The morning mist carried the scent of early morning, somewhat thick and veiling the light of the rising sun. The morning light filtering through the mist fell cool and damp upon the street. A slender and tall girl stood opposite Lin Yuhui, yet Lin Yuhui could not make out her features clearly, nor did he know who she was. But out of respect for this pure young woman, he pulled a paper craft from his left chest pocket, and with a flick of his wrist, layer upon layer of nested structures unfurled, forming a bouquet of red roses. Another flick, and the roses were embraced by green leaves.
晨雾带着清晨的味道,有些浓郁遮住了初升太阳的光亮,透过雾气的晨光清冷潮湿地照在街面.一位身材纤细高挑的姑娘站在林语晖的对面,而林语晖并没有看清她的相貌,不知道她是谁,但是出于对清纯少女的尊重,他从左侧上衣口袋里掏出了一个纸质的工艺品,用手一甩,一层层嵌套的结构被甩了出来,形成了一束红玫瑰,再一甩,玫瑰花被绿色的叶子簇拥了起来.
Just as Lin Yuhui was about to offer this bouquet to that young woman, the dream ended. He opened his eyes to find Grace lying beside him, her beautiful hair spread loose, half-veiling her back, her cheek, but revealing her shoulder. The dry desert air let the morning light pass through without any loss, illuminating the rounded skin of her shoulder.
正当林语晖想要把这束花献给那一位少女的时候,梦醒了,睁开眼睛身边躺着的是格蕾丝,她的秀发披散,虚掩着她的背,她的脸颊,但是露出了她的肩头,沙漠干燥的空气,毫无损耗地让晨光透过,照在她肩头圆润的肌肤.
Lin Yuhui's mind wondered whether that girl in the dream had been her. But looking at reality, he had already slept beside another woman. The shame in his heart made him feel increasingly unworthy of thinking about her anymore. He even felt that the very act of still thinking about her, as the man he now was, was itself a desecration of her.
林语晖脑子里在想刚才的梦中那个女孩儿,是不是她?可是看看现实中,自己已经睡在另一个女人的身边,内心的惭愧让他越发觉得自己不配再想她了,甚至觉得这样的自己还总是想着她这件事本身就是对她的亵渎.
He took a deep breath and got up, looking back at Grace who was still sleeping soundly. He examined her features and figure while also examining the unwillingness in his own heart. If his life had encountered such a wife from the very beginning, would he have been content with this kind of ordinary life with her? Perhaps he would have. But having gone through the bitter baptism of a previous life, having witnessed all the gatherings and partings of the world, he knew very clearly that the various torments and unwillingness had made him unable to be satisfied with ordinary life's rewards anymore. It was only because the scars all over his body, everywhere he looked, constantly reminded him of painful memories.
深吸了一口气起床,回头看着依然熟睡的格蕾丝,一边审视她的相貌与身材,一边审视自己内心的不甘.假如自己的人生一开始就遇到这样的妻子,会不会就满足于和她一起的这种平淡人生了呢?或许会吧,只是经过了上一次人生的苦难洗礼,看尽世间聚散离合,他很清楚,种种的折磨与不甘,已经无法满足于一般的人生奖赏了,只因为身上那随处可见的伤痕,无时无刻不在提醒他痛苦的回忆.
At the breakfast table, Lin Yuhui found a good excuse. He told Grace that he needed to act like Hunter, to avoid the risk of being murdered again, so he needed to go out and carouse a bit, maintaining roughly the appearance of Hunter's original life. He also wanted to try whether he could gradually distance himself from Grace. Although she might still be hurt, at least it would reach a point that an adult could gradually accept.
早餐的餐桌上,林语晖找到了一个好借口,他对格蕾丝说自己需要表现得像亨特,以避免再次被谋杀的风险,所以需要适当出去鬼混,保持差不多亨特原有的生活的样子.他也想试一试能不能逐步拉开与格蕾丝的距离,虽说她可能还是会伤心,但至少到一个成年人可以逐步接受的地步.
But the moment the words left his mouth, he saw the happiness that had just been brimming on Grace's face vanish in an instant, as if a bitter autumn wind had suddenly swept away all the fallen leaves, leaving only the desolation of late autumn. His heart softened again. He did not want to hurt others, especially women.
可是话刚出口,看到刚才还在格蕾丝脸上洋溢的幸福,转瞬即逝,宛如凄厉的秋风刹时卷走了所有落叶,只剩深秋的凄凉,他的心又软了,他不想伤害别人,尤其是女人.
