Chapter 33
Song Ran didn't pay attention to any news from the outside world that night and went to bed early. Although she took the help of sleeping pills, she slept very soundly and woke up in good spirits the next day.
After going to the TV station, she followed up on the news.
After the students' open letter yesterday morning and the announcement of the jumping case in the afternoon, there were two waves of massive attacks against her on the Internet. But after Wang Han came forward, the situation reversed and once again turned into abusing Zhao Yuanli, which even affected some innocent students who supported Zhao Yuanli in real name.
Song Ran didn't know whether the faces connected behind the network were humans or animals.
After the incident escalated, the school immediately suspended Zhao Yuanli and stated that it would do its best to cooperate with the police investigation. At the same time, it would investigate all types of violence across the school and provide students with a good learning environment.
Wang Han has dropped out of school and was picked up by his parents, waiting for police investigation and evidence collection. Because he is a minor, the progress of the case will not be announced to the media. However, Wang Han wrote on the social platform: "Please don't support me, because I know that once you are not satisfied with the result, the knife in your hand will stab me."
Song Ran publicly wrote a postscript.
She admitted that she had made mistakes that could not be verified and misled public opinion. She hoped that everyone would learn from this, wait patiently, believe, and supervise the relevant departments' legal investigations. The truth will eventually come out.
She wrote in the article:
"...Public figures have a butterfly effect on public opinion, especially the journalistic industry. I ignored this and allowed the situation to develop far beyond my expectations. It was my mistake. But as spectators, should you also improve yourselves? Improve your thinking and analysis skills, and don’t blindly stand in line to vent your emotions..."
But compared with previous articles, this article calling for rationality had very few comments and reposts.
But Wang Han called her and said he saw the article she posted.
On the other end of the phone, the boy felt very apologetic: "Sister, I'm sorry. I wanted to ask for help at that time, so I lied to you; and I was afraid of being isolated by the whole school, so I didn't come forward in time."
Song Ran smiled: "It's okay. You are under a lot of pressure now, so I'm a little worried about you."
"My parents are with me, it's okay. Don't worry, I will definitely tell the truth this time and won't hide anything, but I will never add fuel to the fire."
"good."
The two didn't talk much. His parents were afraid of being harassed by reporters and kept their cell phones in check. Wang Han quickly hung up.
Some reporters contacted Song Ran and wanted to interview Wang Han through her, but Song Ran refused.
The reporter scolded: "I publicly supported you a few days ago when you were at the forefront of the storm, but now that the storm has passed, I have turned my back on you?"
Song Ran blocked him directly.
After that, Song Ran printed a piece of paper and went to Liu Yufei's office.
Liu Yufei was surprised when he received a simple one-page resignation letter: "What are you doing?"
Song Ran apologized: "Supervisor, I want to resign."
"You..." Liu Yufei couldn't understand, "Why are you bothering? Finally, Wang Han came forward to testify, proving that what you said was right. Now many people outside support you."
"The result was right, but the process was wrong." Song Ran said, "I should not have released information that was harmful to the suspect at that time."
"I said you are trying to get into trouble. Zhu Yanan's case is on trial, but it does not mean that the victim Wang Han cannot seek justice at this moment. Do we still have to wait in line? And Wang Han's matter must be resolved at this time to really attract attention."
Song Ran was silent for a while and wanted to say, you are different from what you said last time.
But she just smiled and said: "If it weren't for this incident, I should have resigned a long time ago." She handed over her medical records, "In my current state, it is irresponsible to continue doing news."
Liu Yufei was stunned when he saw the mental illness diagnosis certificate.
He rubbed his head and didn't recover for a long time. He said: "You are an excellent reporter. This will have to be discussed with the superiors before approval. It will take at least a week or two. Let's wait for the notification first."
"Okay. I'm sorry to trouble you."
……
The criminal police team is responsible for Wang Han's case. His accusation was very clear and did not require a wide-net investigation, so the police from the Baixi Road Police Station did not get involved.
