The last workday of the week. With that lingering thought of Sienna, Li Haojun seemed to have much more enthusiasm for work—no, not for the aquatic work itself, but for the workplace, yearning to see it again.
本周的最后一个工作日了,有了在西耶娜身上那份惦念,似乎李皓珺的工作热情也高了许多,不,不是关于水产的工作热情,是关于工作地点渴望再次相见的热情,
As I pulled up to the company entrance, I noticed something odd—there were a lot of people gathered here today, all dressed in black trench coats or long dresses. In the distance, a quadcopter flying car was parked.
当开车来到公司门前,奇怪,今天有好多人在这里,都是黑色长款风衣或者长裙,远处还停着一架四旋翼飞行汽车,
Two men and two women. The two men were burly, seemingly bodyguards or similar. The two women were unfamiliar.
Two men and two women. The two men were burly, seemingly bodyguards or similar. The two women were unfamiliar.
两男两女,两个男的身材魁梧,好像是保镖一类的角色,两个女的,不认识,
"Ethan, good morning," a familiar voice called out just as Li Haojun was about to walk past them.
"伊森,早上好,"一个熟悉的声音,就在李皓珺要走过他们身边时叫住了他,
Li Haojun froze in his tracks, standing there stunned. He didn't dare turn to look at the person who had greeted her. He knew all too well that voice belonged to Sienna. A bad feeling washed over him—a feeling he didn't want to face.
李皓珺一下停住脚步站在那里愣住了,他没敢扭头看那个与她打招呼的人,他心里很清楚,那个声音就是西耶娜,一种不好的预感,他不想去面对.
Ethan, good morning. I'm leaving now and came to say goodbye this morning.
"伊森,早上好,我要离开了,今天早上来和你道别,"
Li Haojun slowly turned his head. There stood Sienna in a black trench coat, its hood pulled over her head, partially concealing her hair and cheeks. Only when they faced each other could he see her features—never imagining this would be their final parting glance.
李皓珺慢慢转过头,身穿黑色风衣的正是西耶娜,她戴着风衣的帽子,在侧面遮住了头发和脸颊,当面对面的时候才能看到面容,没想到竟然是离别前的最后一面.
"What? You're leaving?" Li Haojun asked softly, unable to believe this day had come so quickly. The final words, "leaving," never made it past his throat, swallowed up by his own voice.
"怎么?你要走了?"李皓珺轻声地问,不敢相信这一天竟然这么快地到来,最后的"走了"两个字甚至没能说出口,淹没在了自己的喉咙里,
Sienna seemed to sense the heavy atmosphere as well, turning her head to introduce someone beside her.
"Ethan, this is my mother."
似乎西耶娜也察觉到了气氛的凝重,便扭头向一边介绍,
"伊森,这是我的母亲,"
"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," Li Haojun hurriedly greeted her, a fleeting thought even crossing his mind to ask her mother to persuade Sienna to stay.
"幸会,女士,"李皓珺急忙打招呼,甚至请求她的母亲劝说西耶娜留下来的念头在脑中一闪而过,
Turning back to look at Sienna's face, I couldn't help but ask,
"Where are you going?"
再回过头,看着西耶娜的面容,忍不住问,
"你要去哪儿?"
At the moment of parting, Sienna no longer wore her usual smile.
"Mommy, take me home,"
离别的时刻,西耶娜也没有了往日的笑容,
"妈妈,接我回家,"
"Oh, okay," Li Haojun nodded, feeling somewhat relieved. He wanted to ask, "Will you come back?" but swallowed the words. He also wanted to ask, "Did you bring the dress I gave you?" but didn't say it either. He just quietly looked into Sienna's eyes, unsure of what to say.
"哦,好,"李皓珺点了点头,心里多少放心了一些,他想问,那你还会回来吗,可是咽了回去,他还想问,我送你的裙子带上了吗,也没有说出口,只是静静地看着西耶娜的眼睛,不知道该说些什么,
Sienna forced a smile onto her fair face and said,
"Ethan, I'm leaving. Take care of yourself."
