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Chapter Text  章节正文

Lingling Kwong first met Orm under the clumsiest of circumstances—elbows deep in a vending machine, cursing in three languages because her protein bar got stuck. Orm, passing by with a coffee in each hand, had tilted her head and simply asked, "Need a hand, vending machine whisperer?"
邝玲玲与奥姆的初次相遇堪称最笨拙的场景——她大半个胳膊探进自动售货机，用三种语言咒骂着被卡住的蛋白棒。奥姆双手各端一杯咖啡经过，歪着头只问了一句：“需要帮忙吗，售货机耳语者？”

Lingling had flushed red, but she smiled. And Orm smiled back with this half-cocked, lazy sort of charm that never quite left Lingling's brain after that. Two weeks later, they were grabbing lunch. Two months after that, they were sharing a toothbrush. And somewhere along the line, they fell in love the way a garden blooms in slow, careful bursts—quiet, consistent, inevitable.
玲玲涨红了脸，却笑了。奥姆回以那种略带痞气的慵懒笑容，自此在玲玲脑海中挥之不去。两周后，她们共进午餐；两个月后，共用一支牙刷。不知何时起，她们的爱意如同花园里缓慢而谨慎绽放的花朵——静谧、绵长、无可避免。

–

Lingling Kwong had always been obsessed with the future. Her parents used to joke that she came out of the womb asking for a lab coat. Graduating from MIT at twenty and earning a dual PhD in Quantum Thermodynamics and Biomedical Engineering by twenty-five, she wasn't so much climbing the academic ladder as she was rewriting it. She was brilliant, intense, and chronically distracted—especially once she started her work on cryogenesis.
邝玲玲向来痴迷于未来。父母常开玩笑说她出生时就要白大褂。二十岁从麻省理工毕业，二十五岁获得量子热力学与生物医学工程双博士学位，她不是在攀登学术阶梯，而是在重写阶梯。她才华横溢、专注热烈又总是心不在焉——尤其当她开始低温休眠研究后。

The idea of preserving human life across decades, even centuries, fascinated her. Time was the enemy of all things—of youth, of health, of love. But what if you could bend it? Pause it?
跨越数十年甚至数百年保存人类生命的想法令她着迷。时间是万物的敌人——青春、健康、爱情皆难逃其侵蚀。但若能将其弯曲呢？暂停呢？

Orm used to tease her, saying, "You want to press pause on people, Ling, but I'd rather hit play."
奥姆曾打趣她说："你想给人们按下暂停键，玲，而我更愿按下播放键。"

–

Orm was a graphic novelist, known for her ethereal linework and romantic fantasy stories. She lived in color—in the golden hour light of late afternoon, in the buttery scent of croissants, in the soft hum of jazz from a scratched record player. She wasn't famous, not really, but she had a cult following online. Her stories always had a quiet sort of sadness. Characters who were always reaching for something just out of frame.
奥姆是位图像小说家，以空灵的线条和浪漫的奇幻故事闻名。她活在色彩里——活在午后金色的阳光里，活在牛角面包的黄油香气里，活在老式唱机沙沙爵士乐声里。她不算真正出名，但在网上有一批忠实拥趸。她的故事总带着淡淡的哀愁，那些角色永远在追逐画面之外遥不可及的东西。

Lingling would read Orm's comics in secret on her lab breaks. She kept her favorites saved on a thumb drive, nestled between cryo-data files and algorithmic simulations.
玲玲会在实验室休息时偷偷阅读奥姆的漫画。她把最爱的作品存进 U 盘，藏在冷冻数据文件和算法模拟程序的夹缝里。

They were opposites in almost every way. Lingling was logical, efficient, sometimes too cold. Orm was spontaneous, tender, soft around the edges. But in their tiny apartment above a flower shop, they built a life together. Sunday pancakes. Morning forehead kisses. A shared toothbrush that was always a little too frayed. Lingling's side of the bookshelf was all academic journals and calculus texts; Orm's was stacked with vintage manga and dog-eared sketchpads.
他们几乎在每件事上都截然相反。玲玲理性、高效，有时甚至过于冷漠；奥姆则随性、温柔，带着几分圆润的柔和。但在花店上方那间小公寓里，他们共同构筑了生活。周日的煎饼，晨间的额前轻吻，还有那支总是毛得有点过头的共用牙刷。玲玲的书架一侧摆满学术期刊和微积分教材，奥姆的那边则摞着复古漫画和卷了边的素描本。

And yet... cracks were forming.
然而……裂痕正在悄然蔓延。

–

It started with Lingling coming home later than usual.
最初是玲玲回家越来越晚。

Then missing dinner altogether.
然后干脆连晚饭也错过了。

Then forgetting their anniversary—not completely, just the exact date. She remembered after, panicked, and ran through the rain to the bookstore Orm liked, only to find it closed.
后来她忘了他们的纪念日——不是完全忘记，只是记不清确切日期。事后才猛然想起，惊慌失措地冒雨冲向奥姆喜欢的那家书店，却发现已经关门了。

"I don't need flowers or gifts," Orm said quietly that night, curled into the couch in one of Lingling's oversized sweaters. "I just need you to show up."
"我不需要鲜花或礼物，"那天晚上奥姆蜷缩在沙发里，裹着玲玲的 oversized 毛衣轻声说，"我只需要你出现。"