However, some reporters with ulterior motives blocked the school gate according to the names of the students on the joint letter, trying to interview those students who "covered" Teacher Zhao and spoke for Teacher Zhao, which caused several conflicts.
In just one morning, the policemen on Baixi Road went to solve the problem several times.
Li Zan was busy until almost noon before finishing work. When he returned to the police station, before he even had time to take a sip of water, his colleague said the director called him.
Li Zan walked to the door of the office and heard the director calling: "Hi! We are old comrades in arms for so many years, and you are still polite to me? This kid is doing very well, is calm and practical, and is in good condition. Don't worry. I see Still waiting."
Li Zan knew that he was the leader of the political department of his army.
After the director hung up the phone, Li Zan knocked on the door: "Director."
"Ah Zan," the director waved to him with a smile on his face, "Come in quickly."
Li Zan went in and sat down: "What do you want from me?"
"Nothing else, you've been here for almost half a month. Your team asked you to go back for physical and psychological tests. Your physical and psychological conditions need to be monitored regularly. You know that, right?"
"I know." Li Zan smiled apologetically and said, "The instructor said it. But I was too busy last weekend and forgot about it."
"It's okay. I'll give you a day off here. You should go back to the army and report first. Otherwise, my comrade-in-arms will come to you again and think I'm holding you hostage."
Li Zan smiled: "Okay. Thank you, director."
Li Zan went home, washed his hair, took a shower, tidied himself up, and changed into military green training clothes. When he passed by the desk while picking up the clothes hanger, he took another look and saw that the table was full of books, tools and wires.
He remembered that he was too busy with grassroots work during this period. He left early and came back late, leaving almost no time for himself. If things go on like this, I am afraid that one day it will be abandoned.
Song Ran's words rang in my ears: "Are you afraid?"
Li Zan took out his cell phone and sat on the sofa, rubbing his semi-dry and slightly wet hair with a towel, and dialed Chen Feng's number.
Fingers grasped the towel and rubbed it. After a few beeps, Chen Feng answered: "A-Zan?"
"Instructor." Li Zan opened his mouth, lowered his head and touched his eyebrows, and said, "I will go back to the army to do the test in the afternoon, okay? Or if it is not convenient today, it will be fine tomorrow..."
"It's convenient!" Chen Feng said loudly, "Everyone is here. When will you arrive?"
Li Zan glanced at his watch: "Two o'clock in the afternoon?"
"OK."
At half past one in the afternoon, Li Zan set off.
On the first day of March, the temperature finally showed signs of warming.
Although there are dead trees on Luoyu Mountain, the sky is blue and the sunshine is warm. The air is refreshing.
When Li Zan walked towards the army gate, he was mentally prepared to be questioned, but he didn't expect the sentry to recognize him, so he saluted him directly without asking.
Li Zan returned the military salute, and when he raised his right hand to his temple, his heart also lifted up.
When we arrived at Chen Feng’s office, it was one minute to two o’clock.
Chen Feng glanced at his watch and said, "Not bad. I remember the rules. I'm not late."
Li Zan smiled and said, "I don't want to run ten kilometers as a penalty."
"Where is it?" Chen Feng said, "It has risen to fifteen now."
Li Zan followed Chen Feng downstairs and across the playground.
On the playground, rows of new recruits are practicing. The slogans of "ho" and "ho" were loud and full of energy.
Li Zan couldn't help but look back a few more times. Chen Feng saw it and asked: "How is your physical fitness now?"
Li Zan said casually: "We will know after the test later."
Before he finished speaking, Chen Feng suddenly punched him. Li Zan raised his hand to block it, then quickly turned around and twisted back. Chen Feng was in pain and immediately stopped his strength, and Li Zan also let go of him.
Chen Feng shook the wrist that was blocked by him, frowned and smacked his tongue, "You kid! You're so cruel to the instructor."
