Chapter 37
That night, Song Ran seemed to be floating in the clouds, but the man's solid and hot body clearly reminded her that she was in reality. She was truly in his arms.
Time and time again, she was like riding a roller coaster, rising and falling again. She felt like she was about to be killed by him, but she also felt that she was willing to die. Happy, joyful, satisfied, as if her long-cherished wish had come true, all kinds of extreme emotions were mixed together, and she felt like she was losing her mind. In the end, she was so tired that she lay on the bed without even the strength to turn over, so she fell into a drowsy sleep. I just remember being picked up and fed a glass of water by him before going to bed.
She was really exhausted, but she was also contented as never before. She lay in the arms of her favorite person and slept peacefully.
A rare night without dreams.
Perhaps because of the long-term lack of sleep, or perhaps because of the uncontrolled madness last night, she couldn't wake up the next morning. She could only vaguely feel that Li Zan kissed her cheek when he left.
Song Ran slept until 11 o'clock in the afternoon before waking up hazily. She closed her eyes and frowned. She felt swollen and painful under her body. She calmed down for a while, slowly stretched her hands and feet without waking up, and rubbed herself in the quilt. , the bed is filled with his breath, the smell of joy all night long.
She slowly opened her eyes, and the sky was bright outside the curtains. She was stunned for a while, then unconsciously rubbed her cheek against the quilt, her lips slightly curved.
He sat up holding on to his sore waist, holding a hearing aid on the bedside and placing a piece of paper with Li Zan's handwriting on it:
"There is porridge in the kitchen. Eat breakfast first when you wake up. Soak the eggs in cold water to make them easier to peel, but don't soak them for too long or they will get cold."
She walked slowly to the kitchen with her rabbit-velvet slippers on, and turned on the heat-insulating rice cooker. The fragrance filled her nostrils. There were several small white and fat mini steamed buns placed in the steamer. When I took the steamer away, I saw steaming white rice porridge with a hard-boiled egg in it.
Song Ran was stunned for a moment.
Previously in Jiangcheng, Father Li prepared various breakfasts, including fried tofu skin, hash browns, etc.
But she just drank a bowl of sweet tofu curd and only ate two glutinous rice balls because the sesame filling was too sweet. Even if it was a slightly oily hot dry noodle, she wouldn't touch it at all. Over the past six months, she has had a poor appetite, especially when she wakes up in the morning. She will feel nauseous when exposed to greasy and heavy smells.
Unexpectedly, he noticed.
Song Ran served steamed buns and eggs, and scooped out porridge.
She dipped the eggs as he asked, and they were really easy to peel. After a light breakfast, my stomach felt much better.
After putting away the dishes, she took off the blood-stained pillowcases, sheets and quilts and threw them into the washing machine. She then found a replacement four-piece set from the cabinet and found that Li Zan's style was very similar to hers. The sheets and quilts were all solid colors. , light gray, dark red, navy blue, dark green...
After laying everything out, Song Ran packed up and went out.
There was a key hanging on the doorknob, which was left for her. Song Ran took it off and hung it on his key ring.
Song Ran went to the hospital to meet Dr. Liang. Her condition has improved recently, and her body and mind have adapted after reducing her medication last time. The doctor reduced her medication again.
"However, although it has improved, you still need to pay attention at all times. Don't put pressure on yourself when you encounter troubles in your life, and don't make them more serious over and over again."
"I know." Song Ran said, "I will pay close attention and contact you in time."
When he learned that she had resigned, the doctor said, "Look, I told you to rest for a while."
Song Ran said: "I'm used to being busy. Not long after I resigned, I feel bored and a little flustered."
"Then you still need to find something to do. If you are bored all day long, you will easily have random thoughts and negative emotions."
Song Ran said: "Don't worry, I didn't plan to rest forever."
She had been mentally constructing it for a long time, and felt that "Eastern Floating Century" could begin to be slowly conceived. In addition, she also plans to take on some private work, firstly to earn money to support herself, and secondly, to practice her skills as a freelance journalist when she returns to work in the future.