"I'm doing this for us," Lingling replied, brushing damp hair from Orm's face. "Imagine it—this experiment could change everything. It could save people."
"我做这一切都是为了我们，"玲玲拂开奥姆脸上湿漉漉的头发回答道，"想象一下——这个实验可能改变一切，能拯救很多人。"

"But who saves us, Ling?"
"可是谁来拯救我们呢，玲？"

There was no answer to that.
对此没有回应。

–

The cryo-pod was nearly ready.
冷冻舱几乎准备就绪。

The simulations had passed safety benchmarks. The tech was sound. The only thing Lingling needed now was... a subject. A human volunteer. Someone willing to undergo the full process—twenty years of cryogenic sleep.
模拟测试已通过安全基准。技术可靠。玲玲现在唯一需要的……是一个实验对象。一位人类志愿者。愿意经历完整流程的人——二十年的低温休眠。

Twenty years without aging. Twenty years without the world. Twenty years... without the person you love.
二十年不曾衰老。二十年与世隔绝。二十年……没有所爱之人相伴。

No one stepped forward. The risk was too high. The commitment too great.
无人挺身而出。风险太高，承诺太重。

Lingling became consumed with finding someone. She petitioned ethics boards. Spoke at conferences. Ran private trials in lab-grown organ systems. Her lab notes became increasingly erratic. Her hair was always in a messy bun. Her coffee intake doubled.
玲玲全身心投入寻找合适人选中。她向伦理委员会请愿，在会议上发言，在实验室培养的器官系统中进行秘密试验。她的实验笔记日渐凌乱，头发总是乱糟糟地扎成团，咖啡摄入量翻了一倍。

Orm watched from the doorway some nights, sketchbook in hand, watching Lingling scribble formulas into the glow of two monitors.
奥姆有些夜晚会站在门口，素描本在手，望着玲玲在两台显示器的微光下潦草地写满公式。

"Come to bed," Orm would whisper.
"来睡觉吧，"奥姆会轻声说道。

"In a minute," Lingling always said.
"马上，"玲玲总是这么说。

That minute never came.  那一刻从未到来。

–

There were still good days.
仍有美好的日子。

Lazy Sundays where Orm would pull Lingling away from her laptop and into bed, where they'd lie tangled under white sheets, talking about everything and nothing.
慵懒的周日，奥姆会把玲玲从笔记本电脑前拽到床上，两人在白床单下肢体交缠，聊着漫无边际的话题。

"Do you think you'll still love me in twenty years?" Orm once asked, tracing Lingling's collarbone with her fingertip.
"你觉得二十年后还会爱我吗？"奥姆曾用指尖描摹着玲玲的锁骨这样问道。

"I'll love you even if we're stardust," Lingling murmured, eyes half-lidded.
"就算化作星尘我也爱你，"玲玲半阖着眼帘呢喃道。

They watched movies curled on the couch, Orm doing her best dramatic voiceovers while Lingling laughed into a pillow. Lingling left little notes on the fridge: 'Don't forget lunch! I made extra dumplings – no microwaving, you're not an animal.' Orm returned the favor with doodles of them as cats—Lingling as a nerdy calico in glasses, Orm as a sleepy gray tabby.
他们蜷缩在沙发上看电影，奥姆用她最夸张的配音表演，惹得玲玲把脸埋在枕头里笑个不停。玲玲在冰箱上贴着小纸条："别忘了带午饭！我多包了些饺子——别用微波炉热，你又不是野兽。"奥姆则回赠涂鸦，把两人画成猫咪——玲玲是戴眼镜的书呆子三花猫，奥姆则是睡眼惺忪的灰色虎斑猫。

But those days became rare.
但那样的日子已不多见。

More and more, Orm sat alone at breakfast. More and more, Lingling forgot to say "goodnight."
奥姆越来越多地独自一人吃早餐。玲玲越来越频繁地忘记道"晚安"。

And yet... Orm stayed. Because love isn't just about fireworks. Sometimes, it's about choosing someone even when they're buried under a mountain of blueprints and ambition.
然而……奥姆留了下来。因为爱不仅仅是关于烟花。有时候，它是在对方被蓝图和抱负的群山掩埋时，依然选择不离不弃。

–

One night, Orm stood in the lab as Lingling explained the final phase to a small team. Her eyes sparkled when she spoke about cryo-stasis, neural preservation, and cellular integrity. Orm watched her with a quiet ache in her chest.
一天夜里，奥姆站在实验室里，听玲玲向一个小团队讲解最终阶段。当她谈到低温休眠、神经保存和细胞完整性时，眼中闪烁着光芒。奥姆望着她，胸口隐隐作痛。

Lingling didn't notice her in the doorway.
玲玲没有注意到她站在门口。

She never turned around.  她始终没有回头。

She didn't see the look on Orm's face—half in awe, half in mourning.
她没有看到奥姆脸上的表情——半是敬畏，半是哀伤。

That night, Orm climbed into bed alone, staring at the ceiling, heart bruised but still beating with love.
那一夜，奥姆独自爬上床，盯着天花板，心虽受伤却仍因爱跳动。