But I was happy in my heart, it was pretty good, my strength and speed were still there.
Walking to a separate training ground, the physical training instructor was already waiting.
Li Zan didn't waste any time. He took off his coat and threw it aside. He fell forward and started doing push-ups. The instructor stood aside and kept time. 100 push-ups took two minutes and eleven seconds.
Afterwards, he was tested for the standing long jump. He stood up and exhaled. Before he could catch his breath, he stood at the starting line and looked at the sand. He stepped back and stood up. He slightly bent his legs at the knees, pursed his lips and jumped up, 3.09 meters. .
Then came the pull-ups, 10-meter by 8 round-trip running, long-distance running... half an hour later after each test was completed.
Li Zan's head was sweating, as if he had been fished out of water, and his broken hair was all wet and stuck to his temples.
Chen Feng saw it and frowned: "What's wrong with your hair? It's so long, you'll have to shave it off tomorrow."
Li Zan glanced at him, bent down, picked up the coat from the floor, threw it on his shoulders, and went to the infirmary.
The person who performed the psychological test on him was Dr. Zhang, who was in charge of psychological consultation in the army. He has also been Li Zan's psychiatrist.
Only Dr. Zhang and Li Zan were present during the psychological test.
Chen Feng took the time to find the physical training instructor and asked, "What are the test results?"
The instructor said: "It's quite strange."
Chen Feng's heart tightened: "Why is it strange?"
"The results are excellent."
"..." Chen Feng wanted to punch him.
The instructor said slowly: "It stands to reason that after leaving the army, there should be a slight decrease. This shows that he has continued to train after leaving the army and has not stopped."
When Chen Feng heard this, he smiled happily and patted the instructor on the shoulder: "Thank you for your hard work."
He went back to the psychological consultation room happily.
After about half an hour, Li Zan came out with a very calm expression.
He glanced at Chen Feng and said, "It's okay, I'm leaving."
Chen Feng wanted to say something, but in the end he frowned and waved his hand: "Let's go, let's go." Seeing him walking away, he shouted again, "Next time, come and report on your own initiative, don't let me rush you!"
"I know." Li Zan waved his hand without looking back.
Chen Feng went in and asked the military doctor in a relaxed tone: "What are the results of the psychological test?"
The military doctor said: "It's still unqualified."
Chen Feng was stunned for a moment. The relief he had just felt was extinguished by a basin of cold water in his pocket. He sighed helplessly.
"But..." the military doctor's tone changed.
"But what?"
"He is willing to speak his mind."
Chen Feng: "What did you say?"
"..." The military doctor glanced at him, "How can I tell you this?"
"If you don't tell me, don't tell me." Chen Feng was already very satisfied and said with a smile, "As long as he is willing to cooperate with the treatment, that's a good thing, right?"
"It's a good thing." said the military doctor. "Heart disease can only be cured if the patient is willing to cooperate."
……
After get off work, the moment Song Ran walked out of the TV station building, she felt relaxed for the first time.
She walked to the roadside and waited for the bus. When she looked up, she suddenly found new shoots sprouting on the tops of the willow trees.
Today's spring is belatedly coming, but it has finally arrived.
She thought about it and dialed Li Zan's phone number.
After waiting for a while, no one responded. Just when I was about to hang up, someone picked up the call and said in a clear voice: "Hello?"
Song Ran's heart tightened and she said, "It's me."
He chuckled: "I know."
She turned her back to the street, looked at the bus stop sign, and said, "I suddenly remembered that I owed you a meal last time. Do you still remember?"
He thought for a moment and said slowly: "That's what happened."
"How about I return it to you today." To add some special factors to today, she said, "Today is the first day of March, and the weather is also very good. I think it is a good day."
There was a smile in his words: "Okay."
"Well, let me think about it." She poked the bulletin board with her finger, "What kind of food do you like? Hot pot, Cantonese food..."
"Home cooking," he said.
