Song Ran had been dreaming all night, a real dream - in the dimly lit corridor, he bent down to kiss her, his lips were soft; his face smelled good. It turned out that a good-looking face also smelled good.
She squinted her eyes and looked at him secretly, and saw his long eyelashes drooping and slightly closed. The way he closed his eyes made her heart beat faster.
Song Ran felt like he was sleeping on a cloud all night, his body was soft and fluffy. When he woke up, his heart was pounding and his face was red and hot.
She was in a daze, lying on the bed for a while, when her cell phone rang. She woke up this time and took a look. It was indeed a text message from Li Zan.
"are you awake?"
"I'm awake now."
"What are you going to do today?" Today is Saturday.
"Nothing planned."
"Do you want to go to Jiangcheng for fun?"
Song Ran was stunned, and immediately replied: "Yes!"
"I'll come find you at nine?"
"OK."
Song Ran got up. Song Zhicheng and Song Yang were eating breakfast in the living room, fried glutinous rice cakes and golden rice noodles. Song Ran usually had a poor appetite in the morning, and greasy food easily made her feel sick. She took two bites of golden rice noodles, couldn't eat anymore, and went to wash up.
There was a commotion outside. Yang Huilun came in, followed by several decorators, saying that she wanted to decorate Song Yang's room. Although she had always disagreed with Song Yang and Lu Tao, she could not stop the two from getting married.
Song Ran saw the situation and knew that there was going to be a big commotion in the room.
Song Yang frowned: "The wedding date hasn't been set yet, why are you doing it so early? Where will I live after the decoration?"
"You ask me? Don't blame Lu Tao for not buying a house earlier. You can go live in his house."
Song Yang went crazy: "I surrender to you!"
Yang Huilun smiled again and said, "Ran Ran, please pack up your things. I'm afraid the workers will be careless and break or lose them."
"Hey." Song Ran quickly packed his things and dragged his suitcase out the door.
The time is half past eight in the morning.
She sent a text message to Li Zan: "How about we meet at Qingzhi Lane? I'm not in the Archives Bureau anymore."
The other side quickly replied: "OK."
Song Ran returned to Qingzhi Lane and had just finished packing when she heard the door to the courtyard downstairs open. She ran to the window and saw Li Zan had just closed the courtyard door. When he turned around, he looked up and smiled at her.
Through the budding branches of the gardenia tree, his face looked clean and beautiful in the spring light.
Song Ran quickly ran down the stairs and came to meet him: "I just finished packing and you came. What a coincidence."
Li Zan touched her cheek naturally and asked, "You're moving back after just one night?"
She blushed slightly and said, "My sister is getting married soon, and our house is being renovated so there is no room for her to live in."
Li Zan followed her into the house and asked in surprise when he heard this: "My own sister?" He thought she was an only child.
"Yes. We have the same father but different mothers." Song Ran simply explained it all at once. "My mother works in Imperial City. Do you remember the last time we met at the airport? I had just come back from visiting my mother."
"Oh." He nodded to show that he understood, and looked away as he entered the room.
Song Ran was sensitive and asked, "Do you think it's troublesome?"
Li Zan was pushing the window sill by the window. He turned around in confusion after hearing this: "What is that?... Oh." His brows relaxed and he smiled, "Is this a big deal?" He frowned again and pushed the iron fence outside the window hard to test its stability. After pushing the other windows one by one, he pulled the back door.
Song Ran then realized that he was checking whether the doors and windows of her house were secure.
Her heart warmed, and she asked, "What punishment will Zhao Yuanli receive?"
"Wait for the trial. You can't be a teacher in Liangcheng."
"Oh." She looked at the time. It was almost nine o'clock. She asked, "How do we get to Jiangcheng?"
"High-speed rail." Li Zan glanced at her and asked, "Do you want to go back today or tomorrow?"
He was just asking casually, but Song Ran's heartbeat suddenly quickened for some reason, and he asked back, "What are you mainly doing in Jiangcheng today?"
"I'll show you where I grew up, and my family."
"Oh..." She hesitated, "Coming back today... Isn't it a bit rushed?"
"A little bit."
"But tomorrow... are you going to work?"
"Tomorrow is Sunday."
Song Ran thought about it and said modestly, "Let's wait and see when the time comes. High-speed rail tickets are easy to buy and easy to refund anyway."
