1
The story begins with a cruise ship from France to Hongkong, with people from all kinds of backgrounds on board and several China students returning from studying in Europe. Fang Hung-chien spent four years in Europe, changed several universities and didn't get a diploma. Finally, in order to make friends with his family, he bought a fake diploma from Clayton University.
Miss Bao, who was on the same boat, was enthusiastic and open, and Fang Hung-chien fell in love with her. The two flirted on the deck and slept together at night. Miss Su likes Fang Hung-chien very much and is very jealous. After arriving in Hong Kong, Miss Bao was particularly cold to Fang Hung-chien and left with her fiance. Hung-chien turned away and became close to Miss Su. They play together and get on better and better. After they made an appointment to return to the mainland, Hung-chien went to Shanghai to find Miss Su.
After returning home, Fang Hung-chien started a new life. First, I went back to my hometown to visit my relatives, and then I came to Shanghai to find my future father-in-law, Mr. Zhou. When Fang Hung-chien was in high school, his parents decided to get engaged to Mr. Zhou's daughter. Unexpectedly, Mr. Zhou's daughter died young before she got married. Nevertheless, the relationship between the two families is good, and Mr. Zhou also sponsored Fang Hung-chien to study in Europe. This is a story from a cruise ship.
Fang Hung-chien works in the bank run by Mr. Zhou. In his spare time, he visits Miss Su. At Miss Su's home, he met Miss Su's cousin Tang Xiaofu and fell in love at first sight. I also met the admirers of Miss Zhao and Miss Su. Zhao thought that Hung-chien was his rival in love, and all kinds of difficulties were easily solved by him. Miss Su also enjoyed the feeling of two people competing for favor and secretly fanned the flames. Miss Su thought that Hung-chien liked herself, but she didn't know that Hung-chien liked her cousin.
In the following days, four people often get together, drinking tea, eating and chatting. There are also some other friends among them. Hung-chien was in an awkward position. Miss Su has always been very kind to him. Zhao tried every means to lock this rival in love, and he wanted to sneak attack, but Miss Tang seemed indifferent.
The turning point happened on a moonlit night when Miss Su and Fang Hung-chien were dating alone. In the yard, under the moonlight and atmosphere, Miss Su summoned up the courage to ask Hung-chien to kiss her. Hung-chien had no choice but to do so. Later, he made a hasty excuse and left. The next day, Hung-chien finally laid his cards on the table with Miss Su, saying that he had someone he liked. Miss Su called him an asshole.
After that, he went to Tang Xiaofu. Unexpectedly, Miss Su took the lead and told Tang Xiaofu everything about Fang Hung-chien on the boat. Don was angry and questioned him, saying that he was a liar. Unable to refute, Hung-chien left in the heavy rain. Tang Xiaofu is actually a little soft-hearted. These days, she is not without a trace of affection for Hung-chien. But the pride in her heart made her give up being with Hung-chien.
Fang Hung-chien is lovelorn here, and the prospective mother-in-law is angry with herself there. At her instigation, her future father-in-law expelled him from the bank. Hung-chien had no choice but to go home and rest first. At this moment, he remembered the telegram he had received not long ago. San Lv University in mainland China invited him to be a professor. At that time, he didn't want to leave Tang Xiaofu. Now there is nothing to hesitate.
After going home and resting for a few days, Fang Hung-chien learned from the newspaper that Miss Su was going to marry Cao Yuanlang (a friend who used to write poems). At the same time, he received a letter from "rival in love" Zhao, in which Zhao called him a fraternal brother and invited him to get together.
After the meeting, Zhao was very enthusiastic about Fang Hung-chien. He thought Hung-chien liked Miss Su, too. Now that Miss Su has married Cao Yuanlang, they are both enjoying each other when we are both unhappy-when we are old, we will naturally appreciate each other. Hung-chien admitted that he was really lovelorn, but the object was not Miss Su, but Miss Tang. Zhao suddenly realized that he was too slow to find out. In that case, all his past actions have been misunderstood, and he has become closer to Hung-chien.
Zhao Meixin told Fang Hung-chien that he recommended him to go to San Lv University, and they went together and became colleagues. Three other people, Mr. Li, Mr. Gu and Sun Roujia, will also go together. After a while, five people set out together and went to Hunan.
2
The journey of five people is tortuous. They often stay in hotels on the way by boat, train and car. Both Mr. Li and Mr. Gu are middle-aged people in their forties and fifties, and they are college graduates. Five people with different backgrounds staged many bizarre stories along the way.
