'SEE YOU MORNING' 137 A Broader Perception

Going up to the second floor of the hotel felt like traveling back in time to the last century. From the corridor to the rooms, the floors were covered with worn, gray-white carpet, pale green baseboards, and wallpaper with beige and brick-red patterns. It was far from being as stylish as the first floor; it seemed the second floor’s business hadn’t been renovated since that era.

The room was so small it could barely fit a compact double bed. The nightstand was an old wooden type with drawers, and on it sat a wired dial telephone, though it was uncertain if it still worked. Li Haojun tried the lamp with its conical shade, and it lit up. He turned to look at Malaya behind him and smiled.

“So, is this okay? There’s no other choice around here,” Malaya asked, since she had booked the hotel.

“No, no, I mean, I’m sorry to put you through this, bringing you to this dump,” Li Haojun quickly explained upon hearing her words.

“I’m an old man, I don’t mind a bit of hardship. You…”

Malaya smiled and interrupted him before he could finish.

“Am I some born princess?”

Only then did Li Haojun realize his subconscious tenderness toward her, his preference for young women—perhaps for all of them. He thought for a moment, then decided it wasn’t all, only those he cared about.

Malaya looked at him with a smile, said nothing, made a turn around the room, took out her small buttons, and placed one near the door and one near the window. Then she said, “Accommodation is settled. What about dinner? Order takeout or find a restaurant nearby?”

“Is there a restaurant nearby?”

“Yes, there is.”

“Let’s take a look around the neighborhood first,” Li Haojun said. He always felt uneasy—perhaps it was his nature. He didn’t trust unfamiliar places, especially remote, poor ones.

They left the hotel and walked down the street. Before they had gone far, Li Haojun felt something was off. The houses on both sides were dilapidated, and most of the residents were elderly, the kind who didn’t seem to engage in any social activities. There were more men than women, and they stared at the two strangers with dull, vacant eyes.

Li Haojun immediately realized he shouldn’t have brought Malaya out in public. These people, lacking material goods, also lacked opposite-sex partners. Young and beautiful Malaya would be exactly the kind of target they’d fancy.

“Let’s go back to the hotel and order takeout,” he said, taking her hand to turn back, and added as an explanation, “Food from reputable businesses is safer.”

“Okay.” Malaya readily agreed.

After dinner at the hotel, the sky was growing dark. The sunset hovered over the mountain ridge west of the city, only half of its glow left to spill into the town, illuminating the walls of high-rise buildings and also the roofs of the low houses in this neighborhood. Dim yellow lights flickered sparsely from the windows beneath the eaves, while the streets had already turned black.

Li Haojun looked back into the room, where warm light shone, and Malaya sat beside him. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “I want to barricade the door with furniture, because I don’t trust this place much.”

“Mm, I agree.”

“Heh, maybe I just lack a sense of security,” Li Haojun said with a self-mocking laugh.

“No problem. I understand your caution.”

Under Malaya’s watchful gaze, Li Haojun piled the sofa, nightstand, and shoe cabinet against the door, then added the old CRT television on top. After finishing, he thought about what else heavy he could use. Scanning the room, he noticed Malaya watching his antics with a smile.

“Are you trying to protect me?”

Malaya’s words were direct and sharp, cutting right to Li Haojun’s true feelings. He was still a bit embarrassed to admit it, so he hedged, “Yeah, for our safety.”

“Did you do the same when you were with my sister?”

Li Haojun thought for a moment and said, “No. Back then, we mostly went to military bases—security was fine. Here, what I worry about most is crimes of opportunity.”

“Oh.”

Watching Malaya sit on the edge of the bed, looking at him, Li Haojun wondered what to do next. If it were her sister, they’d take turns showering. But today it was the younger sister—what to do?

Malaya seemed to sense his thoughts. She said softly, “Ethan, I need to meditate now. You don’t have to wake me; I’ll come out of it naturally.”

“Oh, okay. Your sister mentioned you do this sometimes.”

“Mm. Feel free to do whatever you need during this time.”

“Alright,” he replied, thinking to himself: with her in meditation in such a small room, he could use the tiny bathroom without too much awkwardness. That thought in mind, he asked, “Do you want to take a shower first?”

“No, I’m going to meditate now.”

“Mm.” He watched as she propped up her pillow and lay down on one side of the bed.

Li Haojun observed her curiously. She lay flat, hands on her chest, motionless. Looking closely, her chest rose and fell gently—she was still breathing. Reassured, he turned to his own business.

He turned off the bedroom light and took a quick shower in the cramped bathroom. Remembering his sweat-soaked shirt, he washed it too, then his underwear and socks.

After wringing them out and hanging them up, he came back to Malaya. Her eyes were closed, her body still, her chest barely moving. It seemed the only thing he could help her clean was her socks.

He gently rolled one of her socks down from the cuff without waking her, then did the same with the other. Li Haojun always believed that going sockless at night helped improve circulation in the feet. Then he casually covered Malaya’s feet, calves, and knees with a blanket.

Washing Malaya’s socks in the bathroom, Li Haojun remembered the first time he’d done this for Kesiya. He wondered if this younger sister also needed care, even though she had never mentioned it to him.

He hung the washed socks by the window and looked up at the stars. Waves of cool night air from the desert washed over him. Turning back to look at Malaya lying on the bed, the faint starlight illuminated her cheeks. Li Haojun didn’t know if she was meditating or sleeping—or whether her meditative consciousness had already flown to the stars?

Through the starry night, in low Earth orbit, Liana was listening in on an interstellar video conference. She didn’t participate in the discussion because her people were not deeply involved in factional activities on Earth. However, the actions of those actively contending on Earth did influence the direction of real-world developments, thereby affecting all related parties.

Liana simply listened quietly to the speakers, understanding their intentions. Sometimes, she could also trace the thoughts and interests of the speakers. Different races had different natural abilities or technological aids for such mental tracking and countermeasures.

Beyond Earth, consciousness seemed to be a larger, intertwined mixture. And at that moment, Lydia was in another space, helping her sister trace and verify the origins of all kinds of consciousness—true, false, or deceptive.