Under the shade of trees, at the edge of the playground, the railing turned out to be a gravity-powered children's track slide. Over ten meters high, it featured multiple twisting curves and different branching paths to choose from, making for a truly magical ride. Li Haojun slid down from the top, choosing several branch paths along the way. He wanted to repeat the same route he'd taken earlier, but it wasn't possible. By the time he reached the bottom, the cart had lost all speed and momentum. Stepping off onto the soft ground, he gazed at the pale blue track supports and the yellow slide surface, finding it rather cute—after all, it was a children's ride.
树荫下,游乐场边缘的栏杆,回头正好是一个重力儿童轨道滑车游乐项目,.差不多十米以上高度,多个回旋弯道,并且有不同的分支路线可以选择,玩起来很奇妙.李皓珺从上面滑下来,中途还选择了几个分支路线.但他想重复与之前相同的路线,可是没有办法实现.当滑到底部,车子已经没有了任何速度与势能,李皓珺下车双脚踏在松软的土地上,看着淡蓝色的滑车轨道支架,黄色的滑道,觉得有点萌,毕竟是儿童游乐项目.
Li Haojun suddenly remembered she had brought her child to play, yet now stood alone with no one beside her. "Did I actually lose my own child?!" In that instant, Li Haojun felt as if she had fallen into an abyss. She strained to recall: when they arrived, the child had been standing beneath the sledding ride, wearing denim overalls, a light-colored shirt with strawberry patterns and rolled-up sleeves, and two little pigtails on top of her head. That was her daughter.
李皓珺忽然想起自己是带孩子来玩的,可是现在却身边空无一人,"我居然丢了自己的孩子??!",瞬时李皓珺仿佛觉得自己坠入深渊.努力回想,来的时候孩子站在滑车游乐项目下方,穿着儿童背带牛仔裤,上身浅色草莓图案衬衫,卷着袖口,头上梳着双抓髻小辫子,那是我的女儿,
My child, my child, where are you? Li Haojun began searching frantically, yet felt utterly lost. The path they had come from, outside the playground fence— He could see for miles, yet that tiny figure was nowhere to be found... My child, my child...
我的孩子,我的孩子在哪?李皓珺开始四下寻找,却不知道方向.来时的路,游乐场的栅栏外,恨不得一眼望穿,却看不到那个小小的身影...,我的孩子,孩子,
Waking up in the dead of night, it turned out to be a dream. Li Haojun hadn't been sleeping well lately. Tonight he slept in the room next to Qin Wenjing's. Peering through the curtains at the night sky, it remained dark. Calming his nerves and racing heartbeat, Li Haojun recalled the dream, trying to remember every detail.
深夜醒来,原来是一个梦,李皓珺最近睡眠不太好,今晚睡在了覃文静房间的隔壁,透过窗帘看夜空,还是黑暗的.平复一下自己紧张的情绪,过速的心跳,李皓珺回想着之前的梦,试图记住每一个细节.
At the breakfast table, Li Haojun shared his dream with Qin Wenjing. This morning, she wore a deep V-neck white shirt made of diamond-patterned gauze with ruffled sleeves. She listened silently as Li Haojun finished speaking, saying nothing, only holding her coffee cup and savoring it slowly. Seeing her silence, Li Haojun wondered if she was jealous—after all, he had recently gained two female assistants—and began to explain,
早餐桌上,李皓珺把自己的梦讲给了覃文静,今早她穿了一件深V领菱纱白衬衫,荷叶袖.她默默听李皓珺讲完,没说什么,只是端着咖啡杯,慢慢品味.李皓珺见她不说话,心想她是不是吃醋了,毕竟最近自己多了两个女助手,便解释说,
I'm afraid of the little girl I dream about—she's about four or five years old. In my dreams, she's my daughter, and I don't know why I keep having these dreams.
"我怕梦到的那个小女孩大概四五岁,在梦里她是我女儿,我也不知道为什么会做这样的梦."
Qin Wenjing smiled faintly. "That Malaya would make a perfect daughter for you."
覃文静微微一笑,"那个玛莱雅做你的女儿很合适啊,"
"Well, how could I have had a daughter like that? The one in my dream had black hair and brown eyes—I still remember her red hair ribbon. I just wanted to ask if you know... did I ever have a daughter?"
"咳,我怎么能做出那样的女儿,梦里那个是黑头发棕色眼睛的,我还记得她的红头绳.我就是想问问你知不知道,我有过女儿吗?"
Qin Wenjing still didn't answer. After a moment's hesitation, she lifted her dark hair and said softly, "If you want dark hair, then treat me like your daughter." Qin Wenjing kept her head down, not looking at Li Haojun, her voice gentle. After a while, she teased, "No one else's daughter would go with you—only me."
