Li Haojun disliked the daily work schedule at Aquatic Technology Innovation Company, which required him to be on-site every day. His previous job offered far less freedom; he could often spend time at home with Qin Wenjing then, but this job required daily commutes.
He reluctantly arrived at the office again today. The gloomy morning already dampened his spirits. Just as his brain was slacking off and his thoughts were blank, a knock came at the door, and Sienna entered.
"Ethan, good morning,"
"Good morning," seeing Sienna's cheerful face, Li Haojun's mood improved considerably.
"We need to take a long business trip to maintain client relationships, to the aquariums in New York and Boston. When would you like to depart, and what kind of transportation would you like to use?"
"We? Me and you?"
"Yes, I need to prepare the materials, itinerary, and accommodation for you."
"Oh, thank you very much. What kind of transportation do you prefer? You choose, since you need to arrange everything." Li Haojun's blank mind seemed to haven't recovered yet; he didn't want to fall back into memories of the beautiful woman who wasn't by his side. “So, we’ll take a flight to New York in an hour, then check into a hotel, meet with clients in New York the next morning, then go to Boston in the afternoon to meet with clients again, then check into a hotel, and return here on the third day, okay?”
“Okay, that’s settled then, thank you, I’ll get ready.” Sienna had booked a six-seat executive jet, unmanned, a departure from the traditional regional flights that were like buses. In the comfortable cabin, Li Haojun skimmed through the client relationship descriptions and his company’s product catalog that Sienna had prepared for him. He wasn’t interested in them, nor did he have any interest in doing them well, due to emotional resistance.
What intrigued Li Haojun was whether Sienna would fall asleep immediately in the evening. He really had to keep an eye on her to prevent her from falling or having any accidents. Looking at Sienna, the same flight route, the same baby face, Li Haojun couldn’t help but think of Mariah. He wondered what that little fairy was doing now, and whether she was living a happy life.
"Are you thinking about someone?" Sienna suddenly asked.
Li Haojun was a little surprised, staring into Sienna's eyes as she sat opposite him. After a while, he remembered to ask,
"Can you sense what I'm thinking?" Only after saying this did Li Haojun realize he had brought up his experience with Kacia.
"Yes, otherwise, how could I be your assistant?"
"Haha, wouldn't I have no privacy in front of you?"
"Why do you need privacy?" Sienna asked, seemingly puzzled.
"I'm afraid my thoughts might offend you. Actually, I'm an old man, I don't need any privacy, haha," Li Haojun said with a self-deprecating laugh, then asked curiously,
"Were you born with this ability?"
"No, because of a congenital hearing problem, I need a chip to assist in processing auditory signals, which incidentally added brainwave sensing capabilities." Hearing this, Li Haojun was surprised. He hadn't expected such a cute girl to have such a deficiency, and couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. "Oh, is that so? I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry," she hurriedly said.
"It's alright, don't worry about it," Sienna said with a smile. Although her smile wasn't large, it was light and sweet. However, Li Haojun didn't notice it and continued to probe the question that was on his mind.
"So, when I took you home, was it because of this chip? You fell asleep as soon as you got home, and I couldn't wake you up no matter what I did. But when I carried you to my car to take you to the hospital, you woke up again."
"Really? I don't remember. It shouldn't be, right? Oh, I remember the scene in your car." This time, Li Haojun truly believed what Sienna said. It seemed that she didn't remember what happened at her home. Although she believed Sienna, Li Haojun was also analyzing whether Sienna might have misunderstood the chip's function, or whether it was the chip's effect that she herself didn't understand or realize. Li Haojun was always very wary of human applications like chips with unknown internal functions. "May I ask who you were thinking about just now?"
While lost in thought, Sienna, sitting opposite Li Haojun, leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands and elbows on the table between the two seats, facing him directly.
"Of course," Li Haojun said with a smile.
"She was my secretary at my previous company, with similar responsibilities to yours. We flew this route together last year."
"Oh, I see," Sienna said, leaning back in her seat.
This kind of face-to-face conversation wasn't Li Haojun's forte; staring into the other person's eyes made him feel a little nervous. He glanced out the window occasionally to adjust his pace.
He hadn't flown this type of aircraft before. It was a single-engine jet with a normal fuselage transitioning to a slender tail, an inner duct engine at the rear, a T-tail, and bidirectional rotating outer ducts that enveloped the rear fuselage. It used biomass aviation fuel, and due to the engine's weight, the main wings were positioned relatively far back, giving it a rather aggressive appearance.