"Okay." Li Zan said, leaning against the half-length cabinet and looking at her.
"What's wrong?" she asked, totally unaware that her face had turned as red as an apple because of the conversation that had just taken place.
He took a step forward, took her hand and pulled her in front of him, and asked in a low voice: "Talk to me, why are you blushing?"
He leaned against the cabinet, standing with his legs apart to accommodate her height. She threw herself into his arms, her waist pressed against him, and this intimate posture made her face even hotter.
"Really?" Song Ran touched her face. The next second, Li Zan tilted his head, reached behind her and pushed her back. She leaned forward, and he slightly met her lips, and her lips collided with his.
A light, ambiguous touch.
Li Zan grinned silently, revealing his white teeth.
Song Ran was so embarrassed that he hit his arm.
His hand pushed her back again, and this time she learned her lesson and put her hands on his shoulders. He put a little more force on his hands, and she stubbornly resisted, the two of them competing with each other.
He simply held the back of her head and leaned forward to kiss her. The young man pried open her lips and teeth in revenge, and the tip of his tongue attacked her tongue, entangled with her tongue and sucked it hard. Song Ran whimpered in pain, her brain buzzed, and her body was numb. She stood on tiptoe, and involuntarily hugged his neck, awkwardly and clumsily facing him, kissing and biting his lips, soft and warm.
Until a certain moment, she suddenly felt a force stirring somewhere close to him, like a little animal about to wake up. She was startled and her body stiffened; Li Zan also froze, and then slowly let go of her.
That power went dormant again.
Li Zan's face also turned a little red. He pursed his lips and looked at her gently.
Her eyes were watery and she acted dumb.
He touched his nose awkwardly, looked away, and couldn't help laughing again, then looked at her again. He stroked her red lips with his thumb, raised his hand to tidy up her messy hair, then stood up straight and said, "Let's go."
…
The high-speed train from Liangcheng to Jiangcheng takes more than an hour. Rapeseed flowers are in full bloom on both sides of the railway, a brilliant bright yellow under the blue sky.
Song Ran looked at the early spring scenery and arrived in Jiangcheng in a good mood.
On the way to Li Zan's house, we passed the Jiangcheng section of the Yangtze River. The river water was blue and green, and spring grass was growing wildly on the mudflats.
Song Ran looked out with joy, and suddenly turned his head: "You are right, the winter jasmine in our yard really bloomed this morning."
"Really?" Li Zan put his hand behind her head and played with her hair. Her hair had grown longer, past her shoulders.
Song Ran thought of something and said, "Let's pass by the fruit store later and buy some fruit."
Li Zan understood and said, "No, my family doesn't have so many etiquettes."
"I still have to. After all, it's my first time visiting you." Then he asked, "Does your father drink?"
"No smoking, no drinking."
Song Ran's eyes curved: "So it's hereditary."
"You really don't have to buy it. My dad is very easy to get along with. He's happy enough just to see you." Li Zan said, reaching out to smooth her hair that was messed up by the river breeze.
Song Ran let his hands entangle her hair and asked, "What about your mother? Oh, it's all your fault. You didn't tell me in advance, so I didn't prepare a gift."
Li Zan said: "My mother is gone, so there is no need to buy it."
Song Ran was stunned.
Li Zan said calmly, "I've been gone for more than ten years."
Song Ran nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
Li Zan lives in the staff quarters of the Construction Engineering Group, and there is a fruit shop outside the quarters.
Song Ran picked a bunch of imported strawberries, cherries, red apples, and oranges. When he wanted to pick more, Li Zan stopped him and said, "My dad is not a monkey. He can't eat so many fruits."
Song Ran then gave up.
Walking into the family compound, one sees rows of six-story apartment buildings, all neatly laid out with large windows and balconies. Song Ran looked around and said, "As expected, they are from the Construction Engineering Company. The family compound they design is better."
"This community was built in the 1990s, and I have lived here since I was born."
"The 90s? They look quite new."
“The exterior wall was renovated the year before last.”
The two of them walked and talked, passed through the community garden, and came to a building facing the garden, where they saw a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties waiting at the door of the unit.
Li Zan asked from a distance: "Why did you come all the way here? Are you afraid that I don't remember where I'm from?"
