Song Ran hadn't slept well in the past two days. The endless gunfire at night almost made her nervous. But she couldn't slack off during work. She had to concentrate all the time when walking on the street and couldn't relax at all. If she accidentally encountered a bomb, she wouldn't even have to buy a ticket back home.
The situation in Hapo City is deteriorating at a visible speed. Yesterday, a shell landed in the next block. When Song Ran woke up, he found that the wall was cracked. The administrator came up to check and said it was fine, it was still habitable and would not collapse.
Their area is relatively safe, but other areas are not so lucky.
The government and anti-government forces have expanded the battlefield, and terrorist organizations have also joined in. The number of civilian casualties is increasing day by day. Several refugee camps on the border are overcrowded. I heard that the cost of leaving the country has increased by another 5,000 US dollars from the original basis.
That morning, after Song Ran transferred his work materials back to China, he couldn't hold on any longer and slept for the whole day.
She slept from 10am to 5pm, and when she woke up, the gunfire outside had finally stopped. Song Ran took advantage of the good signal to send a video to his mother to report that he was safe. It was already midnight in China, and Ran Yuwei was still reading. She did not support Song Ran coming to Dongguo, so she was indifferent every time she video chatted with him, and never asked about Song Ran's work. She didn't even ask about the carry that made a global sensation last time.
Sometimes Song Ran really couldn't stand his mother's temper which was harder than rock.
As for her father, Song Zhicheng, he would praise her every few days. Just for the photo of carry, he posted several paragraphs of profound thoughts, ranging from the game of great powers, the discussion of the war situation to the humanitarian spirit, and it was probably a thousand words long.
After Ran Yuwei hung up, Song Ran sent another video to her father. Song Zhicheng hadn't slept yet either, and was excited to talk to her about the situation in Dongguo and the extremist organization. After a few words, the sound of Yang Huilun and Song Yang arguing came from the other end of the video.
Song Ran asked: "Why are you arguing again?"
Song Zhicheng took off his glasses and sighed: "Yangyang wants to get married, and asked her mother for the household registration book."
Song Yang and her boyfriend Lu Tao have been in love since junior high school. Song Ran is not surprised, but: "Getting married right after graduation? Maybe you can wait a little longer."
"This child won't listen no matter what I say."
On the other end, Song Yang screamed, "I've been dating him for eight years. We're going to be together in the future anyway, so what's wrong with getting married?!"
"If you want to get married, wait until you buy a house. Why get married when you can't even support yourself!"
The mother and daughter were arguing fiercely, and Song Zhicheng had no mood to chat. He just reminded them to be careful and hung up.
Song Ran put down his phone, walked to the window and looked out. The city of Hapo was in a state of desolation. The originally colorful houses and temples were now covered in soot.
She had just pulled herself away from the world on the other side of the phone, and when she looked at what was in front of her, she felt a little confused.
The sun here hasn't set yet.
At ten o'clock in the evening, the sky finally darkened, with only a faint light on the horizon.
Song Ran went downstairs with his ID, and Sasin was waiting downstairs. The two agreed to go to the dreaming bar to experience life.
The bar was not far from here, but on the way there, they still encountered two checkpoints to check their passes. Fortunately, they were well prepared and passed through smoothly.
The bar was on the commercial street north of Harpo University. At night, all the shops were closed and there were no street lights. Taking advantage of the dim moonlight, Sassin led her into a quiet alley. The road became narrower and narrower until they arrived in front of a fortress building with local characteristics.
From the outside, there is no difference.
Sahin knocked on the door a few times and said something in Dongguo language. The door opened quickly and it was the gatekeeper with a gun. Sahin said a few words in the local language and the gatekeeper let them in.
Walking through an exotic corridor filled with dim lights and fragrant scents, the view inside suddenly becomes clear.
It was an elegant bar decorated in a Western style, with floor lamps, chandeliers, and decorative lamps on the tables casting ambiguous rays of light. The bar was bustling with young Eastern men and women and foreigners sitting or standing, leaning on the bar, sofas, and French windows, drinking and chatting to their heart's content.
Local young men and women and guests from various countries danced happily in the middle of the bar, swaying their shoulders and twisting their hips to the passionate oriental folk songs.
Song Ran looked around and felt inexplicably moved. Her eyes were unreservedly focused on the smiling faces of the young people from Dongguo and their agile dancing.
Perhaps Sasin saw what she was thinking, he blinked his deep eyes and said, "Song, although we were born in this country, we don't deserve to be miserable. We have to enjoy life occasionally. Although, dreams always end."
Song Ran was hit by his words, and did not quibble, saying: "I'm sorry. I apologize. I was wrong to think that the citizens of this country should be sad and miserable. To make amends, I will buy you three glasses of wine, if it's cheap."
