Chapter 18 Do you... resent me? The hand behind my back loosened its grip, not for much...
As Shen Mi watched the security team escort 1017 and his group away, his heart finally settled. However, his nerves, which had been tense for so long, suddenly relaxed, and his legs went weak, almost causing him to collapse to the ground.
Just as she staggered, a pair of hands caught her back in time, the force was light, but it steadily supported her.
Shen Mi barely managed to stand, her heart still pounding. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.
The hand behind him loosened its grip without lingering.
Shen Mi turned her head and thanked him softly, but the other person did not respond, simply standing there quietly. She didn't turn around to look, nor did she have the mind to find out who the other person was. At that moment, she only felt exhausted, as if she had just escaped from a storm, and even the strength to stand firm was exhausted.
Just as it was time to leave work, the crowd that had gathered out of curiosity scattered like birds and beasts, pulling their respective mine carts and leaving.
Shen Mi stood there and waited for a while, but he still couldn't see Shavalei's figure.
After a while, as darkness fell, they realized that if they didn't submit the ore soon, they would probably be punished that day.
Shen Mi withdrew her gaze and pushed the minecart forward, her legs feeling as heavy as lead. The minecart was quite heavy, and there were also loose stones blocking the way. After all the struggle, she was almost completely exhausted, and every step felt like she was gritting her teeth and forcing herself to keep going.
The submission point wasn't far, but night fell even faster. The surrounding light gradually dimmed, and the wind, carrying dust, made her cough twice. She looked up at the sky, a sense of anxiety rising in her heart—where had Savare gone?
If she had truly found Danheng, she wouldn't have been gone for so long. But what if she hadn't found him? Could she have gotten lost? Or, worse—could she have failed to escape from 1017's clutches?
Thinking of this, Chen Mi stopped in her tracks, clenched her fingers, and felt a chill in her palms. She knew all too well the cruelty of this labor camp. She was only able to escape unscathed today because of the patrol's intervention, but Shavalei was different. She was so thin and weak that she couldn't outrun them. If any of them attacked her, she would be powerless to fight back.
Shen Mi took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. The only thing he could do now was to hand over the ore as soon as possible, and then go find someone.
She quickened her pace, pushing the ore cart to the submission point. The foreman in charge of registration glanced at her casually, nodded at the ore in the cart, and made a mark on the register: "Good luck today, quite a lot."
Shen Mi ignored what he said, took the voucher, and turned to leave. She didn't go to collect her meal, but went straight to her dormitory.
She needed to go back to her dorm first to check if Savare was waiting for her there. If not, she would then go find Danheng.
The corridor was filled with the aroma of food. Many laborers had already received their dinner and were hurriedly eating in the cramped space, heads down, afraid of wasting even a second. Chen Mi walked steadily through the crowd, pushed open the dormitory door, and scanned the dimly lit room—it was empty.
My heart sank.
Shen Mi grabbed someone and asked, "Have you seen Shavalei?"
The person was engrossed in eating when Chen Mi suddenly grabbed him, clearly startled for a moment, then frowned and looked up at her: "Savare? I haven't seen her."
Shen Mi's fingertips felt slightly cold. He let go of her hand, turned around, and searched the corridor again.
No... then where did it go?
She stood at the doorway, gripping the doorframe tightly. After a moment, she suddenly turned and ran toward the secret path.
Her body, exhausted, protested with a dull ache. She forced herself to calm down, but her pace quickened even faster than her reason.
Chen Mi stopped, panting, and looked around. The patrols in the main building were more frequent than in other areas, and security personnel occasionally walked past under the lights, but she had no time to pay attention to them. She nimbly dodged their detection, focusing only on finding that familiar, slender figure.
Having finally evaded the patrol, Chen Mi once again stepped onto that familiar path.
"Savare!" she whispered, her footsteps moving swiftly through the crowd, her eyes anxiously scanning every corner.
Finally, on the stone steps not far away, she saw a small, huddled figure.
Savare sat there, hugging her knees and curling up into a ball, seemingly trembling with fear. Beside her stood a familiar figure—Danheng.
Savare sat on the stone steps, hugging her knees and curled up in a ball, seemingly quite frightened. Danheng stood beside her, looking down at her with a slight frown, as if asking something.
The moment she saw Shen Mi, Shavalei looked up abruptly, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. Then, she stood up abruptly, rushed over, and threw herself into Shen Mi's arms, her voice still filled with lingering fear: "Sister Shen Mi!"
Chen Mi felt relieved, reached out and put his arm around her back, and patted her shoulder gently: "It's alright now."
She was about to say something when she suddenly noticed a gaze fixed on her.
She looked up and met a pair of deep eyes.
Dan Heng stood there, the night casting a long shadow over him, the lamplight reflecting on his cool, aloof features. He looked at her, his gaze deep, as if he already knew everything that had happened.
Shen Mi took a soft breath, feeling the trembling of Shavalei's fingertips, her heart filled with indescribable complex emotions. She knew that this girl must have been quite frightened tonight.