And in the morning, she made a choice.
而在清晨，她做出了选择。

___________

Orm had always imagined heartbreak would feel like something sharp. Like glass, or fire, or a door slammed too hard. But the ache that bloomed inside her was slow, heavy—like wet wool over her bones. Like watching someone you love drift away in slow motion and not being able to move fast enough to stop it.
奥姆一直以为心碎的感觉会是尖锐的。像玻璃，像火焰，像门被重重摔上。但她体内蔓延的疼痛却是缓慢而沉重的——如同湿羊毛裹在骨头上。如同眼睁睁看着所爱之人以慢动作渐行渐远，却怎么也追不上。

Lingling had been sleeping in the lab more often now. Not because she didn't want to come home—Orm truly believed that. It was worse than not wanting. It was not realizing.
玲玲现在更频繁地在实验室里过夜了。不是因为她不想回家——奥姆真心相信这一点。这比不想回家更糟。这是她根本没有意识到要回家。

And that made it so much lonelier.
而这让人倍感孤独。

–

The apartment had grown quieter over the past few weeks. Orm noticed the way the walls echoed now when she spoke aloud to herself. She'd fill the silence with music—old vinyls, soft jazz, lo-fi—but it wasn't enough. Lingling's mug sat untouched by the sink. Her hoodie still hung by the door. She was present in all the places that didn't matter, and absent in all the ones that did.
过去几周，公寓变得越来越安静。奥姆注意到，当她自言自语时，墙壁会传来回声。她会用音乐填补寂静——老唱片、柔和的爵士乐、低保真音乐——但这远远不够。玲玲的杯子原封不动地放在水槽边。她的连帽衫还挂在门边。她在所有无关紧要的地方留下痕迹，却在所有重要的地方缺席。

Orm tried to pretend things were okay. She cooked Lingling's favorite meals and left them in the fridge, labeled with sticky notes and little hearts. Most of them went uneaten. She tried texting during the day—doodles, jokes, sweet nothings. She got replies, but always hours late, and never with the warmth she remembered.
奥姆试图假装一切安好。她做了玲玲最爱吃的饭菜，放进冰箱，贴上便利贴和小爱心。大多数食物都没被动过。白天她试着发短信——涂鸦、笑话、甜言蜜语。她收到了回复，但总是迟来几个小时，且再也不复记忆中的温暖。

It was like watching a candle flicker its last light, only to realize the wax had already run cold.
就像看着蜡烛摇曳最后一丝光芒，才发觉蜡油早已冷却。

–

When Lingling made the announcement about needing a volunteer for the final cryogenic trial, Orm sat at the back of the auditorium in the research center, hidden in the crowd of white coats and curious minds.
当玲玲宣布需要一名志愿者参与最后的低温试验时，奥姆坐在研究中心礼堂的后排，隐匿在一群白大褂与好奇的目光之中。

Lingling stood at the podium, eyes fierce, voice steady.
玲玲站在讲台上，目光锐利，声音沉稳。

"This is the final step," she said. "We have the data, the safety thresholds, the containment. What we need now... is someone brave enough to give twenty years of their life. To sleep through time. To wake up and change the future."
"这是最后一步了，"她说道。"我们掌握了数据、安全阈值和防护措施。现在需要的……是有人足够勇敢，愿意献出二十年的光阴。在时光中沉睡。醒来后改变未来。"

Applause followed. Whispers of awe. But no hands raised.
掌声随之响起。惊叹的低语。但无人举手。

No one volunteered.  无人自告奋勇。

Not one.  一个也没有。

Orm stared at her from the shadows, eyes burning. Not from pride. From something deeper, sharper.
奥姆从阴影中凝视着她，双眼燃烧。不是出于骄傲，而是某种更深、更尖锐的东西。

She's willing to lose twenty years of someone else's life for this.
她愿意为此牺牲别人二十年的光阴。

And yet, the cruel irony was... Orm would give it. Gladly. For her.
然而，残酷的讽刺在于……奥姆会心甘情愿地付出。为了她。

That night, Orm lay in bed alone, listening to the soft hum of the air conditioner, watching the ceiling fan spin like the ticking of time itself.
那晚，奥姆独自躺在床上，听着空调轻柔的嗡鸣，望着天花板上的风扇旋转，仿佛时间的滴答声。

She whispered the question to the dark.
她对着黑暗轻声问出了那个问题。

"If I disappeared for twenty years... would you even notice I was gone?"
"如果我消失二十年……你会注意到我不见了吗？"

She didn't cry. She'd done enough of that. Instead, she pulled out her tablet, connected to the institute's network—Lingling had once given her access to help with design work for a promotional brochure. Orm used that same login to dig deeper. Into the database. Into the volunteer application.
她没有哭。眼泪早已流干。相反，她掏出平板电脑，连上研究所的网络——玲玲曾给过她权限，帮忙设计宣传册。奥姆用同一个账号深入挖掘。进入数据库。进入志愿者申请表。

It wasn't hard.  这并不难。

Her hands shook when she clicked "submit."
她点击“提交”时，双手颤抖着。

Alias: K. Sethratanapong.
别名：K. Sethratanapong。

Health screening: Passed.
健康筛查：通过。

Genetic markers: Ideal.  遗传标记：理想。

Risk assessment: Acceptable.
风险评估：可接受。

Lingling's signature was still required—but the lab had multiple authorizing leads, and one of them owed Orm a favor.
玲玲的签名仍是必需——但实验室有多位授权负责人，其中一位欠奥姆一个人情。