西耶娜从她那白净的脸上挤出了一丝笑容,说,
"伊森,我走了,你多保重,"
"Alright, you too—take care on your journey." Li Haojun seemed frozen in place, his lips barely moving as he uttered those words. He didn't know how to say goodbye, nor did he know what to do next. Should he give her a hug? Or perhaps a kiss? But who was he to her, after all?
"好,你也,一路多保重,"李皓珺好像整个人凝固了一样,只有在说出这几个字的时候嘴唇微动,他不知道该如何道别,他甚至不知道自己接下来该怎么办,要给她一个拥抱吗?再加一个吻吗?可是自己又是她的谁呢?
The two stood there for a long while. Sienna made no further move, merely saying,
"Goodbye," before turning and walking away.
两人矗立许久,西耶娜也再没有什么动作,只是说了一声,
"再见,"转身离去,
Li Haojun watched them depart, boarding the flying car. Through the window, he saw Sienna's figure being carried upward into the sky, turning away as she flew farther and farther until she vanished into the horizon.
李皓珺目视着他们离开,登上飞行汽车,看着车窗后西耶娜的身影,被载着升入天空,转向离去,越飞越远,直到消逝在天际.
I never imagined that after arriving here full of excitement, I'd experience a morning like this—as if the world were ending.
没想到兴冲冲来到这里,却经历了这样一个早晨,仿佛世界末日一般,
Sitting down at my office desk, I turned on my work computer. The red exclamation mark that popped up every day—the KPI reminder—was gone today. Usually I hated seeing it, but now I hated that it had vanished without a trace. Why couldn't it leave even a single memory behind? Li Haojun was so furious he slammed the keyboard back onto the desk.
坐到办公室座位上,打开工作电脑,每天跳出来的那个红色感叹号,KPI未完成的提示今天也没有了,平时是看见它讨厌,今天是讨厌它消失得无影无踪,怎么一点儿回忆都不能留下?李皓珺气得哗啦一下把键盘又推了回去,
Rising to walk to the window, the azure sky and emerald waters seemed to have lost their luster. If not for the view, then let the breeze be my companion. Opening the window, I pulled over the nearby piano stool, leaning my upper body against the windowsill, letting time flow by.
起身走到窗前,碧水蓝天,似乎也没有了光泽,不看风景就吹风吧,打开窗子,拉过一旁的琴凳,上身斜靠着窗台,让时间流过,
After an unknown amount of time, the notification sound from his communication terminal rang out. It took Li Haojun a while before he finally pulled it out to check the new message. It turned out to be Lily informing him that his service in Kalispell had ended.
不知过了多久,自己通讯终端的提示音响起,过了好一阵子,李皓珺才拿出来查看新消息,原来是莉莉通知自己在卡利斯佩尔的服务结束,
What a timely relief. Li Haojun wasn't sure whether he should feel grateful—he hadn't made up his mind yet—when another message came in. It turned out that after lunch, Lily would take him to take over the factory formerly managed by John, located in Cut Bank, Montana.
多么及时的一个解脱啊,李皓珺也不知道自己是不是该庆幸,自己还没想好,接着又来消息了,原来是午饭后莉莉要带他去接管曾经约翰负责的工厂,地点在蒙大拿州的卡特班克.
After lunch, he bid farewell to his colleagues and drove alone to Kalispell Airport. Under the same afternoon sun, Sienna's image still lingered in Li Haojun's mind.
吃过午餐,简单和其他同事告别,便独自驾车前往卡利斯佩尔机场,同样的午后阳光,西耶娜的身影依然在李皓珺的脑海里萦绕,
The airport was deserted, with hardly any planes taking off or landing. After waiting for a while, Lily still piloted that antique single-engine red biplane as it touched down and taxied. Li Haojun couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy inside, constantly worrying about reliability issues.
机场很萧条,几乎没有什么飞机起降,等了一阵子,莉莉依然是驾驶那架古董单引擎红色双翼机,降落滑行,李皓珺甚至内心有点抵触,总是担心可靠性会有问题,
Lily didn't disembark. She taxied to a nearby spot, turned the nose of the plane, applied the brakes, waved, and waited for Li Haojun to board. She was still dressed in her usual flight jacket, but today she wasn't wearing a flight cap—just a pair of sunglasses.