When returning home in the afternoon, Song Ran bought some vegetables from the nearby vegetable market and caught a few wild crucian carp. After returning home, I put a few fish in a bucket and cooked fresh fish soup at night. I washed a few fish, pickled them with salt and put them in the sun, and kept them for frying and eating later.
The sheets and quilt covers were washed in the washing machine and taken out to dry on the balcony. The sun is very bright today. Outside the window, the plane trees are covered with new green leaves, which look like emeralds when illuminated by the sun.
She was in a good mood, so she collected the garbage at home, threw away the packaging of antidepressants, and hid the boxes carefully. There is no need to tell him that things are getting better. It will only increase worries.
After going downstairs to throw away the trash, she made herself a cup of lemon tea and turned on her computer to check her emails. In addition to requests for articles and films from domestic and foreign media, there are also requests to expose hot topics.
Song Ran is very clear about her own strengths, and also knows her own weaknesses even better. She is not suitable to participate in the whirlpool of public opinion, nor to make statements or lead; she only needs to do what she is best at - simple recording and presentation.
There was an invitation in the email that caught her attention, and it came from the National Military Channel. Because the news documentary video Song Ran shot for the peacekeeping forces last year was well received, they recently thought of Song Ran when they were making a documentary about military figures called "Our Flag." I hope that if Song Ran is interested, he can participate in their bidding for manuscripts.
This is a selection campaign, and the selected journalists will join their planning and directing team to assist them in recording and photographing twelve military figures. The attachment contains brief introduction information of the characters. The deadline is ten days later.
Song Ran was very interested and immediately replied that he would write a draft as soon as possible.
After replying to the email, she stretched out excitedly and planned to start making plans in one go. When she stretched her foot, she kicked something.
There is a large cardboard box under the table, which is very heavy.
Song Ran pulled it out and saw that it was all manuscript paper, densely filled with circuit diagrams and various physical and chemical formulas.
She flipped through it casually. There were probably thousands of them.
Song Ran suddenly remembered the photos he saw at Li Zan's house, and the serious and persistent look in his eyes when he was wearing military uniform and dismantling various simulated bombs. If it didn't get better, she didn't know what that would mean to him.
While I was still thinking, I suddenly heard the door open.
She pushed the box back and ran over to greet him: "A-Zan!"
But when she saw him, she blushed again.
Li Zan closed the door, turned around and asked with a smile: "Always at home?"
"I've just returned from a trip."
He looked up and saw the sheets hanging to dry on the balcony. The thin layer was swaying in the wind in the sun, and it was very warm, just like everything that happened last night.
He glanced at her, speechless for a moment, and both of them looked a little embarrassed.
She blushed even more and hurriedly stared at his hands. He was holding several large plastic bags.
"I bought you some food." He changed his shoes, went into the house and put the bag on the dining table.
Song Ran pulled it open and saw that cherries, strawberries, and oranges were all the fruits she picked out when she went to his house that day. They were all her favorites.
Another large bag of snacks bought in the supermarket, wafer biscuits, dried mango, plum spicy strips, chicken feet, seaweed potato chips, etc., and several large bags of QQ candy.
Li Zan went to the bathroom to wash his hands. The phone was on the table, still on.
Song Ran took a look and saw that it was a news video from Dongguo. The text said that the battle in Garo City caused hundreds of civilian casualties.
When they reunited in Garro last year, it was still a safe haven; but it soon fell into war.
Song Ran said: "The situation in the Eastern Kingdom doesn't seem to be improving?"
"The anti-government forces are somewhat decadent, but the extremist organizations are not." Li Zan's voice came from the bathroom. "Now, other countries are only helping to fight the anti-government forces, and there is no direct war with the extremist organizations."
After all, it was a matter of igniting the fire. No one wants to invite terrorist attacks to their homeland.
Song Ran: "But I heard Saxin say that it seems that since the end of last year, a new Cook anti-terrorist armed force has emerged, specializing in fighting extremist organizations."
"Yes. One of their most powerful snipers has killed more than 800 terrorists."
