White Olive Tree

Chapter 48

She calmed down for a while, and the turbulent emotions in her heart calmed down a little.
He asked: "Feeling uncomfortable?"
"...Hmm." She raised her head and smiled reluctantly, but her eyes were confused, "I suddenly feel like...I don't know the meaning of doing these things."
   "How to say?"
"Is journalism a profession that relies on suffering? If not, why can't anything be done to stop it?" She smiled bitterly and said, "Just like you can't stop that child from being sold, you can't stop the war."
But Li Zan raised the corner of his lips very calmly and asked: "Is there any profession in this world that can prevent war?"
Song Ran was stunned.
"It seems that not even soldiers can do it. Do soldiers make a living by suffering?"
"..." Song Ran shook his head.
Li Zan said: "I have heard a saying about reporters."
"What words?"
"If you can't stop the war, tell the world the truth about the war. I think that's what you should do, and that's what you have done."
"But the truth is that there are always people suffering, and people are always dying. Sometimes I think about it, they suffered, they died, but who in the world cares?" She said this with sadness and confusion.
Li Zan looked at her for a moment and said: "Yes. One day, everyone will die, and then everything that happened here will become history, transcending the suffering of all individual lives and remaining. And history needs to be recorded.  Isn’t this the meaning you are looking for?”
Song Ran was shocked, as if someone had suddenly woken her up.
She looked at him, her eyes finally regaining clarity.
He is still him,
The most trustworthy person, the person who is always gentle and sober.
"Thank you." She said softly.
He patted her shoulder, stood up and continued walking forward.
Song Ran also got up, patted the dust on his butt, and followed him.
She looked at his back and suddenly said: "You always seem to be very determined, you have been before."
Li Zan looked back at her and said, "I just said a few words objectively, nothing serious."
"Oh. Then...are you ever confused?" She asked softly from behind him, "Are there any knots in your heart that you can't untie?"
This time, he didn't answer or even look back.
Li Zan walked to the motorcycle, took off his helmet and threw it to her, then got on the motorcycle.
Song Ran put on his helmet and climbed up to sit behind him.
As the wind was flying all the way, Song Ran clung to his back, still lowering her head and resting her head on his back.  This time, her hands carefully grasped the military uniform around his waist.
——A-Zan, do you have some troubles in your heart that you are holding on to but can’t express them?  ——
The two walked silently through the dust and artillery fire.
When we were approaching the field hospital, we passed an intersection and there was a market on one of the streets.
Song Ran looked up and hesitated: "Um..." Her voice was too soft and Li Zan didn't hear it, but he felt her head move. He slowed down the car and turned around and asked, "Want to buy something?"
"Buy curtains."
Li Zan turned the car around and headed towards Market Street.
The market is not big. It is a roadside stall set up by local people. It sells a variety of things, mostly second-hand furniture and daily necessities.
The war is coming, and some people plan to move south and sell off their belongings.  It's just that in this era, there are not many good things left.
Li Zan drove Song Ran up and down the street, but for a while he didn't find anyone selling second-hand curtains.  On the contrary, I saw some people selling home-made gray flour cakes and green olives picked in the wild.
Li Zan supported his motorcycle with one foot and stopped in front of an olive stall. He turned around and asked Song Ran: "Want to eat?"
"Olives?"
   "Um."
"I haven't eaten it before. I don't know what it tastes like."
"Try it?" he said, leaning over and pointing to a small net bag on the stall, indicating to the stall owner that he wanted that bag.
Pay the money and take it.  Li Zan handed the net bag to Song Ran and continued driving.
Inertia led Song Ran to lean back and come back.  She took out an olive and took a bite. It tasted astringent at first, but after chewing, the sweet and refreshing taste came out.
"It's delicious." She looked at him in front of her, "You want one?"
He turned around, she handed him one, and he took it and put it in his mouth.
After walking to one side of the street and then to the other side, I still didn’t see the curtains.  When he was almost at the end, Li Zan saw something, stopped and asked Song Ran: "Is that okay?"
Song Ran took a look and saw that it was a piece of colorful floral cloth.  After asking, it wasn't the curtains, it was the tablecloth.  But the stall owner unfolded the cloth, and it was just the right size, so it was no problem to use it as a curtain.
Song Ran took off the tablecloth and the task was completed.  In a blink of an eye, he saw a small green vase on the stall, about as high as one hand, with a slender neck and only the width of a thumb at its narrowest point.  Although the vase is small, it has a line of colored glass carved on it, which is extremely delicate.
The best thing is that there is a small bright yellow flower in the vase.  It's particularly dusty when placed in this chaotic second-hand market.
Song Ran said: "Can I take a photo?"
"No problem." The stall owner smiled.
Song Ran climbed down from Li Zan’s car and squatted down to take the photo.
Li Zan also got off the motorcycle, parked the car, and subconsciously stood behind Song Ran.
Song Ran praised: "This little vase is so beautiful."
The stall owner happily introduced: "This is not for sale, it is my favorite. I have moved with it several times. My dear girl, as long as there are flowers in life, everything will be beautiful."
"What you said is the truth." Song Ran raised his head and smiled.
At this moment, there was a sudden loud explosion in the sky, and a cannonball hit the building on the roadside, causing bricks, mud, sand and glass to fly everywhere.
Li Zan reacted very quickly, instantly picking up Song Ran from the ground, holding her in his arms and quickly retreating seven or eight meters away.  Before Song Ran could understand, he held his head and lowered it into his arms.  In an instant, he blocked the flying sand and gravel with his back.
Her heart was beating wildly and she raised her eyes to look at him; but he had already turned back to look in the direction of the explosion, his arms still holding her tightly.
The shell landed twenty meters away, destroying a building and injuring several people when the wall collapsed.  People nearby were busy helping.
No new shells came, so Li Zan speculated that they were flying in the wrong direction.
Only then did he let go of Song Ran, but his expression was not very relaxed and he asked, "Is there anything else you want to buy?"
Song Ran shook his head.
"Then go back first."
   "Um."
When I returned to the field hospital, I saw more children gathering in front of the hospital and lining up to throw stones.  Chirping, like a bunch of sparrows coming.
They actually played such a small game happily for most of the day.
Song Ran got out of the car and said, "Your invention."
Li Zan replied: "Open the patent."
She pursed her lips and smiled, took off her helmet, and gave it back to him: "Thank you for today."
He took the helmet and glanced at her: "It's okay."
She hugged the tablecloth in her arms, looked at her car, and lowered her voice: "I'm leaving first."
"Well." He asked, "Where do you live?"
"Comprehensive university."
He nodded: "It's relatively safe over there."
"Yes. Then... let's go first."
   "good."
Song Ran got into the car, started it slowly, and glanced at the rearview mirror.  He saw Li Zan still sitting on the motorcycle, lowering his head and fiddling with the combat gloves on his hands.
The car drove out of a street and turned a corner.

