Early on a new morning, Shizuka could no longer sense Chunhui's thoughts about her, yet she herself had not slept well. For months, her memories of Chunhui lingered: his figure, his gaze, the feelings he held for her.
新的一天早上,静香不再感到春晖关于自己的思绪,但是她自己也并没有睡好,因为几个月来她关于春晖的记忆还在,他的身影,他的眼神,他对自己的感觉.
Just as she had erased his memories for him every time before, Shizuka went to Chunhui's room the next morning, took the brainwave interaction device off his head, and her eyes inadvertently drifted down toward his lower body.
如同之前每次给他抹去记忆一样,第二天早上静香来到了春晖的房间,从他的头上摘下了脑波交互设备,但是无意间眼神扫过他的下身.
Shizuka thought her former maiden life had been tainted by her current life of contact with the opposite sex, but it seemed not entirely so, for she truly saw something that caught her eye.
静香以为自己从前的少女生活被如今自己与异性接触的生活侵染了,但似乎不全是,因为她确实看到了什么吸引了她视线的注意力.
What was that? As she wondered, the auxiliary artificial intelligence aboard the starship she piloted answered in her mind. It was a physiological phenomenon of human males on Earth; he had had a nocturnal emission.
那是什么?疑惑之间,自己的脑海中传来了自己所驾驶的飞船上的辅助人工智能给出的解答,是地球人类男性的一种生理现象,他遗精了.
She could erase his memories with technological equipment, yet that little device could not wipe away physical traces. What should she do? It was the device she had put on him that prevented him from waking up during the night to clean this up. Should she help him clean it now?
自己可以用科技设备抹去他的记忆,可是那个小玩意并不能抹去物质痕迹.要怎么办呢?是自己的给他戴的这个设备阻止了他自己夜间醒来清理这一切,现在要不要自己帮他清理这些呢?
Lost in thought, Shizuka slowly squatted down to observe the situation. After making up her mind, she put the brainwave device back on Chunhui, adjusted it to a stable sleep state, turned around to fetch his towel, and tried to wipe him clean. But as she wiped, she found the substance was sticky and clung to the towel. How would she clean the towel later? She really did not want to get it on her hands when washing the towel, and besides, there was a strange odor.
思虑着,静香慢慢蹲下身,观察着情况.想好后,她把脑波设备又给春晖戴上,调节到稳定睡眠的状态,回身去取来他的毛巾,试着帮他擦干净,但是擦下去她才发现黏糊糊的粘在了毛巾上,一会儿可怎么清理毛巾啊?一会儿洗毛巾的时候真的不想弄到自己的手上,并且,好像还有怪怪的味道.
Frowning, Shizuka rolled up the towel and wiped the substance off his body. While wiping, the image of him preparing food for her every day appeared before her eyes, his waiting, his smiling face. It seemed her time to repay him had come, just like that famous saying on Earth, "There is no such thing as a free lunch."
静香皱着眉,试着翻卷着毛巾,把那些东西从他身上擦干净.一边擦着,眼前浮现着他每天为自己准备食物的身影,他的守候,他的笑脸.看来现在是自己的偿还时刻了,就像地球上的那句名言,"没有免费的午餐."
The sticky, damp and cool substance had soaked through his shorts. What should she do? Shizuka tried to pull them down to wash together with the towel later. Though she knew the physiological structure of Earth humans, seeing a real adult man for the first time still brought some visual and mental shock, no matter whether this young girl was from Earth or not.
那些黏糊糊又湿又凉的东西已经浸透了他的短裤,怎么办呢?静香试着把它拉下来,一会儿和毛巾一起洗了.虽然她知道地球人的生理结构,但是第一次看见真实的成年男子,还是有些视觉和心灵上的冲击,不论这个少女是不是地球人.
After tidying everything up, the whole morning had passed. Would she be late for work? No, the starship could jump directly to the time and location required for patrol. Jumping between different time and space locations, routine cruising and signal collection. After work, she opened a communication channel with her younger sister.
收拾完一切,一早上已经过去了,上班要迟到了吗?不会的,飞船可以直接跳跃到需要巡逻的时间和地点.不同时空地点的跳跃,例程的巡航和收集信号.工作之余,她接通了与妹妹的通话,
"Do you know where Papia is now? I want to send Chunhui back to her."
