'SEE YOU MORNING' 065 Sleeping Beauty

After Li Haojun finished handling the customer pick-up coordination, the afternoon was nearly over. His long-term technical service work had made him particularly attentive to customer experience, so he always preferred face-to-face contact with his clients.

Returning to his office and sitting down, he was delighted to see that Sienna had arrived as promised.

“We can continue our conversation now, right?” Li Haojun asked happily.

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me, when you were looking for a job, did you choose this company directly, or were you also considering other companies?”

“No, I came straight here.”

“Then how did you find out about this company? Through a friend’s referral, or social media?”

“My home service recommended it.”

“Oh, I see. I asked because, well,” Li Haojun lowered his voice a little, “physical punishments like spanking are things from hundreds of years ago. Back then, for example, a slave owner might punish his slaves, or the head of a family might do that to maintain order among family members, and the whips used at that time caused much more physical harm. But in legitimate modern companies, there’s no such thing. That’s why I was curious about how you ended up here—whether there’s some kind of screening mechanism.”

“Mm.” Sienna nodded while listening to Li Haojun’s explanation, as if trying to understand.

“Actually, I’m also new to this company. I don’t know the specifics here either. My superior assigned me to work here,” Li Haojun said, trying to win Sienna’s empathy. “It seems we’ve both been tricked into coming here, haven’t we?”

Hearing that, Sienna smiled. Li Haojun continued, “Do you ever actively or unintentionally express any intentions to your home service that might have brought you here?”

Sienna thought for a moment, then said, “Sorry, I don’t really remember things at home.”

Li Haojun wasn’t sure whether she genuinely didn’t remember or didn’t want to say. Since there were so many things she claimed not to recall, he comforted her, “That’s all right. In modern society, there are no slaves and no slave owners. Ah…” He hesitated, then said, “That’s not precise. I can only say I’m not a slave owner.”

“Why do you say that expression isn’t precise?” Sienna fluttered her large gray-green eyes and looked at Li Haojun.

Seeing how earnest she was, Li Haojun couldn’t help but think: Thank goodness this naive sweet girl met me; otherwise, who knows how badly she’d be taken advantage of.

Time flew as they chatted. It was already long past quitting time. Li Haojun happened to glance out of the office—without him noticing, everyone else had already left for the day. He checked his watch and saw that they were well past the end of work hours. He quickly said to Sienna, “Look, it’s way past quitting time. Sorry for keeping you from your rest.”

“It’s fine.”

“How about I drop you off on my way home? That might save you some time,” Li Haojun offered.

“Sure,” Sienna answered without hesitation.

They both stood up. Li Haojun walked out of the office, and Sienna went to her workstation to put on her coat. Then they left the factory building side by side.

Li Haojun’s flying car was very low-slung, with gull-wing doors. Sienna watched the door open, looked inside, and seemed delighted. She chose the seat behind Li Haojun on the right.

Fuel engines were rarely used in passenger vehicles anymore, except for some high-performance cars, where the starting shudder and low, rumbling idle exhaust seemed to hold immense power.

But along the way, there was no chance to unleash that performance, because the road to Sienna’s address was rather out of the way—a narrow asphalt lane that, even counting the grassy shoulder, barely allowed two cars to pass. The two-story single-family houses on both sides were compact, as if meant for single people or small families, and their yards were also tiny. The houses blocked the sunlight, making the road feel quite claustrophobic.

The faint golden sunlight diffused over the dark asphalt road, the grain of the gravel contrasting with the houses, fences, door and window frames that slipped by one after another, and the flowing reflections of the streetscape on the sleek silver car’s body. The contrasts of motion and stillness, steel and brick-and-wood, mechanical power and quiet home—all were intensified by the deep, surging exhaust note.

The curved windshield and its low angle refracted the sunlight into the cabin. Li Haojun occasionally glanced at Sienna in the rearview mirror. Sometimes she looked out at the street view, the sunlight dyeing her hair a golden brown, strands falling over her cheeks, her ears, and perhaps her maiden shyness. Other times she turned back to look at Li Haojun, and when his eyes met her large green eyes, made even deeper green by the pale golden sunlight, a smile appeared on her face.

Soon they arrived at Sienna’s home—a very neat little yard and house: dark green fencing, decorative plants in the yard, pale green walls, brown doors and windows. All the houses in this area had that style.

Li Haojun opened the car door. Sienna thanked him, got out, and walked through the yard to the front door. Suddenly she turned and called softly, “Ethan, would you like to meet my family?”

Li Haojun thought to himself: Since he was already at the door, and if her elders were inside, it would be rude to decline the invitation. So he got out of the car and followed Sienna into the house.

