Chapter 50p1: Snow Mountain
When the two of them returned to the C1 camp, the sky had completely darkened. The raging wind and the howling blizzard pounded on the tent, making the night seem both long and dangerous.
The steamed buns in the tent had been frozen solid. The temperature had now dropped to -25°C. Wen Zhao’s fingers were also red from the cold. She broke the steamed buns with force and put them into the boiling snow water.
Jiang Zao was wrapped in her sleeping bag. As she breathed, the white mist she exhaled quickly dissipated in the air.
Wen Zhao handed her the cooked steamed bun and meat slice soup.
“Quick, eat it to warm up.”
Jiang Zao held the bowl and warmed her frozen fingers first before picking up her chopsticks to eat. After a few mouthfuls of hot soup, she felt alive again and couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief.
“I finally know how those predecessors met their end. The climate conditions of Chongming Snow Mountain are too extreme.”
Wen Zhao poured some more meat soup for her.
“Then why did you still come with me?”
“How can a person with no high-altitude climbing experience do without a guide…”
At this point, Jiang Zao saw that her lips were a little purple. She sat up straight in her sleeping bag and touched her forehead.
“Do you have altitude sickness? You don’t look right.”
“My head started to hurt a little on the way down just now, but it’s still within a tolerable range.”
Wen Zhao took her hand down and didn’t hide it from her.
It was too late to retreat to the small wooden cabin now. Moreover, the road was dark and slippery, and the way down would only be more dangerous.
“Let’s eat and rest early.”
There was no good solution now. She did have medicine with her, but taking painkillers at this time would only mask the true condition of her body. All they could do was rest for a night and see how things were in the morning before deciding whether to retreat.
As she was speaking, her hand was being held in hers. Jiang Zao belatedly wanted to pull her hand back.
But Wen Zhao said in a serious tone.
“I feel better this way.”
Jiang Zao: “…”
Forget it, just let her die of a headache!
Outside, the wind was howling, and the snow was raging. But inside the tent, a faint camping light was always on, like the only star in the cold night.
On the balcony, Jiang Wuni looked at the heavy snow and was also a little worried. “It’s been three days. I wonder how they’re doing.”
Li Mi looked at Chongming Snow Mountain with her binoculars. She hadn’t expected to find anything, but she unexpectedly found a bright North Star on the mountain ridge.
She had thought it was a star at first. When she zoomed in and looked closely, she was overjoyed. “Grandma, look! It’s Big Sister Jiang and the others’ tent! They’re fine!”
***
“So when did you start hiking?”
Jiang Zao smiled. “After I was laid off, I started to get into hiking and tried to film my own videos. I’ve always had a habit of running, so I picked it up quite quickly.”
“What about climbing mountains?”
“Climbing mountains was after I signed with an MCN company. The company had sponsors who would cover all our equipment and logistical expenses, and there were also some free training and things like that. I went to many places during that period, from beginner-level snow mountains in the country to technical snow mountains abroad, big and small, a total of no less than a hundred.”
“Were you alone all this time?”
“I had a teammate, but she could only accompany me on hikes once or twice a year when she was on vacation. The rest of the time, I was on my own. For example, the matter of self-arresting on a snow mountain, you learn after you’ve fallen enough times.”
Wen Zhao’s gaze on her was always gentle and calm, yet also held a hint of anticipation. Jiang Zao unknowingly talked a lot about her past.
“That’s nothing. The most dangerous was once when I was camping on Xixabangma. I encountered a Tibetan brown bear at night. It was rustling and sniffing outside my tent.”
“Fortunately, I knew there would be bears on this route and brought firecrackers. I didn’t dare to close my eyes all night.”
The two of them were curled up in their sleeping bags, chatting until the middle of the night. Jiang Zao groggily felt something pressing on her. It was probably the tent collapsing under the weight of the snow.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Wen Zhao go out with a shovel.
“You go on sleeping. I’ll go and shovel the snow.”
The next day.
As soon as Jiang Zao opened the tent, she couldn’t help but stand up.
Outside, the morning glow was magnificent, and the clouds were rosy.
A red sun struggled to rise from the east.
The sea of clouds was churning.
They seemed to be in a fairyland.
Jiang Zao turned her head and called out, “Wen Zhao, come and see!”
Wen Zhao opened the tent and also came out, standing shoulder to shoulder with her. “So beautiful. Is this the sunrise on a snow mountain?”
Jiang Zao was already holding her camera by the side.
Wen Zhao looked at her face, bathed in the morning light. The small freckles on her nose were clearly visible, and her amber pupils were as clear as water. The wind lifted her hair, and when she smiled with her lips slightly pursed, she was charming and sexy.
It was a vibrant vitality like a wild grass.
Like this sunrise, it was dazzling.
She remembered a long time ago, when she was disheartened, an old friend had told her, “Look at the weeds under this high wall, they also have the perseverance to grow strong. As long as you are alive, the road ahead is long. Why worry about not finding your light?”
Jiang Zao, to her, was that beam of light.
She turned her head and looked at Wen Zhao with a smile.
“It’s a beautiful day today. Let’s set off.”
Wen Zhao blinked, forcing back the tears in her eyes.
“Alright.”
Jiang Zao coiled the rope around her body.
“I’ll still lead the way in front and build the protection station. You can come slowly behind and go at your own pace. We must reach the C2 camp today.”
Wen Zhao handed her the Mountain Stream.
“It’s back to its rightful owner. It suits you better.”
Jiang Zao was stunned for a moment. Wen Zhao added, “It’s more dangerous for you to lead the way. You’ll need it.”
