'SEE YOU MORNING' 073 White Skirt by the Water

'SEE YOU MORNING' 073 White Skirt by the Water

This week’s work hours were about to pass again. Li Haojun noticed that the growing intimacy between him and Sienna had already sparked gossip among his colleagues, but he didn’t care.

After the work lunch, Li Haojun called Sienna again.

“Come on, want to go for a walk?”

“Sure,” Sienna always agreed readily. It seemed she had already become attached to Li Haojun, really enjoying being with him, asking about his personal life experiences, discussing their views on different issues.

But this time, they didn’t just walk near the company. Li Haojun drove Sienna to a spot upstream of the reservoir, closer to the water’s edge, where there was a gentle sandy beach.

Li Haojun took her hand and led her to the reservoir shore, letting the breeze sweeping off the water brush their faces and scatter Sienna’s long hair.

The afternoon sun shone on the shimmering lake surface, casting a dazzling, slightly golden white light. Li Haojun suddenly realized that if he shot against the light through a camera lens, he would get a fairy-tale-like effect of sparkling ripples. But he hadn’t brought a camera, so he said to Sienna,

“I have a surprise for you. Want to see it?”

“What?” Sienna turned her head and looked at Li Haojun. Her eyes seemed to glisten, which involuntarily made Li Haojun’s heart ache at the monotony of her spare time.

“Come on, to the car.”

As Sienna turned and walked toward the car, Li Haojun secretly booked a photography service behind her back.

Reaching the car, Li Haojun opened the door and pointed to a box in the back seat.

“Would you like to open it and see?”

Sienna hesitated for a moment, looking into Li Haojun’s eyes as if asking, “Is that for me?” Very cautious.

She pulled off the wrapping ribbon and lifted the lid. Inside was a piece of clothing. She turned her head back to look at Li Haojun’s eyes again, as if asking, “Should I touch it?”

“Take it out and have a look. It’s for you,” Li Haojun said with a smile.

Sienna pinched the shoulders of the garment with both hands and lifted it out. It was a white puff-sleeved, pleated, fluffy party dress. White fabric with thin red decorative stripes, off-the-shoulder, puff sleeves, and laces at the back to tighten the bodice.

Delighted, she held the dress up against her own figure, then spread it in front of her to show Li Haojun.

“Want to try it on?”

“Okay,” Sienna said, sitting on the side seat of the car and starting to change into it. The bodice was quite tight, and she even needed Li Haojun’s help to put it on, but it showed off Sienna’s figure beautifully. Her slender waist contrasted with the fluffy skirt’s hip volume, and her full bust and narrow shoulders were well balanced by the puffy sleeves on either side.

“See what else is in the box,” Li Haojun reminded her when she was almost dressed.

Sienna looked inside. Also white. At first she thought it was packing material, but when she took it out, she saw it was a pair of white over-the-knee socks with knitted nested diamond openwork patterns.

“Oh, so pretty,” Sienna said excitedly, holding them up for Li Haojun to see.

“Why not put them on and try?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Before she had even finished changing her socks, Li Haojun took out a pair of red leather shoes from the box. Flat-heeled, round-toed, lace-up style, with a strap across the instep fastened by a buckle on the side of the shoe. They looked adorable, as if exclusively for a little princess.

Li Haojun knelt on one knee in front of Sienna. He couldn’t help but recall the peaceful look on her face when she was asleep at home. He thought, Is this compensation for the part she has lost in her life experience?

As Sienna finished putting on the stockings, Li Haojun helped her put on the leather shoes as well. He looked up and saw her looking down at him.

“How is it? Do you like it?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Sienna replied, and then Li Haojun took out a mirror.

“Hold this,” he said, handing it to her.

Sienna understood that all of this was arranged by him for her. Holding the mirror in her hand, she smiled and waited for the next step of the scene to unfold.

Li Haojun then took out two red bow hair ties and slipped them over his wrists. Then he sat in the back seat of the car and began to comb Sienna’s hair.

