In her own bed, sleep always felt so deeply restorative. When Li Haojun awoke, she seemed to have regained her full energy. Tan Wenjing was awake too, but she didn't get up. Lying on her side at the edge of the bed, she watched Li Haojun from a distance.
自家的床,睡眠总是那么充实,李皓珺一觉醒来似乎已经元气满满.覃文静也醒了,但是她没有起床,侧身躺在床边,远远地看着李皓珺,
"Did you get some rest?" Tan Wenjing asked.
"休息好了吗?" 覃文静问,
Li Haojun smiled without answering, moving closer to Qin Wenjing. He slipped his right arm beneath her waist while his left encircled her hips, pulling her tightly against him. Burying his face in her chest, he breathed in her scent. The busyness of recent days had made his feelings for her feel almost unfamiliar. Li Haojun intended to make up for the time they'd missed, so breakfast was late today, and the daily schedule at Sun Farm was put on hold.
李皓珺一笑,没回答,凑到覃文静身边,右臂插入她腰下,左臂搂着她的臀部,双臂抱紧,把头埋在她的胸前,呼吸着她的气息.这几天的繁忙仿佛让自己对她的感觉都变得陌生了,李皓珺要把这几天与她错过的时光补回来,所以今天的早饭已经晚了,太阳农场的日常计划也搁置了.
After a quick breakfast, the two began their new day's work. Even when the workload was heavy, Li Haojun always felt more grounded with Tan Wenjing by his side—a familiar comfort, as if she understood him better than he understood himself. Suddenly, Li Haojun found himself wanting to ask,
早上随便吃了点东西,两人开始新一天的工作.同样是工作,繁忙或否,有覃文静在身边的时候,李皓珺总是会觉得更踏实,熟悉的感觉,甚至她比自己都熟悉自己,于是李皓珺突然想问,
Was my previous job as busy as this one is now?
"我以前的工作是不是也像现在这么忙?"
Qin Wenjing thought for a moment and said, "No, back then you were doing technical work. Although you spent a lot of time thinking, it wasn't like the constant running around you do now."
覃文静想了想说,""不是,那时候你做技术工作,虽然也花大量时间思考,但是不像现在这样奔波.
What was I doing back then?
"那时候我做什么?"
Designing experiments, analyzing biological data, and...," Qin Wenjing hesitated for a moment as she spoke.
"设计实验,分析生物实验数据,还有...",说着覃文静迟疑了一下,
"What else?" Li Haojun asked.
"还有什么?"李皓珺问,
To build your AI model, you need it to assist with your professional work.
"做你的人工智能模型,你需要它帮助你的专业工作,"
"Oh," Li Haojun nodded. "Was my AI model back then very computationally intensive?"
"哦,"李皓珺点了点头,"我那时候的AI模型很耗费算力吗?"
Right, back then you used the company's cloud computing services.
"是吧,那时候你用公司的云计算服务."
"Well, it seems my head got smarter after that bump," Li Haojun said with a self-deprecating laugh.
"嗯,看来我的头碰过以后变聪明了," 李皓珺自嘲地笑着说,
"Why do you say that?"
"你为什么这么说呢?"
Look, this time I built the solar farm myself.
"你看,这次我自己建了太阳能农场."
"Oh, I see what you mean," Qin Wenjing chuckled. "Well, tell me about your business trip this time. What are your thoughts?"
"哦,原来你是这个意思," 覃文静笑道,"唉,说说你这次出差的经历吧,感想如何?"
"You mean my two new assistants?" Li Haojun cut straight to the point.
"说我的两个新助理啊?" 李皓珺直截了当,
"Yeah, what's it like?" Tan Wenjing asked, unable to hold back her laughter.
"是啊,什么感觉?" 覃文静一边问一边憋不住笑,
That young girl, Malaya, seems very capable and clever in her work.
"那个小姑娘,玛莱雅,做事情很干练,很聪明的样子."
"What about that college girl?"
"那个女大学生呢?"
"Feels average, personality a bit introverted."
"感觉一般,性格有点内向."
"Just okay?" Tan Wenjing repeated, her tone growing more insistent.
"感觉一般?"覃文静又加重语气问了一遍,
"Hey, don't get the wrong idea—I just mean she doesn't seem as sharp and quick-witted as her sister."
"嗐,别瞎想,我是说她不像她妹妹那么聪明伶俐的感觉."
"Little sister?"
"妹妹?"
Yeah, they're half-sisters from the same father, and they were even taken in by public welfare agencies. It's pretty pitiful, really. They never had a home growing up, and now they live in that factory over in Boise.
"是啊,她们是同父异母的姐妹,还是被公共福利机构收养的,说起来也挺可怜的.从小没有家,现在住在博伊西那边的工厂里."
"Oh," Qin Wenjing replied, quietly observing Li Haojun's reaction. Seeing he said nothing more, she tentatively asked,
"哦,"覃文静答应着,一边静静地观看李皓珺的反应,见他没再说什么,就试探地问,
Well, you could invite them over to your place.
"那,你可以邀请她们来家里做客啊."
