Back home, it was just in time for a family dinner—parents, wife, children. Though not his own, they genuinely treated him as family. For Lin Yuhui, in his previous life, he had never known a harmonious family meal around the table.
回到家中,正好是一家人团聚的晚餐,有父母,有老婆,有孩子,虽然不是自己的,但是他们确确实实是在当自己是家人对待.对于林语晖来说,在他的上一次人生中就没有过和和气气的家庭餐桌回忆.
"Hunter, Grace has told me many times. Since your brother is gone, she's now living with you," Hunter's mother chattered at the table.
"亨特,格蕾丝已经和我说过多次了,既然你哥哥已经走了,她现在也和你一起生活了,"亨特的母亲在餐桌上念叨着,
Lin Yuhui understood immediately: another push to get married. He turned his head and glanced at Grace beside him. She just kept her head down eating, neither lifting her eyes nor looking at him.
林语晖一听就明白了,又要催婚.他扭头看了一眼身边的格蕾丝,她只是自己低头吃自己的食物,也没抬头,也没看自己.
"Just pick a date and marry her. That way your brother's children will have a father."
"你就选个日子,和她结婚吧,也让你哥哥的孩子们有个爸爸,"
"Haha, but I've always been free and not used to restraint. Don't you know what I'm like, Mom?"
"哈哈,但是我自由惯了,不太习惯束缚,我什么样子妈妈你还不知道吗?"
"Oh? That's not right. Grace says you've straightened up."
"唉?不对啊,格蕾丝说你已经学好了,"
Lin Yuhui gave a helpless smile. *Yeah, I really can't imitate Hunter going out every night to fool around.* So he hedged,
林语晖无奈一笑,心想,是啊,我还真学不了亨特每晚出去鬼混,只好搪塞说,
"Give me a little more time. I'm not quite used to ending my single life."
"再给我些时间,我还不太习惯结束单身,"
Though his eyes were on Hunter's mother across the table as he answered, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Grace was hoping for his answer.
虽然眼睛看着对面亨特妈妈答对,但是他的余光里还是注意到了格蕾丝正在期望着自己说出答案,
"Alright, but do it as soon as you can," the old woman muttered, dropping the subject.
"行啊,不过你还是尽早吧,"老人絮叨着,不再提这个话题了.
After dinner, Grace suggested a walk. Lin Yuhui accompanied her, also happy to enjoy his luxurious life.
晚饭过后,格蕾丝主动提出来想散散步,林语晖陪着她,也正好享受一下自己的豪华人生.
In the garden of their villa, the greenery was still lush. Though the sky had darkened, the sparse warm-toned lights not only lit the small path underfoot but also preserved the quiet among the emerald hedges, creating a private space that relaxed the mind.
自家别墅的花园里,依旧是绿植茂盛.天色已暗,但是布置稀疏的昏黄照灯,既能照亮脚下的小路,又能保持翠绿屏障间的幽静,形成一个让人心境放松的私密空间.
Arm in arm with Lin Yuhui, Grace strolled quietly. Tonight she wore a semi-sheer, long burgundy knit cardigan, her long hair draped over her left shoulder, leaving her right cheek exposed to him.
挽着林语晖的胳膊,格蕾丝只是静静地散步,今晚她穿了一件半透的长款绛紫色针织长衫,披散了长发拢在了左肩,露出右侧的脸颊留给林语晖,
"Theodore, I know you're not the same as before," Grace finally spoke.
"西奥多,我知道你已经和原来不一样了,"格蕾丝终于开口了,
Lin Yuhui glanced at her, saying nothing to interrupt, waiting for her to continue.
林语晖看了她一眼,并没有说什么打断她,而是等着她继续说什么,
"I also know you're using Hunter's body. He was always single, and…"
"我也知道你使用的亨特身体,他之前一直是单身,而且..."
She didn't finish saying what Hunter was like; both knew in their hearts.
她没有继续说亨特怎么样,两人心里都清楚,
"Can you tell me—is there another woman in your heart, so you don't want to marry me? Or," Grace paused for a moment,
"能不能告诉我,是不是你心中有别的女人,所以不想和我结婚?或者,"格蕾丝停顿了片刻,
"Or you just don't like me."
"或者你只是不喜欢我,"
Lin Yuhui didn't know what to say for a moment. It was a hard question to answer.
林语晖一时也不知道说什么,这个问题不太好回答,
"Actually, we could register a marriage that only includes a custodial relationship. That way the children can call you Dad, without the exclusivity clause for spouses. If you still want other women—after all, you've never been married."
"其实,我们可以注册一个只包含抚养关系的婚姻,这样孩子们就可以叫你爸爸了,不包括配偶排他约定,如果你还想要别的女人的话,毕竟你还没有结过婚."
He put an arm around Grace's waist, looked into her eyes, and gave her a smile. Lin Yuhui knew she had thought it through thoroughly for him, nearly humbly, just to get what little she could—including a reliable father for her children.
