Song Ran rushed back to the comprehensive university. People were coming and going in the school, and stretchers were coming in and out. The teaching building was converted into a temporary operating room and ward. Students acted as nurses to take care of the injured.
Song Ran had no time to care about anything else. She went back to the dormitory building, took a towel, a few bottles of water, a few bags of bread and biscuits, plus an apple she bought the day before, stuffed them into a clean plastic bag, and quickly went downstairs.
She drove quickly towards the northwest outskirts of the city. At this time, she didn't know whether Li Zan was awake or not.
The sun rose, a thin layer of warm red gold, compassionately spread over this ancient city that had experienced hardships. Soldiers lying on the ground to rest were seen along the streets, people who were separated in the war and desperately searching for their loved ones, and wounded people with bloodstains on their backs...
But the faces of those who sleep are peaceful, and those who seek still have hope in their eyes.
The battle of Ale was over, but the war in this country was far from over.
In the rearview mirror, the eastern sky is filled with morning glow, brilliant and glorious.
When I was in school, my history teacher said that some cities are alive. Even after a disaster, they will eventually heal their wounds and rebuild.
She looked away from the mirror and looked forward firmly.
…
Located in the northwest suburbs of Ale City, 1.5 kilometers outside Ale Castle.
The captured terrorists have been handed over to the government forces for disposal. The Kuk Soldier Division is still counting the troops and equipment. More than a dozen detachments have gathered for this battle, and the follow-up work is relatively cumbersome.
Pei Xiaonan and an Italian Doctors Without Borders were notified and rushed to treat the wounded. The two seriously injured soldiers had been sent to the hospital, and the remaining injuries were not serious and could be treated on the spot.
Even Pei Xiaonan, who had seen many war scenes, had to marvel at the strength of the Cook soldiers. If it were an ordinary army, they would have suffered heavy casualties.
She finished treating the injured soldiers and before she knew it, daybreak had arrived.
The sun is rising.
She looked everywhere but didn't see Li Zan.
She specifically asked for an Asian. Most of the Cook soldiers were white and black, with very few Asian faces. Someone immediately knew she was talking about Li Zan and pointed in the direction.
Pei Xiaonan went around to the back of the command center and saw a ruin. Li Zan was lying on the ground and fell asleep.
The thin morning light shone on his face, but he didn't even wake up. His sleeping face was quiet and gentle, which made people feel soft for some reason, but he was not as silent and distant as when he was awake.
Pei Xiaonan took out a piece of gauze, opened half a bottle of water to wet the gauze, walked over to his side quietly and squatted down, trying to wipe off the blood and mud on his face.
Just before she reached out to touch him, Li Zan suddenly opened his eyes, woke up, stood up, and drew his gun. In an instant, the gun was loaded and pointed at her head.
Pei Xiaonan raised his hands, his face pale, and his voice softened with fear: "Li Zan, it's me..."
Li Zan was also stunned for a moment, and the murderous look in his eyes disappeared in an instant.
Pei Xiaonan knew that was his stressful reaction due to being on the battlefield, and laughed again: "He is indeed a soldier."
Li Zan frowned slightly and did not answer. He took back the gun, pushed the safety bolt, and put it into the holster. He also sat down unconsciously to the side, putting some distance between them.
Pei Xiaonan noticed something, but didn't think too much about it.
Li Zan was not fully awake yet. He rested his elbows on his knees and supported his forehead with the back of his hands for a while.
Pei Xiaonan handed him the gauze: "Wipe your face?"
He shook his head: "No, let's get back to the camp."
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"I see you have some scratches on your hands and face. How about I help you take care of them?"
He raised his head and smiled politely: "There are medics and basic medicines in the team. It will be convenient for me to go back and clean and apply medicine."
"... Oh." Pei Xiaonan concealed her disappointment. When he stood up, he stretched his wrist. She saw something and pointed at his cuffs: "What's stuck here?" Before she could touch it, Li Zan withdrew his hand and stretched it slightly, revealing the red rope.
Pei Xiaonan realized it this time and forced a relaxed smile: "A relative gave it to you, right?"
"Yes." Li Zan said, "My girlfriend gave it to me."
…
The sun had risen a little higher than when I came here, and it shone on the windshield, blinding me.
Song Ran pulled down the sunshade to block out the light. The morning glow in the eastern sky faded, leaving behind a few faint red smudges.
When she rushed to the northwest suburbs, everyone had dispersed and there was not a single Cook soldier in sight.
I tried to call Li Zan, but his phone was turned off.
She looked around the street aimlessly but didn't see anyone.
The car stopped casually on the side of the road. Song Ran leaned back on the seat and breathed slightly. She was very tired and hadn't slept well for three days. Li Zan must have returned to the camp to rest.
