After Su Wei said those words, the atmosphere seemed to turn strange.
The campfire burst into a shower of sparks with a faint crackle.
Emily's cheeks were an unusually deep red in the firelight.
She instinctively clutched the oversized garment around her, gripping it so hard that her fingertips grew numb.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, drowning out the wind for a moment.
There was only one tent.
A few seconds later, Emily took a deep breath and looked up to meet Su Wei's gaze, trying to make her voice sound normal.
"It's all right. These are special circumstances." She collected her thoughts. "Out in the wild, survival comes first. An Alaskan understands that better than anyone."
Su Wei looked at her and noticed her subtle nervousness.
He nodded and did not pursue the subject.
He turned around and rummaged through the supplies on the sled, finding a thick blanket. It was his spare, dry and clean.
"The temperature will drop tonight. Your ankle is injured, so your circulation isn't good, and you'll get cold more easily." He held out the blanket. "Put it over your legs."
Emily took it. The blanket carried a dry, soapy scent and was very clean.
She obediently spread the blanket over her legs. The thick fabric kept out the cold, and a warmth spread through her legs, easing some of the tension in her body.
Su Wei did not remain idle. He picked up the small frying pan he had used earlier and scrubbed it clean in the snow.
Then he walked over to a spruce tree and dug a waterproof bag out of a snowdrift he had deliberately marked.
The bag contained a handful of dark purple berries, frozen rock hard.
"What are those...?" Emily watched curiously.
"Highbush blueberries, and some lingonberries," Su Wei explained. "I picked them earlier. They'll give us some vitamins."
He added some snow to the pan, set it over the fire to boil, then tossed in the frozen berries.
Soon, the water in the pan boiled again, sending snow-white steam billowing upward. The berries slowly thawed and unfurled in the hot water, their dark purple juice staining the pan of melted snow a deep red.
A sweet-and-sour fragrance with a fresh scent filled the cold air.
Su Wei stirred it with a spoon. Only after he was sure the berries had cooked completely soft did he take the pan off the fire and pour a cupful into the lid of the thermos.
Then he filled the thermos as well.
"Have some. It'll warm you up." He handed the thermos to Emily.
The piping-hot berry soup drove the chill from her body.
The sweet-and-sour liquid slid down her throat, its hint of wild fruit fragrance cutting through the richness of the venison steak and making her stomach feel comfortable.
Emily held the warm plate and sipped slowly, feeling her body and mind gradually recover from her earlier exhaustion and fright.
She looked at the man before her.
He handled things in an orderly manner and was exceptionally calm.
From hunting and repairing machinery to everyday chores like cooking, everything he did showed familiarity and expertise.
Those were not skills one could acquire overnight.
What exactly had he been through these past few months?
After finishing the soup, Su Wei put everything away.
"Get some rest early," he said. "We have to leave as soon as it gets light tomorrow."
Emily nodded.
Su Wei entered the tent first and laid out the sleeping pad and the only sleeping bag.
He placed the sleeping bag on the right and piled the backpacks and some supplies in a corner.
The tent was simply too small.
Then he backed out and said to Emily, "You go in first, all the way to the back."
Emily did not hesitate any longer. Holding on to Su Wei's arm, she hopped on one foot and crawled into the tent.
It was much warmer inside than outside, and the cramped space was filled with Su Wei's scent.
She handed Su Wei the blanket she had just warmed up.
Su Wei took the blanket, which still retained her body heat, and placed it beside the sleeping bag.
She lay down in the sleeping bag and zipped it up, leaving only her head exposed.
Then Su Wei crawled in as well and lay down beside her.
He wrapped the blanket tightly around himself.
He zipped the tent shut, sealing out the cold air and firelight.
The only source of light was a dim camping lamp at the top of the tent.
The darkness and the cramped space heightened every sensation.
Emily could clearly hear the breathing beside her, steady and strong.
She could even feel the heat radiating from his body, passing through two layers of sleeping bag.
Her body tensed up again.
"Don't be nervous." Su Wei's voice rang out in the darkness, very calm. "I won't do anything to you."
"I... I'm not nervous," Emily murmured in protest, though her words were plainly lacking in conviction.
Su Wei said nothing more, and the tent fell silent for a while.
After some time, Su Wei spoke again.
"We'll set out first thing tomorrow morning. We'll go back to my cabin first. It'll take about five hours." He sounded as though he were laying out a plan. "Your injured foot needs treatment. I have a more professional first-aid kit there. Once your condition has stabilized, I'll find a way to take you to the clinic in town on the snowmobile."
"Okay," Emily answered.
"Your research..." Su Wei asked, "Are you going to continue it?"
At the mention of her work, Emily became more talkative.
"This was supposed to be my last round of data collection." She sighed. "But then the snowmobile went out of control, and my DSLR camera and a lot of my equipment were smashed. My observation journal survived, at least. Once I get back, the project will probably have to be put on hold."
"That's a shame," Su Wei said simply.
"What about you?" Emily turned her head, looking at the outline of his profile in the dim light. "Have you really... become a hunter?"
"To pay off my debt." Su Wei's answer was direct.
"One hundred and sixty thousand dollars... How much have you paid back?"
"Some of it." Su Wei did not give her an exact figure. "Almost there."
Emily fell silent.
She could not imagine just how heavy that burden was.
All her life, her father had helped shoulder every burden she had.
Strictly speaking, she was not even much like an American.
She had never had to shoulder expensive student loans, car loans, and all sorts of other loans herself.
She was lucky to have a family that loved him very much.
"Su Wei, do you remember?" she suddenly asked, her voice much quieter. "When we were little, you climbed that old oak tree in my backyard to get at a bird's nest, and you couldn't get down. In the end, my dad had to get a ladder and rescue you."
Su Wei's body seemed to move slightly.
"You even whistled at the baby birds and said you were going to teach them to sing." A hint of laughter entered Emily's voice.
"I was stupid back then." Su Wei's voice softened a little too.
"Another time, we were catching crayfish by the creek, and one pinched your hand. You cried so loudly you even brought my family's dog running."
"I didn't cry," Su Wei immediately protested.
"You did. I saw you," Emily insisted. "Your eyes were full of tears."
Su Wei did not argue further. In the darkness, there seemed to be a barely audible chuckle.
The two of them traded words, talking about many things from their childhood.
Chasing fireflies together on summer evenings, having snowball fights together in the winter snow, and sharing a slice of pizza that did not taste very good.
Back then, Su Wei had been shy, even a little timid. When he was bullied, all he could do was hide behind her.
He was like a completely different person from the man who could hunt black-tailed deer in a blizzard and calmly treat a wound.
What had time done to him?
"Emily." Su Wei suddenly called her name.
"Hmm?"
"Go to sleep," he said. "We still have a long way to go tomorrow."
"Okay."