He parted it down the middle, but left bangs for Sienna in the front. Then, somewhat clumsily, he braided her hair into two three-strand plaits, finally tying them with the red bow hair ties.

Sienna held the mirror with both hands, watching her hairstyle change, and occasionally looked into Li Haojun’s eyes. But he didn’t notice—his attention was all on braiding. Even so, he barely managed to finish. The braids were loose and had many flyaways, but the overall look was still good.

When everything was done, Li Haojun took Sienna’s hand and helped her stand up from the seat. Her slender waist and full hips perfectly supported the effect of the fluffy skirt. The white hem with red trim fell above her knees. The built-in support of the pleats was so good that the skirt floated away from her thighs; with every step, the hem didn’t touch her legs but swayed with her hips.

Sienna was overjoyed, walking and stopping to admire how the dress moved with her body. Then she suddenly remembered something, took Li Haojun’s hand, and said,

“Ethan, thank you. How can I thank you?”

“No need to thank me. I’m happy as long as you’re happy,” Li Haojun said, then tugged her hand. “Take a walk by the water in this dress.”

Looking up, the sun had shifted further west. The sunlight on the water’s ripples was no longer as dazzling and bright as at noon, but had taken on a warmer, golden feel, as if in a fairy tale world.

Then, amid the sound of tiny lapping waves, there came a hissing in the air. Li Haojun turned his head and saw multiple drones approaching them, quickly surrounding them and then circling continuously.

At first Sienna was frightened, instinctively gripping Li Haojun’s hand tightly, until a broadcast came from the drones:

“Holographic photography service. Order: Kalispell, April 7, 2095. For Sienna Swain by Mr. Ethan.”

Sienna’s mouth fell open in surprise, her eyes wide. It took her a while to turn and face Li Haojun. She looked into his eyes as if seeking confirmation that this was the courtesy he had arranged for her. Not knowing what to say, she jumped up excitedly and threw herself into Li Haojun’s arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

Li Haojun hadn’t expected the normally gentle and graceful Sienna to be so wildly enthusiastic today. He put his arms around her dress, supporting her weight, and spun around a few times on the spot, acting silly with her for a while, then said,

“Get down. I can’t hold you much longer. Get down and show off your dress.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Sienna slid down from Li Haojun’s body and ran ahead, bouncing and skipping. The swarm of drones, with their high-frequency hissing airflow, circled around her, following.

Seeing how these little things interacted with her, Sienna mischievously began changing direction as she ran, chasing and playing with them. As she ran, her light brown braids pulled the red bows, following her laughter, dancing against the backdrop of sparkling waves and dark green pine needles.

After running and jumping around in a circle, Sienna came back, already slightly out of breath. Her normally fair cheeks flushed pink. But she didn’t seem to have had enough fun. She ran up to Li Haojun, grabbed his hand, and said breathlessly,

“Ethan, come with me.” Then she turned and pulled his hand, starting to run.

Pulled along by her enthusiasm, he ran behind her. In front of his eyes, her twin braids waved the red bows, flipping up and down. Her red leather shoes beat the rhythm of youth on the emerald green grass. Her white skirt, stirred by her fair and powerful thighs, danced in the wind, as if running through a light, fairy-tale world. All the flying rhythms turned into slow motion before Li Haojun’s eyes.

Ahead, near the water’s edge, Sienna pulled Li Haojun’s hand and began to turn as they ran, gradually turning into the two of them spinning hand in hand on the spot. Her braids and skirt flung diagonally backward with increasing centrifugal force, revealing the alluring curve of her body on the windward side.

Then Li Haojun noticed a large drone hovering over the water, monitoring them. It was definitely not part of the photography service. From its paint job and strobe lights, it looked like a police drone.

A spoilsport. In this free space, in their world for two, what was it doing here spying? A deep sense of disgust welled up from his heart.

While Li Haojun was still paying attention to the sky, he didn’t notice that Sienna’s enthusiasm had gradually faded and she had stopped.

“The water’s edge is dangerous. Leave here.” Sienna said coldly, then dropped his hand and walked along the water’s edge back toward the company.

