After December, the new year came again. But in the East Country, Song Ran could not feel the slightest bit of the New Year atmosphere.
On the second weekend of January, a large-scale battle broke out between the government forces, rebel forces and terrorist organizations in Cangdi, and all sides suffered heavy casualties.
After the war, Song Ran went to the front line. She saw broken walls and corpses everywhere. She didn't know when such days would end.
On the way back to the hotel, there were crowds of people. Many families were carrying their luggage and planning to flee. Many of them had originally fled from other cities and had long been accustomed to the way of wandering.
Song Ran found an observation point on the side of the road and photographed the world in the midst of war.
A wife stood in front of the car and complained to her husband that she wanted to take the beautiful white porcelain vase, but her husband thought it was unnecessary;
The child squatted beside the car, stroking his beloved puppy with tears in his eyes; the puppy had no idea that it was going to be abandoned, so it placed its paws on its owner's knees, licked him to comfort him, and wagged its tail anxiously;
The white-haired old man sat on the porch, looking at the sunny street, his eyes calm and empty.
Halfway through the journey, Song Ran's cell phone rang.
Ran Yuwei called and asked her when she would return home as the Spring Festival was less than a month away.
Song Ran hesitated: "It's still early, we'll see when the time comes."
"Have you seen Li Zan?" Ran Yuwei asked.
"A-Zan and I have reconciled," she said, adding, "It's not reconciliation, we never broke up in the first place."
“…” Ran Yuwei had nothing to say and only reminded him to be careful.
Song Ran had just returned to her residence after finishing the filming when she received a message from Li Zan. Their team was resting for a few days and going to the mountains for camping and training. He asked her if she wanted to go. He added at the end: "You can use it as material to write into the book."
Song Ran was amused. He invited her, so why did he need to tempt her with "writing a book"? She hooked her finger and ran away.
Half an hour later, Li Zan came to pick her up.
He wore a pair of sunglasses, revealing his handsome brow bones and high nose bridge, which made his face look handsome and a little cool.
Song Ran trotted over and stared at him with eyes full of love.
Li Zan laughed: "Don't you recognize me?"
"You look so handsome in sunglasses." Song Ran said without any concealment.
"Aren't they all the same?" He turned his head away expressionlessly and looked to the side, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up, and his cheeks flushed.
"A-Zan!" Song Ran moved closer to him and hugged him. He turned around and said, "Hmm?"
She raised her head and kissed his cheek. After that, she climbed onto the back of the motorcycle and wrapped her arms around his waist, moving smoothly.
Li Zan smiled faintly and turned back: "Are you seated?"
She hugged his waist tightly: "Sit tight."
Li Zan started the motorcycle.
Driving along the tattered cement road, we soon left the city and headed west, quickly catching up with two military off-road vehicles.
The motorcycle and the off-road vehicle drove side by side. The rear window rolled down, and Morgan, wearing sunglasses, greeted Song Ran: "Hi, ruan ruan!"
ran ran is pronounced "ruanruan" in English.
Song Ran didn't bother to correct him and smiled, "Hi, Morgan."
Morgan swirled his fingers around each other, "Do you want to switch places with me?"
Song Ran hugged Li Zan's waist tightly and shook his head: "No."
In the driver's seat, Benjamin suggested, "Maybe you want me and Lee to switch seats?"
Li Chan turned around and asked her in English: "Maybe you want to get away from these annoying guys?"
Song Ran chuckled and nodded, rubbing her head against his back.
Li Zan suddenly accelerated, and the motorcycle sped forward, raising a cloud of sand and dust that flew into the car window.
Everyone in the car: "Fuck!"
Under the azure blue sky and across the endless fields, he rode his motorcycle and took her for a ride. The wind blew, blowing up his clothes and her long hair.
Song Ran suddenly sat up straight, raised his head and put his chin on his shoulder: "A-Zan!"
"Um?"
"It would be great if we could go on this road forever." She laughed in the wind and said loudly, "I want to go on forever with you!"
Walk for a lifetime.
His voice came through the wind: "How about buying a motorcycle when you return home?"
"Eh?"
"I'll be back in China in two months. That'll be March. The rape flowers will be in bloom and the river water will be clear. I'll take you on a motorcycle along the provincial road from Liangcheng to Jiangcheng, okay?"
She squinted her eyes at the sky, imagined the scene, and smiled with her eyes curved: "Okay."
