Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I woke up.

My eyes were open, yet I was still submerged in darkness, my whole body aching and limp. It felt like flickering snow blanketed my vision, like a broken television set, making it impossible to recall last night’s dreams. I rubbed my eyes, struggling to make sense of the images lingering on the edge of my consciousness.

This dream was different from all the others-the people in it seemed almost real, as if they carried actual body heat.

But those images were hazy, fleeting, just a few scattered fragments with no story behind them. I gave up, braced my arms to sit up, and suddenly stopped, sensing something was off. The cramped air in the room carried a strange, unfamiliar scent.

I wrinkled my nose, having no clues to go on, so I pushed open the narrow window, hoping to air the room out.

The cool breeze brushed against my skin. I shivered and suddenly realized I wasn’t wearing anything. A faint ache in my lower body sent a wave of panic through me. The snowy static cleared from my mind in an instant, and the wild, disjointed scenes from last night came flooding back-

Ge Wei and I… we slept together.

It was absurd. I was more than a dozen years older than him. He not only had a wife and child, but he was also someone she had once loved. What was I thinking?

Flustered, I hurriedly dressed, got out of bed, felt around for the washbasin, took it up, and opened the door to head to the washroom. Tang Jing and Lu Ning were sitting in the small courtyard on the rocking chairs, drinking tea. When they saw me, they smiled and greeted me. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something hidden in their glances-something ambiguous, a faint curiosity lingering between us.

I nearly stumbled into the washroom, head down as I quickly washed up. But when I came out, I ran right into Ge Wei. I looked away guiltily, but he acted completely normal and called me over for breakfast. He even waved to Tang Jing and Lu Ning in the courtyard, his tone totally unchanged, as if nothing unusual had happened.

The tension inside me eased a little. It was just a mishap brought on by alcohol-best if no one ever mentioned it again.

Over breakfast, Tang Jing steered the conversation to filming plans. They were thinking of heading out to get some shots of the rest of the town today.

The talk meandered before circling back to that corpse on Wild Mountain. Lu Ning, who seemed unusually interested, had gone out early to ask around and came back with new information. The dead man wasn’t a hunter or a backpacker, but an addict-he’d probably fled his debts and hid out in the mountains, only to freeze to death there.

“An addict?” I repeated softly, unable to hide the bitterness in my tone. “Hurts himself, hurts others. At least now he’s dead, no longer a burden on anyone.”

“Yeah, no reason to feel sorry for an addict,” Tang Jing chimed in.

“So there was only one body?” I picked up a boiled egg and gently tapped it on the corner of the table.

“Just one…” Lu Ning sounded uncertain. “Sister Mei, did you… hear something else?”

Realizing my slip, I hurried to cover up. “No, I was just asking.”

They didn’t press the issue, and I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. After breakfast, as I cleared the dishes, Lu Ning called out to Tang Jing, suggesting they go take a look at Wild Mountain since the police were still there. Since they were already here, filming the investigation process would be a nice bonus.

Watching them leave, I muttered under my breath, “It must be nice to be young. Even death doesn’t scare you. You just run right toward it.”

“Are you afraid of death?” Ge Wei suddenly asked, leaning against the doorframe.

“Afraid, and not afraid. Everyone’s fate is already written by the heavens,” I replied quietly, looking at him. I had something I wanted to ask, but I hesitated, lost in thought.

“Sister Mei, last night… I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

He changed the subject so abruptly, I froze, flustered all over again, my body suddenly weak.

“Sorry, I drank too much yesterday. After that… I don’t remember a thing.”

“Don’t remember?” He let out a soft laugh. “Then why apologize? I never said anything.”

There was a teasing trap in his words, one I couldn’t escape. I could only face it head-on. “Sorry. I’m so much older than you, I’ve always thought of you as a junior… Besides, you have a wife and kid.”

“She knows about my past. I’ve cleaned up my act now. When I was in Jiangzhe, I went out with sisters older than you. It’s kind of a shame you don’t remember-I wanted to ask if I was getting rusty.” Seeing I didn’t respond, he smoothly shifted the topic. “Why do you keep thinking there’s more than one body on Wild Mountain? Could it be…”

My hand clamped tightly around the bowl. If it shattered now, my guilt and secrets would spill out for all to see.

Ge Wei played the role of someone innocent, as if he didn’t know anything at all.

Maybe, in her final moments, she didn’t want to see him. Now, she had no light left, no spirit, nothing but the hollow shell of an old, withered woman.

“Ah Wei.” Normally I called him Boss Ge, but this time I switched, my voice deliberately soft and placating. “You really can’t say things like that.”