Emily hesitated, then placed her hand in his palm.
With one pull, Su Wei helped her down from the back seat.
Standing on one foot, Emily swayed and leaned against him instinctively.
Su Wei caught her by the arm and let her lean on him.
"Is it all right to leave your snowmobile here for now?" he asked.
"No problem," Emily said, nodding quickly. "Thank you, Su Wei. I'll come get it when my foot's better."
Su Wei said nothing more. Half supporting, half carrying her, he went around to the garage.
An old Dodge pickup sat there, its body splattered with mud.
He opened the passenger door, carefully helped Emily into the seat, and handed Cotton Candy to her.
"Sit tight."
He closed the door, went around to the driver's seat, inserted the key, and turned it.
The old V8 engine coughed violently several times, then roared to life, making the whole truck shudder.
The pickup crunched over the snow, turned around, and headed toward town along a cleared dirt road.
The heater was on inside the cab.
Emily's body gradually relaxed, and at last she was no longer so cold.
She turned her head to look at Su Wei, who was focused on driving.
He was still wearing the clothes he had worn in the mountains. Dark stubble had appeared on his chin, and the contours of his profile stood out sharply in the shifting light and shadows outside the window, giving him a rugged look.
Was this man really the same boy she remembered, the one who used to blush when he talked to girls?
"Su Wei," she asked, unable to hold back, "have you... been living here alone this whole time?"
"Mm." Su Wei kept his eyes on the road, his hands steady on the wheel.
"How on earth have you gotten through these past few months?" Emily voiced the question that puzzled her most.
His parents had died, leaving him burdened with enormous debts and alone in that remote cabin.
He had survived in a place like the foot of Pillar Mountain.
It hardly seemed real.
Su Wei fell silent for a moment.
"I just got through them."
His reply was matter-of-fact.
He couldn't explain.
Was he supposed to tell her he had a system in his head, that killing deer unlocked modules, and that he could level up just by making a sled?
Or that the Su Wei she knew had already died.
And that the one here now was a new Su Wei?
Emily didn't press him.
She knew there were some things he didn't want to talk about.
People's experiences were always so strange.
You never knew what someone was going through.
Even if he was a childhood playmate.
The truck bumped along, and beyond the windows, signs of human habitation gradually began to appear among the seas of forest and snowy plains.
Scattered houses, fences, and utility poles began to appear on both sides of the road.
An hour and a half later, the outline of a seaside town finally appeared at the edge of the horizon.
Kodiak Town.
When the pickup entered town, there were more cars and pedestrians on the streets. The clamor of voices and the dazzling lights of the signs left the two of them, fresh from the wilderness, struggling to adjust.
Su Wei parked in front of a building called Bay Clinic.
He switched off the engine and pulled out the key.
"We're here."
He got out, hurried around to the passenger side, and opened the door.
Emily was about to move herself out when she saw Su Wei bend down toward her.
The next second, her body lifted off the seat as he scooped her up in his arms.
"Ah!"
She cried out and instinctively wrapped her arms around Su Wei's neck.
Su Wei held her steadily, carrying her without effort.
"You... I can do it myself..." Emily's cheeks flushed bright red, and her heart pounded in her chest.
"Don't move around."
Su Wei's low voice sounded beside her ear. "Your ankle needs to be immobilized. Getting out that way would only make the injury worse."
His reasons were always so practical that there was no arguing with them.
Emily stopped struggling and could only bury her face against his chest, feeling his steady, powerful heartbeat.
Just then, someone opened the door and came out, and Su Wei took the opportunity to go inside.
The smell of disinfectant hit them.
The nurse at the front desk, who had been looking down as she sorted papers, raised her head. When she saw the scene before her, she froze.
A tall young man with a cold, hard air was carrying a blonde girl in his arms.
And tucked in the girl's arms was a little snow-white fox.
It was a peculiar combination.
Carrying Emily, Su Wei went straight to the front desk.
"We need a doctor."
Chapter 30: Kodiak's Expensive Medical Care
Carrying Emily, Su Wei went straight to the front desk.
"We need a doctor."
The nurse at the front desk was startled by the strange combination, but when she saw Emily's wrapped, swollen ankle, she immediately picked up the phone.
"Dr. Hansen, emergency. A woman has a badly sprained ankle and possibly a fracture."
Soon, an elderly man in a white coat came striding down the corridor. His hair was gray, but his steps were steady.
He was in his sixties, with reading glasses perched on his nose and an alert gaze behind the lenses.
Though he looked old, he was still in good spirits.
"Follow me." Dr. Hansen gave them a glance and said nothing more.
Su Wei followed with Emily in his arms. Cotton Candy poked a little head out of her embrace, blue eyes curiously surveying the place that smelled so strongly of disinfectant.
In the examination room, Su Wei carefully placed Emily on the examination table.
"All right, kid, you can leave now," Dr. Hansen said without looking up as he put on latex gloves.
Emily instinctively grabbed the hem of Su Wei's jacket.
Su Wei didn't move. He looked at the doctor and said, "She's my friend. I'm not sure she can accurately describe her condition."
Dr. Hansen looked up and studied Su Wei through his glasses.
The young man before him was still wearing a dark windproof jacket, carrying a mixture of dust, wood shavings, and even a faint smell of blood. Dark stubble covered his chin.
He had a wild air about him, distinctive and rugged.
"Are you her... boyfriend?" Hansen suddenly asked.
Emily's face flushed red in an instant. She quickly waved her hands. "No, no, we're... we're friends."
Su Wei said nothing, tacitly accepting Emily's explanation.
Dr. Hansen shrugged, said nothing, and began carefully examining Emily's ankle.
His technique was professional and his touch gentle, but every press made Emily suck in a breath from the pain.
"The ligaments are badly strained, and there may be a minor bone fracture. We'll need an X-ray to make sure," the doctor said.
Emily's voice trembled slightly. "Is it serious?"
"You won't die," Dr. Hansen said. "But don't expect to wear high heels to any parties this month. Not that there are many parties in Kodiak Town."
His distinctive dry humor strangely eased the awkward atmosphere.
Emily and Su Wei both found the corners of their mouths lifting.