So from takeoff to cruising altitude, Li Haojun kept a close eye on its flight performance; it seemed these mechanical toys were always a favorite among big boys. Even after reaching cruising altitude, the occasional turbulence and continuous engine noise still held his attention, and he would sometimes curiously peer through the porthole to observe the wings' dynamic movement in the airflow.
When his gaze returned to the cabin, Li Haojun noticed Sienna was still watching him. Not wanting to ignore her, he smiled at her.
"Who is the person you're thinking about more?" Sienna asked again.
Li Haojun had been thinking about Maria's sister from time to time, recalling their conversations about Maria's studies, the messages Kacia had sent him these past few days, and some happy moments he shared with Kacia.
Li Haojun slapped his forehead, looking ashamed, and smiled, saying,
"Sorry, my thoughts just... I can't control them. When I'm bored, they start to wander off. She's my intern," he answered, while simultaneously wondering whether he should explain his close relationship with the intern to Sienna. He wasn't sure if she could clearly sense the memories flashing through his mind. He then realized he absolutely shouldn't think about the jokes he and Qin Wenjing had made about Sienna a couple of days ago, or Sienna might find out. But the more he tried to avoid thinking about it, the more he remembered. Li Haojun didn't know how to stop this chain reaction, so he could only shake his head, looking at Sienna with slight embarrassment. Fortunately, she smiled slightly and didn't say anything more.
During the in-flight lunch, Li Haojun recalled his previous in-flight dinner with Qin Wenjing. He glanced at Sienna across from him, their eyes meeting.
"Who is she? Ethan, you seem like a man of few words, but you like to reminisce," Sienna seemed still very curious.
"She's my partner. Sienna seems like someone who's usually quiet, but today she's very talkative."
"Oh, yes, because there's no one else around, isn't this perfect for a private conversation?"
"Oh," Li Haojun replied, wondering if she cared a lot about what others thought of her, or disliked being the center of attention. Her choice of punishment for work mistakes seemed to confirm this.
"But it seems you care more about your intern?"
"Maybe, because we've been separated recently," Li Haojun said with a wry smile.
"I don't know,"
"I think you feel more concern and longing for her, and more affection and remembrance for your partner,"
"Oh!" Li Haojun seemed to brighten up. This young woman, who knew nothing about his background, had analyzed his complex emotions and psychology so clearly.
With the engine humming after lunch, Li Haojun felt drowsy and reclined her seat on the other side to rest for a while. But Sienna was full of energy, simply gazing out the porthole alone.
The afternoon sun felt warm and comfortable on his skin. The thin, clear air at high altitudes reduced the loss of sunlight, making it feel like the afternoon sun of late spring or early summer. Lying there lazily, he felt as if he could absorb the sun's energy to nourish his body.
In a daze, he vaguely felt someone leaning against him. Li Haojun tried to open his eyes to see who it was, but he couldn't make out who it was. He didn't know if it was because of the backlighting or because she was too close. Thinking back, he realized it must be Sienna, who had been on the same plane as him.
"Don't you remember me?" Sienna asked, almost pressing her face against Li Haojun's.
That flat nose, that upturned tip, that oval face—a face that looked innocent and childlike.
Narrow shoulders, slender arms... Li Haojun tried to open his eyes wider to see her more clearly. It seemed to be blue eyes. Was it Maria? Li Haojun was secretly puzzled.
...But her movements didn't stop. When her knee touched Li Haojun's lower abdomen, Li Haojun suddenly realized that his bladder was about to burst and he needed to relieve himself.
"Kathya, Sienna, let me get up, let me get up for a moment," he said, suddenly opening his eyes. He then realized that Sienna was watching him from across the aisle.
It turned out he had fallen asleep and had a dream. Li Haojun recalled the events of the previous night, feeling his lower abdomen. His bladder was indeed full, and he definitely needed to go to the lavatory in the rear cabin. However, Sienna seemed to be able to sense the memories in his mind through brainwaves, but he had to use it now. What to do? It was a little awkward. Well, he decided to try not to look at it while using it. That was the only way.
Returning from the restroom, Li Haojun sat down opposite Sienna, still unsure what to say to ease the awkwardness. She saw Sienna place two takeout containers on the table and say,
"It's time for lunch, almost time."138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKts035nVk
Li Haojun stared at the familiar containers, completely stunned.
Didn't I just have lunch? I even took a nap. How come I'm having lunch again now?
Li Haojun hurriedly checked the time; it was morning. She reached out and touched the containers; they were real. Li Haojun's mind raced, analyzing what had happened.
Either time had reversed, and she was back to the moment before lunch—how did that happen? Did Sienna do it?
Or was everything just now an illusion, but the feeling of reality was so real? Did Sienna create an illusion in her mind?
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4pLT0JGiws
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