ATLAS TRANSLATES

Xu Xingchun’s mouth tightened as he lowered his eyes. He took half a step forward and stared at her intently.

“I really don’t do drugs. If I wanted to try that stuff, I could have done it in high school. Why don’t you take me back to your place and check?” Fu Xueli rambled, not knowing how else to explain.

In the thick darkness, Xu Xingchun’s tall figure was barely visible. Though only an arm’s length away, she could clearly sense that his emotions, while seemingly calm, were actually very unstable, mixed with rare hints of violence.

His prominent Adam’s apple bobbed once. He clenched his jaw, lowering his dense eyelashes. “Put your coat on properly. Sit here and wait for me to come back.”

“How long will you be gone…” Fu Xueli hesitated, then rephrased, “How long do I need to wait?”

Just when she thought she wouldn’t get an answer, she heard Xu Xingchun say, “I don’t know.”

His voice was deep and cold. For a moment, his expression darkened.

“Oh… okay. Please hurry back. I have to catch a flight back to Lin City tomorrow,” she added obediently, “Should I stay right here?”

Fu Xueli’s eyes reflected his entire image. This rare display of docility caused a slight pause in Xu Xingchun’s voice, “Mm.”

“Alright.”

After hearing her agreement rather than refusal, it took great self-control for him to force himself to turn away.

Fu Xueli wrapped the slightly oversized coat tightly around herself and sat on the stone bench, watching as Xu Xingchun returned to the chaotic scene.

Step by step, he walked from the darkness to the boundary line cut by light and shadow. In his light blue shirt, tall with long legs, his back straight and his figure solitary.

Xu Tao leaned against the private room door, looking around irritably with an unlit cigarette between his lips.

He turned off the gaudy wall lights. Inside, over a dozen people were searching, not overlooking any liquids in glass bottles. After a few more minutes, a police officer came out, shaking his head helplessly, “So far, we’ve found nothing.”

“Not even a trace of drugs?” Xu Tao frowned.

The officer shook his head, “We’ve searched everywhere. Nothing.” He then looked up and called out, “Captain Xu.”

Xu Xingchun nodded, “How’s it going?”

“Not good.” Xu Tao rubbed his eyes with one hand, unable to control his curiosity, he teased, “Oh, you’ve sent your girlfriend away already? That was quick.”

Seeing Xu Xingchun’s cold face with no response, Xu Tao recalled the scene from earlier. His usually self-proclaimed aloof captain, known for his cool composure, had, before anyone else realized, held a woman tightly in his arms in front of everyone. The action was so swift it left people dumbfounded, seemingly out of character for him…

“Today, apart from catching some prostitutes, we probably won’t find much else,” another officer came to report.

They finished searching one private room and were preparing to move to the next. Just then, they ran into a familiar face who greeted them, “Oh, Xu Tao, you’re from the anti-drug squad, right?”

“What’s up?”

“Well, the investigators just reported to the command center. About an hour ago, waiters and security guards went to several private rooms to warn them that the public security bureau would be sending people to raid. They must have moved everything in advance.”

Xu Tao and Xu Xingchun exchanged a glance, cursing under their breath, “Damn it.”

At this moment, chaos reigned, with scantily clad men and women fleeing everywhere. Seeing the group in police uniforms, they scattered like mice seeing cats, desperately trying to hide.

Xu Tao narrowed his eyes, casually glancing around. He spotted several young, muscular men coming out of a private room ahead. Each wore gold chains and had tattooed arms. They were solidly built, but their steps were slightly unsteady, and their eyes unfocused.

Before the group could react, they turned and ran into Xu Xingchun and his team. Their faces immediately darkened.

Someone whispered, “What should we do?”

“Quick, let’s go. Don’t make a sound!”

They hurried away, but after just a few steps, a shout came from behind, “Wait!”

The man who looked like the tattooed-arm boss turned around, his expression unnatural. He forced a greeting to Xu Xingchun, who was leading the approach, “Officer, we’re just a group of friends having a small gathering, drinking a bit. We didn’t hire any prostitutes. We haven’t broken any laws. Is there a problem?”

