‘SEE YOU MORNING’ 070 White Water, Bright Moon, Dark Green, Deep Red

The moonlight, which had initially been a pale yellow, gradually grew bright and lustrous. The glow of the moon mingled with the ambient light of the night sky, and the reflection off the waters of Boston Harbor illuminated the hotel room so thoroughly that it seemed the entire world was immersed in this dreamlike, pearly white realm.
Seeing how late it had gotten, Li Haojun decided to return to his own room to rest; after all, he was still not quite familiar with Sienna.
Back in his room, Li Haojun stood under the shower. The hot water streamed down from the top of his head, flowing over his body like a warm caress, easing the fatigue of the day. The spray blurred his vision, and through the steamed glass, he saw Sienna standing on the other side, watching him.
He was already a middle-aged man. Li Haojun did not feel disadvantaged by being watched in such a manner; rather, this raw honesty of meeting each other naked seemed to be drawing him closer to Sienna on a deeper, spiritual level.
Behind the misty glass, Sienna stood motionless before him. He could almost faintly sense the rise and fall of her breathing, like the tides in the bay. The contours of her figure resembled the distinct curve where the sand met the sea along a distant horizon.
Sienna seemed to notice his gaze. Suddenly, she reached out an arm and, like a phantom passing through the bathroom glass, grabbed his hand firmly. She said,
"Ethan, come with me."
In an instant, Li Haojun felt himself being pulled into the air without any effort at all. He did not know where she found such strength. His own body felt weightless; he barely needed to grip her hand, yet he followed her ascent. Paradoxically,
Following behind Sienna, it felt like a sea breeze, blowing her long hair forward, scattering it wildly in the wind. Even her bathrobe fluttered dramatically, seemingly blocking Li Haojun’s view of the ground below. He could only feel that he seemed to be stepping barefoot on soft sand.
Holding Sienna’s hand, Li Haojun could not tell if he was running or flying, for his steps were incredibly light. Both of them seemed capable of leaping to unknown heights with every stride. Looking around, everything was shrouded in the hazy blur of moonlight—whether cloud or mist, he could not tell.
After being pulled by Sienna for some time, they finally began to descend, as the beach below became increasingly clear. As his feet touched the sand, his steps grew heavier, and Li Haojun gradually found himself unable to keep up with Sienna’s pace. He could only watch helplessly as she ran farther and farther away, though several times she looked back in his direction, as if summoning him to follow closely.
Until Sienna vanished completely from his sight, Li Haojun felt a real surge of anxiety. With no other choice, he could only chase after her in the direction she had run, trying desperately to find her again.
It was a long, narrow strip of beach, repeating the same scenery over and over. Although he did not feel physically tired, the slow progress and the worry about the passage of time filled Li Haojun with agitation. To his left were shrubs, to his right the sea; Li Haojun tried hard not to think too much about it.
Gradually, the end of the beach seemed to approach, revealing a broader, winding coastline. Li Haojun strained his eyes to spot that figure on the horizon ahead.
It was her. That silhouette, far away, with her back turned to him. Her disheveled hair danced in the sea breeze. Waves surged onto the shore with the wind, bringing frothy spray and the briny scent of the ocean. In the moonlight, Sienna stood on the beach, her feet slightly sunk into the fine sand. Her legs were parted slightly, front and back. Due to the slope of the beach, her front leg was straight, while the knee of her back leg was bent, her calf slightly turned out, her forefoot supporting her weight while her heel lifted delicately. Her body swayed gently with the sea breeze.
Her arms hung naturally at her sides, her elbows tucked close to her slender waist. Because her left leg bore her weight, her hips shifted leftward to compensate, breaking the midline of her body. Her left forearm rested against her hip bone, her palm turned inward, fingers spread, the tips lightly touching her thigh. Her right arm rested on her hip, seemingly pulling her right shoulder down slightly, creating an elegant and serene posture.
"Sienna,"
Approaching her from behind, carrying the anxiety and worry from his pursuit, Li Haojun called her name softly.
Sienna turned her head. It was her. There was a smile on her face—whether for the freedom of running wild, the peace of merging with the vast world, or perhaps because she possessed a heart that sought and cared for him.
"The water is dangerous. I can't swim. If anything happened, I wouldn't be able to guarantee your safety," Li Haojun said, as he held her left hand with his right and wrapped his right arm around her waist, slowly backing away toward the higher, safer part of the beach behind them.
Sienna remained silent. After following him for a few steps, she turned playful. She threw both arms around Li Haojun’s neck and stopped walking, letting herself be dragged across the sand. Her upper body leaned against his chest. Those big eyes of hers, deep as jade-green pools in the moonlight, gazed into Li Haojun’s eyes.