莉莉没有下飞机,只是滑行到附近就调转了机头,刹车,招了招手,等待李皓珺登机,她依旧是那身装束,飞行夹克,但是今天没戴飞行帽,只戴了一副墨镜,
Li Haojun climbed aboard with practiced ease, settled into the passenger seat in the rear cabin, and said,
李皓珺熟练地爬上去,坐进了后舱的乘客座位,说了一句,
"Good afternoon, Lily," she moved swiftly, as if eager to escape the place.
"下午好,莉莉,"动作麻利,仿佛是要逃离这个地方,
"How's Kalispell?" Lily asked over her shoulder as she maneuvered the plane toward the runway.
"It's okay," she replied. What else could she say? She'd just lost someone she cared deeply about.
"卡利斯佩尔这地方怎么样?"莉莉一边操纵飞机驶向跑道,一边回头问,
"还好,"还能怎么说呢?自己刚刚丢了一个心中牵挂的人,
"This place is special," Lily seemed to be talking to herself, or perhaps asking herself for an opinion.
"这地方很特别,"莉莉似乎是在自言自语,又好像是在问自己,征求看法,
"Oh, right," Li Haojun replied casually. He didn't want to discuss the details he'd discovered with Lily. He didn't care—the person he cared about didn't live here anyway.
"哦,是啊,"李皓珺随便答应,他并不想和莉莉讨论他发现的细节,他不在乎,反正自己在乎的人又不生活在这里,
We're taking over the Cut Bank factory. John used to work there, but he left a long time ago. With no one managing it, it's barely operational now.
"我们去接手卡特班克的工厂,之前约翰在那里,不过已经离开很长时间了,没人管理,已经快要不能运行了,"
"Okay,"
"好的,"
"You're right, you'll find that place is special too," Lily practically shouted the words out, as the roar of the engines revving up to full throttle made further conversation impossible.
"没错,你也会发现那个地方很特别的,"莉莉几乎喊着说完这句话,全油门起飞的噪声已经无法再继续交谈了,
It's quite special too—will there be a Sienna there as well? Li Haojun's first thought was still of her, even in such an unrelated matter. That lingering concern, vanished beyond the horizon, seemed to have become his eternal ache.
也很特别,也会有个西耶娜在那里吗?李皓珺首先想到的还是她,甚至是这样不沾边的事情也然会想到她,那个消失在天边的挂念似乎成了他永远的痛,
As the plane flew eastward over the Apikuni Mountains, turbulence stirred the air. Li Haojun gazed downward at the white peaks, emerald valleys, and blue-tinged brown tidal rocks, along with the shimmering blue lakes—as if someone had carelessly scattered sapphires, brown agate, emerald jade onto a pearl-white brocade, radiant and exquisite.
当飞机向东飞行,飞跃阿皮库尼山时,气流有些颠簸,李皓珺向下望去,白色的山峰,翠绿的山谷,蓝渐变的棕色滩涂岩石,还有那些闪着光的蓝色小湖泊,仿佛是谁一股脑地把蓝宝石,棕玛瑙,碧翡翠洒在了珍珠白的锦缎之上,晶莹靓丽,
飞跃山峰之后,路程差不多过半了,下面紧邻山岭的是河流滩涂,然后就是平原了,
After about an hour, they reached their destination. Instead of landing at the city airport, Lily capriciously touched down on an open field next to the factory.
差不多一个多小时,到达了目的地,莉莉并没有在城市机场降落,而是任性地直接在工厂一旁的空地上降落了,
From afar, the entire factory looked exactly as Lily had described: dilapidated buildings, rusted storage tanks, and large-scale equipment. It appeared to be a facility for the primary processing of agricultural products on a large scale.
远远望过去整个工厂,真的如莉莉所述,厂房破旧,储罐生锈,设备规模都比较庞大,看起来好像是大批量农产品初级加工厂,
Li Haojun first accompanied Lily to gain access to the factory's management systems, then downloaded the data and conducted a brief inspection. With the timing just right, the two set off on their return journey.
