It was the last workday of the week, and with Sienna still in his thoughts, Li Haojun's work enthusiasm seemed to have increased considerably. No, not the enthusiasm for the aquatic products business, but the eagerness to see her again at work.
When he drove up to the company gate, he was surprised to see so many people there today, all wearing long black trench coats or long skirts. A quadcopter was parked in the distance.
There were two men and two women. The two men were burly, looking like bodyguards, and the two women were strangers.
"Ethan, good morning," a familiar voice called out to Li Haojun just as he was about to pass them.
Li Haojun stopped in his tracks, stunned. He didn't dare turn to look at the person greeting him. He knew full well that the voice was Sienna's. He had a bad feeling, and he didn't want to face it. "Ethan, good morning. I'm leaving, and I came to say goodbye this morning."
Li Haojun slowly turned his head. It was Sienna, wearing a black trench coat. The hood of her coat obscured her hair and face, allowing them to see her face face-to-face. Unexpectedly, this would be their last meeting before parting.
"What? You're leaving?" Li Haojun asked softly, unable to believe this day had arrived so soon. The last two words, "leaving," died in his throat.
Sienna seemed to sense the solemn atmosphere and turned aside to introduce herself.
"Ethan, this is my mother."
"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Li Haojun hurriedly greeted. The thought of even asking her mother to persuade Sienna to stay crossed his mind.
Turning back, looking at Sienna's face, he couldn't help but ask,
"Where are you going?"
At the moment of parting, Sienna's usual smile vanished.
"Mom, take me home." "Oh, okay," Li Haojun nodded, feeling somewhat relieved. He wanted to ask, "Will you come back?" but swallowed his words. He also wanted to ask, "Did you take the dress I gave you?" but he didn't. He just stared into Sienna's eyes, unsure what to say.
Sienna forced a smile from her fair face and said, "Ethan, I'm leaving. Take care."
"Okay, you too. Take care on your journey." Li Haojun seemed frozen, his lips moving only slightly as he uttered those words. He didn't know how to say goodbye. He didn't even know what to do next. Should he give her a hug? A kiss? But who was he to her?
The two stood there for a long moment, Sienna making no further movement. She simply said, "Goodbye," and turned to leave.
Li Haojun watched them leave, boarded the flying car, and watched Sienna's figure through the window as she ascended into the sky, turned away, and flew further and further away until she vanished into the horizon. I hadn't expected to arrive here excitedly, only to experience a morning like this, as if the world were ending.
I sat down at my desk and turned on my work computer. The red exclamation mark that popped up every day, the reminder of unmet KPIs, was gone today. Normally, I hated seeing it, but today, I hated it so much that it vanished without a trace. How could I not retain even a single memory? Li Haojun slammed the keyboard back in frustration.
He stood up and walked to the window. The clear water and blue sky seemed to have lost their luster. Instead of taking in the view, he'd just enjoy the breeze. He opened the window, pulled over the piano stool, and leaned against the windowsill, letting time flow by.
After an unspecified amount of time, the notification on his communication terminal rang. It was a long while before Li Haojun checked for new messages. It was Lily informing him that his service in Kalispell had ended.
What a timely relief! Li Haojun didn't know whether to be thankful. Before he could make up his mind, another message arrived. It turned out that after lunch, Lily was taking him to take over the factory John had once managed, in Cut Bank, Montana. After lunch and a brief farewell to his colleagues, Li Haojun drove alone to Kalispell Airport. Under the same afternoon sun, Sienna's image still lingered in his mind.
The airport was deserted, with few aircraft taking off or landing. After a while, Lily, still piloting the antique, single-engine, red biplane, taxied for landing. Li Haojun felt a little apprehensive, worried about its reliability.
Lily didn't disembark. Instead, she taxied close, turned the plane around, braked, and waved, waiting for Li Haojun to board. She was still dressed in her flight jacket, but this time she was wearing no flight cap, only sunglasses.
Li Haojun climbed expertly into the rear passenger seat and said,
"Good afternoon, Lily," her movements were brisk, as if she were about to escape.
"How's Kalispell?" Lily asked, turning back as she steered the plane toward the runway.
"Not bad," what else could she say? He had just lost someone he cared about.
"This place is special," Lily muttered, seemingly to herself, or perhaps asking, seeking her opinion.
"Oh, yes," Li Haojun agreed casually. He didn't want to discuss the details of his discovery with Lily. He didn't care. The people he cared about didn't live there anyway.
"Let's take over the Carterbank factory. John was there before, but he's been gone for a long time. There's no one managing it, and it's almost broken."
"Okay."
"Yes, you'll find that place special too," Lily practically shouted. The noise of the full-throttle takeoff made it impossible to continue the conversation.
It's also special. Will Sienna be there too? Li Haojun's first thought was still her, even something so unrelated would bring her to mind. That thought that had vanished into the horizon seemed to become his eternal pain.