She hugged his waist tightly and leaned her face against his back. She loved the feeling at this moment so much, hugging his body tightly, it was as if she owned everything about him, full of peace of mind.
God knows, she would like to hold him like this forever and fly with him all the way to the end of the sky.
The motorcycle was much faster and arrived at the destination first.
It was a barren mountain forest with few human traces. The mountain was covered with thorn bushes and there were no wild fruits except for a few olive trees. Therefore, it was deserted.
Li Zan parked the car and said, "They'll be here for a while, let's go for a walk nearby."
"Okay." Song Ran slipped out of the car, took a few steps to stretch his muscles, and stretched his waist. There was a crackling sound behind him.
Li Zan took out a few pieces of iron parts from under the seat, and with a few clicks, he deftly put them together to form a rifle.
Song Ran's eyes widened, and Li Zan glanced at her: "It's very simple."
She asked, "You guys are going to practice shooting later?"
"Yeah." He raised the gun, took a look, turned his head to look at her, and asked, "Do you want to play?"
Song Ran was surprised: "Can I touch it?"
Li Zan lowered his head and sat on the car seat, smiling to himself: "Why do you think I brought you here first?"
He took her hand and led her up the hill.
Li Zan chose a spot on the hillside, sat down, put his rifle on the ground, pointed his chin at the ground and said, "Lie down."
Song Ran was very obedient and immediately lay down on the grass. Li Zan then lay down beside her and held her shoulders with his right arm. He leaned closer to her and explained to her: "This is the muzzle of the gun, and this is the aiming frame; the target, the muzzle, and the aiming frame are in a straight line. When aiming, use the single-lens reflex camera."
"Oh." Song Ran glanced and saw the tree branches in the distance through the frame. She was about to grab the trigger, "Why are you in such a hurry?" Li Zan held her right hand, and then pulled her left hand forward to support the gun body, saying, "Hold it."
"good."
"Here on the shoulder, with the butt of the rifle."
Song Ran adjusted his posture and used his shoulders to support himself.
He then put her right hand on the trigger and told her, "Aim at the tree in front and see if you can hit it."
He said, casually moving closer to her head, his entire body enveloping her.
Song Ran huddled in his arms, her scent filling the small space, and her heartbeat became a little unsteady.
Li Zan waited for a while, and when she didn't respond, he lowered his eyes to look at her: "What are you thinking about? Are you daydreaming in class?"
She came to her senses and immediately found an excuse: "I'm worried... hitting trees is not good and will destroy the forest."
Li Zanren was right beside her ear, chuckling softly: "Don't worry, you can't hit me."
Song Ran: “…”
She nudged him in the chest with her elbow.
"Oh!" He exclaimed softly, most likely with a smile. Her strength was undoubtedly tickling him. He said, "It doesn't hurt when you hit me."
Song Ran increased her strength to hit him, and he tightened his arms to hold her in his arms: "Alright, alright. Let's try first and see if we can hit you. Aim well."
Li Zan gripped the back of the gun tightly to reduce the impact on her.
Song Ran lowered his head, squinted his eyes, aimed at the tree, made sure it was accurate, and pulled the trigger.
"boom!"
There was no movement.
Song Ran raised his head: "Eh? Where's the bullet?"
Li Chan: “It flew past the tree.”
"Impossible," she said, "There must be something wrong with the bullet."
He laughed: "What about you? You can't aim well, so you blame the bullet?"
"Then shoot me one." Song Ran was going to give him the position, but he took the gun and held it with his left arm, taking a glance. "In order to prevent you from accusing me of destroying the forest, shoot the branch at the bottom."
"Can you hit him?" Song Ran questioned.
Before he finished speaking, he pursed his lips, narrowed his eyes, raised his gun, aimed, and pulled the trigger.
With a "bang", the branch broke.
Song Ran opened his mouth wide and turned to look at him.
He felt embarrassed by her admiring gaze, and smiled while touching his nose: "It will get better with more practice."
"Then I'll try again."
"Come on." He held the gun ready for her.
She suddenly had an idea: "Wouldn't it be more stable if I held it with my hands?"
"What do you think?"
"… no."
Song Ran took aim seriously this time, very seriously. He moved the gun, then raised his shoulder, and aimed again and again with extreme concentration.
Li Zan lowered his eyes to look at her, then suddenly leaned forward and kissed her soft cheek.
