The road trip Li Haojun and Kesiya took around Montana, along with the purchasing orders, lasted a little over ten days. By the time they returned to the office, it was already the height of summer.
李皓珺和凯西娅在蒙大拿州公路自驾跑了一圈的公路旅行和采购订单,前后差不多十来天,再回到办公室里已经是盛夏季节.
Because the latitude along the Seattle–Moses Lake–Kalispell line is relatively high, the weather in mid-June still hadn't reached scorching levels. Li Haojun didn't turn on the air conditioning in the office; the light sweating, he believed, was the metabolism that summer ought to bring, capable of expelling the cold and toxins accumulated over winter. He also thought that low air-conditioning temperatures were bad for women's health. Kesiya was at her workstation entering the sales contracts, crop varieties, and quantities from the past few days—data she had originally wanted to record day by day during the trip, but Li Haojun hadn't let her.
由于西雅图,摩西莱克,卡利斯佩尔这一线纬度比较高,六月中旬的天气依然没有达到酷热的程度,李皓珺在办公室里没有开空调,微微的出汗他认为是夏季应有的新陈代谢,可以排除冬季淤积的寒气和毒素.并且他认为空调的低温对于女性健康不利,凯西娅正在她的工位上输入着近些天的购销合同,作物品种数量等数据,本来她想要在旅途中每天随时做完的,李皓珺没让.
The newly built factory was far more modern than the previous ones in Boise and Ellensburg. The workshop featured a long-span white curved structure, like pure white lotus petals layered and clasped together on the ground, while the office building on the site adopted a polished aluminum-colored metal frame with large, curved, color-changing glass. The overall look was clean, elegant, and brimming with a sense of technology; it seemed the company intended to make this factory a model for the industry.
新建设的工厂比过去博伊西和埃伦斯堡的都新潮,厂房是大跨度的白色曲面结构,仿佛纯洁的白莲花花瓣层叠扣在地面上形成的结构,而厂区办公室建筑则采用金属抛光铝色框架,大弧面可变色玻璃,整体简洁美观,科技感十足,看来公司是要把这个工厂打造成产业典范.
Gazing out the window at the deep summer sky with its blue and white clouds, the breeze from the ventilation window carrying the freshness of sun-scorched grass and trees, with a beautiful woman by his side—days like these truly made him feel even gods could not compare.
眼望窗外的盛夏蓝天白云,换气窗清风送进烈日里草木散发的清新,身边佳人相伴,这样的日子真是神仙不如啊.
"Ding-dong," a message notification popped up on Li Haojun's computer screen. He opened it and found that the new factory's auxiliary artificial intelligence had provided fresh suggestions for improving execution effectiveness.
"叮咚,"李皓珺的电脑屏幕上弹出了消息通知.他打开一看,原来是新工厂的辅助人工智能提供了新的执行效果改进建议.
First, it suggested that Li Haojun use brainwave interaction equipment to connect to Kalispell's central management system. That way, he could use his consciousness to direct the company's locally hired subordinates to carry out the work he needed done, which would boost execution efficiency.
首先是建议李皓珺使用脑波交互设备接入卡利斯佩尔的中枢管理系统.这样他就可以通过意识操控公司雇佣的来自当地居民的下属去执行他需要完成的工作,可以提高执行效率.
Li Haojun pondered it. Since it involved non-invasive brainwave interaction equipment, he was not as worried about security or the risk of being manipulated, though he remained vigilant and unwilling to use it. Yet it struck him as a good conversation topic, so he forwarded the suggestion to Kesiya to ask her opinion, but he approached it from a different angle.
李皓珺想了想,这是使用非侵入式的脑波交互设备,自己不那么介意安全与被操控的风险了,不过他依然很警惕不愿意使用.但这倒是个好的话题,于是他把这个建议转发给了凯西娅,征求她的看法,但是换了一个角度去问,
"Kesiya, if I integrated my consciousness into the network, would others be able to perceive the experiences I share with you?"
"凯西娅,如果我把我的意识集成到了网络中,那是不是我和你的经历也会被别人感知到?"
Kesiya turned her head, her single high ponytail swinging with the motion, her gaze and smile as she looked back both strikingly vivid.
凯西娅回过头,单高马尾辫也随之摆动,回眸的眼神和笑容都是那么的灵动,
"That's certainly possible," Kesiya answered with a smile.
"那倒是有可能哦,"凯西娅笑着回答,
"Then if I did this to improve work efficiency, would you mind?"
"那要是为了提高工作效率,我这么做你介意吗?"
"Maybe I could help train you on how to control what parts of your consciousness you share and what you keep to yourself."
