The man supported himself with his hands and jumped up from the ground. He brushed the dust off his head and shoulders and glanced at Song Ran: "Are you okay?"
"It's okay." Song Ran slowly sat up. The loud noise of the explosion made her brain dizzy and her reaction was slow.
He said, "Take some time, don't rush to get up."
"Yeah." Song Ran nodded. Her heart was beating so hard that it seemed like it was going to burst out of her chest.
The air on the ground was boiling and burning like fire.
too hot.
It was almost noon and there was not a breath of wind.
She took off her mask and wiped the sweat from her head and neck.
He walked over to check the situation of the bomb fragments.
Song Ran's heartbeat hadn't calmed down yet, and his entire face was burning. He subconsciously wiped the dust off his face.
Another sergeant came over and asked, "Where are you from?"
Song Ran said: "Liangcheng TV."
The other party was very surprised: "Why let you, a woman, go to the front line alone?"
Song Ran said: "I'm not here to interview. I'm here to find someone."
"It's already this late, and you're still heading north?"
"I came to see my friends, and they gave me a ride to Gamma."
The other party understood and said, "Be careful along the way. The situation here is unstable. There is a small battle outside the city."
Song Ran nodded: "I will. Thank you."
She stood up and walked to the motorcycle, unconsciously looking back at the man named "Azan". He was squatting on one knee, holding a piece of shrapnel in his hand. Half of his face was exposed on the black mask, with a high nose bridge and handsome eyebrows.
She felt a little inexplicably melancholy. She looked away and got into the car, just as she was about to start it, when she heard a gentle voice: "Where is your friend?"
Song Ran turned around and it was him.
He was still squatting on the ground, looking up at her, his eyes narrowed slightly, his pupils very bright.
Song Ran looked at the brim of his hat and said, "Harris Hotel."
Over there is the foreign journalists' station.
He glanced at his watch and asked, "What time is the appointment?"
"Half past ten."
"It's too late." He kindly reminded.
Song Ran took out his cell phone. It was 10:29.
She said to herself, "I can only go to Gama by myself on a motorcycle."
He threw the shrapnel in his hand up, caught it again, and a kind smile flashed in his eyes: "Do you know the direction?"
Song Ran: “…”
She couldn’t read the map because her cell phone had no signal, and she didn’t recognize the foreign characters on the landmarks.
She looked up at the sun's position and roughly identified it: "That's the south...right? If I'm lucky, maybe I can catch up with the fleeing traffic."
He dropped the pieces in his hand, dusted off his pants, stood up, and asked, "Do you have your passport?"
Song Ran touched the big pocket outside his pants: "Yes."
"A group of overseas Chinese businessmen and residents in the city are leaving today. You should follow them."
Half an hour later, Song Ran arrived at the Zhongfu Industrial Park in the southwest suburbs of Su Rui City.
Zhongfu is the largest Chinese-funded company in the central region of the East, mainly engaged in scientific research, communications and infrastructure industries. Now that the situation has deteriorated and war has broken out, overseas Chinese working and living abroad have to return home. Zhongfu Park has become a gathering place for overseas Chinese evacuees in the central region. Since yesterday, Chinese employees and residents from several surrounding cities have begun to gather here.
When Song Ran arrived at the park, it was full of buses and there were probably one or two thousand people gathered on the open space.
She turned on the camera as if she was working on a profession, moving among vehicles and crowds.
In the camera, men were busy stuffing luggage into the luggage compartment under the bus, women and children showed their passports and documents to register to board the bus, and middle-aged experts were communicating urgently with their Eastern colleagues outside the crowd. They held computers and written materials and discussed work matters at a rapid speed; more Eastern people were helping to move luggage or hugging and saying goodbye to their Chinese colleagues. Several groups of reporters from different TV stations and newspapers were reporting and interviewing the camera.
Song Ran's camera accidentally captured a scene where a Chinese girl got on the bus and held hands with a young man from the East with a high nose and deep eye sockets through the car window. The girl said something with a reluctant expression, and the young man kissed the back of her hand deeply and shook his head gently.
While filming, someone patted her on the shoulder. It was the sergeant from before, a companion of "A-Zan". He had taken off his mask, had a handsome appearance, and had the unique heroic spirit of a soldier.
"I'll take you there to register."
"good."
The sergeant took Song Ran to a bus and explained the situation to the inspector next to the bus. Song Ran passed the passport check. The sergeant helped her move the equipment box into the luggage compartment.
"Thank you." Song Ran said to him before getting in the car.
The other person waved his hand, turned around and disappeared into the crowd.
He came and went in a hurry, and Song Ran then remembered that he had forgotten to ask any of their names, and also forgot to say thank you to the man named "Azan".
After getting on the bus, her vision was limited, and she looked around but could only see a few camouflage uniforms walking outside the crowd. The soldiers were maintaining order and urging the expatriates to get on the bus.
When dozens of buses were fully loaded and departed, Song Ran looked carefully. They were all tall soldiers wearing hats and uniforms, many of them even wearing masks. It was difficult for her to tell who was him.
When the bus left the park gate, she saw several men in camouflage uniforms standing at the gate, talking together. One of the men was a little taller than his companions, with a belt tied around his waist and his back straight. He saw the bus coming, turned slightly, and saluted the driver. Above the mask, his eyebrows and eyes were very eye-catching.
His companions saluted.
Some people in the car cheered and some thanked them loudly.
The sight flashed by.