Song Ran blinked and continued to play with the gun, but the next second he couldn't hold it back and laughed while lying on his arm. He saw her eyes curved and her shoulders shaking with laughter, and he couldn't help but peck her face twice more. She shrank her neck because of the itch, and moved around in his arms, laughing so hard that her face turned red: "Are you still going to practice or not!"
He stopped bothering her.
She lay down again, took careful aim, and fired.
"boom!"
"… "
The bullet flew into the air again.
She rested her chin on the butt of the gun and said dejectedly, "No, it's too difficult!"
Li Zan said, "You fought very well."
She raised her head, wondering and hoping: "What's wrong?"
"Aren't you just aiming at the air?"
"…" Song Ran threw the gun away, knocked him to the ground, and pressed on him to scratch him. The sunlight reflected on his face, which was white and clear. He laughed non-stop, blocked her with his hand, and gently held her wrist that was scratching like a cat, and the two of them made a mess on the grass.
There was a car sound not far away, Benjamin and his friends arrived.
Song Ran then hurriedly sat up and glared at him. But when he stood up, she quickly helped him brush off the weeds on his head and body.
Li Zan also calmed down and put away his gun.
He returned to the team and was in a completely different state. After all, this was a team training, not a sightseeing trip.
Song Ran also returned to his role as a reporter, trying to downplay his presence, following nearby and recording without disturbing anyone.
The team of seven people trained in an orderly manner. First, there was physical training, such as weighted running, push-ups, etc. Then there was combat training, one-on-one fighting, and learning moves.
The best fighters in the team are Li Zan and Morgan. Morgan has the strongest strength, but his flexibility and reaction speed are slightly inferior to Li Zan.
In the afternoon, there is actual combat training, which tests the team members' coordination and understanding. This is crucial on the battlefield. A single mistake, even a one-second gap in reaction speed, may cause casualties among teammates.
Song Ran observed from the side and found that the relationship between the team members was very harmonious. When they were relaxed, they always liked to joke and scold each other. Especially Benjamin and Morgan, they would argue with each other at any time. Morgan laughed at Benjamin for being not as strong as him.
Benjamin opened his mouth and cursed: "Fuck you!"
Morgan: "fuck you!"
Then Li Zan added calmly: "Get a room!" (You two should get a room.)
Benjamin is an extrovert, flirting here and there when he is not serious. Li Zan is introverted, not fond of provoking others, and only occasionally responds with a few words. Benjamin likes him and always likes to show his love to him. Whenever Li Zan and him have a good understanding, he will passionately express his love: "I love you!"
Li Zan basically ignored him and didn't respond. Occasionally, when he was annoyed by him, he would reply, "Fuck you!"
Benjamin looked surprised: "Really? In front of Song Song?"
“…” Li Zan said, “Morgan, give me the magazine.”
Song Ran laughed.
However, although there were occasional laughs and jokes, most of the time they were serious and calm, treating the simulation as a life-and-death battlefield and not slacking off at all.
At the end of the day, the amount of physical energy consumed is about the same as during normal tasks.
At dusk, the last simulated hostage rescue operation was completed, and everyone packed up their equipment and prepared to retreat to the camp to set up camp.
Kevin ran to the hillside to urinate and accidentally found a stream. He immediately called his companions over.
There is a gurgling water in the mountain stream.
The young men, exhausted and sweating after a busy day, ran down the hillside.
The slope was steep and covered with bushes, but it was no problem for the special forces. They descended quickly in a few seconds, amidst the flying sand and rocks.
Song Ran couldn't stand steadily, so Li Zan led him to move down around the messy branches. After a few steps, his feet slipped, so Li Zan simply turned around and squatted, saying, "Come on. I'll carry you more steadily."
Song Ran refused: "The slope is so steep, what if you fall?"
Li Zan laughed: "I was training in the army, carrying a bag weighing hundreds of pounds up and down the mountain. Do you have a hundred pounds?"
Song Ran then carefully climbed onto his back and hugged his neck.
He carried her up on his back, his steps quick and steady, and soon they were down the slope.
Benjamin and his friends had already taken off all their clothes, leaving only their underpants, and were bathing in the stream.
Song Ran: “…”
Water is scarce here, so you can't have fun.
She hadn't had a good bath in over a week. If the man hadn't been there, she would have wanted to take one.
Song Ran was still watching. Li Zan touched her face and tilted her head towards him: "Are you addicted to it?"
Song Ran: “…”
He said, "It's a good thing you were here, otherwise they would have taken off their underwear."
