White Olive Tree

Chapter 49

Chapter 49
Because the curtains were hung, Song Ran slept two hours longer than the previous day and woke up almost eight o'clock.
She opened her eyes dimly and saw the skylight shining on the edge of the curtains. She remembered his figure standing on the table to help her hang the curtains yesterday.
She was in a daze for a while before she remembered to look at her watch. It was only a quarter of an hour away from the agreed eight o'clock.  She immediately got up, changed her clothes, opened the curtains, and the bright sunlight poured in, making her squint her eyes.
The cell phone on the table dinged.  Li Zan sent a message saying that he had something to do in the morning and could he change the time to 2:30 pm.
Song Ran replied yes.
When she suddenly had a free morning, she had nothing else to do, so she organized notes, manuscripts and various materials.  Perhaps because she had an appointment in the afternoon, she had difficulty concentrating, so she ran out to fetch water and wash her hair on the way.
It was said that I was washing my hair, but I just soaked my hair, rubbed it with soap and then washed it - clean water was too scarce.  Then he took a wet towel and wiped his body briefly.
After cleaning herself up, she felt a little more at ease and went back to work.
Logging into Twitter, Song Ran discovered that the photo she posted yesterday of a little brother and sister picking up bread crumbs on the ruins had attracted widespread attention.  Last night, Garro's international charity organization came to pick up the little brother and sister, and also picked up dozens of homeless orphans.
Charity organization@了songran.  She went over and saw that the children were well placed, washed, and had new clothes.  In the photo, the little brother and sister were happily eating bread and drinking milk.
Song Ran couldn't help but smile slightly and breathed a sigh of relief.
After finishing the work at hand, it was only half past ten in the morning.  Time suddenly passed very slowly, and she had nothing to do, so she took her camera downstairs and walked around the neighborhood.
Walking around the dormitory and teaching buildings, I found that there were many more students in the auditorium. I don’t know when they poured in and made banners, slogans and drawing boards on campus.
Song Ran went to ask and found out that many teachers and students who originally studied in Alara City and fled to the south due to the war have come back to cheer for the army and mobilize the civilians; some are even preparing to attend classes - they  I believe that the city of Aara will be recovered.
After leaving the campus and going to the street, Song Ran was attracted by the shouts at the corner of the street. He chased after him and saw that it was a student demonstration.  Yesterday, she saw many college students coming from all over the street one after another. It turned out that they were all here to parade and preach.  They held loudspeakers, held signs, shouted slogans, waved national flags, and called on local residents to support the government forces and jointly defend the city of Aare.
The impassioned slogans of the students echoed on the ancient streets. Song Ran roughly understood terms such as "defending", "history" and "suffering", and his blood began to surge.
She followed the students on the march and found that new signs had been posted on the city's air raid shelters and trenches had been dug; many civilians walking on the streets were carrying guns.
The smell of an impending war was getting stronger and stronger, and she seemed to be able to smell gunpowder smoke in the air.
At noon, she had some food on the roadside and found that there were no scattered government soldiers anywhere. They must have all gathered together.  The locals all looked solemn, waiting patiently for something.
Song Ran was afraid of an accident when she was out alone, so she returned to school early. She was also worried that the situation had changed and Li Zan might not come in the afternoon.
It was a quarter past one in the afternoon when I returned to the dormitory. There was no message on my phone. The agreement with him should not have been cancelled.
She was afraid that she would be sleepy and lacked energy in the afternoon, so she climbed into bed and took a nap; but she didn't sleep well. Firstly, she was worried that he would not be able to come. Secondly, there were urgent shouts from Dongguo students outside the window from time to time.
It was 2:20 in a daze, and the alarm clock rang.  There was no news of the accident on the phone.  Song Ran got up and wiped her face with a wet towel, then simply packed up and tied a ponytail, and hurried downstairs. As soon as she walked out of the dormitory building, she heard the sound of a motorcycle and Li Zan drove over.
The sun is shining brightly and the sky is blue.
She stopped where she was, waiting for him with peace of mind.
He braked in front of her, handed her a helmet, smiled slightly, and said, "Just right."
"Just right." She also said in unison.
The two looked at each other in silence for a moment, then chuckled together.
Song Ran put on his helmet, climbed onto the back seat of his motorcycle with ease, and grabbed his waist.
On campus, Li Zan was slow and avoided the students coming and going.  Some students saw his military uniform and greeted him warmly, saying "Well done" and so on.  Li Zan responded with a smile and drove away from the campus. The motorcycle accelerated and headed southwest.