"也许我可以帮你训练怎么操控自己的意识分享什么和部分想什么,"
Surprised by that answer, Li Haojun pressed further.
没想到她是这样的回答,于是李皓珺又追问,
"Ah? Is it that difficult? What if I can't learn? I feel like I'm a completely transparent person, never able to hide my thoughts and emotions. You can sense that, right?"
"啊?那么难啊,要是我学不会呢?我觉得我就像透明人一样,从来没办法隐藏自己的想法和情绪,你能感到的,是吧,"
"Yes, you really are that kind of person," Kesiya replied, beaming.
"是的,你确实是那样的人,"凯西娅笑眯眯地回答,
"Then if I accidentally leak something to others, can you forgive me?"
"那要是我不小心泄露了给其他人,你能原谅我吗?"
"If it's for your work, I'd have no choice."
"如果是你工作需要,我也没办法啊."
"Oh, I've got a great idea. I'll only hire female employees, so no one can take advantage of you."
"唉,我有个好方法,就是我只雇佣女员工,就没人能占你的便宜了."
"Fine, then let me introduce someone to you." Kesiya stood up with a smile.
"好啊,那我给你介绍一个人吧."凯西娅笑着站起来了,
"It's almost lunchtime. I'll go order the food, set up the dining room, and arrange for a female employee to meet you." With that, she walked out of the office.
"午餐时间也快到了,我去订餐,布置一下餐厅,然后给你约一个女员工来."说着走出了这层办公室.
Li Haojun froze. At first he thought she was joking with him, expecting her to say she would be jealous and thus satisfy a bit of his vanity, after which he would tell her he wouldn't do it for her sake. Instead, she actually went to order food and arrange the dining room. Did she truly have a female friend to introduce to him? Wouldn't she be jealous for him?
李皓珺愣住了,开始以为她在和自己开玩笑,本想听她说她会吃醋,满足一下自己的虚荣心,然后告诉她为了她自己不会那么做.结果她真的去订餐布置餐厅了,难道她真的有女性朋友要介绍给自己吗?她不会为了自己吃醋吗?
Half his mind had already drifted away. With Kesiya no longer there to chat with him, he had no choice but to continue reviewing the system's suggestions. In addition to real-time consciousness-linked collaboration, there was another method: consciousness transcription. It involved recording the brainwaves of his own work process, then analyzing and transmitting them to other executors. That was not a bad method and could serve as an alternative.
心思已经飞走了一半,没有凯西娅在这里陪聊了,只好再继续查看系统建议内容.除了实时的意识联网协作,还有一种方法是意识转录.把自己工作过程的脑电波录制下来,然后经过解析传达给其他执行者.这倒是一个不错的方法,可以用作备选.
The simplest method, though, was to bring along an employee to observe and learn the entire process firsthand. Wasn't that just an apprentice? He couldn't help finding it laughable, but upon closer examination, he realized this apprentice was different from the ordinary kind—the apprentice would be brain-linked, meaning that a single person's observation could allow many to learn simultaneously.
还有最简单的一种就是带着一个员工,随行观摩学习整个过程.这不就是学徒吗?不由觉得可笑,但是仔细查看过程,他意识到了,这个学徒与普通的不同,他是大脑联网的,这意味着他一个人观摩可以等于许多人都可以同时学会.
"Lunch is ready."
"午餐好了,"
Kesiya sent a message. Li Haojun, mulling over his own ideas and how they might be applied, had already forgotten Kesiya's earlier proposal about a newcomer.
凯西娅发来了消息,李皓珺琢磨着自己的设想,看看能够怎么应用,已经忘了刚才凯西娅的新人提议.
Walking into the dining room, he saw Kesiya and another young woman already seated across the table. Was she really about to introduce a new employee to him?
走进餐厅,发现餐桌对面凯西娅和另一个女生已经就座了,真的要给自己介绍新员工吗?
Seeing Li Haojun enter, both of them rose to their feet at the same time. The new girl had her hair in two braids draped over her chest, wore light makeup—mauve lipstick, a pale orange blush, crimson eye shadow—and was dressed in a pale pink T-shirt printed with newspapers from the 1950s and 60s, paired with light blue skinny jeans.
见李皓珺到来,两人同时起身站了起来,那个新女生梳了双麻花辫放在了胸前,化了淡妆,耦合色唇膏,淡橙色的腮红,绯红色眼影,上身粉底色文化T恤,印着上世纪五六十年代的报纸,下身淡蓝色紧身牛仔裤.
