The moment the mask was pulled off, Song Ran was startled, shocked by her own abruptness and recklessness.

She faced his unfamiliar yet familiar face, at a loss, flustered and dazed, unable to say a word. Her hand also loosened in fear, and the mask fell.

His attention was very focused. His eyes lowered, and he raised a hand to catch the falling mask.

He showed no extra emotion, only frowning seriously because of the chaotic situation around them. He didn't linger in front of Song Ran and turned to escort the troublemakers.

"You don't remember me?" Song Ran shouted in a low voice, squeezing forward and grabbing his sleeve again through the human wall. So this was the texture of a special police combat uniform—coarse, as if frosted.

He turned his head again; it was unclear if he had heard her murmur. He looked with some confusion at her fingers tightly clutching his arm.

The surrounding special police were busy holding back the crowd, with no time to pay her any attention. But the crowd surged, and she was about to lose her grip. She said urgently, "You saved me! Don't you remember? In Surei City. You saved me!"

He didn't seem to remember, and the troublemaker he was holding was still struggling.

He was, after all, a patient and polite person. He said to her placatingly, "Ma'am, I'm on duty."

She froze for a moment, knowing she had been rude. The strength in her hand vanished, and the momentary disappointment on her face looked very pitiful.

He glanced at her twice but really had no time to spare and turned to leave. Just as she was about to let go, she gripped him again.

"What's your name?" she asked, looking at him. Afraid he wouldn't answer, she was so anxious she was almost choking up as she pressed, "What's your name?!"

He hesitated for a moment, then said quickly, "Li Zan."

After speaking, he brushed her hand off his arm.

"Move back! Don't push! Move back!" The human wall formed by the special police pushed against the crowd. Song Ran was shoved back forcefully by that wave, and the distance between them was completely pulled apart.

He escorted the group of people away and soon disappeared from sight.

Nearly half an hour later, the rioting crowd finally began to disperse. The ground was littered with paper scraps and plastic trash. Song Ran's white carry-on suitcase was covered in dents and footprints.

Looking disheveled, she carried her suitcase out of the airport and waited in line for nearly an hour before squeezing onto a bus.

Outside the window, the rain poured down in sheets. The floodwater was like a sea, with waves crashing against the glass. Liang City was almost submerged. Countless cars were soaked in water, on the verge of being scrapped. The bus driver, however, was very brave, driving the bus as fast as a ship.

The torrential rain was turning everything upside down, threatening to paralyze the city. The people on the bus sighed and complained endlessly.

Song Ran leaned against the bus door, her gaze clear and her expression peaceful. Her mood was like a gentle breeze, slowly blowing across thousands of miles.

What a strange fate. Every time they met, it was amidst the chaos of war, with one city falling after another.

When she left the airport, she had found out that Li Zan and his team belonged to the Jiang City Military Region but were permanently stationed in Liang City.

After getting home, she called Ran Yuwei and the book planner in Di City to tell them that due to the storm in Liang City, her flight was canceled. The weather had been terrible lately, so she would probably be a day or two late.

Afterward, she called the editorial department. Just as she had expected, someone had already been sent to cover the incident at the airport.

When Shen Bei learned she was at the airport at the time, she said, "That's great, you must have recorded some firsthand material. Send it over quickly."

Song Ran said, "I recorded a bit at the beginning, but the part where the fighting started..."

She forgot.

After seeing Li Zan, how could she have had the energy to mind her phone?

Shen Bei said, "You didn't record it?"

"Yeah. It was too crowded."

"It's fine. I'll look online later; I should be able to buy a lead. Send me what you filmed first."

"Okay." Song Ran thought for a moment, then added, "Have you found all your material?"

"Yeah."

"...Did you interview the police?"

Shen Bei was at a loss for words: "Oh no. Crap, I still have to rush this article."

Song Ran volunteered, "Let me go interview them for you."

Shen Bei was stunned for a moment, "I couldn't possibly ask that of you. Besides, aren't you on vacation?"

"My flight was canceled, and I have nothing to do anyway."

"Then thank you so much. I'll treat you to a meal next time."

After four in the afternoon, the rain hadn't let up at all. Song Ran drove onto the ring road. Dark clouds pressed down, and the sky was as dim as night. Rain pelted the car like sand and gravel. The world was a vast expanse of chaos, and the entire city seemed to have sunk into the water. Along a stretch of the national highway, all the long-distance vehicles were stopped on the roadside with their hazard lights flashing. And in the distance, the muddy waves of the Yangtze River surged and crashed against the banks, as if they would overflow the dikes and pour in at any moment.

Song Ran took a shortcut to the vicinity of Xiguang Road. As she came off the elevated road, she drove through a dip, and the whole car sank into it, making her heart jump. The wheels churned up a massive amount of floodwater, and the engine nearly stalled. Luckily, she was driving fast enough to escape.

Today was the weekend. Due to the storm, almost no one was out. The streets were empty. She drove alone to the garrison area, entered the main gate smoothly, and arrived in front of an open-plan office building that resembled a school building.

She didn't have an umbrella in her car, and the parking spot was about fifty meters from the office building. She gritted her teeth and ran into the wind and rain, getting soaked by the icy water. Just as she rushed up the steps and before she could steady herself, she ran into a man in a black combat uniform coming down the stairs quickly.

Just as they were about to collide, the man stopped in time, taking a small step back to avoid her. Song Ran also stopped immediately and steadied herself, her heart nearly leaping out of her throat.

"I'm sorry." She looked up, disheveled. The stray hairs on her forehead were tangled in strands, trembling on her drenched brow. As she looked up, she met Li Zan's slightly surprised gaze.

