'SEE YOU MORNING' 152 Come Close to Me

The boring Monday exhibition morning was already passing, and Li Haojun was still reminiscing about the time he had spent with Malaya last weekend. By now he had realized on his own that attending this exhibition was not the focus of his work—he was here to ensure the effectiveness of the testing equipment, and attending the exhibition seemed like a cover.
Not long after, Malaya came back from outside, a sight that made one’s eyes light up. No longer in that functional uniform, she had worn the layered-shoulder V-neck diagonal-hem skirt that Li Haojun had bought for her. The red satin fabric shimmered with alternating light and shadow as she moved, the satin flowing like a rainbow. Paired with black high heels, a high bun tied with goose-green satin ribbon, and a cool, stern face, she was simply a passionate ice beauty.
“Let me take you to eat something delicious at noon, okay?” Malaya walked up close and asked.
“Sure,”
What else could Li Haojun say? Even if it were a blade mountain or a sea of fire, as long as he could make a feasible plan, he would follow Malaya anywhere, let alone going to eat something good.
He agreed and stood up, but Malaya didn’t move. Li Haojun was wondering why she wasn’t leading the way. Oh, he understood—Malaya was wearing a formal dress, and as a gentleman, he quickly offered his arm.
Malaya smiled and took his arm as they left the venue.
Walking out of the exhibition building, the blazing sun was overhead. Malaya looked left and right—the reserved taxi hadn’t arrived yet. Li Haojun pulled her and stood under the shade of a palm tree.
“Ethan, are you willing to kiss me?”
The sudden question caught Li Haojun completely off guard. He could never have imagined the Malaya from his memories would ask him something like this. For a moment, he didn’t know how to answer, just staring blankly at her, at her eyes, searching for even the slightest clue.
Malaya ambiguously wrapped both arms around Li Haojun’s neck, circling closer in front of him.
“The whole street has cameras,” Malaya said softly, her lips barely moving.
“Let’s record everything about us right here, okay? My Ethan Hunt.”
Li Haojun keenly realized she had mentioned the name of the spy from the movie they had watched together. Did she need him to play along?
Li Haojun put his arm around her shoulders and simply kissed her neck.
They took a taxi to a high-altitude restaurant, the kind where you could look down on the earth from above. Malaya and Li Haojun sat across from each other at a table by the window, and the ordinary buildings, pedestrians, and vehicles on the ground outside all looked so tiny.
“Are you afraid of heights?” Li Haojun didn’t know why Malaya would think of this question.
“Actually, it’s not really about fear of heights. It’s mainly a personal safety factor.”
“Oh, so that means if you were tied tight with a rope and couldn’t fall from this height, you wouldn’t be afraid of heights, right?” Malaya asked very calmly, as if that elusive little scheme of hers was at work again.
“Pretty much, because there’s no need to take unnecessary risks.” Li Haojun started lecturing about his life philosophy again with a straight face.
Malaya took a sip of her drink and looked at him with those big eyes of hers.
“So what is the boundary between necessary and unnecessary?”
“Hmm? I don’t know either, haha.” Li Haojun couldn’t answer either and could only laugh at himself.
“You’ll find out,” Malaya said, setting the drink she was holding on the table.
“Yeah,” Li Haojun could only agree in response.
“Then, don’t you think living within boundaries all the time makes life too ordinary, or boring?”
Li Haojun looked into Malaya’s eyes, not knowing why she wanted to ask these questions today. After a moment, he answered as such:
“I just want to stay by the side of the people I care about.”
“Hehehe,” Malaya laughed.
“What if the people you care about—one wants to go east, and one wants to go west?”
“Oh, you’re giving me another tough one again.” After saying that, Li Haojun looked at Malaya in front of him, but what he was thinking about was Qin Wenjing. She was very well-behaved. Kesiya was too, and she wouldn’t cause him any trouble either. Only this Malaya was hard to figure out, and unpredictable. Could her words be referring to herself? Such an ambiguous atmosphere.