She sent the final confirmation at 3:07 AM.
她在凌晨三点零七分发出了最终确认。

And then she curled into Lingling's pillow, breathing in the fading trace of her scent, and told herself this was love.
然后她蜷缩在玲玲的枕头上，呼吸着那渐渐消散的气息，告诉自己这就是爱。

That it had to be.
必须是爱。

__________

Orm began preparing. Quietly. Carefully.
奥姆开始准备。悄无声息地。小心翼翼地。

She cleared out her desk, slowly over a week, so Lingling wouldn't notice. She canceled her upcoming commissions. She scheduled goodbye coffees with friends she hadn't seen in a while, keeping her smile steady as they asked, "Where have you been?" She said she was working on a "long project." It wasn't a lie.
她花了一周时间慢慢清空自己的办公桌，以免玲玲察觉。她取消了所有即将到来的委托。她约了许久未见的朋友们喝告别咖啡，当被问及“你最近去哪儿了？”时，她保持着平稳的微笑，说自己正在忙一个“长期项目”。这并非谎言。

She recorded letters, just in case.
她录下了几封信，以防万一。

Some were for strangers—"If you're reading this, I was part of the first successful long-term cryogenesis project..."
有些是写给陌生人的——“如果你正在读这封信，我曾参与首个成功的长期人体冷冻项目……”

But most were for Lingling.
但大多数都是给玲玲的。

"Hey, babe. If you're hearing this, I guess it worked. And I guess I didn't tell you. I'm sorry. No—I'm not. You wouldn't have let me do it. And I needed to. I needed to matter in your work... or at least feel close to you again, even if it meant leaving you behind."
"嘿，亲爱的。如果你听到这个，我想是成功了。而且我想我没告诉你。对不起。不——其实我不后悔。你肯定不会让我这么做的。但我必须这么做。我需要在你的事业中占有一席之地……或者至少再次感觉离你很近，哪怕这意味着要离开你。"

She recorded six letters.
她录了六封信。

She only kept the last one.
她只留下了最后一封。

–

Three days before the procedure, Lingling came home.
手术前三天，玲玲回家了。

It was late—almost midnight. She smelled like antiseptic and whiteboard markers. Her eyes were heavy, her mouth drawn in a tired line. But she dropped her bag at the door and crawled into bed beside Orm like muscle memory. And Orm, heart pounding, held her like it was the last night on earth.
夜深了——已近午夜。她身上散发着消毒水和白板笔的气味，眼皮沉重，嘴角因疲惫而紧绷。但她还是像肌肉记忆般把包丢在门口，爬上了床，挨着奥姆躺下。而奥姆心跳如鼓，紧紧抱住她，仿佛这是世界末日前的最后一夜。

"Long day?" Orm whispered into her hair.
"今天很漫长吧？"奥姆对着她的发丝低语。

"Mm," Lingling hummed. "Found a breakthrough. A thermal buffer in the pod that might increase neural preservation by another 4.6%. You'd be proud of me."
"嗯，"玲玲轻声应道。"找到了突破口。舱内的一个热缓冲器可能将神经保存率再提高 4.6%。你会为我骄傲的。"

"I'm always proud of you."
"我一直为你感到骄傲。"

Lingling smiled against her collarbone. "Love you."
玲玲倚着她的锁骨笑了。"爱你。"

Orm closed her eyes. Her throat tightened.
奥姆闭上了眼睛，她的喉咙发紧。

"I love you more," she said. "Always."
"我爱你更深，"她说道。"永远都是。"

And then she held her tighter. As if trying to memorize the shape of her.
然后她抱得更紧了，仿佛想要记住她的轮廓。

As if she could.  好像她能似的。

–

The day of the procedure was gray and wet. The world seemed to grieve with her.
手术那天，天色灰蒙，细雨绵绵。整个世界仿佛与她同悲。

Orm dressed in simple clothes and left a sealed envelope on their kitchen table.
奥姆穿着朴素的衣服，在厨房桌上留下了一个密封的信封。

Inside was a single drawing: the two of them standing hand-in-hand, drawn in Orm's delicate, expressive style. Above them, a cryo-pod shaped like a cocoon. Below, her final words:
里面只有一幅画：两人手牵手站立着，线条细腻传神，正是奥姆的风格。上方是一个茧状的冷冻舱，下方是她最后的话语：

"You weren't losing time, Lingling. You were just keeping it for me."
"你没有浪费时间，玲玲。你只是为我保存了时间。"

She didn't cry as she left.
她离开时没有哭。

She didn't look back.  她没有回头。

__________

The night before the procedure, the city was unusually quiet.
手术前夜，城市异乎寻常地安静。

The kind of silence that stretches and breathes, as if the universe itself is holding something sacred and unspeakable. A storm had passed earlier, leaving the streets wet and glistening, puddles catching the amber glow of streetlights. Lingling came home earlier than usual that day—just past eight—and for the first time in what felt like months, Orm was still awake to greet her.
那种寂静绵长而富有呼吸，仿佛宇宙本身正怀抱着某种神圣不可言喻之物。早些时候一场暴雨刚过，街道湿漉漉地泛着光，水洼里倒映着路灯的琥珀色光芒。玲玲那天回家比平时早——刚过八点——而奥姆竟然还醒着迎接她，这感觉像是数月来的第一次。