Only he himself knew clearly in his heart that he could not deeply love a woman who had a past with another man. The more he loved this woman, the more this woman's past became like a sharp thorn in his heart and thorns beneath his feet, making him unable to move forward, able only to retreat. Yes, Lin Yuhui was a man with emotional fastidiousness. How could he possibly tell Grace any of this.
只有他自己心里清楚,他无法深爱一个曾经与其他男人有过去的女人,他越是爱这个女人,这个女人的过去就如同心中的尖刺,脚下的荆棘使他无法向前,只能退后.是的,林语晖是一个有感情洁癖的男人,所有这些又怎么和格蕾丝说呢.
Arriving at his own office in the company, the changed environment seemed to have changed his mood as well, or at least changed his train of thought. Now his task was to continue exploring why the previous Theodore had died, so as to avoid repeating the same mistake himself. Through the seemingly casual inquiries and curiosity during the previous document-signing work, he had already gained a deeper understanding of the company's structure and business. Whether in the consumer market or in technology and defense, it was already in a monopoly position, without rivals. Could it be for the struggle for internal control?
来到公司自己的办公室,改变的环境似乎也改变了心情,至少改变了思路.现在他的工作是继续探索之前的西奥多为什么会死掉,以免自己重蹈覆辙.从之前的签字工作的过程中,那些看似无心的询问与好奇,他已经对公司的机构和业务有了更多的了解.无论是在民间消费市场还是科技与防务方面,都已经处于垄断地位了,没有对手,难道是为了内部控制权争夺?
The somewhat muddled morning passed in the constant switching between pondering life and survival. At lunchtime he arrived early at the restaurant, chose his favorite food, and sat in an undisturbed corner by the window, savoring the delicacies while enjoying the scenery.
有些浑浑噩噩的上午就在思索生活与生存的不断切换中度过了.午餐时间早早来到餐厅,选了自己喜欢的食物坐在窗边角落无人打扰的位置,一边品尝美食,一边欣赏风景.
Looking out from the office building, one could tell this was a prime location, for this was the tallest building in the entire city. Or rather a platinum location, because the building's color was a gleaming metallic shade as if from the space age. The ground below was completely invisible, as if it had transcended the mortal world.
从写字楼的位置向外眺望就知道这里是黄金地段了,因为这是全城最高建筑.或者说铂金地段吧,因为建筑的颜色都是闪亮的如同太空时代一般的金属颜色.根本看不见脚下的地面,仿佛已经超脱了世俗人间.
"All alone? May I sit here?"
"怎么一个人,我可以坐这里吗?"
Oh, a clear voice with a slightly magnetic tone, seeming to carry a hint of enticement for his attention within it.
哦,一个清亮,嗓音略带磁性的声音,似乎她的声音中还有几分对自己注意力的勾引,
Lin Yuhui looked up. It was her, that girl with the short black hair, the one who had spoken with Charisse in the restaurant. Because he had not paid her much attention at that time and was not very good at remembering names, he had to conceal her name as he replied.
林语晖抬头一看,是她,那位黑色短发姑娘,那一位和莎丽斯在餐厅搭话的女子.由于那时没太在意她,也不太擅长记住人名,只好隐没了她的名字回答说,
"Welcome, please sit. The view here is very nice." Lin Yuhui felt that Grace alone was already enough disturbance, and he did not want to create further complications. Clearly he knew in his heart that this young woman held an attraction for him, so he tried to close his own door from the very beginning, which was why he emphasized the view of the seat afterward, rather than himself.
"欢迎,请坐,这里风景很好,"林语晖觉得一个格蕾丝已经够纷扰了,他不想再节外生枝,显然他心里清楚这个年轻丫头对自己是有吸引力的,所以他试图在一开始就把自己的门关上,所以才在后面强调了这个座位的风景,而不是自己.
Lifting his head, he caught sight of her thigh sweeping past before his eyes at the other end of the table as she took her seat. Today she wore a pair of red, green, and white striped pencil pants, which perfectly displayed her full thighs and slender calves.
抬起头起头眼前正看见餐桌儿那一端她的大腿从面前一晃而过地入座.今天她穿了一条红绿白细数条铅笔裤,正好体现了她丰腴的大腿,纤细的小腿.
Then looking at her seated across from him, dark eyes, short black hair, today parted three-to-seven with bangs, the remaining hair tied into two small pigtails at the nape of her neck with a red string. A red top of the same color, paired with her slim and petite waist, her whole presence appeared fresh and neat, utterly alluring.
再看坐在对面的她,黑眼睛,黑色短发,今天三七分了刘海,剩余的头发在脖颈后用红头绳绑了两个小抓揪儿,同色红上衣,配上她苗条娇小的腰身,整个人都显得清爽简洁,很是妖娆.
