ATLAS TRANSLATES

The night had fallen completely, the darkness enveloping everything. The moonlight was soft, and the air carried the cool scent of recent rain.

Fu Xueli’s tears had not yet dried. She had just been crying hard, leaving her face cold. She felt tired, her gaze unfocused and drifting. Her ear was pressed against Xu Xingchun’s neck as she held his wrist, simply passing time like this, wanting to prolong this feeling of letting go of everything.

It had been a long time since she felt so comfortable and at ease. She was truly exhausted, even wanting to close her eyes and fall asleep right there. She had finally made a certain decision. Though a vague fear still lingered, it felt as if a thousand-pound weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

“Xu Xingchun…” she lifted her head slightly, calling his name. Xu Xingchun grasped her chin in response.

Long-forgotten feelings hung at the edge of her heart. The intense emotions of recent days found some relief, making her feel lazy and unwilling to move.

Fu Xueli sensed him staring at her intently, perhaps wanting to kiss her, so she stopped speaking. For a moment, she prepared herself mentally, but after waiting for a while, Xu Xingchun made no further move.

“What are you doing?” she asked softly, blinking her wet eyelashes.

“Open your mouth,” Xu Xingchun said in a low voice, his fingers brushing her cheek.

There was a faint scent of tobacco.

Before the kiss landed, Fu Xueli’s jaw had already softened. His Adam’s apple moved as his tongue pushed in twice, pressing against the roof of her mouth. The intense, lingering kiss deepened further.

This position wasn’t very comfortable for kissing. Fu Xueli unconsciously wanted to change it. She struggled to climb onto Xu Xingchun’s shoulders, shamelessly spreading her legs to straddle his thighs, her feet off the ground.

She had always been a shameless hedonist, not caring about the setting. When she got carried away, she completely lost her sense of propriety.

Her slender fingers slowly traced his nose bridge and chin, then slipped into the loosened collar of his uniform shirt. Her fingertips slid aimlessly over his prominent collarbone.

“You police officers… look so handsome in uniform.”

This was sincere praise that Fu Xueli had held in her heart for a long time – a heartfelt compliment.

Last time on the film set, many young girls had been secretly swooning over Xu Xingchun, which had bothered her for a while.

In fact, Fu Xueli had always been infatuated with Xu Xingchun’s face. Since childhood, from the first moment she saw him, she thought this little boy looked especially handsome, more handsome than others. That’s why she was willing to let him be her desk mate for so long.

Superficiality was Fu Xueli’s nature.

Although sometimes she couldn’t stand Xu Xingchun’s excessive supervision, she would always succumb to his good looks. This aesthetic appreciation had continued until now.

Listening to Xu Xingchun’s short breaths, Fu Xueli’s calves dangled on either side, her heels kicking him lightly now and then, not too hard, like a tickle. “If someone passes by… they’ll see us kissing…”

Xu Xingchun bit her lip, one hand steadying her waist. “Don’t move around.”

Fu Xueli was firmly held in place by his strength, like a slippery fish caught by its tail.

She melted in his arms, thankful for the grip on her waist, or she would have surely fallen.

Xu Xingchun tilted his head slightly, their lips and tongues parting slowly, reluctantly.

After a moment of stillness.

She steadied her breathing, swallowed, and spoke in a tiny voice, “I think my legs are numb…”

The night temperature was lower than during the day, approaching winter. Fu Xueli wore only a thin dress, and now she finally felt the cold. She suppressed the urge to sneeze.

Xu Xingchun half-squatted, half-knelt on the ground, holding her slender, fair calf and massaging it with professional skill. His every move showed indulgence beyond words.

That familiar feeling returned.

She looked a bit dazed, thinking with some bitterness in her heart.

It had been so long…

So long since Xu Xingchun had treated her like this. So long that Fu Xueli had almost forgotten – his instinct was to be good to her.

Restraint was Xu Xingchun’s nature, but no matter how much he held back, his love for Fu Xueli was ingrained in his blood and bones. From his youth, this abnormal feeling had been too blind, completely uncontrollable.

She had been too cruel before. Xu Xingchun’s gentleness, she had trampled on it as she pleased. Even after their reunion, her nature hadn’t changed much with time. Due to various hesitations, she didn’t want to actively admit her own mistakes.

If only it had been earlier, there wouldn’t have been so many problems.

It was all because she was too stubborn.

Xu Xingchun’s head was lowered, his outline looking much thinner. Fu Xueli’s heart inexplicably ached, and she blurted out without thinking, “Xu Xingchun, I’ll be good to you from now on.”

It was like a compromise confession, with a tone of heartache. This sentence successfully made him pause his actions, then look up.