搂了搂格蕾丝的腰,看着她的眼睛给她一个微笑,林语晖知道她为自己想得很周到,而且近乎有些卑微地只想要获得她所能得到的那一点,也包括给她的孩子们找一个可靠的爸爸,
"Don't you feel you're shortchanging yourself?" Lin Yuhui couldn't help asking.
"这样你不觉得委屈自己吗?"林语晖忍不住问她,
In the darkness, he could no longer tell if Grace's face still held a smile. Only her soft voice,
夜色中,已经看不清格蕾丝面容是否还有笑容,只有她轻声倾诉,
"No. Isn't this our life now? I just want to keep living this way, and give the children a father."
"不,这不就是我们现在的生活吗,我只是想继续这样的生活,还有让孩子们有个爸爸,"
Thinking that if she hadn't lost her first husband, she wouldn't have to beg so humbly, Lin Yuhui felt a touch of sorrow and couldn't help but feel compassion.
一想到要不是她失去了原配丈夫,也不用如今自己这样卑微祈求,林语晖心中一丝悲凉,不由得心生怜悯,
Just as he was about to agree, in a flash he thought of his promise from his past life. He didn't want to soothe one wounded woman only to hurt another.
刚想应允,一瞬间林语晖又想到了自己前世的诺言,他不想因为安抚一个受伤的女人而伤害到另一个,
The sky had gone completely dark. The faint light of the antique garden lamps was swallowed by the leaves and branches of the plant walls, leaving only scattered specular highlights on the curved leaf surfaces. In the dark green, they shone with an oily gloss, the thick fleshy leaves full of life.
天色已经全黑了,仿古的园林照明灯的微光被植物叶片墙的枝叶间隙吞噬,只剩星星点点的叶子曲面高光反射,暗绿中闪着油光,看起来厚实的叶肉满含生机.
He looked again at Grace beside him. The light also fell on her cheeks, but her face was backlit, hiding the vitality and smile that should have been there.
再看身边的格蕾丝,灯光也照亮她的脸颊,只是面容背光,看不到本应洋溢在她脸上的生机与笑容.
Her shoulders, her waist—the light traced the lonely silhouette of her youth. Having lost her husband, she could have left this place that pained her, but she didn't. Instead, by chance, she had chosen him.
她的肩臂,她的腰身,被灯光描绘出年轻的孤单轮廓.失去了丈夫的她,本可以离开这个让她伤心的地方,但是她没有,而是又机缘巧合地选择了自己,
Lin Yuhui wrapped his left arm around her waist and drew her to him. With his right arm he held her shoulders and back, pulling her into his embrace. The evening breeze was cool, and so was her body. Gently he stroked her waist and back, holding her tighter, closer. He parted his hands, one holding her waist and back firmly, the other holding her hip and thigh, pressing their whole bodies together to warm her.
林语晖左臂搂着她的腰把她挽到自己身前,右手搂过她的肩背把她搂在自己怀中,晚风微凉,她的身体也是.轻轻抚摸她的腰背,搂紧她,再靠近自己一些,分开两手,一手搂紧她的腰背,一手搂紧她的臀腿,让两个人的全身都紧贴在一起,温暖她的身体.
Breathing in the scent of her hair, Lin Yuhui whispered by her ear,
呼吸吸着她秀发的气息,林语晖趴在她的耳边轻轻说,
"Okay. I promise you."
"好的,我答应你,"
Grace said nothing, only tightening her arms around him.
格蕾丝没出声,只是双手搂紧了他的身体.
Back in the room, Grace was a little excited.
回到了房间,格蕾丝有些兴奋,
"Come on, let's register right now," she said, pulling Lin Yuhui toward the computer room.
"来,我们现在就注册吧,"一边说着,一边拉着林语晖来到电脑房,
"Not in a church?" Lin Yuhui's memory was still stuck in the previous era.
"不是在教堂吗?"林语晖的记忆还停留在上个时代,
"No need." She pulled a bench and they sat side by side.
"不用,"说着,拉过长凳两人并排坐在一起,
It was a local government service website for marriage registration. The first screen showed two options: Custom Modern Marriage and Traditional Marriage.
这是一个地方政府服务网站,用于婚姻关系注册,界面一开始就是两个选项,自定义现代婚姻关系选项和传统婚姻关系选项,
"We'll just choose Custom Modern," Grace explained as she entered the interface.
"我们选自定义现代关系就好了,"格蕾丝解释着进入了界面,
The first checkbox was whether to cohabitate. Naturally the first item was the residence. No disagreement—this villa. Grace selected that she would live here, but also chose not to mandate the amount of time the other party must spend with her. Then she explained,
最开始的勾选项就是,是否同居生活,当然首先就是居住地点,没有异议,就是这栋别墅,然后格蕾丝选择了自己在这里生活,但是也选择了不强制要求对方陪伴时长,然后解释说,
"See? You still have your freedom."
"你看,你还有自由,"
Lin Yuhui found it amusing—it seemed as detailed as signing a contract. But it did avoid post-marriage disputes. So he made the same choices, but Grace casually changed his selection to "must reside here."