"You're home," Orm said softly, standing at the sink, hands damp from rinsing dishes.
"你回来了，"奥姆轻声说道，站在水槽边，双手因冲洗碗碟而湿漉漉的。

Lingling gave a small, tired smile, dropping her bag by the door. "Thought I'd make it for once."
玲玲疲惫地微微一笑，把包丢在门边。"还以为这次能准时呢。"

Orm dried her hands slowly. "That's a rare treat."
奥姆慢慢地擦干手。"这可真是难得的美味。"

Lingling's smile faltered for just a moment, as if she sensed the edges of something unspoken. But she didn't ask. She walked over, brushed a kiss to Orm's temple.
玲玲的笑容微微僵了一瞬，仿佛察觉到了某些未言之事的边缘。但她没有追问，只是走过去，在奥姆的太阳穴上轻轻印下一吻。

"I missed you."  "我想你了。"

Orm nodded, wrapping her arms around Lingling's waist and holding on—tighter than usual.
奥姆点点头，双臂环住玲玲的腰，比平时更用力地抱紧了她。

"I missed you too."  "我也想你。"

She didn't say this will be the last time. She didn't say please, remember this. She just held her, breathing in the scent of Lingling's skin, the faint lavender from the lab soap she used, the warmth that hadn't changed since the first time they ever kissed.
她没有说这会是最后一次。她没有说请记住这一刻。她只是抱着她，呼吸着玲玲肌肤的气息，那实验室肥皂留下的淡淡薰衣草香，还有自她们初吻以来从未改变的温暖。

–

They ordered takeout. Orm insisted on it.
他们点了外卖。奥姆坚持要这样。

"I want greasy noodles," she said, curling her legs beneath her on the couch. "No more kale or lab smoothies. Just something normal."
"我想吃油腻的面条，"她说着，把腿蜷缩在沙发下。"不要再来什么羽衣甘蓝或实验室奶昔了。就吃点普通的。"

Lingling agreed without question, too grateful to be home, too exhausted to argue. They ate on the couch like they used to, legs tangled, a movie playing softly in the background—some old animated film Orm loved. The kind where everything is painted in warm tones and ends with someone holding someone else's hand after a long, long journey.
玲玲二话不说就答应了，能回到家已经让她感激不尽，疲惫得连争辩的力气都没有。他们像往常一样蜷在沙发上吃饭，腿脚交缠，背景里轻声播放着奥姆钟爱的一部老动画片——那种用温暖色调描绘一切，漫长旅程后总以某人紧握另一人手作结的故事。

Lingling didn't watch much of the film. Her eyes kept drifting toward Orm—her soft laugh, her tired but bright eyes, the way her fingers absentmindedly traced shapes on Lingling's knee.
玲玲没怎么看电影。她的目光总是不自觉地飘向奥姆——她轻柔的笑声，疲惫却明亮的眼睛，还有她手指无意识地在玲玲膝盖上描画的样子。

"You seem... calm tonight," Lingling said after a while.
"你今晚看起来……很平静，"玲玲过了一会儿说道。

Orm gave a little laugh. "I guess I just decided to stop waiting for time to be kind."
奥姆轻笑了一声。"我想我只是决定不再等待时间发慈悲了。"

Lingling frowned. "What do you mean?"
玲玲皱起眉头。"你这话是什么意思？"

Orm hesitated, then smiled and shook her head. "Nothing. Just—let's make this a night worth remembering."
奥姆犹豫了一下，然后微笑着摇了摇头。"没什么。只是——让我们把这个夜晚变得值得铭记吧。"

–

Later, they lay in bed, a tangle of limbs and cotton sheets, the storm long gone but the wind still whispering outside.
后来，他们躺在床上，四肢交缠在棉质床单中，暴风雨早已停歇，但风仍在窗外低语。

"Ling," Orm whispered into the dark.
“凌，”奥姆在黑暗中低语。

"Mmm?"  "嗯？"

"If you could go back in time—before all this research, before cryogenesis—would you?"
"如果能回到过去——在所有研究之前，在人体冷冻技术之前——你会吗？"

Lingling turned to look at her. "Why would I want to go back?"
玲玲转过头看着她。"我为什么要回去？"

"To have more time together."
"为了有更多时间在一起。"

There was a long pause. Lingling reached out and brushed a lock of hair behind Orm's ear.
沉默持续了很久。玲玲伸出手，将奥姆耳际的一缕头发轻轻拨到耳后。

"I thought I was buying us time. I thought... if I could finish this, we'd have more life together. More time in the future."
"我以为我是在为我们争取时间。我以为……只要我能完成这件事，我们就能有更多共度的时光，未来也能有更多时间。"

Orm smiled sadly. "And what if the future isn't guaranteed?"
奥姆苦笑道："如果未来无法保证呢？"

Lingling didn't respond. She looked haunted by something—some realization still forming at the edge of her thoughts.
玲玲没有回应。她看起来被什么东西困扰着——某种意识在她思绪边缘逐渐成形。

"Hey," Orm whispered. "Kiss me?"
"嘿，"奥姆轻声说道。"吻我好吗？"

