Ran Yuwei's house was mortgaged. She bought it early and lives alone in the 100-square-meter house.
The house is decorated in style, but not very homely. She doesn't cook, and eats in the company cafeteria. When Song Ran comes, they either go to a restaurant or order takeout.
Song Ran used to be a cook.
During the summer vacation of the second year of junior high school, Ran Yuwei and her then diplomat boyfriend got off work late. Song Ran bought vegetables and cooked a meal by herself, and waited for her mother to come home obediently and proudly.
After Ran Yuwei came home and saw a table full of dishes, she didn't say anything for a long time, then she called Song Zhicheng and scolded him, asking how Yang Huilun abused her daughter and why Ran Ran could cook at such a young age.
Yang Huilun was actually very good to Song Ran, too good.
The people living in the tube building were all Song Zhicheng's colleagues and intellectuals. Any big noise in one of their homes would be known to other families. Yang Huilun had not read much and was timid. She was also afraid that outsiders would say that she was a vicious stepmother, so she was very nice to Song Ran, like a guest. Song Ran always took the initiative to do things to make her stepmother happy, or to prove that she was not a guest. This subtle psychology also quietly brought to the imperial city. At the diplomat's house, she had to prove that she was not a troublesome guest who came to eat and live for free. However, when she came again the next year, her mother's boyfriend was nowhere to be seen.
Ran Yuwei has had several relationships over the years, but none of them ended well. She is still single.
The two ordered Japanese takeout. Song Ran found a few bottles of good grapefruit wine in the refrigerator and drank it with ice.
Ran Yuwei poured herself some red wine and asked, "What have you been busy doing running around the city these days?"
"Look up some historical data. It's too hard to find the ones from Dongguo." In fact, she contacted Luo Junfeng, a well-known best-selling book planner, but she didn't want her mother to know. "I've been running around in libraries. I couldn't find it in Liangcheng before."
Ran Yuwei returned to the topic they had talked about in the car at the right time: "The resources in Dicheng are really incomparable to those in Liangcheng. If you want to develop well, you have to come here."
Song Ran still resisted, not knowing whether she was resisting Dicheng or Ran Yuwei. Perhaps in her eyes, Dicheng was equal to Ran Yuwei. She said, "I don't have any big pursuits, it's good like this now."
"I think you are just like your father."
"I am his daughter, so of course I have the same character as him."
Ran Yuwei raised her eyes to look at her. The woman in her forties had crow's feet at the corners of her eyes that could not be hidden even with makeup. She said coldly: "You are his daughter, so you are not my daughter?"
Song Ran couldn't stand it anymore and whispered, "Can you stop being like a child?"
Ran Yu chuckled: "The wings are hardened."
Song Ran had nothing to say.
When Ran Yuwei and Song Zhicheng were fighting for custody, Song Zhicheng dragged his feet and refused to divorce. Ran Yuwei was disgusted by her cheating husband and gave up the division of property and Song Ran just to get a divorce as soon as possible. Little Song Ran was only two or three years old at that time, holding on to the wall, running and crying loudly for his mother.
Ran Yuwei said word by word: "It was Song Zhicheng who betrayed that family."
This was the greatest pain and failure in her life.
At the beginning, she married Song Zhicheng, a man with nothing but talent, despite her parents' opposition. After more than three years of marriage, she resolutely left Liangcheng and went to Dicheng alone to work hard despite her parents' opposition.
Blame her for being too proud and unable to tolerate the failure of her marriage, which trampled on her self-esteem. She has refused to return to Liangcheng until now. Her relationship with her parents also deteriorated to the extreme, until both of them passed away one after another.
Although Song Ran knew from a young age that her father was a traitor, she had lived with her father for a long time and saw that he never treated her badly and truly loved her, so she could not hate him like her mother did.
Ran Yuwei poured another half glass of red wine and asked, "You can stay there if you want. Did Song Zhicheng say when he will buy you a house?"
Song Ran said nothing, not understanding why every word her mother said could hurt her.
"Your grandmother's house belongs to your uncle. Ran Chi is still studying, so you can live here for a year or two. When he grows up and wants to start a family, you will have to vacate it."
Song Ran said, "There are still a few years left. We can buy a house in a few years."
"With your salary of four or five thousand, can you afford it?"
"If I can't afford to buy a house, I can rent one. Can I sleep on the street?" She simply used all the rebelliousness that she would never use in her life.
"Okay." Ran Yuwei said, "It's promising."
During the remaining days in the Imperial City, Ran Yuwei did not mention this matter again.
