Going up to the second floor of the hotel felt like traveling back in time to the last century. From the corridor to the rooms, the floors were covered with worn, gray-white carpet, pale green baseboards, and wallpaper with beige and brick-red patterns. It was far from being as stylish as the first floor; it seemed the second floor's business hadn't been renovated since that era.
上到旅店二楼仿佛时空穿梭回到了上个世纪,从走廊到房间都是地上铺着磨平的灰白色地毯,淡绿色的抢位,米黄与砖红色花纹的墙纸.远不像一楼那么时尚,似乎二楼业务自那时起就没有再更新装修过.
The room was so small it could barely fit a compact double bed. The nightstand was an old wooden type with drawers, and on it sat a wired dial telephone, though it was uncertain if it still worked. Li Haojun tried the lamp with its conical shade, and it lit up. He turned to look at Malaya behind him and smiled.
室内小得只能放下一张紧凑型双人床,床头柜是老式木制带抽屉的那种,上面还摆着有线拨号电话,也不知道还能不能拨通.锥形灯罩的台灯,李皓珺试了一下,还能亮,回头看了一眼身后的玛莱雅一笑,
"So, is this okay? There's no other choice around here," Malaya asked, since she had booked the hotel.
"怎么样,还可以吗?这一带没有别的选择了,"玛莱雅问,因为旅店是她订的,
"No, no, I mean, I'm sorry to put you through this, bringing you to this dump," Li Haojun quickly explained upon hearing her words.
"不不不,我的意思是让你跟我受委屈了,来到了这破地方,"李皓珺听她这么说急忙解释,
"I'm an old man, I don't mind a bit of hardship. You..."
"我一个老男人,吃点苦没什么,你..."
Malaya smiled and interrupted him before he could finish.
玛莱雅一笑,没等他说完就质问,
"Am I some born princess?"
"我是天生公主殿下不成?"
Only then did Li Haojun realize his subconscious tenderness toward her, his preference for young women—perhaps for all of them. He thought for a moment, then decided it wasn't all, only those he cared about.
李皓珺这时才意识到自己潜意识中对她的疼爱,对年轻女性的偏爱,或许是对所有的.他想了想,也不是,只是对自己在乎的.
Malaya looked at him with a smile, said nothing, made a turn around the room, took out her small buttons, and placed one near the door and one near the window. Then she said, "Accommodation is settled. What about dinner? Order takeout or find a restaurant nearby?"
玛莱雅看着他一笑,没说话,在屋里转了一圈,又把她的小纽扣拿出来,分别在门窗附近放了一个,然后说,"住处安排好了,晚餐打算怎么办?点外卖还是去附近的餐馆?"
"Is there a restaurant nearby?"
"附近有餐馆吗?"
"Yes, there is."
"有的,"
"Let's take a look around the neighborhood first," Li Haojun said. He always felt uneasy—perhaps it was his nature. He didn't trust unfamiliar places, especially remote, poor ones.
"我们还是看看周围环境吧,"李皓珺内心总是觉得不妥,或许是本性,对于陌生的地方就是不放心,尤其是这种偏僻贫穷的地方.
They left the hotel and walked down the street. Before they had gone far, Li Haojun felt something was off. The houses on both sides were dilapidated, and most of the residents were elderly, the kind who didn't seem to engage in any social activities. There were more men than women, and they stared at the two strangers with dull, vacant eyes.
离开旅店来到街上,走了没多远,李皓珺就感觉气氛不太对.街道两边房屋破旧,居民多数是老年人,看起来根本不参加社会活动那种,男性居多,痴苶呆傻一样的眼神盯着看这两个来到此地的陌生人.
Li Haojun immediately realized he shouldn't have brought Malaya out in public. These people, lacking material goods, also lacked opposite-sex partners. Young and beautiful Malaya would be exactly the kind of target they'd fancy.
李皓珺马上就意识到了不应该带着玛莱雅出来抛头露面,这些物质匮乏的人同样面临着异性伴侣的匮乏,而年轻美丽的玛莱雅是最适合他们口味的目标,
"Let's go back to the hotel and order takeout," he said, taking her hand to turn back, and added as an explanation, "Food from reputable businesses is safer."