李皓珺先是跟随莉莉去获取了工厂的管理权限,然后下载了资料,简单巡视了一遍,时间也差不多了,二人踏上返程.
This weekend, Li Haojun arrived home earlier than usual. The good news was that he wouldn't have to commute to Kalispell every day anymore, freeing up more time to spend with Qin Wenjing. The bad news was that he would never see Sienna again.
这个周末李皓珺到家的时间还比以往更早一些,好消息是以后再也不用每天去卡利斯佩尔上班了会有更多的时间陪伴覃文静,坏消息是自己再也见不到西耶娜了,
At the dinner table, Li Haojun took the initiative to share the day's events with Qin Wenjing. She offered no judgment, merely holding her spoon in her mouth while gazing into his eyes.
晚饭的的餐桌上,李皓珺主动和覃文静谈了这一天发生的事情,覃文静并没有评价什么,而是嘴里含着勺子,看着李皓珺的眼睛,
Today she pinned her hair back with a jadeite-imitation hairpin, wearing a semi-sheer white top with a deep V-neck that tied at the back. The fabric draped beautifully, its ruffled waves at the neckline and shoulders accentuating her graceful neckline while accentuating the curves of her waist and chest. She wore a black lace A-line skirt that fell past her knees, paired with white strappy high-heeled sandals.
今天她把头发盘在了脑后,用一根仿碧玉簪子别着,上身穿了一件在背后系带的半透白色深V领上衣,领和肩有褶皱的波纹,面料垂感很好,既能体现肩颈的风骨,又能融汇腰胸的婀娜,下身一条黑色过膝花边A字裙,一双白色凉拖高跟鞋,
After staring for a moment, she pulled the spoon from her mouth and asked,
"Do you think it's possible that Sienna is an alien?"
只见她看了一会儿,从嘴里拿出勺子问,
"你说,有没有可能西耶娜是外星人?"
"Oh, yeah, I never thought of that," Li Haojun nodded.
"唉,是啊,我怎么没想过,"李皓珺点了点头,
"You said she's particularly insensitive to women's privacy," Tan Wenjing murmured, fiddling with the spoon in her hand before lifting her gaze to meet Li Haojun's eyes.
"你说过她对女性隐私特别不敏感,"覃文静低头摆弄手里的勺子,说着抬眼又看着李皓珺的眼睛说,
"She didn't grow up here, that's why she's like this."
"她不是在这里长大的,所以才会这样,"
"Yeah, how did I not think of that? It's just like the saying goes: 'You cannot see the true face of Mount Lu, for you are in the midst of the mountains,'" Li Haojun added.
"是啊,我怎么没想到,这真是,不识庐山真面目,只缘身在此山中,"李皓珺补充道,
"You're not in the mountains—you're in a dream," Tan Wenjing said expressionlessly, staring into Li Haojun's eyes. After a moment, both of them burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"你不是在山中,你是在梦中,"说完覃文静面无表情,看着李皓珺的眼睛,片刻,两人都憋不住哈哈大笑,
After dinner, the casual conversation ended amidst laughter. Once the table and dishes were cleared, Qin Wenjing asked with a smile,
"Want to go for a walk?"
晚餐饭后的闲谈在笑声中结束了,收拾了桌子和碗筷,覃文静笑嘻嘻地问,
"出去走走吗?"
"I'm not really in the mood. I'm a bit tired today."
"我不太想,今天有点累,"
"Sienna is waiting for you on the stars," Qin Wenjing said, looking into Li Haojun's eyes.
"西耶娜在星星上等着你赴约呢,"说完,覃文静看着李皓珺的眼睛,
He wasn't amused; only a wry smile flitted across his face.
他没有被逗乐,只是脸上掠过一丝惨笑,
Outdoors at dusk, though late spring had given way to early summer, a crisp chill still lingered in the air. Li Haojun drew in a deep breath of the cool night air and exhaled slowly, as if to carry away some of the gloom weighing on his chest. Looking up, he saw the night sky stretched deep and dark, its stars dimly lit.
傍晚的室外,虽然已是春末夏初,空气中仍是嘶嘶凉意,李皓珺深吸了口凉气,慢慢呼出,似乎能些许带走胸中的郁闷,抬头仰望,夜空深沉,星光黯淡,
"How does your new factory appointment feel?" Tan Wenjing asked as they walked side by side.
