The female sniper could no longer pretend to be asleep. She sat up in bed. After several days of rest, her condition had improved considerably, and color had returned to her face. Still, she did not dare meet someone's eyes.
Zhang Heng politely said to Maggie on the other side of the room, "Could I trouble you to translate for me again?"
She pulled a cigarette from the table, held it between her lips, and looked at the two of them with an ambiguous smile. "Go ahead."
Zhang Heng looked at Simon on the bed. "Thank you for vouching for me and letting me join the guerrillas. I came to visit you before, but Doctor Maggie said you needed to rest."
The girl blinked. Although she tried hard to keep a straight face, for some reason she still looked a little guilty. So Zhang Heng did not mention the bullets and phone that had appeared beneath the tree, or the wallet and other belongings that had been returned to him.
After a pause, he continued, "My hometown is very far away. For certain reasons, I can't... uh, stay here. Once the war is over, I'll go home."
The girl froze at those words, and her expression gradually dimmed.
Zhang Heng knew that after what had happened that night, the female sniper had developed some affection for him. It was clear that she held a fairly high position among the guerrillas. He could have taken advantage of those feelings to make his life in the camp more comfortable, but when the day came for him to return to reality, his departure would inevitably bring the girl unimaginable pain.
Sometimes, Zhang Heng could not help wondering whether this really was just a game. Everything he had experienced felt far too real. It