White Olive Tree

Chapter 24

"You really missed a lot when you were in the hospital bed." Xiao Xia said enviously, "You haven't even seen how much of a stir the videos and photos you took some time ago caused in the world's media circle. It is even more influential than CARRY last time.  Be big.”
As soon as Song Ran clicked on the compressed package Xiaoqiu sent, a photo popped up. It was exactly the shutter she pressed when the explosion occurred that day - the suicide attacker was smiling and carrying a bag of candies.  Sixty or seventy children gathered around him, raising their little heads eagerly waiting to share the candy.  And smoke came out of the man's clothes.  ——Just before the bomb exploded.
The whole photo looks warm and genial, but there is a coldness behind it.
Like a smiling angel wearing a mask, behind him stands the sneering God of Death with his sickle raised.
"The best thing is the green smoke from the fuse. Taking this kind of photo is a God-given opportunity." Xiaochun commented.
"This photo can be a candidate for this year's Dutch International Press Prize, or even the Pulitzer Prize."
Song Ran took the mouse to close the photo in one second.
There were many photos and videos in the folder, but she didn't dare to open them, so she clicked through them all.
Xiao Xia said: "The photo taken by Shen Bei has good material, but it may have been too rushed and the composition was too poor."
It was a picture of dozens of children's corpses lined up, with an officer sitting next to them crying.
Xiaochun said: "Don't mention it, because the tragic situation of several children was not coded, and she was almost scolded to death after the photo was published..."
Xiaoqiu gave Xiaochun a look, and the latter immediately shut up.
Song Ran noticed something was wrong. She quietly searched the Internet for the photos she had taken, and found that there were comments on her official account, all of which were complimentary.
In the afternoon, Song Ran went to Twitter and wanted to contact Sahin and several foreign journalist friends.  Only to find that the message box was overcrowded.  She received countless @ comments and retweets.
She scratched it casually, and there were many words of praise. She didn't want to read them, but unexpectedly saw an English @: "Vulture!" (Vulture!)
Song Ran's heart tightened.
Immediately afterwards, she saw more similar comments, in Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Cantonese, English...
"Don't go back to China! Your mother is dead!"
"I heard that this disgusting man was injured and returned to his country."
"Which hospital, I will send wreaths to."
"Other people's disasters and deaths were exchanged for your success and fame. You make me want to vomit!"
"You live on blood and human flesh, you are a vulture! A vulture hovering in the sky waiting for the death of its prey!"
There are also Spanish, French, Russian, Italian, German, Arabic, various languages...
She didn’t know whether it was out of self-abuse or something else, but she opened Google to translate one by one.
"Oh my God, that man looks like a terrorist. Why didn't the reporter who took the photo remind the children?"
"The moment she saw the children running for candy, this reporter must be eagerly waiting for the bomb to explode in the next second! Devil! I curse her to hell!"
"When I think about the moment of the explosion, this reporter pressed the shutter with excitement and anticipation. I really hope she was killed too!"
"She was the one who took pictures of the dead child last time!"
Song Ran sat in front of the computer, mechanically flipping through the comments, copying and pasting translations, and countless comments flowed into her eyes like water.
There were many people speaking and defending her, but she seemed to be invisible, just turning over the pages one by one like a robot.
She even forced herself to think hard, almost hallucinating——
The moment she looked out the window in the house, did she see that the man was a devil?  Why didn't she warn the children and tell them to run away?  !  Why didn't she see that the man was a demon?  !

   Why?  !
"Ran Ran!" Xiao Qiu's voice instantly woke her up from her nightmare. She turned her head and looked with fear in her eyes.
Xiaoqiu pressed her hand and smiled: "It's time to get off work. Go home."
Only then did Song Ran realize that she was shaking. Her hands and feet were shaking so much that she couldn't stop, as if she was sitting in the ice and snow wearing a T-shirt.
She twitched her lips and said, "Has the temperature dropped? I feel a little cold."
"I have an extra scarf here, tie it first. Go home quickly, it will be even colder if it is later." Xiaoqiu took the mouse from her hand and turned off the computer.
At six o'clock in the afternoon, it started to get dark.
Song Ran wrapped herself in Xiaoqiu's scarf and stood in the rustling autumn wind, waiting for the bus.  Her eyes have been sore these days and she will be tired from driving.
In mid-to-late October, autumn is already deep.  Song Ran wore a thin sweater and woolen coat, but no long johns, and felt a little cold on the soles of her feet.
People waiting for the bus were huddled in the cold wind, expressionless.
She stood there for a long time, not knowing what she was thinking. When she came to her senses, she realized that the street lights were all on.  The bus sign flashed red in the dark night, as if it was the bus she wanted to take. She took a few steps forward and then stopped. She found that her eyes were dazzled and she mistook 5 for 6.
She stood back on the steps, glanced at the car window, and was suddenly startled.
She suddenly saw Li Zan, sitting by the window, looking ahead, seemingly in a trance.
The light was dim and she couldn't see clearly. She unconsciously reached forward and called out: "A-Zan!"
In late autumn, the bus windows were closed tightly, and he did not look back.  The car has started.
She was stunned for two seconds, then hurriedly walked up: "Officer Li!"
But he still didn't look back and the car drove away.
Song Ran stood in the cold wind and looked at the car going away, feeling as if a piece of her heart had been torn off.
It must be that he didn't hear her cry.
She got on the bus she wanted to take in a daze. When she sat down, she heard people talking outside.  It turns out that outside sounds can be heard through the glass.
So, she must have seen it wrong.
He must still be in Dongguo and has not come back yet.
When Song Ran returned home, she was devastated and completely exhausted.  She obviously didn't do anything, but she was so tired that she couldn't stand up straight. She forced herself to eat, so she made a bowl of instant noodles.
The autumn wind rustled outside the house, blowing the trees all over the courtyard. She stuffed instant noodles into her mouth, and unknowingly, tears fell one by one.
She remembered that the doctor said that her eyes were recovering and she could not cry, so she quickly raised her head and wiped away her tears.