War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1535: Confession and Loud Noise

After an unknown amount of time, Edelweiss, who was lying in Wei Ran's arms, gradually stopped crying, and her breathing gradually became even and long. This cute girl, who looked like a child who had not yet grown up, actually fell asleep like this - she even bit Wei Ran's collar and forgot to let go.

  What do you take me for?

Wei Ran sighed, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, but he could only continue to hold her like this, carefully enjoying this moment of peace that could be called a luxury, and also carefully providing the girl in his arms with some illusory sense of security.

As the Soviet mechanical watch on his wrist ticked tirelessly, Wei Ran, who was equally tired, gradually fell asleep.

But soon, he was awakened by the slightest movement of the girl in his arms.

"you're awake?"

"Wake you up?"

The two asked similar questions at the same time, and noticed the extinguished candle lights and a series of explosions that seemed to be faintly heard from a great distance.

Edelweiss subconsciously wiped the saliva from the corner of her mouth, then changed her shoulder to avoid the collar that was wet with her own saliva, and lay in Wei Ran's arms again.

After a slight hesitation, Wei Ran hugged the other person again, a little tighter than before.

"My family lives in Graz, Austria. My grandfather has a small farm in the countryside, far away from the town."

Edelweiss whispered into Wei Ran's ear, "I grew up on that farm. My grandfather raised a lot of goats, and he was also a veterinarian."

At this point, Edelweiss couldn't help but smile, "He's a real veterinarian, not a veterinarian like you who saves people and kills people at the same time."

"Is life happy there?" Wei Ran whispered in the same almost delirious voice.

"yes"

Edelweiss’s voice sounded much happier, “When I was a kid I used to race my grandfather’s goat against his St. Bernard named Adolf.

We raced to see who could reach the highest point on the farm first, and I always fell off the goat’s back halfway.”

At this point, Edelweiss couldn't help but hug Wei Ran tightly, "Although my grandfather is a veterinarian, he always volunteers to rescue skiers in the winter.

Rescue them from the mountain, treat their wounds, scold them, and give them dinner. "

"With the St. Bernard, Adolf?"

Wei Ran couldn't help but ask, "I also have a dog, a Caucasian, named Beria."

"The Beria from the Soviet Union?" Edelweiss asked with a smile.

"You still know him?"

"Of course I know. My grandfather said that he was a man not to be trifled with. He was very lucky that he was not sent to prison by that gentleman, otherwise he would have to spend 120 years in prison before he had a chance to get out."

Edelweiss brought the topic back to this point, "The St. Bernard my grandfather raised would not bring whiskey to rescue people, but it was good at catching mice on the farm."

"Are you homesick?"

Wei Ran asked softly, and then he noticed that more hot tears were sliding down from the girl's eyes and hitting his neck.

"Um"

Edelweiss responded vaguely, but at the same time subconsciously hugged Wei Ran tighter, gaining the sense of security that she desperately needed.

"you"

“I miss my grandfather, I miss my mom and dad, I miss my brother, he’s only 11 years old, the same age as Rama.

I still miss the dog named Adolf. Whenever I go back, he will lick my face like crazy and wag his tail like crazy while spinning around in circles. "

Edelweiss murmured to herself, "But I can't just leave like this, or I'll feel guilty for the rest of my life."

"Actually, you can't change anything," Wei Ran sighed, "and I can't change anything either."

"I know"

Edelweiss straightened up and wiped the corners of her eyes. "But someone has to do something, right? We may not be able to change anything, but at least we saved a lot of people. Like you said, we can at least let them live for another half an hour."

"Did I say that?"

"You said that," Edelweiss said stubbornly, "when you were doing the initial treatment for those seriously injured."

"Maybe I said that" Wei Ran smiled.

"That extra half an hour of life may allow them to receive further treatment, which can mean the difference between life and death for them."

Edelweiss smiled again on her delicate, protective face. "So you see, we can still change something."

“Maybe, maybe we really have changed something.”

Wei Ran muttered to himself, but his mind was filled with the tragic fate that he could not change.

"I want to try again," Edelweiss abruptly changed the subject.

"What?" Wei Ran asked back, who was unable to react for a moment.

But what responded to him was Edelweiss lying in his arms again and a clumsy kiss that caught him off guard.

After a slightly slow moment of confusion and struggle, the originally one-way demand finally resulted in an active response.

Maybe it was a moment, or maybe it was a long time later. After a brief taste that was still not enough, the two people who didn't want to be matched by desire stopped with difficulty and tacit understanding to defend the bottom line.

