The snow is still falling.
The open space in front of the old cadre family building was covered with white snow, with a few large and small footprints. Li Jungkook walked through the snow with his head down, without an umbrella. Snowflakes fell all over his hair and shoulders.
He walked quickly Into the corridor, not caring to brush off the snow on his body, and took a few big steps to the second floor. He stopped for a moment after turning a corner. Chen Feng was wrapped in a military coat, smoking and stamping his feet in the cold, waiting at his door.
Li Jungkook paused and said, “Instructor.”
“I’m back.” Chen Feng raised his hand and put out the cigarette butt on the snow-covered railing.
There were dim sensor lights on in the corridor, and a thin layer of snow had already fallen on the concrete floor.
“How long have you been here? You didn’t even call me.” Li Jungkook took out his key, opened the door, and turned on the light.
Chen Feng followed him into the house: “You are busy with your work, so I can’t interrupt you. It doesn’t matter if you wait for a while. Liangcheng is really weird this year. It’s snowing at this time of year.”
“It’s a late spring cold.” Li Jungkook threw the key into the bowl on the cabinet in the entrance hall, went into the living room, turned on the electric heater, and said, “Warm yourself up first, I’ll make you a cup of tea.”
Chen Feng sat down, rubbing his almost frozen hands on the stove, and asked, “Where’s your dad?”
“He’s back in Jiangcheng.” Li Jungkook ’s voice came from the kitchen, “Grandpa and grandma are not in good health, so he went back to take care of them.”
“If you want to be transferred back to Jiangcheng, that’s fine. Luo Taehyung said he’ll get you a civilian position there.” Chen Feng said, “You still have your cadre status, so you can’t be a volunteer outside forever. Don’t even think about resigning, the organization won’t agree.”
Li Jungkook did not answer.
Chen Feng looked at the table in the corner of the living room. The table was piled with books, chemical analysis, circuit analysis… and a bunch of wires, plastics, metals, chemical powders, and small tools like scissors and tweezers.
Chen Feng felt uncomfortable.
While he was still thinking, Li Jungkook brought out a cup of hot tea and handed it to him.
Chen Feng took the tea and took a sip, then subconsciously glanced at the table. Before he could take a closer look, Li Jungkook threw a scarf on it and covered the table tightly.
Chen Feng also pretended not to see it and asked, “How is your health?”
Li Jungkook said, “Very good.”
“Where are the ears?”
“same as usual.”
He obviously didn’t want to say more, and Chen Feng was speechless.
Chen Feng put down the teacup, was silent for a while, took out a cigarette and smoked it, then remembered something and handed another one to Li Jungkook .
Li Jungkook refused.
“Still not smoking?” Chen Feng smiled faintly. He remembered that Li Jungkook had told him that smoking was a form of mental control. He rejected this kind of control.
“Don’t think too much.” Li Jungkook said, sitting down next to him and warming himself by the fire together.
The smile on Chen Feng’s face faded. He smoked a cigarette, blew out several smoke rings, and said, “I found the sealed file from Luo Taehyung on September 26 last year.”
Li Jungkook looked down at the electric heater, his rubbing hands froze for a moment, but his expression could not be seen. The snow on his hair had melted, leaving a few water stains on his clothes, and his hair was tangled together in clumps.
…
Chen Feng went to Jiangcheng to find Luo Taehyung again and again, and it took him a lot of effort to see last year’s top-secret files.
That day, bomb disposal soldier Lee Chan accidentally triggered the detonator after killing the first female suicide bomber, and he discovered the second male attacker while fleeing.
The bomb disposal soldier rushed forward and tried to control the other party to prevent him from detonating the bomb.
The previous explosion knocked people down, and the surroundings were in a mess. The injured bomb disposal soldier wrestled with the attacker, but after a fight, he was exhausted and could not remove the bomb. Seeing that it was about to explode, the bomb disposal soldier desperately pushed the attacker into an abandoned house on the roadside, closed the door and escaped. At that moment, the bomb exploded.
The bomb disposal soldier fainted ”n the spot. Afterwards, the East Country military found several broken bodies in an abandoned house. When they pieced together the bodies, they found that in addition to the attacker, there was also a family of six hiding inside – a young couple, three little boys, and a little girl.
The Donggu military completely blocked the news, the peacekeeping headquarters was also kept top secret, and everything was concealed from Li Jungkook .
“Originally it should have been kept secret. However,” Luo Taehyung said, “from Li Jungkook ’s reaction after he woke up, he knew it himself.”