Zhao and Fang Hung-chien secretly laughed at what Mr. Li often asked. Mr. Gu compliments Mr. Li and Zhao whenever he has the chance, which is despised by Zhao. I met a widow on the road and quarreled by mistake; On the way, several people almost exhausted their travelling expenses and had to starve; The school gave them money, but the bank had to have institutional guarantee to get it. They got the money through the highway bureau. Just before school, Sun Roujia got sick with a cold. Mr. Li prescribed medicine at random.
After some travel, the five of them finally arrived at San Lv University.
I thought everything would be fine when I arrived, but I didn't expect new troubles to come again.
Gao Songnian, president of San Lv University, is an old scientist. This time he was appointed to form San Lv University. He had promised to give it to Mr. Li's literature department head, but Wang Jichang's uncle robbed him. Fang Hung-chien was originally a professor, but he was also reduced to an associate professor.
The interpersonal relationship in San Lv University is also very complicated. Professor Han actually graduated from Clayton University. Apparently, like Fang Hung-chien, he bought a fake diploma. The two kept each other's secrets tacitly.
On the other hand, Sun Roujia was disturbed by students, so instead of teaching English, he was taught by Hung-chien. Who knows that Han framed Hung-chien in order to let his wife teach him a lesson, and Miss Sun informed Hung-chien in advance so that Hung-chien could strike first.
Director Wang lost his wife in middle age and married a young lady in her twenties. One day, Director Liu of the Foreign Languages Department asked Mrs. Wang to help her sister as a matchmaker. Mrs. Wang agreed. In fact, she had intended to introduce Miss Liu to Fang Hung-chien and Miss Fan from the Department of Education to Zhao.
Mrs. Wang invited several people to the party. During the dinner, Fang Hung-chien and Miss Liu were not interested in each other, but Miss Fan especially liked Zhao and tried to get close to him. Unexpectedly, however, Zhao had an idea for the matchmaker Mrs. Wang.
Miss Fan and her roommate, so she asked Miss Sun to take her to Zhao. At the same time, Sun Roujia also went to talk to Fang Hung-chien. Hung-chien didn't like Miss Sun at first, but under the stimulation of Zhao's words, he became more and more confused and seemed to like her a little.
three
A year later, Fang Hung-chien and Sun Roujia got engaged and left San Lv University together. They passed by Chongqing on their way home and got married there. I visited Zhao (Zhao left the university a few months ago and got promoted and made a fortune in Chongqing). Miss Su, who happened to like Hung-chien in those days, was also there. Now she has unlimited scenery, satirizing Hung-chien and Miss Sun. Hung-chien didn't dare to make any noise, and Sun Roujia was very angry.
After returning to Shanghai, both sides met each other's families, but both sides were dissatisfied with each other. Later, in the process of getting along, there were many contradictions between the two sides, and quarreling became a common occurrence for Hung-chien and Jou-chia. Hung-chien went to work in a newspaper and finally resigned. Once, they quarreled and started fighting. Sun Roujia went to his aunt's house in tears. Hung-chien felt empty and fell asleep.
From Europe, to Shanghai, to San Lv University and finally to Shanghai. Every city, every time he left, Hung-chien thought he was going to start a new life, only to fall into an endless cycle. The pressure of life, the troubles of work and the confusion of love are everywhere, and you can't escape.
From Miss Bao to Miss Su, then to and finally to. Hung-chien approached love countless times, but he ended up in the grave of love. I've been trying to find it, and now I just want to escape.
From international students, to bank employees, to university teachers, and then to newspaper employees. So do professional cities. Or running away from something, or pursuing something. In the end, I can't escape from the cage of this society.
In the book, it is the siege of the protagonist Fang Hung-chien, but in reality, isn't it?
Since childhood, I have been studying and taking exams, and I have entered a more advanced "city" step by step. Fall in love, get married, have a career, buy a house and have children, and move forward step by step in the torrent of society. Everything is a city, and we constantly want to rush into the next city, a city we have never been to. No matter where you go, a person's most authentic state is still loneliness.
Is life so pessimistic? The author, Mr. Qian Zhongshu, also said: "Since people are alive, they will instinctively live better and more meaningfully."
Our pursuit of a better life is naturally justified. The next city may be better or disappointing, but in any case, the road has to move forward. Life is like this, pain and happiness coexist, and ideals and reality are intertwined, which constitutes a colorful life.
Rushing into the city or fleeing, we can only control our own experience. Every choice has its own price, and there is no absolute right or wrong. In that case, why not be positive? Anyway, we have to move forward in the end.