覃文静依然没有回答,迟疑了一下,托起自己的黑发说,"要黑发的,那就把我当你女儿吧." 覃文静低着头,并没有看李皓珺,言语声音轻柔.过了一会覃文静又调侃地说,"别人家的女儿谁会跟你走啊,也就只有我了."
After a moment's hesitation, having gleaned little useful information, Li Haojun replied, "Yeah, that's right." He then rose and walked over to Tan Wenjing, pulling her head into his embrace.
迟疑之后,没有得到什么有用信息,李皓珺回应道,"嗯,是啊.",说完起身到覃文静身边,把她的头搂进怀里.
As the routine morning work began, Qin Wenjing excitedly called out,
例行早晨的工作刚开始,覃文静便兴奋地叫起来,
"Do you remember that night we spent in Richland?" Days had passed, yet Qin Wenjing still held onto the excitement of that evening.
"你还记得那天晚上我们在里奇兰吗?",多少天过去了,覃文静依然保持着对那晚的兴奋.
"Remember? What's up?"
"记得,怎么了?"
Check if you've received the email about victims participating in sentencing votes for perpetrators.
"看你有没有收到邮件,受害人参与施暴者量刑投票."
"Oh," Li Haojun checked and found he had one too.
"哦,"李皓珺查看着,果然自己也有.
It turned out to be several individuals who had organized and participated in violent destruction during that day's protest. Li Haojun and Qin Wenjing examined their profiles and convictions.
原来是几个因为那天游行中组织和参与暴力破坏的人,李皓珺和覃文静查看着他们的介绍和定罪,
"Look at this," Tan Wenjing said as she examined it. "He was involved in vandalism and theft. Originally, he was sent to a state-owned farm at the border between the Citizen Zone and the Natural Freedom Zone to do volunteer work and experience life through labor. But he ran away. After being recaptured, he claimed labor wasn't his specialty—he was skilled at theft—and applied to develop himself in the High-Tech Freedom Zone."
"你看这个," 覃文静边看边说,"是他参与了破坏和盗窃,本来他被送到公民区和自然自由区交界处国有农场做义工,劳动体验生活.但是他逃跑了,捉回来之后他声称劳动不是他的特长,他擅长盗窃,申请去高科技自由区发展自己."
Li Haojun chuckled and said, "Maybe he just doesn't want to work, not that he can't put his talents to use."
李皓珺呵呵一笑说,"也许他只是不想劳动,而不是不能施展特长."
"Hmm, maybe he really is good at that sort of thing. Giving him a chance to prove himself might be a good idea. I think I'll vote in favor of him." Qin Wenjing said hesitantly.
"嗯,也许他真的擅长那方面吧,给他一个证明自己的机会也好啊,我想给他赞成票." 覃文静有点犹豫地说,
But when Li Haojun thought of the ordinary people living in San Francisco's Free Zone—the elderly living on the water, the children being raised by their parents, and the old woman selling flowers—he didn't want to dump a criminal on them, disturbing or even disrupting their peaceful lives. So Li Haojun shook his head and said,
但是李皓珺一想到旧金山自由区生活的平民,水上生活的老年人养育儿女的小孩子,还有那卖花的老妇人,他不想把一个犯罪分子丢给他们,打扰或者干脆扰乱破坏他们平静的生活.所以李皓珺摇了摇头说,
No, I will vote against him. He has destroyed public assets, and he lacks both morality and self-restraint. Even if he were the worst thief of them all, what contribution would his skills make to this world?
"不,我会投反对票,因为他破坏公共资产,他缺乏道德和自我约束,即便他是万贼之贼,他的技能对这个世界有什么贡献呢?"
"Oh, then we'll abstain."
"哦,那我们就投弃权票吧."
"No, we must exercise our civic rights," Li Haojun said, patting Qin Wenjing on the shoulder. "Let's keep going."
"不,我们要践行公民权力,"说着李皓珺拍了拍覃文静的肩,"咱们往下看,"
Li Haojun glanced at the next person and said,
李皓珺又看了看下一个人,说,
I believe this individual has been significantly influenced by the organizer. Being young, he is particularly susceptible to outside influences. Separating him from the organizer might offer him a fresh start.
"我觉得,这个人是受组织者影响比较大,他还年轻,受别人影响比较大,我觉得把他和组织者分开也许会给他一个新的机会,"
"His sentence was community service fees," Qin Wenjing said after taking a closer look.
"他的判决结果是社区服务费," 覃文静也仔细看了看说,
"But he has different communities to choose from," Li Haojun said after looking up various options. "I think moving him out of the neighborhood where he grew up might actually be beneficial. Take a look at this one—it's a Protestant Christian community with a very active social scene. It could help him experience what order is like and learn positive, healthy interactions with others."