During this period, Song Ran met Luo Junfeng once. Luo Junfeng is a well-known book planner in the industry. He has created dozens of best-selling books, ranging from humanities to strange novels, from spiritual journeys to historical talks. His works are wide-ranging and of high quality, all of which are top-notch in China.
He is an elegant and calm man in his thirties, wearing a white shirt and a pair of black-framed glasses. His elite temperament is not lacking in a touch of culture:
“I watched every episode of “Before the War: Dongguk Chronicles”. This story is worth writing about. Although documentaries have their own objective way of presenting, in my opinion, the subjective spiritual feelings of the author of the book are also very valuable.”
Song Ran agreed. She omitted too many personal thoughts when doing the program, which was exactly what she wanted to write.
"However, the title 'Before the War: Eastern Chronicles' is too difficult."
"I wanted to call it 'Eastern Floating Century', but my boss changed it."
"I like the name you came up with," Luo Junfeng said. "Books on war records are in short supply in the market, so it's easy to run them well. A war correspondent, and a female one at that, is very eye-catching. However, putting these things aside, the essence still has to return to the content of the work itself."
Song Ran nodded gently: "Okay."
"Will you go to the East Country again?"
"It depends on the unit's arrangement. What's wrong?"
"From the perspective of making a book, without the second half, the story is like unfinished. Do you understand what I mean?"
Song Ran didn't tell her mother about her meeting with Luo Junfeng. She was looking forward to writing a good book, but she was afraid that her ability was not up to the mark. It was better to keep it secret until things were finalized.
The mother and daughter can coexist peacefully when they are not discussing serious matters. However, due to the nature of Ran Yuwei's work, she is generally a preaching and disciplining mother. Once she has some free time to spend time with Song Ran, she will talk about everything about her work, social life, and future plans. It would be fine if they just talked, but she has too many opinions and different views, and she has a strong desire to control. The two of them always end up quarreling.
Four days later, Song Ran returned to Liangcheng. Ran Yuwei sent her to the airport and sent her to the departure floor. She didn't even get out of the car. She just waved and said goodbye and left.
Song Ran couldn't help but sigh as she watched her white car disappear on the road.
When we returned to Liangcheng, the rain had stopped long ago.
Last week's heavy rain seemed to have finally drained all the water from the sky. The sky was azure blue without a single cloud, only the scorching sun.
As soon as I left the airport, the air was hot and humid, blowing in my face, like walking on a windless beach in the middle of the day.
This is Liangcheng where she has lived for nearly 23 years. She always leaves, but always comes back.
It was already dusk when Song Ran returned to Qingzhi Lane by car.
The alley was filled with rosy clouds and the scent of honeysuckle. When she arrived at her home, she saw the neighbors laying the floor, so she curiously went over and asked, "Grandma Wang, are you building a moisture-proof layer?"
"Yes. It won't rain again. Do it now."
Song Ran glanced at the construction team working in the house and asked quietly, "Are they doing a good job?"
"It's pretty good. They make the food for Grandma Zhang and Grandma Xu. The price is fair and they are very conscientious."
Song Ran said: "My family wants to do this too. But we can't find a construction team."
When Grandma Wang heard this, she immediately started to help her enthusiastically.
The leader of the construction team, Lao Li, was about fifty years old and had a kind face. Lao Li used to work as a construction quality inspection engineer at the Jiangcheng Branch of China Construction Engineering Group. He retired early and formed a construction team to take on jobs because he couldn't sit still. Song Ran was naturally relieved that he had been working in engineering for a lifetime, and he quickly made an appointment with him to come to the construction site on weekends.
The next day was a weekday. The sun had risen at eight in the morning, making the leaves in the yard shiny.
Song Ran took Li Zan's big black umbrella with her before she went out. She liked the umbrella very much, it was simple, large, and heavy, and it felt very solid in her hand.
The day's work was finally completed, and as soon as she got off work, she took the bus to the security area with an umbrella.
In early July, the vegetation on Luoyu Mountain was lush, covering the sky with large patches, wild and crazy. The leaves were green and heavy, as if they were full of sunshine and rain.
Song Ran was in a good mood looking at the green mountains.
After getting off the bus and crossing the road into the security area, there was no one inside. Only the setting sun hung over the low building outside the playground, emitting the last bit of residual heat.
Song Ran walked to the open space. Most of the cars had left. Next to her car was a military vehicle. It looked very imposing, and made her little Alto look particularly petite. She looked at the license plate of the military vehicle. It was the same one that Li Zan drove last time. The door was closed, and no one was inside.
She walked over slowly, looking around as she walked. It was quiet and there was no one around.
She walked into the shadow of a tree and stood there for a long time, stroking the handle of the umbrella, and finally placed the umbrella on the hood of the military vehicle.