"Can you tell me your secrets?"

Edelweiss twisted her body into a comfortable position where she wouldn't be hurt, and then she lay in Wei Ran's arms again and whispered, "Those secrets that made you despair of suicide."

"I"

Wei Ran couldn't help but shiver, and subconsciously hugged the girl in his arms tightly in the dark.

After a long silence, he finally whispered hoarsely into the other person's ear, "When I first participated in the war, I met a little girl, she was probably not even as old as Rama.

When I met her, she hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for a long time, and she couldn’t even speak.”

"You saved her?" Edelweiss, who was also hugging Wei Ran tightly, asked subconsciously.

"No," Wei Ran sighed, "She saved me."

In the dark cab, Wei Ran whispered into the other person's ear about his regrets and guilt regarding the battle, and those painful secrets that he could not even tell his closest family members.

He also confided in those friends hidden deep in his memory, and of course, the first enemy he killed with his own hands.

Being held in his arms, or Edelweiss holding him in the same arms, seems more like a qualified listener.

She just listened quietly and comforted him gently, but did not ask about any details that Wei Ran did not want to talk about or did not dare to recall.

After an unknown amount of time, Wei Ran's voice became increasingly blurred, and he fell into a dream again, as if he had unloaded a heavy burden.

After kissing Wei Ran gently again, Edelweiss lay in his arms with peace of mind, muttering to herself, "I will help you keep those secrets, and I will also help you share those pains, I promise."

After saying this, the angel-like girl also closed her eyes.

She didn't notice in the dark that just as she made the promise, a tear had already slid down Wei Ran's eye and gently fell on her light golden hair.

During this short night, Wei Ran slept soundly like never before. When he woke up, he even subconsciously thought that he had returned home, to the time and space that he was more familiar with.

But soon, he was pulled back to a certain level of "reality" by his numb legs and Edelweiss who was still sleeping soundly in his arms.

Listening to the slight sounds coming from behind, as well as the occasional flash of a child's figure and the light of the candle lamp in the rearview mirror, Wei Ran gently patted Edelweiss, bringing her back to reality from her dream.

After a brief moment of confusion, Edelweiss finally realized that she was still lying in Wei Ran's arms, and her cheeks turned pink in a very short time.

Fortunately, because the light was dim, she believed that Wei Ran would not see her embarrassment.

"The children are already up," Wei Ran reminded softly.

Coming back to her senses, Edelweiss leaned forward again and kissed Wei Ran, then whispered in his ear, "Can you continue to tell me your secrets tonight?"

"If you're willing to listen"

Wei Ran also responded by whispering in the other person's ear, and by the way took away the empty wine bottle that was thrown on the driver's seat last night.

"As long as you don't come back so late"

Edelweiss said this, and with Wei Ran's help, she carefully returned to the driver's seat - her legs were also numb.

They all stretched at the same time. After stretching her sore legs and feet, Edelweiss was the first to push the door, get out of the car and get into her tent while the children went to the yard behind the garage.

"Will she die in the ensuing massacre?"

Wei Ran looked at the petite figure disappearing in the rearview mirror, and in pain in his heart he asked a question that no one could answer.

After taking a long breath, he lit a cigarette tremblingly and took a deep puff, then began to think about more pressing matters.

Today is September 9th, and the 14-kilogram bomb will explode at the headquarters of the Falange Party, taking away the leader and the little peace that has just sprouted.

After a cigarette was burned out, he picked up the small bag containing the found belongings at his feet before pushing the door and getting out of the car. He stuffed the banknotes, rings, watches and other items inside into every corner of the car.

Finally, he shook the scarf that he used as a bag, pushed the door and got out of the car. He and Edelweiss, who had also just changed her clothes and walked out of the tent, smiled at each other tacitly. One walked towards the small yard behind the garage, and the other walked into the tent that had not returned all night.

"It seems that the Edelweiss really calmed the dangerous beast."

Almost at the very moment before Wei Ran entered the tent, from the compartment belonging to the sewing machine and the cradle, there came a sound of ridicule in Rabbit Riding language which the sewing machine thought Wei Ran couldn't understand.

"Now I hope they can be more rational and that they didn't do anything dangerous last night."

Cradle said worriedly, "I don't want to perform an abortion on Edelweiss in such a harsh environment. It will kill her."

"It seems we need to give them some security measures."

The sewing machine didn't know when it said this, but Wei Ran, who was separated by a canvas curtain, was almost rolling his eyes to the back of his head.