Li Haojun hurried after her, asking from behind,

“What’s wrong? Are you unhappy?” He didn’t know why she had suddenly lost her zest.

But Sienna didn’t answer, just kept walking ahead. Li Haojun caught up to her side, looking at her expression, trying to figure out why she had suddenly lost interest. But her expression was silent.

Li Haojun, puzzled, guessed at the reason. Then, in the sky behind Sienna’s face, he saw the police drone still following and monitoring. He roughly understood what was happening. Unable to help himself, he glared at the drone and cursed inwardly, Motherfucker.

Then looking at the previously exuberant Sienna, now completely expressionless. A youth that should have been the blooming season of a young girl, yet she was being manipulated like a walking corpse. Li Haojun felt both sympathy and pity for Sienna, and disgust and hatred for the town’s control.

“Sienna, you don’t have to obey its command. You haven’t done anything wrong,” Li Haojun whispered close to Sienna’s ear, but she had no reaction at all.

“Sienna,” Li Haojun raised his voice, but she still acted as if she hadn’t heard.

“Sienna,” Li Haojun called her name as he reached out and took her arm. He had to pull her, turning her ninety degrees to face him, before she stopped.

“Ah,” Sienna seemed startled awake. She stood facing Li Haojun, her expression cold and frightened.

“What’s wrong with you? I’ve been calling you, but you didn’t hear me. You just kept walking ahead.” Li Haojun looked into her eyes, asking while trying to find some useful information in her face.

“Ah, I… I don’t know.” Sienna, still seemingly shaken, raised her hand as she answered. It was trembling. She seemed to be waving, or perhaps trying to shake off Li Haojun’s grip on her arm.

Li Haojun held her frightened cheeks with both hands and said softly,

“Don’t be afraid. It’s over. It’s okay. It’s okay.”

“Oh,” she replied. Though the fear had not yet faded from her eyes, her trembling hand gently brushed against Li Haojun’s chest, evoking an involuntary tenderness.

Li Haojun gently pulled the frightened Sienna into his arms, his left hand around her waist and back, his right hand on her shoulder and the back of her head.

The photography drones were still circling and filming around them. Their hissing wind-like sound seemed to tell of Sienna’s inner unease and fear. Li Haojun held her tightly, whispering softly in her ear,

“Did something just scare you? Nothing happened. It’s okay. Nothing will hurt you. You don’t have to worry. I’m always here with you. Nothing happened just now. Don’t be afraid.”

The sound of waves rushing onto the reservoir shore seemed like Li Haojun’s soft lament, lapping onto the bank in waves, gently caressing Sienna’s once-frightened heart.

Her red leather shoes with side buckles, standing in the green grass, seemed like her inner anxiety and hesitation—fiery yet young and inexperienced. Fortunately, a sturdy pair of men’s black leather shoes stood beside her.

The setting sun cast an even heavier golden light on the gentle waves, shimmering and gilding the edges of the green grass and red shoes.

Against the background of glittering golden waves, the white skirt—reincarnation of the red thread—carried the graceful curves of Sienna’s thighs, blending with Li Haojun’s steady figure. The flickering light of the water surrounded the embracing silhouettes of the two. Only between their necks and cheek contours did the out-of-focus diffused golden light from the distance filter through the small gaps between them.

Holding her head in his arms, after a while, Sienna finally seemed to calm down again. She looked up into Li Haojun’s eyes, as if asking what had just happened.

How to explain? Tell her that her brain is remotely controlled by a chip? That would be too cruel.

But with her pitiful, helpless gaze, how could he comfort her?

Li Haojun gently kissed her lips, and she did not refuse. Trying to explore a realm she had never touched, Li Haojun held her tighter again and gave her a deep, lingering kiss.

Li Haojun wanted to give her comfort and reassurance. Sienna wanted care and affection. Two hearts drawing closer bridged the final gap between them. No more light passed through. In the golden, sparkling waves of the afternoon waterside, two figures became one.