She led the way without looking back or saying anything, then went upstairs. Li Haojun wondered if her parents were in the second-floor bedroom? He didn’t ask, thinking it might be impolite to speak before the host did. But Sienna still didn’t look back or say anything; instead, she took off her clothes as she walked and tossed them onto a sofa in the hallway, then went into the bathroom alone, showering as if no one else were there. Her swaying figure behind the glass partition—whether she didn’t notice Li Haojun or didn’t mind Ethan seeing her—was unclear.

Li Haojun looked around the second floor and found only one bedroom and one bathroom, no one else. Why had she said she wanted him to meet her family?

Pondering, he went downstairs. There seemed to be no one else; the door was locked. He checked the first-floor living room and kitchen and found no signs that more people lived there.

With questions in his mind, Li Haojun went back upstairs, folded her clothes, and sat on the sofa, waiting to ask her what was going on.

Before long, Sienna came out of the bathroom. Her young body was slender and graceful, full of youthful vitality. She walked barefoot, light and soft, looking straight ahead as if no one else were there. She passed by Li Haojun and went into the bedroom.

“Sienna?” Li Haojun called after her, but before he finished, she was already inside.

Sensing something wrong, Li Haojun went to the bedside and leaned over to observe. Sienna lay on the bed with her eyes closed, already asleep.

Falling asleep so quickly was highly unusual. Li Haojun quickly put his fingers under her nose—she was breathing. Then he touched her carotid artery—there was a pulse.

“Sienna, Sienna,” Li Haojun called twice, but she didn’t respond. He shook her shoulder—still no reaction.

Such deep sleep—if her airway became blocked during sleep, she could suffocate. Had she taken some kind of drug? Thinking this wasn’t right, Li Haojun wrapped her in the blanket, picked her up, and went downstairs to take her to the hospital.

Just as he carried her out the front door and was about to put her in the car, she opened her eyes. She looked around blankly, muttering, “Am I going to work? Why is it dark? Why am I getting up so early?”

Seeing her confusion upon waking, Li Haojun quickly explained, “It’s not yet time for you to go to work the next day. You just came home after work, took a shower, fell asleep, and I couldn’t wake you up. I was about to take you to the hospital.” He looked into her eyes, waiting for whatever answer she might give.

“Oh, don’t worry. That’s just how I am—I fall asleep when I get home. Take me back inside…”

Once again lying on the bed, she soon fell asleep. But this time, Li Haojun didn’t try to wake her. The sky outside had turned completely dark. He checked the time—he should have been almost home by then. Not wanting Qin Wenjing to worry, he had to make a video call and explain the situation.

“Then let me have a look at your Sleeping Beauty first,” Qin Wenjing said after hearing his explanation, sounding just like an amused bystander.

Li Haojun turned the camera toward Sienna.

“Closer, let me see her face. Hmm, she looks very young. Now show me her profile,” Qin Wenjing said, making demands on the other end while watching.

“Hey, look at her nose—a bit flat at the bridge, tip slightly upturned. Quite cute. Hey, doesn’t she kind of look like Malaya?”

“Heh, a little bit,” Li Haojun answered with a wry smile. Caught red-handed by his girlfriend in the presence of another woman on video.

“Is her figure good? Zoom out, let me see more,” Qin Wenjing seemed to have found a new pastime for her lonely evening at home.

“Oh, I can’t really tell like that. Lift her blanket and let me see.”

“Really? Is that appropriate?” Li Haojun replied.

“Don’t you want to look?” Qin Wenjing giggled on the other end.

“Alright, stop teasing me. I’m coming home.”

“Forget it. If that’s not some beautiful trap over there, just stay the night there. Take care of yourself,” Qin Wenjing said seriously.

“You really don’t mind?” Though Li Haojun knew his woman trusted him, he still hated the thought of leaving her alone with the loneliness of the night while he stayed with another woman—even though nothing had happened.

“Better that than worrying about your traffic safety,” Qin Wenjing said, expressing her genuine concern.

“Then keep the video call on until you fall asleep,” Li Haojun suggested. He couldn’t think of a fairer way to treat Qin Wenjing.

When the night became utterly silent, Li Haojun looked out at the crescent moon, his thoughts churning. Could it be that people here were all like Sienna—going home and going straight to sleep—so that there were no crowds out for entertainment or strolling? But if so, when did the people in this town make babies?

“Isn’t this my chance?” Li Haojun laughed at himself mockingly. What was he thinking? He glanced back at Sienna, who was lying on her side on the bed. The moonlight shone on the strands of hair scattered across her forehead. Li Haojun could even hear her quiet breathing—so deep.

He imagined: if he went over and gave her a sincere kiss, would she wake up like the princess in the fairy tale? Would the spell on her be broken?

Oh bright moon, can you answer me? Is she truly under a spell?