There were still students marching in twos and threes on the street. Students who had finished marching shouted slogans loudly.  Song Ran stuck his head out and faced the wind and asked him: "Does it feel like there's going to be a war?"
"It's almost time." Li Zan said, "If you go out again, be with the Dongguo reporters and don't act without authorization."
"...Oh." She asked carefully, "Then if you take me out, it won't delay your business, right?"
"No." He smiled lightly, "Didn't I say yesterday that I would gather at night."
She felt more at ease, raised her head and was about to say something, when a student ran across the road in front of her, and Li Zan stopped the car.  Song Ran leaned forward suddenly, her chin hit his shoulder, and her helmet knocked against his.
Clang.
Her heart thumped. Fortunately, she was wearing a helmet, otherwise she would have hit the side of his face.
"..."
Li Zan didn't show too much attention, but he felt a soft feeling pressing on his back, making him not know how to deal with it.
The student ran over and he started moving again. She leaned back and the soft touch relaxed.
Song Ran lowered his head, straightened his helmet, and asked, "You said yesterday that you guys are taking a rest recently?"
Li Zan said: "At the last station in Su Rui City, a teammate was slightly injured. There happens to be a battle behind us, so the whole team needs to repair."
Speaking of which, he has been in Dongguo for three months.  The originally scheduled six months had passed halfway without even realizing it.
Song Ran raised her voice and asked, "How are your comrades recovering?" He added, "I see you have all gone to the hospital recently."
"The minor injuries have all recovered." As he approached the outskirts, the crowds dwindled, and he inadvertently accelerated.
The strong wind blew, and she shrank back, thinking about something in her mind.  He glanced back at her quickly and asked in a loud voice: "Why do you say recently?"
"What?" She stretched her head over again, tilting her ears towards him.
He turned his head behind him, his eyes still focused on the road ahead: "You saw me in the hospital just yesterday, why did you say 'recently'?"
Song Ran didn't say that she witnessed him rescuing Pei Xiaonan that day, but said vaguely: "Oh, I think you are familiar with the doctors and nurses there."
Li Zan said: "That Doctors Without Borders, you can interview her more, enough for you to write many stories. It is quite rare for a Chinese to come here to be a doctor."
What he meant by "rare" was that Pei Xiaonan's story was important to the book she wanted to write.
Song Ran: "Yes. I also think she is quite rare."
The wind was strong and he didn't hear clearly: "What?"
"It's okay." She said loudly, "I will conduct a good interview."
After walking for less than an hour, the two arrived at the southwest area of ​​Alara City and came to the foot of a huge mountain near the suburbs.
The city of Aare is surrounded by desert wasteland, but there is sufficient water in the city. It was gathered into towns thousands of years ago, and later developed into a megacity comparable in size to the capital Gamma.
The terrain of Aare is flat, with no mountains or ridges. Because of this, several wars in history did not have terrain advantages to rely on, and they all relied on soldiers to charge forward despite artillery fire.
Only this small hill in the southwest suburbs became a combat highland during the war and was later named Matumangan after a historical general.
Li Zan stopped the car at the foot of the hill. Song Ran took a look. There was not a single tree on the hillside, only green grass all over the mountain. There were countless black squares buried in the grass, and it was hard to see what they were.  On the top of the slope, there is a huge statue of a medieval fighting woman holding a sword.
The two of them walked up the winding path.
Li Zan asked: "Do you know where this place is?"
"I know." Song Ran had stayed in Alara City for a few months before and had heard about the history of Matumanggang, but he had never been here.
The two of them walked to the top of the hill facing the sun, and then they discovered that there were several groups of soldiers above.  Firearms, ammunition, and various types of military equipment are very complete.
Rows of soldiers raised their guns alertly, and Song Ran hesitated.
Li Zan said: "Don't be afraid. They already saw us when we appeared at the foot of the mountain."
"Oh." She slowed down and followed him.
Facing the incoming visitors, the soldiers had sharp eyes and did not welcome them.
The captain of the guard was a twenty-eighty-nine-year-old Dongguo officer with a beard and a serious expression. When he saw Li Zan's military uniform, his expression softened slightly, but he also said directly: "There have been too many foreign reporters coming recently.  , we will not accept interviews.”
Li Zan said: "She is Song Ran."
The officer raised his thick eyebrows, looked at Song Ran, looked her up and down, and asked: "CANDY?"