Chapter 2 Chapter One

The weather shouldn't be so hot. This kind of weather reminds me of the streets of Taipei at noon in mid-July. Exhaust gas from crowded cars and hot air from high-rise air conditioners, under the scorching sun, made the mercury column on the thermometer rise continuously. The Taipei Basin seems to have become the Flame Mountain of Journey to the West. I really want to ask Sun Wukong to borrow a plantain fan from Princess Iron Fan to remove all anger. But I am not in Taipei, but in Tainan; It is not the middle of July, but the end of May. For several days in a row, the weather has been consuming you like this, with no sign of compromise.

People can also hide in an air-conditioned room to escape the heat, but dogs are not so lucky. I heard that dogs often have muscle cramps because they stick out their tongues for too long. I live on the top floor of the apartment, which is the closest to God and the easiest place to feel God's anger. Poor students do not have the right to install air-conditioners, so they have to reluctantly use electric fans as plantain fans. However, the electric fan couldn't reduce God's anger, and I was still sweating profusely. Go to the lab!I thought so, because there is an air conditioner in the research room.

If the weather has been so sweltering, then I, who have to go to the research room often, will probably be able to finish my graduation thesis soon. Take a cold shower and change out of your sweat-soaked clothes. With my schoolbag on my back and two books as soft bags, I ran downstairs as if fleeing the scene of a fire. Stepping on the locomotive, in order to keep cool, he simply didn't even wear a helmet. Although there is a slogan: "It's better to sweat than to bleed", but in this weather, I would rather be fined 500 yuan and make my wallet bleed profusely than shed another drop of sweat.

The wind blowing over the face took away some of the heat and slowed down the speed of the sweat drops. After parking the motorcycle, I saw the black Akita dog on campus, looking up at the sky with its tongue out. Following its line of sight, I raised my head too, but didn't open my mouth. Unexpectedly, the sky that was originally "a cloudless" actually came with a "black cloud". "Let it rain! 』I began to look forward to the first rainy season this summer. As if answering my request, the sky thundered loudly. What followed was the sound of pouring the small steel balls of "Pachinko" into the basin.

After several days of stalemate, the Rain God finally defeated Sao Qingniang, and it rained heavily—— Covering my hair with my schoolbag, I rushed into the research room again as if trying to escape. This scene is like the process of getting to know Xinjie at the beginning. I gasped and wiped my rain-soaked glasses. Although there is no strong wind to cheer, the shadows of the trees outside the window are still swaying. I didn't expect that if it doesn't rain, it will be earth-shattering. The closed windows still can't stop the roar of the rain, and the desk by the window is slowly splashed by the rain.

One drop—two drops—three drops—then one— Finally turned into a puddle. Although the rain blurred my desk, it made my memory more vivid. It turned out that the rain not only washed away the dust on the asphalt and quenched God's anger, but also washed away the spell that sealed all the memories between me and her. As soon as the spell was lifted, the past came back like a tidal wave. Walking out of the research room and standing by the balcony, I really want to see how the rain is pouring down. There was a vast expanse of whiteness outside the window, as if shrouded in thick fog. Even my inadvertent sigh turned white.

However, it was only three or four o'clock in the afternoon, and the vehicles on the road turned on their dim headlights. And the colorful raincoats look extraordinarily colorful in the pale world. I remember that when I walked out of "Hollywood KTV" that day, the rain fell like this. "It's raining so hard, have you brought a raincoat?" She asked with concern. "When my raincoat was hanging on the balcony, it was blown away by the wind. 』I replied helplessly. "Blown away by the wind? What a pity. Then how do you go back?" "Anyway, I live near here!I will run later, so I won't get too much rain. 』

"Then-then-then do you want to-" She actually started to hesitate. "What do you want?" ’ I asked puzzledly. "Would you like to put on my raincoat?" Her voice became very small, especially when it came to the word "raincoat", it was almost inaudible. "No.You have to go back too, don't you? 』I declined her proposal with a smile. The rain was so heavy that it showed no sign of letting up. No matter how thick-skinned I am, I won't put on her raincoat and leave her here! ? After hearing my answer, she had a very disappointed expression on her face.