Her face was flushed, and she saw Li Zan also began to take off his shoes and clothes. She stared at him unconsciously, following his movements and looking him up and down several times.
Li Zan felt uncomfortable being stared at by her and whispered, "What are you looking at?"
"You... are still quite strong." Song Ran whispered, secretly reaching out to touch his abdominal muscles a few times.
He glanced at his companions, then quickly leaned in and kissed her forehead: "You won't go down. The water is cold, you'll catch a cold later."
"Um."
Li Zan went into the water, and Song Ran sat on a rock by the stream waiting for them.
After taking off their uniforms, the young men acted like children in the water, playing water fights, fighting, and making noises. They didn't look like special forces at all. Benjamin, the oldest member of the team, was less than 25 years old.
Song Ran took a few photos and saw Li Zan's clothes thrown casually by the stream.
The climate here is dry, and clothes dry quickly. She quickly picked up his military uniform and squatted down to the water to wash it.
As soon as the uniform entered the water, blue saltpeter, red blood, and gray dust flowed out along the stream. She found a stone and patted it gently, quickly washing the clothes clean, pressed hard to dry the water, and found a large stone that was hot from the sun, spread the clothes on it, and baked them to dry.
She was very satisfied. When she turned around, she saw a small fish swimming in the stream.
Song Ran thought he had seen it wrong, but when he looked carefully, it was indeed true.
"Fish!" She pointed into the water and called out, "Fish! There are fish!"
Now, the older boys who were still playing all lowered their heads to search under the water.
Sure enough, there is!
Benjamin and Morgan jumped onto the shore, drew their guns and shot into the water.
Bang, bang, bang! There were waves of water splashing.
George jumped up and yelled, "Where the hell are you looking at?!"
Li Chan: "Idiot. There is light refraction in the water!"
Song Ran: “…”
Su Ke and Kevin spread out their clothes and hats and swam in the water. Everyone else was busy looking for tools and jumping into the water.
In the end, they caught eight or nine small fish. They used a machete to scrape off the scales, cut out the internal organs, and then tore off a few leaves to wrap them up and take them back home.
Back at the camp, the men set up their tents.
Song Ran used a gas stove and an oxygen cylinder to cook fish soup. She didn't know what kind of fish it was, so she just stewed it randomly. There were no seasonings, only water and salt. She casually threw in a few wild green olives.
I don't want it to be cooked, it still smells fresh.
Song Ran closed the lid and quietly slipped to the edge of the camp. Li Zan was helping Benjamin set up the tent. She stretched her neck to look at him, wanting to shout but not knowing how to do so.
Li Zan was hammering nails into the ground. He looked up and saw her, and she immediately waved at him.
Li Zan put down what he was holding and trotted towards her: "What's wrong?"
Song Ran didn't answer, but took his hand and ran into the bushes.
She pulled him over to the pot and squatted down, then opened the lid. The fish aroma filled the air. She quickly scooped a spoonful of fish soup and the largest fish into his lunch box and stuffed it into his hand: "You eat first."
Li Zan held the bowl and said with a smile: "Wait for you guys later..."
Song Ran whispered, "There are eight people in total, nine fish, and one extra fish. Someone must have had an extra fish, but you don't like to fight, so it definitely won't be you."
So I gave him some special treatment.
Li Zan was stunned, still a little embarrassed, and said: "It doesn't matter who eats more, you should eat more..."
"Eat faster!" Song Ran frowned and scolded unhappily, "You are the thinnest in the team, why don't you eat more!"
"Okay, okay." He smiled helplessly but warmly, took the spoon obediently, scooped up the fish soup and started eating.
He scooped a piece of fish for her, but Song Ran shook her head and refused to eat it. She said with pity, "I doubt if you are full at ordinary times."
"It's not that exaggerated." Li Zan smiled, "I'm not that thin. I'm a different race. I can't compare with them."
"But you usually eat bread and other things. Just thinking about it makes me lose my appetite."
That's right. He smiled.
"Be careful not to get stuck with the thorns." She stretched her neck to look. "Is it delicious?"
Li Zan licked his lower lip and nodded: "But it's not as delicious as the fish at home."
"Of course. Where can fish be as good as the ones in our hometown?" Song Ran thought. "I'll cook it for you every day when I get home, okay?"
"good."
The fish was not big to begin with, so he ate it up quickly. Song Ran scooped another spoonful of soup for him and watched him finish it before letting him go.
When she left, she held him again and wiped his mouth carefully before letting go.