Floating in the air, Lin Yuhui was reflecting on his emotional patterns — whether he should stop assuming others' emotional needs toward him. If she hadn't explicitly expressed anything, he shouldn't linger any longer. He should go live his own life, no longer tethered to anyone.
漂浮在空中,林语晖在反省自己的情感模式,是否自己应该停止假设别人对自己的情感需求,如果她没有明确表示什么,就不要再留恋了,去过自己的生活,不再被任何人牵绊.
But as time passed, what he felt more urgently was that his body seemed to be growing lighter and lighter, as if it were about to diffuse and dissolve into the vast expanse of space. And with that came a broader range of perceptions, yet these perceptual fragments had lost their chronological order, so that he himself could no longer be certain of the causality of those events or their impact on reality.
但是随着时间的流逝,他更紧迫的感觉是自己的身体似乎越来越轻了,身体甚至要扩散溶解在广袤的空间里了.而随之而来的就是更广泛的感知,但是这些感知片段却失去了时间顺序,以至于他自己也不确定那些事件的因果和它们对现实的影响了.
Although it was the onset of winter, at this low latitude the morning sun was still scorchingly hot, and Lin Yuhui felt that his tolerance for the sun's heat had somehow diminished compared to before. He searched through the woods and flew in — the dense canopy blocked the sunlight, and the space beneath the trees felt much cooler and more refreshing.
虽然是入冬,可是在低纬度,上午的阳光依然愈加灼热,林语晖觉得自己对阳光灼热的耐受似乎也比之前降低了.他找了一遍树林,飞了进去,茂密的树冠遮住了阳光,树阴下的空间里感觉清爽多了.
While wandering aimlessly through the forest, he was drawn by the commotion from the other side of the trees. He, who had never been one to seek out crowds, now that he had lost his sense of purpose in life, had also begun to feel bored, and started killing time by watching the spectacle.
就在树林中毫无目的地闲逛时,他被另一侧树林外的动静吸引了.一向不爱凑热闹的他,在没了人生目标之后也开始觉得无聊了,开始要靠看热闹来打发时间了.
"Reverend Father, dear friends and guests, good morning. Today, with deep sorrow in my heart, I stand with all of you to bid farewell to the love of my life — my husband, Theodore Jaden."
"尊敬的神父,各位亲友,来宾,大家好.今天,我怀着深深的悲痛,和大家一起送别我生命中最爱的人 —— 我的丈夫,西奥多·杰登."
The speaker was a woman dressed in black. It turned out to be a funeral — her husband had passed away. If he were still alive, Lin Yuhui would absolutely not have stayed here — it was bad luck. If he were still alive, he wouldn't have wasted time watching this either — it wasn't worth it. But now, as if his personality had changed, as if he were a different person, he was watching with keen interest.
发言的是一位身着黑衣的女士,原来这是一场葬礼,她的丈夫过世了.如果还活着,林语晖绝对不会继续留在这里,晦气,如果他还活着,也不会在看这个热闹上花时间,不值得,可是现在他仿佛改变了个性一样,好像换了一个人,居然饶有兴趣地围观.
Another reason he was interested in watching the funeral was that his perceptions seemed to connect, to some degree, with the people present, allowing him to see through different people's eyes or sense their thoughts, unrestricted by time. Among those present were the deceased's relatives and friends, colleagues, and representatives from business relationships.
他有兴趣围观葬礼的另一个原因是似乎他的感知可以多少连通在场的人,以至于看到不同人的视野或者感觉到他们想法,而且不受时间的限制.在场的有逝者的亲友,也有同事,还有业务关系的代表.
Lin Yuhui could sense the different feelings and thoughts people had toward the deceased, as well as certain fragments of their interactions in life. After drifting through the crowd, he returned to the speaker:
林语晖能够感觉到不同人对于逝者的感受与想法,还有他们生前互动的某些片段.在人群中神游一圈后又回到发言人面前,
"...You would tell the children Bible stories before bed, telling them, 'Be kind and responsible people. The Lord will bless those who harbor good thoughts...'"
"...你会在睡前给孩子们讲圣经里的故事,告诉他们 "要做善良,有担当的人,主会保佑心存善念的人..."