Li Haojun stopped. He was worried the sand would cut the skin on her feet. He asked,
"Why did you stop? Don't let your feet get cut."
"You're afraid my feet will get cut?" Sienna repeated his words, as if asking a question. As she spoke, she lifted her right leg against his side, used her right hand to pull his left hand to the crook of her knee, and then said nothing more. But Li Haojun understood what she wanted—she wanted him to hold her just as he had danced with Qin Wenjing in Richland.
Li Haojun smiled and did not refuse. He dragged her backward two steps before realizing something was wrong. Sienna was barefoot, whereas Qin Wenjing had worn high heels. He said,
"No, aren't you afraid that foot will get cut by the rocks and sand?"
"Oh, so you are afraid it will get cut?" Sienna said softly and gently. As she spoke, she tightened her grip around Li Haojun’s neck with both hands, her big eyes blinking as she observed his reaction.
Li Haojun said nothing. He merely smiled and wrapped his right arm around her left leg as well. She seemed to be imitating someone from his memory, acting coquettishly toward him. He decided to just carry her away from the water as soon as possible.
Once they were far from the steeper shore and walking on flatter, safer sand, Li Haojun relaxed a little and began to orient himself.
It was a long, narrow island beach. Li Haojun was unsure if this island connected to the mainland in the direction they had come from. He could only carry Sienna in his arms, heading back toward the road while observing their surroundings, glancing down at her from time to time.
Her cheek rested against his chest. The sea breeze blew her hair across her face, obscuring one side of it. The moonlight seemed to have dyed her golden hair silver, and her usually warm complexion appeared cold and pale as solidified fat in the moonlight.
Carrying her along the beach, Li Haojun gradually lost his initial strength. Sienna began to slide slowly down his body. She seemed to have fallen asleep, her arms merely draped around his neck rather than holding on tightly to support her weight as before.
"Sienna, how about getting down and walking on your own?" Li Haojun urged her by the ear as he walked, because he truly could not carry her any longer; she kept slipping down.
At some point, Li Haojun suddenly realized that he seemed to have merged entirely with her. The refreshing coolness of the evening breeze was gone, and the barrier between their skins was nowhere to be found. The sleeping Sienna was so beautiful, so pure and ethereal in the tranquil moonlight, but... wasn't this too abrupt?
It seemed Li Haojun’s ordinary consciousness had departed just now, leaving only his subconscious in control—that true self unbound by social rules, possessing only the purest desires of the id. However, when the consciousness of his mundane social ego returned, Li Haojun began to feel he should not have done this. What had he done? How could he treat Sienna this way when they had only just met?
When the pressure of his own moral self-reproach exceeded the physical weight of her body, Li Haojun tried to escape by waking himself up. No, this isn't real. This is a dream. This isn't real. I am dreaming.
The illusion shattered with his mental force. Li Haojun suddenly woke up from the dream, looking around to find himself sitting on a garden bench. Sure enough, it had all been a dream.
It was a rose garden. Climbing roses had been trimmed into maze-like hedges, lush with foliage, dotted sparsely with small, pale pink blossoms. The hedges towered over his head. Looking over the top of the walls, he saw the dark night sky—no moon, no stars. The dim yellow light from the courtyard lamp post beside the bench stained the deep night sky overhead a dark brown. Looking around, surrounded by the plant walls, only the light illuminated the immediate space around the post.
Looking down at his feet, he was startled to discover a woman in a long dress lying on the bench, using his thigh as a pillow. It was Sienna. The evening breeze carried the fragrance of roses, a scent befitting a girl in the flower of her youth.
She wore a deep red dress—or perhaps crimson, as it appeared dull and purplish-brown in the night and dim light. The hem, waist, cuffs, and collar were made of black velvet fabric panels, contrasting sharply with the red, lending a mysterious sense of power. She wore a matching dark-edged crimson bow, and thin braids woven with bright yellow, emerald green, and crimson ribbons fell across her neck amidst her golden hair.
Li Haojun took off his jacket, folded it into a makeshift pillow, and placed it under Sienna’s head. He got up, faced the bench, knelt on one knee, and gazed at Sienna’s face up close. She slept as deeply as ever, as if waiting for her true love’s kiss to awaken her to a beautiful life. Yet Li Haojun, who already had a partner, dared not take on such a responsibility. Still, feeling pity and affection for her, he could only admire her innocence and sweetness while she slept.
Sienna lay on her side on the bench. The flat surface pulled the lines of her right side into a straight plane, making the curves of her left side appear even more pronounced in contrast.
