'SEE YOU MORNING' 067 Maintaining Client Relationships

Li Haojun greatly disliked the mandatory daily attendance rule at Shuisheng Kechuang Company, which offered far less freedom than his previous job. In the past, he could often stay home with Qin Wenjing, but working here meant a long commute every single day.
Dragging his feet, he arrived at the office once again. The overcast morning cast a gloomy mood over him. Just as his mind went blank and his thoughts drifted away, a knock came at the door and Sienna walked in.
"Good morning, Ethan."
"Good morning." The sight of Sienna's vibrant face lifted Li Haojun's spirits a great deal.
"We have a long business trip ahead to maintain client relationships. We're heading to aquariums in New York and Boston. When would you like to depart, and what mode of transportation would you prefer?"
"We? Are you coming with me?"
"Yes. I'll prepare documents, travel arrangements and accommodation for you."
"Oh, thank you very much. You pick the means of transport. You'll be handling all the arrangements anyway." Li Haojun's mind was still sluggish. He did not want to get caught up in memories of the woman who was far away.
"Then let's board a flight in one hour and fly to New York first. We'll check into a hotel there. Tomorrow morning we'll meet clients in New York, then head to Boston in the afternoon for another client meeting and stay overnight there. We will return here on the third day. Does that sound good?"
"Sure, let's do that. Thanks. I'll get ready too."
Sienna booked a six-seat executive unmanned aircraft. Traditional regional flights had been largely phased out, much like ordinary buses. Inside the comfortable cabin, Li Haojun skimmed through the client profiles and product catalog samples Sienna had prepared for him. He felt no interest in the work at all, held back by his inner resistance.
He found himself wondering if Sienna would fall asleep soon after dusk. He kept an eye on her, fearing she might trip or get into some kind of accident. Watching her familiar face on the same flight route, he could not help but think of Malaya. He wondered what the little sprite was doing now and whether she was living happily.
"Are you thinking about someone?" Sienna asked abruptly.
Li Haojun was taken aback. He stared into Sienna's eyes sitting across from him, and after a moment he asked, "Can you tell what I'm thinking?" As soon as the words left his mouth, memories of his time with Kesiya also surfaced in his mind.
"Yes. How else could I work as your assistant?"
"Haha, so I have no privacy around you at all?"
"Why do you need privacy?" Sienna asked, looking confused.
"I'm afraid my thoughts might offend you. Truth be told, an old man like me has no real need for privacy, haha." He let out a self-deprecating laugh, then asked curiously, "Were you born with this ability?"
"No. I was born with hearing impairment and rely on an implanted chip to process auditory signals. The brainwave sensing function came as an additional feature."
Li Haojun was genuinely surprised. He felt sympathy for the lovely young woman upon learning of her condition and said quickly, "I see. I'm so sorry, truly sorry."
"It's all right, don't worry about it." Sienna smiled softly and sweetly. Li Haojun paid little heed to her expression and pressed on with the question weighing on his mind.
"Back when I drove you home that night, was this chip the reason for what happened? You fell asleep the moment you got home and could not be woken up. Yet you woke up when I carried you to my car to take you to the hospital."
"Did that happen? I don't remember. I don't think it was the chip. Though I do recall being in your car."
Li Haojun chose to believe her. It seemed she had no recollection of what took place inside her house. Still, he pondered whether she might be mistaken about the chip's functions, or if the chip had acted in ways she was unaware of. He always remained highly cautious about implanted technology with unknown internal mechanisms.
"May I ask who you were thinking about just now?"
While he was lost in thought, Sienna leaned forward, resting her chin in her hands with her elbows propped on the table between the seats, facing him directly as she spoke.
"Of course you may," Li Haojun replied with a smile.
"She worked as a secretary at my previous company, with duties similar to yours. We took this same flight route together last year."
"I see." Sienna leaned back against her seat.
Li Haojun was never comfortable with prolonged face-to-face conversation. Staring straight into another person's eyes made him nervous. During a lull in their talk, he turned to look out the window to steady his mood.
He had never ridden on an aircraft of this model before. It was a single-engine jet with a conventional fuselage tapering into a slender tail, fitted with a turbofan engine and a T-tail. It featured counter-rotating outer ducts wrapping around the rear fuselage and ran on bio-based aviation fuel. The main wings were mounted further back due to the engine's weight, giving the craft a bold, striking appearance.
From takeoff until reaching cruising altitude, Li Haojun observed its flight performance intently. Mechanical gadgets like this always fascinated him, just as they do many men. Even after leveling off, occasional turbulence and the steady hum of the engine held his attention. He found himself watching the wings flex and shift amid the air currents from time to time.