"Let me do it, and ask our good girls if anything happened to them last night." As Cradle said this, the sound of rummaging could be heard from their cubicle. "How about giving them half?"

"Hopefully it'll be enough for them until they leave here."

The sewing machine, who seemed to be enjoying the fun, jokingly said, "I will also remind the veterinarian."

Beast your uncle's seventh leg doctor! Wei Ran cursed inwardly, picked up his toiletries and left the tent first.

Perhaps the "help" mentioned yesterday has arrived, or perhaps it is just the calm before the storm.

That morning, they rarely left the garage until 8:30 and returned to the operating room they were in charge of.

Even so, apart from those previously treated patients who needed dressing changes, stitches removal and other treatments, there were not many new patients sent in that morning.

The news was mixed. Although his work became much less busy, Wei Ran also noticed that there were indeed many unfamiliar doctors whom he had never seen before in this hospital which was barely still functioning.

Before we could have a chance to chat with the medical workers who came to support us, two groups of wounded were sent in almost half an hour before lunch.

Just by hearing them swearing at each other even after being sent to the corridor to wait for treatment, and even looking like they were ready to open fire at any time, you can tell that the injuries on these two groups of people were most likely caused by each other.

Of course, it was through the verbal abuse between them that Wei Ran was able to confirm that he still could not understand Arabic.

Compared to what Wei Ran was worried about, the fact that two obviously hostile groups of people could receive treatment in the same hospital, and that there was a verbal fight in the operating room and the tense atmosphere outside the operating room where a gunshot could occur at any time made all the other medical workers laugh and cry, and had to be vigilant, trying their best to be impartial and fair, so as not to become the fuse between the two parties.

Because of this, the helpers who had just been considering whether to rush back to the refugee camp in the afternoon had to temporarily shelve the proposal that had already been agreed by the majority.

As time passed, by the time 3:30 p.m. approached 4 p.m., the number of wounded sent in one after another finally decreased, and everyone finally got a moment to rest and have lunch.

"Why are you so weird today?"

The sewing machine ate a dry pancake and muttered, "It's not as busy as yesterday, but I don't have any free time at all."

"It is said that the fighting occurred because of a lack of water and food."

Rama, who was also eating a pancake, explained, "Both sides said the other side fired first, and then it turned into a melee."

"Are you still fighting now?" Wei Ran asked.

“It has stopped.”

Rama answered while chewing a piece of cake, "The specific situation"

Before Rama could tell the specific situation, the wooden door of the operating room was pushed open a crack, and then the hot air balloon came in, holding a suitcase and a large backpack in his hands.

"Why are you here?" asked the sewing machine in surprise.

"If you guys don't plan to leave, why should I leave?"

As the hot air balloon spoke, he put down the things in his hands, randomly smoothed his iconic afro, then opened his backpack and took out lunch boxes equal to the number of people. "Eat this, I brought it from the ship."

"What are you staying for?"

Cradle asked in confusion, "And, Ed?"

"I can always help you guys."

The hot air balloon answered without waiting for Cradle to finish asking the question, "I have already sent the two Eds and your packages on board, and my comrades will personally take them to where they should go.

You know, he has been helping us and is a man you can absolutely trust.”

"So what are you going to do while you stay?"

Edelweiss scooped a large spoonful of the still hot paella into her mouth, chewing while asking incoherently.

"You always need people," said the hot air balloon, spreading his hands. "I can at least help you transport the wounded or protect your safety."

When Hot Air Balloon said the first half of the sentence, everyone including Rama didn't think anything of it. But when he said the second half, except for himself and Wei Ran, everyone who could understand French looked at a veterinarian with strange expressions.

"What are you looking at me for?"

Wei Ran innocently shoveled a big mouthful of seafood rice into his mouth. This thing was indeed much more delicious than pancake.

As for the others, although none of them had seen Wei Ran kill anyone with their own eyes, no one doubted the ability of Mr. Dongfeng, who only appeared at night.

"What's with that look on your face?" Hot Air Balloon asked unhappily, "When I was serving outside the law, I was an excellent sniper. I can definitely protect you."

"Are you a sniper?" Wei Ran looked at the other party in surprise.

"Of course, I've been a sniper since I entered extralegal service."

The hot air balloon said proudly, "I can shoot a magazine of bullets at a target the size of a volleyball from 500 meters away."

"What weapon did you use?" Wei Ran asked jokingly.

