The cafeteria quickly filled with people, most of whom Lin Yuhui did not recognize. He and Shirleys selected a dining table and sat facing each other.
自助餐厅里的人很快多了起来,多数林语晖都不认识.他和莎丽斯选了一张餐桌面对面坐定.
Although he had little interest in Shirleys sitting across from him, Lin Yuhui was very interested in the information she handled, so he ate slowly while asking,
虽然对餐桌儿对面的莎丽斯兴趣不大,但是林语晖对她所经手的信息还是很感兴趣的,于是不紧不慢地边吃边问,
"I just arrived at this company and don't know much about it. How long have you been working here?"
"我刚来到这家公司,什么都不太了解,请问你在这里就职多长时间了?"
"Oh, about six or seven years," Shirleys answered while eating, looking at Hunter, her tone and eyes seemingly uninterested in the topic.
"哦,差不多6,7年,"莎丽斯边吃边回答,看着亨特,语气和眼神似乎都对这个话题不太感兴趣,
"So, are you happy with your job?"
"那么,你的工作还开心吗?"
"Not bad."
"还好,"
Having hit a snag, Lin Yuhui realized the conversation had died and had to change angles,
碰了一鼻子灰的林语晖发现这话题被他聊死了,只好换了个角度谈论,
"Uh, I don't have children yet. Do you think embryonic gene editing is reliable?"
"呃,我还没有孩子,你觉得胚胎基因编辑可靠吗?"
"Heh, it's been over half a century, generations," saying this, a pleasant expression returned to Shirleys' face.
"呵呵,已经半个多世纪,几代人了,"说着,莎丽斯脸上又有了愉快的表情,
"To be honest, Hunter, don't lie to me, have you been edited?" She looked serious right after speaking, but couldn't hold back a laugh moments later, then said in a soft voice,
"说实话亨特,别骗我,你自己的有没有编辑过?"刚说完还很严肃,片刻就憋不住笑了,然后用细腻的声音说,
"If you're worried, you can try it. Anyway, the state government has genetic optimization funding support. You can have more kids without having to carry them yourself. Just add a bit to my year-end performance. But..." Mid-sentence, Shirleys paused with a smile, looking at Hunter,
"不放心的话可以试试啊,反正州政府有基因优化资金扶持,多生几个又不要你自己怀孕,你给我添点年底业绩吧,但是..."话说到一半,莎丽斯停顿一笑,看着亨特,
"What kind of egg cells would you like to select?"
"只是,你想选用什么样的卵子呢?"
"Shirleys, have you prepared the flower bed seeds for next spring's opening?" Someone said this as they passed by.
"莎丽斯,你筹备了明年开春花坛种子了吗?"不知是谁,对下这句话一闪而过,
"Oh, damn it, Vivien," Shirleys cursed, looking up and scanning over Hunter toward that figure.
"哦该死的,薇薇安,"莎丽斯咒骂着,抬头张望,越过亨特望向那个身影,
Lin Yuhui turned sharply and saw the slender, petite figure of a woman walking past, moving nimbly. She wore a red and white checkered shirt with wide sleeves, the hem tied around her waist, paired with bright red tapered pants—loose at the hips and thighs, tight at the calves. The loose fabric swayed with her movements, exuding youthful vitality and boldness.
林语晖猛地回头看见纤细娇小的女子身影走过,动作伶俐,身穿红白格子衬衫,阔袖,下摆系在腰间,大红锥子裤,臀部,大腿宽松,小腿紧致,走动间宽松抖动的布料带着青春的活跃与放肆.
As she turned back, she let out a series of clear, bell-like laughs, her bright eyes and red lips striking against her sleek, short black hair.
只见她回头间,咯咯咯地咧嘴笑出声,声音清亮,明眸红唇,黑色短发干练俏丽.
"She's my good friend. She's in charge of laboratory equipment procurement. As you can see, she's very young and a bit mischievous."
"她是我的好朋友,她负责实验室设备采购工作,你看见了,她很年轻,也有些调皮."
Lin Yuhui could detect a sour note in Shirleys' words—the envy and jealousy of a middle-aged woman towards a younger one, admiring her youth and beauty while lamenting her own lost prime.
林语晖能从莎丽斯话语的字里行间听出酸酸的味道,中年女性对年轻女性的羡慕与嫉妒,既爱戴她的年轻美貌,又惋惜于自己已经年华不再.
"She's so young and energetic; she must have many suitors," Lin Yuhui, unable to ask Shirleys directly about her personal life, asked indirectly.
"她这么年轻有活力,一定很多追求者,"林语晖不好直接问莎丽斯的个人情况,所以绕弯子询问了,
"Heh, what, have you taken a fancy to her too?" Shirleys teased.