林语晖一看觉得好笑,这好像签合同一样详细,不过倒是可以避免婚后的争议,于是他也做了同样选项,但是格蕾丝随手就把他的设置改成了,要求对方必须在此居住,
Looking at the smile on Grace's face, Lin Yuhui understood her intention. She was serious. But on the interface, the details about inheritance and division of property were grayed out and unchangeable. Curious, he clicked the help option for an explanation. It turned out that the custom modern marriage option did not allow any property division clauses within the marriage. That option was not supported, to keep modern marriage from being eroded by any interests.
看着格蕾丝脸上的微笑,林语晖明白她的心意,她是认真的.但是操作界面上关于房产的继承与分割细节却是灰色不可更改选项,他有些好奇,便点了帮助选项查看解释,原来是现代婚姻关系选项里不支持婚姻关系内部引入任何财产分割内容,这个选项不支持,要保持现代婚姻关系不被任何利益侵蚀.
Unable to resist his curiosity, Lin Yuhui traced the higher law behind this rule. It turned out there was a constitutional rights amendment prohibiting public power from interfering in private relationships. Marriage, as a type of private relationship, was off-limits to public power. Only private agreements between individuals could be made or dissolved, registered with the government as civil contracts.
林语晖忍不住好奇心,又追索着查询这个规定的上位法.原来是有一个禁止公权力介入私人关系的宪法权利法案修正案,婚姻关系作为私人关系的一种,公权力不准介入,只允许私人之间个人约定的订立或者解除,作为民事协议在政府部门注册.
Consequently, property issues among members of a marriage were likewise not subject to public power interference or division. Only under the traditional marriage option could both parties voluntarily agree to such terms.
所以更别说随之而来的婚姻关系之下的成员之间的财产问题了,也不允许公权力介入或者分割,只有在传统婚姻关系选项下由双方自愿约定.
Lin Yuhui then flipped to the traditional marriage option to check. There were many choices: Christian monogamy, Arab one-man-four-wives, ancient Chinese one-wife-multiple-concubines, Mormon plural marriage. All these options came in male, female, and same-sex versions, truly embodying modern values of gender equality and respect for minority groups. Naturally, the traditional obligations and customary conventions of traditional marriage were also preserved—otherwise, without tradition, what would make it traditional?
林语晖接着又翻到了传统婚姻关系选项下查看,选项很多,有基督教一夫一妻制,阿拉伯一夫四妻制,也有古代中国一妻多妾制度,摩门教多重婚姻制度,所有这些选项同时具有男版,女版和同性版,真正体现了男女平等,尊重少数群体的现代理念.当然传统婚姻中的主从义务,习俗约定也都一并保留了,不然没有了传统还叫什么传统婚姻.
After systematically studying the relevant content, Lin Yuhui felt somewhat relieved. If he had known that marriage was this simple nowadays, perhaps he wouldn't have resisted so much from the start.
系统学习了相关内容之后,林语晖似乎觉得有些如释重负,早知道现在的婚姻这么简单,或许自己就不会像一开始那么抗拒了.
Grace waited quietly beside him until he finished browsing, then jumped straight to the key part of the registration: spousal exclusivity. She filled in both her own and Lin Yuhui's. She chose "non-exclusive" for herself and "exclusive" for Lin Yuhui, then explained,
格蕾丝在一旁静静地等着他浏览完毕,然后直接跳到了注册内容的重点部分,就是性伴侣的排他性,把她自己和林语晖的都给填写了,只是选择了自己不排她,给林语晖选择了排他,然后解释说,
"Just submit it as I filled out. You'll still have your freedom."
"就按照我填写的提交吧,你仍然拥有你的自由,"
Lin Yuhui understood what she meant by doing this. He would still have physical freedom—or the freedom to marry another woman who also chose non-exclusivity. But how was he to face that loyalty and longing deep in his soul?
林语晖明白她这么做的含义,自己仍然有肉体上的自由,或者与其她同样选择不排她的女性结婚的自由,可是,自己心中那份忠诚与惦念,在灵魂深处又该如何自我面对呢?
He looked out the window at the night sky and could only recite in his heart,
望向窗外的夜空,他只好在心中默念,
*"Please block me out. Block your perception of everything about me. Don't let me bring any more trouble into your life. Please forgive me for not being able to stop myself from thinking of you from time to time. Forgive me. I'm no longer worthy of you."*
"请你屏蔽我吧,屏蔽感知我的一切,不要让我再给你的生活带来任何烦恼.请你原谅我不能控制自己会时而想到你,原谅我,我已经配不上你了."
Those helpless words, passing through the deep, still night sky—into whose heart would they enter?
那无奈的话语,穿过深邃宁静夜空,不知会传入谁的心窝,
"Are you going to let go again and let him leave?" Lydia asked, looking at her elder sister.
"你还要再一次松开手让他离开吗?"莉迪娅望着她的姐姐在一旁问,
"This way, his soul damage can also be repaired."
"这样也能修复他的灵魂损伤,"
"And yours?"
"那你的呢?"
"Mine? Mine too."
"我的?我也是啊,"
"But you know that's not true."
"可你知道,那不是真的,"
"No, it is true."
"不,那是真的."
(Translated by DeepSeek)