Chapter 14 The damp air in the safe mine tunnels carried the fumes of the rock and soil…
Shen Mi crouched, bracing herself against the cold rock wall, her chest feeling turbulent, the tension still lingering. She wasn't unfamiliar with dangerous people, but the feeling of being on the verge of death still left her shaken.
After a moment of silence, she slowly closed her eyes and forced herself to calm her breathing.
Having barely escaped the crisis, Chen Mi would be sitting on the ground, unable to get up, if it weren't for Dan Heng's help. Her clothes were completely soaked with sweat, even the borrowed coat, as if she had been pulled out of a lake.
Danheng pulled her along, saying urgently, "We need to get out of here first. It would be terrible if we were discovered."
Shen Mi nodded, still a little dazed: "Okay."
Dan Heng didn't say anything more. He bent down slightly, grabbed Shen Mi's wrist firmly with one hand, and pulled her up. Shen Mi's legs were still a little weak. She stumbled the moment she was pulled up and almost fell back down. Fortunately, Dan Heng reacted quickly and supported her waist with his other hand, which helped her stand up.
"Let's go." His voice was low, but it carried an undeniable decisiveness.
With Dan Heng's support, Shen Mi gritted his teeth and strode forward, the two moving slowly along the rock wall of the mine tunnel. Inside the cave, they tried to keep their footsteps very quiet, but in this mine tunnel where even the slightest sound was amplified, they could only be extremely careful.
Throughout the journey, Shen Mi felt cold sweat pouring down her body. Her sweat-soaked T-shirt clung tightly to her skin, and even Dan Heng's coat felt heavy, as if every thread of the garment was soaked in cold air when the wind blew. What made her even more uneasy was that it felt like a pebble was stuck in the sole of her shoe, making a hissing sound as she walked, which made her tense up even more.
Danheng seemed to notice, glanced to determine which foot it was, and suddenly half-squatted down to lift her shoe.
Shen Mi was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously held onto Dan Heng's shoulder to maintain her balance. The warmth from his palm briefly calmed Shen Mi's trembling body.
The mine tunnel was dimly lit, and to avoid being discovered, the flashlights on their chests were turned down to the lowest brightness. Dan Heng's profile was particularly clear in the cold light and shadow. He frowned slightly, his expression calm and focused. He held her ankle with one hand, and with the other, he quickly felt along the sole of her shoe, found the pebble stuck in the seam, and pulled it out with his fingertips.
"Alright." His voice was very soft. The moment he stood up, Shen Mi, who was looking down, almost bumped his nose into his.
Shen Mi suddenly held his breath.
The distance between them was so narrow that she could clearly see the slight tremor of Dan Heng's eyelashes, and her own reflection in his grey-green eyes...
The damp air in the mine tunnel carried the scent of rocks and soil, but Chen Mi's senses were completely captivated by the faint vetiver fragrance emanating from Dan Heng.
She stood frozen in place, wanting to retreat, but found herself blocked by the rock wall, with nowhere to go.
Dan Heng was clearly aware of this as well. He had already straightened up, his gaze slightly lowered, meeting Shen Mi's slightly flushed cheeks due to nervousness.
The two were locked in a stalemate for a moment.
Shen Mi felt her mind go blank, and her heartbeat seemed to be amplified several times, deafeningly loud in her ears.
Fortunately, Dan Heng reacted quickly. He took a step back, trying to create as much distance as possible between them, and said calmly, "Let's go."
Shen Mi finally came to her senses, her heart pounding wildly, and the heat on her face was even more pronounced than when her clothes were soaked with cold sweat.
She almost instinctively replied, "Oh... okay."
The two walked side by side again. The mine tunnel was so quiet that even breathing could be heard clearly. Shen Mi deliberately tried to lighten his steps, but he still felt that the sound of his footsteps was like drumming. Especially after Dan Heng took out the pebble, the sound of his shoes rubbing against the ground was no longer harsh, but rather seemed more empty and lonely.
She stole a glance at Dan Heng, whose face remained completely expressionless, as if that brief moment of closeness was nothing more than a common accident.
But Chen Mi knew that it wasn't an illusion.
They were so close that she could even feel the warmth of Danheng's breath on the tip of her nose.
She bit her lip, suppressing all these thoughts in her heart.
Now is not the time to think about these things.
They were still fleeing danger, while Danheng, ever since they separated, had maintained the habit of walking with the same hands and feet.
Shen Mi took a few deep breaths and kept telling himself to calm down!
Unfortunately, even after the two had walked a very, very long way, her ears were still burning red.
They silently traversed the rugged rocky path, encountering neither Chloe nor any other patrols along the way. Danheng constantly observed the surrounding terrain, glancing slightly behind him at each bend to check for any movement before continuing.
Shen Mi kept her head down as she walked, her heartbeat still not fully calmed down. Although Dan Heng had removed the pebble from the sole of her shoe, she still felt something poking her—not her foot, but her heart.