Sahin laughed.
The two sat down at the bar and looked at the prices of the drinks, which ranged from $4 to $8 per glass.
"Fortunately," Song Ran said, "the price of wine has not skyrocketed."
"Material things can increase in price, but spiritual things cannot. Alcohol is the spirit!" Sahin raised his glass and spoke a bunch of twisted logic.
"Yes, alcohol is the spirit!" Song Ran chuckled, "Sasin, I really like the way you are now."
The look of a carefree college student.
Song Ran was drinking a local specialty cocktail, which was mixed with the flavors of green olives and cinnamon, and was green and special.
The DJ changed to a slow and melodious music, and beautiful people held their wine glasses and danced to the rhythm, making people fall into sleep for a while, forgetting the real world outside and the ancient wall full of bullet holes and black gray across the street ten meters away.
Song Ran shook the wine in his glass and said, "We have a word in Chinese, called 'drunkenness and dreaming of death'. The book says it is a bad word, but I think it is very charming."
"Living in drunkenness and dreaming of death." Sasin said, "If it is wine like this tonight and a dream like this at this moment, I would rather never wake up. I would rather never wake up."
"Then we have another saying in Chinese," Song Ran raised his glass, "I hope I can stay drunk forever."
Before he finished speaking, several men and women nearby raised their glasses together: "I wish I would never get sober."
Strangers smiled at each other and drank the wine in their glasses. The bartender was also smiling, and the shaker flew in his hands.
Sahin saw a beautiful local female student in the crowd. After they looked at each other for several times, Sahin finally jumped off the stool and walked towards the girl of the same age.
"Good luck to you." Song Ran watched him leave, but just in time he saw a few men in camouflage uniforms walking in. They were the group of peacekeeping special forces soldiers.
She looked carefully and found Li Zan at a glance.
He and Benjamin sat at a table near the window. Because of their military uniforms, they easily attracted the attention of the whole audience. Benjamin was like a butterfly, enjoying the favored gazes of the beauties around him.
Li Zan was relatively calm. A few seconds after he sat down, he realized something and looked towards the bar, meeting Song Ran's eyes.
Across the rotating lights and shadows, he smiled at her from afar, his eyes curved.
Song Ran's heart froze for a moment. She had no resistance to his smile. She pursed her lips and smiled at him as a response.
Her face was hot, maybe red. It must be the alcohol.
At this time, Benjamin also saw her. He smiled and raised his hand to hook Li Zan's shoulder. While looking at Song Ran, he whispered something in Li Zan's ear. Li Zan directly pushed his head away with a palm.
Li Zan looked at Song Ran again and smiled slowly; Song Ran still looked at him without blinking, but the next second, the passing figures blocked their sight and they could no longer see each other.
The bartender handed over a glass of orange sunrise. Song Ran took it, sipped the straw silently, and looked back secretly. The seat where he had just sat was empty.
Her expression was also empty, she craned her neck to look, the figure moved away, and she saw him walking towards her.
How shameful!
I wonder if he noticed her eager look.
She quickly put on a smile: "What a coincidence. Why are you here too?"
Li Zan didn't answer for a moment. It wasn't a coincidence at all. They just came here every night to drink and relax.
"I thought you had already stepped on the spot." He said, sitting on the high stool next to her, tilting his head to greet Sasin and the female student through her.
"I was too busy and tired the past two days and didn't have time to come over. Today I just had a good rest." She asked, "What do you want to drink? I'll treat you."
Li Zan laughed: "No need..."
"No. You gave me an apple last time, so today it's my turn to treat you."
He scratched the bridge of his nose with his fingers and said, "Okay then."
"What to drink?"
"Vodka."
The bartender poured a glass.
Song Ran asked: "Do you usually drink?"
"No. But there's a Russian in the team," Li Zan said, pointing his chin at his teammate, "He carries vodka with him. He drinks a few sips when he feels sleepy to perk up."
As he raised his glass to drink, she quickly looked at him carefully. He seemed to be in good spirits today, not as tired as he was that day.
"Have you slept well these days?"
"Not bad. I got seven hours of sleep."
"I slept from 10am to 5pm today. The mortars outside didn't wake me up."
Li Zan had just passed the cup to his lips. Hearing this, he couldn't help but chuckled, lowered his head slightly and turned to look at her: "How sleepy are you?"
The dim yellow light from the bar chandelier shone on his face, and the smile in his eyes was like water, shimmering and sparkling.
Song Ran's mind was stuck for a moment and he forgot what to say.
And he still looked at her with a smile, waiting for her answer.
She said: "It was too noisy just now, I didn't hear clearly."
He then moved a little closer to her and whispered in her ear, "I ask, why are you sleeping so soundly?"