“The place with the most blood at the scene was on the wall next to the door, which was where the family was hiding. From this, it can be inferred that when Li Jungkook closed the door and turned back to run out, he probably saw the family hiding next to the door, six people. Maybe he even made eye contact with them. … But at that moment, there was no time to react, nothing could be done.”
“Perhaps the psychological impact of that moment was too great, and he was unable to react properly as a special forces soldier in the next moment – sprinting away, dodging diagonally, or falling to the ground. That’s why he was injured so badly.”
…
Chen Feng sighed: “Why don’t you tell the truth to the psychiatrist? If you don’t tell the truth, who can help you?”
Li Jungkook said, “It doesn’t matter.”
“You really don’t care. Would you go to America to see Dr. Jackson? You still have these things on the table?”
Speechless.
Chen Feng said, “A Jungkook , you didn’t know there was someone in that room. And if it wasn’t for you, the 13 soldiers injured in the news that day would not have been injured, but dead.”
But Li Jungkook didn’t hear it, there was a buzzing sound in his head.
He lowered his head, clenched his hands tightly, frowned, and tried his best to resist the sudden wave of tinnitus.
There was a buzzing sound and a rumbling sound, which shook him so much that he lost all ability to think.
He didn’t hear a word Chen Feng said.
It was not until a few minutes later that he slowly loosened his tightly clenched hands and breathed a sigh of relief. Then he heard Chen Feng say, “A-Jungkook , you are trying to save people.”
Li Jungkook said: “Just because the purpose is right does not mean the result is just.”
Chen Feng said: “You are too kind and soft-hearted. Sometimes I even hope that you can be a little tougher and a little more cruel.”
Li Jungkook didn’t speak for a long time, and finally said, “I am living a good life now.”
After he said this, he knew that Chen Feng didn’t believe it.
As for whether he believed it or not, he didn’t know.
…
It snowed all night.
When he woke up in the morning, the world outside was covered in silver and was clean and white.
Li Jungkook rushed to the police station early to be on duty.
Today is the Lantern Festival, and it is snowing. There are few people on the streets, and the atmosphere of the whole city is a bit lazy and tired.
When w he arrived at the police station, his colleagues were not very energetic. There was no urgent matter to deal with in the morning, and several police officers and assistants were sitting by the fire in the office chatting and complaining about the abnormally cold weather in Liangcheng this year and the hard work and low pay.
Li Jungkook was a new recruit who was specially assigned to the post. He had only been on the job for a few days and he didn’t talk much, so he didn’t participate in the work.
During the lunch break, several colleagues fell asleep on the table.
The office was quiet.
He was a little restless, so he went out for a walk.
Cars honked and people spoke loudly on the road.
Maybe because the air was fresh after the snow, he could hear those sounds clearly.
Li Jungkook walked along the way and unknowingly stopped at a familiar intersection. He looked up and saw the Liangcheng Satellite TV station building opposite him.
He stood on the side of the road, looked at the building for a while, then turned around and walked back.
Halfway through the journey, he came to an intersection and had to cross the road.
He put his hands in his pockets and waited for the red light, somewhat nonchalantly.
The traffic light turned green, and he stepped onto the sidewalk. The cold wind blew over him, and he squinted his eyes and lowered his head slightly to keep warm, and inadvertently looked back at the direction of Liangcheng Satellite TV behind him.
When he looked back, he was shocked.
Song Lisa was walking towards him from the opposite side. She looked back at her back, her face was sad and lost, and when she raised her eyes again and met his gaze, she was also startled and her eyes slightly widened.
The two looked at each other, walked towards each other, and met in the middle of the road. Both of them were a little speechless.
“You…” Song Lisa took her hand out of her pocket and pointed back and forth twice, but he didn’t know where to point or what to say.
Li Jungkook smiled first and asked gently, “Why are you here?”
“I…” She couldn’t say that she was out for a walk during her lunch break and accidentally walked to the Baixi Road Police Station. “I came out to meet a friend. What about you?”
“Some business.”
“You…” She just opened her mouth when her expression changed slightly. He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. She staggered and almost fell into his arms, but he quickly stepped back to make room for her.
It turned out that the traffic light changed and the vehicle behind her sped past.
Traffic was speeding along the wide road.
He and she stood on the yellow line in the middle of the road, like an isolated island in the sea.
For no reason, she suddenly smiled.
“What are you laughing at?” He asked softly, always looking down at her expression.
There was laughter in her words: “We are both standing in the middle of the road, trapped. How stupid.”