The conversation was bland and dull, and Lin Yuhui had no desire at all to stir up any interest. So much so that what he did more was to extract information from her through the conversation, not information about her, but about this world.
谈话平淡无聊,林语晖也根本不想聊出什么兴致,以至于更多的是他通过交谈从对方那里获取信息,不是关于她的信息,而是关于这个世界.
From the topics mentioned, Lin Yuhui sensed that she had been screened and had gradually entered this place, the core area of this Las Vegas city. Different professions and different social scores would determine which area of the city one lived in, and these different areas were essentially structured like concentric circles. Those whose behavior was self-disciplined, who followed the rules, and who made high social contributions would gradually accumulate their social evaluation points. Thus, from the city's periphery to its center, there was a geographical gradient of gradually increasing personal value and environmental safety. In such a central area, there were no longer any laws here; interpersonal relationships relied on self-discipline and peaceful coexistence.
提到的那些话题,林语晖感觉到了,她是经过筛选才逐步进入了这里,这个拉斯维加斯城市的核心地带.不同的职业不同的社会积分会住在这个城市的不同区域,而这些个不同的区域基本上是像同心圆一样的结构,那些个行为自律遵守规则,并且社会贡献高的人会逐步积累他的社会评价积分.所以由城市四周到中心,是一个个人价值与环境安全逐步升高地域梯度.到了这样的中心地带,这里已经没有法律了,人际关系靠自律和平相处.
Of course, from the memory fragments in her mind, Lin Yuhui also glimpsed her private life. Her relationships with the opposite sex were somewhat complicated. This was hardly surprising; she was in the prime of her youth and beauty. A woman's youth is inherently short, and the freedom of personal choice is beyond reproach by others. Of course, that she could sit here at such a young age was also largely based on the dynamic weight balancing of the social management algorithm for personal social points.
当然从她脑海中的回忆片段,林语晖也看到了她的私生活状况,她的异性关系有些复杂.这也难怪,正是年轻靓丽的年代,女性的青春本来就短暂,个人选择的自由他人也无可厚非.当然她年轻的年纪能够坐在这里也很大程度上基于个人社会积分算法的社会管理动态权重平衡.
From the conversation, Lin Yuhui also perceived that her behavior seemed to have no obvious motive, unlike himself who acted with such clear purpose. She had none. Her every gesture and action seemed more like the instinctive response of a living being at her age, based on her personal experiences, within this environment.
从交谈中林语晖还体会到了她的行为似乎并无明显动机,不像自己做这么有明确的目的性,她没有.她的一举一动似乎更像是一个生命在她这个年纪,基于她的个人经历,在这个环境中的本能反应.
It seemed that the ability of mind-reading, which he had obtained after death, gave Lin Yuhui another perspective to understand those whose style of conduct was utterly different from his own. Of course, she also had the same desire to be noticed and valued as other girls. It was just that her style really was not his type, even though she was beautiful on the outside.
似乎死后获得的他心通的能力给了林语晖另一个角度去理解那些与自己行事风格迥异的人.当然她也有其他女孩一样的,被关注,被重视的渴望,只是她的作风真的不是自己的菜,即便她的外表漂亮.
Sitting in the office, after an afternoon with no valuable discoveries, Lin Yuhui suddenly thought that perhaps he should change his way of obtaining information, to go and look at other places, such as those places where Hunter caroused, to see the actual desires and needs, interests and entanglements. Perhaps he might discover something.
坐在办公室里,经过一个下午没有什么有价值的发现,林语晖忽然想到,或许自己应该换个方式获取信息,去看看其他地方,比如亨特浪荡的那些地方,去看看实际的欲望与需求,利益与纠葛,或许能发现点什么.
Lin Yuhui's mind told him to go carouse like Hunter, but his footsteps honestly brought him back home. He opened Grace's door. She, who was playing with the child, turned her head to look over, startled at first, then rose and walked slowly forward, gently giving Lin Yuhui an embrace.
林语晖的脑子想着要像亨特一样去鬼混,可是他的脚步却诚实地又把他带回了家.打开格蕾丝的房门,正在陪孩子玩耍的她扭头看过来,开始一愣,然后起身缓步走上前,轻轻给了林语晖一个拥抱,
Holding Grace in his arms, breathing in the scent of her body, Lin Yuhui inexplicably felt a sense of peace in his heart.
把格蕾丝搂在怀里,呼吸着她身体的气息,林语晖也莫名地感到了心安.
(Translated by DeepSeek)