She was young, her children still small — a girl about kindergarten age, and a boy even younger. The two stood beside her, somewhat awkward, not yet understanding what had happened, staring blankly at all the people gathered, their hands gripping tightly onto their mother's skirt.
她的年纪不大,孩子还小,一个女孩也就幼儿园年龄,另一个男孩年龄更小,两个人站在她的身边,有些局促,甚至还不知道发生了什么,愣愣地看着这么多来人,用手死死地抓着妈妈的裙子.
"...You have left us, like a seed returning to the dust, but I know this is not the end. As the Bible says, 'I am the resurrection and the life.' You have merely laid down the weariness of this world,..."
"...你离开了我们,像一粒种子回归尘土,但我知道,这不是结束.正如圣经所说,"复活在我,生命也在我",你只是卸下了尘世的疲惫,..."
The woman was still delivering her eulogy, but Lin Yuhui was also curious about how her husband had died. However, he couldn't see the scene — the man was already lying in his coffin, and he couldn't access the deceased's consciousness. So he chose once again to drift among those attending the funeral, and from his colleague's memories he saw some first-person information from that moment — the deceased had died of an illness, it seemed to be a heart problem, he had just collapsed suddenly.
那位女士还在陈述悼词,但是林语晖也在好奇她丈夫是怎么去世的,不过他无法看到现场,那个男人已经躺在棺材里了,他无法接触逝者的意识.于是选择再次游走于在场参加葬礼的人中间,从他的同事的记忆中看到了一些当时第一视角的信息,逝者是死于疾病,似乎是心脏的问题,突然就摔倒了.
Did he have a congenital heart condition? Lin Yuhui was somewhat curious. As he moved among the guests, he vaguely sensed that some people were even feeling secret glee and mockery.
他的心脏有先天问题吗?林语晖有些好奇,正当在到场的来宾之间穿梭的时候,他隐约感到有人还有窃喜和嘲笑的.
He teleported to the man's side and sensed his memories — he wasn't a colleague of the deceased, since he didn't come and go from the same office building. His social connections were very complex, and in his past experiences Lin Yuhui saw that he had encountered many people, all kinds of people.
瞬移到他的身边,感觉到他的记忆,不是逝者的同事,因为他不是出入同一个办公楼.他的人际交往关系很繁杂,林语晖在他的过往经历中看到他接触过很多的人,各种各样的人.
"...O Lord, we beseech Thee to grant them and all who rest in the arms of Christ, entry into the land of eternal joy, light, and peace. May the holy water cleanse the sins of the departed, so that their souls may rest in the Lord's embrace, awaiting the day of resurrection. All the souls of the faithful, through the mercy of God, may find rest."
"...上主,我们求祢赏赐他们及所有安息于基督怀中的人,进入永福,光明和安宁的天乡.愿圣水洗净亡者的罪过,使其灵魂安息主怀,等待复活之日.凡诸信者灵魂,赖天主的仁慈,息止安所."
When he pulled his attention back from the crowd once more, the pastor had finished the prayers, and the deceased's coffin had already been buried. But the woman's grief over her late husband seemed to have captured his attention, and without realizing it, he had already followed her back to her residence. There it was again — his nature. Even in death, his attention was still on women.
当再次从人群中拉回注意力,牧师已经念完祷文,逝者的棺木已经下葬了.但是那个女人的亡夫之痛似乎吸引了他的注意力,不知不觉他已经随着那位女士回到了她的住所.本性啊,死了注意力都还在女人.
This was a wealthy neighborhood, southeast of Las Vegas, where many mansions dotted a hillside, but her home wasn't on the hilltop — the bare summit lacked some vitality. This villa was built not far down the hill, where the vegetation was better. Trees ringed the courtyard all around, and the villa's architecture was divided into main and secondary sections forming a connected whole. There was a pool before the connecting corridor, with beach chairs set beside it. Swim, lie on a chair sunbathing, have an ice cream — or a fruit cocktail would do too — and if there were a beautiful woman beside you, who cares if she's the one you love or not. Anyway, old man's got plenty of money. What I want is your body. If you're not obedient, I'll replace you. Hahaha, not even immortals and emperors can compare. Daydreaming, Lin Yuhui couldn't help but lament for the deceased — such a lavish life, yet he never had the fortune to enjoy it.