"But the terrorist organization is also placing a bounty on his head." Song Ran said sadly.
Li Zan didn't answer and asked, "What did you go out to do?"
"...gone to buy groceries." Song Ran opened a bag of dried mangoes and asked, "Have you gone to the army?"
"Um."
"Are things arranged?"
"Class starts tomorrow."
"Are you going back to the team?" She just bit down on the dried mango and then let go, "Can you go home?"
"Yes. I am just an assistant coach now and will not train with the team." Li Zan wiped his hands with a towel and said, "I would like to go back early..."
Song Ran walked to the door of the bathroom, leaned against the door frame, looked at him, smiled and said, "You didn't wear a hearing aid today."
Li Zan looked at her in the mirror and smiled: "When I went to the United States last month, the doctor changed my condition. He said it would gradually get better."
Song Ran asked again: "Will there still be tinnitus?"
He exhaled: "I don't know."
Li Zan soon returned to the team and became an assistant coach.
This job is not easy. Colonel Lin Miao'an not only asked him to prepare lesson plans and materials for class, but also added various difficult simulated blasting tasks and EOD tasks to him. Li Zan knew very well that Lin Miao'an was giving him personal training, so he worked extra hard and followed Lin Miao'an to solve several extremely difficult blasting designs and EOD designs.
After he returned to the army, his mental state improved a lot and his physical fitness did not drop.
When doing push-ups at home at night, he could also let Song Ran lie on his back and play.
Song Ran didn't dare to go up at first, for fear of "crushing" him.
Li Zan was so funny that he propped himself up on the ground and looked up at her: "Have you never seen my physical strength?"
Song Ran's face turned red instantly, and she glared at him angrily. Without saying a word, she walked over and lay on his back, pressing him hard. But he followed him like a child, steady and doing push-ups.
She hugged him, feeling the strength of his body muscles, giggling as he rose and fell.
Her breath tickled his ears, so he said, "Get down."
She hugged her tightly and refused to let go: "Then I won't laugh."
Instead, smile with pursed lips.
He continued.
By the beginning of April, Li Zan found that he had not had any symptoms of tinnitus for a long time, and his usual design and troubleshooting activities were fine, so he applied to Chen Feng to return to the team. Chen Feng arranged for him to take a physical test and a psychological test. After seeing the results, he did not tell him the specific score. He only told him to wait and it would take some time to go through the process.
On the second weekend of April, the soldiers of the special operations team went to the wild for anti-terrorism training. Li Zan went to the army early in the morning. One of the training tasks is explosion protection and explosive disposal. Lin Miao'an is responsible for tactical teaching and command, and Li Zan is the assistant teacher. Naturally, the task is arduous.
The anti-terrorism training took place at the junction of the mountains and the Yangtze River in the northeast of Luoyu Mountain, which is an inaccessible forest and tidal flat area.
Li Zan and the participating soldiers, as well as instructors and instructors of various events, arrived at the training venue early in the morning.
Today’s mission is to simulate the arrest of armed drug dealers and rescue trapped hostages.
The officers and soldiers of the special operations team were still gathering when Lin Miaoan suddenly said: "A-Zan, you join them in the operation."
Li Zan was stunned for a moment. His task was to use the monitor outside the field to check whether the detonation process was correct when the soldiers encountered bombs during training.
He said: "I will make records for each student later."
"Leave this matter to Xiao Wang and the others." Lin Miao'an said, "I'll take a look at your reaction and physical fitness to see if I can bring you with me in the next actual battle. Even if you are in the rear, you have to be pregnant."
Li Zan didn't think much, changed equipment with other soldiers, and assembled.
The coach fired a gun to signal the start of the battle. The moment Li Zan stepped into the training area, a strange sense of tension suddenly arose in his heart. It had been almost eight months since he had held a gun again, even though the bullets in the gun he held in his hand were just blanks. He didn't even know if his private training could still make him qualified for the role at this moment. But this uneasy feeling was quickly replaced by another familiarity and longing buried deep in his bones.
He belongs to this place after all.
