White Olive Tree

Chapter 27

After get off work, Song Ran drove to the archives family home.
Today's winter has been reluctant to leave. The Spring Festival has passed, and another wave of cold waves is coming.  The deciduous forest in the yard is still gray and gray, with bare branches pointing straight to the sky.
The sky is also blue, and I heard it will snow again in the next few days.
When I got out of the car, the biting cold air hit my face.
Song Ran wrapped her scarf tightly and trotted into the corridor.  She climbed up to the third floor and walked to the door. Just as she was about to open the door and go in, she heard voices coming from inside.
Yang Huilun said: "I heard someone say a few days ago that depression is just a bad mood?"
Song Yang said: "Yes, and no. Oh, you don't understand. Just understand love."
"You've also made me feel bad during this period. I'm afraid I'm also suffering from depression."
"Okay, why are you teasing me again?"
"Hey, why do you think your sister got this disease? She wasn't a bad-tempered person before, but now I feel nervous when talking to her."
Song Yang: "I said you don't understand, it's psychological trauma."
Yang Huilun: "Psychological trauma? I think she is a good person, her work is going well, and she has won an international award, so she should be in a better mood. Is there anything she can't think about?"
Song Yang couldn't explain to her, so he asked instead: "Why are you cooking so early? It will have to be heated again later. Can't you wait until she comes back in the middle of winter?"
"I'm not afraid that you'll be hungry, so I'll let you eat something first." Yang Huilun sighed, "Hey, I don't know when she will get home, so I didn't dare to ask. I called her that day and she yelled at me.  My heart trembles when I think about it now. If it happens a few more times, I will be depressed."
"Oh my god, how long has it been? Do you still remember? I quarrel with you every day, do you have to kill me?"
Song Ran's hand was holding the door handle. The stainless steel was cold and cold, and the chill reached from her fingers to the bottom of her heart.  She slowly lowered her hand, stuffed her cold fingers back into her pocket, turned around, and went downstairs silently.
The north wind blew directly in the corridor. She stood in the wind for a while and took out her mobile phone.  She clicked on Li Zan's number and hesitated to dial it, her thumbs trembling in the cold wind.
After more than ten seconds, the phone froze and shut down.
She put the cold mobile phone back into her pocket and walked out of the corridor.
This winter seems to be endlessly long.
Li Zan returned to Liangcheng after more than a week, and the temperature was still below zero.
It was night when he returned home. He had traveled from New York to the Imperial City and then transferred back again. He was exhausted and a little exhausted.  Open the door with the key and the lights are on.  Father Li is making chicken soup in the kitchen.
Li Zan closed Leng Feng behind the door. His voice was a little scratchy and he called out: "Dad."
"We landed an hour ago, why did it take so long on the road?" Father Li's concerned voice came from the kitchen.
"There's a traffic jam." Li Zan changed into slippers in the porch.
"Come here and warm yourself by the fire." Father Li rubbed his hands and walked to the sofa, turned on the electric heater, and spread a small quilt on top. "I don't know what happened to the weather. It's spring and it's still so cold."
Li Zan didn't say anything. He sat over and put his hand under the quilt to warm himself by the fire.
Father Li looked at him a few times and wanted to ask him what the doctor said, but Li Zan just stared into space without saying a word.
My father knew it clearly and didn't ask any more questions.
He went to the kitchen to work for a while, put all the food on the table, and said warmly: "A-Zan, come over for dinner. I have been simmering chicken soup all afternoon."
"Hey." When Li Zan stood up, he pursed his lower lip and gave a faint smile.
The father and son sat at right angles, eating separately and saying nothing.
Li Zan was halfway through the meal when he saw a bunch of supplements on the shelf and asked, "Why did you buy these things?"
"This is a gift from the leaders of your army," Father Li said. "In the days since you left, instructors, political commissars, and leaders from the Political Department have all come to do ideological work."
Li Zan stopped holding the chopsticks in his hand for a moment and raised his eyes to look at him.
"You have a special military type, you are an officer, and you have made meritorious service. Now that you are disabled, you are not allowed to retire in the army. They say this is not in line with the policy. If you insist on doing this, it is a slap in the face of Jiangcheng Military Region. If the matter spreads, too  It doesn’t sound good.”
Li Zan lowered his head to pick up the rice and said nothing.