"FR-F1," the hot air balloon replied as a matter of course, "Of course it's FR-F1, I've always used it."

Glancing at the other people who were looking back and forth between the two of them, Wei Ran put down his lunch box and took out a cigarette, "Shall we go out for a smoke?"

"certainly"

Hot Air Balloon stood up while speaking, and at the same time used his headband to roll up his bangs into a small braid.

Watching the two people walk out of the operating room one after another, the sewing machine and the cradle looked at each other, and then looked at Edelweiss tacitly.

"Look what I do"

Edelweiss asked innocently before putting another large spoonful of paella into her mouth.

"Forget it, let's eat." The sewing machine shook its head helplessly, and also shoveled a big mouthful of rice into its mouth, chewing it in big mouthfuls as if in a huff.

Outside the operating room, Wei Ran walked all the way to the outside of the building with the hot air balloon until it stopped under the tall cedar tree at the garage door. Then he stopped and gave the other person a cigarette.

"Are we really here to smoke?" Hot Air Balloon asked casually as he lit a cigarette.

After Wei Ran failed in his attempt to ask whether weapons could be delivered to the refugee camp, he changed his question to "Have you used Soviet weapons?"

"Soviet weapons?"

Hot Air Balloon glanced at Wei Ran and said, "You mean A?"

"SVD" Wei Ran said simply.

"We seized one," the hot air balloon replied simply.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" Wei Ran asked the second question.

"This is Lebanon," the hot air balloon pointed to the ground below.

"Come with me"

Wei Ran said no more, waved at the other party, walked to the garage door, and under the other party's strange gaze, he easily opened the padlock on the iron door with two hairpins.

Wei Ran didn't stop at all and kept walking forward. The hot air balloon behind him also flashed in and did not forget to lock the iron door, and then caught up with Wei Ran.

Coming to the small yard behind the garage, Wei Ran lifted up a worn car tire, then a tattered blanket, then kicked away the sand, pulled out the body bag containing the weapons, and then raised his chin towards the hot air balloon.

After a brief hesitation, Hot Air Balloon opened the zipper on the body bag, and then saw the weapons and ammunition inside.

"Where did you get it?" asked the hot air balloon in surprise. "Doctors Without Borders is..."

"It was found right here," Wei Ran replied without saying a word.

With a twitch of his lips, Hot Air Balloon reached out and picked up the SVD wrapped in the surgical sheet, opened it and took a look, then picked up the bag of bullets and checked it.

"What do you want to do?" The hot air balloon finally looked at Wei Ran.

"Didn't you say you would protect us?"

Wei Ran spread his hands and asked like a rogue, "You must have a weapon, right? Are you going to use your afro to protect us?"

Hearing this, Hot Air Balloon's face broke into a bright smile, "So these are for me?"

“Take it if you need it.”

Wei Ran said generously, and then without caring whether the other party agreed or not, he simply turned and walked towards the garage.

A moment later, the hot air balloon also caught up with empty hands, "How about locking the door later? I'll go push my motorcycle in."

"Of course." While Wei Ran was speaking, he had already opened the iron door of the garage and let the hot air balloon run out in a hurry.

  Can you save them? Even one person

Wei Ran muttered to himself as he watched the hot air balloon go away. At the same time, he couldn't help but worry whether this man codenamed Hot Air Balloon would also...

"Boom--!"

Just at this moment, a dull loud noise came from a distance. I rolled up my sleeves subconsciously and saw the time displayed on the Soviet watch I picked up. It was indeed 4:10 in the afternoon.

"It's about to begin"

As Wei Ran was muttering to himself, the hot air balloon that was originally riding towards the garage, immediately spun out of the hospital after the explosion, rushing towards the direction where the explosion occurred - which was also the direction of the Falange Party headquarters.

Turning around and locking the iron door of the garage, Wei Ran quickly walked towards the operating room.

"What was that explosion just now?"

From a distance, the sewing machine that had already run out of the operating room shouted at Wei Ran. He was even holding a lunch box and a spoon in his hands and hurriedly putting food into his mouth.

"do not know"

Wei Ran rubbed the tattoo on his palm that felt slightly burning, and answered cautiously, "The hot air balloon has just rushed out on a motorcycle. I guess he went to investigate. I believe there will be news or injured people sent here soon."

"That's the direction of the Falange headquarters." Cradle looked at the direction of the explosion worriedly.

"The war is about to begin," Edelweiss sighed and hugged Rama and Dalal beside her, muttering to herself, "The war is about to begin again."