

Liu Jingbo looked up, but before he could speak, he saw Xu Xingchun’s figure disappearing through the door.

—

In an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city, filled with dirty oil drums. Fu Xueli was awakened by a bucket of cold water. Her consciousness gradually cleared from fuzzy to awake, her mouth stuffed with a rag.

Her whole body shook.

The memories from before she fainted gradually returned to her mind.

She had gone to the parking lot… then walked a few steps, turned a corner, and someone tapped her shoulder. As soon as she turned around, a cloth soaked in drugs was pressed over her face.

Enduring the intense pain throughout her body, she felt as if she had been torn apart, tasting an iron-like bloody flavor in her mouth. Her wrists were tied to a chair, unable to move.

Looking up at her surroundings, the sky had already darkened. An eerie white incandescent lamp swayed overhead, and she didn’t know what kind of ghostly place this was.

“What are you looking at?” The person beside her threw away the water bucket and slapped Fu Xueli’s face hard, making it turn sideways. “Finally awake?”

Seeing the scissors flashing before her eyes, Fu Xueli’s head throbbed with pain, breaking out in a cold sweat. She closed her eyes in despair, not knowing whether she felt more fear or the desolation of impending death.

She had never imagined that being kidnapped would happen to her.

Zhu Xia walked in front of Fu Xueli, lifted her chin, her expression both crazed and cold. She laughed harshly, “Tsk tsk tsk, look at how beautiful your face is. What does He Lu like about you all? If he likes this face of yours, how about I carve it up now?”

Psycho.

Fu Xueli stiffened, gritting her teeth hard to keep herself from trembling all over.

After saying this, Zhu Xia fell silent again, seemingly lost in thought. After a few seconds of quiet, she suddenly slapped Fu Xueli again, saying fiercely, “The online insults were right, you really are a whore. Don’t you like seducing men? Don’t you like He Lu? Why won’t you admit it?! Since you like seducing men so much, how about I call a man over and have him take you right in front of me?”

Fu Xueli quietly clenched her fists, mumbling with great difficulty, “Why… don’t you… just… kill me?”

Seeing her miserable state, Zhu Xia felt a sense of pleasure. She gripped Fu Xueli’s neck, gradually increasing the pressure, “You think you won’t die? Oh right, do you know how Ming Heqi died? Don’t worry, after I’m done torturing you, I’ll let you experience that feeling.”

Fu Xueli gradually felt a flash of white light before her eyes, losing strength, her breathing becoming intermittent.

“Damn, how did they get here so fast? This is bad! Are you done yet?” A burly bald man hurriedly returned from the window, interrupting them. “Why are you messing around so much? Now look what’s happened, the cops are here.”

“—Attention, those inside. You are surrounded.”

The voice from outside, amplified by a loudspeaker, echoed clearly inside the factory.

“Quickly deal with this woman.” The bald man was very agitated, saying angrily, “I shouldn’t have agreed to this. We haven’t made any money, and now we’ve got the police on our tails!”

After half an hour of standoff.

“The kidnappers have finally agreed to let one of us in to negotiate.”

About a hundred meters away from the factory, several police cars were parked. Lin Jin wiped the sweat from his forehead, “Zhu Xia and Fu Xueli are both inside, along with an adult male.”

After reviewing the surveillance footage and confirming Fu Xueli’s disappearance from the parking garage, they quickly activated the major case investigation mechanism. The Criminal Investigation Unit mobilized police forces to solve the case, tracing the trail to this location.

Xu Xingchun’s temples were throbbing, and he remained silent. He seemed to be in a daze for a moment.

“Wait.” Someone stopped him from moving forward. “I know how you feel right now. But Xu Xingchun, don’t be rash. Let’s wait for the negotiation expert, they’re already on the way. The hostage’s identity is special this time. I bet they won’t dare to act rashly now. If you go in to rescue the hostage now and fail, resulting in the hostage being killed, facing disciplinary action would be the least of your worries. Can you imagine the social pressure you’d face?!”

Liu Jingbo tried to persuade him.

The voice of the surveillance personnel came through the earpiece, “It’s not good, the hostage seems to be fading, already in a semi-unconscious state. We can’t wait that long. Should we force entry to rescue her?”

“No, the risk is too high. One person inside has a gun, and another seems emotionally unstable. It could easily go wrong.”

“The command center has already given the order that in the worst case, we can shoot to kill.”

The risk of shooting to kill was actually very high. First, it was already deep into the night, with too many obstructions around. Second, the kidnappers were clearly experienced, holding the hostage tightly against them. If they rashly shot to kill, Fu Xueli could easily be harmed.

The people inside the factory were becoming impatient, firing several shots into the air.

“Should we discuss what to do again? Zhu Xia has explosives strapped to her body. She knows she’s at a dead end. She’s not in a normal psychological state right now and could self-detonate at any moment. It’s too dangerous to go in rashly right now—”

Xu Xingchun lowered his head. After a moment of silence, he finally showed a reaction, “I’ll go in.”

Lin Jin immediately fell silent, looked at him for a few seconds, then sighed, “Alright.”

After Xu Xingchun had walked a few meters away, Lin Jin couldn’t help but call out to his back, “Be careful!”

Fu Xueli was tightly held against the chest of the bald thug, a gleaming sharp knife pressed against her throat. Zhu Xia held a gun with both hands, aiming at the young police officer who had just entered.

“Don’t move,” Zhu Xia said in a trembling voice. “Don’t come any closer for now.”

Xu Xingchun calmly looked at the bald man, “I’m not here to negotiate. Let her go, and I can be your hostage instead.”

Fu Xueli’s whole body had already gone limp, only being held up by her captor. Her vision was starting to blur. Hearing that familiar voice, her heart tightened. She struggled to open her eyes and began kicking wildly.

“What are you doing? Stay still,” the bald man said impatiently, his elbow pressing down hard to hold Fu Xueli’s head in place, the knife pressing even closer to her throat.

The sight was heart-stopping.

“—Don’t hurt her!” In that split second, Xu Xingchun took a deep breath, his throat constricting, his voice trembling, “Don’t hurt her, I can be your hostage.”

“She can’t… hold on much longer. You’d be better off taking me instead. I’m a police officer. If you take me hostage, the people outside won’t act rashly against you.”

The bald man looked over at Zhu Xia, considering, “Should we… switch?”

Zhu Xia shook her head, looking him up and down, “I’m afraid he’s too cunning. He’s a police officer, his ability to resist is too strong. We can’t switch.”

“You, throw over everything you have on you. No guns!” Seeing Xu Xingchun standing still, Zhu Xia stretched her neck.

Anxious voices came through the earpiece.

“—Xu Xingchun, you need to follow orders. You can’t act recklessly like this.”

“—Wait, don’t throw away your gun. Be careful of accidents! Try to stall them for a while.”

“—This is too dangerous, calm down. The snipers are already in position.”

“Xu Xingchun.” Fu Xueli suddenly called his name, blinking, choking up as tears streamed down her face.

“Xu Xing—”

Xu Xingchun lowered his eyes, turned off the radio, cutting off the last words mid-sentence. He removed his earpiece and threw it aside.

Under the gaze of the three, the gun hit the ground heavily as he slowly raised his hands.