She decided to catch up on some sleep.
She returned to the dormitory, cleaned herself up, closed the curtains, and climbed onto the bed. She was so exhausted that she even forgot to take sleeping pills and buried her head in the bed.
Song Ran slept from early morning to dusk. She was awakened by the sound of a loud speaker outside the window. On the radio, a spokesperson from the East Country spoke in a loud voice, with a correct tone and clear pronunciation.
Song Ran didn't quite understand, but could vaguely distinguish "Ale City", "North" and "anti-government forces".
Seeing that it was getting late, she quickly packed up, carried her camera downstairs and got into the car. She was a little worried that Li Zan and his men had already withdrawn their troops to the north.
The car drove outward, and the noise became louder. When we arrived at the school gate, we saw a government radio car making a loud announcement. Many pedestrians on the street ran after the car and cheered loudly.
Song Ran pulled a student over and asked what was being said on the radio.
The student enthusiastically translated for her: "At 3 pm on December 25, 201x, the government forces completely eliminated the remaining anti-military and terrorist organizations in Ale City. After a year, five months and 22 days of war, Ale City and the 13 suburban districts were fully recovered!"
Song Ran put on a big smile on his face, thanked the students, and drove into the city. He could see radio cars everywhere broadcasting the victory news. The streets were bustling with joy. The streets that were still dead in the morning were now crowded with people celebrating.
Adults and children, men and women, cars honking, pedestrians singing, throwing clothes, hats and everything else in their hands into the air, shouting:
"we won!"
Song Ran understood this Eastern dialect.
She drove the car to the outside of the Historical Monument Square in the direction of the crowd and got out of the car with her camera.
The setting sun enveloped the towering historical monument. The surrounding ancient buildings were magnificent and weathered. The square was crowded with people. They were covered in dust but finally relaxed their shoulders.
There was a band on the monument platform, playing bells, violins and drums, singing the most famous folk song in the East. When the song ended, the crowd cheered and shouted out a word together.
Song Ran guessed that it should be the "National Anthem".
A few seconds later, the band changed its music and played the prelude to the national anthem. The lead singer sang into the microphone, and in an instant, people in the square, young and old, men and women, sang in unison.
A little boy sat on his father's neck, shaking his little arms vigorously;
A couple sat by the flower bed, holding each other's faces and kissing deeply;
A woman leaned on her husband's arms, singing with tears in her eyes, while her husband had already shed tears;
An old man's lips moved slowly, and his bright eyes on his bark-like face shone with a moist and brilliant light;
A few soldiers stood in the corner, watching everything around them with a faint smile; and the people passing by them saluted them with various non-standard military salutes.
Song Ran was walking among the crowd holding a camera with a smile on his lips, until suddenly, a familiar figure appeared in the camera.
Li Zan moved among the crowd, looking around, searching for something.
He changed into a clean military uniform, washed his head and face, and applied medicine and small bandages to the wounds on his neck and forehead.
From time to time, people saluted him and asked to shake hands with him. He smiled politely and continued to search with his eyes.
He came to see her.
Song Ran looked up immediately and saw overlapping figures, blocking his figure.
"A-Zan!"
The cheering voices and the loud singing drowned out her voice.
"A-Zan!"
She jumped up, pushed through the crowd and ran towards him. A group of tall Eastern men were coming towards her, and she couldn't see him anymore, so she jumped and squeezed anxiously.
When I looked around, I saw that he was walking out of the square.
People continued to gather towards the square. Song Ran was like a fish swimming upstream, finding a gap to swim into, his eyes fixed on the camouflage color in front of him. In the rapids, he was another fish swimming in the same direction as her.
She finally pushed through the crowd and saw Li Zan had reached the roadside, mounted his motorcycle, and sped away.
Song Ran rushed into the car and started it off instantly.
The streets were filled with people celebrating, beating drums, ringing bells, blowing plastic trumpets, waving national flags, singing the national anthem, and scattering colorful paper everywhere.
Song Ran's car horn didn't work, and she had a hard time walking in the opposite direction. The boys and girls from the East Country threw themselves on the hood of her car, waving at her with laughter: "Get off and play with us!"
She smiled so hard that her eyebrows were twisted into a ball, and she moved the car wherever she could.
In front, Li Zan’s motorcycle was getting farther and farther away.
She squeezed through the gaps and finally crossed a street. The crowd density finally decreased. She increased her speed and honked her horn. It didn't matter. All the cars on the street were honking their horns to celebrate. The horns were blaring. The drivers thought she was celebrating too and shouted to her happily: "Come on!"