"Eh?" She didn't react and thought for a moment, "Then I'll check out the local restaurants..."
"You do it for me." The background there was very quiet, so his voice was particularly clear.
Song Ran was busy and noisy here. She was poking at the billboard and was in a daze when she heard him say: "Didn't you say that your cooking skills are very good and you want me to show them to you?" He said in a low voice, "So you are bragging?"
"Then you will see if I am bragging later." Song Ran raised his chin and said.
"Okay. I'll send you the address."
……
Song Ran got off the bus and saw Li Zan standing on the platform waiting for her.
He was wearing a military training uniform today, and he looked particularly upright and heroic. She hadn't seen this outfit for a long time, and it seemed strange to her. She asked, "Have you returned to the team?"
"Go back and test." He said.
The two got off the platform and walked across the bicycle lane to the inner sidewalk. Song Ran was half a step behind him and glanced at him a few more times. After putting on the military uniform, he looked much tougher.
A bicycle flew past in front of her. She didn't notice it. He held her arm tightly and pulled her back, asking, "Where are you looking?"
Song Ran didn't say anything. When she got on the sidewalk, she whispered, "You still look better in military uniform."
Li Zan glanced sideways at her but didn't reply.
Walking into the vegetable market, a faint meaty smell hits your face. There are fruit and vegetable section, aquatic product section, meat section, sauce section... There are abundant materials and people come and go.
Li Zan asked: "What do you want to eat tonight?"
Song Ran said: "I invited you, why don't you order the food?"
Li Zan curled his lips and said, "Watch while walking?"
"Oh." Song Ran followed him.
This area has many lakes and rivers, and is rich in fish. People in Liangcheng and people in Jiangcheng love to eat fish. Fresh aquatic products from the lake occupy a large area in the wet market.
At each stall, large wooden boxes were spread with plastic sheets and filled with water to create simple fish ponds. An air pump gurgled fresh air into the water through thin tubes. Various freshwater fish were swimming in the pond, and the belly-up ones were picked out by the stall owner and thrown aside for sale at a low price.
Song Ran was walking along the wet corridor with Li Zan when a big catfish suddenly jumped out of the pond and jumped happily in the middle of the road. Song Ran was frightened and hid behind Li Zan. Li Zan stood there with his pockets inserted and looked at the fish. The stall owner chased after him, grabbed it and threw it into the pond, causing the water to splash.
Li Zan looked back at the person behind him: "Would you like this one? I think it's very lively."
Song Ran shook his head like a rattle and whispered: "I don't like it, it definitely doesn't taste good."
The stall owner looked over. Song Ran pursed her lips and smiled at him.
Continuing to walk forward, Song Ran asked: "What kind of fish do you like to eat?"
Li Zan said: "Yellow bones."
"I like it too, let's buy yellow bones."
I found a wild yellow-bone fish stall. The fish in the pond were small and tender.
The two of them crouched and grabbed small net bags to catch fish by the pond. Song Ran stretched out his hand and commanded: "Want a small one, that one..."
Li Zan took a good look and chased the scoop, and the small fish fell into the net.
"And that one..."
In the end, I caught seven or eight small finger-long fish.
After weighing and paying, Li Zan was about to take out his pocket when Song Ran stopped him and said, "Didn't you say I was treating you?"
Li Zan handed the money to the stall owner and smiled at Song Ran: "I bought the fish. You can pay for the rest."
The fruits and vegetables were fresh and colorful. Song Ran wanted to buy everything. He quickly picked out a pile of oyster mushrooms, tofu, green peppers, cabbage sprouts, cucumbers, fresh river shrimps, and leeks.
Li Zan was amused and said: "There are only two of us, don't make too much, or we won't be able to finish it by then."
Only then did Song Ran give up.
Li Zan's community is near the vegetable market. There are some evergreen trees planted in it. After a winter, the green on the trees is a little dull, but the sky is very blue and the clouds are also very white.