Li Zan quickly devoted himself to today's battle plan. He lurked in the woods, analyzed the terrain, searched for traces, and cooperated well with his teammates. He soon found clues about the "drug dealer" hidden in the dense forest.
He climbed over mountains and ridges, waded through tidal flats, and advanced step by step, approaching the "drug dealers" lair little by little. He successfully discovered several hidden sentinels during the advance, took aim with his gun, and "killed" the following sentinels neatly.
In the temporary combat headquarters outside the training site, Chen Feng faced several monitors, paying special attention to the one that captured Li Zan's image.
He is still the best soldier he ever was.
Halfway through the march, some soldiers inevitably relaxed. Li Zan actually carefully discovered the buried mines, and after bypassing them, he left signs near the mines to remind his companions. At that time, three or four students had already "failed and sacrificed their lives" because they accidentally stepped on "landmines".
He was highly concentrated, and after two hours of advancing in the mountain forest, he and several other companions finally arrived at the drug dealer's lair - an abandoned mountain warehouse.
Several soldiers worked together to form two teams, one lurking close to the main entrance of the warehouse, and the other outflanking the back door.
Li Zan sneaked to the front door, gestured to his teammates, and prepared to throw smoke and bombs in through the window. But at this time, his teammates at the back door accidentally kicked the iron sheet, alerting the "drug dealers" in the room.
Several "drug dealers" immediately drew their guns and went to catch the hostages at the same time.
Li Zan and his teammates looked at each other, kicked open the front door, and aimed and shot while covering and cooperating. Bang bang hit, and the two "drug dealers" fell to the ground on the spot. The drug dealers fired back, and Li Zan quickly dodged behind the wall to hide. He gestured to his teammates, who fired to cover. Li Zan went around the warehouse and used the cover of the container shelves to approach the hostages in the left corner.
Just as his teammates were about to go up to support them, they received an order from the instructor in their earphones: "There are hostages on the right, please spread out and rescue them."
Li Zan rushed to the "hostage" and paused suddenly.
The hostages were tied to a rack with bombs strapped to them.
Across the shelves, his companions were fighting fiercely with drug dealers.
Li Zan was confused for a moment and his throat was a little tight. He wanted to move the hostages outside, but when he squatted down and took a look, he saw that there was a mercury balancer on the bomb. If you move rashly, it will trigger an explosion.
The "hostage" cried and said: "I can't leave, I dare not leave."
Li Zan didn't say anything, just stared at the bomb in silence, pulled out the saber from the side pocket of his trousers, and uncovered the shell of the bomb. Red, yellow, blue and green lines were exposed.
He inadvertently licked his dry lips, trying his best to stabilize his mood. He arranged the wiring in a familiar way, looking for the first step to cut off the wire of the mercury balancer.
But...here it comes again.
A roaring and buzzing sound gradually came to my ears, like a sad death knell;
He gritted his teeth and tried to get rid of those voices. He stared at the wire in his hand, beads of sweat on his forehead. He didn't know what kind of power he used to control it, control it tightly, resist the wave of sound, and cut off a line.
The mercury balancer was cut off.
In front of the monitor, Chen Feng clenched his fists, stood up from the chair and hugged his head.
The bomb countdown is still flowing.
The roar in Li Zan's ears had reached a level that was shocking. He didn't hear a word of what the hostages were saying or what the teammates around him were shouting.
He closed his eyes forcefully and opened them again, trying his best to concentrate. But his hands began to tremble, and the fast-flowing countdown made him more nervous, fearful, and even painful than ever before.
His head was covered with sweat and his eyes were blood red as he analyzed, identified, and looked for those clearly familiar lines. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't be sure anymore. Severe tinnitus and excessive mental resistance even made his eyes blurry.
He is still resisting and struggling, time is no longer waiting for him, it has returned to 00:00:00.
With a hiss, the "bomb" sprayed out blue smoke and "exploded".
For a moment, Li Zan's mind went blank, and the ringing in his ears disappeared. It was like the silence after an explosion, with nothing at all.
