‘SEE YOU MORNING’ 147 Ethical Shackles

The morning sunlight filtered through the curtains into the bedroom, already illuminating the bed and the vanity. Grace still slept beside him, her hair veiling her cheek, demurely pushing back against the intrusion of dawn’s light. Lin Yuhui was glad to see the woman beside him sleeping so soundly.

But the burden then shifted to him, because now he had to go from thinking about his own survival to protecting his family. Yes, Grace was already family in Lin Yuhui’s heart.

The goal was clear: to stay alive and be with Grace. Which meant that if he were careless like Theodore and got himself killed again, he would need another body to possess, and that body had to belong to this family. Preferably this family, because they had money, so he wouldn’t have to deal with survival issues, and with money came resources, and with resources he could develop his own power.

But then—without Hunter’s body, whose could he use? If he and Grace had a few children, their genes would be close, and perhaps he could possess them. But that would be too slow. How long would it take for them to grow up? Ah, the children of Hunter’s older brother were also close genetically. He could test now whether that was feasible.

At this thought, Lin Yuhui slowly withdrew himself from Hunter’s body. Ah, there was a slight tingling sensation between his fingers. He had been inside too long, nearly grown together with it.

He glanced back. There was Hunter, that pathetic lump, limbs all tangled, still squatting there. Leave him for now. He drifted to the children’s room. Levi was a boy, but he was too young. Charlotte, though a girl, was a bit older. Lin Yuhui tried to possess her, and inside her sleeping little head, it was as if he saw a deep night sky glittering with stars. He tried once and withdrew. He couldn’t do it. His conscience would not permit him to do that to a child.

But what then? Perhaps try Grace. He drifted back to his own bedroom and tried to slip into her body. In her deep sleep, she seemed to be in an endless void as well, but in the distance he could see her floating form.

Lin Yuhui wanted to take hold of her body’s senses, but he couldn’t. It was already occupied. It seemed impossible. The only reason he’d been able to take over Hunter’s body back then was because Hunter had been taking drugs and messing around, which made it so easy.

“Theodore? Is that you?” Lin Yuhui, deep in thought, was suddenly startled by a call from behind him. He didn’t know how his instincts managed it, but he immediately shifted into Theodore’s appearance. He turned around. It was Grace gazing at him.

“It’s me. I came to see you.” Not knowing what else to say, these words escaped him.

Grace looked him over, still seeming hesitant. Lin Yuhui opened his arms and gave her a hug.

“Live well. I have to go now.” With that, he quickly withdrew from her body.

Back in Hunter’s body, he looked at Grace, still sound asleep, and resumed his scheming. It seemed the most practical plan for now was to clone Hunter’s body, only he couldn’t go to any commercial institution to do it. Word would quickly reach the people who had gone after Theodore from behind the scenes. Go underground? He had no reliable connections yet. Do it himself? That would require a team, and hired help wouldn’t be loyal—he’d need to cultivate them himself.

As he was dreaming about future plans, sometime unbeknownst to him, Grace had woken up. She was gazing at him, tears sliding from the corners of her eyes, soaking into the sheets.

“What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Lin Yuhui said, hastily wiping away her tears.

“I dreamed of you just now,” Grace choked out, burying her face in Lin Yuhui’s chest. Her hot tears rolled down onto his skin.

“So you dreamed of me. Why cry? Aren’t I right here with you?” Lin Yuhui said, cupping her cheeks, wiping away her tears, gazing at her in confusion.

“In the dream, I dreamed of Theodore.”

“Oh.” Lin Yuhui understood. Whether it was the contrast between her longing for the old Theodore and the company of who she had now, or the sense of betraying the old Theodore by giving her heart to him now—such contradictions left her at a loss.

“He is me, and I am him.” Lin Yuhui finished and looked into Grace’s eyes, hoping to see conviction there. But her gaze was hesitant, because he wore Hunter’s face. He knew he couldn’t perfectly emulate Theodore’s every word and mannerism.

“No matter whose shell I’m using, wrapped inside it is the soul that loves you.”

Hearing these words, Grace finally set aside her misgivings. She collapsed onto Lin Yuhui’s chest and wept openly.

Stroking her hair, holding her trembling body, Lin Yuhui knew he was speaking deceitful words. His love for Grace was merely the care a man has for a woman, the tenderness for a woman beside him who cared about him. It hadn’t reached the depths of his soul.

He didn’t even know what it would feel like to find his soulmate, because he had never encountered one. If there was one, perhaps it was Liana, but he’d never lived with her. So Lin Yuhui truly didn’t know what any of it was really like.

Holding Grace in his arms, at a loss as to how to comfort her, suddenly she laughed.

“Heh heh.” She lifted her face, looking at him with eyes red from crying, snot running from her nose. He had no idea what she was laughing at. Women.

Shaking his head inwardly, he grabbed a tissue and wiped her nose.

“What are you laughing at?”

Grace squirmed coyly, still unwilling to say.

“What are you laughing at? Crying one moment, laughing the next. What kind of trick is this?” Lin Yuhui pressed, casually pinching her nostrils shut. Now her mouth opened, and her voice came out muffled.

“You’re having a physical reaction.”

“Ha!” Lin Yuhui laughed too. He hadn’t even noticed that thing. How could it be stirring up trouble when he was clearly in the middle of feeling tender towards his woman?

Was it because he thought of her? A flicker of doubt flashed by. Ever since she had left, his mind, which had once been so respectful towards her, had begun slipping into lewdness without his permission. Though he could still stop it from spreading once he caught it, he just didn’t know how to block it before the thoughts surfaced. He’d never been like this before.

“Just now when I was crying, you comforted me. Now let me comfort you, okay?” With that, Grace already had her thigh draped over Lin Yuhui’s waist.

Oh! So that was what she’d been getting at. Lin Yuhui even suspected whether she had deliberately dug this trap and waited for him to fall into it. Ah, women.

“Little brother Hunter, let big sister take care of you, okay?” Grace said, shoving his shoulder and pushing the side-lying Lin Yuhui flat onto his back. She swung herself over and straddled his body, then leaned forward and lay on his chest.

“Who are you, really? You bewilder me so.” Her fingertips traced lightly across his cheek.

Looking at the red rims around Grace’s eyes, what came to Lin Yuhui’s mind in that moment was that old song: “Don’t ask who I am, just face me.”

But what tugged at him more was that one from the past. He didn’t want to disturb her while another woman presented herself so openly before him, yet Lin Yuhui couldn’t help thinking of her. He didn’t know whether he wanted this, nor did he dare imagine it was her before him.