In 1939, at Kyoto University, it was the start of the new academic year.
Students in long robes came and went in twos and threes. Zhang Shufen and several female students were welcoming the new students.
"What's your name, classmate? What department are you in? This way..."
"Shufen, I'll go take the new student back to the dormitory first. Are you okay by yourself?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shufen, who was organizing her classmates' files, looked up. She had two braids and a very pretty face. Her student robe was altered at home and fit her perfectly. She looked at her friend Chen Fan and smiled, "Okay, go ahead."
Chen Fan was a classmate of the history department, and the history and journalism departments put their desks together.
Chen Fan quickly led his new classmates away.
Zhang Shufen had just finished registering their names and hadn't even sat down when she heard a gentle voice: "Hello, is this where the history department registers?"
Zhang Shufen looked up and saw him. He was backlit, wearing a faded long robe and carrying a very old-looking suitcase. But his smile was like a gentle breeze, and his eyes also held a faint smile.
So Zhang Shufen walked to Chen Fan's desk, picked up a pen, and asked, "A history major, right? What's your name?"
His surname is Duan, and his given name is Jiancheng.
"Completed?"
Zhang Shufen smiled slightly: "Your name is quite interesting."
Duan Jiancheng simply smiled and did not speak.
"Let me see your enrollment documents; you need to register."
"good."
While registering, Zhang Shufen said, "My name is Zhang Shufen. I'm a sophomore in the journalism department. I'm your senior."
Hello, Senior Zhang.
"Okay, from now on you can call me Senior Shufen. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me anytime. I'm good friends with Chen Fan from your history department, she..."
"Shufen!" Chen Fan's lively voice rang out.
Zhang Shufen smiled and said, "She's here."
Chen Fan ran up to them, panting, and her eyes lit up when she saw Duan Jiancheng: "Hello, classmate, my name is Chen Fan."
"Hello, Senior Chen, my name is Duan Jiancheng."
"Duan Jiancheng, that name sounds familiar. Who is Duan Jianmin to you?"
Duan Jiancheng never expected that someone would mention his older brother at this time: "He's my eldest brother."
Chen Fan was taken aback, then her face immediately turned red: "Jianmin, is that your brother..."
Duan Jiancheng: "Senior Sister Chen knows my older brother?"
Zhang Shufen was also confused. Although she and Chen Fan were often together, she had never heard Chen Fan mention Duan Jianmin.
Chen Fan smiled and said, "Yes, we know each other. I met your brother last year when the school organized students to deliver supplies to the army passing through Kyoto. Your brother even saved my life."
So Chen Fan patted his chest and said, "I've met your brother twice, so we're friends. From now on, I'll protect you in Kyoto!"
Duan Jiancheng and Zhang Shufen exchanged a strange glance, and then couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Chen Fan stomped his foot and said, "Hey, what are you all laughing at? How annoying!"
Duan Jiancheng was overjoyed because he hadn't seen his elder brother in a long time, and his eyes were filled with tears when he heard the news again.
Zhang Shufen was happy for her friend; it's not hard to guess what a young woman is thinking.
In the afternoon, the enrollment registration temporarily ended, and Chen Fan and Zhang Shufen walked out of Kyoto University hand in hand.
Zhang Shufen: "To be honest, have you been writing letters to Comrade Jianmin lately?"
Chen Fan was a little embarrassed, but still honestly confessed: "Well, I've only met him twice, and it was not easy to get his address."
Zhang Shufen seemed thoughtful, a hint of slyness in her eyes: "No wonder you insisted on taking over the senior's freshman orientation. I was wondering when you became so eager; it turns out you already knew his younger brother would... um..."
Chen Fan covered Zhang Shufen's mouth: "Oh dear, don't talk nonsense, we just... we just exchanged greetings through letters."
Zhang Shufen patted her, and Chen Fan mercifully let her go.
"I'm not making this up, but you've kept it from me too. Tell me, did you fall in love with him at first sight?"
Chen Fan's eyes darted around, her face as red as a cherry. Finally, she stomped her foot, covered her face, and ran away, saying, "Ugh, I'm not playing with you anymore, Shufen, you're so mean."
Zhang Shufen watched Chen Fan run away, and tears welled up in her eyes as she laughed.
So Zhang Shufen also walked to the school gate. Duan Jiancheng had just returned from buying some daily necessities when he saw Zhang Shufen. He was about to go up and say hello when a car stopped. The driver got out of the driver's seat and respectfully opened the door for Zhang Shufen: "Miss, the master is waiting for you at home."
Zhang Shufen responded and got into the car.
Duan Jiancheng was so engrossed in watching that his classmate Liu Enrang asked, "Are you looking at Miss Zhang?"
"Miss Zhang? Yes, she's the one who greeted me when I was a new student."
Liu Enrang smiled and said, "At school, everyone calls her 'senior sister,' but outside, everyone is used to calling her Miss Zhang. The renovation and construction of Kyoto were all funded by the Zhang family. The Zhang family is a first-rate family in Kyoto. I heard that their ancestors came from the palace, but I don't know if it's true..."
"Senior Zhang even studied abroad and came back from overseas."
"Returned from studying abroad? So young? Doesn't look like you've been studying abroad for several years."
"That's because she went there for a year and then came straight back, insisting on going to Kyoto University. I heard her family couldn't stop her, so they just went along with it. Senior Zhang got the highest score in the entrance exam, but the prospects for journalism aren't that great..."
Liu Enrang glanced around and approached Duan Jiancheng mysteriously: "Moreover, I heard that several political parties above want the Zhang family to submit. Miss Zhang's father is a very important figure. He can say he doesn't want to do something and he even dares to go against those foreign devils."
Upon hearing this, Duan Jiancheng subconsciously looked at Zhang Shufen's departing figure, his expression inexplicably softening.
As soon as Zhang Shufen's car arrived home, Zhang Ziji ran out: "Third Sister, you're finally back."
Zhang Shufen got out of the car, smiling as she picked up her six-year-old brother: "What? Missed your third sister?"
"Yes, I think so. Also, my father and older brother are arguing."
"Arguing? Why did you argue?"
"have no idea."
Zhang Shufen put Zhang Ziji down, patted his head, and took out a piece of fructose to hand to him: "Good boy, go find your mother."
Zhang Ziji nodded: "Thank you, Third Sister."
Zhang Ziji quickly ran away, while Zhang Shufen walked towards the hall. As she passed the gatehouse, the guard respectfully called out to her, "Third Miss."
Zhang Shufen simply responded and went inside, while the familiar sounds of arguing came from the hall.
“Father, when the country is in peril, the men of our nation should stand strong! Countless men of China can go to the battlefield, so why can’t I, Zhang Wenkai?”
"Do you know how dangerous the battlefield is? If you're gone, does this country have to perish?"
"Father, if everyone in the world thought like you, then China would truly perish!"
"Zhang Wenkai, you are truly shameless!"
Zhang Shufen walked in: "Father, elder brother."
And so, their argument abruptly stopped.
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