He was holding a black umbrella. He had just seen her car from upstairs and was about to come down to meet her. He hadn't expected her to just charge over so recklessly.

The two stared at each other, silent for a second.

Beyond the edge of the building's roof, mist drifted over, and stray raindrops fluttered down, instantly dampening his short hair. He casually wiped the rain from his forehead and smiled faintly. "Reporter Song?"

"Yes," she nodded firmly.

He raised the umbrella in his hand and said, "Sorry for coming down late."

As he said this, he smiled at her again. The corners of his mouth lifted into a slight curve, and his eyes curved as well.

Her heart was beating fast, and her face was very red. "I forgot to bring an umbrella." After the words left her mouth, she was speechless with herself: In such heavy rain, really, Song Ran, you're something else.

So she lowered her gaze to his umbrella. It was a simple, large black umbrella with a wooden handle, lacquered black with no decorations. His fingers tapped unconsciously on the handle, and there were calluses on his knuckles from holding a gun.

"Let's go." He turned and led her upstairs.

As expected of a soldier, even when climbing the stairs, his back was perfectly straight.

She gazed at his back, hesitating for a moment before asking, "Officer Li?"

"Hm?" He turned around.

"Which character is 'Zan'?"

"The one with the 'king' radical."

"Oh."

Zan.

'I happen to really like this character,' Song Ran thought.

When they entered the conference room, there was another special police officer. He stood up to greet Song Ran, introducing himself as Chen Feng, the instructor in charge of this interview.

"You got caught in the rain?"

"I forgot my umbrella." Song Ran's hair and face were covered in water, and her clothes were soaked through. Fortunately, for the convenience of travel, she was wearing a dark-colored T-shirt and jeans, so it wasn't too embarrassing.

Just as they were speaking, a sound came from inside the room.

Li Zan squatted by a cabinet, opened a drawer, and took out a box of tissues. He stood up, walked to the table, and gave it a gentle push. The box of tissues slid across the smooth tabletop to Song Ran, the force just right, the angle perfect, stopping in the palm of her hand.

"Thank you." Song Ran took a tissue to dry her hair and also gave her bag and phone a quick wipe.

Looking at the man across the table, he hadn't sat down. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, his legs crossed as well. He was wearing a set of navy blue, almost black, short-sleeved combat fatigues. His belt was fastened high and tight, accentuating his height and long legs. He was quiet and calm, seemingly not intending to participate much.

Chen Feng sat on this side, at a right angle to Song Ran.

Song Ran turned on her voice recorder, opened her notebook, and wiped her hands again with a tissue. In this stormy weather, even the paper in her notebook was limp.

"Hello, Instructor Chen. Our news department would like to interview you about the small-scale violent incident that occurred at the airport this morning. Thank you for your cooperation and assistance."

"Don't be polite. Feel free to ask any questions you have."

During the interview, she learned that airport security was not under their jurisdiction. However, the number of stranded passengers over the past two days was excessive, creating a huge security risk. The airport was short-staffed and had requested police support, which was why they had gone to help.

Chen Feng said with a smile, "You should be interviewing the police officers from the public security detachment; more of them went. We only sent a small group."

Song Ran felt a pang of guilt and smiled apologetically. "It's my lack of experience, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, it's fine," Chen Feng said magnanimously. "Go on, ask."

Song Ran's questions had all been prepared by Shen Bei, and everything proceeded step by step. Since they didn't accept video interviews, Song Ran only used her voice recorder, which was relatively simple to operate. Chen Feng was the instructor in their team in charge of publicity, so he was experienced and very cooperative. The question-and-answer session between them went very smoothly. Their low voices, interspersed with the storm outside, made the room seem even quieter.

Midway through, Song Ran once again glanced unintentionally in the direction of the window.

Outside the window, the daylight was dim. The fluorescent lights were on inside, casting a faint glow.

Li Zan was leaning against the wall watching them, listening intently to their conversation. Because she was speaking at that moment, he was looking directly into her eyes.

The stormy afternoon had a damp atmosphere reminiscent of old times, like the smell of moist paper upon entering an ancient library.

She met his gaze, and her mind went blank. Fortunately, Chen Feng spoke in the next second, and his gaze naturally shifted to him, as light as a feather brushing past.

About half an hour later, the interview was finished.

"Any other questions?"

"That's all of them. Thank you so much," Song Ran said, catching a glimpse of Li Zan standing up from the wall and walking toward the door.

"It's our duty. We'll have times when we need your help in the future, too. Let's keep in touch."

"Okay."

Song Ran stood up. Li Zan was standing in the corridor outside the door, his hands in his pockets, watching the two of them inside.

Chen Feng walked into the corridor, glanced at the storm outside, and said, "Take this umbrella."

Song Ran took the heavy black umbrella and said, "Thank you. I'll bring it back another day."

Chen Feng didn't expect her to return the umbrella and waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. We have plenty of umbrellas."

Downstairs, the rainwater was getting deeper and deeper. Li Zan suddenly turned his head and asked her, "Where do you live?"

Song Ran was taken aback. "Beimen Street. Why?"

Li Zan said, "I'm afraid your car won't make it back. The chassis is too low."

The flooding in the city had probably gotten worse by now. The Beimen Street area was low-lying and close to the river, with even more flooded spots. If Song Ran tried to drive her car back now, it would either get flooded and stall or end up hydroplaning.

Song Ran hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice, "Then what should I do?"

Instructor Chen Feng clapped Li Zan heartily on the shoulder and said to her, "It's fine, have him drive you back in a military vehicle."