His eyes were frank and sincere, full of respect and attention.
Song Ran's heart skipped a beat for unknown reason. His brain short-circuited for a moment and he almost forgot what he wanted to ask.
She hurriedly looked down at her notebook, and as if to relieve the pressure, she drew two horizontal lines under the first question with the pen in her hand, and asked again: "What is your main responsibility in this operation?"
Li Zan replied: "Mine clearance, bomb disposal, and explosion prevention."
"What exactly does mine clearance mean?"
"Clear a path through a minefield."
"Mine clearance, as most people understand it, is to clear all the mines from a minefield."
"It's very difficult to do in practice, so we don't usually do that. The cost of installing a mine is low, but the cost of checking it is high, and it requires a lot of manpower and material resources. Usually, we just need to clear the quarantine area." When he answered the question, he looked at her very seriously, his eyes never moving. He was a little more serious than the gentle and smiling A-Zan.
Song Ran met his gaze and tried to concentrate:
"How dangerous do you think this mission is?"
"It can be said to be simple, but it can also be said to be dangerous. Once you become proficient in the operation, you just need to follow the procedures. But the process of finding mines is long and boring, and it is easy to be lazy and careless."
She nodded, her arm a little sore from holding the microphone all the time: "Besides these, are there any other kinds of missions you have during your peacekeeping mission in the East Country that you can share with us?"
"It's mainly about protecting civilians, Doctors Without Borders, the Red Cross..." Li Zan answered halfway and glanced at the microphone in her hand; he adjusted his sitting posture slightly, took the microphone from her hand and held it beside him, "Investigate the security risks within the city, such as bombs, suicide attacks..."
He performed the small movements very naturally, his eyes still fixed on her, and spoke calmly.
Her heart was like the surface of a lake rippled by the breeze. She lowered her head to look at the notebook again, and after a brief adjustment, she raised her head to look at him again and continued with the next question.
The interview was not long and ended in seven or eight minutes.
There is only one last question left, "Will you join the war?"
"It's hard to make a conclusion at the moment, and we have to wait and see how the situation changes. If we want to participate, we need to get authorization from the East government. At this stage, we are still working on international aid and peacekeeping."
After he answered, he looked at her calmly for two seconds, then smiled slowly, pointed at the notebook in her hand, and said, "If I remember correctly, this is the last question?"
"You have a good memory. It's over." Song Ran relaxed his shoulders. "Thank you for your cooperation."
"You're welcome." He handed her the phone. She took it and turned it off.
"It's okay. You can go now." She said, turning around, putting the cap on her pen, closing her notebook and rolling up the microphone cord.
Li Zan didn't leave. He pointed at the tripod and camera and said, "Do you want to take this?"
Song Ran felt embarrassed and said quickly, "I can clean it myself."
Li Zan pointed at a button and said, "Turn it off here?"
“… Yeah.” She nodded.
He turned off the camera, closed the cover, held up the camera with one hand, and grabbed the tripod with the other. Seeing this, she stepped forward to help: "Turn clockwise..."
She accidentally bumped into his hand and immediately pulled it back as if she had been electrocuted.
He seemed not to notice and quickly separated the instrument from the shelf.
Song Ran took the camera and put it in his bag. Li Zan folded up the tripod and asked casually, "Can I interview you?"
She was amused by this: "What?"
"Are you the only one in your station who is in Garo?"
"yes."
Li Zan thought for a moment and said, "I saw on TV that the studio switched to outdoor scenes and live broadcast. There must be two people outdoors. One is responsible for filming, and the other is responsible for speaking."
"You can do it alone," Song Ran said with a smile, "Just adjust the lens, it's almost the same as taking a selfie."
"So you are the one who appears on camera and directs the show."
"Yeah." Song Ran packed up the microphone, recorder and other miscellaneous items and said, "The camera, editing, satellite transmission... are all done by me."
He folded the tripod and handed it to her. He smiled and said, "You are not the same as you look."