And she did. Soft, slow, like a promise and an apology wrapped into one. They made love quietly, reverently, like two people trying to memorize each other's skin and sound and breath.
她照做了。轻柔、缓慢，如同一个承诺与道歉交织在一起。他们安静而虔诚地做爱，仿佛两个试图铭记彼此肌肤、声音与呼吸的人。

After, Orm rested her head against Lingling's chest, listening to the slow, steady rhythm of her heartbeat.
事后，奥姆将头靠在玲玲胸前，聆听着她心跳缓慢而稳定的节奏。

"Don't forget me," she whispered.
"别忘了我，"她轻声说道。

Lingling, half-asleep, murmured back, "How could I ever?"
玲玲半梦半醒地咕哝着回应："我怎么会呢？"

Orm didn't sleep that night.
奥姆那晚没有入睡。

She lay awake long after Lingling drifted off, memorizing every freckle, every rise and fall of her breath, the way her brow furrowed even in sleep. She wanted to stay. God, she wanted to stay.
玲玲早已沉入梦乡，她却久久未眠，将那些雀斑、呼吸的起伏、连睡梦中都微蹙的眉头一一刻进心底。她多想留下。天知道，她多想留下。

But she wouldn't.  但她不会。

And by morning, she'd be gone.
待到晨光熹微时，她已悄然离去。

–

While Lingling showered, Orm dressed quietly. She kissed Lingling's shoulder through the steam, told her she was going to meet a friend for breakfast.
玲玲洗澡时，奥姆静静地穿好衣服。她隔着水汽轻吻玲玲的肩膀，告诉她要去见个朋友吃早餐。

Lingling, wrapped in a towel, grinned sleepily and said, "Bring back croissants?"
玲玲裹着毛巾，睡眼惺忪地咧嘴一笑，说道："带些牛角面包回来？"

"Of course."  "当然。"

Orm smiled back and left.
奥姆回以微笑，随即离开。

She placed a small envelope in the dresser drawer, hidden under Lingling's old lab journals. It was addressed simply: For Later.
她把一个小信封放进梳妆台抽屉，藏在玲玲的旧实验笔记下面。信封上只简单地写着：待日后开启。

Inside was the last of her letters.
里面是她最后一封信。

The one she prayed Lingling wouldn't find until it was too late to stop her.
她祈祷玲玲永远找不到的那个，直到为时已晚无法阻止她。

–

Orm arrived at the lab an hour early.
奥姆提前一小时抵达了实验室。

She was already cleared under her alias, everything prepped. The technician recognized her from their meeting two weeks prior and gave her a soft nod. No questions asked. Just protocol, vitals, and final consent.
她已用化名通过了检查，一切准备就绪。技术员认出了两周前会面时的她，轻轻点了点头。没有提问，只有流程、生命体征和最终确认。

Orm signed the last form with shaking hands.
奥姆双手颤抖着签完了最后一份表格。

The pod loomed in the center of the cryo-chamber, bathed in blue light. It was sleek, silent, cold. She approached it slowly, fingertips brushing its surface.
休眠舱在冷冻室的中央若隐若现，沐浴在蓝光之中。它光滑、寂静、冰冷。她慢慢靠近，指尖轻触其表面。

She closed her eyes and imagined waking up in twenty years.
她闭上眼睛，想象二十年后醒来的样子。

Would Lingling be there? Would she still love her? Would the world even remember who Orm was?
玲玲会在那儿吗？她还会爱她吗？这个世界还会记得奥姆是谁吗？

She climbed into the pod, heart racing.
她钻进舱内，心跳如鼓。

As the lid began to close, she thought only one thing:
当盖子开始合上时，她脑海中只有一个念头：

Please remember the sound of my voice.
请记住我的声音。

__________

The lab was quieter than usual that morning.
那天早晨，实验室比往常安静。

Lingling arrived late—later than she meant to. She'd woken up alone, surprised to find Orm already gone. No note, no message. Just the faint scent of her perfume still clinging to Lingling's pillow.
玲玲迟到了——比她预想的还要晚。她独自醒来，惊讶地发现奥姆已经离开。没有便条，没有留言。只有她香水的淡淡气息还萦绕在玲玲的枕头上。

She wasn't alarmed at first. Orm was unpredictable like that. She'd vanish for café runs or get pulled into a last-minute art meeting. Still, a little flutter of unease lingered in Lingling's chest as she unlocked her lab and stepped into the sterile silence of the cryo-chamber wing.
起初她并不惊慌。奥姆向来如此难以捉摸，可能突然跑去喝咖啡，或是被临时拉去参加艺术会议。然而，当玲玲打开实验室门，踏入低温舱区那消毒水味的寂静时，一丝不安仍在她胸口微微颤动。

She barely greeted her team, distracted. The final prep was underway for today's trial—the culmination of a decade of her work. The pod was prepped. The vitals displayed on her main screen. All the stats looked clean.
她心不在焉地简单向团队打了个招呼。审判日的最后准备工作正在进行中——这是她十年工作的巅峰时刻。舱体已准备就绪。生命体征显示在主屏幕上。所有数据看起来都很干净。

Too clean.  太干净了。

"Has the subject arrived already?" she asked one of her techs, Jason, who looked up from his monitor.
“实验对象已经到了吗？”她问其中一位技术员杰森，后者从显示器前抬起头来。