Xu Tao wanted to roll his eyes. Impatiently, he said, “Save it. Stop pretending. Come with us.”

“On what grounds? Can police just randomly arrest citizens now? Is there no law anymore?” The muscular men’s faces turned ugly as they began to confront the police, cursing non-stop.

Xu Tao and his team ignored them, directly taking out handcuffs.

“I’m not going anywhere today!” The muscular man suddenly seemed enraged, his eyes glaring and muscles tensing. “Let’s see who dares to touch me. I’m not trying to scare you, but we’ve all tasted blood on the streets. We’ve never been afraid of anyone. Don’t try this with us!”

Before the boss could finish speaking, he suddenly fell silent. A wave of fear flickered in his eyes, and he held his breath for a moment—a gun was steadily pressed against the back of his head.

The crystal lights from the corridor ceiling shone down. The young police officer stood quietly, the profile of his face sharp and defined. He held the gun with one hand, pressing it against the man’s head.

His distinct knuckles gripped the trigger. His black, messy hair cast uneven shadows, hiding his faded gaze.

“Uh…” The big man’s voice became stiff and tight, his legs trembling imperceptibly.

Xu Xingchun didn’t waste a single word. His voice was slow and low, but left no room for argument, “Cuff them. Take them away.”

The night was far from peaceful. The wailing of police sirens attracted a large crowd of onlookers, who hadn’t dispersed even after midnight. Fu Xueli sat obediently on the stone bench. The wind was strong, and it was so dark here that she could barely see her fingers.

Feeling cold, she opened WeChat to reply to Tang Xin, afraid she might be worried:

[I’m fine. I ran into Xu Xingchun. He brought me out.]

Tang Xin: [What a coincidence?! I was so scared!]

Fu Xueli: [What about you? Where are you?]

Tang Xin: [I’m still at Heaven. The police didn’t come to our private room. Where are you? Are you at the hotel?]

Fu Xueli: [No, I’m waiting for Xu Xingchun in a place with very few people. I’m going back to Lin City tomorrow. Wait for Xixi to bring my ID card later. I don’t have much luggage to bring. Plus, with my annual leave, can you please not call me for at least a week?]

Tang Xin: [Okay, okay. I don’t know if the police are trying to boost their year-end performance or what. Why do they have to crack down on prostitution before the New Year? I’ve had enough! Remember to ask for me later!]

Fu Xueli: [Ask who?]

Tang Xin: [Ask that handsome police officer you’re sleeping with :)]

Although she was in a mess at the moment, Fu Xueli couldn’t help but smile at this message. She heard small footsteps gradually approaching from the side. With a lingering smile on her face, Fu Xueli turned her head and called out tentatively, “Xu Xingchun?”

The person stopped a few meters away from her.

Fu Xueli held up her phone, trying to make out the figure’s shape in the weak light.

“Is it Xu Xingchun?” she asked again hesitantly.

“No.”

Fu Xueli wasn’t usually sensitive to other people’s voices. She dealt with too many people every day to remember them all. But this voice, she recognized instantly from her memory.

Her frozen legs were a bit painful. She stamped her feet and quickly regained her composure, asking doubtfully, “Ma Xuanrui? What are you doing here?”

Without a trace, Ma Xuanrui sat down beside her and smiled, asking, “You seem quite nervous?”

Hmph.

Fu Xueli’s gaze wandered around. She tugged at the corner of her mouth and asked carelessly, “What do you want to say?”

After a long silence in the dark and cold environment, neither of them spoke again.

Ma Xuanrui muttered to herself, “I guess you’ve gotten back in touch with him, right?”

There was no need to ask who she meant by ‘you two’.

At this point, Fu Xueli could only make out some vague images. She felt that talking about feelings, especially relationship matters, in this situation was really strange. Getting a bit impatient, Fu Xueli replied briefly, “What does that have to do with you?”