His father, Li Qingchen, smiled warmly, "I went downstairs for a walk, it just happened."
Song Ran stared at him for a few seconds and called out in surprise: "Uncle Li?"
Li Qingchen was also surprised and asked with a smile: "Miss Song?"
Song Ran blushed and waved her hand quickly: "Just call me Ranran."
The two people who were a little nervous about each other suddenly no longer felt awkward. Instead, Li Zan felt a little confused.
Li Qingchen then said that he had laid a moisture-proof layer for Song Ran’s family in Liangcheng last year.
Li Zan frowned slightly and spoke to him in dialect: "I knew you were doing something behind my back again. I've told you many times not to do it now that you're retired."
"I'm used to being busy, so I have nothing to do. Now the group wants to re-hire me, and there's nothing to do at home, so I want to go back." Father Li smiled kindly and went to take the bag of fruit from Li Zan's hand; Li Zan didn't let him lift it, but he struggled for a long time and finally snatched it away.
Song Ran watched from the side and thought that the father and son looked very similar.
Li Zan's family lives on the third floor, which is the best floor in the apartment building. This building is also the best located in the community. It can be roughly inferred that Li's father's work performance during his tenure must be a diligent and outstanding person. Otherwise, he would not have raised a child like Li Zan.
The house has three bedrooms and two living rooms, with a regular layout and clean windows. There are all kinds of flowers and plants on the balcony. Since there are few people in the family, the two south-facing rooms are used as bedrooms and the north-facing room is used as a study.
Song Ran entered the room and sat for a while before he curiously ran to look at Li Zan's bedroom. It was clean and tidy inside. As he had been away for a long time, there was no trace of him in the room. But there were many childhood awards on the wall, and some models collected when he was young on the desk.
She looked around, carefully read each certificate silently, and examined each model.
Li Zan sat astride the chair and looked at her with interest.
After she had finished her "inspection", she ran to the study to look; he followed her.
Step into the study, and you’ll be filled with the fragrance of books.
Song Ran looked around the bookshelf. Apart from some world classics, most of the books were about physics and chemistry, circuits, chemical materials, etc. The most surprising thing was that all of Li Zan's textbooks from elementary school to junior high school, from high school to military school were neatly arranged in chronological order and collected on the bookshelf.
Song Ran randomly picked up a first-grade Chinese textbook and flipped it open. Little Li Zan's crooked handwriting was left on it. The music textbook was covered with doodles of little people and cars. He flipped open a high school chemistry textbook and saw notes from class on the blank space. By then, his handwriting had already become angular.
Song Ran exclaimed: "You actually kept all the books."
Li Zan smiled and said, "My dad left it to me. In the past, during the summer vacation, someone would collect discarded books. My neighbors' parents all sold their books, but my dad refused. Looking back now, it still has a lot of commemorative significance."
"I have no place to put my books, so I sold them as scraps a long time ago, especially the history books for junior high and high school..." Song Ran said regretfully, and then said, "Your father is so good to you."
"Yes." Li Zan said, "You are the best to me."
When Song Ran heard this, he thought about it, quickly leaned over to his ear and whispered, "I will treat you well, too."
Li Zan was stunned and looked at her blankly.
But she ran out with a smile on her face—Li Qingchen called them to have lunch.
There were only three of us, but we cooked a table full of dishes, including stewed black chicken with wolfberry and yam, pan-fried lake fish, stir-fried shrimps, stir-fried cauliflower with garlic, and preserved egg and cucumber soup. All of them were seasonal dishes.
As soon as Song Ran sat down, Li's father scooped a bowl of stewed chicken soup for her, and scooped out chicken wings, chicken legs, chicken gizzards and small eggs for her, which happened to be her favorites. He also scooped a bowl for Li Zan.
"Eat more." Father Li said, "This is the chicken I caught at Grandma A-Zan's house this morning. It was raised on rice. It's a genuine native chicken."
"Thank you, uncle~~"
Song Ran was very magnanimous and drank a big bowl of chicken soup, ate half a fish, ate a big bowl of rice with shrimps and cabbage, and then drank half a bowl of cucumber soup.
Li Zan ate his food slowly, glanced at her and said, "I didn't realize you were such a big eater. I'm afraid I won't be able to support you in the future."