"你的新工厂任命感觉怎么样?"覃文静在一旁边走边问,
"It's an old factory with no real technological sophistication."
"老工厂,没啥技术含量,"
Now that you don't have to commute to Kalispell every day, do you have more time to spend with me?
"现在你不用每天去卡利斯佩尔上班了,是不是有更多时间陪我了?"
I think so. Shall we go back to the way things were?
"我想是的,再回到从前的日子,好吗?"
"Alright," she said, tightening her grip on his arm before pouting playfully and complaining,
"好啊,"说着,覃文静拉紧了他的胳膊,接着又娇嗔地埋怨,
Oh dear, that's no good either. If I go back to the past, those two little girls, Kesiya and Malaya, will be fighting me for you again.
"哎呀,也不好,回到过去,又有凯西娅和玛莱雅那两个小姑娘来跟我抢你了,"
"Oh, then let's go back even further."
"哦,那就回到更过去,"
"Well, it's nice that no one's competing with me for you. Too bad you can't talk or move," Tan Wenjing teased again, her tone serious as she emphasized each word, mocking Li Haojun and teasing him.
"嗯,好是好,没人跟我抢你,可惜就是你不会说话也不会动,"覃文静又调皮起来,语气很认真地着重说了每一个字,拿李皓珺取笑,逗他,
"Oh, then let's go back even further," Li Haojun replied, still sounding downcast.
"哦,那就回到更更过去,"李皓珺依旧情绪低落地回答,
Oh, send you back into Lily's arms?
"哦,再把你送回到莉莉的怀抱吗?"
Upon hearing Qin Wenjing's words, Li Haojun became intrigued. He had always been eager to learn about the past, so he promptly pressed her for more details.
听覃文静这么一说,李皓珺来了兴致,他总是很想知道过去的事情,便赶紧接着追问,
"What lies beyond that?"
"那再往前呢?"
"Further ahead?" Qin Wenjing smiled, deliberately avoiding a direct answer. She looked into his eyes, then after a moment said,
"再往前?"覃文静笑着故意不回答,看着他的眼睛,过了一会儿才说,
"There's nothing further ahead."
"再往前没有了,"
"Oh, I'm actually pretty loyal," he said, and both of them laughed.
"哦,那我还挺专一的,",一句话出口,两个人都笑了,
The evening breeze grew cooler. Li Haojun wrapped his arms tightly around Qin Wenjing's waist and shoulders, turning to head back. He looked up at the star-filled sky.
晚风渐凉,李皓珺双手搂紧覃文静的腰肢与臂膀转身想要往回走,抬头看了看满天星辰,
"On which star is she watching you?" Tan Wenjing's voice was low and calm, her expression earnest as she looked at Li Haojun.
"她在哪颗星星上望着你?"覃文静的声音低沉平静,很认真的样子,望着李皓珺,
Li Haojun scanned the vast expanse of stars—some bright, some dim. Orion's Belt shone, but the Milky Way lacked its usual brilliance. In the deep night sky, the starlight seemed to sink even deeper.
李皓珺在漫天群星中扫视着,有明有暗,有猎户座的腰带三星,没有往日灿烂的银河,在深沉的夜空里,星光似乎也陷得更深了,
After gazing upward for a moment, Li Haojun turned back and looked at Qin Wenjing, saying,
"On that blue star—"
仰望片刻,李皓珺转回头,望着覃文静说,
"在那颗蓝色的星星上,"
"Blue? Like, really bright blue?" Tan Wenjing asked curiously.
"蓝色的?非常亮的那种吗?"覃文静好奇的问,
"No, there's the blue ocean and the green forest. She's looking at me, looking into my eyes," Li Haojun said, pulling Qin Wenjing into his arms.
"不,那里有蓝色的海洋,还有绿色的森林,她正在望着我,望着我的眼睛,"说完,李皓珺把覃文静拥入怀中,
The stars in the night sky blinked, gazing at the lovers.
夜空里的星星,眨着眼睛,凝视着这对恋人.