White Olive Tree

Chapter 56

Chapter 56
The sun was setting in the west, and the orange sunlight slanted down the empty and deserted neighborhood.
In the quiet alleys and dilapidated buildings, the setting sun shines in through the slender windows, like a soft yarn hanging on the legs of Song Ran and Li Zan.
The two of them sat in a cool corner of the room with their backs against the wall.
Li Zan rested his head on Song Ran's shoulder, closed his eyes, and breathed evenly, as if he was asleep.
Song Ran unconsciously tilted her head in his direction, her cheek gently touching his soft hair.
Her eyes were red and she was in a daze.
Suddenly the palms of my hands felt warm.  Li Zan held her hand tightly and said in a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry."
He frowned with difficulty, hating himself for saying these three words again.
"No." Song Ran shook his head, "You are doing what you think is right. You want to save them."
"It's not just them," he said.
She knew, but she didn't answer and waited for him.
"Ranran."
   "Um?"
"You asked before if there were any obstacles that I couldn't overcome."
   "Um."
"Do you remember last year, September 26th?"

She was stunned, how could she not remember.
The woman who committed suicide detonated the bomb, and the shock wave at the moment of the explosion hit her like a wall.
"While everyone was running away, there was a second bomb on the street."
She nodded, vaguely guessing that at that moment he rushed behind her because there was a more urgent situation behind him.
"I wanted to demolish it, but I didn't succeed." He restrained, his eyebrows twitching, "I didn't have enough time, so I pushed the suicide attacker into a residential building on the roadside."
Song Ran could already guess what he was going to say next, and felt a shiver in her heart: "Is there someone inside?"
"Yes. A family of six." He said this very calmly and stopped talking for a while.
There seems to be a floating coolness in the dark corner.
Song Ran held his slightly cold hand tightly and remained silent.
"I still remember the look in their eyes. The husband hugged his wife and children, frightened, sad and unable to believe in fate; the wife hugged the children desperately. And those children looked at me so quietly,  Accepting death in silence. Their eyes, like the clutching hands of a baby, wanted to remember me. I wanted to do something at that time, but it was too late."
Song Ran's heart ached with pain, her eyes were moist, and she said, "No wonder you always say that just because the purpose is correct does not mean the result is just."
Li Zan remained silent, as if he was exhausted after speaking that long paragraph.
"But A-Zan," she said forcefully, "although this result is unjust, it is not evil either. Isn't it? You saved a dozen soldiers on the street, otherwise they would be the ones who were killed. Although lives are not exchangeable.  , but you are not a murderer!"
Li Zan opened his eyes and listened quietly.
She took a deep breath, held him tightly with her fingers, and said with hatred in her slightly trembling voice: "The terrorist with the bomb strapped to his body was the one who killed a family of six! He is a human being, not a tool.  He is not your murder tool. He is a criminal himself. It is them who should atone for their sins!"
Li Zan put his ear against her skin and heard the sound of her heartbeat on her neck. It was fast and intense, not at all like her before.  He tilted his head slightly and buried his face in her neck. His eyes were sour, but the corners of his thin lips were slightly raised.
He held her hand that was shaking with anger.  Holding each other's hands vigorously, it seems to draw strength, but also seems to give strength.  In silence, invisible comfort.
Song Ran's heart gradually calmed down:
"A-Zan."
   "Um?"
She smiled slightly, but said nothing.
He didn't ask further questions and closed his eyes, tired but relaxed.  He smelled the faint scent of her that was unique to her, and it made him feel at peace.  Her shoulders are also very thin, gentle yet powerful.  Like her arms, like her whole person.
"Ranran."
"Um?"
"I want to sleep as soon as I lean against you."
She blinked: "Would you like to sleep on my lap?"
He shook his head.
She straightened her shoulders: "Stop talking. You can sleep a little longer."
"Yeah." He mumbled, his breathing just getting evener.
"A-Zan?" she suddenly asked again.
   "Um?"
"That day, when you rushed over, was it for me?"
He was silent for a second and then said tiredly: "No. There are many other people on the street. That was just my subconscious reaction."
"Oh." She knew he would answer like this, but she didn't ask.
The surroundings became quiet, and she sat in the dark corner, her eyes calm.
The sound of his slow breathing could be heard in the ears; and outside the window, there was a blue sky, vast and far away; in a trance, it gave people a feeling that time had lasted forever.  In this desolate and dark house.
The warm sunset slowly creeps up from my calves to my knees.
There were footsteps outside, and Li Zan suddenly woke up and quickly wiped his eyes and face.  When he raised his head again, his eyes were clear and his expression was strong. There was no trace of weakness just now.
Benjamin ran in and said, "LEE, that family wants to thank you. They are waiting to leave."
Li Zan stood up, pulled Song Ran up from the ground, and said, "Let's go."
Following Benjamin out, the family of six stood neatly in the alley. Although they were weak and tortured, the couple looked at Li Zan with heartfelt smiles on their faces.