"我们回旅店订外卖吧,"说着便拉着玛莱雅的手往回走,还一边解释说,"正规经营商家的外卖饮食安全上更有保障,"
"Okay." Malaya readily agreed.
"好."玛莱雅欣然同意.
After dinner at the hotel, the sky was growing dark. The sunset hovered over the mountain ridge west of the city, only half of its glow left to spill into the town, illuminating the walls of high-rise buildings and also the roofs of the low houses in this neighborhood. Dim yellow lights flickered sparsely from the windows beneath the eaves, while the streets had already turned black.
在旅店吃过晚餐,已经天色渐暗,晚霞卡在城市西边的山脊只剩一半能洒在市内,照亮高楼大厦的墙面,也照亮着本社区低矮房屋的房顶,房檐下的窗子透出稀稀点点的昏黄灯光,街道已经暗黑.
Li Haojun looked back into the room, where warm light shone, and Malaya sat beside him. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I want to barricade the door with furniture, because I don't trust this place much."
回望室内,是温暖的灯光,玛莱雅正坐在自己的身旁,李皓珺凑近她的耳边轻声说,"我想把家具堵在门口,因为我不太信任这里,"
"Mm, I agree."
"嗯,我同意,"
"Heh, maybe I just lack a sense of security," Li Haojun said with a self-mocking laugh.
"呵呵,我可能是自身缺乏安全感吧,"李皓珺自嘲着解释,
"No problem. I understand your caution."
"没问题,我能理解你的谨慎,"
Under Malaya's watchful gaze, Li Haojun piled the sofa, nightstand, and shoe cabinet against the door, then added the old CRT television on top. After finishing, he thought about what else heavy he could use. Scanning the room, he noticed Malaya watching his antics with a smile.
在玛莱雅的注视下,李皓珺把沙发,床头柜,鞋柜,都堵在了门口,还把老式显像管电视机也压在了上面.弄完了这些,李皓珺琢磨着还是有什么重物可以用上,扫视室内,发现玛莱雅正笑眯眯地看着他的表演,
"Are you trying to protect me?"
"你是要保护我的安全吗?"
Malaya's words were direct and sharp, cutting right to Li Haojun's true feelings. He was still a bit embarrassed to admit it, so he hedged, "Yeah, for our safety."
玛莱雅言语直接犀利,直抵李皓珺内心的真实情感,只是他还不太好意思承认,于是便掩饰说,"是啊,为了我们的安全,"
"Did you do the same when you were with my sister?"
"你和我姐姐一起的时候也这样吗?"
Li Haojun thought for a moment and said, "No. Back then, we mostly went to military bases—security was fine. Here, what I worry about most is crimes of opportunity."
李皓珺想了想,说,"不是,我和她那时候去的多是军事基地,安全没问题,而这里我最担心的还是临时起意的犯罪."
"Oh."
"哦,"
Watching Malaya sit on the edge of the bed, looking at him, Li Haojun wondered what to do next. If it were her sister, they'd take turns showering. But today it was the younger sister—what to do?
望着玛莱雅坐在床边,看着自己,李皓珺想,接下来做什么呢?如果是和她的姐姐就是谁先去洗澡了,可是今天是妹妹,怎么办呢.
Malaya seemed to sense his thoughts. She said softly, "Ethan, I need to meditate now. You don't have to wake me; I'll come out of it naturally."
玛莱雅似乎感受到了他的想法,轻声说,"伊森,我现在需要冥想,你不必唤醒我,我会自然结束的,"
"Oh, okay. Your sister mentioned you do this sometimes."
"哦,好的,你姐姐提到过你有时候会做这件事,"
"Mm. Feel free to do whatever you need during this time."
"嗯,这个时间你可以随意做你的事情了,"
"Alright," he replied, thinking to himself: with her in meditation in such a small room, he could use the tiny bathroom without too much awkwardness. That thought in mind, he asked, "Do you want to take a shower first?"
"好啊,"回答着,李皓珺心想,在这么小的房间里,她处于冥想状态,那么我在旁边那个小浴室里洗澡就不会太尴尬了,想到这,便问,"你要先去洗个澡吗?"
"No, I'm going to meditate now."