"But your instructor also said that if you don't want to return to the army now, you can do some non-profit work outside. Just say that you are recuperating due to injury. You must keep in touch with the army regularly and report on your thoughts." Father Li stood up and brought a  A piece of paper said, "These are the places designated by the team for you to work."
Li Zan didn't even look at it. He took the piece of paper and threw it out.
The white paper floated to the coffee table.
Father Li was speechless and silently picked up his rice bowl.
"Dad," Li Zan said softly, "go back. If you can't get used to being here, your grandparents will have to take care of you. I'll be fine."
Father Li persuaded: "How about you come back to Jiangcheng with me? Let the leader transfer you to a civilian position there?"
Li Zan said: "I don't want to go back."
Father Li knows that there are many acquaintances in his hometown.
"A-Zan..."
   "Um?"
"What's on your mind? Can you tell me about it?"
Li Zan raised his head and smiled lightly: "It's okay. You can go home early, so you don't have to guard me."
Father Li felt uncomfortable looking at his son: perhaps due to the premature death of his wife, the child lacked emotional female role guidance in his life, or perhaps his own gentle and tolerant character was the only reference for his son's growth.  Zan has not been very good at expressing his inner emotions since he was a child.  Joy, love, sadness, despair, everything is gentle and calm, greeted with a smile.
When you are very happy, your smile is restrained; when you are very painful, your tears are silent.
The most vivid moments were when I was messing around with a bunch of soldiers in the army, which revealed the deepest arrogance and toughness in my heart. Even now...
"A-Zan..." Father Li wanted to say something else, but Li Zan suddenly turned to look at the TV.
The TV is playing a piece of news:
"...my country's well-known war correspondent Song Ran won the Dutch International Press Award for his news photo "Candy". This is the first time a Chinese journalist has won this award. The Dutch International Press Award is one of the most important awards in the world's news media circle. Second only to the Pulitzer Prize. And many media commentators believe that "Candy" is very likely to win the Pulitzer Prize this year..."
"Candy" and Song Ran's ID photo were displayed on the screen.
That ID photo should have been taken when Song Ran first joined the company two years ago. The little girl in the photo has long hair, a fair face, a shy smile, and big and bright eyes.
Li Zan suddenly remembered that he saw her at the airport that night. She had cut her hair short and was messed up by the wind.
He put down the spoon, walked to the coffee table, picked up his mobile phone, called up the address book, and clicked on the star number.
He organized the words of happiness in his heart. When he looked up, he saw himself in the mirror - he had taken off his scarf and there was a long scar on his neck.
Suddenly, the wind outside the window stopped and the sound from the TV disappeared.
The world is very quiet.
He looked back at the swaying branches outside the glass window, his father eating, and the silent scene on the TV screen.  It was like he was standing in a vacuum.
He looked down at his phone and exited the address book.
Li Zan bent down and put the phone back on the coffee table, but saw several work locations written on the white paper left by the instructor, one of which was Baixi Road.
……
That morning, when Song Ran went out, he saw snow falling outside, one by one, soaking the bluestone alley.
This year is really strange, it snowed all winter.  Snowflakes drifted from the first year of the year to the second year of the new year.
On the way to the station on foot, several high school students happily ran past her and said with a smile, "It's snowing again. Will your wish come true?"
Song Ran overheard and thought about it, she didn't have any wishes.
She took a ride to the TV station. She was calm all day long and dealt with the complicated matters at hand in an orderly manner.
After the Spring Festival, the new year has just arrived. It seems that the whole society is full of joy. There are no bad things and no hot topics. There are only entertainment news scrolling across the screen.
A rare moment of leisure for the Information Department.
Song Ran suddenly discovered that the world is peaceful when reporters have nothing to do.
This is not a kind of irony.
When I got off work at six o'clock, it was dark.
The snow was still falling, and it was flying on the passing vehicles and pedestrians.
Song Ran was standing in front of the stop sign, waiting for the bus, when a snowflake flew onto her face, refreshing her heart.  She suddenly remembered the words she heard in the alley this morning.
She actually has a wish.
She wants to meet someone.
Even if you look at him from a distance and don't speak, that's fine.
The snow is still falling.
Song Ran leaned her head against the icy glass of the bus and absentmindedly looked out the window at the snowy street scene.
After only two stops, a large crowd appeared in front of us, as if someone was about to jump off the building.
Just as the bus pulled into the station, all the passengers crowded around the windows to watch the excitement.
Song Ran immediately got out of the car, took out the camera from his backpack and rushed over.
Heavy snow was flying and the ground was wet.