They are not very fluent in English and they just keep saying thank you.
The little girl rushed up and hugged Li Zan's legs, with a big smile on her face, looking up at him, and said Nunuo: "Thank you!"
The younger boys also ran up and hugged him. Li Zan bent down and touched their little heads.
The other two children stood aside, smiling shyly.
The family has nothing more to give, but we must say thank you personally.
After saying thank you, the couple led the children away.
Benjamin said government troops who came to pick up the prisoners would take them to a safe place.
He put his arm around Li Zan's shoulders and asked, "Are you okay now?"
Li Zan lifted his hand and said, "I have always been good. Now I am even better."
Benjamin smiled and patted his shoulder hard without asking any questions.
In front, several of his comrades were holding guns, sticking them in their waists, or leaning against the wall, all smiling at him in the sunset.
"Come on, man!" (Come on, brother!) Machine Gunner Morgan first extended his fist towards him. Li Zan smiled helplessly, clenched his fist and touched him.
Then came the assaulter Kevin, who gave a high-five; then the coverer George, the artilleryman Su Ke, and the medic Allen gave a high-five.
Kevin smiled: "Okay! Now, our blasters have been upgraded."
……
Song Ran did not go back with Jose; she sat on the back of Li Zan's motorcycle and he took him back to Nancheng.
She hugged his waist tightly all the way, closed her eyes, and let the wind blow.
He kept going south until Li Zan slowed down and stopped.
When she opened her eyes, it was dusk and the sky was filled with sunset.
He turned back: "Want to eat barbecue?"
There are not many shops open on the street, but there are several restaurants, and the smell of barbecue wafts along the street.
She wanted to eat, but was afraid that he would be tired: "Don't you go to rest first?"
He smiled lightly: "You can't go hungry."
"Then let's eat. It's dinner time too."
Li Zan locked the car and took Song Ran to a barbecue restaurant on the roadside. Just like when he was in Garo, he ordered barbecue, bread, lettuce, boiled beans, and two bottles of Coke.
There are many deserts in the north and few water sources.  There was no water for washing hands in the store and only two wet handkerchiefs were given.
When the barbecue was brought up, Song Ran was hungry. He rolled the barbecue with flour and was about to put it into his mouth. He remembered something and raised the Coke cup towards him: "Clink the cup to celebrate."
"What are you celebrating?"
Song Ran thought about it and said, "Congratulations, I know your secret."
He smiled helplessly and clinked glasses with her: "It's worth celebrating."
Song Ran drank more than half a cup of Coke and took a big bite of the barbecue roll.
"Is it delicious?" he asked.
"Yeah." She nodded repeatedly.
"That time when we were having late-night snacks in the Imperial City, you said that the barbecue was not delicious. Later, I wanted to take you to eat in Aare, but during those days of war, the shops were not open."
Song Ran didn't expect that he would always remember this. He felt slightly sweet and said, "I think this time it tastes better than the one in Jialuo."
"Maybe there are more grasslands in the north and the meat quality is better. Eat more." He rolled another roll for her, but he was a little sleepy and had a bad appetite.
Halfway through the meal, he yawned several times and was not very energetic.  I'm really exhausted today.
"Are you very sleepy?" Song Ran asked.
"It's okay." He stood up and went to get ice water, but the water in the beverage cabinet had just been put in.
Li Zan said: "I'll go across the street to buy two bottles of ice."
Song Ran nodded.
He left the store and walked quickly to the other side of the street.
Song Ran rolled up a piece of barbecue and put it on his plate.  At this time, several Western reporters came in carrying beer bottles and sat on the table next to them.  She accidentally glanced and saw the foreign reporter who gave her a cigarette in the basement that day.
When he saw her, he laughed: "You've come to the north too? It's very dangerous here, aren't you afraid?"
Song Ran said calmly: "Aren't you here too? Why should I not come?"
"That's right. We reporters always run wherever there is danger. In other words, where there are dead people, we run. Haha." His face was red with wine, and he was laughing with his companions.
Song Ran disliked his tone and frowned.
When he saw it, he said disdainfully: "We are all reporters, admit it. Isn't what we are pursuing just to seize the explosive point and become famous in one fell swoop?"
Song Ran said: "It seems that we are different not only in courage, but also in virtue."
"Wow!" The people at the table raised their eyebrows and were provoked.
The reporter snorted: "Is it so difficult to admit your true thoughts? I know you made CANDY and are famous around the world. Aren't you profiting from the suffering of this country? We are all the same."
Song Ran smiled faintly: "My efforts are worth everything I get. Are you so interested in my true inner thoughts? Then I will tell you what I think: It is reporters like you who profit from the suffering of others who have discredited the entire  The reputation of the group. Please don't say 'we' to me, I don't join in with you. The difference between you and me is that I can get a Pulitzer, but you can't. No matter how much suffering you see, you will get everything  Not even."
"Pah!" The reporter suddenly put down the beer bottle in his hand, got angry, stood up and was about to step forward.