这是一个富人区,在拉斯维加斯城市东南,一个小山上有很多豪宅,但是她的家并没有选择山顶,光秃秃的山顶缺了些生气.这一栋别墅做了在山下不远,这里植被更好,庭院一周都有树木环绕,别墅建筑分主次成为一个相连的整体,在连接长廊前有泳池,边上摆着沙滩椅,游个泳躺在椅子上日光浴,再来个冰淇淋,果汁鸡尾酒也行要是旁边再有个佳人相伴,管她是不是相爱的人,反正老子有得是钱,要的就是你的肉体,不乖就换人,哈哈哈,神仙皇帝都不如.畅想着,林语晖不禁感慨死者,这么奢华的生活竟然无福享受.
Following her silhouette into the room, he could vaguely sense the emptiness and desolation in her heart. The spacious room, which once held another person, was now half empty — the void doubled.
随着她的背影进了房间,隐约能够感受到她心中的空虚悲凉,空旷的房间,原本还有另一个人,现在空了一半,空虚加倍.
Was it this luxury that took his life? Lin Yuhui wasn't stupid. He knew everything came at a price. How many people would break their necks and stop at nothing to live here? So, those immortal-emperor days he'd just been fantasizing about — who knows what price one would have to pay? Like this poor bastard who just died.
是不是这奢华?要了他的命?林语晖不傻,他知道任何事情都是有代价的,多少人会挤破头不择手段想要住进这里的.所以啊,刚才畅想的那些神仙皇帝的日子,不知会要付出什么样的代价呢,比如刚刚死掉这个倒霉蛋.
Having followed these people all the way here randomly — after all, this wasn't his home either — Lin Yuhui wanted to leave and wander elsewhere. But as soon as he reached the courtyard, the blazing sun made it unbearable, so he immediately retreated back indoors. At that moment, he remembered the traditional Chinese ghost movies he'd watched before, and couldn't help but worry — had he been floating around so long after death that he was about to have his soul scattered too? Now he was already afraid of the sun. Pondering this, he decided to stay indoors for now and figure out other solutions later.
胡乱地跟着这些人跑到这里,毕竟这也不是自己的家,林语晖想离开去别处转转,谁知刚到院子里,艳阳高照,晒得难受,马上又回到了室内.这时他想起过去自己看过的中国传统鬼片电影,不由得担心,是不是自己死后飘了太久,也要魂飞魄散了呢?现在已经开始怕太阳了,琢磨着,只好先呆在室内,慢慢再想别的办法.
Fortunately, this household was wealthy enough — with so many rooms in the villa, he had enough space to wander around for the whole afternoon. Leaving the woman's room, he followed the corridor, where decorative paintings hung on the walls.
好在这个家庭够阔绰,别墅这么多房间就够他在这里游荡一下午了.离开那位女士房间,沿着走廊,走廊墙壁上挂着装饰画作.
The first was an impressionistic oil painting — the brilliant Mediterranean sun illuminating the rooftops of seaside buildings, the walls, and flower-dotted stone pathways. No one walked them, only the azure blue of the distant sea remained — though the colors, in Lin Yuhui's current eyes, could only be imagined.
开始是一幅写意油画,地中海的灿烂阳光照亮海滨建筑的屋顶,墙垣,还有点缀着花草的石阶小道,无人走过,只剩远方海的湛蓝,只是颜色似乎在如今林语晖的眼里只能脑补了.
The next painting seemed not to be appreciated with the eyes, for between the lines and color blocks, it was impossible to make out what was depicted — it belonged to the abstract school in the style of Picasso. Just as he was intently absorbing the painting's mood, distant sobs reached his ears from afar.
接下来一幅画似乎不用眼睛来欣赏颜色了,因为在线条与色块之间,实在看不出来画的是什么,属于毕加索风格的抽象派.就在他认真体会画中意境的时候,远处传来声声啜泣.
（Translated by ChatGPT）