Li Jungkook looked up, then back. Across the dense traffic, people were coming and going on both sides of the road. Two large groups of pedestrians gathered on the side of the road waiting for the green light. Only the two of them were floating in the middle of the road.
He suddenly smiled and said, "Yes."
Song Lisa said: “When I used to rush to catch a green light, I would sometimes get stuck in the middle of the road, and then I would feel super embarrassed. However, if there are two people together…”
Her voice gradually faded away and she didn’t finish her words, the last few words being swallowed up by the sound of rolling wheels.
Li Jungkook didn’t hear clearly, lowered his head slightly, and asked, “But what?”
She looked at his face and the hearing aid next to his ear, lowered her eyes slightly, and said, “But I rarely do this, only once.”
“Oh.” He straightened up and nodded.
At this time, the green light on the sidewalk came on again, and the green man on the indicator light waved his hands and feet and began to walk. On both sides of the road, crowds of people rushed over.
He and she looked at each other, and their eyes were silent for a moment.
Song Lisa pointed to the roadside and said, “I’m going over there.”
“Yeah.” Li Jungkook pointed his chin in the opposite direction and said, “I’m leaving too. … Yeah, happy Lantern Festival.”
He suddenly said this, Song Lisa was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing: “Yes, today is the Lantern Festival. Happy Lantern Festival to you too.”
“Um.”
Passers-by passed by them. Their shadows passed through their line of sight. He never wavered, looking at her, and suddenly asked, “Have you had lunch?”
…
There happened to be a nice tea restaurant at the intersection, so Li Jungkook and Song Lisa found a seat by the window and sat down.
Li Chan handed her the menu and said, “See what you like to eat.”
Song Lisa looked at the menu and unconsciously poked his face with a pencil: “How about fish head stewed with angelica dahurica?”
“OK.”
Song Lisa ticked it and asked, “Boiled Chinese cabbage?”
“good.”
“The rice here comes in a small bowl. How many bowls do you want?”
Li Jungkook looked at the rice on the next table and said, “Two bowls.”
Song Lisa wrote a “3” and said, “That’s enough.”
“Just two dishes?”
“I ordered too much and couldn’t finish it.”
Li Jungkook took the menu, picked out steamed spareribs with black bean sauce and lava buns, and asked, “Would you like dessert?”
Song Lisa hesitated for a moment, then suddenly relaxed her brows and said, “Let’s cook the glutinous rice balls with sesame paste. Today is the Lantern Festival. Let’s have a happy reunion.”
Li Jungkook originally just wanted her to have dessert, but after hearing what she said, he ordered a bowl for himself and wrote a “2”.
Li Jungkook handed the menu to the waiter and said to Song Lisa , “You are still the same, always so polite.”
It was like that when they were in Garo City. When they were eating barbecue, she was reluctant to order more, and it was he who added more drinks for her.
Song Lisa said: “I don’t want to waste it.”
Li Jungkook did not delve into this topic further, but just curled the corners of his lips.
The thin sunlight outside the window shone on his face, with a faint taste of old times.
Song Lisa saw the light reflected from the hearing aid on his ear again and asked, “Can it be restored?”
“What?”
Song Lisa pointed to his ear.
“There’s nothing wrong with my hearing,” Li Jungkook said. “Sometimes it’s too noisy around me, so I take it off and it’s much quieter. For example, if I don’t want to talk to you now, I can just take it off.”
Song Lisa was still a little worried, but he amused her and made her chuckle in a second.
Li Jungkook smiled at her, his fingers unconsciously scratched the table a few times, and finally asked: “You…were you injured that time?”
He still remembered how she fell to the ground after the first explosion that day, her face pale and her eyes closed.
He frowned uncomfortably and brushed away the memory.
Song Lisa said: “My eyes were hurt a little, but it’s not serious and will heal soon.”
Li Jungkook inadvertently looked into her eyes, which were as clear and bright as before, with clear black and white.
“What about you? Are you seriously injured?”
Li Jungkook shook his head: “Nothing.”
“That’s good.” She believed it and asked, “When did you come back?”
“I came back not long after that.” Li Jungkook lowered his head and scratched his forehead with his fingers. “What about you?”
“Me too, it just happened to be a reporter rotation.”
Li Jungkook smiled and said, “I’ve seen you on TV news many times recently.”
Song Lisa pursed her lips and smiled: “It’s all because of the award for the photo.” She fiddled with the chopsticks with her fingers and said, “By the way, let me tell you, I am now developing into an independent journalist. I can do a lot of things freely and choose the topics that I am interested in and want to pay attention to.”
Li Jungkook listened to her carefully with a smile in his eyes and said sincerely, “It’s good.”