When he turned his gaze back into the cabin, he found Sienna still looking at him. Not wanting to ignore her, he smiled and met her eyes.
"Who is the person you think of most often?" Sienna asked again.
Memories flooded Li Haojun's mind: Malaya's elder sister talking about Malaya going off to study, the messages Kesiya had sent him these days, and all the sweet moments he had shared with her.
He tapped his forehead, looking sheepish, and smiled. "Sorry, my mind wanders constantly. I can't help letting my thoughts run wild when I'm bored. She was an intern under me." As he spoke, he wondered if he should explain the close bond he had shared with the intern. He also worried whether Sienna could see the images playing in his head. Then he suddenly remembered the jokes he had made about Sienna with Qin Wenjing a few days prior, terrified those thoughts would also be picked up. The more he tried to push the thoughts away, the more they surfaced. Trapped in this chain of thoughts, he shook his head awkwardly as he looked at Sienna. Fortunately, she simply smiled and said nothing more.
Lunch was served mid-flight, and Li Haojun's thoughts drifted once more to an in-flight dinner he had shared with Qin Wenjing. He lifted his head and met Sienna's gaze across the aisle.
"Who is she, Ethan? You are a man of few words, yet you seem to live much in the past." Sienna's curiosity remained unquenched.
"She is my partner. You are usually quiet too, but you've talked quite a lot today."
"That's true. Since there's no one else around, it's the perfect chance for a private chat, isn't it?"
"I suppose so." Li Haojun wondered if she cared greatly about others' opinions or disliked being the center of attention. The way she accepted punishment for work mistakes seemed to confirm this guess.
"Yet it seems you care more about your intern."
"Perhaps I do. We parted ways recently." A bitter smile crossed his face. "I'm not even sure myself."
"I think you feel worry and concern for her, while for your partner, you hold deep affection and longing."
Li Haojun's eyes widened in surprise. This young woman, who knew nothing of his personal life, had laid out his tangled emotions with remarkable clarity.
After lunch, drowsiness crept over Li Haojun amid the drone of the engine. He reclined the adjacent seat to get some rest. Sienna, however, remained alert, staring silently out the window.
The afternoon sun bathed the cabin in gentle warmth. At high altitude, the thin, clear air let sunlight pass through unobstructed, creating the warm glow typical of late spring and early summer afternoons. Lying back lazily, he felt as if he could draw energy from the sun to replenish himself.
Half-asleep, he sensed someone lean close beside him. He tried to open his eyes to see who it was, but his vision stayed blurred, whether from backlighting or the person being too near. He guessed it must be Sienna, his fellow passenger on the flight.
"Don't you recognize me?" Sienna pressed her face right up against his.
He saw a flat bridge of the nose, a pert tip, and an oval face with an innocent, youthful look. Li Haojun placed his hands on her slender shoulders to stop her from slipping to the floor. He strained his eyes to see more clearly and caught a glimpse of blue eyes. Could this be Malaya? He wondered to himself.
The figure continued to lean forward, until her chest pressed against his face. To keep her from falling, Li Haojun wrapped his arms around her hips, but she still slid downward. He then looped one arm around her thighs. The familiar curve of her waist and legs made him think of Kesiya.
Her thighs came to rest against his lower body, and a physical reaction stirred within him. Who was she really? Kesiya? Or Sienna? The thought filled him with embarrassment—they had only just met and were merely colleagues.
Her movements did not stop. When her knee pressed into his abdomen, Li Haojun felt an urgent pressure in his full bladder and realized he needed to use the restroom.
"Kesiya, Sienna, let me up, please let me up." He jolted awake all at once. Sienna was standing across the aisle watching him.
It had all been a dream. Recalling the vivid scenes and the heavy pressure in his abdomen, he knew he really did need to use the restroom at the rear of the cabin. Embarrassed by the thought that Sienna might have sensed the images from his dream through brainwaves, he resolved to avoid looking her way while he was gone. It was the only thing he could do.
He returned to his seat across from Sienna, still unsure how to ease the awkward atmosphere, when he saw her set two meal boxes on the table.
"It's time for lunch. It's about the right hour."
Li Haojun stared at the familiar meal boxes, utterly dumbfounded.
Hadn't I just eaten lunch and taken a nap? How could it be lunchtime again?
He quickly checked the time and saw it was still morning. He touched the meal boxes and confirmed they were real. His mind raced as he tried to make sense of what was happening.
Had time reversed, sending him back to before lunch? Could Sienna have done this?
Or was everything he experienced just a hallucination? Yet the sensations had felt so vivid. Had Sienna planted illusions inside his mind?