But now is not the time to ask those questions.
She released Savare, crouched down slightly, held her shoulders, and asked softly, "Are you hurt?"
Savare shook her head, her voice a little hoarse: "I... I ran away and kept hiding, but... they kept chasing me, and in the end, it was Manager Mei who saved me..."
"Later, he also sent the security team to find you. Just in case, he told me to stay here and not wander around."
“When I saw her, she was very emotionally unstable. So I let her stay here.” Dan Heng’s voice came from the side, low and calm, without any extra emotion. His gaze fell on Chen Mi, as if carefully assessing her condition. “And you?”
Shen Mi looked up at Dan Heng, her lips trembling uncontrollably. The strong persona she had been maintaining all along seemed to be about to collapse. Her throat kept sore, her chest felt blocked, her eyes were already red, and tears were swirling in place, stubbornly refusing to fall.
After a while, once she had calmed down, Shen Mi subconsciously wanted to say "It's okay," but as soon as she moved her lips, a stinging sensation came from the wound on her face. Only then did she realize that the conflict in the mining area had left marks on her face.
“…A minor injury.” Shen Mi raised his hand to touch his face, and frowned slightly when his fingers touched the scraped area.
It still hurts a little.
Dan Heng saw this and his expression darkened slightly, but he said nothing.
He looked away, changed the subject, and asked casually, "Have you eaten?"
Shen Mi shook his head: "Not yet." He looked at Shavalei as if asking a question.
As soon as he finished speaking, Danheng handed him a bag. "Savare has already eaten, this is the leftovers, you can take it and eat it."
Shen Mi wanted to say something more, but when her gaze met Dan Heng's eyes, she finally nodded.
After saying goodbye to Danheng, Shen Mi led Shavalei along the path. The evening breeze was chilly, and Shavalei clung tightly to Shen Mi's hand, as if afraid she would disappear again. Shen Mi took her hand and led her towards the dormitory.
After walking a few steps, she couldn't help but look back.
Dan Heng remained standing in the same spot, the night behind him deep and dark. He gazed in the direction they had left, his figure cold and serene, like an immovable volcano.
"Eh..."
Through the iron fence, Shen Mi heard Dan Heng hesitate, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.
She stopped and turned to look at Danheng, waiting for him to speak.
Danheng paused for a moment, then took a few steps forward and slipped two things to her through the iron fence: "Be careful. And...do you...resent me?"
She looked down at the things in her hands: a small tube of ointment and an unidentified object wrapped in cloth. The label on the ointment was worn and blurred, but it was still vaguely discernible that it was for external injuries.
Shen Mi gently stroked the ointment bottle with his fingertips, a complex emotion flashing through his mind.
"You just asked me... if I resent you?" She looked up at Danheng, a hint of confusion in her eyes. "Why did you ask that?"
Dan Heng paused for a moment, his grey-green eyes flickering slightly in the night. His hand hung at his side, his fingers tightening silently, as if weighing whether to continue.
After a long pause, his voice was low and calm: "What happened to you today... if I had intervened earlier, perhaps it could have been avoided."
Shen Mi was stunned, then realized that he was blaming himself.
“Manager Mei,” she sighed softly, “if it were me, I would make the same choice as you.”
I will pretend to be a complete stranger and not care at all.
Her tone was soft, yet it was like a pebble falling into a lake, creating ripples on the surface.
Dan Heng paused slightly, his grey-green eyes darkening in the dim light, as if touched by something for a moment. He looked at Chen Mi, his lips slightly pursed, but he remained silent.
Shen Mi lowered his eyes, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the ointment on his palm, and said softly, "We've already been targeted by Kulun. Helping me at this time wouldn't be a good thing. You've done nothing wrong by letting the security team get involved."
She knew his situation. As his supervisor, he was being watched by too many eyes. If she showed any "special treatment" or "favoritism," it would become a weapon to attack him. Danheng's caution was not indifference, but a way of protecting himself, and also a way of protecting her.
She raised her head, looked at him calmly, and said in a gentle but firm tone, "So I don't resent you."
The night breeze swept through the iron mesh, bringing a slight chill.
Danheng did not respond immediately, but just looked at her, his fingertips tightening slightly, as if there were some words on the tip of his tongue, but he ultimately did not say them.
Shen Mi met his gaze, a slight smile curving her lips, as if to bring the topic to a close. She held up the ointment and dinner in her hand, her tone light: "Thank you for your things, I accept them."
Dan Heng's eyes flickered slightly, but in the end he simply nodded, his voice low: "...Mm."
Shen Mi took a deep breath and waved to him, "Goodnight then."
She turned and left, with Savare following closely beside her like a little tail. The two walked further and further away, their figures gradually disappearing into the night.
Danheng remained standing there, watching their backs as they disappeared completely.
After a long while, he lowered his eyes slightly and murmured to himself, "...Good night."
A note from the author:
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It's too late, I'm going to do some crafts today [doge emoji] I can take them to the Iron Man concert later.
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