White Olive Tree

Chapter 19

Song Ran didn't look at them, but was still rummaging in the bag, as if he couldn't stop following the clockwork.
"Don't look for it." Li Zan stepped forward and pulled her away from the trunk.  Her head was bowed low, and she was silent.  He pulled her to the front of the car again and stuffed her into the co-pilot.
When Li Zan returned to the trunk, his own eyes were also red.  He lowered his head and wiped his nose vigorously, put away the bag inside, closed the lid, and walked into the driver's seat.
He sat for half a minute, turned his head to look; Song Ran stopped crying, and looked out the car window with a blank expression.
Li Zan started the car in silence.
A few streets away, Song Ran suddenly asked, "Do you remember the day when Jialuo City exploded?"
Li Zan said, "I remember."
"At that time in the hospital, you asked me why I was crying?" Song Ran said, "Because I felt very painful."
Li Zan was very quiet, waiting for her to speak.
"I saw a girl with a broken hand, and the bones were exposed. I felt that my hand was broken in the same place, and the bones were cold. I saw a hole in a person's chest, and I felt that my chest was also broken.  Cramping, still leaking. Do you know what that feels like?"
"I understand." Li Zan said, "What I don't understand is...why some people don't feel pain."
...
The planning of Hapo City is quite good, with wide and flat streets and magnificent buildings.  It's just that buildings are damaged from time to time, and waste materials such as cement, sand, and soil are dotted with sidewalks.
There are road closures everywhere.  Li Zan took a detour on the street and took a long time to reach his destination.
Song Ran's office and residence are in a hotel in the center of Hapo City.  It was originally a four-star hotel of an international chain brand.  After the war broke out, the hotel was given to the locals at a low price.  The boss is closed, the employees have withdrawn, valuables including carpets have been sold, and rooms have been rented out to foreign journalists and various organizations without borders.
Li Zan parked the car in the parking lot inside the hotel and unloaded the motorcycle from the roof.
Song Ran took out large and small bags of luggage from the trunk. She didn't have many things, but she had a lot of equipment and instruments.
Li Zan thought of something, and suddenly asked: "You gave away all the food just now, what did you eat?"
Song Ran said: "There are people in charge of eating and drinking here."
   "That's good."
Li Zan helped Song Ran carry things up.  When he entered the lobby to register, he looked around and saw a few militiamen patrolling with guns on the first floor, so he was a little relieved.
Walking into the stairwell, Song Ran's eyes lit up a little while he was not energetic all the way: "Is this an elevator?"
On the top five floors of the hotel, there is only one old-fashioned elevator, which should be a product of the last century - a horizontally retracted iron gate outside, and a pink-yellow wooden box elevator car inside.
Curiously, Song Ran stretched his neck and looked inside. Through the gate, he saw a few thick cables hanging from the outside of the box.  "It's the first time I've seen an elevator like this," she said.
"This guy is probably older than the two of us combined." Li Zan said, pushing the iron fence outside all over the side, and halfway through the push, he remembered something and looked back at her: "Do you want to take a picture?"
Song Ran hesitated for a moment: "...Let's forget it."
Li Zan smiled slightly: "I'm not in a hurry."
"Then I want to take pictures." Song Ran pursed her lips and smiled embarrassedly, and took out the camera from her bag.  just boot up,
"Oh, I forgot to take pictures of the olive tree." She became dejected.
Li Zan said: "It's okay, just remember it in your mind. You may not always look it up after you shoot it, but you can recall it at any time."
Song Ran was instantly comforted, and said, "But it's really amazing. The mirage should show the original color of the scenery. Is there really a white olive grove somewhere?"
"Maybe there really is, who knows?" Li Zan dragged the big and small boxes and retreated to make way for her.
After she finished taking pictures, he pushed open the door and opened the inner wooden door.  The space inside is small, and a few bags take up more than half of the space.  He pulled the iron gate, closed the wooden door, and then pressed the button: "Which floor?"
"Fourth floor."
He looked at her sideways: "When you take the elevator, remember that the iron gate outside must be closed, otherwise the elevator won't move."
"En." She nodded, and after a while, said softly, "Why do you know everything?"
Li Zan was taken aback for a moment, but was a little embarrassed, and said with a smile, "I've seen this kind of elevator before."
"Eh? Where?"