“……”

Fu Xueli’s almond eyes were moist and wide open. Pretending to be casual, she muttered, “What? Why are you looking at me like that? Don’t you believe me?”

Xu Xingchun said, “I believe you.”

“You don’t believe me, do you?” she persisted.

“I do,” he answered, lowering his gaze again, his eyelashes concealing his eyes.

Fu Xueli was unsatisfied with his reaction – his face clearly showed disbelief.

But thinking about how she indeed liked to go back on her word, she secretly made up her mind to prove it to him in the future and never do anything to hurt him again.

A phone rang, and Xu Xingchun stood up to answer it nearby.

“Why aren’t you back yet?” Xu Tao asked on the other end.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

Xu Tao said in exasperation, “Captain Xu, there’s too much to say. Captain Liu called again asking for people. They say there’s a strange case, and their newly hired forensic expert lacks experience. They want you to take a look. Also, there’s progress on the Heaven case, we’ve found an informant.”

“What kind of case? Where’s Old Qin?” Xu Xingchun frowned.

“That old man went back home for the New Year, who knows where he’s having fun. Speaking of which, it breaks my heart. I’ve been scheduled to work on New Year’s Eve again this year… I’ve been calling you, but you didn’t answer. I thought something had happened to you!” Xu Tao wailed, “Are you at home? Should I come pick you up? We could grab a late-night snack…”

“No need. I’m not in Shen City right now,” Xu Xingchun said flatly.

Xu Tao: “Bro! Chun bro! How could you just leave? Abandoning your duties, wanting me to suffer alone at the bureau?!”

“I’ll contact you later,” he said and hung up.

Fu Xueli had overheard a bit. She stood behind him and asked, “Do you still have unfinished business?”

Xu Xingchun looked at her, “Mm.”

“Oh…”

Fu Xueli licked her lips, like a little cat that had its teeth pulled, completely docile now.

Xu Xingchun couldn’t help but lower his head to kiss the corner of her mouth, then left another kiss, “After I finish… I’ll come find you.”

“Why are you all so busy… Didn’t you just recover recently?”

When she used to live at Xu Xingchun’s place, Fu Xueli would always see him dealing with many things. A string of tasks, keeping him extremely busy.

After complaining, she tried to please him, “Why don’t I go back with you? I can keep you company. We can buy a hat and mask later. I know many people in Lin City anyway, I can just call someone to bring them over.”

This attitude suddenly brought back memories of the flashy bad girl strutting around school.

Only now she was trying to curry favor too eagerly. Before Xu Xingchun could speak, her phone rang again.

She answered impatiently, but the voice on the other end was even more impatient, “Fu Xueli, you’ve been home for so long and we haven’t seen a shadow of you. Are you trying to die?!”

Fu Chenglin had always been hot-tempered, “Last time you left me alone at the restaurant without a word, I haven’t even settled that score with you yet! Aunt Qi knew you were coming back and prepared dinner. Everyone’s just waiting for you. What’s going on? Look at what time it is now. Where are you fooling around again?!”

Finally, after the rapid-fire scolding on the other end, Fu Xueli’s temper also flared up. She shouted, “Can’t you be a little gentler with me?! What do you mean fooling around? Fu Chenglin, what nonsense are you spouting? I went to pay respects at my parents’ grave today!”

The other end indeed went quiet for a moment, then his tone softened, “Where are you? Send me your location, I’ll come pick you up.”

“No need.”

“What do you mean no need?” Fu Chenglin gritted his teeth, “Don’t you know how to behave? How old are you to still act like a child? The elders are all at home.”

Fu Xueli was still thinking of how to refuse when she heard Xu Xingchun calmly say, “You’re not dressed warmly enough. Go home and change into something warmer.”

“I can buy clothes on the way,” she still complained.

After saying this, she realized something was off and paused for a moment.

She was acting as if she really wanted to stay with him…

Standing still with her phone for a few seconds, a strong hand grasped the back of Fu Xueli’s neck, pulling her close. Another hand raised up. Xu Xingchun seemed to sigh softly, “Go home.”

She buried her head in his chest, mumbling, not allowing Xu Xingchun to laugh at her.

When they finally parted, Fu Xueli surprisingly felt a bit reluctant to leave. She wanted to ask if he would miss her, but after hesitating for a long time, she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

It was too sappy.

Soft jazz music played in the car.

The siblings’ faces fell as soon as they saw each other. After casually chatting about other topics, Fu Chenglin sighed and asked his sister, “How did you end up with him again?”

Glancing at the rearview mirror, he said, “I didn’t see wrong just now, did I?”