"You're… Malaya." Li Haojun could hardly recognize her. After not seeing her for over half a year, she seemed to have grown taller, and her face had changed slightly. Most importantly, the makeup she wore today had shed much of the girlishness of those early days.
"你是,玛莱雅,"李皓珺有些不敢相认,过了大半年没见,她似乎又长高了,脸型也有了一些变化,最重要的,她今天的妆容褪去了很多当年的稚气.
The two of them just smiled without speaking, radiating that uniquely feminine, understated charm. Li Haojun hurried around the table, wanting to give Malaya a hug, but standing before her, after such a long time apart, he felt a sense of distance. And this young girl seemed to have grown into more of a woman; he wasn't sure if he could still embrace her as freely as he used to.
两人都笑着不说话,那种女性特有的含蓄娇媚.李皓珺急忙绕过餐桌,想要给玛莱雅一个拥抱,可是站到他面前,好久未见,似乎感觉生疏了,而那个小姑娘似乎又长大更有女人味儿了,自己不知道是不是应该还像以前那样无所顾忌地拥抱她.
Malaya seemed to read his mind. She took the initiative, wrapping both arms around his neck and pressing her cheek against his nape, giving him a hug.
玛莱雅似乎猜出了他的心思,主动双手搂着他的脖子把脸贴在了他的脖颈,给了他一个拥抱.
Li Haojun hastily put his arms around her waist and gently patted her back, but his eyes darted toward Kesiya off to the side, a little embarrassed. Kesiya simply smiled and said nothing.
李皓珺急忙搂住她的腰,轻轻拍拍她的背,眼神却望向一边的凯西娅,有些尴尬,凯西娅一笑什么也没说.
The reunion after such a long separation, and with a beautiful woman no less, filled Li Haojun with excitement. As they sat down and started eating, he couldn't help asking Malaya about her experiences over all this time.
久别重逢,还是红粉佳人,让李皓珺兴奋不已,几人落座开餐,便忍不住地问玛莱雅这么久以来的经历.
"Hey, why didn't I get any company notification about your return today?" Gazing at Malaya's face, Li Haojun suddenly thought of this puzzle. And what kept him from tearing his gaze away might not have been just the question in his heart, but more likely her allure. The time apart was certainly a factor, but today Malaya's changed looks and figure, especially her makeup and aura, made it clear that she had reached her blooming age and was no longer that little bud waiting to open.
"哎,为什么你今天归来,我这里没有收到公司通知?"望着玛莱雅的面容,李皓珺突然想到这个疑惑.而让他无法移开自己目光的,可能不只是心中的疑惑,似乎更多是魅惑.固然分别的时间是一个因素,但是今天玛莱雅相貌身材变化,尤其是妆容和气质,俨然到了绽放的年纪,再也不是那个含苞待放的小姑娘了.
"She's no longer part of our company," Kesiya answered on her behalf.
"她现在不属于我们公司了,"凯西娅在替她回答了,
Malaya just looked at Li Haojun with a smile and still said nothing.
玛莱雅只是微笑看着李皓珺,依然没有说什么,
"She's with the field team now. Not in the same system as us." Kesiya continued to explain for her.
"她现在是外勤组了,和我们不是一个系统了."凯西娅继续替她解释,
"Ah?" Li Haojun was somewhat startled. He never imagined that this delicate, well-behaved girl would choose such a career path.
"啊?"李皓珺有些吃惊,没想到那个纤弱乖巧的小姑娘会选择这样一条职业发展路径,
"Doing fieldwork—is it safe?" Li Haojun's eyes widened in surprise as he gazed at Malaya with concern.
"你做外勤工作,安全吗?"李皓珺瞪大吃惊的眼睛,关切地望着玛莱雅问,
"Don't worry. I'm just a junior field operative, only responsible for arranging your daily schedule," Malaya finally spoke.
"别担心,我只是初级外勤人员,只负责你的日常行程安排."玛莱雅终于开口说话了,
Only then did Li Haojun feel somewhat relieved.
李皓珺这才些许放下心来,
"Okay," he said, almost subconsciously, his eyes still fixed on Malaya's face, trying to find the trace of memory that the girl from his recollections had once left in his heart.
"好,"似乎是下意识地说出口,眼睛还盯在玛莱雅的脸上,试图找到他记忆中那个小姑娘曾经留在自己心中的那一丝回忆.
Malaya, however, silently met his gaze, blinked, then looked at the sister beside her and let out a soft laugh.
玛莱雅却不声不响地对视着他的眼光,眨了眨眼,然后看着身边的姐姐,呵呵笑出了声.
(Translated by DeepSeek)