Today’s lunch couldn’t be called lavish or delicious. Perhaps they were eating more of the atmosphere and mood. Li Haojun didn’t even eat his fill, but he would never find fault with anything Malaya did.
After the meal, the two of them sat there chatting for a long time. Li Haojun didn’t know why Malaya had so much to say today—she wasn’t usually like this.
After finishing their meal, the two walked out of the restaurant and reached the fire escape door. Malaya suddenly stopped, tried the handle, and pulled open the door leading to the rooftop. She walked up two steps inside, then turned around and said to Li Haojun:
“Follow me, I want to show you something.”
Li Haojun hesitated for a moment, not understanding what she wanted to do.
“What? Are you afraid I’ll sell you?”
“No.” Li Haojun said as he followed her in and pulled the door shut behind him. They went up the passage and opened the rooftop door, only to find it covered with a tarp.
Malaya gestured for him to stand on the rooftop, then turned around and closed the door behind her. The two of them stood under the tarp, invisible from outside.
“Do you trust me?” Malaya asked.
Li Haojun didn’t answer, nor did he refuse.
Malaya pulled a bundle out from under the tarp and undid the drawstring. Inside seemed to be safety harnesses—the kind used for high-altitude work. Were they going to do some construction?
Li Haojun was curious, but on closer look, it wasn’t that. Malaya had already taken out the equipment—it was parachutes. She first fitted Li Haojun with his gear, explaining the inspection points along the way, then fitted herself. She slapped Li Haojun on the shoulder:
“Check my equipment.”
Li Haojun followed her instructions strictly, since this was a life-or-death operation. It was just that Malaya’s fair thighs, her waist, her elegant turns—they certainly were distracting.
“Now you’re all strapped in. Don’t be afraid of heights, okay.” Malaya said with a laugh as she released a drone that pulled the rope binding them both upward. By now, Li Haojun had roughly figured out what was about to happen.
The sound of helicopter rotors beating the air came from a distance. Malaya tore open the tarp above and looked up at the sky. Li Haojun was very cautious—he pushed at the edges of the tarp. It was just draped there, not fixed at all, so it probably wouldn’t be a problem.
The moment the helicopter sound reached directly overhead, the rope had already pulled both of them into the air with a catenary curve.
The two of them, just lifted off, were still unstable in the air. Unbalanced wind resistance caused them to spin. Li Haojun tried to spread his limbs to provide more wind resistance to balance Malaya’s side, but the air resistance of her skirt was too great. Li Haojun tried to extend his right leg and right arm to increase the torque, but that was a difference of an order of magnitude in vain—far from enough. So he quickly told Malaya:
“Come close to me.”
“What did you say? I can’t hear you!” Malaya shouted loudly.
But at this distance she should be able to hear. Li Haojun looked at her squinting her eyes and shouting with a big smile, and understood her little scheme. So he also opened his throat and shouted:
“Come close to me!”
“Whaaat? I can’t hear you!” The two spun, and Malaya stubbornly pretended she still couldn’t hear.
“I said, please come close to me!”
“Whaaat? Say it again!”
“Please come close to me!”
This time Malaya was finally satisfied. She tightened her limbs to reduce resistance, the distance shortened rapidly, the speed increased, and she crashed directly into Li Haojun’s arms.
Li Haojun quickly held her tight, spreading his legs to stay stable. Although they were facing away from the direction of flight for now, at least the spinning had stopped.
The two of them faced each other in the fierce wind, both instinctively holding each other’s bodies tight. At some point, the satin ribbon Malaya had used to tie her hair was gone. Her loose hair danced wildly in the wind.
“Say you love me.” Malaya gazed into Li Haojun’s eyes, waiting for his answer.
Still in Li Haojun’s hesitation, Malaya had already furrowed her brow. That sharp look in her eyes—he had never seen it before.
“I love you. I, I’m just not sure if this is love.”
After saying that, Li Haojun lightly kissed her lips. Malaya’s long hair, dancing in the wind, occasionally whipped against Li Haojun’s face, as if constantly reminding him of that promise made in the wind.