"不了,我现在就要冥想,"
"Mm." He watched as she propped up her pillow and lay down on one side of the bed.
"嗯,"答应着,只见玛莱雅垫高枕头,躺在了床的一边,
Li Haojun observed her curiously. She lay flat, hands on her chest, motionless. Looking closely, her chest rose and fell gently—she was still breathing. Reassured, he turned to his own business.
李皓珺在一旁好奇地观察着她,她平躺在那里,双手放在胸前,不再动了.仔细观察,她的胸在轻轻起伏,还在呼吸,这样自己就放心了,可以做自己的事情了.
He turned off the bedroom light and took a quick shower in the cramped bathroom. Remembering his sweat-soaked shirt, he washed it too, then his underwear and socks.
关闭了卧室的灯,在那个狭小的浴室里,简单冲了一个澡,忽然想起跑了一身汗的衬衫,也拿来一起洗了,然后是内裤和袜子.
After wringing them out and hanging them up, he came back to Malaya. Her eyes were closed, her body still, her chest barely moving. It seemed the only thing he could help her clean was her socks.
把它们甩干晾好后,李皓珺来到了玛莱雅的面前,她闭着眼睛,一动不动,胸膛轻微起伏,看来能帮她清洁的只有她的袜子了.
He gently rolled one of her socks down from the cuff without waking her, then did the same with the other. Li Haojun always believed that going sockless at night helped improve circulation in the feet. Then he casually covered Malaya's feet, calves, and knees with a blanket.
李皓珺把她的一只袜子从袜子口轻轻地卷了下来,并没有惊醒她,于是把另一只也这样脱了下来,李皓珺一直认为晚间没有袜子可以更好地舒展脚部末梢循环.然后随手用毛毯盖在了玛莱雅的双脚和小腿,膝盖.
Washing Malaya's socks in the bathroom, Li Haojun remembered the first time he'd done this for Kesiya. He wondered if this younger sister also needed care, even though she had never mentioned it to him.
在浴室中清洗着玛莱雅的袜子,李皓珺想起了自己第一次为凯西娅做这件事的情景,不知道这个妹妹是否也需要关爱,虽然她从没和自己提起过.
He hung the washed socks by the window and looked up at the stars. Waves of cool night air from the desert washed over him. Turning back to look at Malaya lying on the bed, the faint starlight illuminated her cheeks. Li Haojun didn't know if she was meditating or sleeping—or whether her meditative consciousness had already flown to the stars?
把洗好的袜子晾在了窗口,仰望星空,沙漠中夜色里的清凉阵阵袭来.回望躺在床上的玛莱雅,夜色淡淡地照亮她的脸颊,李皓珺也不知道她是在冥想还是睡眠,还是她冥想的意识已经飞向了星空?
Through the starry night, in low Earth orbit, Liana was listening in on an interstellar video conference. She didn't participate in the discussion because her people were not deeply involved in factional activities on Earth. However, the actions of those actively contending on Earth did influence the direction of real-world developments, thereby affecting all related parties.
穿过星空的夜色,在地球的低轨道上,莉安娜正在旁听一个星际视频会议,她没有参与讨论因为她的族裔没有深度参与地球上的派系活动,但是那些在地球上活跃博弈的参与者的行为确实对现实发展走向有着影响,从而影响到所有相关的人.
Liana simply listened quietly to the speakers, understanding their intentions. Sometimes, she could also trace the thoughts and interests of the speakers. Different races had different natural abilities or technological aids for such mental tracking and countermeasures.
莉安娜只是静静地听着在场人员的发言,理解他们的意图,有时候,她也能够追踪到发言人的想法以及利益相关方.对于这种意识上的追踪与反制,不同的种族也有着不同的自然能力或者科技辅助.
Beyond Earth, consciousness seemed to be a larger, intertwined mixture. And at that moment, Lydia was in another space, helping her sister trace and verify the origins of all kinds of consciousness—true, false, or deceptive.
在地球之外,意识似乎是一个更大的混合体,交织在一起.而在这个时候,莉迪娅就会在另一个空间帮助她的姐姐,追溯核对那些个真的,假的,或者欺骗的,种种意识的来源.
(Translated by Claude)