“Xu Xingchun?” After thinking for a while, Fu Xueli cautiously answered, “It’s a long story.”

“How long?”

“Very long.”

Fu Chenglin found it strange, “How could Xu Xingchun be so unwise?”

His tone was full of regret, as if Xu Xingchun had suffered some great loss. This immediately struck a nerve with Fu Xueli, who cursed angrily, “What do you mean by that?”

Fu Chenglin replied calmly, “What do I mean? Don’t you have any self-awareness?”

“…” Fu Xueli fell silent, unable to deny it. Because when she thought about what she had done, she felt guilty.

She didn’t even dare to ask Xu Xingchun what had happened to him during those years.

When they got home, as soon as they entered, Aunt Qi was overjoyed to know Fu Xueli had come back for New Year’s this year. She had prepared dinner early and enthusiastically called her to come eat.

“Where’s Uncle?” Fu Xueli asked.

“Waiting,” Aunt Qi replied.

Aunt Qi’s family of three spent every New Year’s Eve at the Fu household, and this year was no exception. Fu Chenglin had brought his girlfriend home this year. It wasn’t someone Fu Xueli recognized, but she heard they were at the stage of getting their marriage certificate.

After dinner, she privately asked Fu Chenglin, “Where’s Qinqin?”

Qinqin was the woman who had been entangled in love and hate with Fu Chenglin since their student days, and also the only woman Fu Xueli thought her cousin truly loved.

Fu Chenglin’s reaction was very calm, “Qinqin? We broke up.”

“Didn’t you just show off your relationship to me not long ago?” Fu Xueli realized, “Is this one pregnant?”

Fu Chenglin didn’t want to say much else and went to smoke on the side.

Anyway, they lived day by day at their age. It was already difficult to live well, and love was like passing clouds, all insignificant now.

If it’s suitable, stay together; if not, part ways. Love, though it could make one fall into a honeypot, was still too expensive.

After taking a hot shower, Fu Xueli lay on the familiar soft bed, feeling a sense of security.

But soon after came a feeling of loss…

She stared at the ceiling, thinking to herself.

What’s going on now? Once separated from Xu Xingchun, her heart felt empty and began to feel uneasy.

Could things still be okay?

After worrying for a while, Fu Xueli turned over and picked up her phone to send a message to Xu Xingchun.

“Have you eaten dinner?”

She waited for a while, but there was no reply.

He probably went back to work at the police station.

She sighed and opened the WeChat group “Lin City’s Top Tier Gang” to relieve boredom.

[Big Pear]: I’m back in Lin City for New Year’s. Anyone want to hang out?

After a few minutes, people in the group quickly replied.

Yijie Lililili: Wow! Big star! Busy person! How do you have time for us?

[Big Pear]: I’m on holiday, you fool 🙂

Yijie Lililili: Alright, I’m just at home. Ready anytime.

[Song Yifan]: Yiyi, Lili, mwah mwah mwah.

Yijie Lililili: Kiss your mom’s ass.

[Song Yifan]: So mean 🙁

[Big Pear]: Where’s Xie Ci? Why isn’t he talking? Is he bringing Xu You along this year?

[Song Yifan]: At this hour, who doesn’t have a sex life?

[Song Yifan]: An ugly guy like you obviously doesn’t have a partner, hehe.

Yijie Lililili: Impressive, Song Yifan. You just wait.

[Song Yifan]: Don’t, Brother Li. The ugly live longer, you know.

Yijie Lililili: So you’ve become a pilot recently, flying to the North Pole? Getting cocky, huh?

[Song Yifan]: No, no, I wouldn’t dare

Watching Song Yifan and Li Jieyi banter back and forth, Fu Xueli couldn’t stop laughing. As she laughed, she felt a bit nostalgic, thinking about the fun times in high school.

Back then, when they lost bets, the punishment was to post all kinds of weird things on the school bulletin board.

Like:

Gender: Male Name: Song Yifan Purpose: I want a wife, I don’t want to turn gay. If interested, leave your contact info. Let’s chat privately. Seeking sincere friendship.

One time they were caught by a teacher who didn’t know them. The teacher yelled, “Which class are you from?!”

While running away, Li Jieyi was especially cheeky and shouted back, “Teacher, true heroes don’t ask about origins!”

As the teacher was getting angry, Song Yifan turned back and added, “Actions don’t look at consequences!”

Ah…

Those times…

Fu Xueli exited the chat and checked her messages again, still no reply from Xu Xingchun.

Damn it.

Finally unable to hold back, she typed and deleted several times before sending another message.

“Xu Xingchun, you haven’t changed your mind, have you?”