Song Ran's heart sank, and he leaned against the window to look, thinking that it seemed to be him, but before he could make a clear judgment, the car drove away.
In the blink of an eye, the figure turned into a blind spot and could no longer be seen.
Song Ran stared for a long time before he let out a breath involuntarily and leaned his head heavily on the back of the chair.
There was a military vehicle at intervals in the convoy, escorting the expatriates southward. She didn't know if he would catch up.
She looked out the window all the way, at the azure blue sky, the dazzling sunshine, and the dry sand and thorns. She didn't know if it was due to the hot weather, but she felt restless.
At about 2:00 p.m., halfway through the journey, the convoy stopped at a checkpoint.
Traffic was blocked.
The road was crowded with cars and people from various countries who were stopped outside the checkpoints and not allowed to pass. Under the scorching sun, there was a lot of noise, and the air was filled with the languages of more than a dozen countries. Some people were negotiating with the government troops guarding the checkpoints, some were arguing and cursing loudly, some were calling to seek mediation channels, and some were frowning and looking dull.
There was panic and chaos outside the car, and the people in the car also stretched their heads out to look out anxiously.
Song Ran accidentally looked out the window and saw a few people in camouflage uniforms from her country passing by. She followed them, but there was no familiar figure among them.
After negotiations between the two sides, the checkpoint began to allow the Chinese side to pass. The Chinese convoy of buses passed the checkpoint one by one, and all passengers got off the bus first. The government soldiers checked the vehicles and luggage, and then the buses passed. Then the passengers on the bus used their passports to verify their identities one by one, and got on the bus after passing the checkpoint.
Song Ran's car was the twelfth one, and they waited for more than an hour before it arrived.
Everyone got off the bus and went through customs. People from all over the world crowded in like a tide, arguing and gesturing with their documents. The government troops blocked them with guns. Song Ran and his companions were pushed and squeezed. A small group of Chinese soldiers formed a circle at the checkpoint, protecting their citizens and pulling them to the checkpoint to prevent anyone from falling behind and being squeezed out.
The crowd was so crowded that it was difficult to move. Song Ran was grabbed by the wrist by a soldier and dragged to the checkpoint. The passport in her hand was wrinkled. After checking it, the government officer handed it back to her and made a gesture to let her go.
Song Ran finally passed the test without getting hurt.
She was sweating again when she got on the bus. As she sat down, she heard someone on the bus say, "We'll be safe after this. We'll get to Gama in another hour and a half."
"I heard that all airline flights have been suspended, but there are a number of specially approved flights that can return to the country."
“Can so many people sit down?”
"Don't worry, I just asked an officer and he said that a naval fleet is coming to pick us up."
"Really? That's great." Everyone looked excited and relieved.
Suddenly someone said, "But the soldiers just sent us here. They are not going to Gamma."
"Ah? Why?"
"They said they have other escort missions. There are still a few groups that haven't been evacuated yet."
After a second of silence, someone in the car rushed to the window and shouted outside: "Thank you!"
Everyone shouted outside: "Thank you!"
Outside the checkpoint, a group of soldiers were struggling to maintain order, so they didn't hear it; but inside the checkpoint, several soldiers holding documents and negotiating with the East government army heard it, they looked back, waved and greeted them.
It was at that time that Song Ran saw him.
Her heart suddenly beat faster and she almost jumped out of her seat.
He also looked in this direction, but did not raise his hand to say hello. He turned around and continued to communicate with the government troops. Soon, several of them walked towards the convoy and gestured to the drivers of each car. Lu Xu started the convoy that was allowed to pass.
Song Ran stared at him nervously. He had a mask on his face and was wearing a camouflage combat suit with a tight belt. His trouser legs were straight and long, and the cuffs were tightly tucked into his military boots.
He signaled to the drivers of several cars, made a gesture to move forward, saluted with a standard military salute, and then walked towards the checkpoint again.
Song Ran's car started slowly. She watched him coming towards her, but he didn't look at the car. Instead, he stared in the direction of the checkpoint. His brows were slightly furrowed, sweat was oozing out of his eyes, and his black eyes were bright and powerful.
When the man and the car passed by, Song Ran suddenly shouted: "Hey!"
Her voice was drowned out by the noisy voices and languages at the other end of the checkpoint, and neither he nor his companions looked back.
"Hey!" She called out again, but he still didn't hear her.
She was so anxious that she stuck her head out of the window and shouted:
"A-Zan!"
This time, he looked back, somewhat confused.
As if God was helping her, the car suddenly stopped temporarily and he was a few steps away from her.
She quickly took off her mask and headscarf, stretched out her hand to him, and shouted, "A-Zan!"
He looked at her in confusion for two seconds, but still smiled slightly, took two steps forward and stretched out his hand to her.
She grabbed it hard. He was wearing black half-finger combat gloves. The leather material was soft and his palms were hot and sweaty.
He shook her hand briefly and then let go. At that moment, the bus suddenly started moving, and she still refused, reflexively grabbing his wrist, but she pulled a red rope from his hand.
He was stunned for a moment and wanted to step forward to grab the rope back, but the car had already separated the two and passed the second internal checkpoint.
Song Ran was also stunned. When she came to her senses, she could no longer see him. There was only a red rope for safety lying quietly in her hand, still with the warmth from his hand.
It was June 3rd, 10 minutes after 3:00 in the afternoon.
Looking back later, the day she met Li Zan was a very ordinary day.
The day looked ordinary, the weather was hot and oppressive, and at the time, she thought it was just another ordinary day in her life.