Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  Gu Xichi’s hand paused on the keyboard.

  He stared at the sentence, leaned back, drew a cigarette from his pocket, and narrowed his eyes.

  After a while.

  He got up again and went from the bedroom to the living room downstairs. He took his medicine box and took out a black liaison inside.

  Then, he made a call.

  Gu Xichi lit his cigarette and found a table to lean on. After waiting a few minutes, a list was sent over to him.

  **

  It was already eight o’clock when Qin Ran reached the hotel, so she took a shower.

  She only saw the box in her bag when she took out her foreign books.

  Qin Ran stopped rubbing her hair and held the foreign book in her other hand. After a while, she zipped her bag up.

  Then, she took out her phone and sent a video call to Chen Shulan.

  Mu Nan was still memorizing phrases in Chen Shulan’s ward.

  “Grandma, I’ve reached.” Qin Ran stood in front of the glass window, wearing a bathrobe with her hair still wet. She turned the camera around and let it face the night view outside.

  Chen Shulan’s mood at night was much better than in the morning. She looked at the night view on her phone and slowly said, “Have you seen Grandpa Wei?”


  “I didn’t tell him I was coming. If Wei Zihang knows that I call him Grandpa Wei, he would surely be unhappy,” Qin Ran said slowly.

  “It has been so many years and yet he’s still angry.” Chen Shulan seemed to laugh.

  After a pause, she said softly, “Teacher Xu also contacted me last time. He hopes that you can continue to learn from a good teacher and not ruin your future prospects because of his family. Teacher Wei also visited me a few times. It’s up to you whether to continue.”


  “I sent Xu Shen to the hospital and yet Teacher Xu doesn’t hate me.” Qin Ran didn’t answer and just lifted her head to look out the window.

  Two sofas were placed by the glass window and she sat on the armrest of one casually, her other hand leaning on the back of the chair.

  At the mention of Xu Shen, the disgust between Chen Shulan’s eyebrows couldn’t be concealed. She didn’t want to talk about him and simply said, “Think about it.”


  They hung up.

  Mu Nan hung up the video.

  Then, he picked up his English workbook that had been set aside again.

  After turning two pages, he raised his head again. His facial features were exquisite and his eyebrows were slightly convex. His eyes were as cold as a lake and his thin lips were slightly pursed. “Grandma, that year, why did cousin…… why did she hit Xu Shen?”


  He had heard that Xu Shen was covered in blood when he was carried out.

  Yet, the Xu family didn’t say anything.

  Mu Nan had just entered junior high school at that time, so he was unclear about a lot of things.

  “He’s a disgusting being, it’ll only dirty our hands to kill him.” Chen Shulan closed her eyes and suddenly remembered something. “Do you know that Mr. Cheng?”


  Mu Nan put Chen Shulan’s phone aside and looked up. “Which Mr. Cheng?”


  “The one beside your cousin, the good-looking child.” Chen Shulan opened her eyes again and said in a soft voice, “He’s very polite.”


  Mu Nan glanced at Chen Shulan silently.

  His grandma’s impression of people was either good-looking or passable. Other than that, she had completely no impression.

  Mu Nan sighed after hearing Chen Shulan call the man good-looking.

  He had heard his mother say that when Ning Qing brought Qin Hanqiu home, the whole family was dissatisfied. Only Chen Shulan had no objection and even said that he was good-looking.

  “Yeah, he’s a school doctor at the school hospital,” Mu Nan tucked her in and said tiredly.

  Chen Shulan nodded in satisfaction. “Doctors are good, doctors are good. No wonder he has such beautiful hands, just like your cousin.”


  Mu Nan was speechless.

  **

  The Shen family in Beijing.

  It was a four-story villa with a garden outside in the prosperous area of Beijing.

  Qin Yu stayed in a room on the third floor.

  She held her violin in one hand and phoned Lin Jinxuan with the other.

  The violin was the one she had used in Yun Cheng, but the string that Wu Yan had cut had been repaired by a famous teacher hired by Lin Qi.

  “Brother, have you received the tickets? Are you coming to see me with Brother Feng the day after tomorrow?” Before going downstairs, Qin Yu stood at the end of the corridor on the third floor and called Lin Jinxuan.

  Lin Jinxuan’s voice was faint. “It depends on the situation. I might not necessarily have the time.”