"呵呵,怎么,你也相中了?"莎丽斯调侃般地问,
"No, no, I can't take every woman I meet," Lin Yuhui replied.
"不不,我不能要了我遇见的每一个女人啊,"
"Why not?" Shirleys' mood dropped slightly as she muttered to herself, slowly putting food into her mouth.
"为什么不呢,"莎丽斯情绪有些低落,自己嘟囔着说,一边慢慢往嘴里塞食物,
In the brief silence of their conversation, Lin Yuhui tried to shift his attention away from Hunter's body, circling around Shirleys' thoughts. It seemed she wanted children, preferably with the genes of this body, Hunter. She was uninterested in other men in her life, believing Hunter's genes were optimized.
交谈间的片刻宁静,林语晖试着把注意力离开亨特的身体,围绕着莎丽斯的思绪,似乎感觉到她想要孩子,希望是亨特这个身体的基因,她对其他生活中的男性不感兴趣,她认为亨特的基因是优化过的.
Coincidentally, Lin Yuhui had also suspected this. Under the guise of blind equipment testing, he had already mixed Hunter's genetic material with other samples and sent them for analysis. He was waiting curiously for the results himself.
很巧林语晖也怀疑过这一点,他已经通过设备盲测检验的名义把亨特的遗传物质混进其他样本送去分析了.他自己也在好奇地等待着结果.
Now it seemed that although social progress meant individual survival no longer required mandatory labor, society still maintained its naturally formed structure. When money no longer served as a barrier, technological privilege became the barrier between classes, and the body he was currently using was its product. In the past, women wanted to marry into wealthy families to enjoy a luxurious life; now it had become a more instinctual need—to desire higher-quality genetic material.
现在看来,虽然社会进步让个体生存不再需要必须的劳作,但是社会依旧有着它自然而然形成的结构,当金钱不再用作壁垒,科技上的特权就成了这种阶级之间的壁垒,而自己正在使用的这个身体就是它的产物.之前的女性想要嫁入豪门享受奢华生活,现在则变成了更本能的需求,想要更高质量的遗传基因.
After lunch, Lin Yuhui usually took a nap according to his habits, but this body of Hunter showed no signs of post-lunch fatigue. He couldn't imagine what that kid Hunter had done with all this energy when he used it for crooked paths.
吃过午餐,依照自己习惯林语晖一般要午休一会儿,但是这副亨特的身体用起来没有一点午饭后的疲劳感觉.真不敢想象之前亨特这小子把这样的精力用在歪门邪道上都做了些什么.
Returning to his office, he used a head-mounted holographic device like charging himself, rapidly transmitting sensory impacts of information to his brain through vision and hearing to understand the company's specific business, technology, and commercial situations.
回到自己的办公室,他像给自己充电一样,用头戴式全息设备快速利用视觉和听觉同时给自己的大脑传输信息感官冲击,了解公司的具体业务,技术和商务上的情况.
Trust, Lin Yuhui put down the headset and quickly realized the issue. This was a technological trust spanning a person's entire life, from birth to death or immortality. The next step in development was cross-industry control over all aspects of society. Perhaps this was why Hunter's brother, Theodore, had died inexplicably before.
托拉斯,林语晖放下头戴设备,很快意识到了这个问题.这是一个贯穿了人的一生,从生,到死还是不死的技术托拉斯.下一步的发展就是跨行业地控制社会各个方面了,也许这就是为什么亨特的哥哥,西奥多之前为什么不明不白的死掉了的原因.
And now he was sitting in this position. No wonder Hunter's father had told him not to make any decisions himself; he must have been afraid the kid would foolishly lose his life too.
而现在自己坐在了这个位置上,难怪之前亨特的爸爸告诉他不要自己做任何决定,一定是怕这小子糊里糊涂地也把小命搭进去.
But now it was he who was in this position. Lin Yuhui's will to survive surged abruptly. Although he was already dead, Hunter's body was truly useful. The good days he hadn't tasted while alive were just beginning; how could he not be tempted? So he had to stand firm, accumulate strength, and fight against the dark forces behind it.
可是现在是自己在这个位置上啊,林语晖的求生欲陡然而起,虽说自己已经是死的了,可是亨特的身子真的好用啊,活着的时候没尝到的好日子现在才刚刚开始,怎么能不动心啊.所以现在必须站稳脚跟,积蓄力量,对抗那个背后的黑暗势力.
Lin Yuhui scanned his office, pondering the possible causes of Theodore's heart failure: poisoning? Electromagnetic attack? Or physical assault? Unfortunately, he hadn't been there at the time, and Theodore was already buried. Although he couldn't dissect him, if he were alive, perhaps he could have retrieved some memory information.