"但是他有不同的服务社区可以选择," 李皓珺查了一下不同的社区说,"我觉得让他离开他长大生活的社区也许会对他有帮助,你看这个,这是个基督教新教社区,并且社区居民社交比较活跃,让他去体会一下什么是秩序以及与人的积极正常的交往."
"Yeah, I agree. I'll vote for this one too," Qin Wenjing said, nodding as she spoke.
"嗯,我同意,那我也投票这个," 覃文静一边点头一边说,
"Now look at the next one—he's also an organizer," Li Haojun said after checking his resume. "You can see he was an active participant in these kinds of activities during his school years. I think that at such a young age, continuing to do these things after dropping out is just habit."
"再看下一个,他也是组织者," 李皓珺查了查他的简历又说,"你看他在上学期间也是这类活动的积极参与者,我觉得他这么小的年纪在辍学之后依然在做这些事情,是惯性."
"What's this inertia?" Tan Wenjing asked curiously.
"什么惯性啊?" 覃文静好奇地问,
Human nature's inertia, you see—he had poor grades during his school years and didn't participate in any other campus activities. What do you think his purpose is in engaging in this kind of political activity?
"人性的惯性,你看,他上学期间成绩不好,没有什么其它在校活动,你觉得他参与这种政治活动目的是什么?"
What could it be?
"会是什么呢?"
"A sense of superiority, power, or just plain idleness—that's my guess," Li Haojun said, staring at his profile on the screen. "I think what he needs is to honestly understand himself and find his place in society. So I agree with his sentence—to experience self-reliant labor at the state-owned farm where the residential area meets the edge of the natural reserve. He squandered his opportunities; now that his basic needs are met, he ought to pursue something more meaningful."
"优越感,权力,或者仅仅是无所事事,我估计的," 李皓珺盯着屏幕上他的个人资料说,"我觉得他需要的是诚实地认识自己,找到自己在社会中的位置.所以我同意他的判决结果,去居民区与自然自由区边缘交界处的国有农场体验一下自力更生的劳动是什么样子,因为他浪费了自己的机会,他在生存物资无忧之后应该做些更有意义的事情."
It took nearly an hour for the two of them to go through everyone's information and make the decisions they deemed appropriate. They then returned to the first person.
差不多两个人花了近一个小时,两个人把所有人资料过了一遍,并且做了认为适合的决定.两个人再次回到第一个人,
"He was supposed to be serving at a state-run farm, but he ran away," Li Haojun said, looking at the man's file. "Based on the timeline, he initially fled to the natural reserve area, but it seems he couldn't survive there. After a while, he made his way into the residential area and was apprehended."
"他本来是应该在国营农场服务的,但是他逃跑了," 李皓珺看着这个人的资料说,"从时间上看,他开始是逃跑到了自然自由区,但是看起来似乎他没有能力在那里生存,过了一段时间又跑进了居民区,然后被抓了."
"Hmm, should we reject his application?" Tan Wenjing asked.
"嗯,那我们拒绝他的申请吗?" 覃文静问,
Li Haojun smiled at her without speaking, then pulled a coin from his pocket.
李皓珺微笑着看着她,没说话,从兜里掏出一枚硬币,
I won't force your free will—this time, let God decide.
"我不强迫你的自由意志,这次让上帝来决定,"
He fiddled with the coin to show Qin Wenjing. The gold coin bore Benjamin Franklin's portrait on the front, while the back featured the Liberty Bell and a line of small text: "A republic, if you can keep it."
说着他摆弄这枚硬币给覃文静看,金色的硬币,正面头像是本杰明·富兰克林,背面是自由钟和一行小字,"A republic, if you can keep it."
"You toss this coin," Li Haojun said, handing it to Qin Wenjing.
"你来掷这个硬币,"说着李皓珺递给了覃文静,
When Qin Wenjing reached out to take it, Li Haojun casually grabbed her hand and said with a grin,
当覃文静伸手接的时候,李皓珺顺手抓住了她的手,笑嘻嘻地说,
"Let me feel God's finger," she said, tilting her head back and rolling her eyes upward as if blind, while groping her hand and stammering in a feigned northwestern Chinese dialect:
"让我摸摸上帝的手指,"然后扬着头,翻着眼睛向上看,假装盲人的样子,一边摸她的手,一边颤颤巍巍地模仿中国西北方言说,
Holy cow, so God is a woman.
"额地个妮儿,原来上帝是女人."
Qin Wenjing beamed with delight, unable to resist playfully shaking her shoulders and arms as she tugged twice at Li Haojun's hand holding hers.
覃文静笑得很开心,忍不住撒娇地晃着肩膀,摇着胳膊,扯了两下李皓珺拉着她的手.
Just then, a message from Malaya popped up on Li Haojun's screen. He glanced at the screen, then looked at Qin Wenjing, and gave a wry smile.