The family courtyard is very quiet. This residence is the old house of a political commissar of Li Zan and was resold to him. It is an old house and the price was not high when I bought it.
The outside of the house looks as old as Song Ran's father's house, but when you open the door and go inside, you will see that the decoration is very new and it is very neat and clean. There are two bedrooms and one living room, which looks very spacious since he lives alone. Unlike Song Zhicheng's house, all kinds of things are crowded together.
Especially the balcony, there is no debris piled up and the space is open.
The spring sun shines in, the windows are bright and clean, and you can seem to smell the fine dust and sunshine.
Li Zan put the vegetables he bought into the kitchen sink. Song Ran gently pushed him away and said, "I'll do it. You can help me get some onions, ginger, and garlic."
Li Zan then leaned aside and carefully peeled the garlic.
Song Ran washed the killed yellow-bone fish and put it on a plate. He poured out the tofu for side dishes and rinsed it with water. He also washed the oyster mushrooms and green peppers and tore them into strips.
When the oil in the pot was hot, Song Ran suddenly asked: "Do you have an apron at home?"
Li Zan was peeling garlic when he looked up and thought: "Yes."
He quickly brought an apron. Song Ran was holding the spatula in one hand and the fish in the other. When he saw the apron, he didn't know which hand to let go of first and was running around in a hurry. Li Zan was silent for a second, put the apron off her head, and walked around behind her.
The fish in Song Ran's hand was poured into the oil pan with a sizzling sound.
Li Zan stood behind her, bent slightly, lowered his head, and put his arms around her. She took off her coat and wore a loose, thin sweater. The wool was very soft and she rubbed his arm, feeling a little itchy. He found the two ropes of the apron, took them behind her, tied them and pulled gently. Unexpectedly, her body was so thin, so the apron rope tightened her waist and pulled out two long ropes.
Li Zan was startled.
Song Ran's waist tightened, and her heart tightened as well.
Li Zan looked down, pursed his lower lip slightly, loosened his hands slightly, and tied a bow on the back of her waist.
As soon as the knot was tied, oil droplets splashed in the pot. Song Ran shrank back to avoid it, and the back of her head hit his chin.
He loosened the rope and stood up straight.
She covered her head and turned around, her face red: "I'm sorry."
He said nothing, turned back and continued peeling garlic.
After the fish was fried until golden brown, Song Ran added water to the pot, closed the lid, added seasonings, and started to cook the soup.
She returned to the pond and started picking off the shrimp heads.
Li Zan was sitting by the pool peeling garlic. As soon as she came over, the two of them inadvertently got very close.
Neither of them spoke since they put on their aprons just now.
In the quiet kitchen, only the soup in the pot was gurgling, and occasionally a few small shrimps were jumping around in the plastic bags.
Song Ran lowered his head and pinched the river shrimp, and suddenly said: "Tell you something."
"Huh?" He turned his eyes in her direction and saw only the majority of the back of her head and the smaller half of her profile. Her drooping eyelashes were long and black, and her nose was small and straight. He inadvertently glanced at the bow at the back of her waist. Her fluffy pink sweater was bundled inside, looking very soft.
She said: "I resigned today."
He came back to his senses, thought for a few seconds, and asked: "Is this the result that I thought of?"
"Yeah. I've thought about it." She put the tofu, green pepper and oyster mushrooms into the pot, closed the lid, and said in a relaxed tone, "I think what I need most now is to adjust my state, and then I can think about what to do next. .”
He asked warmly: "Are you feeling well?"
She didn't speak for a while, and then she smiled encouragingly: "I'm sure I'll be a little melancholy, after all, I stayed there for two years. But... now, I can finally relax."
Li Zan said: "In Wang Han's case, the police are investigating and collecting evidence. I heard that the evidence is very solid. You don't have to worry about him. Even in Zhu Yanan's case, there is still a lack of key evidence. The truth may not be clear. But at least Zhao Yuanli will Be punished. He will never have the chance to harm students again."
