‘SEE YOU MORNING’ 144 Attention Branch

‘SEE YOU MORNING’ 144 Attention Branch

After the family dinner, with Lin Yuhui’s interaction, it seemed this household had finally stepped out from the shadow of losing its backbone member.
Accompanying Grace and the children back to their room, Lin Yuhui was soon chased by the kids, clamoring for him to play. Yet he didn’t seem suited for a life of leisurely retirement—especially not now, having just arrived in this place, joined this company, taken over the position of a deceased man, along with his wife, children, and his brother’s health. He needed to make a living in this role, but so far, he hadn’t found any leads. He required clarity about his situation before he could feel secure.
Under the expectant gazes of Grace and the children, Lin Yuhui asked,
“Did Theodore leave any belongings?”
Grace froze, momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
“I mean, did he have a habit of bringing work home? Are there any items around that might give me some relevant clues?”
“Oh, I see. Let me think.”
“I’m sorry, bringing up old memories again,” Lin Yuhui said, stroking her cheek.
Grace thought for a moment, then rose and went to the bedside cabinet, retrieving an old-fashioned key from the lower drawer.
“This is the key to the basement. Theodore would go down there sometimes. I’ll take you.”
After settling the children, Grace led the way. The corridor to the basement was dim. Following behind her, Lin Yuhui’s attention fell more on the way she walked. Grace was still wearing the indoor slippers she’d used while playing with the children earlier, unable to move too quickly; each step produced two distinct sounds as the heel and sole tapped against the floor.
He liked women; he had a particular eye for discovering the beauty in each one. But discipline kept him restrained, maintaining moderation, and there was also the pull of her in his heart.
The first room was a home theater. Lin Yuhui had no interest; it seemed no one did—it had been sitting idle. Next were the gym, the study, the wine cellar storage room, and the safe room. Grace opened all these doors. When she turned back, seeing the scene, Lin Yuhui smiled and said,
“Looks like there’s plenty of work to do.”
“No need to rush. This is your home,” Grace said, stepping forward to link her arm with Lin Yuhui’s. She led him first into the study.
Lin Yuhui looked around as he walked. Bookshelves lined the wall, adjacent to a sofa and a low tea table—it seemed a place for casual reading.
He scanned the bookshelf briefly; besides books, nothing else caught his eye. Walking to the tea table, he reached out to open the drawer, but his hand paused mid-air. This was Theodore’s space. His widow stood right here, and he had only just passed away. Thinking of this, he turned to look at Grace behind him.
“Open it. It’s yours now,” Grace said softly to Lin Yuhui.
Gazing into Grace’s eyes, even as a flicker of sadness shimmered within them, Lin Yuhui was ready to comfort her.
Sitting on the sofa, he pulled open the drawer. Nothing much—pens, notepads, and a notebook. Lin Yuhui glanced up at Grace; she was perched on the arm of the sofa beside him.
Lin Yuhui took out the notebook and flipped through it slowly. It seemed to record reflections on his reading, or sentiments, perhaps different insights. Finding no clear leads, he rummaged further inside the drawer. There were more notes, but they contained only a few scattered words. Lin Yuhui couldn’t decipher if they referred to content from books or something else entirely.
At some point, Grace had left and returned, carrying an opened bottle of red wine. She settled back onto the arm of the sofa beside Lin Yuhui, but she had brought only one glass. She took a sip herself first. Seeing Lin Yuhui looking up at her from the sofa, she casually poured more wine into the glass. Because she poured hastily, foamy bubbles splashed against the rim and clung to the glass walls.
As Grace brought the glass to Lin Yuhui’s lips, the fruity aroma bursting from the popping foam already teased his nostrils. Lin Yuhui hadn’t expected that in his past life, due to heart problems in that body, he couldn’t enjoy fine grape wine. Yet in this life, using Hunter’s body, he could drink freely, with a beautiful woman pouring for him. Could this be fate turning a corner to compensate for his previous hardships?
Amidst the fragrance of the wine and Grace’s close presence, he flipped through several more of the old notes. As time passed, the newly opened dry red seemed to breathe and open up, mingling with the air. More scents of flowers, grass, and berries filled the enclosed space, as if he were transported to a quiet, fragrant wilderness.
Lin Yuhui looked up. At some point, Grace had slid onto the floor. Her legs curled beneath her on the carpet, arms wrapped around her waist, she rested her chin on her thighs, gazing up at him. The ruby-red of the wine stained her lips, and the alcohol flushed her cheeks with pink.
