Chapter 28 Part 2

Li Zan handed her the menu and said, "See what you'd like to eat."

Song Ran looked at the menu, unconsciously tapping her cheek with a pencil. "Angelica root stewed fish head, how about it?"

"Okay."

Song Ran checked it off and asked again, "Boiled choy sum?"

"Alright."

"The rice here comes in small bowls. How many do you want?"

Li Zan glanced at the rice on the next table and said, "Two bowls."

Song Ran wrote down a "3" and said, "That's enough."

"Just two dishes?"

"If we order more, we won't be able to finish it."

Li Zan took the menu, checked off steamed pork ribs with black bean sauce and salted egg yolk buns, then asked, "Do you want dessert?"

Song Ran hesitated for a moment, then her brow smoothed out. "Let's get black sesame soup with tangyuan. It's the Lantern Festival today. For reunion."

Li Zan had originally just wanted her to have dessert, but after hearing her say that, he decided to get a bowl for himself too and wrote down a "2".

Li Zan handed the menu to the waiter and said to Song Ran, "You're still the same, always so polite."

It was the same back in Galuo City. That time they had barbecue, she was also reluctant to order more, and in the end, he had to order a drink for her.

Song Ran said, "I just don't like to waste."

Li Zan didn't dwell on the topic, just curved the corners of his lips.

The faint sunlight from outside the window shone on his face, carrying a hint of old times.

Song Ran again saw the light reflecting off the hearing aid in his ear and asked, "Will it recover completely?"

"What?"

Song Ran pointed to her ear.

"My hearing is fine," Li Zan said. "Sometimes when it's too noisy, I take it off, and it's much quieter. Like if I didn't want to talk to you right now, I could just take it off."

Song Ran had been a bit worried, but his teasing made her chuckle.

Li Zan watched her laugh, his fingers unconsciously tracing patterns on the table. Finally, he asked, "You... were injured that time, weren't you?"

He still remembered how she looked after the first explosion that day, lying on the ground, her face pale and her eyes shut tight.

He frowned uncomfortably and pushed the memory away.

Song Ran said, "My eyes were hurt a little, but it wasn't very serious. It healed quickly."

Li Zan inadvertently looked at her eyes. They were as clear and bright as before, the blacks and whites distinct.

"What about you? Were you badly injured?"

Li Zan shook his head. "It was nothing."

"That's good." She believed him and asked again, "When did you come back?"

"Not long after." Li Zan lowered his head and scratched his forehead with a finger. "And you?"

"Me too, it was time for the reporters to rotate."

Hearing this, Li Zan smiled. "I've been seeing you on the TV news a lot lately."

Song Ran smiled, pressing her lips together. "It's all because the photo won an award." She fiddled with her chopsticks, finger by finger, and said, "Oh, right, let me tell you, I'm developing into an independent journalist now. I can do a lot of things freely, and I can choose topics that I'm interested in and want to focus on."

With a smile in his eyes, Li Zan listened to her attentively and said sincerely, "That's great."

She nodded. "Mhm. But, sometimes I feel this society is so pragmatic. Just because one photo is successful, you can gain so much. It's too results-oriented. I feel instead..." A dull ache suddenly appeared in her heart. She said, "For anything, the initial, true, and correct purpose and process are more important. Judging the original intention based on the result is a bit biased."

Hearing this, Li Zan was silent for a moment before saying, "I used to think that way too, but now I feel that sometimes, a correct purpose can't grant immunity to a wrong result. If you make a mistake, you have to take responsibility, no matter how good the original intention was."

Song Ran was quiet for a moment, her gaze dropping. She said softly, "But... to completely negate or distort someone's originally good intentions because of a mistaken or imperfect outcome is a bit cruel."

Li Zan thought about her words and didn't answer right away.

The waiter brought the dishes.

Li Zan ladled a bowl of clear fish soup for her.

"Thank you." Song Ran slowly took a few sips, then looked up. "By the way, what about Political Commissar Luo, Jiang Lin, and the others?"

"Political Commissar Luo just came back. Jiang Lin will probably be back next month."

"Oh." Song Ran nodded. After a few seconds, she asked again, "Does Jiang Lin still catch chickens?"

Li Zan was taken aback, then chuckled. "He probably still does. I heard they opened up a new plot of land."

"They changed bases?"

"Mhm, war broke out in Galuo too. The base was moved 60 kilometers south."

"Oh," she suddenly remembered, "what about Benjamin and the others?"

"They were injured a little and went back to America."

"Are you still in touch?"

"Yes. I saw him when I went to America last time." Li Zan glanced at her. "He asked about you."

"Eh?" Song Ran's eyes widened slightly. "What did he ask about me?"

"Nothing much, just if you were okay, how you were doing, things like that."

"...Oh."

"Is that reporter named Sasin okay?" Li Zan asked.

At the mention of Sasin, Song Ran smiled again. "He's fine, he was saved a long time ago."

"That's good," Li Zan said. "You saved him, didn't you."

Song Ran was eating a tangyuan and looked up, a bit lost. She had never thought about that question. There were many things that happened that day that she deliberately avoided thinking about.

With the tangyuan in her mouth, she mumbled an "Mmm." Seeing that he hadn't touched his dessert, she reminded him, "This tangyuan is delicious, you should try it. It'll get cold later."

Li Zan spooned one into his mouth. It was soft and glutinous, not overly sweet, just right.

"It's good, right?"

"Yeah. Delicious."

"How long will you be in your current position?"

"It's not certain yet. At least for now..." His gaze shifted to the window. "It's not bad. Pretty relaxed."

"That's true. You have no time for yourself in the army." Song Ran said earnestly, "It's good to return to a normal life. No one has to dedicate their entire life to one single thing."

Li Zan listened to this, thought for a moment, and asked, "Will you go back to Dongguo? For reporting, or something like that."

Song Ran tightened her grip on her spoon and looked up with a smile. "Probably not, for now. I have quite a lot of work on my hands right now, I can't find the time."

"That's good too. It's easy for a girl to get hurt when she's out there on her own."

"Mhm. My mother never agreed to me going to Dongguo. She said developing my career in the country and focusing on domestic news is just as good."

"Right." Li Zan said, "To do your work seriously, you don't have to be confined to a specific place or environment."

Song Ran nodded.

By the time they finished the meal, it was already past one in the afternoon.

Li Zan paid the bill. This time, Song Ran didn't suggest splitting it. "Let me treat you next time, okay?"

He smiled. "Okay."

They walked out of the restaurant and parted ways at the intersection.

Li Zan said, "See you next time."

"Yeah, see you next time." Song Ran waved at him.

She followed the crowd to the other side of the road. After a few steps, she couldn't resist looking back. He was also crossing the road, his tall silhouette outlined against the pale midday light that sprinkled on his hair.

Li Zan followed the crowd to the side of the road, then turned his head to look at the diagonal corner of the intersection. Song Ran had already crossed the road and was walking away.

He retracted his gaze, put his hands in his pockets, and continued forward. As he passed through the gap between two buildings, a breeze blew past.

His heart was quiet and still.