Jiang Zao pursed her lips and exchanged with her, then reminded her again, “Don’t put anything extra on the outside of your backpack except for the ascender, protector, safety buckle, and rope. Put everything in your bag and zip it up.”
Wen Zhao nodded solemnly.
“Alright.”
Jiang Zao held out her fist.
“Let’s do it.”
“Let’s do it.”
The two fists gently bumped together.
Jiang Zao turned around, looked at the steep cliff, took a deep breath, and began to climb up with her hands and feet.
When they set off, the two of them had already put on their one-piece down suits and crampons. Even though they were wearing thick clothes, the higher they climbed, the stronger the wind, and the bone-chilling cold penetrated to the bone.
Finally, they passed the steep crevasse and reached a slightly gentler ridge. The strong wind came from all directions. Jiang Zao was leading the way and breaking the wind, and she could even hear her teeth chattering. Her body swayed, and a pair of hands steadily supported her from behind.
Wen Zhao shouted, “You go, I’ll support you!”
Jiang Zao also braced herself. “Alright, we’re almost there!”
The altitude of the C2 camp was 5,800 meters. Tomorrow, they would set off from here to the C3 camp at an altitude of 6,380 meters. After a short rest there, they would set off for the summit at dawn, depending on the weather.
Before that, because this was an unclimbed route, Jiang Zao still needed to fly a drone to repeatedly scout the summit route she had designed until she was sure it was correct.
The next morning, the weather was cloudy.
Looking at the layers of cumulonimbus clouds on the horizon, Jiang Zao decided to stay at the C2 camp for another night. It turned out that her decision was correct. In the afternoon, it started to hail. Soybean-sized hailstones pounded on the tent, and the small tent was blown back and forth on the cliff.
The two of them worked together in the hail to reinforce the tent, drive in the pegs, and pull up a tarp. Only then was it a little better.
As soon as she entered the tent, Jiang Zao got into her sleeping bag. Seeing her pale face, Wen Zhao went outside the tent to get some snow, boiled it, and poured the hot water into her cup.
“Little Zao, get up and take your medicine before you sleep.”
“You… how did you know I’m on my period?”
Wen Zhao smiled and helped her sit up.
“We’ve been together for so long. How could I not know your period? Since the weather is not good, why don’t we rest for another day tomorrow?”
“What ‘together’… we’re not together yet…” Jiang Zao took the medicine from her hand and lay down again, muttering.
Wen Zhao was not annoyed. She poured the last bit of hot water from the pot into a plastic bottle and stuffed it into her sleeping bag.
“Alright~ Go to sleep.”
In the middle of the night, perhaps because it was cold, Jiang Zao subconsciously rolled towards the only source of heat. Wen Zhao opened her eyes and sighed helplessly. She opened a crack in her sleeping bag and reached out to cover her with the down jacket. She looked at her face, which was so close, and stared for a long time, wanting to touch but then withdrawing her hand.
The first ray of light in the morning shone through the tent.
Jiang Zao opened her eyes and only then realized that at some point, the two of them had been pressed tightly together. Wen Zhao’s arm was still on her body, in a half-hugging posture to shelter her from the wind and keep her warm.
If she raised her head slightly, she could touch her chin. Jiang Zao didn’t dare to move and desperately tried to calm her somewhat chaotic breathing.
Her gaze couldn’t help but fall on her face, sweeping over her forehead, her sharp cheeks, her high nose, and there was a small mole on the tip of her nose, which looked strangely sexy.
Jiang Zao held her breath and slowly raised her hand. Where her gaze fell, her hand also fell, tracing her outline bit by bit, filling in the image of her in her heart.
When they first met, she was in a sorry state. Later, in one encounter after another with the zombies, she showed amazing combat talent and saved her from dire situations countless times. In her previous life, when Jiang Zao had gone to see a psychologist for claustrophobia, she had heard the term “suspension bridge effect,” which refers to the fact that when a person is walking across a suspension bridge with their heart in their mouth, their heartbeat will involuntarily speed up. If another person appears at this time and helps you cross the suspension bridge, you will attribute the accelerated heartbeat caused by the tense situation to the other person.
Last time, she had said the term “suspension bridge effect” to Wen Zhao, and she had gotten very angry. Then, what about her feelings for Wen Zhao?
Was it the suspension bridge effect?
If it was, then at this moment, lying in the tent, with the warm sunlight shining on her outside, everything was so quiet and peaceful. Why did her heart still beat faster just by looking at her?
Chen Jianing had once asked her what type she liked.
Jiang Zao had been at a loss for words at that time. After a long while, she had shaken her head and said, “I don’t know.”
Until now, at this moment when the light fell on her, a name was about to come out of her mind.
“What… are you doing?”
Wen Zhao also slowly opened her eyes at this moment. Jiang Zao was as if burned and shrank her fingers back.
“No… nothing. The… the sky is bright.”
Wen Zhao looked at her incoherent appearance, the warmth of her fingertips still on her lips. Her gaze suddenly deepened, and she chuckled. “The… the sky is indeed bright.”
Jiang Zao wanted to shrink back, but the arm that was pressing on her made it impossible for her to move. She could only passively raise her head and watch as her face got closer and closer. Their breaths were intertwined.
Jiang Zao’s face was so red that it was about to drip water. Wen Zhao was not much better. Her throat moved up and down, and she was a little at a loss.
“Wen… Wen Zhao…”
She looked at Jiang Zao’s trembling eyelashes and her slightly parted red lips. There was only one thought in her mind. Just as she lowered her head.
Jiang Zao also grabbed her collar and buried her head in her embrace, like a trembling quail.
“We… we should get up.”
Wen Zhao laughed dumbly and patted her back in comfort.
“Alright.”