Looking into her eyes fixed on him, Lin Yuhui suddenly realized—perhaps she hadn’t brought him here to find clues? Maybe she simply wanted him here.
“Theodore, do you remember the days we used to spend here?” she said, a playful smile appearing as she climbed up along his thigh, sitting face-to-face and wrapping her arms around his neck.
“I’m sorry, I don’t remember that,” Lin Yuhui replied. Though he said this, at this face-to-face distance, he could, by accessing her memories, understand what she meant.
“Theo, do you know how to ride a horse?”
Seeing Grace clutch his shirt collar as she asked this, Lin Yuhui deliberately answered,
“I don’t.”
“It’s okay, I can teach you,” she said, straddling the arm of the sofa, leaning forward until her chest pressed near Lin Yuhui’s face. One hand tightened his collar, the other stroked his head and neck, pulling his head closer to her.
“First, you must get familiar with your horse. Build trust through contact, through touch. For example, stroke the horse’s neck.”
“Oh,” he murmured in response, feeling his nostrils blocked.
He turned his head slightly, breathing in the scent of Grace’s wine-laced breath.
“Hahaha,” Grace laughed, leaning back to sit fully on him. Then, gripping the sides of Lin Yuhui’s shirt collar, she shook him gently and said,
“Then you can slowly walk your horse. Don’t pull too hard on the reins.” Finishing, she gave a mischievous smile.
“Remember to sit on the saddle, not on the pommel,” she added, wiggling her hips where she sat on Lin Yuhui, giggling as she mimicked riding. With a soft click of her tongue, “Hyah,” she began to simulate the motion of a walking horse, her body rising and falling gently before Lin Yuhui, not just vertically, but swaying subtly side-to-side, mimicking the horse’s gait.
Face-to-face, watching Grace’s earnest performance, Lin Yuhui couldn’t help but recall his own fond memories from childhood—yes, the happiest ones were from that era, riding the carousel at the children’s park.
While he was lost in the blissful reverie of his golden childhood, the Grace before him grew increasingly animated. She gave a little shake of his collar, as if flicking the reins, and called out again,
“Theo, lift me up, let’s run!” Then she increased the amplitude of her bouncing.
Seeing Lin Yuhui still not fully engaging in her game, Grace began rocking his shoulders in rhythm, as if a rider clutching a horse’s mane to match its motion.
Grace played more wildly. Her rising and falling form sent her long hair flying through the air, as if she were truly galloping on horseback. Under her shaking, Lin Yuhui had to tense every muscle in his body to counter the impact of her movements, lest he fall apart himself.
With each downward thrust of the “saddle,” Grace’s body soared upward. The rider’s sweat, mixed with the scent of oxidized wine, stirred the primal instinct deep within Lin Yuhui—the urge to gallop across the grassland, lifting Grace’s palpitating heart high into flight.
Gradually, Grace seemed to lose the strength to tame this wild horse. Her breath came faster and hotter against Lin Yuhui’s face. She would collapse onto him occasionally, her chest bumping against his nose, mingling the scent of her sweat on her forehead with the dampness of his shirt.
Lin Yuhui had no choice but to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her close, preventing her from sliding off him. Slowly, he stilled her restless body, drawing it closer to his own.
Grace, seemingly drained of all energy, collapsed limply onto him.
After a long while, Grace whispered in Lin Yuhui’s ear,
“Like before… will you let me be your horse? Have you forgotten how you used to ride me?”
“Yes, now I know,” Lin Yuhui whispered back. He knew. He knew that since living with Grace, he had never taken the initiative in this regard. But he was now a man of flesh and blood. Though desire stirred within him, he feared his indulgence would disturb another’s peaceful existence—the one in his heart. During the moments just past, Lin Yuhui had even forced himself to divert his attention, not wanting to think of her in that instant, lest he disturb her peace—though he wasn’t even sure if such a mechanism worked that way.
In Low Earth Orbit, the sister of the person he cared about was checking the status of the medical pod where Lin Yuhui lay. Because he was dreaming. Another branch of Lin Yuhui’s attention—he seemed to sense something.
Although the priority was first reversing the age of the body whose consciousness had been extracted, Lydia had discovered, during her interaction with his consciousness as she put him to sleep, that he was dreaming. A wet dream.