His breath brushed against her ears, and the ironing touch spread to her cheeks. She blushed and said, "I don't know. Anyway, when I woke up, the war was over. Oh, by the way. The wall of the place where I lived was cracked by a shell."
Before he finished speaking, Li Zan couldn't help laughing again. He laughed so hard that his forehead rested on the back of his hand, and the glass in his hand trembled slightly.
The ice crystals in the cup reflected the light, flashing.
She also laughed and asked, "Is your wine good?"
Li Zan put the cup down, pushed it towards her, and asked, "Would you like to try it?"
“… Well, okay.” She must have drunk two glasses of wine, so she was so bold. She picked up his cup and took a sip carefully. The fire in her throat made her eyebrows knitted together: “Why is it smoky? It tastes like a bullet.”
He supported his temple with his hand and looked at her sideways. She made him laugh again. His shoulders trembled with laughter and he could no longer suppress the curve at the corner of his lips.
What's so funny? It seems nothing.
Perhaps it was just that the music that night was too relaxing and the wine was too indulgent. The misty lights, like a dream, took people away from the battlefield.
It was late at night, and the young people were drunk and dancing.
Song Ran looked back at them, tilting his head with a longing look.
Li Zan saw this and asked her, not knowing whether it was the alcohol that was causing the problem, "Do you want to dance?"
Song Ran immediately shook his head: "I'm not a good dancer. Unlike foreigners, they seem to be born to dance. If I were to try to dance, it would be very embarrassing."
The alcohol made her face red. Li Zan glanced at the time and said, "Are you going home?"
She nodded her head which was beginning to feel heavy and said, "Well, I'm going back."
Sasin was chatting happily with the girl, while Li Zan's companions were already surrounded by young girls.
Song Ran and Li Zan looked at each other.
Li Zan said, "Let me take you there."
Song Ran said "Oh". She slid down from the high stool, her feet a little sore. She had drunk four cups without realizing it.
Li Zan lowered his head to look at her feet, then raised his gaze to her face and asked with a smile, "Did you drink too much?"
"No." She smiled with her lips pursed, her cheeks flushed, her eyes watery, looking straight at him.
He slowly looked away and pointed to the door of the bar: "Let's go."
The two of them left the bar one after the other. The door closed, leaving the singing and the wine behind them. In front of them was a narrow, dim alley. The night wind blew through the hall, bringing a slight chill.
"Is it cold?" he asked.
"No." She fluttered her arms like a little duck. "I'm wearing a coat. It was very hot in the house just now, but now it's cool."
He was amused by her actions, and the curve at the corners of his lips was barely visible in the dark night.
Song Ran was still trying to figure out the direction when Li Zan suddenly asked, "Do you want to dance?"
She was stunned: "Dancing?"
"Well," he said, "it's just the two of us now, and no one will laugh at you if you make a mistake."
Late at night, in the quiet alley, the moonlight is soft, spreading down like a white veil.
He gently held her waist, she put her hands on his shoulders, and put her hands in his palms. He took a step back, and she was pulled forward; he spun around, and she followed suit.
Neither he nor she was very good at dancing, and the alcohol made their steps even more ambiguous and swaying. Occasionally they would bump into each other, and their toes would touch from time to time, and their breathing would intertwine vaguely.
This is not dancing at all, it is clearly careful and secret testing and entertainment.
Song Ran smiled gently. Li Zan raised her wrist, and she spun away under his arm, then spun back in front of him.
The gentle moonlight is silent music, and the footsteps hitting the bluestone slabs are the rhythm of the heart. The world is quiet, with only the broken walls covered with bullet holes and ashes as witnesses.
After the song was over, Li Zan let go of her, took a step back, and nodded seriously.
Song Ran also pretended to pull up her skirt and returned a non-standard curtsy.
When she stood up, her head shook and she felt a little dizzy.
He was about to reach out to help her, but when he saw that she had stood firm, he withdrew his hand because the dance was over.
The two walked back, gradually moving away from the air filled with the aroma of wine.
Song Ran asked: "Are all your friends staying here?"
"Come back to them later."
"oh."
The cobblestone road was bumpy and uneven. Song Ran rubbed his eyes, but couldn't see clearly, so he walked with one foot high and one foot low.
Li Zan walked beside her, looking down at her steps.
In the dark night, the two of them concentrated on the road beneath their feet. The only sounds were each other's quiet breathing, mixed with the rustling sound of paper scraps brushing against the ground in the wind.
Walking on the main road, the view becomes wider. The ancient city towers on both sides of the road outline the vicissitudes of time.
"How have you been these past few days?" Li Zan lowered his head and asked her softly. Even his words were like whispers, as if he was afraid of disturbing the rare tranquility of the city.
"Very good." She raised her head, her dark eyes filled with starlight, looking at him sincerely like water in the night, "I went to the border, to the city center, to the war zone, and to the living area. What about you?"