"你知道现在的帕皮亚在哪里吗?我想把春晖给她送回去."
"Hehe, have you grown tired of this man?" Her younger sister spoke playfully.
"呵呵呵,怎么你不喜欢这个男人了吗?" 妹妹很调皮,
"Well, I don't think I'm ready for this kind of life. He should keep working for Papia."
"嗯,我觉得我还没准备好这样的生活,还是让他继续为帕皮亚效力吧."
"Ah, that was, hmm, almost twenty years ago. Papia said she needed manpower, so I introduced Chunhui to her. She assigned tasks to him through the soul matching immersion pod. I don't know the access point she used, nor where she is now."
"哎呀,那都是,嗯,差不多二十年前的事情了,帕皮亚说她需要人手,我就把春晖给她介绍过去了.她也是通过灵魂匹配沉浸舱给他指派的任务,我不知道她应用的接入点在哪,也不知道现在她在哪."
"Didn't you introduce him to her? How can you not know her location?"
"不是你介绍他过去的吗?你怎么会不知道地点?"
"I brought one branch of his consciousness over. It was Papia's equipment that matched his soul frequency and focus of awareness."
"我是把他的一个注意力分支带过去的,是帕皮亚那边的设备匹配了他的灵魂频率和意识焦点."
"Oh, alright." Replying, Shizuka ended the call. A living physical human could not be sent back. She also pondered whether that trace of heart flutter when she first met Captain Lübeck had manifested all that followed.
"哦,好吧." 回答着,静香结束了通话,一个肉身大活人是退不回去了.她也在思索,是不是自己第一次见到吕贝克船长的时候,那一丝心动显化了后来的这一切.
Back then, though he already had a girlfriend, the care and concern he held for her in his heart had stirred an unprecedented flutter in her chest. As a result, the universe had sent him from another timeline into her world.
那时候他虽然已经有女友了,可是他心中对自己的那份关爱与牵挂,让自己有了一丝从未有过的心动,结果宇宙把另一条时间线里的他送到了自己的世界里.
She finished her patrol mission for the day. Of course, this "day" referred to Shizuka's personal time. She returned to her vacation island to rest. She could also return to her ethnic mothership for resupply or rest, yet on this small island deep in the ocean, a living man was always waiting for her, which tugged at her heartstrings.
结束了今天的巡逻任务,当然这里的 "今天" 是指静香的个人时间,她又回到了她的度假岛休息.虽然她也可以回到自己族裔的母舰补给或者休息,但是在大洋深处的小岛上,有了一个大活人一直在等待着自己,总是让人心生牵挂.
Returning to the deep Pacific Ocean on Earth, the starship hovered in the air. Shizuka scanned the entire island with sensors to check the situation below and saw him right by the seaside.
回到地球的太平洋深处,飞船悬停在空中,静香用传感器扫描了全岛,查看下面情况,也看到了他就在海边.
It was the afternoon on a tropical island, and the blazing sun was still scorching. She walked through coconut groves and shrubs to the seaside, and that figure came into view again, preparing ingredients for dinner.
热带海岛的午后时光,艳阳依然有些酷热.穿过椰树林和灌木丛,走到海边,那个身影又浮现在面前,正在清理食材准备晚饭.
He was alert. Before she got close, he looked up and spotted her, waving his hand. Only that distant smile reflected in her eyes, yet she could no longer feel the joy and warmth he used to feel upon seeing her.
他很警觉,自己没走到跟前,他就抬头看到了自己,还挥了挥手.只是那远远的笑脸映在眼中,却再也感觉不到他往日里心中那相见时的欣喜与热忱.
He would come back. The old Chunhui would return. Perhaps even Shizuka herself did not notice that fleeting thought crossing her mind.
会回来了的,那个从前的春晖还会回来的,或许就连静香自己也没有注意到,那一丝闪念头在心头掠过.
"Need my help?" Shizuka asked with a smile.
"怎么样,用我帮忙吗?" 静香笑着问,
Chunhui glanced at the work in his hands and thought for a moment.