She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and sweat broke out on her forehead.
Li Zan's motorcycle was getting farther and farther away, and disappeared after turning a corner.
Song Ran was stunned, and suddenly realized that it was the direction of the comprehensive university. She stepped on the accelerator to the maximum, not caring about the car body drifting, and sped into the university campus.
The car braked to a stop in front of the dormitory building and Li Zan's motorcycle stopped in the open space.
Song Ran's heartbeat was about to burst through her chest. She slammed the car door and ran into the building. She rushed up the stairs in two or three steps and ran into the corridor.
The light was dim. Li Zan lowered his head slightly, put his hands in his pockets and leaned against her door. He raised his eyes and looked at her when he heard footsteps.
He was quiet at first, but he smiled when he saw her. Just as he was about to say something, Song Ran stretched out her hand and ran towards him! He was stunned, and reflexively opened his arms to catch her. She threw herself into his arms, and the two hugged each other tightly.
She hugged his neck, as if she had used up all her strength. She was trembling, shaking, but not afraid; she was full of joy, lost and regained, and unbearable excitement. She buried her cheek in his neck and took a deep breath of his familiar masculine scent. Her body trembled uncontrollably and her heart was numb. At this moment, only a hug that was like a shackle that could tightly wrap around her could reach the deepest intimacy and attachment in her heart.
She loved him, how much she loved him.
He also hugged her waist tightly, his arms tense as if he could break her. The almost painful embrace was a testimony of love. The girl in his arms was soft and warm. Her black hair, her cheeks, he lowered his head deeply to her neck, feeling her thumping heartbeat, warm and alive; he seemed to finally hear his own heartbeat, frantic and disorderly. The body would not lie, his thoughts were like a flood that had been suppressed for months, pouring out.
She fumbled to open the door, and he hugged her into the room, slammed the door shut, and pushed her against the wall.
He pressed against her waist, and Song Ran felt a flame igniting in her lower abdomen, which suddenly grew larger, and her whole body was on fire.
Li Zan lowered his head, and naturally found her lips. Their lips caressed and intertwined, he said hoarsely: "I have been looking for you in the city for a long time."
"I've been looking for you too." Song Ran responded to his kiss and suddenly felt the temperature in the room rising and she couldn't breathe.
The wind rushed in through the open window, but it couldn't blow away the stuffy air. She was sweating on her chest.
Her breathing gradually became disordered, and her eyes became hazy, but she saw his dark eyes coming straight at her. His eyes were filled with love and desire that could not be more clear and primitive.
His feelings for her have never changed.
Even more intense.
He had listened to her and stopped contacting her, only because he saw his teammates die tragically on the battlefield.
But now, he was sure and certain that she was by his side. If he was going to die tomorrow, he would be with her today.
Song Ran's cheeks were flushed and she was breathing with difficulty in his arms.
Everything suddenly didn't matter anymore. She had been sensitive and entangled, wondering what had changed in the past three months. But until this moment, she realized that nothing had changed. Or maybe it had changed even more. The deep dependence and love that went deep into her bones filled her chest, surging and ready to overflow. Only endless hugs, kisses, and skin-wrapped entanglements could relieve it.
There was no need to say anything. No need for apologies, accusations, worries, or love. Even the illness was irrelevant. The relationship between them was not so bad that it could not accommodate even a depression.
His kiss made her mind confused and dazed. She heard the sound of metal buckles hitting the ground, fabric scratching her ankles, and she felt a chill.
He bent his knees slightly, then suddenly stood up and pushed.
"Hmm—" She stood on tiptoe and raised her head, trembling in the gap between him and the wall.
He held her lips, biting, twisting, and pounding them.
She was blocked from head to toe by him, and turned into water.
"A-Zan..."
Thin fingers grasped his military uniform tightly, tearing and rummaging it.
Her heart was filled again, tightly, solidly, warmly, and familiarly. The sense of security and intimacy that only he could give her.
She still liked him so much, more than before. Otherwise, the joy that filled her heart at this moment would not be deeper than before, almost making her faint from overwhelm.
She hugged his neck, kissed him passionately, and sniffed his scent, almost greedily.
Until the sun set, he pressed her down on the bed, kissing her misty and wet eyes again and again. His lips brushed across her nose, her cheeks, her ears, sniffing deeply, like a small animal judging and savoring her scent, the most primitive attachment and enclosure,
"slowly."
"Um?"
"That time, it was you, wasn't it?"
"yes."
"I knew it wasn't a dream."
At that time, when I was exhausted and fell asleep in my dream, I felt your fingers touching me. Forgive me for being too tired, struggling hard, but unable to wake up. I could only gently rub you in my dream and respond to you.