‘SEE YOU MORNING’ 022 Disturbances

Sleeping in one’s own bed always brings such deep, fulfilling rest. Li Haojun woke up feeling brimming with energy. Qin Wenjing was awake too, but she stayed in bed, lying on her side, watching him from a distance.
"Are you well rested?" Qin Wenjing asked.
Li Haojun just smiled without answering. He leaned close to her, sliding his right arm beneath her waist and wrapping his left around her hips, holding her tight as he buried his head against her chest, breathing in her scent. The flurry of recent days had made his feelings for her feel almost unfamiliar; Li Haojun wanted to make up for lost time. Because of this, breakfast was late, and the daily schedule at Sun Farm was put on hold.
After a light meal, the two began their work for the day. Work is work, busy or not, but with Qin Wenjing by his side, Li Haojun always felt more grounded. It was a familiar feeling—she understood him even better than he understood himself. This suddenly made him wonder:
"Was my old job as busy as this?"
Qin Wenjing thought for a moment. "No. Back then you were in technical work. You spent a lot of time thinking, sure, but you weren’t running around like now."
"What did I do back then?"
"Designing experiments, analyzing biological data, and…" She hesitated mid-sentence.
"And what else?" Li Haojun pressed.
"Building your AI models. You needed them to support your professional work."
"Oh." Li Haojun nodded. "Did those AI models use a lot of computing power?"
"Yes, you used the company’s cloud services back then."
"Hmm. Guess I got smarter after hitting my head," Li Haojun joked with a self-deprecating laugh.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, look—this time I built a solar farm myself."
"Oh, so that’s what you meant." Qin Wenjing chuckled. "Alright, tell me about your business trip. How was it?"
"You mean my two new assistants?" Li Haojun cut straight to the point.
"Yeah, what are they like?" Qin Wenjing asked, barely holding back a smile.
"That young girl, Malaya, she’s sharp. Very capable. Seems clever."
"And the college student?"
"She’s alright. A bit introverted."
"Just ‘alright’?" Qin Wenjing repeated, emphasizing the words.
"Ah, don’t overthink it. I just mean she doesn’t have that same quick-witted, lively vibe as her sister."
"Sister?"
"Yeah. They’re half-sisters. Both grew up in foster care. Pretty rough story. No real home growing up, and now they’re living in that factory over in Boise."
"Oh." Qin Wenjing responded quietly, observing Li Haojun’s reaction. Seeing he had nothing more to add, she ventured cautiously:
"Then why don’t you invite them over sometime?"
"No. This is your home. That wouldn’t be right. Besides, Malaya is unpredictable—who knows what’s going on in her head? I’m afraid she might do something to hurt you."
Qin Wenjing smiled, gave him a glance, then lowered her head in silence.
Li Haojun didn’t notice the subtleties of her expression. He was staring at his screen, handling work tasks while answering offhandedly—every response a first instinct, popping into his head without filter. Right now, his mind was occupied with whether and how to set up remote operations for his solar farm projects. As for Qin Wenjing—as long as she was near, he felt at peace, even if he was being careless. But what could he do? There always had to be balance between the present and the future. Unfortunately, people can’t see the future. Whether things are truly balanced can probably only be judged when all is said and done. Or maybe not even then—because there’s no other timeline to compare it to.
Since this new work environment has shifted my direction, why not use my current resources? With that thought, Li Haojun sent a message to Kesiya:
"Hi, interested in expanding your challenges? Our work sometimes involves AI tools and quantitative user feedback. I’ve listed some common open-source AI model sites and commercial-grade brainwave devices (like the nw77micro) in an email. Take a look if you’re interested. I can share access to my workstation so you can train models using my computing power."
A short while later, Kesiya replied:
"Sounds good. I’ll check out what you sent first."
With his tasks arranged, he figured the equipment at the solar farm needed adjustments too. Just as he was about to get up, he turned and saw Qin Wenjing looking at him.
"Something wrong?"
Qin Wenjing smiled. "I’m heading to Spokane this afternoon to exchange data. Want to come?"
"Of course. Why even ask? Wherever you go, I’m with you."
"Great." Qin Wenjing’s lips curved upward.
"Quite the timing though—I just got back," Li Haojun added, smiling at her.
How wonderful it was that they could simply smile at each other like this.
…As usual, once they reached Spokane, the three of them had lunch together. John greeted Qin Wenjing first, then Li Haojun said:
"Hey, Ethan. How’s it going?"
"Good, thanks. I’m much more settled in now. It’s been a while since we all met up here." Ethan’s tone was warmer.
"Yeah. Things in Montana are stable—demand’s steady, no major changes," John said.
"On the West Coast, I’m seeing some growth—probably seasonal. I was just in Seattle and Portland. The demographics are really different between the two. Social structures too, maybe due to local industries. Portland’s opportunities aren’t great, so public support is limited. People with different needs and cultural backgrounds all mixed together—it’s hard for the local government to push anything through. Very fragmented." After speaking, Li Haojun looked to John for his reaction.
"Oh, I haven’t really paid attention to that side. Here it’s simple: agriculture, mining. Regular workers don’t have much say. Everyone else leaves to find their own way. Class structure is basically fixed." John answered casually between bites—no formalities among friends.
"I see. I supply both Seattle and Portland. Some clients are celebrities, politicians, partners from other firms—so I get unexpected orders. I have to reroute materials from other production lines and handle the cleanup myself." Li Haojun finished with a grin toward John…
After lunch, they went their separate ways. On the drive back, Li Haojun asked Qin Wenjing:
"Do you think John does technical work? I feel like he’s just field ops."
"Maybe."
"Have you ever wondered if that time he saved you was staged—just to gain trust?"
"No. Never crossed my mind. But I suppose it’s possible."
Later, Li Haojun took out his work laptop and messaged Malaya:
"Hi. Your sister is researching commercial brainwave devices. Maybe talk to her about it. Did you do well in high school physics? Think you could build a simple device to measure inductance parameters for those brainwave headsets? Not urgent, and it’s not a work task—just a personal favor. What kind of reward would you want?"
"Sure, I’ll try," Malaya replied instantly. "For the reward—I want you to spend a night with my sister. Like you did with me that night."
Li Haojun sent back an awkward emoji, then glanced up at Qin Wenjing. Out of curiosity, she had been looking at his screen. Li Haojun grimaced.
"You saw that. Nothing happened between me and that girl that night."
"Mm. I believe you," Qin Wenjing said, then let out a soft snort of laughter. "You came back and reported to me, didn’t you?"
Li Haojun burst out laughing and immediately started searching legal cases, muttering: "I need to check relevant laws. Don’t want to end up in prison."
After reading for a while, he chuckled dryly.
"Good thing local laws are pretty relaxed about this. Basically, if no one complains, officials don’t investigate. No need for state power to interfere in private relationships anyway. And there’s no conflict of interest between us—I have no say in their performance reviews. They were assigned by the company, not under me."
"Oh, so the company prepared them specifically for you," Qin Wenjing teased.
"You could also say they were sent to monitor me," Li Haojun explained.
"Hmph. Full of yourself," Qin Wenjing pretended to scoff.