春晖看了一眼手上的活计,想了想,
"I don't think you need to trouble yourself. I'm free anyway; I'll finish it soon."
"我看不用你再占手了,反正我也没事,一会儿就弄完了,"
"Alright." Agreeing, Shizuka suddenly realized the smile she had been wearing on her face just now seemed understood by no one. From adapting to one change, to adapting to another change, this constant tugging frayed the nerves. Shizuka had to set aside her mood and sit on the beach beside him, watching the soft sea breeze stir tiny waves that lapped gently toward the shore, as if stepping over the past and chasing what had once been.
"好啊," 答应着,静香忽然意识到自己刚才一直挂在脸上的笑容,似乎无人能懂.从适应一种改变,到再去适应另一种改变,这样的反复拉扯让人心焦.静香也只好放下心绪,坐在一旁的沙滩上,独自看着轻柔的海风,鼓动着细碎的浪花,脉脉涌向岸边,仿佛踏过往昔,又似在追逐从前.
"The scenery here is beautiful, isn't it?" Chunhui said, holding the sea fish to be cleaned in both hands and coming to sit beside her.
"这里风景很美是吗," 春晖说着,双手端着需要清理的海鱼,过来坐在了她的身边,
"Yes, it is a wonderful place for vacation." Shizuka turned her head to look at his face and replied, a faint smile unconsciously curling at her lips.
"是啊,这是个度假的好地方." 扭头看着他的脸庞回答,静香的嘴角不觉流露一丝微笑,
"How long is our vacation here? I can barely remember my duties as your starship co-pilot, and I wonder if I can learn them during this vacation."
"我们这次来这里的假期有多长时间啊?我不太记得作为你的飞船副驾驶的职责了,也不知道这一个假期里我还能不能学会."
"It's alright..." Shizuka originally planned to continue and tell him she would put on the brainwave learning device for him tonight, but she changed her mind.
"没关系..." 静香原本想要接着说晚上给他戴脑波学习设备,但是她改主意了,
"You don't need to pilot the starship in the first place. A single person performing missions in deep space tends to suffer emotional instability, so two people are needed."
"原本也不需要你驾驶飞船,一个人在深空执行任务容易情绪不稳定,所以需要两个人."
"Oh, that sounds like an easy task for me."
"哦,这对我来说真是个简单任务."
"Mm." Shizuka nodded.
"嗯," 静香点了点头,
"If I may say so, you didn't seem very happy when you came back. Are there any troubles at work? Maybe talking about it will lift your spirits."
"恕我直言,你回来的时候好像不是很开心,是工作上有什么烦恼吗?或许说出来心情会好些."
Shizuka smiled.
静香笑了,
"No worries. My mood gets better as soon as I come back to this vacation island." She finished speaking with a smile, looking at the fish he had already prepared.
"不用啦,回到这个度假岛我的心情就好了啊." 笑着说完,看看他已经收拾好的鱼,
"Can we eat now?"
"我们可以开吃啦了吗?"
"Sure. I'll start the fire and then we can roast them." Chunhui replied with a dazed expression. Perhaps he could not understand why Shizuka's mood shifted so quickly.
"当然,我去生火,然后就开烤," 回答着,春晖的表情有点愣,或许他不明白,为什么静香的情绪变化这么快.
From the afternoon sun slanting low, to sunset glow, then to the rising crescent moon. It was that same thin crescent moon, and another stroll after dinner. Shizuka watched Chunhui place her taken-off shoes beside the fire, using the residual heat of the flames to dry the moisture inside them. Then he stood up, jogged to catch up, and accompanied her walking on the soft fine sand.
从午后斜阳,到晚霞日落,再到新月初升.还是那弯新月,还是晚饭后的散步.静香看着春晖把她脱下来的鞋子放在了炉火旁,用炉火的余温烤干鞋子里的潮气,然后起身,慢跑着跟了上来,陪自己走在细软的沙滩上.
As they wandered, though he did not wrap his arm around her waist as he had the previous night, everything seemed to be moving along the right path.
漫步间,虽然他没有像昨晚一样搂着自己的腰,但是一切似乎走在正确的路上.