Song Ran was chewing a chicken leg. When he heard this, he looked up at him, his eyes confused and his mouth greasy. Half a second later, he reacted and glared at him in embarrassment.
Li Zan smiled and put another piece of fish maw into her bowl.
Song Ran frowned: "Didn't you tell me not to eat?"
Li Chan put down his chopsticks and rubbed the back of her head: "Is it okay if I'm wrong?"
Song Ran blushed, and then she saw Father Li smiling to himself, and her face turned even redder.
After lunch, Li Zan said hello to his father and took Song Ran out for a walk on the street.
Jiangcheng is not big, it is nestled against the mountains and beside the river.
The city is full of crisscrossing streets and alleys. It is not very spacious, but it has a strong atmosphere of life, with snack bars and boutiques everywhere. The city is well greened. It is spring now, and the roads are lined with fresh green, with a few trees with red leaves that I cannot name.
Li Zan took Song Ran and walked straight along a road in front of the gate of the staff quarters until they reached the river bank.
On the other side of the dam, the river water is as clear as blue.
Winter and spring, especially early spring, are the most beautiful seasons for the Yangtze River. The green silk ribbons spread across the land, and the breeze makes the silk ribbons sway and float, creating ripples.
When the summer flood peak comes in a few months, the water will be filled with mud and sand, and the whole place will become muddy and yellow.
The spring breeze blows across the river, making you feel relaxed and happy.
Li Zan was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans today, looking gentle and docile, with no sign of his past experience at all. Song Ran looked at him and thought, others would never imagine how fierce he was when he defuse bombs and draw his gun.
Still looking, he noticed her gaze, turned around, and looked at her with a smile. The sunlight shone on his eyelashes, shining golden. He squinted slightly: "What are you looking at?"
She smiled and shook her head: "Nothing." Then she asked, "Did you ever swim in the river when you were a child?"
“I nearly drowned.”
"Eh? How did you do that?"
"In the summer, many parents would bring their children to play in the river. I was still young at that time, and I was swimming around with a swimming ring on. I accidentally slipped through the ring and fell into the deep water. The river was full of people at the time, just like herding ducks. No one paid attention."
"Then what?"
"Luckily my dad was watching me the whole time, and he rushed into the river, grabbed my feet and pulled me back."
Song Ran thought about that scene and chuckled.
"From then on, I was never allowed to play in the river again."
"In summer, many children play in the river, and some drown every year. But I am afraid of water, so I dare not go in. I only play on the rocks."
It is spring now, the river is receding, revealing large tracts of rubble on the shore, colorful and with a kind of messy beauty. Various small grasses and flowers grow in the cracks of the rocks, slender strips looking up at the sky.
The two walked down the gravel slope. The river bank was steep. Li Zan walked in front and handed her a hand. She held it tightly with both hands and instantly felt his strong support.
She followed him step by step down the stone slope to the water's edge.
There were people fishing by the river, one or two families sitting on the stone slope, enjoying the spring river view, and there were couples taking photos by the river.
Song Ran looked at them a few more times, and Li Zan asked, "Do you want to take a picture?"
Song Ran whispered, "I want to take a picture with you."
Li Zan then hugged her in his arms and raised his phone. Song Ran leaned her head on his shoulder and grinned at the camera. Li Zan saw her smiling face on the screen and couldn't help laughing, so he pressed the selfie button.
"Do you want someone to help take the photo?"
"No thanks." She was very satisfied with the photo. Besides, the scenery was not what she cared about.
The two walked back along the river bank, through a spring forest, and arrived at the elementary school where Li Zan had once attended.
It was the end of get out of class, and a bunch of short and stout kids were playing in the open space in front of the teaching building. The sound of the children's cries was like hundreds of ducks released into the river, but it was not noisy, but rather particularly interesting.
Song Ran lay outside the school gate and looked in, imagining that more than ten years ago, little Li Zan was also a very small kid like this, jumping around on the steps with his classmates.
She suddenly became curious: "Do you have any photos of you as a child at home?"
"Yes, there are quite a lot."
"Then come back and show it to me later."
"good."
She was happy, holding onto the iron gate and continued to look around. Suddenly, she pointed at a little boy playing marbles with his classmates in the corner and said, "I think you must have looked like him when you were a child."