正在这时,李皓珺的屏幕上弹出玛莱雅发来的消息,他看了一眼屏幕,又看了一眼覃文静,呵呵苦笑道,
"What a buzzkill."
"煞风景,"
Qin Wenjing seemed unfazed. She tugged Li Haojun's arm, let out a surprised "Huh?" and leaned in to get a better look at the commotion.
覃文静似乎并不在意,扯了一下李皓珺的手,咦的一声,探身过来看热闹,
Hello Ethan, tomorrow you need to go to Ellenburg. I will arrive to assist with your itinerary, and Kesiya will also accompany us to familiarize herself with the local factory. Please choose: if you depart early tomorrow morning, we will arrive tonight; or if you depart tomorrow afternoon, we will arrive tomorrow morning. Malaya.
"你好伊森,明天你需要去往,埃伦斯堡,我将会到达协助你的行程,凯西娅也一同前往熟悉当地工厂,请选择如果你明早前往,我们就今晚到达,或者你明天下午,我们就明天上午到达,玛莱雅."
Li Haojun immediately chose the latter option upon learning they'd be traveling from Boise, to avoid them facing a rushed schedule or having to drive through the night. Then news from Malaya arrived again.
李皓珺一想到她们要从博伊西那边过来,就直接选择了后者,免得她们路上时间太紧迫或者凌晨赶路.然后玛莱雅的消息又来了,
Please choose whether we should go directly to the factory for you to meet us, or pick you up at your home and then proceed to the factory.
"请选择我们直接到达工厂你来会合,还是到达你家接你然后到达工厂?"
Li Haojun was just about to reply when Malaya added,
李皓珺刚想回复,玛莱雅又补充解释道,
Oh, it's not that we don't want to pick you up. We just want to make sure your schedule is arranged properly, mainly because we don't want to disturb you and your wife's rest. That's why we asked for your opinion.
"哎呀,不是我们不去接你,安排好你的行程,主要是怕打扰你和夫人休息,所以才询问你的意见."
Li Haojun turned his head and saw Tan Wenjing staring right at him.
李皓珺见此,扭头一看,覃文静正盯着自己呢,
"When did you tell anyone I'm your wife?" she asked curiously.
"你什么时候跟人家说我是你夫人了?"她好奇地问,
"Hey, no way! I wasn't making things up—it's just that this little girl is too mischievous," Li Haojun explained.
"嗨,哪有的事,我才没乱说,分明是这小丫头太调皮," 李皓珺解释道,
I was actually going to suggest they rent a place near us, otherwise this constant back-and-forth will be exhausting. They're already far enough away from me as it is. But now I guess I'll just drop it. I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it.
"本来我还想建议她们到我们这附近租房,不然以后真的都这么折腾,她们离我也够远的,现在看来还是算了吧.我怕你受不了."
Upon hearing this, Qin Wenjing pouted her little mouth.
听了这话,覃文静一撅小嘴儿,
"Hmph, what's it got to do with me?"
"哼,关我什么事."
"Fine, fine, fine. I just can't stand her messing with us anymore, okay?"
"好好好,是我受不了她搅扰我们行了吧."
After hearing Li Haojun coax her like that, Qin Wenjing leaned in again.
听李皓珺这么哄她,覃文静才又凑过来,
"Oh my, I see she's listed some pretty long-haul flight routes between different companies. How come they live so far apart?"
"哎呀,我看她列的不同公司飞行路线是够远的,怎么她们住那么远."
Li Haojun then replied to Malaya that she'd chosen the former option herself, before turning to Tan Wenjing and saying,
随即李皓珺回了玛莱雅自己选前者,然后对覃文静说,
It's already noon. We'll have lunch soon, and we won't be working this afternoon. Let's all go sunbathe in the backyard.
"这也中午了,一会儿吃午饭,今天下午我们不工作了,一起后院晒太阳."
"Why?" Tan Wenjing asked in surprise.
"为什么啊?"覃文静惊讶地问,
Since I owe you for tomorrow afternoon, I'll make it up to you today instead.
"因为明天下午我欠你的,我要今天提前给你补上."
"You don't have to exaggerate like that."
"不用这么夸张吧,"
Li Haojun gently rose, cradling Qin Wenjing's head in his arms. He lowered his face to breathe in the scent of her hair and whispered softly,
李皓珺轻轻起身,把覃文静的头搂在怀里,低头呼吸着她秀发的气息,轻轻说,
"You have no idea how much I miss you when you're not by my side."
"你不知道,你不在我身边的时候,我有多么的想你."
Qin Wenjing tilted her head in his embrace, wanting to say, "Then I'll go too," but the words stayed unspoken. Instead, she simply savored the warmth of his presence in that moment.
覃文静在他怀里扬了扬头,想说,那我也去,但没有说出口,只好静静享受此刻他的温度.