I Am Song Weishi's Friend

Song Weishi woke early. She had no alarm clock, but her internal clock had been remarkably punctual lately.

Outside, the sky was a pale blue, and the sunlight looked like a lump of cream in an oil painting, carrying no warmth. The world's light seemed trapped inside a frame, seeping through the curtain in muted gray.

Song Weishi couldn't feel any heat. She put on her gear and packed up everything in the room.

She looked at the fireplace in the corner. With this, the whole house would be warm, and there was no risk of charcoal poisoning. If only her next stop had one of these, she thought, sizing up the fireplace. It wasn't hard to take apart—as long as she could pull the exterior chimney pipe along with it.

Song Weishi set to work immediately. She dismantled the fireplace first, unscrewing the bolts until the iron frame could be lifted clean off the floor. The reddish-brown base was bolted to the floorboards, but since she had a carbon stove, she didn't bother taking that along.

After finishing inside, she went out to remove the chimney pipe. Fortunately, the workmanship was crude—it was probably meant as decoration rather than for actual use—so the connections at each joint were loose. The whole process took ten minutes.

Song Weishi went back in for a meal, then prepared to set out again.

Xiaoli and Jiang Qingrou stood on the zoo's rooftop, watching her from afar.

She passed in front of them, and Xiaoli immediately came down to hug her.

"Hello!"

Song Weishi buried herself in Xiaoli's fluffy body, breathing in the scent of straw, feeling reluctant to leave.

She stepped back and waved at them. "Goodbye."

Jiang Qingrou, still in the attic, opened the door and waved back. "Goodbye! Weishi, once I'm better, I'll head out to find you!"

Song Weishi couldn't help but break into a bright smile beneath her mask. Without looking back, she waved over her shoulder.

The zoo grew smaller and smaller behind her until it disappeared. She stopped—the icy ground was hard to traverse, which was why she'd skied here. With no one watching, she pulled her bicycle out of her space.

Yesterday, she'd realized biking on ice was too difficult, so she'd modified it: she'd wrapped the tires in her ice-skate frame and rigged a brake system inside using spare hardware parts. When she pedaled from inside, the external ski poles would strike the ground hard, propelling her forward.

The bike looked odd and moved in an unusual way, but once the poles pushed off, the modified tricycle glided ten meters in one go. It was incredibly efficient—far faster than riding yesterday. The tricycle wasn't easy to tip over either, and with the outer shell, the cold wind couldn't reach her.

The only downside was that braking relied entirely on luck. If something appeared ahead and she couldn't turn in time, she'd flip over in a heap.

Song Weishi started riding cautiously at first, but eventually she threw caution to the wind. It felt no different from driving. With this tool, there was no way Xie Yi could catch up to her.

She could even ride one-handed and eat. In two hours, she covered the same distance as an entire day yesterday.

After leaving East Lake, the waterways became far more tangled, and many routes weren't marked on the map. She didn't dare take small paths, afraid of running into hills she couldn't cross and getting stuck, dying on a mountain for nothing.

But with the lake's help, the journey she'd estimated as very long was shortened to just two or three days.

Without a thermometer, Song Weishi didn't know the temperature, but everything around her was frozen solid.

By the time she reached the next town she could rest in, it was nearly evening. She didn't dare complain about the rundown buildings and quickly picked one that was in decent shape.

The small mountain village was peaceful and quiet at night, the houses buried under the snow with only their rooftops peeking out. She'd only noticed it by chance. She dug her way in and found the small building inside was still intact, so she settled in comfortably.

---

Xie Yi searched for the entire night. The next day, she hesitated about going out. She didn't believe anything had happened to Song Weishi, but worry still gnawed at her heart.

She kept waiting in the same spot, hoping Song Weishi would suddenly appear before her. But minute by minute, second by second, no miracle came.

Song Weishi didn't return. There was no word from her at all. Xie Yi's brows were furrowed with anxiety as she dragged up the surviving residents of the neighborhood, demanding to know where Song Weishi had gone, whether these people had hidden her somewhere.

Or maybe she had already left...

Without seeing her body, Xie Yi couldn't understand—why would she leave without saying goodbye?

It wasn't until she noticed the supplies in the handcart, exactly enough for her needs, that she suddenly realized: she really was gone.

Xie Yi couldn't figure out why. She pulled off her gloves and stared at the band-aid Song Weishi had stuck on her hand, lost in thought.

Faced with the cruel truth, she chose to keep deceiving herself. She even made excuses for Song Weishi, refusing to believe she'd slipped away so quietly.

She repacked her bags and set out again, following the route Song Weishi had taken, rushing all the way to the tunnel complex. She didn't have a spatial storage, so she had to drag her supplies along, though she did find a mountain bike on the way.

She stumbled all the way to the zoo's vicinity.

She found a stone house. The fireplace showed signs of use, and even the cover was missing.

Xie Yi's eyes lit up immediately. She felt nervous—maybe Song Weishi was somewhere nearby. After all, besides her, no one would come to such a desolate place.

The room was clean, with no traces left behind.

Song Weishi seemed to have been there, and yet also not.

After setting her things down inside, Xie Yi hurried out to search for any trace of Song Weishi.

She naturally noticed the prominent zoo building. There were signs of recent human activity, deliberately covered up. Xie Yi cautiously approached the spot beneath Jiang Qingrou's location.

Through the window, she could see a figure moving upstairs. She felt wary but also a bit hopeful, already planning what she'd say when she saw Song Weishi.

Jiang Qingrou noticed the person lingering downstairs for a long time. At first, she was nervous, worried the person might be a threat, but since he or she kept pacing below without coming up, she relaxed a little.

With Xiaoli beside her, Jiang Qingrou felt plenty safe. She remembered Song Weishi's words—she couldn't always stay in her comfort zone—and mustered the courage to take the first step outside.

She opened the window and shouted down at the person: "What are you doing down there!"

Xiaoli put on a fierce look, cutting an imposing figure.

The newcomer seemed disappointed. Jiang Qingrou saw her keeping a safe distance and asked, "Sorry to bother you, but have you seen a girl about this tall come through here? She was wearing a black down jacket. She's my friend..."

Xie Yi described some of Song Weishi's features, and Jiang Qingrou instantly grew alert. She realized the person knew Song Weishi, but Song Weishi had never mentioned having any friends—otherwise, she wouldn't have been traveling alone. If they were close, why didn't they travel together? Why ask around like this?

To be safe, Jiang Qingrou decided to pretend she knew nothing. "Haven't seen anyone. Leave now. Don't show up here again, or don't blame me for being rude."

At that, Xiaoli bared its teeth and made as if to lunge forward. Xie Yi wisely backed off. Her silhouette was desolate, her once-straight frame now slightly hunched.