She nodded: “Yeah. But sometimes I feel that this society is too realistic. Just because a photo is successful, you can get a lot. It’s too result-oriented. I think…” Her heart suddenly ached, and she said, “For something, the true and correct purpose and process at the beginning are more important. It’s a bit biased to use the result to infer the original intention.”
Li Jungkook was silent for a moment and said, “I used to think so, but now I feel that sometimes the right purpose cannot give immunity to the wrong result. If you make a mistake, you have to take responsibility, no matter how good your original Intention is.”
Song Lisa was quiet for a moment, lowered her eyes, and said softly: “But… it is a bit cruel to completely deny or distort a person’s original good intentions because of a wrong or imperfect result.”
Li Jungkook thought about this sentence and did not answer for a while.
The waiter brought the food.
Li Jungkook scooped a bowl of clear fish soup for her.
“Thank you.” Song Lisa drank a few sips slowly and raised her eyes. “By the way, Political Commissar Luo, where are Jiang Lin and the others?”
“Political Commissar Luo just came back. Jiang Lin will probably be back next month.”
“Oh.” Song Lisa nodded, and after a few seconds, he asked again, “Is Jiang Lin still catching chickens now?”
Li Jungkook was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, “We should catch more. I heard it’s a newly opened piece of land.”
“Changed station?”
“Well, Garo has also started the war. The base has moved 60 kilometres to the south.”
“Oh,” she suddenly remembered, “where are Jimin and the others?”
“I got hurt a little bit and went back to the United States.”
“Are you still in touch?”
“Yes. I met him last time I went to the United States.” Li Jungkook looked at her, “He also asked about you.”
“Eh?” Song Lisa ’s eyes widened slightly, “What do you want to ask me?”
“Nothing much, just saying if it’s ok or not, how you’re doing and stuff like that.”
“……oh.”
“Is the reporter named Sasin okay?” Li Jungkook asked.
Speaking of Sasin, Song Lisa smiled again: “He is fine, he has been rescued a long time ago.”
“That’s good.” Li Jungkook said, “You saved him.”
Song Lisa was eating glutinous rice balls, looking up blankly. She had never thought about this question before. She deliberately avoided thinking about many things that happened that day.
She held the glutinous rice dumpling in her mouth and uttered a vague “hmm”. Seeing that he hadn’t touched the dessert yet, she reminded him, “This glutinous rice dumpling is delicious. Try it. It will get cold in a while.”
Li Jungkook scooped one and put it in his mouth. It was soft and sticky, not overly sweet, and tasted just right.
“Is it delicious?”
“Mm. Delicious.”
“How long will you stay in your current position?”
“Not sure at the moment. At least for now…” He looked out the window, “Not bad. Pretty relaxing.”
“That’s right. I don’t have any time for myself in the army.” Song Lisa said sincerely, “It’s good to return to life. No one has to devote their whole life to one thing.”
Li Jungkook listened to this, thought for a while, and asked: “Will you go to Dongguo again? Report, etc.”
Song Lisa clenched the spoon, raised his eyes and smiled: “No, for now. I have a lot of work at hand right now, so I can’t spare the time.”
“That’s good. Girls are still more likely to get hurt if they run around outside alone.”
“Yeah. My mother has always disagreed with me going to the East Country, saying that it’s the same if I develop in the country and pay attention to domestic news.”
“Yes,” Li Jungkook said, “To do things seriously, you don’t need to stick to a specific place or environment.”
Song Lisa nodded.
It was already past one in the afternoon when they finished the meal.
Li Jungkook paid the bill, and Song Lisa didn’t say anything this time: “Can I treat you next time?”
He smiled and said, “Okay.”
After leaving the restaurant, the two parted at the intersection.
Li Jungkook said, “See you next time.”
“Okay, see you next time.” Song Lisa waved at him.
She followed the crowd to the other side of the road. After walking a few steps, she couldn’t help but look back. He was also crossing the road, his silhouette was tall, and the light of noon shone on his hair.
Li Jungkook followed the crowd to the side of the road, then turned his head to look across the intersection. Song Lisa had already crossed the road and walked away.
He retracted his gaze, put his hands in his pockets, and continued forward. He walked through the gap between two buildings, and the wind blew.
He was quiet In his heart.
YOU ARE READING
White Olive Tree
Roman d'amour"Ah Jungkook, I am Lisa." No person is an isolated island, except for you. That day, he looked outside the window and saw a white olive tree in the open field. *** Reporter Song is quite different from her appearance. Reporter Song works very dilige...
