The mountain forest was far more dangerous at night than during the day.
Su Wei didn't dare take a straight route, remaining alert to his surroundings at all times.
The roar of the snowmobile could scare off some smaller beasts, but it could also attract more troublesome creatures, like a brown bear roused from sleep or a hungry pack of wolves.
Emily sat behind him, one hand gripping Su Wei's outdoor jacket tightly, the other holding Cotton Candy protectively against her chest.
The jolting snowmobile made her injured ankle throb, but the warmth of the little fox in her arms and the broad back in front of her gave her a strange sense of security.
She looked at the well-behaved white fox in her arms, her professional instincts as someone with a master's degree in animal behavior filling her with curiosity.
"Su Wei," she said, leaning closer so her voice could be heard over the wind and engine, "your fox... is beautiful. An albino red fox with blue eyes-that's incredibly rare. What pet store did you buy her from? She must have cost a fortune, right?"
As far as she knew, an exotic pet that looked like this would cost thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars.
Su Wei kept his eyes on the path ahead as he steered the snowmobile and answered casually.
"I didn't buy her."
"Then did a friend give her to you?"
"Nope." Su Wei's answer was simple. "She's wild."
Emily froze.
"W-wild?"
She wondered if she'd misheard him.
"She ran up to my camp on her own. I couldn't chase her away, so she stayed." Su Wei spoke lightly, as though he were talking about some perfectly ordinary little thing.
Emily was utterly speechless.
Someone with a master's degree who had spent years studying animal behavior had to carefully set up infrared cameras, spray pheromones, and hide in the ice and snow for days just to catch a glimpse of one or two blurry shapes when observing wolves and foxes.
Yet Su Wei, a wilderness hunter, had an extremely rare wild white fox with blue eyes come right to his door and refuse to leave?
This... this was downright unscientific!
She looked down at Cotton Candy. The little fox seemed to sense her gaze and raised her head, looking back at her with those blue eyes. She even stuck out her tongue and licked her fingers.
There wasn't a trace of wildness in her; she was just like a tame household pet.
Emily couldn't quite say how she felt. She was a little jealous, but more than anything, she was envious and amazed.
She buried her face in Cotton Candy's warm fur and said, her voice muffled, "Looks like animals all like you. Maybe you should have been the one studying my major, not me."
Hearing the hint of feeling in her voice, Su Wei's lips quirked slightly in the darkness.
"Maybe."
The two chatted on and off, and the tension eased a little.
Unexpectedly, the roughly repaired snowmobile proved quite sturdy. Though it rattled and clanged all the way, it never broke down.
More than ten minutes later, a point of orange light appeared beneath the slope ahead.
It was Su Wei's tent.
The snowmobile's headlights swept across the camp, illuminating the whole scene clearly.
An orange mountaineering tent.
Beside it was a neatly stacked pile of firewood, enough to burn for several days.
There was even a newly finished wooden sled that looked exceptionally sturdy.
On the sled, a waterproof tarp covered a towering load with a menacing shape.
Emily stared at it all, stunned once again.
This camp didn't look like anything an amateur could have set up.
It was more professional, and there was a lot of game.
Su Wei really had become so different.
Su Wei parked the snowmobile beside the tent and shut off the engine.
The world fell silent in an instant, leaving only the wail of wind through the spruce forest.
He turned around and met Emily's shocked, bewildered eyes.
"We're here. This is my camp."
Chapter 26: Still Worried About Modesty at a Time Like This? Su Wei: There's Only One Tent
"We're here. This is my camp."
Su Wei turned his head, gestured with his chin, and smiled as he spoke.
He shut off the engine and swung himself off the snowmobile.
Once the snowmobile fell silent, only the wind and Emily's suddenly quickened breathing remained.
Su Wei walked over to the back seat and, before Emily could react, reached out and picked up Cotton Candy, who was asleep in her arms, then casually set her down on the snow.
Then he crouched halfway down and, without giving Emily a chance to refuse, lifted her off the snowmobile onto his back.
His movements were steady, and his arms were strong. He held Emily securely, gripping her thighs with both hands without touching her injured left foot at all.
Emily's face flushed red in an instant, and her body stiffened involuntarily.
In particular, where Su Wei held her thighs, she felt an inexplicable itch.
If a strange man had done this to her, she would surely have made him pay.
But this was Su Wei.
Her childhood friend.
She couldn't possibly do that to him, and besides, it wasn't bad...
Even through their thick clothes, she could clearly feel his solid back and the heat of his body.
A scent surrounded her: pine and gunpowder, along with Su Wei's strong masculine scent.
It was unfamiliar, yet it made her feel especially safe.
Without a word, Su Wei set her down gently on the sleeping pad at the entrance to the tent.
"Most of your clothes are wet. You need to change out of them right away."
He opened his pack and took out a folded set of gray thermal underwear and a pair of thick fleece pants.
They were his own spare change of clothes.
Looking at the clothes in front of her, Emily finally felt the chill seeping through her wet garments, and she shivered.
She had been so tense on the way here that she hadn't noticed it.
Now that she had relaxed, her teeth couldn't help chattering.
"Go inside and change. Take off all your wet clothes." Su Wei handed her the clothes. "Then put these on. Your shoes and socks need to come off too."
"I..."
Emily's lips moved, and her cheeks burned.
The thought of changing into a man's underwear in his camp made heat spread through her whole body.
"Do you want to die of hypothermia out here?"
That single question dispelled Emily's hesitation.
"Within half an hour, you'll lose consciousness, and then your heart will stop. I'm not joking."
He pointed to the tent.
"Go on in. I'll build a fire outside. Pass me the clothes you take off from inside, and I'll dry them for you."
Those words instantly cleared all the jumbled thoughts from Emily's mind.
She knew perfectly well that in Alaska, where the temperature was more than ten degrees below zero, Su Wei wasn't trying to scare her. She really could die.
Besides, what was she doing?
What were all these strange thoughts?
This was the wilderness, not a game of house!
Wake up, Emily. You've got to pull yourself together.
She took a deep breath and hesitated no longer. Grabbing the clothes, she ducked her head and crawled into the orange tent.
There wasn't much room inside the tent, but it was tidy.
The sleeping bag, backpack, and various other things were all neatly arranged.
Su Wei's scent was stronger in here, and Emily's heart began to race again.
She took a breath and quickly stripped off her cold, wet clothes.
The moment the icy fabric left her skin, she couldn't help shivering.
In the tent's dim light, the outline of her body could just be made out.
She didn't dare dwell on it and changed into Su Wei's clothes as quickly as she could.