Chapter 16

Her wariness was, in a way, only reasonable.
Wei Yuan paused. “We’re from… the city’s Institute of Biology. We’ve searched the whole mountain. There’s no one else. Only you.”
He stressed the last part.
Jiang Shan said nothing. She wasn’t sure she could believe it—and yet everything around her seemed to say it was true.
She even wondered if the tumour in her brain had grown, if her nerves were failing.
“I have companions.”
Wei Yuan’s look was complicated. “Your ‘companions’ are no longer on this mountain.”
She stared at him. She couldn’t accept what he had said. August? Who were these people?
Zhang Zheng was clearly impatient. “Lao Wei! Can we just go and leave her?”
Every second in this place made his skin crawl.
Wei Yuan knew Jiang Shan wouldn’t calm down quickly. But they really had no time.
He said: “There’s a spare suit in the vehicle. Zhang Zheng, go get it.”
Wei Yuan had brought an extra suit. Everyone had assumed it was for himself.
Zhang Zheng looked surprised, then went out reluctantly. He came back with a grey protective suit.
He dropped it in front of Jiang Shan.
She didn’t move. For some reason she thought of the tour group—not everyone had been cold. There had been an older woman who had lost her husband young, worked two jobs to put her daughter through school, and finally sent her to university. She had wanted to enjoy life while she still could. She had looked at Jiang Shan with something like maternal warmth, saying she was about her daughter’s age.
Jiang Shan had seen their footprints going up. No one had left. No one had come down.
Wei Yuan’s voice cut in: “Put this on. We leave right away. I can explain on the way.”
She clenched her hands. Her long nails dug into her palms. After a moment she bent and picked up the top half of the suit from the ground.
Wei Yuan relaxed slightly. He turned and said: “Everyone wait outside. Zhao Ying, stay and help.”
He knew how heavy and awkward the suit was. Jiang Shan couldn’t get into it alone.
Zhao Ying was already scared of Jiang Shan. When she heard Wei Yuan wanted her to stay and help Jiang Shan dress, she went pale.
“Why me—” She stopped. In this space, she and Jiang Shan were the only women.
Zhao Ying looked like the sky had fallen. She wanted to cry.
“You stay.” Jiang Shan pointed at Wei Yuan.
He had just turned his wheelchair. He paused. The others stared at Jiang Shan.
She looked at him. “You should be enough to help me.”
She had never liked forcing anyone. Since Wei Yuan was the only one who didn’t seem afraid of her, he could stay.
He might be in a wheelchair, but he could still help her into the suit—it had zippers and fasteners everywhere and was easy to get wrong. She had no choice but to accept help.
Wei Yuan was silent. Then he gave his companions a look.
They left the tent without a word. Zhao Ying was the fastest out.