chapter 21 Part 2

"You've been too busy to eat or drink, right?"

He smiled in silent agreement, his lips dry and slightly pale.

The gunfire at the end of the road gradually subsided. They must have gotten the situation under control.

In the middle of the street, after the explosion, the burlap sandbags were still burning here and there.

Song Ran looked at the flickering flames on the street and suddenly said, "I thought you were going to die just now."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Song Ran said. "Then my camera would have witnessed the birth of a martyr."

Li Zan suddenly let out a soft laugh, revealing his neat white teeth. "Sorry about that. Made you miss a great opportunity."

Song Ran really wanted to glare at him, but she held back.

She fiddled with her camera strap and asked, "You saved him at the last second. But if you couldn't have saved him in that last second, would you have given up on him?"

"I don't know." Li Zan leaned his head against the wall, twisting the cap of the water bottle in his hand on and off. "Until you're really in that moment, no one knows. I might have given up. I'd have done my best."

"But I think, even if you had given up at the end, it would have been remarkable. Just like last time in Galuo City, when you jumped onto that car with the bomb. I thought then..." She picked at her fingers, then looked up straight into his eyes and said, "I've rarely seen someone so selfless."

Li Zan had been listening quietly. When he heard the last sentence, he gave a slightly embarrassed smile and said, "No, that's my duty. Besides, even if it weren't for a mission, just as an ordinary person, anyone would do the same."

Song Ran thought he was being modest, but then she heard him continue, "I think people have an instinctual kindness in their bones. When a critical situation arises, someone will always show this goodwill. You're a reporter for the society channel; you must have seen many things like this in life."

Song Ran thought for a moment. "There are many. In news, you often see moments when ordinary people become heroes, but there are also many moments of malice."

"Maybe it's like what some people say, that good and evil are conserved in this world." He leaned against the wall, his voice low and hoarse from fatigue, but his expression was peaceful and serene. "But that's still pretty good. At least there is good; there's still half."

Song Ran looked at him, and for a moment, it was as if she could see through his bright eyes into his heart, which was very clear. She was caught off guard, struck by a kind of warm and beautiful force.

At that moment, she was certain she heard a voice in her heart: 'Ah Zan, you...'

But she didn't say the words out loud, as if she were hiding a secret.

Just as this scene would also be a secret belonging only to the two of them—with the fires of war raging on the street, the two of them, covered in dust, sat on someone else's porch, casually chatting about everything and nothing.

He closed his eyes for a while, then suddenly asked, "Is the area where you're staying safe?"

"It's safe."

"There's a curfew starting today. Don't come out at night."

"Mm," she nodded.

"But..." He hesitated for a moment, then said it anyway, "If you want to understand the lives of the young people in this city, you can check out a bar called Dreaming Bar."

Song Ran was surprised. "Are bars still open for business now?"

"Yes." Li Zan glanced at Sasin, who wasn't far away, and said, "Go with a local reporter, not alone. Be safe."

"I know."

The gunfire at the end of the road had stopped for a long time. Li Zan peeked his head out of the porch. The small-scale gunfight was over. Benjamin and his team had killed more than a dozen terrorists and were now counting them. His movement pulled at his sleeve.

Song Ran stared at his cuff and pointed. "...Your string."

Li Zan looked down and saw that the red string on his wrist had broken and was caught in his sleeve, about to fall off.

"It actually broke," he said, pulling the string off.

Song Ran thought for a moment and asked, "Have you worn it for a long time?"

"Two years."

Then it must have been a gift from a friend or relative. Song Ran didn't ask about its origin, only saying, "I think maybe it really did ward off disaster for you."

Li Zan thought about it and said, "That's possible."

Song Ran said, "So you should get a new good-luck string to wear."

Li Zan twirled the string in his fingers and said, "I actually don't know where to get this kind of string."

Song Ran said casually, "I know. I'll buy one for you then."

Li Zan looked at her.

She looked back at him, her expression calm, but her heart was pounding.

A second later, he said, "Okay."

She pressed her lips together. "What size do you wear? How thick is your wrist?"

Li Zan rolled up his sleeve, took off his combat glove, and showed her.

Song Ran stared at his wrist, trying to estimate the size seriously for a few seconds, but found it impossible.

Li Zan found it amusing and said, "Do you want to measure it?"

A warmth spread through Song Ran's heart. Not knowing what she was thinking, she boldly reached out and circled his wrist with her thumb and forefinger.

Li Zan let her circle his wrist gently and didn't say a word.

Only then did Song Ran see in her peripheral vision that he was holding the red string in his right hand. His intention had been for her to use the string to measure. Her face flushed hot, but she could only pretend she didn't know and brazen it out.

She pulled her hand back, embarrassedly using her right thumb and forefinger to mark the length of 1.5 knuckles on her left index finger. She gestured for him to see, saying, "Here, this thick."

Li Zan looked at his own hand, then at hers, and said, "I think your hand is quite slender. I could probably circle it with one hand and still have room to spare."

Song Ran pulled up her sleeve to look. "How is that possible..."

Li Zan circled her wrist tightly with two fingers, his thumb landing on the second knuckle of his index finger.

A flutter went through Song Ran's heart.

He had already let go, holding his two fingers in a circle to show her. "See, this small." After saying that, he glanced at it himself, still a little disbelieving. "It's really that slender?"

"Maybe your fingers are just long," Song Ran said calmly, her face slightly flushed. But her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her throat, and she was struggling to contain it.

Just then, Benjamin and the others walked back from the other end, looking like they were gathering.

Song Ran saw them and asked, "Are you about to leave?"

"Yeah." Li Zan stood up, patting the yellow sand from his hair and body. He turned to look at her and reminded her, "Be safe."

Song Ran nodded. "You too."

Li Zan walked down the steps to meet up with his teammates.

Benjamin and his group stood sloppily not far away, their guns slung over their backs, winking and grinning at Li Zan.

Sasin was also calling for Song Ran, so she packed her things, ready to leave.

Li Zan stepped onto the road and picked up the military bag he had left on the roadside. Suddenly remembering something, he turned and called out, "Reporter Song!"

"Yes?" Song Ran stopped and looked back at him.

He trotted over to her while bending down to dig something out of the side pocket of his pants. He took out a round object wrapped in a napkin and handed it to her. His smile was surprisingly a bit shy as he said in a low voice, "For you."

When he said this, his eyes shone like stars.

Song Ran took it with an "Oh".

He smiled, then turned and ran down the curb.

In the distance, Benjamin and the others let out suggestive whistles.

Song Ran didn't understand. She peeled back the napkin and saw a fresh red apple. A small part of the apple had been bruised soft from an impact. Who knows... how long it had been in his pocket.

She was stunned. She looked up—the street was wide, the sky was a brilliant blue. After the bomb disposal, people gradually began to fill the street again, but Li Zan, Benjamin, and the others were already far away.

"Rich Chinese people," Sasin sighed, looking at the red apple.