Walking through another street, she encountered a pedestrian crossing the road. She stopped and was in a daze for a while.
The pedestrian in front of her left before she realized it.
Until suddenly a motorcycle stopped at her window, and someone knocked on her window glass.
Song Ran was stunned, immediately rolled down the glass, and stared up at him blankly.
Li Zan smiled sheepishly and said, "Can you hang curtains?"
Song Ran didn't know how to answer this question. He said, "The one you bought is a tablecloth with no holes in it. Do you have tools at home?"
She quickly shook her head, like a rattle: "No..."
So, just like this, cars and motorcycles drove side by side, walking through street after street, and arrived at the Comprehensive University.
After entering the university and passing the teaching building, Song Ran accidentally saw students coming in and out, as if they were in class.  She didn't stop and walked until she reached the dormitory building.
Li Zan took out a roll of thin wire from under the motorcycle seat and walked into the corridor with Song Ran.
Another soldier came down from upstairs.
When Li Zan saw him, he asked casually: "Is this dormitory mixed with men and women?"
"..." Song Ran smoothed her hair. It was difficult to tell the truth. She could only say, "I'm not sure. I didn't pay attention."  ○Read○
Her dormitory is on the third floor. The room is not big, with a bunk bed and a bunk bed. The lower bunk sleeps and the upper bunk stores luggage.  There is a table and a chair by the window, but nothing else.
Li Zan unfolded the tablecloth, selected an edge, poked several holes evenly on the edge with a saber, and then tied it with thin wire.
He stepped on the stool and stood on the table, stretched out his hand and wrapped the wire around the two ends of the top of the window.
Song Ran looked up at him, and the red sunset shone on his tall figure, as if shrouded in a ray of light.  She stood in his shadow, her body and mind being embraced, her heart was like the faint sunshine outside the window at this moment, light and warm.
In such a chaotic foreign city, there is an inexplicable illusion of peaceful times.
As soon as the light flashed, she squinted slightly and tilted her head. He hung up the curtains and jumped down from the table.
Li Zan stretched out his hand and pulled the curtain twice. It went back and forth smoothly, so there was no problem. He also wiped the shoe prints on the table and chairs clean.
He looked back at her, with the light of the setting sun still reflected on his eyelashes, and said, "It's done."
"Thank you." Song Ran looked away, stepped forward and stretched out his hand twice. Just as he turned around to say something to him, the wall next door was suddenly hit by something.
Li Zan turned his head and looked at the wall in surprise and confusion, frowning slightly: "Is there a big mouse?"
The next second, the bed board at the other end began to squeak and twist.
Li Zan: "..."
Song Ran: "..."
The curtains were just closed by her, and the light in the room was dim. The afterglow soaked into the curtains, glowing with an ambiguous and soft light.
The edges and corners of each other's faces melted away, making them look particularly soft.
Their eyes met each other, their heartbeats were disordered, and their gazes were a little awkward and subtle.
On the other end, the woman's moans and the man's powerful gasping could be heard faintly.
Li Zan hurriedly looked away and said, "If it's okay, I'll leave first."
Song Ran: "...Okay."
She couldn't stay any longer and just wanted to run away, saying, "I'll take you to the stairs."
The two of them quickly walked out of the door, away from the sounds, and finally felt a little more comfortable.
Song Ran changed the subject: "Is the war only going to last a day or two?"

"Yeah. Let's meet tomorrow night."
"...Oh." She thought for a moment after hearing this.
The person has reached the stairs and stopped.
Li Zan looked down the corridor, then at her, and asked, "What are you planning to do tomorrow?"
"No plans yet..." She lied again and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Aren't you going to write a book?" He pursed his lips, with a slight curve on his lips, "I'll take you to see why the city of Alara is so important to the government forces. Okay?"