Is there truly a second chance in life? As Lin Yuhui stepped off the high-speed train, he spotted a woman waiting on the platform to greet someone. Though he had already passed her by, curiosity tugged at him to glance back. Who could possibly be waiting to be picked up?
人生中真的有第二次机会吗?就在林语晖走出高铁车门的时候,他看到有一位女士正站在站台上接站,虽然已经从她身边走过了,可是好奇心还是拉着他回头看了一眼,是谁还需要接站呢?
When Lin Yuhui reached the escalator entrance, he finally saw it—it was his mother coming to pick up the girl who had fallen asleep on the bus. Sigh, she really wasn't mature enough yet. As he rode the escalator downstairs, her fair face and those clear, large eyes still lingered faintly in his mind.
当林语晖已经站到了扶梯口,他终于看到了,原来是妈妈来接那个车上睡着了的女生,唉,确实还不够成熟.一边乘坐扶梯下楼,她那白皙的脸旁,那双清澈的大眼睛,还依稀萦绕在脑海.
The station passageway was dimly lit. Lin Yuhui consulted the map she had prepared in advance, double-checking the direction to confirm how to get to the bus stop once she exited. After all, it was nearly four in the afternoon, and time was pressing.
车站通道里照明不太好,林语晖一边看着事先准备的地图,核实着方向,以便确认出门之后怎么走去坐公交,毕竟已经马上下午四点了,时间紧迫.
The long corridor led directly to the station exit. Thankfully, the sunlight outside still looked bright. Right beside the exit, two tables and chairs were set up, with security personnel intercepting people to scan their QR codes. Lin Yuhui pretended not to notice—perhaps it was just random checks—and kept walking straight ahead, eyes fixed forward.
长长的通道前面就是车站出口,还好外面的阳光看起来依然很亮,就在出口旁边放着两张桌椅,有保安在拦截人员扫码.林语晖装作没注意,也许是抽检呢,便目视前方一直往前走.
"Hey, passengers, please scan the QR code?"
"唉,旅客请扫码?"
I couldn't get away with it, so helplessly I pretended not to know, stopped, turned around, and asked,
"What size?"
没混过去,很无奈,假装不知道停下转身问,
"什么码?"
Use Alipay to scan your travel code.
"用支付宝,扫行程码."
"I don't have Alipay. Just take my temperature."
"我没有支付宝,测体温吧,"
The security guard took my temperature—no issues—then added,
"You have a phone, right? Let me set up an Alipay account for you."
保安测了体温,没问题,接着又说,
"电话有吧,给你申请一个支付宝,"
Lin Yuhui felt helpless too. He didn't have a fever and was in a hurry, but the other person was meticulous and attentive. He couldn't keep saying he didn't have a phone, so he said,
"I don't have internet."
林语晖也很无奈,自己不发烧,要赶时间,对方却是一丝不苟服务到位,自己不能再说没有电话了,便说,
"我没有网,"
"Ah, no worries. There's Wi-Fi here. Come on, let me set it up for you."
"唉没关系,这有wifi,来来来,我给你弄,"
Lin Yuhui had no choice but to hand over his phone and ID, thinking to himself, "This Philips X586 phone of mine only has 2GB of RAM—let's see what you can do with that."
林语晖无可奈何,把手机和身份证递了过去,心想我这个飞利浦X586的手机,只有2G运行内存,看你怎么弄.
At that moment, the mother and daughter also arrived at this spot, handling the same business at the adjacent table. The young woman's eyes once again drifted over in their direction. Lin Yuhui met her gaze for a brief moment, wanting to say something to her, but remained silent. Instead, a faint smile touched his lips as he offered her a silent greeting.
这时那对母女也到了这里,正在旁边的桌子办理同样业务,那位姑娘的眼睛再次望向了这边,林语晖与她对视片刻,想要对她说点什么,但是没有开口,只有嘴角微微的笑意向她致意.
At that moment, the persistent security guard was indeed stumped by Lin Yuhui's phone. But he didn't give up. Turning to the girl's mother, he said,
"Use your phone to register an Alipay account for him. Sigh, his phone just won't work."
这时那个执着的保安果然被林语晖的手机难住了,但是他并没有气馁,转向那位姑娘的母亲,
"用你的手机,给他注册个支付宝,唉,他的手机不行."