  Lin Jinxuan’s attitude towards her had become very cold since the last time, and her relationship with the Lin family seemed to revert back to the freezing point when she first came.

  Qin Yu clenched her hands tightly and pretended to be relaxed. “Okay. Goodbye then, brother.”


  She hung up and closed her eyes before heading downstairs.

  There weren’t many people downstairs. Lin Wan sat on the sofa, wearing a purple cheongsam and a white fox fur shawl around her shoulders.

  “Yu’er, come down quickly.” Lin Wan smiled slightly when she saw Qin Yu coming down and turned her head. “Old Master has been waiting for you for a long time.”


  Qin Yu held her violin and nodded politely to them.

  After she finished a song, Old Master Shen nodded slightly, the smile on his face obviously bigger. “You’ve improved again, not bad.”


  The girl sitting on the other side didn’t seem to appreciate it. After playing on her phone for a long time, she stood up after the song was over. “I can’t understand it, but it sounds a little like our Brother Yan Xi’s early debut song in the dark album series.”


  “What do you know?” Old Master Shen stopped smiling. “Go upstairs immediately and let’s see if you have the dignity of a lady from the Shen family.”


  The girl shrugged her shoulders and directly went upstairs.

  “Don’t listen to her nonsense. You’re so young, yet you already have deep emotions.” Old Master Shen nodded and smiled. “Teacher Wei likes spiritual apprentices, so don’t be too stressed and just play normally.”


  After returning to the third floor, Lin Wan gathered her shawl and said with irony, “Don’t listen to Shen Yumin. She’s already in the junior year, but the Shen family still refuses to let her join the company for an internship.”


  Qin Yu smiled and didn’t speak, but she took out her phone and searched for Yan Xi’s early song in the dark album series.

  Shen Yumin’s words had given her a warning bell. What if the music sheet she had picked up was of a song?

  Fans of Yan Xi were scattered all over the country. If it really sounded similar, she would be drowned out by all of Yan Xi’s fans.

  “Your sister didn’t come?” Lin Wan sat on the sofa in Qin Yu’s room and looked at the furnishings.

  Two celadon vases were placed next to the window, with a European-style beige sofa in the middle. The room was exquisitely decorated.

  It wasn’t much worse than Shen Yumin’s room.

  Old Master Shen liked Qin Yu so much that the whole family was basically very polite to her.

  “No, my mother said my sister doesn’t want to come.” Qin Yu found the music sheets for the song.

  Lin Wan’s expression didn’t change much, but there was a bit of scorn in her eyes. She knew about Lin Qi’s decision.

  She stopped talking about Qin Ran.

  When Lin Wan left the room, Qin Yu took out her headphones from the drawer and listened to the old songs one by one.

  **

  The next day.

  Qin Ran got up early.

  After brushing her teeth and eating breakfast, she went downstairs with her black backpack.

  She stayed in an ordinary single room on the 28th floor.

  A service staff stood next to the elevator and bent over with a smile when he saw her. “Hello, the banquet hall on the third floor is closed tonight, and the main entrance is closed as well. If you come back between 4 to 6 in the afternoon, please come in through Gate 2. I’m very sorry for the inconvenience.”


  It was probably because a family had booked the banquet hall, so Qin Ran nodded and lowered her hat to express her understanding.

  The hotel wasn’t far from Beijing University.

  Qin Ran had chosen this place specifically. Instead of taking a taxi, she walked to Beijing University.

  On the way, she received a local phone call from an unknown number.

  Qin Ran picked up and put on her headphones. “Teacher Wei.”


  Teacher Wei’s voice was energized. “Where are you staying?”


  Qin Ran didn’t mention the name of the hotel. “You don’t need to come over. I have some other matters, so I’ll find you when I’m done.”


  Teacher Wei was still rehearsing a scene, so he waved to the staff and then walked to one side. He didn’t answer Qin Ran and just said unhappily, “You know my address, so why didn’t you come over directly? It’s your first time in Beijing and you’re unfamiliar with the place.”


  “It’s okay.” Qin Ran put her hands on the headphones and stood by the road waiting for the traffic lights.

  After she finished talking to Wei Lin, the green light lit up and she followed the pedestrian road to the street in front.

  When Lin Jinxuan saw Qin Ran, she was walking on the tree-lined road of Beijing University.

  She was wearing a sweater with the hat over her head. Her eyes were downcast and she had her headphones plugged in on both sides, exposing only her cold chin and looking very cool.