"No, this is your home. It's not right. Besides, that Malaya—she's so unpredictable. Who knows what she's thinking? I'm afraid she might do something to hurt you."
"不行,这是你的家,这样不好,再说那个玛莱雅,古灵精怪的,不知道她脑子里想的都是什么,我怕她做出伤害你的事情."
Qin Wenjing smiled faintly, glanced at Li Haojun, then lowered her head and said nothing.
覃文静一笑,看了李皓珺一眼,低头不说话了.
Li Haojun didn't notice the subtle shifts in Qin Wenjing's expression. He kept his eyes glued to the screen, processing work while responding casually. Every answer sprang from his mind as an immediate reaction. His thoughts were elsewhere—whether to continue down this path and how to implement remote control for the solar farm project he envisioned. As for Qin Wenjing, simply being near her brought him peace of mind, though it made him a bit careless. But what could he do? There had to be a balance between the present and the future. Unfortunately, people couldn't see the future. Whether that balance was truly achieved might only be confirmed after death. Could it be? No, it couldn't, because there was no other timeline to compare it to.
李皓珺没有注意到覃文静的表情细节,他只是盯着屏幕一边处理工作,一边顺口回答,所有答案都是第一反应从脑子里蹦出来的,此时他所想的问题是这样下去要不要,以及如何把自己太阳能农场想做的事情弄一个远程操控.至于说覃文静,只要在她身边,自己就安心了,只是粗心大意了一些.可是又有什么办法呢?现在与将来之间总要有一个平衡,不过很可惜,人看不到将来,是否真的平衡了,或许只能盖棺定论了.能吗?也不能,因为没有另一条时间线做对比.
Since my new work environment has influenced my own direction, why not make the most of the current situation? With that thought, Li Haojun immediately sent a message to Kesiya.
既然新的工作环境影响了我自己的方向,为什么我不利用现在的条件呢?想到这,李皓珺直接给凯西娅发了信息,
Hello, interested in expanding your challenges? In our work, we sometimes utilize AI tools and occasionally involve quantitative methods for gathering user feedback. In the email I sent you, I listed my go-to open-source AI model websites and popular commercial brainwave-capturing devices like the nw77micro. If you're interested, feel free to explore them. I can also share access to my computer, allowing you to leverage my computing power for model training.
"你好,想拓展一下自己的挑战吗?我们的工作过程中有时候会用到AI工具,有时候也会涉及到定量化获取用户反馈,在我给你的邮件里我列举了我常用的AI模型开源网站,还有流行的商用的脑波获取设备,比如nw77micro,感兴趣的话你可以了解一下看看,我可以把我的电脑权限共享给你,那样你就能用我的算力训练模型了."
After a while, Kasiya replied to the message.
过了一会儿,凯西娅回了信息,
"Sure, I'll look into what you mentioned in your email first."
"好啊,我先了解一下你邮件里提到的内容."
After finishing the tasks at hand, I thought the solar farm equipment also needed some corresponding adjustments. Just as I was about to get up and head over, I turned my head and saw Tan Wenjing staring at me.
把需要做的事情安排完毕,心想太阳能农场那边设备也需要相应做一些调整,正想起身前往,扭头看见覃文静正在看着自己,
"What's up?"
"有事吗?"
Qin Wenjing smiled and said, "I'm going to Spokane again this afternoon to exchange data. Want to come along?"
覃文静一笑,说,"下午我又要去斯波坎交换数据,你一起去吗?"
Of course, no need to ask. Wherever you go, I'll be right there with you.
"当然,那还用问吗,你去哪我陪着你."
"Alright," Qin Wenjing said, lifting the corners of her mouth.
"好啊,"覃文静扬起了嘴角,
"Just at this moment? I just got back—what a coincidence." Li Haojun said, smiling at Qin Wenjing.
"只是这时间点?我刚回来,巧了." 李皓珺说着,微笑着看着覃文静.
How wonderful it is when two people greet each other with smiles.
两个人都以笑容相待是一件多么美好的事啊.
As usual, upon arriving in Spokane, the three shared lunch together. John greeted Qin Wenjing first, then Li Haojun said,
...如同以往一样,到达斯波坎,三人又一起共进午餐,约翰还是先与覃文静打招呼,然后李皓珺说,
Hey, Ethan, how's it going?
"嗨,伊森,过得好吗?"
"Great, thank you. I'm much more accustomed to it now. It's been ages since we last gathered here together." Li Haojun also became more talkative.
"很好,谢谢,我现在适应多了,好久没跟您在此聚会了." 李皓珺的话也多了起来,
"Yeah, things are holding steady over in Montana. Demand's pretty much the same as usual, no big changes." John said.
"是啊,蒙大拿那边还好,需求基本平稳,没什么变化."约翰说,
"I've seen some growth on the West Coast, likely seasonal. I just visited Seattle and Portland a couple days ago. The demographics in those two cities differ significantly, and their social structures seem quite distinct too—perhaps due to local industries. Opportunities in Portland aren't great, so the welfare supported by the local economy is limited. People with different needs and cultural backgrounds live side by side, making it difficult for the city to foster cohesion. It feels very fragmented." Li Haojun finished speaking and watched John's reaction.
