Although the background of the story is set around 1930s, it tells a group of overseas students with Fang Hung-chien as the protagonist, and many of the plots and classic dialogues are equally applicable even now.
At the beginning of the story, the author describes the arrival of the morning in a delicate and humorous way: "The Red Sea has long passed and the ship is sailing in the Indian Ocean, but the sun still sets late and gets up early, occupying more than half of the night. Night is like paper soaked in oil, becoming a translucent body; It is embraced by the sun and cannot be separated. Perhaps intoxicated by the sun, so the night after sunset is also red. When Hong Xiao was drunk, the sleeper in the cabin woke up in a greasy sweat, took a bath and caught up with the sea breeze blowing on the deck. It was another day. " The beginning of this day also indicates that a wonderful and touching story is about to be staged.
With the help of half his father-in-law, Fang Hung-chien went abroad to study. During his study abroad, he didn't put his mind on his study. In order to glorify his ancestors after returning to China, he dragged a Scotsman to buy a fake diploma of "Doctor of Philosophy, Clayton University" that didn't exist. Although it is a fake diploma, it is also a person who has studied abroad. On the return cruise, he talked with Dr. Su Wanwen of the University of Lyon, France. In Sue's eyes, it seems that everything in the world is dross, just like her attitude towards Miss Bao at the beginning.
The affectionate Miss Bao may be the first person that Fang Hung-chien likes. Fang Hung-chien had a one-night stand with Miss Bao. He wanted to take this relationship seriously, but he found himself just a plaything. Sure enough, when the cruise arrived in Shanghai, Miss Bao ran to Dr. Heipang's fiance without looking back. This feeling suddenly ended, and Fang Hung-chien was a little disappointed. However, Miss Bao is only a "lover" at best.
There is a slight difference between "lover" and "girlfriend". If you want to find a girlfriend, Fang Hung-chien will think that Miss Su is Sue's ideal girlfriend, with brains, status, attitude and appearance. But in the process of contact, he will feel that his friendship with this miss Su is like two parallel straight lines. No matter how close or far apart, there will always be no intersection. Interestingly, when I was getting along with Sue, I accidentally found her cousin, a naive, lively and cheerful girl. Fang Hung-chien suddenly decided that this was the person he was looking for, not Miss Su. Fang Hung-chien, who traveled back and forth between Su and He, has changed from novelty to fatigue. In the process of dealing with the world, Su also felt that Fang Hung-chien liked his cousin rather than himself, so he used some means to deepen the misunderstanding between the three people. As a result, the relationship between the three became stiff, and the contradiction between Fang Hung-chien and his prospective parents-in-law intensified, which led him to quit his job as a bank clerk in Shanghai and work in San Lv University, an unknown university in Hunan.
On the way to the university, Fang Hung-chien went through a lot of hardships, gradually became friends with his old enemy Zhao, and met Li and others. When Fang Hung-chien was teaching at San Lv University, he unconsciously fell into the school's infighting and was excluded. With the forced departure of his good friend Zhao and the warming of his feelings, Fang Hung-chien also left this eventful autumn and married a simple and reserved one.
If we go to see the women that Fang Hung-chien met alone, their different personalities can find a place in our hearts. Miss Bao, who has a one-night stand, symbolizes the feelings that come and go quickly and have no foundation at all. The aloof Sue symbolizes the "fantasy" of her ideal girlfriend. If she is far away from her, she will have the illusion of intersection. If she is far away, she will feel that she only exists in her mind and can't play with it. Innocent Tang Xiaofu symbolizes an ideal and realistic girlfriend. She is lively and cheerful, and occasionally coquetry. However, these people have too shallow a fate with Fang Hung-chien. They are not the last ones in his life, but at most they stay in his heart. On the contrary, Sun Roujia, who was plain but deliberately everywhere, met Fang Hung-chien, who unconsciously married her. But the contradiction between the two people may have planted the seeds of falling apart in the future from the beginning of their love. Fang's pedantry and Aunt Sun's provocation finally broke the last string in Fang Hung-chien's heart.
In the last scene of the TV series, Fang Hung-chien walked alone on a cold winter night, and the biting north wind blew, as if he could not blow out his inner anger. He is fed up with the fearless quarrel with Sun Roujia every day, as well as what menstruation called groundless framing. The narrative at this time can best reflect Fang Hung-chien's heart: "Fang Hung-chien, who once loved Su and was seduced by Miss Bao, died one by one." . Today, Fang Hung-chien is a man without dreams, feelings and wishes. He just wants to find a place to sleep. "
At the beginning of the story, Fang Hung-chien, who was in high spirits, disappeared. After years of training, he saw his life more clearly and lost his dream and soul. This personality tragedy has nothing to do with the times, but with the shackles of life suffered by people. The ending of the story is open. I wonder if Fang Hung-chien and Sun Roujia have made up. Even if they do, will there be new contradictions? None of this matters, which is the charm of this book.
People inside and outside the city are like trapped animals. People in the city want to escape in a hurry just to find new freedom, but even if they go out, they just enter a new besieged city. People outside the city want to rush in and see what the city looks like, and they are full of unrealistic fantasies about the city.
Whether it's marriage, career, or even life, that's probably it.
Who can guarantee that he is absolutely free from worldly disputes? Such people may not really exist.