He blinked. "Uh, yes, Dr. Kwong. She arrived about an hour ago."
他眨了眨眼。“呃，是的，邝博士。她大约一小时前就到了。”

"She?" Lingling echoed, frowning. "I thought the subject was supposed to be...." Her voice trailed off.
"她？"玲玲皱着眉头重复道，"我以为主题应该是......"她的声音渐渐低了下去。

Jason tilted his head, confused. "She already completed pre-op. Signed the release. Same alias from your authorized list. 'S. Sethratanapong.' The pod's sealed now—stage one is complete. Neural sedation, vitals stabilized, ready for full freeze."
杰森歪着头，一脸困惑。"她已经完成了术前准备，签了免责协议。用的是你授权名单上的同一个化名——'S·塞特拉塔纳蓬'。现在舱体已密封，第一阶段完成。神经镇静到位，生命体征平稳，随时可以进入深度冷冻。"

The room began to tilt.
房间开始倾斜。

"No," Lingling said, stepping forward quickly. "That's not possible. No one should have had final clearance without my—"
"不对，"玲玲快步上前，"这不可能。没有我的最终授权，任何人都不该——"

Then she saw it.  就在这时她看见了。

On the feed.  在饲料上。

Her heart stopped.  她的心脏停止了跳动。

On the biometric confirmation window, a facial snapshot from the intake camera.
生物识别确认窗口上，显示着入口摄像头捕捉的面部快照。

Orm.  奥姆。

Wide-eyed. Pale. Lips trembling with fear—or maybe cold. But smiling. Smiling at her.
睁大的眼睛。苍白的脸色。因恐惧——或许是寒冷而颤抖的双唇。却在微笑。对着她微笑。

The world narrowed to a pinpoint of color and static. Everything else faded. The lab lights blurred, the quiet hum of machines became a roar in her ears.
世界收缩成一点色彩与静电的焦点。其余一切皆褪去。实验室的灯光模糊了，机器低沉的嗡鸣在她耳中化作咆哮。

"No. No no no no—"
"不。不不不不——"

Lingling pushed past the team, panic burning in her throat, slamming her hand against the pod interface.
玲玲挤过团队，恐慌灼烧着她的喉咙，她猛地将手砸向舱体操作界面。

"Override the cycle," she barked. "Open it. Now."
"覆盖循环，"她厉声道。"打开它。马上。"

Jason hesitated. "Dr. Kwong, we can't—"
杰森犹豫了。"邝医生，我们不能——"

"Override it!" she screamed. "That's my fiancée in there!"
"强行覆盖！"她尖叫道。"那里面是我的未婚妻！"

Gasps. Whispers. But no one moved fast enough.
一片倒抽冷气声和窃窃私语。但没人动作够快。

The console blinked red.
控制台闪烁着红光。

CRYOGENIC PHASE 1 COMPLETE.
低温阶段 1 完成。

POD LOCKED.  舱门已锁定。

PHASE 2: FULL STASIS INITIATING.
第二阶段：完全停滞启动中。

"No—"  "不——"

Lingling hit the emergency panel, desperately entering the manual override code. Her hands shook too hard to type. She fumbled. Retried. Tears stung her eyes as the screen blinked again:
玲玲猛击紧急控制面板，拼命输入手动覆盖代码。她的手抖得太厉害，无法准确按键。她手忙脚乱地重试。屏幕再次闪烁时，泪水刺痛了她的双眼：

ERROR: PHASE LOCK ENGAGED. REVERSAL NO LONGER POSSIBLE.
错误：相位锁定已启动。逆转不再可能。

She dropped to her knees as the pod emitted a low, mechanical hum. Frost formed along the edges of the glass. Steam curled upward in lazy tendrils. Inside, Orm lay still, her face serene. Her eyes were already closed.
她跪倒在地，舱体发出低沉的机械嗡鸣。玻璃边缘凝结起霜花，蒸汽如慵懒的藤蔓向上盘旋。舱内，奥姆静静躺着，面容安详，双眼早已阖上。

Time was already leaving her behind.
时光已然将她抛在身后。

–

It took ten minutes before Lingling could stand. Ten more before she spoke.
玲玲花了十分钟才站起来。又过了十分钟，她才开口说话。

Her team hovered, confused and afraid. But no one dared say anything.
她的团队犹豫不决，既困惑又害怕，但没人敢吭声。

She walked to the observation deck like a ghost.
她如幽灵般走向观景台。

There, on the console, a flash drive sat taped to the edge of the screen. Marked in Orm's handwriting: "Lingling — for later."
就在那儿，控制台上，一个 U 盘被胶带固定在屏幕边缘。上面用奥姆的笔迹写着："玲玲——待用。"

Lingling stared at it.  玲玲盯着它。

She didn't touch it.  她没有碰它。

Not yet.  还没呢。

Instead, she went home.  相反，她回家了。

She walked through the rain with no umbrella. The city was loud but muffled, like she was underwater. Her hands were still trembling.
她冒雨而行，没有撑伞。城市喧嚣却沉闷，仿佛置身水下。她的双手仍在颤抖。