林语晖扫视了一周自己的办公室,思索着可能造成西奥多心脏失效的原因,投毒?电磁攻击?或者物理攻击?可惜自己当时不在场,而西奥多也埋进了坟墓了,虽然自己不能解剖他,但是要是他活着,或许自己还能获取一些他的记忆信息.
Ah? There's also Grace. Thinking of this, Lin Yuhui lost interest in staying in his office and immediately drove home.
哎?还有格蕾丝啊,想到这林语晖也没有心思继续坐在自己的办公室里了,马上乘车回家.
Pushing open the door to Grace's room, he had intended to cuddle and kiss her to get closer, then ask about the details of her life with Theodore. Instead of finding the quiet Grace waiting alone for him as he had imagined, he saw her playfully wrestling on the bed with two children.
推开格蕾丝房间的门,本想和她亲亲抱抱拉近感情,然后问问之前她和西奥多的生活细节.结果推开房门不是林语晖设想的恬静的格蕾丝一个人在房间等自己回来,而是看见她和两个孩子在床上嬉戏打闹.
Lin Yuhui closed the door behind him and said softly,
林语晖在身后关上门,轻声说,
"Your... our... ah, no, your children?" He was also a bit stunned, unsure how to organize his language for a moment.
"你们的,我们的,啊不,你们的孩子?"他也有点愣,一时间不知道该怎么组织语言了.
"Ah, yes, they're mine and Theodore's," saying this, Grace stepped forward to kiss Hunter, then continued,
"啊,是啊,我和西奥多的,"说着格蕾丝走上前亲吻亨特,然后接着说
"They are also your children; their souls are your children."
"他们也是你的孩子,他们的灵魂是你的孩子,"
"Oh, yes," although Lin Yuhui thought to himself that they were even more distantly related in terms of soul, he couldn't say it out loud.
"哦,是啊,"虽然林语晖心里想灵魂上就更是远亲了,但是嘴上怎好说出口.
"No, Mommy, he's Uncle Hunter. We aren't his children. Didn't you tell me to stay away from him? He's not a good person," said the older girl, pouting.
"不,妈妈,他是亨特叔叔,我们不是他的孩子,你,你不是告诉我要远离他吗?他不是好人,"只见那个大一点的女孩儿撅着小嘴儿说,
Hearing this, Grace laughed, too embarrassed to look Hunter in the eye, quickly explaining with a smile,
格蕾丝一听这话也笑了,都不好意思直视亨特了,急忙笑着解释,
"Sorry, that's what I taught the children before. You weren't back then," her eyes darted away evasively.
"抱歉,这都是之前我教孩子的,那时候你还没回来,"说着眼神闪躲.
"Uh, that's right. Don't leave the children alone with me when you're not around. Who knows when Hunter might come back," Lin Yuhui replied cautiously.
"呃,这样没错,你不在场的时候别让孩子单独和我一起,谁知道亨特什么时候回来,"林语晖谨慎地回答,
"Really? Will Hunter come back? Will you leave?" Grace asked nervously.
"真的吗?亨特会回来?你会离开吗?"格蕾丝有些紧张,
"Just in case. Don't worry."
"以防万一,别担心,"
"Oh."
"哦,"
At the dinner table, the return of the children added joy. Grace sat happily beside Hunter. George and his wife, Gillian, looked somewhat comforted seeing the children. At this moment, Hunter formally asked,
晚餐的餐桌上,孩子们的归来增添了喜悦,格蕾丝幸福地坐在亨特身边,乔治和妻子吉莉安看着孩子们略显安慰,这时亨特正式询问,
"Dad," although Lin Yuhui didn't agree with this in his heart, since he ate their food, drank their drink, and used their son's body and daughter-in-law's body, he considered it acknowledging a godfather,
"爸爸,"虽然林语晖心中不认同,但是吃人家的喝人家的,还用着人家儿子的身体人家儿媳的身体,就算认了干爹吧,
"If I am to inherit the family business and lineage, perhaps I shouldn't mention him, but my deceased brother, Theodore—was he caught up in some conflict of interest? Do you know anything about it? Please tell me."
"如果是我来继承家庭产业和血脉,也许我不应该提他,我死去的哥哥西奥多,他是卷入了什么利益冲突了吗?您是否了解情况,请告诉我."
"Alas," hearing Hunter speak like this, Gillian sighed, shook her head, and looked at George.
"哎,"吉莉安听亨特这么说叹了口气,摇了摇头,看着乔治,
"Mm, we'll talk after dinner," George said.
"嗯,晚餐后我们谈谈,"乔治说.
（Translated by Tencent Yuanbao）