Lin carried Ruan on his back, while the rest of the group, divided into three, carried the heavy log.

　　The snow made the road slippery, and everyone walked with extra care.

　　Chi, holding an oil lamp, led the way, urging everyone to take it slow.

　　Initially, the snow was falling in a light drizzle, but as they walked back, the snow suddenly intensified, like goose feathers, swirling and blanketing the entire sky.

　　Ruan wasn't heavy, so Lin carried her quite comfortably.

　　He kept his head down, carefully watching the path beneath his feet, placing each step with precision.

　　The wind howled louder, almost piercingly, and the falling snow obscured most of Lin's vision.

　　He began to have trouble seeing the people in front of him.

　　This feeling was awful.

　　Lin paused briefly, about to stop, but then heard Ruan's voice beside his ear, "Don't stop, keep going."

　　Lin had no choice but to continue forward.

　　However, the further he walked, the more he felt something was wrong.

　　At first, Lin thought it was the cold making him dizzy, but as they traveled farther, he finally realized the source of the discordant feeling.

　　It was too light.

　　The person on his back was too light, as if they had lost all weight.

　　Lin swallowed, tentatively shifting the person on his back upwards.

　　—It wasn't an illusion after all.

　　The person on his back was very light, like a paper doll.

　　They had form but no weight.

　　A thin layer of sweat formed on Lin's forehead. He called out, "Ruan."

　　No response.

　　"Ruan," Lin called again.

　　"What?" Ruan pressed her face against Lin's neck.

　　Her face was ice-cold, her skin damp and soft, giving Lin an uneasy feeling.

　　She said, "What do you want?"

　　"Nothing," Lin said, "Just asking if you're cold."

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　　"I'm not cold," Ruan said, "Not at all."

　　Lin dared not stop.

　　Earlier, he had been walking with his head down, but now, lifting his gaze to observe the surroundings, he realized that he was a considerable distance from the people in front.

　　In the heavy snow, he could only vaguely see the blurry oil lamp and the silhouettes of several figures walking in the wind and snow.

　　The thing he was carrying on his back didn't seem to be Ruan anymore, but something else.

　　Lin gritted his teeth slightly.

　　"You're shivering," the thing on his back, with the same voice as Ruan, said softly and gently, "Are you cold?"

　　"It's okay," Lin said, "Just a little cold."

　　"Do you want to go to a place where it's not cold?" she asked, "A warm place where it doesn't snow, where it doesn't get dark?"

　　Lin thought to himself that he should probably ask what kind of place it was, but he didn't want to ask at all.

　　So, he simply remained silent.

　　"Why aren't you talking?" she asked.

　　"Because I'm thinking," Lin replied dryly.

　　She asked, "What are you thinking about?"

　　Lin paused for a moment, then shouted loudly, "I'm thinking about how to throw you off!"

　　After saying this, he instantly let go, without looking back, and sprinted towards the front.

　　His choice was clearly right, because after he let go, he didn't hear any sounds of something hitting the ground.

　　 —It definitely wasn't a person.

　　Lin sprinted as fast as he could, grabbing a glimpse behind him.

　　This glimpse almost scared the heart out of him.

　　The thing he had thrown off, lifeless and limp, lay on the snow, but its neck was stretching longer and longer, extending towards him, its head with black hair trailing on the snow, tilting its head and asking,

　　"Why did you throw me away? Don't you like me the most?"

　　Lin roared, "Go to hell—"

　　The increasingly long head: "…"

　　Lin didn't dare stop, only hoping to catch up with his companions ahead.

　　But to his despair, no matter how fast he ran, the figures and lights in front of him didn't get any closer.

　　 It was as if he were chasing a mirage in a dream.

　　The thing behind him was getting closer.

　　It's over.

　　As that thing was about to catch up, Lin felt despair.

　　But just then, his foot seemed to trip on something, and his entire body fell heavily to the ground.

　　"Damn!" Lin stumbled, eating a mouthful of snow, but this action made him feel something leave his body, and then he felt someone pick him up directly from the snow.

　　"Lin, Lin, can you even walk? Am I that heavy?" It was Ruan's voice.

　　Lin struggled to get up, turned his head, and saw the girl squatting beside him, poking his cheek with her finger.

　　Chi was the one who had lifted Lin from the snow.

　　He asked, "Are you alright?"

　　Lin let out a long sigh, "I thought I was dead for sure."

　　Ruan tilted her head, "Why?"

　　Lin briefly recounted what had just happened, saying that luckily he had tripped, otherwise he would have been finished.

　　"Oh," Ruan said, "I was wondering why you tripped. I thought it was because I was too heavy."

　　Lin said, "It's okay, you're not particularly heavy."

　　Ruan smiled.

　　Chi said, "Get up quickly, they're almost down the slope. It's going to get dark, we need to hurry."

　　Lin nodded, got up, and felt a pain in his knee.

　　It must have been injured when he fell earlier.

　　But he didn't mention it.

　　Instead, he followed Chi and the others forward.

　　He wanted to carry Ruan again, but she refused, saying that Lin was too thin and that carrying her would make his chest ache.

　　After hearing this, Lin quietly and wistfully asked, "Do you even have breasts…"

　　Earlier, when carrying Ruan, he had felt that her chest was flat, with no softness at all.

　　Ruan was furious when she heard this, and retorted, "Fine, fine, you have big breasts, you go ahead and say it!"

　　Lin: "…"

　　The three of them quickened their pace, trying to catch up with the people in front.

　　But just then, Lin heard a piercing scream.

　　"Did you hear that?" Lin asked, worried that it was just his imagination.

　　"I heard it," Chi's face turned black, "Hurry up, something's wrong."

　　The three of them started running.

　　When they reached the front, they saw a terrifying sight.