"Not on this ship," Yunlan says, rubbing his cheek absently back against Da Qing in long habit. His voice is bleak. He's been looking all over the damn boat, and Shen Wei isn't there: not as a patient, not as an assistant, not anywhere.

He's got to be on a different ship, then. It's the only thing that makes sense. But it's also -- damn near unbearable in its own right.