"That's good." She pursed her lips and smiled, threw the shrimp heads into the trash can, washed the shrimp bodies, and whispered, "I'm actually a little confused now, haha." She laughed twice.
"How to say?"
"I just feel that domestic news is not suitable for me; international news, for the time being..." She said mockingly, "It seems that I really need to change my job and become a museum administrator."
Li Zan placed another piece of peeled garlic on the chopping board and stood in line. He looked at her sideways and said, "Wouldn't it be great if you were reporting on events or filming news documentaries? Don't give yourself too much responsibility. Don't give yourself too much responsibility." Influence public opinion. I see that you were very good at the work you did when you were in Dongguo, and you seemed very happy. You may be more suitable for recording."
After hearing this, Song Ran raised his head, was stunned for two seconds, and said, "That's right."
Seeing her like that, he chuckled: "Are you stupid..."
"..."
Song Ran pointed to the two rows of fat white garlic cloves neatly arranged on the chopping board and said, "Who is stupid?"
Li Zan said: "There is military training here." He pointed at the little garlic soldiers and said, "Stand still for me!"
Song Ran chuckled.
The soup pot boiled again, Song Ran opened the lid, and the fragrance overflowed.
She took a spoon and scooped up some soup, blew it twice, tasted it, and licked her mouth. She couldn't taste the saltiness for a while, so she turned around and said, "Come and taste it."
She originally planned to scoop some soup into the bowl, but he came over, took the spoon in her hand, drank the remaining half of the soup, tasted it carefully, and said, "It tastes just right."
Song Ran took the spoon back, his face turned red from the steam, and he said tongue-tied: "No, did you add salt?"
"Need not."
"Then it's done."
"Um."
The food is served, oyster mushroom, tofu, yellow bone and fish soup, stir-fried river shrimp with leeks, stir-fried cabbage, and stir-fried cucumber.
Li Zan took a bite of each dish, drank another bowl of fish soup, and said, "It took a while."
Song Ran then laughed: "You're not bragging."
Li Zan raised his eyes to look at her. Perhaps she had been in the kitchen for a long time. Her face was flushed and she looked warm and soft.
It was already dark outside the window, and under the indoor lights, there was a sense of tranquility and eternity.
He didn't live in this house for much, and most of the time it was deserted. Not like today.
He looked away and drank the soup slowly: "Do you often cook at home?"
"Just do it when you have free time. You are quite young, right?"
"Yeah. Most of the time I eat in the cafeteria."
"Is the food good in the army?"
"Not bad. The menu is changed frequently and the chef is changed."
"Then you also eat in the canteen at the police station?"
"Yeah." He said, "The taste is much worse than in the army."
Song Ran heard this and asked, "Do you have to go back to the army in the end?"
Li Zan paused for a moment and didn't think about it carefully. He slowly swallowed the rice in his mouth and said, "It should be."
Sooner or later.
After finishing the meal, it was half past nine at night.
Song Ran packed her things and went home, and Li Zan saw her off.
The two went downstairs and walked outside the yard, walking side by side along a long road with deciduous trees planted on both sides.
Song Ran looked up at the night sky and suddenly said: "Hey, look, it's sprouted."
Li Zan looked up.
Under the street lights, green shoots sprouted from the dry branches, gathering strength in the night.
"This winter has been so long," he sighed, "it's finally over."
Her eyes were bright and she said, "Finally."
Li Zan stopped a car on the side of the road and looked at the license plate carefully.
He opened the car door, Song Ran sat on it, and waved to him: "Bye."
He closed the car door, bent down and knocked on the window.
The glass fell and Song Ran looked at him with a smile: "What's wrong?"
Li Zan looked at her smiling face, paused for a second, and then remembered to say: "Tell me when you get home."
"Yeah." Song Ran nodded, his eyes bright.
He couldn't help but smile, waved to her, and said, "Bye."