Li Zan leaned over to her and asked, "Why?"
Song Ran: "Because he is the best looking."
Li Zan laughed out loud, searching among the little kids, pointing at a little girl sitting on the steps quietly reading a comic book and said, "You must have been like her when you were a child."
"Eh? Why?"
"I think she is the most special, and that's the kind of person I would have liked when I was a kid."
Song Ran covered his mouth and laughed, then took a picture of the little girl with his cell phone.
After a while, the bell rang and the children ran to the classroom. Song Ran looked at their young faces and suddenly his smile faded a little. He said, "I wonder how those children in Dongguo are doing."
Li Zan didn't say anything. He took her in his arms, rubbed her head, and took her away.
Passing by the store, Li Zan waved and said, "Come here, I'll buy you some candy."
Song Ran shifted her attention in a second. The store was full of snacks from her childhood. She bought a few pieces of string candy and a bag of QQ candy.
Unwrap the candy and put it in your mouth. It tastes sour and sweet.
She took one out and handed it to him. He lowered his head and took it in his mouth, his lips brushing over her fingers.
Her breathing was slightly choked, but it felt like the most natural thing.
He ate candies all the way to his high school. It was class time and the school was quiet except for the occasional sound of text being read aloud from the classroom.
There were people taking a physical education class on the playground, and a few students were taking a skipping rope test on the other side of the courtyard wall.
Song Ran stood outside the wall and watched them dance. Suddenly he asked, "Did many girls like you when you were in school?"
Li Zan said, "It's OK."
She turned her head and glanced at him: "Have you ever received a love letter?"
He smiled and said, “I have received it.”
"Did you have a crush on a girl at that time?"
He shook his head.
Song Ran didn't ask any more questions and continued watching the skipping rope.
She watched quietly, perhaps imagining what the young Li Zan looked like on this playground, or perhaps recalling her own high school days.
Li Zan hugged her from behind, his chin resting on her temples, and looked at the group of high school students with her.
The sound of the rope hitting the ground, the rhythm of footsteps, the rustling of the treetops in the spring breeze, it was such a beautiful spring afternoon.
She walked with him all the way through the small town, walked through the path of his growth from childhood to adulthood, saw the forest where he caught cicadas when he was a child, and ate the maltose he often ate as a child. It was as if she had traveled through all his past in Jiangcheng in one afternoon and participated in his past.
It was not until sunset that the two returned to the family compound.
It was time to go home from get off work, and Li Zan met many old neighbors. He greeted them one by one. Everyone smiled kindly and looked at Song Ran curiously. But no one needed to ask, because Li Zan's interlocked hands with her said it all.
When she got home, Father Li had already prepared dinner. All the fruits Song Ran bought were washed and cut. After all the twists and turns, the fruits finally made it into her stomach.
After dinner, Li Qingchen said to Song Ran: "Ranran, do you have anything to do tomorrow? If not, play one more day."
Father Li didn't know how far their relationship had progressed, he just liked Song Ran and wanted to keep her for a while.
When Song Ran thought about living here, he thought for a moment, smiled, but didn't say anything.
Li Zan didn't express his opinion, but said, "Let's see if she has work tomorrow."
The father said, “Okay.”
Li's father went to clean up the dishes. Li Zan pulled Song Ran aside and said, "Don't be embarrassed to refuse. If you don't want to play anymore, we can take the evening bus back now."
Song Ran hesitated for a moment and whispered, "I don't have anything to do tomorrow, so I can play one more day."
The author has something to say: I like you so much, similar to I like you so much, when actually speaking, the pronunciation is similar. An interjection. In the words of reader Ju Ju, "This tone is when you really like someone but don't know how to express the love that fills your heart."
In addition, this also takes into account the speaking habits of southern dialects - when the emotions are deep, there will be many modal particles, such as "hao", "yo", "oh", "ah", "ne", "lie", etc. Similarly, there is almost no erhua in the speech in this article.
This has nothing to do with whether he is a soldier or not, or whether he is tough or not. It is just a language habit developed in the place. For example, when writing about Han Ting, he spoke in Beijing accent in private. This is determined by the character's background and has nothing to do with personality. Tang Song, Xiao Yixiao, Meng Yanchen all speak in Beijing accent, including Zhai Miao, but they obviously have different personalities~~