She opened the door of the Alto and sat in it, leaning her head against the seat. The seat back was burning hot against her back. The temperature inside the car was very high, so she turned on the air conditioner to cool it down.
The wind was blowing at the exit.
The gray-white building was covered with a layer of sunset, and it was very quiet. Behind the building was a dense forest with lush green leaves. She suddenly thought of the vast olive groves covered with dust in the East.
The temperature in the car had dropped completely. She looked at her watch and saw that nearly ten minutes had passed.
She couldn't wait too long, or the guard at the gate would get suspicious. She glanced at the black umbrella on the car next door, and finally sat up straight, ready to fasten her seat belt, but out of the corner of her eye she saw a person coming out from behind the corner of the building.
Short-sleeved combat uniform, belt, trousers, combat boots, a very familiar figure.
Song Ran immediately loosened his seat belt, reached out to turn down the air conditioner, and pretended to have just gotten in the car.
Li Zan walked towards this side, squinting slightly because of the light of the setting sun. When he got closer, he saw her in the car.
Song Ran rolled down the car window and greeted, "Officer Li."
He nodded slightly and asked, "Come and drive?"
"Yeah." Song Ran said, "It's been here for a week. Sorry for the trouble."
"Nothing." He smiled.
Song Ran discovered that he would often laugh, but never loudly. His laugh was always gentle and light, like a breeze.
But it seemed like... out of politeness... they wouldn't get any closer.
"And the umbrella," she pointed, "I brought it."
She folded up the long umbrella on the hood of the car, arranged each leaf neatly, rolled it up tightly, and fastened it tightly with the umbrella straps.
He opened the car door, put his umbrella inside, and bent over to search between the seats.
After about ten seconds, he closed the car door and took out two books and two bottles of water.
He handed her a bottle. Song Ran took a quick glance and saw that he was holding an advanced physics and chemistry book in English.
I like reading...
"Thank you." She took the water and said, "And thank you for last time, too."
"Last time?" Li Zan raised his eyebrows slightly.
Song Ran explained: "Bo Keta."
"Oh..." He responded casually, put the book on the hood of the car, unscrewed the bottle of water and took a sip. When the man raised his head, the curve of his jaw was hard and his Adam's apple rolled up and down.
Song Ran looked away and looked at the small white bottle cap in his hand.
He took only one sip and closed the lid. Then he looked at her with a quiet gaze. But he was a soldier after all, and his silent gaze had a subtle power.
Song Ran spoke slowly and continued the topic: "It took me a long time to find the information destroyed by Bo Keta. It's too unpopular. Do you have any research on the history of the East?"
Li Zan tightened the bottle cap, smiled faintly, and said, "That's what the locals said."
Song Ran was stunned.
He took the books on the hood of the car, tapped the hood lightly, and nodded to say goodbye: "I'm leaving now."
"… Um."
"Oh..." He just turned around, then he remembered something and took a step back and asked, "Do you still have my rope?"
Song Ran: “Ah?”
He waved his hand: "Forget it if it's lost."
"Ah. Yes." She said quickly, "but at my house."
She lied, the red rope was in her bag.
She lowered her eyelashes, then raised them again and said, "I don't have it with me. Can I give it back to you next time?"
"good."
Song Ran asked: "How are you going to pay it back next time?"
He thought for a moment and asked, "Do you have paper and pen?"
"have."
Song Ran lowered her head and searched for paper and pen in her bag, avoiding the red string lying inside with a guilty conscience. She handed him the notepad and pen.
He came over, put the water bottle and folder on the roof of her car, took the paper and pen, leaned over slightly, and wrote on the side of her car window. The man's figure suddenly covered the skylight outside the window.
Song Ran raised his eyes and peeked at his lowered face. He had high brow bones, long eyelashes, and a healthy complexion, not too white, nor too dark.
He quickly wrote down a string of numbers, tapped the tip of his pen on the paper, and straightened up.
Her eyes naturally shifted to the note, on which was written the word "Li" followed by a phone number.
He said, “It’s trouble.”
She took it and said, "It's my duty. I was embarrassed and accidentally pulled it off."
He smiled faintly and did not comment.
"Is that rope safe?" she asked.
"Yeah." He remembered something and reached out to her for paper again, "If I'm on duty, make another call."
Song Ran handed him the paper and saw him lowering his head to write the number seriously. After a slight hesitation, he said, "Is it a gift from a relative?"
He didn't answer at first, but when he finished writing it to her, he looked up at her and said, "Yeah."
Song Ran made up his mind and said, "Then I'll leave you my phone number. In case I forget it due to being busy, you can remind me. Don't lose important things again."