He walked slowly with her and said, "Almost. We defuse bombs every day."
"Oh." She nodded her increasingly heavy head, and stepped on a raised stone slab without paying attention. Her body swayed slightly, and her shoulder bumped into his arm, brushing past him.
There was a ripple in my heart, but both of us acted so naturally as if nothing had happened.
She asked, "Has it ever been more dangerous than last time?"
He smiled and shook his head.
"That's good." She let out a sigh and added, "I checked and it seems they don't have red string for sale here. Maybe I have to go back to my country to buy it for you."
He looked at her, still smiling: "No hurry." Then he asked, "You've been out for two months, right? When will you return home?"
"I will stay in Hapo for a few more days before leaving. I haven't decided where to go next, but I will probably return to my country. How long will you stay in Hapo?"
"You never know. If we get an order from above, we'll have to leave immediately."
Just like the last time I left Garo, I didn’t even have the chance to say hello.
They were both silent for a while, each walking with their own thoughts. Occasionally, their shoulders would brush against each other, and then they would quietly separate.
Just as they were about to turn a street, Li Zan noticed something and suddenly stopped Song Ran. He put his index finger to his lips as a quiet gesture, listening carefully.
There were footsteps coming from the other side of the corner, and it was a group of people approaching this side quickly.
Li Zan assessed the situation around him, then immediately hugged Song Ran and ran into a nearby alley.
He stopped her behind her with one hand and pulled the gun from its holster with the other.
Song Ran was stuck in the gap between him and the wall, unable to see what was happening outside. The footsteps on the street were getting closer and closer, and she felt a little scared, yet strangely safe.
The sound of footsteps was getting closer. She was so nervous that her hands were touching everywhere, and accidentally bumped into his palm. She was startled and wanted to move away, but she didn't dare to move. I don't know if he felt it, but he didn't hold her tightly rashly, nor did he avoid her. His palm touched her fist, and he naturally curled it loosely.
She bit her lip, her heart pounding;
He turned his head and looked outside, alert and vigilant.
The group of people was getting closer and closer, passing by the entrance of the alley. Li Zan unconsciously leaned back and hid.
Song Ran behind her had nowhere to retreat, so she let his back lightly hit her face. The unique body odor of men, mixed with the smell of gunpowder, hit her face.
She closed her eyes, and her right hand involuntarily grabbed the clothes around his waist.
The footsteps gradually faded away, but Li Zan was still waiting silently.
Until finally, the last bit of sound died away and the street returned to silence.
Song Ran let go of his hand, his head was dizzy, and he asked in a low voice: "Li Zan...are you okay?"
He put the gun back, took a step away from her, turned to look at her, his eyes seeming to want to say something but was hesitant.
"What's wrong?"
"Li Zan?" He chuckled. "Didn't you call him A-Zan A-Zan before?"
Song Ran's face suddenly felt hot.
As soon as he said this, his heart became a little confused. He looked away and changed the subject, saying, "Let's go."
"oh."
Go around the corner and across the street you will find the hotel.
Song Ran asked: "Who were those people just now?"
"It should be the government army." Li Zan said, "But there is a curfew recently. It will take a long time to check if we run into them. It's troublesome."
"Um."
The two of them didn't speak anymore and walked quietly all the way.
At night, the breeze blows.
The road finally came to an end. Song Ran slowly walked up the steps of the hotel and looked back at Li Zan: "I'm leaving now. Be careful on your way back."
"Um."
The two stood there, staring at each other quietly.
She was waiting for him to leave.
He was waiting for her to come in.
A second later, Li Zan laughed, lowered his head and touched his nose, and said, "Let's go."
"Um."
He walked a few steps and turned back: "Song Ran."
"Hmm?" She was still standing on the steps, looking at him with bright eyes.
He was speechless for a moment when she looked at him, but after thinking about it, he had no other words to say, "Be careful."
She nodded: "I know."
He smiled, waved, and trotted across the street.
Soon, the camouflage uniform disappeared into the night.
Song Ran watched him leave with a smile, and couldn't help but take a deep breath and look up. The sky in Hapo City at night was blue-black and very deep.
Her heart was filled with indescribable sweetness. She trotted into the building, opened the iron door, and took the old-fashioned elevator.
The elevator twitched as it moved upwards. She leaned against the wall, tilting her head back and giggling.
The details of the entire night could linger in her mind for a long, long time.
As she thought about it, her face felt so hot that she couldn't help rubbing it with her hands.
She got off the elevator, closed the iron gate, and walked through the corridor with a smile on her face. As soon as she opened the door, the door of a room behind her opened, and the person inside called out in Chinese: "Song Ran."
Song Ran's head was still dizzy. It took him a few seconds to react before he slowly turned around.