Her right shoulder pressed against the back of the bench, her right arm pinned behind her, her right breast against the bench. Her left shoulder dropped forward naturally, her left forearm resting flat on the bench. Her narrow shoulders and the relaxed, diagonally symmetrical position of her collarbones added much to her gentle, ladylike temperament.
Her sleeping body was completely relaxed. Her waist rested against the bench without any gap. Her legs were slightly bent as she lay on her side, her left knee naturally placed behind her right knee. The dress hugged the lines of her thighs, flowing over her hips and waist, highlighting the sensual, feminine aspect of her figure.
After admiring this sleeping beauty for a good while, Li Haojun thought to explore the surroundings. Had my house been renovated? Or was this somewhere else? Leaving the area illuminated by the courtyard lamp, he explored the passages between the hedges, finding only right-angled turns forming a maze.
But thinking of Sienna in his heart, Li Haojun immediately turned back. He would wait until dawn. He did not want to lose her again; that feeling of loss and bewilderment from searching once before was enough.
Returning to the bench under the lamplight, he stood at the foot of the bench, admiring her lying there. Her shoulders leaning forward, her hips tilted back, her twisting waist, her staggered legs—she slept as deeply as ever. Li Haojun even began to worry that she might be hurting her arm or that the bench slats might be digging into her elbows or hips.
It was then that Li Haojun noticed several rose branches blooming right beside the bench near Sienna’s head. He walked over and leaned down to observe. They should be red roses—bright red or dark red was hard to tell. Li Haojun squatted down and looked at the sleeping Sienna; indeed, fresh flowers suited a beautiful woman.
He brought his nose close to the flowers, inhaling their fragrance in the night breeze. Then he returned to Sienna, bringing his nose close to her face.
Suddenly, Sienna opened her eyes. Without warning, her eyes opened wide. Their gazes met so closely that their eyelashes nearly touched, startling Li Haojun so much that he cried out.
He jerked back in shock. When the startled Li Haojun opened his eyes wide again, it was broad daylight. Sunlight poured into the room. In the distance, the sound of a ship’s horn echoed—it must be a sea vessel.
Boston. Li Haojun remembered now. He had experienced a nested dream within a dream. This was a hotel in Boston. This was not a rose garden, nor a moonlit beach. He had just finished a client relations trip on the East Coast with Sienna, and today they were supposed to be heading back.
On the way to the airport, Sienna did not speak much. Li Haojun simply followed silently behind her, watching her posture and gait from behind.
It was not until they were seated facing each other on the return flight that Li Haojun said to her,
"I had a dream."
Sienna smiled.
"Are you going to tell me about it?"
"I was just curious. When I was dreaming, could you feel it?"
"No, I was asleep too," Sienna answered straightforwardly.
"Oh," Li Haojun responded, not continuing the conversation.
"Why, aren't you going to tell me?" Sienna asked with a smile, pressing him.
"I..." Li Haojun hesitated.
"It's actually nothing much."
Then Sienna stopped smiling. Calmly, she said,
"Whether you tell me or not, it has already happened."
Hearing her say this, Li Haojun immediately asked,
"Did you make me have those dreams?"
"No. I didn't force you to do or not do anything in the dream. I merely pulled you into the dream."
"Then, was the 'you' in my dream the real you?"
"Mhm."
"That means you were present for everything, and you knew everything, right?"
"Something like that." Having said this, Sienna looked at Li Haojun with an expressionless face, seemingly observing his reaction.
Li Haojun paused for a moment and asked,
"Then, which version of me is the real me? The one in the dream, or the one now?" After speaking, Li Haojun added,
"I mean in terms of personality. Which one is the real me? Because..." he paused.
"Because the two of us seem to differ in self-control." He gave a sheepish smile.
Sienna laughed too.
"Both versions are the real you."
"I'll ask you this. Suppose there were no constraints of morality, financial conditions, or interpersonal relationships. Every beautiful woman you meet likes you, and they are all willing to be your wife. Would you accept them all?"
Hearing this, Li Haojun laughed. Sienna had presented him with a thought experiment.
"I would," Li Haojun replied with a smile.
"There. That answer is the real you, right? And it's the choice every man would make. Now you don't need to have any mental burden anymore, right?"
"Alright. Thank you for the guidance," Li Haojun said, taking Sienna's hand, bringing it to his lips, and gently kissing her fingers.
Although he still felt somewhat conflicted inside about whether she knew the intimate scenarios that had occurred between them, even if it was an experience in a virtual dream world, Li Haojun could still feel his concern for Sienna deepening with these events and interactions.