She was stunned: "What's different?"
He didn't say anything, just smiled.
She packed her big backpack, he put the chair back in place, and said goodbye at the door.
"goodbye."
The two parted ways.
She walked a distance away before she looked back unconsciously. His figure was getting farther and farther away in the sunset.
The air is still hot and the sun still has a burning power on the skin.
Song Ran put on a hat and a mask, carried a huge bag, and walked towards the hotel in silence.
The streets were bustling with people and cars. Garo City was very busy in the evening, and the shops were open to welcome customers.
Half a year ago, Song Ran, a foreigner, would have attracted a lot of attention, but now volunteer journalists from all over the world are flocking to this country, and the locals have gotten used to it.
Passing by a grocery store, she accidentally found apples. She hadn't seen fruit for a long time, so she asked and found out that they cost twenty dollars each.
It was just an ordinary apple, not even a particularly good variety.
"Can it be cheaper?"
"No, it would be a hundred dollars in Ale."
Song Ran stood in front of the shop, hesitating for a long time, and finally bought one.
When I returned to the hotel, I ran into Sahin. When Sahin saw Apple, he said exaggeratedly, "Wow! Rich Chinese."
As soon as Song Ran returned to the room, he began to organize the materials. From field mine clearance to the summary of the training, Li Zan in the camera always looked patient and serious. Even in the midday heat, he was sweating all over, but he did not get anxious or slack at all.
When it came to the interview part, Lee Chan took the microphone and placed it low beside his legs, keeping the microphone out of the camera.
So careful.
She felt like she was obsessed, and any small detail was enough to beautify him.
She edited the video that night and gave it to Luo Zhan for review before sending it back home.
The next morning she went to the base and deliberately went around the playground, keeping her head down all the way as if she didn't want to see anyone.
Luo Zhan was quite satisfied after watching the video. There was nothing that needed to be modified or cut out, except for a small detail: "The title is an officer, not a police officer. To be more specific, it's Lieutenant Li."
"Sorry." Song Ran blushed. He didn't expect that he would make such a low-level mistake.
Luo Zhan didn't mind at all. After watching the last short interview with Li Zan, he joked, "After this part is broadcast, I'm afraid a lot of young girls will come to ask about him."
Half a month ago, Song Ran's video featured a good-looking officer. After the video was broadcast, the TV station received many calls and became a laughing stock.
At this moment, Li Zan in the video was handsome, approachable and gentle. The station's phone was about to explode with calls, but it was useless. Song Ran thought, he has a girlfriend.
She quickly sent the video material back to China, and soon received a reply from the editor-in-chief, saying that the content was very good.
After completing this week's fixed tasks, she had a few days to breathe.
For three consecutive days, Song Ran did not go to the base once and even avoided the streets near the base.
On that weekend, she went shopping to relax and also to look for materials for "Eastern Floating World Chronicles".
Because it was the weekend, there were many people on the street. All the shops were open, and the bazaar was filled with cloth, spices, powders, and handicrafts, colorful and striking the eyes of passers-by.
Song Ran wandered around the stalls and found that the prices had doubled compared to a month ago. Merchants were enthusiastic about attracting foreigners - locals could hardly afford daily necessities now.
However, Song Ran was a poor foreigner and could only take photos. The vendors did not mind and even winked at the camera and laughed heartily.
Song Ran left the bazaar and passed by a temple. Many people were kneeling and praying in the temple, and some were reciting scriptures. She didn't understand what they were saying, but she took off her shoes and went in. She sat on the smooth multicolored stone floor with her chin in her hand, frowning and thinking.
The grand hall, the columns covered with murals, the civilians praying devoutly... Outside the high dome are the dilapidated residential buildings.
Song Ran found himself as a bystander. Perhaps he could understand the solemnity and sadness of the moment, but he could not empathize with the boredom and despair in their peaceful lives.
Or as Sassin said, she, like those foreigners, was more like an experiencer, experiencing their desperate situation, observing their suffering, feeling pity and sympathy, and then going home to continue her happy life, that's all.