She agreed. Lin Yuhui watched her as she handed the phone to the security guard without so much as a glance in his direction. His future mother-in-law seemed utterly disinterested in him. Who would willingly choose to have their daughter live with a penniless old man?
对方同意了,林语晖注视着她,只是把手机递给了保安,并没有看自己一眼,未来的丈母娘似乎对自己并没有任何兴趣,谁会优先考虑让女儿跟一个穷老男人生活呢?
The security guard finally fulfilled his mission and successfully applied for an Alipay account for Lin Yuhui. But what purpose could the phone number stored in someone else's phone possibly serve? None. Forget it. Lin Yuhui never believed he'd be the lucky one—life had already taught him to abandon such illusions.
After expressing his gratitude, he took one last look at the girl before turning and striding away.
那位保安大哥终于不负使命重托,成功给林语晖也申请了一个支付宝,可是存在人家手机里的手机号还会有什么意义吗?不会,忘了它吧,林语晖从来都不认为自己会是那个幸运的,因为生活已经教会了他摒弃那种幻想.
道过谢,今生最后再望一眼那位姑娘,林语晖转身大步离开.
Stepping out of the station building, Lin Yuhui realized that the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region, being at a lower latitude than Northeast China, seemed to enjoy longer daylight hours this season. Even at this hour, sunlight filtering through the leaves still felt abundant. Following the path through the greenery, he found the bus stop ahead—the terminal point. After confirming the route, Lin Yuhui boarded the bus.
走出车站建筑林语晖才发现,似乎江浙一带因为比东北纬度更低,这个季节的日照时间似乎会更长,因为看起来这个时间透过树叶的光照依然很充足.穿过绿植带的小路,前面果然是公交站,始发站点.经过确认,林语晖坐上了车.
Before long, the minibus pulled away. The diesel-powered vehicle moved at a brisk pace, and despite the lack of air conditioning, it didn't feel hot inside. The only thing that bothered Lin Yuhui was the suffocating sensation of wearing an N95 mask the entire journey. Now that they were alone in the vehicle with such good air circulation, he could finally pull down his mask and breathe freely.
没等片刻,车就开动了,中巴柴油车,车速够快,没有开空调也不热,只是这一路的N95口罩着实让林语晖感到憋闷,现在车上没别人,空气又流通这么好,终于可以拉下口罩直接呼吸了.
The bus journey stretched from the northern outskirts of Changxing County, traversing the county seat all the way to the southern suburbs. At first, the streets were wide and somewhat desolate, but gradually, shopping malls, hospitals, schools, and passersby came into view. The streets gradually grew more bustling, and Lin Yuhui quickly realized this was a prosperous area. Before even reaching the halfway point, he spotted a Porsche 718, a blue Ferrari 599, and an AMG convertible.
公交车要从长兴县北郊一直穿过县城到南郊,开始还是街路宽敞有些荒凉,逐步开始看到有商场,医院,学校,往来的行人.慢慢街上也变得繁华起来,林语晖很快就意识到了这是个富庶的地方,因为没过半的这段路他就看到了一辆保时捷718,一辆蓝色法拉利599,一辆AMG敞篷车.
After a little over an hour, Lin Yuhui finally rode from one bus terminal to another. Stepping out of the station building onto the roadside, he called the company's HR representative, Safir, as promised, sending her his location and a photo of himself.
经过一个小时多一点,林语晖终于从一个公交终点站坐到了另一个公交终点站,走出车站建筑站到路边,他如约给公司Hr萨菲尔拨打了电话,发送了自己的位置和形象照片.
Before long, a black Audi A4 pulled up in front of him.
"Lin Yuhui, is that you?"
没多久一辆黑色奥迪A4停在了他的面前,
"林语晖是吗?"
Yes, hello, nice to meet you. I might need to put my luggage in the trunk.
"是的,你好,幸会,可能我需要把行李放到后备箱,"
"Alright, that's fine."
"好的,可以,"
Lin Yuhui stowed his luggage, and Safir pulled open the rear door for him, but the backseat was piled high with belongings.
"Oh dear, the backseat is completely full," she muttered to herself.