As the plane flew eastward, over Mount Apikuni, the air turbulence was a bit turbulent. Li Haojun looked down. White peaks, emerald green valleys, blue-brown mudflats, and shimmering blue lakes were all it took. It was as if someone had sprinkled sapphires, brown agates, and emeralds onto pearly white brocade, a shimmering beauty.
After flying over the peaks, they were almost halfway through the journey, and the plane below was closing in. Adjacent to the mountains were river mudflats, and then the plains.
After just over an hour, they arrived at their destination. Lily didn't land at the city airport, but rather, rather impulsively, landed directly in the open space next to the factory.
From a distance, the factory looked exactly as Lily had described: the buildings were dilapidated, the storage tanks rusted, and the equipment was massive. It looked like a large-scale, primary agricultural product processing plant.
Li Haojun first accompanied Lily to obtain management rights for the factory, then downloaded the data and took a quick tour. Time was almost up, so the two of them set off on their return journey. This weekend, Li Haojun arrived home earlier than usual. The good news was that he no longer had to commute to Kalispell every day, giving him more time to spend with Qin Wenjing. The bad news was that he would never see Sienna again.
125Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkXprZif8TK
At the dinner table, Li Haojun took the initiative to talk to Qin Wenjing about the day's events. Qin Wenjing didn't comment, but instead, spoon in her mouth, looked Li Haojun in the eye.
125Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡskEoVnSjtB
Today, she had her hair tied back with a faux jade hairpin and wore a top that went down her back. A semi-sheer, deep-V-neck white top with ties at the back, rippled at the collar and shoulders, the fabric drapes beautifully, highlighting the sculpted shoulders and neck while also blending in the graceful waist and bust. She wore a black, over-the-knee lace A-line skirt and a pair of white sandals and high heels.
She stared at it for a moment, then took the spoon out of her mouth and asked,
"Do you think Sienna is an alien?"
"Yeah, I never thought of that," Li Haojun nodded.
"You said she's particularly insensitive to women's privacy," Qin Wenjing said, looking down at her hands. She looked up at Li Haojun again, then said, "She didn't grow up here, that's why she's like this."
"Yeah, why didn't I think of that? It's true, you can't see the true face of Mount Lu because you're inside it," Li Haojun added.
"You're not in the mountains, you're in a dream," said Qin Wenjing expressionlessly. She looked into Li Haojun's eyes for a moment, and they both burst into laughter.
The post-dinner chat ended in laughter. After clearing the table and dishes, Qin Wenjing smiled. Asked,
"Want to go out for a walk?"
"I don't really want to. I'm a little tired today."
"Sienna is waiting for you in the stars," Qin Wenjing said, looking into Li Haojun's eyes.
He wasn't amused, but a faint smile crossed his face.
Outdoors in the evening, although it was late spring or early summer, the air was still chilly. Li Haojun took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, which seemed to dispel some of the depression in his heart. He looked up. The night sky was dark and the stars dim.
"How do you feel about your new factory appointment?" Qin Wenjing said. Wenjing asked as she walked by.
"It's an old factory, not very technologically advanced."
"Now that you don't have to go to Kalispell every day, do you have more time to spend with me?"
"I think so. Let's go back to the old days, okay?"
"Okay," Qin Wenjing said, tightening her grip on his arm before complaining coquettishly.
"Oh, that's not good. If I go back to the old days, those two little girls, Keshia and Malaya, will come and snatch you from me again."
"Oh, then let's go back even further."
"Well, that's good. "Okay, no one's trying to snatch you from me, but it's a shame you can't speak or move," Qin Wenjing said playfully again, emphasizing every word with a serious tone, teasing and teasing Li Haojun.
"Oh, then let's go back to the past," Li Haojun replied, still feeling down.
"Oh, then let's send you back to Lily's arms?"
Hearing Qin Wenjing's words, Li Haojun became interested. He always wanted to know about the past, so he quickly pressed on.
"What about before that?"
"Before that?" Qin Wenjing smiled. She deliberately didn't answer, looking into his eyes for a moment before saying, "There's nothing further ahead."
"Oh, then I'm quite loyal," she said, and they both laughed.
The evening breeze grew cooler. Li Haojun wrapped his arms around Qin Wenjing's waist and arms, turning to walk back. He looked up at the starry sky.
"Which star is she looking at you from?" Qin Wenjing's voice was low and calm, and she looked at Li Haojun seriously.
Li Haojun scanned the sky, seeing bright stars, dim ones, and the stars in Orion. The belt had three stars, but without the dazzling Milky Way of yesteryear, the starlight seemed to sink even deeper into the deep night sky.
After gazing upward for a moment, Li Haojun turned back to Qin Wenjing and said,
"On that blue star."
"Blue? The bright one?" Qin Wenjing asked curiously.
"No, there's a blue ocean and a green forest. She's looking at me, gazing into my eyes." With that, Li Haojun pulled Qin Wenjing into his arms.
The stars in the night sky blinked, gazing at the lovers.
ns216.73.217.22da2
and then Add to home screen.