Back in the apartment, everything looked the same.
回到公寓，一切如旧。

The dishes were clean.  碗碟洁净如新。

The couch still had Orm's sketch blanket thrown over the side.
沙发上仍随意搭着奥姆的素描毯。

Her side of the bookshelf had a new gap—Orm's favorite sketchbook was missing.
她那一侧的书架上出现了一个新的空缺——奥姆最爱的素描本不见了。

Lingling walked to the dresser, suddenly remembering the moment in the shower, when Orm kissed her shoulder. So soft. Like goodbye.
玲玲走向梳妆台，突然想起淋浴时的那个瞬间，奥姆亲吻了她的肩膀。那么轻柔。仿佛在告别。

And she found it.  她找到了。

The envelope, tucked beneath her lab notes.
信封，就藏在她实验笔记的下面。

She opened it with hands that wouldn't stop shaking.
她用颤抖不止的双手打开了它。

Inside: a drawing of them together. And beneath it, her words.
里面：一张他们在一起的素描。而在其下，是她写下的字句。

You weren't losing time, Lingling. You were just keeping it for me.
玲玲，你并没有浪费时间，你只是为我保存了时间。

Lingling sat on the floor.
玲玲坐在地板上。

And then she screamed.  接着她尖叫起来。

–

The next few days blurred together. Lingling didn't return to the lab. She left the flash drive untouched for almost a week. Every time she reached for it, her hand pulled back.
接下来的几天模糊不清。玲玲没有回实验室。她将近一周都没碰那个 U 盘。每次伸手去拿，她的手都会缩回来。

She barely ate. She didn't sleep.
她几乎不吃东西。她也不睡觉。

She stared at the pod's live vitals from her home terminal. Orm's pulse—slowed to a whisper. Neural activity, frozen mid-thought.
她盯着家中终端上显示的冬眠舱实时生命体征。奥姆的脉搏——微弱如耳语。神经活动，凝固在思考的瞬间。

She read the cryo logs over and over again.
她一遍又一遍地读着冷冻日志。

The technician's notes. The camera footage. The medical clearance.
技术员的笔记。监控录像。医疗许可文件。

Orm had planned it perfectly. Quietly. Lovingly. Recklessly.
奥姆把一切都计划得天衣无缝。悄无声息地。满怀爱意地。不顾一切地。

All for her.  全为她。

And Lingling never saw it coming.
而玲玲对此毫无预料。

She thought she was doing it for them.
她原以为这么做是为了他们。

But Orm had done this... for her.
但奥姆这样做……却是为了她。

And now she was gone.
而现在她已经不在了。

Twenty years. Twenty years of silence. Of waiting. Of regret.
二十年。二十年的沉默。二十年的等待。二十年的悔恨。

–

She couldn't delay it any longer.
她不能再拖延了。

On the ninth day, Lingling plugged in the flash drive.
第九天，玲玲插入了那个 U 盘。

There was a single video file inside.
里面只有一个视频文件。

She opened it.  她点开了它。

Orm sat in their living room, hair pulled back, face bare and quiet. No makeup. No sketchpad in sight. Just her, looking into the lens with red-rimmed eyes and a soft, broken smile.
奥姆坐在他们的客厅里，头发向后扎起，素面朝天，神情宁静。没有化妆。也不见素描本的踪影。只有她，红着眼眶，带着一抹柔和而破碎的微笑，直视着镜头。

    - "Hi, Lingling. If you're watching this, it worked. Or maybe it didn't. Maybe you found this too late. Or maybe... this is the only way I could make you hear me."
- "嗨，玲玲。如果你正在看这个，说明它成功了。也可能没有。也许你发现得太迟了。又或许……这是我唯一能让你听见我的方式。"

    - "I know you were doing your best. I know you love me. Even when you forgot dinners. Even when you disappeared into your work. I never doubted your heart."
- "我知道你已竭尽全力。我知道你爱我。即使你忘了晚餐。即使你埋头工作消失不见。我从未怀疑过你的真心。"

    - "But I couldn't keep waiting for you to come back from the future."
- "但我不能再继续等待你从未来归来。"

    - "So I went there myself."
- "所以我亲自去了那里。"

She laughed softly, then wiped at her eyes.
她轻轻笑了，然后擦了擦眼睛。

    - "I did this because I believed in you. In your science. In us. But I need you to know... I didn't do it to disappear. I did it because I wanted to matter to you again. Even if it meant losing you."
- "我这么做是因为我相信你。相信你的科学。相信我们。但我需要你知道……我不是为了消失才这样做的。我这么做是因为我想再次对你重要。即使这意味着会失去你。"

    - "So, take care of yourself, okay? Live. Love someone, if you can. Just don't forget me."
- "所以，照顾好自己，好吗？活下去。如果可能的话，去爱一个人。只是别忘了我。"

    - "And when you wake me up—because I know you will—"
- "当你叫醒我时——因为我知道你会的——"

She smiled, tears finally slipping down her cheeks.
她笑了，泪水终于滑落脸颊。

    - "Bring croissants."  - "带些牛角面包来。"

The video ended.  视频结束了。

Lingling stared at the screen long after it faded to black.
屏幕早已转暗，玲玲仍久久凝视。

And for the first time in ten years, she didn't want to be in the future.
十年来头一次，她不再向往未来。

She just wanted her back.
她只想要她回来。