林语晖放好行李,萨菲尔给他拉开了车后门,但是后座上放满了东西,
"哎呀,后座都是东西,"她自言自语地说,
"Then I'll just have to sit in the front row,"
"那我就只能坐前排了,"
"Hmm,"
"嗯,"
Safir is a young woman, a proper Chinese girl. Since the company Lin Yuhui was about to join was a foreign enterprise with a foreign boss, all employees had their own English names. Originally, Lin Yuhui hadn't planned to sit in the front seat with the young woman driving, but reality left him no choice.
萨菲尔是一位年轻女性,正经中国女孩,因为林语晖将要就职的这家公司是外资企业,老板是外国人,所以员工都有自己的英文名字.本来坐年轻女性的车林语晖也没想和人家一起坐前排,但是现实是没办法.
"I'll show you the way to the company first, then take you to your accommodation. That way, you can walk to the company on your own tomorrow morning to report for duty," Safir said.
"我先带你去看一下,到公司怎么走,然后再带你去住处,这样明早你就可以自己步行到公司报到了,"萨菲尔说,
"Okay,"
"好的,"
It was already past quitting time, and he felt a bit awkward asking her for a ride. Soon, Lin Yuhui found a topic to flatter the young lady.
"I think you look a bit like a star from the past,"
其实现在已经是下班时间了,麻烦人家接自己有些过意不去,很快林语晖找到了奉承年轻女士的话题,
"我发现你看起来有些像过去一个明星,"
"Is that so?"
"是吗?"
"Well, there was once a Hong Kong and Taiwanese star named Joey Wong,"
"嗯,过去有一个港台明星叫王祖贤,"
"Oh,"
"哦,"
"You do bear a striking resemblance to her, especially from that 45-degree angle of your profile."
"你的相貌确实像她,尤其是侧脸45度这个视角,"
"Ha ha,"
"哈哈,"
The residence was a room in a private home with its own bathroom. In this neighborhood, the houses were all three-to-five-story self-built dwellings, and Lin Yuhui's room was on the fifth floor. By the time he was alone and settled, it was nearly six o'clock. As dusk fell over this somewhat remote neighborhood, heading out to find a restaurant for dinner seemed impractical. Yet Lin Yuhui always managed to take care of himself. He pulled out the hamburger he'd bought at lunchtime—yes, he'd bought two portions earlier that day—to serve as his supper.
住所是一个民宅的房间,有浴室卫生间,这一带的民居都是三到五层的自建民宅,林语晖居住的这个房间在五楼.当只剩下一个人,安静下来,已经快六点了,天色渐暗,这个地方有些偏僻,出去找饭店吃晚饭就不太现实了,但是林语晖总能把自己安排妥当,他拿出了中午买的汉堡,是的,中午他买了双份的,作为晚餐.
Gazing out the window from the fifth floor as the evening glow faded, I savored my meal. After a day of constant hustle, I could finally relax my frayed nerves—no more rushing against the clock.
一边从五楼望着窗外渐渐隐没的晚霞,一边享受食物,经过了这一天的奔波,现在终于可以放松下来紧绷的神经了,再也不用匆忙地赶时间了.
After dinner, there's still work to be done. As the saying goes, "The road is long and the journey hard." Now it's time to prepare a place to sleep.
吃过晚饭还有接下来的任务,俗话说,出门万事难,现在需要把睡觉的窝准备好.Safir prepared the quilt, while Lin Yuhui brought his own mattress pad. After making the bed, he still needed to hang the mosquito net he'd brought—he knew full well how vicious the mosquitoes were around here. The mosquito net had strings tied at each corner for hanging, but there were no hooks. Lin Yuhui had no choice but to drape one side of the net over the headboard, tie one end to the wardrobe, and prop up the remaining corner with a basin and his backpack.
萨菲尔准备了被子,林语晖自己带了褥子,铺好床还要把带来的蚊帐挂好,他很清楚这边蚊子的厉害.蚊帐已经在四角绑好了悬挂的线绳,但是并没有挂点,林语晖只好把蚊帐一侧盖在了床头靠板,一端拴在了衣柜上,还剩一个角,无处可绑,林语晖用脸盆和背包,把那个角撑了起来.
The bed was made, though he lay sideways across the double mattress—no complaints there. Then came the most crucial step: setting up his laptop on the desk, his lifeline to the world.
被窝布置好了,虽然是在双人床头横向躺着的,但也没有更多要求了.然后最重要的,在书桌上架好笔记本电脑,那是他的信息来源.