  Even if her face couldn’t be seen, the people passing by would look back at her subconsciously.

  “Wait a moment, I have something to do,” Lin Jinxuan stopped walking and said to the young man beside him. Then, he walked in Qin Ran’s direction.

  Lin Jinxuan trotted over quickly and stopped her. He raised an eyebrow slightly and asked, “Why are you here? Are you here with your mother to…… watch the concert?”


  In his impression, Qin Ran wasn’t such a person.

  “Oh.” Qin Ran looked up slowly. “No, I’m here to find someone.”


  Lin Jinxuan nodded and didn’t ask more. “Where are you staying now?”


  Qin Ran took off her headphones and didn’t answer.

  She was indifferent and alienated.

  It seemed like Lin Qi hadn’t told Lin Jinxuan of the incident.

  Lin Jinxuan looked at the time and frowned lightly. “You’re a girl…… forget it. I have something to do now, I’ll talk to you later.”


  When Qin Ran left, the young people who had been with Lin Jinxuan came over.

  “Jinxuan, was that your sister? She looks much better than the campus belle in our school. I heard she can play the violin? Do you want the two tickets she gave you? If not, you can give it to me.” One boy stared after Qin Ran.

  Lin Jinxuan glanced at him lightly. “No, don’t try to hit on her.”


  He didn’t say more.

  The person touched his nose and stopped talking.

  Lin Jinxuan watched as Qin Ran walked away and then glanced over in the direction she had come from.

  The roads of Beijing University’s campus extended in all directions, but almost every road led to a different place.

  He pointed to the road where Qin Ran had come from and asked the person beside him, “Where does this road lead to?”


  “The medical department?” One person looked at the road. “My girlfriend is from the medical department.”


  Lin Jinxuan nodded and fell into deep thought. Medical department?

  Why did Qin Ran go there?

  Did she know someone from Beijing University?

  Lin Jinxuan didn’t understand.

  **

  After Qin Ran left Beijing University, she returned on the same path.

  A red sports car was parked opposite the traffic lights, with the license plate “666666” hanging arrogantly.

  The Buick behind it simply wished to be a hundred meters away from it.

  Once the green light was lit, the person in the driver’s seat had his Bluetooth headset on and stepped on the accelerator. He swept his eyes across the road and saw a thin figure in the flow of people beside him. “What the f*ck!”


  The person on the other end of the phone call paused and then said slowly, “Lu Zhaoying, say that again.”


  “No, Master Juan, you definitely can’t guess who I just saw.” Lu Zhaoying parked the car to the side. “I’ll talk to you later, I’m stopping the car.”


  There were sidewalks all around, but Lu Zhaoying didn’t find a parking space and just parked the car directly on the side.

  Then, he pulled the door open and got off.

  He went into the crowd and dragged the figure out before pulling her hat. “Qin Ran, didn’t you go back to see your relatives in Ninghai Village?”


  Qin Ran raised her head calmly and pulled her hat away. “I never said my relatives were in Ninghai Village.”


  She was very straightforward.

  “.…… You’ve won.” Lu Zhaoying snorted lightly. But since he was in a good mood, he accepted the reason forcefully. It was almost lunch, so he said, “Let’s go, I’ll bring you to meet my brothers.”


  He brought Qin Ran onto the car and then went to a private clubhouse.

  He made several calls on the way to his brothers.

  “Let me introduce you to my sister.” Lu Zhaoying wore his earphones and raised an eyebrow in pride. “It’s a new sister, I met her in Yun Cheng…… Get lost, she’s a high school student.”


  The clubhouse was very quiet and wasn’t the kind they usually went to.

  Lu Zhaoying didn’t dare to bring Qin Ran to a bar.

  “It’s just a few people.” He took the menu and threw it to Qin Ran for her to look at. “I’ve played with them since I was young. Cheng Mu is here as well. There’s also Jiang Dongye, Uncle Jiang’s nephew. He’s being trampled on in the company, so there’s no need to be ill at ease around him.”


  He told them to reach about twelve.

  But nobody was there, so Lu Zhaoying frowned.

  At 12:05, the door was pushed open and a man in a black trench coat walked in.

  Lu Zhaoying sat upright. “They’re here!”


  But there was nobody else behind the man.

  After he came in, he closed the door thoughtfully and explained, “On the way here, Cheng Mu said today was the test for 129, so they all went to Ouyang Wei.”