"One year I went to Volgograd for training, and I lived in a World War II-era building." The space in the car was narrow, and the two stood crowded together. He looked down at her, "That building has this kind of old elevator."
"Oh." She felt that the two of them were standing too close, and she felt uneasy. She looked around and said, "This elevator is so pitiful. It's an old grandpa, and he's carrying us two young people on his back.  "
Li Zan listened, and bent the corner of his lower lip.
The elevator is slowly going up. There are windows on the half-hollow side wall, and the elevator pipes of the ancient buildings can be seen, and the cables move up and down.
Suddenly, there was a "thump", and the whole elevator trembled.  Song Ran was frightened and grabbed Li Zan.
But in the next second, the elevator went up steadily again.
Song Ran blushed in embarrassment, and immediately let go of his arm. There was no way to retreat behind her back, so she could only get stuck in front of him at close range, letting her cheeks slowly turn red and warm up.
She lowered her head and stroked her hair, her eyes flicked all over the place, and she smiled to herself: "I thought there was a bomb."
Li Zan also slowly shifted his eyes to other places, and explained: "This kind of elevator is like this. Every time it reaches a floor, it will jump."
"Oh." She nodded, looking down at his military boots.  The elevator slammed down again.  This time, she held her palms against the wooden wall and stood firm, not rushing towards him.
After a few seconds of silence, Song Ran changed the topic: "Volgograd is the Stalingrad in history, right?"
"Yes. The most tragic battle during World War II, the entire city was destroyed."
"When I was studying, I was obsessed with the history of World War II." Song Ran said, "Is that city okay now?"
"A very quiet city, the sky is blue, the streets are straight and open, and there are monuments and cemeteries everywhere. But small flying insects are infested. My comrades said it was because there were too many corpses and too many people died in the past. But I think  Maybe it's just because the city is built on the Volga River, and the trees are too lush."
"Oh." She listened to his description, imagined what the city would look like, and nodded.
Just as he was talking, the elevator jumped again and reached the fourth floor.
After the elevator came to a complete stop, Li Zan opened the wooden door of the box, and then opened the iron gate outside, and looked back at her: "You go out first."
Song Ran lowered her head and wiped past him.
He took out the bags inside one by one, closed the inner door, and then closed the gate, saying, "You usually go in and out, and if you don't have much stuff, try to use the stairs."
"Okay. I know." Song Ran understood what he meant.
Not to mention power outages in war zones, accidents may happen at any time.
Song Ran's room is at the end of the corridor.  The interior layout is very simple, a single bed, and the position of the other single bed was replaced by a table and chairs.  The TV on the wall was removed, as was the air conditioner, and replaced with a fan.
Li Zan pushed her things into the house, put the boxes side by side, and put the backpack on the table.
Song Ran asked, "Do you want to wash your face?"
Li Zan shook his head, smiled and said, "I'm leaving."
Song Ran's heart skipped a beat, knowing that he wouldn't stay longer, but at this moment, she felt a little nostalgic and even more sour.
In such a strange city, she was alone again.
she looked at him;
He also looked at her with quiet and gentle eyes.
Afraid of losing her composure, she quickly looked away, and hastily found a bottle of water for him: "Then you take the water."
Li Zan didn't want it: "You drink it yourself."
"Take it!" She was a little anxious, and shrieked slightly, and stuffed the water into his hand.
He held the water, and did not let go this time, and smiled at her.
The two looked at each other silently.  Since then, we have left each other, and we have our own tasks. I don't know when the next time we will see each other again.
Song Ran followed him to the door, insisting, "I'll take you to the stairs."
   "Um."
The carpet in the corridor of the hotel was torn down, his military boots stepped on the ground, and the sound of his footsteps was very clear.
At this moment, the two of them were silent, walking towards the stairs in silence.

Only a few steps away, Song Ran finally asked softly, "Where do you live?"
"The barracks."
   "Where?"
Li Zan smiled and didn't answer.
Song Ran knew it was a secret.
He stopped by the stairs and said, "Don't go down."
"Yes." She nodded.  I wanted to say to be safe, but I didn't say it, I just waved to him with a smile: "Goodbye."
"Goodbye." Li Zan took another look at her and quickly went down the stairs.  When he reached the corner, he looked up and saw that she was still standing there, and called out, "Reporter Song."
   "Um?"
"Protect yourself." He said, "Don't die."