Her right hand was still clutching the hem of the coat Danheng had lent her, as if it were a habit, and she never let go. The fabric was stained with a faint yellow sand and that cool fragrance, and whenever Chen Mi walked too fast, that scent of grass and citrus would hit her nose more clearly as she swayed.
That's the taste of Danheng.
Shen Mi lowered her eyelashes, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing the edge of her coat. The sweat dried by the wind made her skin feel tight, as if the tense confrontation just now still left a lingering echo in her body.
Dan Heng, who was ahead, suddenly stopped.
Shen Mi didn't react in time and almost bumped into his back.
“We’re here.” He glanced at her, his voice calm but carrying a deep, imposing tone. “The area ahead is the E-sector camp.”
Shen Mi then looked up.
They had circled back to a more familiar area. Ahead was a barbed wire fence leading to the outside world, at the end of which was an inconspicuous abandoned passage—the route Danheng had taken her back that night.
She subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, but then realized that she was still clutching the corner of Danheng's coat tightly.
Shen Mi was taken aback. She quickly took off her coat, straightened it, and handed it to him. She wanted to explain something, but found that even her voice was trembling.
"I'm...sorry...for what I did earlier..."
Dan Heng didn't seem to care. After taking the coat, he simply looked at her calmly and said in a composed voice, "No need to apologize."
He paused for a moment, his gaze falling on her slightly trembling fingers.
“That was just an accident,” Danheng said in a low voice. “Your camp is just ahead, I’ll leave you here.”
Shen Mi's heart skipped a beat when he was stared at for a moment. It was as if the danger had just passed, but another kind of tension called reluctance to part was quietly growing.
Ke Danheng showed no extra emotional fluctuations; he simply stood there calmly and watched her.
Shen Mi stood in front of the barbed wire fence, "Thank you..."
Shen Mi licked his dry lips, paused for a moment, and then added, "I'm going back now."
Danheng nodded: "Be careful on the road."
His tone was calm and restrained, as if the danger they had just faced, their attempts to escape, and the tension of almost being discovered had all dissipated into the vast expanse of yellow sand with the wind blowing past their ears.
Shen Mi turned around and crawled into the cracked barbed wire.
Actually, she had already memorized this path the first time she walked it, but for some reason, her steps toward the abandoned passage felt somewhat heavy at this moment.
She took a few steps, then couldn't help but look back.
Danheng remained standing there, clutching the coat soaked with her sweat, motionless like a lighthouse. In the moonlight, the night breeze ruffled his hair, his face flashing between light and shadow, as if maple leaves were swirling above his head.
Shen Mi said nothing, just nodded and waved for him to go back. Then he turned around, passed through the gaps in the barbed wire, and slowly left along the path.
Only after her figure had completely disappeared did Danheng turn his gaze away and put his coat back on his shoulders.
The night was silent, as if nothing had happened.
Shen Mi followed the abandoned passage back to the camp. The night was deep and quiet, and it was as if one could hear the whistling of the wind blowing through the tin tents.
She walked very quietly, afraid of disturbing anyone, and circled around several tents before finally returning to the tent she shared with Savare.
As soon as the curtain was lifted, she saw Savare huddled in the corner, hugging her knees, staring intently at the entrance. Her eyes, which looked somewhat thin due to malnutrition, were slightly wide open, revealing a hint of vigilance and tension. She only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was Shen Mi.
“You’re finally back…” Savare’s voice was soft, with a lingering tremor. “I’ve been listening to what’s going on outside… I was afraid something had happened to you…”
Shen Mi was taken aback by her reaction, then felt a warmth in her heart. She raised her hand and gently rubbed Savare's head: "I'm fine."
“But why did it take you so long?” Savare frowned and complained in a low voice, “The patrolmen have been loitering around outside all night, I was afraid they would find you—why did it take you so long to get back?”
Shen Mi hesitated for a moment, without mentioning Dan Heng or what happened in the mine, and simply explained as calmly as possible: "We avoided people on the way, so we were delayed."
Savare bit her lip and didn't ask any more questions. She just carefully examined Chen Mi's face: "You're sweating a lot?"
Shen Mi then realized that he was still soaked, his T-shirt clinging to his back, even the hair at his temples was damp with sweat. The tension of being tracked down by Chloe and almost exposed hadn't completely subsided; it felt like cold sweat was still clinging to his skin, icy and refreshing.
"It's nothing, I just left in too much of a hurry." Shen Mi rubbed her temples and took a breath. "You should go to sleep now, everything's fine, I'm back."
Savare wanted to say something, but in the end she just nodded, shrank back into her corner, and pulled the thin blanket up to her shoulders.
Shen Mi sat on the edge of his bed, and only then did he truly feel the sense of security of being back in the camp, surrounded by people.
But everything that had just happened, the sense of danger hidden in her heartbeat and sweat, the ghostly figure walking around, lingered in her mind like the coldness of barbed wire.
A note from the author:
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I suddenly remembered that I finished writing this chapter while listening to "Pinking" [heart eyes][heart eyes][heart eyes]
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