"西海岸我这边有些增长,应该是季节性的,前两天我刚去过西雅图和波特兰,两个地方的人口结构差别较大,看起来社会结构也是,也许是地方产业的因素吧,波特兰的机会不太好,所以地方经济所支持的福利也有限,不同需求,不同文化背景的人混居在一起,地方想通过点什么很费劲,很割裂." 李皓珺说完,看着约翰的反应,
Oh, I haven't really paid much attention to that side. Over here, it's simple: agriculture, mining, and the rest of the ordinary workers don't have much say either. Others go out seeking opportunities. The social classes are pretty much set in stone. John answered while eating, feeling no need for formality since they were all familiar faces.
"哦,那边我还真没太留意,我们这边简单,农业,矿业,剩下的普通工人也没什么发言权,其他的人则走出去谋出路,阶层基本固化了." 约翰边吃边答对着,都是熟人了,没什么拘束,
Oh, it's like this: I supply Seattle and Portland, and some of my clients are celebrities, politicians, and people from other partner companies. So unexpected orders pop up all the time, forcing me to divert raw materials from other production lines and then clean up the mess myself afterward. After saying this, Li Haojun smiled cheerfully at John...
"哦,是这样,我这边给西雅图和波特兰供货,有些客户是明星,政客,来自其它合作公司的,所以经常会出现非预期的订货,弄得我不得不把别的上线的产品原料调过来,然后自己再处理生产线善后."说完,李皓珺笑呵呵地看着约翰...
After lunch, they went their separate ways. On the way back, Li Haojun asked Tan Wenjing,
完成午餐各奔东西,回程上,李皓珺问覃文静,
"Do you think John does technical work? I think he's just in the field."
"你觉得约翰做技术工作吗?我觉得他只是外勤,"
"Oh, maybe,"
"哦,也许吧,"
Have you ever considered that he saved you that time as part of a plan, just to gain your trust?
"你有没有想过那次他救你是设计的,只是为了获取信任?"
"No, I hadn't really thought about that. Maybe."
"没有,这我还真没想过,有可能吧."
Li Haojun then took out his work computer to send a message to Malaya.
随后李皓珺拿出工作电脑给玛莱雅发消息,
Hello, your sister is currently researching commercial brainwave acquisition devices. You can reach out to her for more details. How well did you do in high school physics? Could you build a simple device to measure the inductance parameters of brainwave acquisition equipment? This isn't urgent, and it's not a work assignment—just a personal favor. What kind of reward would you like?
"你好,你的姐姐正在研究商用的脑波获取设备,你可以找她了解一下.你的高中物理学的好吗?能不能做一个简单的,测量脑波获取设备电感参数的设备?这个任务不着急,并且也不是工作任务,私人帮忙,你想要什么奖励?"
"Sure, I'll give it a shot," Malaya replied instantly. "As for the reward, I want you to spend a night with my sister, just like you did with me that night."
"好啊,我试试," 玛莱雅秒回,"关于奖励,我想要你像那天晚上陪我一样也陪我姐姐一晚."
Li Haojun sent back an awkward emoji, then looked up at Qin Wenjing. Out of curiosity, she was also staring at the screen. Li Haojun gave a wry grin.
李皓珺回了一个尴尬的表情,然后抬头看覃文静,她因为好奇,也正在看着屏幕,李皓珺咧了咧嘴,
You saw it yourself—nothing happened between me and that little girl that day.
"你看到啦,这小丫头,那天我和她什么也没发生."
"Well, I believe you," Qin Wenjing chuckled, "since you came back to report to me."
"嗯,我相信你,"说完覃文静噗嗤一下笑了,"你不是回来跟我报告了么."
Li Haojun burst out laughing as he hurriedly looked up the relevant laws, muttering to himself, "I'd better check the case precedents—I don't want to end up in jail myself."
李皓珺哈哈哈笑着赶紧查询相关法律,一边唠叨,"我得查一查相关案例,别把我自己弄进监狱."
He looked for a moment, chuckled,
他看了一会儿,呵呵一笑,
Fortunately, local laws are quite lenient in this regard—basically, no complaint, no investigation. There's no need for public authority to intervene in private matters anyway. Moreover, there's no conflict of interest between us. I have no authority to evaluate their performance; they were assigned by the company and don't report to me.
"还好,地方法律这方面很宽松,基本是民不举官不纠.本来就没有必要让公权力介入私人关系嘛.并且我与她之间没有利益冲突,我无权评价她们绩效,她们是公司指派的,也不隶属于给我."
"Oh, they're the company's gift to you," Tan Wenjing teased.
"哦,她们是公司为你准备的," 覃文静调侃着说,
"You could also say they were sent by the company to keep tabs on me," Li Haojun explained.
"也可以说她们是公司派来监视我的," 李皓珺解释道,
"Hmph, full of yourself." Qin Wenjing feigned indifference.
"哼,臭美." 覃文静假装对此不屑一顾.