Exhausted, he sat down on the ground exhausted, leaning against the wall with his head slightly raised, his eyes empty and out of focus.
On the hillside not far from the warehouse, Lin Miaoan put down the telescope, picked up the communication device, and said to Chen Feng in front of the monitor: "Did you see it?"
"I saw it." Chen Feng said.
Lin Miao'an said: "Still can't touch it."
……
On the way home, Li Zan sat in the last row of the bus, leaning on the back of his chair and looking out the window at the scenery. It's spring, the leaves on both sides of the street are green, and strings of sycamore leaves are slapping against the car windows like palms.
He was so lost in thought all the way that he almost missed getting off when he arrived at the station.
Walking into the family courtyard, climbing up the stairs, and just turning the key to open the door, I smelled the aroma of fish soup.
Li Zan gently closed the door and took a look inside. The window on the balcony was open, the spring breeze was blowing, the newly washed sheets were hung on the clothes rack and swayed in the breeze, and the sheets were covered with pink sunset.
On the dining table, there is a plate of fresh cherries and oranges, as well as cold kelp shreds.
In the kitchen, Song Ran was wearing an apron and cooking fish soup with her back to him. Her hair was longer and tied back gently.
Li Zan walked forward and hugged her waist from behind. She was adding chopped green onion and small green peppers cut into rings to the oyster mushroom, tofu, yellow bone and fish soup, and she was startled.
He lowered his head and rested his chin on her shoulder, asking warmly, "What are you cooking?"
"Your favorite. Does it smell good?"
"It smells good." He tilted his head and nodded. His chin rubbed against her neck, and she shrank her shoulders from the itch.
Inside the pot, the fish soup is clear and yellow, dotted with green green onions and chili peppers, which makes it look delicious.
"Isn't it boring to be alone at home?"
"It's okay. I've been sorting out information recently."
"That book "The Floating World"?"
"That's right. Let's slowly develop the feeling first, and then think about which way to write it." Song Ran said, and then added, "There's also the matter of the military channel. It's been two weeks since I submitted the manuscript, but I still haven't received a reply. I feel like No way. That’s fine, I don’t want to go to the Imperial City yet.”
He listened carefully, but his eyes were a little vacant; after a while,
Slowly said: "There are many people who submitted, so the selection must be slow. On the contrary, I have a hunch that it will be you."
She smiled softly: "Really?"
"real."
She pressed her cheek against the side of his face.
"What about you?" Song Ran stirred the fish soup and asked, "What are you doing in class today?"
"Student assessment."
"Have you had a good day?"
"Very good." He said with a smile, tilted his head and kissed her cheek unconsciously.
Just then, the phone rang.
Li Zan stood up straight and let go of Song Ran. It was a number from the United States. Li Zan walked to the living room and pressed answer. Before he could speak, a coquettish sentence came from the other end:
"HEY MAN! Do you miss me" is Benjamin.
A smile appeared on Li Zan's face, but his tone was calm: "Are you okay?"
"Recovering very well." Benjamin injured his eye in the explosion. Like Li Zan, he has been troubled by recovery. Now we are finally out of the haze.
Benjamin sighed: "Do you know how important a sniper's eyes are? God bless. It's finally all healed. What about you?"
"It's okay." Li Zan said.
The two chatted about their current situation. After talking for a while, Benjamin asked: "Li, do you still want to go to Dongguo?"
Li Zan did not answer, but asked: "What about you?"
"I have been thinking about it every day for more than half a year during my recovery," Benjamin said. "I want to aim my gun at those terrorists and end their lives with my own hands. God knows, I think about it every day and even in my dreams."
Li Zan said: "My current... situation is complicated." He explained everything with "complicated".
Benjamin didn't ask further and said, "I hope we can keep in touch more. I also want to return to the battlefield."
"good."
Just as he was about to hang up, Benjamin suddenly asked: "By the way, where is the girl you risked your life to save that day? Where is she now?"
Li Zan glanced at Song Ran who was frying vegetables in the kitchen, smiled warmly, and said, "She is my girl now."