The coolness of the stone floor seeped into her legs, and she stood up and left.
After leaving the temple, the dazzling sun shone on her face, like needles pricking her. She rubbed her cheeks hard and looked up to see a blue-green camouflage pattern in the gray ahead.
Several patrolling Chinese peacekeepers stood in the shade, drinking water and chatting, taking a short rest.
Song Ran recognized Li Zan's figure among the crowd at a glance.
He stood sideways in a relaxed manner, which made his legs look even longer. He held a half-drunk bottle of mineral water in one hand and played with the bottle cap with the other, gently tossing it up and catching it. He looked at his companions and listened to their conversations. When he heard something interesting, he laughed, revealing his white teeth.
Laughing halfway, he accidentally looked back at the street and saw Song Ran. He tilted his head slightly to see her clearly. Perhaps he was in a good mood, he smiled and raised his chin to greet her, and waved at her with his thumb pinching the bottle cap.
In such a scorching sun and such a depressing and dull city, his smile was like the only touch of color in this black and white world.
Song Ran was caught off guard, and his heart felt like it was hit by something warm and powerful, hitting him so hard that he couldn't escape.
But she wanted to escape, wanted to pretend she didn't see it, wanted to turn around and leave, but a group of them noticed her and waved, "Reporter Song!"
Song Ran had no choice but to smile and walk over.
"Reporter Song, what a coincidence?" Li Zan asked with a smile.
Song Ran also smiled and glanced at everyone: "Come out for shopping."
"Carrying such a heavy bag when shopping?" Li Zan pointed behind her.
She looked up at him and pursed her lips: "Just in case I need you. ... Why are you here?"
"We have finished our patrol. Let's take a break." Soldier Jiang Lin said, "Reporter Song, why haven't I seen you these past few days? Where have you been?"
"I have other interview tasks, and I have a lot of articles to write."
"Really? I miss you after not seeing you for a few days." Jiang Lin joked.
Song Ran was amused and burst out laughing: "Nonsense!"
"Really?" The young soldiers all started to cheer, "Come and play with us more often if you have time."
Li Zan drank water slowly without saying anything.
After a few words, the soldiers gathered together and continued their patrol.
Everyone said goodbye to Song Ran. Li Zan was the last one to leave. He passed by her and said,
"gone."
He handed her an unopened bottle of water, and Song Ran took it reflexively. Before she could say thank you, he had already brushed past her and turned back to say, "Don't go to unfamiliar places."
Song Ran held the water and said, "Oh".
She was indeed thirsty, so she unscrewed the bottle cap and drank half of it.
Looking back, Li Zan had not gone far.
He was carrying a bottle of mineral water and walking towards the temple. A beggar child walked past him and raised his head to say something to him. The child was not even as tall as his thigh.
Li Zan stopped, bent down and asked him what he wanted.
The child was barefoot, had a mess of hair, and was wearing tattered clothes. He stretched out his dirty little hand and pointed at the water bottle in his hand.
Li Zan gave him the water and left.
After walking a few steps away, he looked back and saw the child standing there struggling to unscrew the bottle cap.
He walked back and unscrewed the bottle cap for him.
The child held the water bottle in his two little hands and drank the water with his head tilted back.
Song Ran looked up from the camera and saw only Li Zan's receding back.
She felt calm and turned to leave; suddenly a man rushed past her and almost bumped into her.
She was shocked, but the man did not apologize. Instead, he turned around and glared at her fiercely, then quickly got into a van parked on the side of the road.
Song Ran was frightened by that look and felt something was wrong.
But the car was already heading towards the temple. There were high stone steps at the entrance of the temple, and there were also patrols of the East Country from Garo City. But… after the temple, going further to the other side, there was the Grand Bazaar, which was full of people.
Song Ran was afraid that he was too sensitive, but if...
She watched the car go away, and in a panic, she shouted in the street: "Officer Li! Car!"