Ma Xuanrui smiled, unperturbed.

“Do you love Xu Xingchun?” she suddenly asked, breaking the brief silence.

Fu Xueli was truly baffled. Her patience completely gone, she asked, “What are you talking about?”

Ma Xuanrui seemed to be speaking to no one in particular, as if she just wanted to confess, “I know you don’t like him, but I like him so much.”

“I like him so much that I wish everyone would betray him, abandon him, leaving only me to love him.”

Her voice was gentle, her tone soft. Not waiting for Fu Xueli to interject, she continued, “You, Fu Xueli, have so many people who love you. You don’t need Xu Xingchun, do you? Even if he died, you wouldn’t be sad for long. But why doesn’t Xu Xingchun understand this?”

Fu Xueli couldn’t hold back anymore. She spoke up: “What’s your purpose in coming here? If you want to tell me how much you love him, I know.”

Suddenly, as if remembering something, she added indifferently, “If you want to tell me how much he loves me, I know that too.”

“Mm, you know everything,” Ma Xuanrui said with a hint of sarcasm. “Then do you know when Xu Xingchun’s mother died?”

“……” This question successfully made her freeze.

After a long while, Ma Xuanrui muttered word by word, biting each word through clenched teeth, “That year, B City hosted the Olympics. Xu Xingchun, hiding it from everyone, stayed in the hospital alone. Do you know how much I’ve wanted to show you that diagnosis and treatment record all these years? Two months later, he went to school alone and applied for a transfer from Lin City branch. Since then, there’s been no news of him.”

She became more and more agitated, her speech suddenly speeding up, “What about you, Fu Xueli? I can’t understand how desperate Xu Xingchun must have been to attempt suicide. He was lying on the hospital bed, barely alive, and after discharge, he left alone. Where were you at that time? What were you doing? Who were you laughing with, and how happy were you?”

In the end, Ma Xuanrui’s voice had become completely shrill and trembling. Only one sentence was clearly articulated, “Do you remember what you did to Xu Xingchun?!”

Suppressing the urge to turn and flee, Fu Xueli listened, her scalp tingling as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over her head. Breathing deeply, her fingers curled up nervously.

Earlier, to prevent information leaks, all the police officers involved in the case had their phones turned off and confiscated.

It wasn’t until the sky began to lighten that all the work was finally wrapped up.

Xu Tao was distributing a basket of phones, and he grabbed someone to ask, “Where’s Captain Xu? I don’t see him anywhere.”

“Captain Xu? I saw him sitting on a chair in Area B just now. Go check there.”

When Xu Tao found Xu Xingchun, he was sitting alone on a stone bench. The morning mist was thick.

He had been sitting there for an unknown length of time. The contours of his face were clean-cut, and his hair was slightly damp. He wore his usual taciturn expression, with a faint smell of blood on him. A black Armed Police jacket lay beside him.

Xu Xingchun didn’t seem to be in a daze. His demeanor had a strangely patient and composed quality, as if he was waiting for someone with undivided attention.

But he was indeed alone.

Xu Tao’s eyelid twitched. He felt something was off. He walked over and handed Xu Xingchun his phone, “Buddy, what are you doing sitting here? Hurry home and get some rest. Be careful not to work yourself to death.”

When their eyes met, Xu Tao looked at Xu Xingchun and was startled. His eyes held pure weariness, cool and indifferent, without a trace of emotion.

Xu Tao thought Xu Xingchun was exhausted. He patted his shoulder, “Good work.”

On the way to the airport.

Xu Xingchun focused on driving. Despite being up all night, he showed no signs of fatigue. His driving was as steady as usual, though his skin was alarmingly pale. The blood-stained sleeve was rolled up to his elbow, revealing a section of his arm with smooth, beautiful lines and a sharp, protruding wrist bone.

The phone screen on the center console darkened. There was a read text message:

[Xu Xingchun, I’m leaving first. This is the last time I’ll say sorry to you. I can’t face you right now. When I’ve figured things out, I’ll come find you.]