It seemed that what I rejected was not a raincoat, but her heart. "what happened to you?Am I saying the wrong thing? 』 "It's nothing. You mustn't drench—A-No—what's the matter?" "That's called a drowned chicken."I taught you, did you forget?When I go back, I will be fined to write "drowned chicken" ten times. 』 I confessed it jokingly. "Hai! I obey. I will hand it over to you in the next class, Teacher Cai." She laughed again.That's right, it finally rained, of course she should be happy. She took out her fuchsia raincoat and put it on slowly.

Her movements were so soft, as if wearing an expensive kimono. It was the first time I saw her put on that raincoat. Wearing a raincoat and hat, she is like the "Little Red Riding Hood" in a fairy tale, light and cute. Didn't she say she enjoyed walking in the rain in a raincoat? Why do I always feel that her expression is a bit sad? A sudden burst of thunder made my shoulders tremble suddenly, interrupting my thoughts. It also made my soul return from the rainy night outside Hollywood KTV to the balcony outside the laboratory. I am still standing alone. And the rain is still pouring.

It turned out that even without her, the rain would still fall. "Senior, are you trapped by the rain?" The junior who happened to pass by asked kindly. It's not like being trapped, because she still gave me this purple raincoat later. And I have kept this raincoat locked in the filing cabinet in the research room, never worn. Because if the sky is raining lightly, I am reluctant to wear it; If it rains like this, I don't want the pouring rain to hit this raincoat mercilessly. So I went back to the research room, made a cup of coffee, and let the aroma of coffee fill the room. Sitting at the desk, enjoying the loneliness isolated by the rain. And let the sound of the rain guide me into the time tunnel, back to the days when I first met her—— Her name is Itakura Yuko, a Japanese girl who likes to smile very much. Born in a small mountain village near Wakayama Prefecture in Showa 47 (1972), he moved to Osaka when he was 10 years old. In 1994, after graduating from the Chinese Language and Literature Department of Kyoto University, he came to Taiwan alone to study Chinese. Although she is here to learn Chinese, apart from her obvious Japanese accent, she already speaks Chinese quite fluently. Knowing Itakura Yuko is a coincidence!It was Xinjie who introduced us to each other. Xinjie is a good friend of mine, who was studying a master's degree at the History Institute of Chengda University. He is a weirdo. He actually chose the Department of History as his first choice in the college entrance examination. Because he said that he likes to read history, and likes to become a historical figure. So sometimes he is Zhou Yu who talks and laughs at Cao Bing; sometimes he is Su Wu who shepherds the North Sea. One of his favorite quotes is: "The only lesson mankind learns from history is that it cannot be learned from history." I think Xinjie obviously didn't learn from history, because his father also studied history. The year before I met Itakura Yuko, I met Xinjie in the library. That afternoon, the sky suddenly began to rain. I was wandering around the campus, so I had to run to the nearest building to avoid the rain. Fortunately, this is the school library. I wiped the rain from my face, took off my wet coat, and tidied up my embarrassment. Then in the area where historical books are displayed, pass the time by flipping through the books. The shower, which came quickly but did not go quickly, lasted for several hours. I had no choice but to unify China from Qin Shihuang and see the Opium War. On the floor in the corner of the bookcase, I picked up a student ID card. The owner's name is "Xie Xinjie", a first-year master's class at the History Institute of Chengda University. In the photo, he has a crew-cut haircut and black square-rimmed glasses, giving him the air of a scholar. I took this student ID card to the borrowing and returning counter of the library and asked them to broadcast it for me. Half a minute later, Xinjie came running out of breath: "Thank you—thank you—thank you very much—" Xinjie's kindness left a deep impression on me.Maybe it's because I like history very much, so I have a special affection for students in the history department. "You're welcome - you're welcome - you really don't have to be polite -" Like a parrot, I playfully imitated his tone of speech. "Receive drips from others, and my younger brother will spring up to repay you." Sure enough, he is a top student of the Faculty of Arts, and he can tell if there is one as soon as he speaks. "It's a trivial matter, brother. It's nothing to worry about. 』 We looked at each other, smiled, and shook hands.I went to the door. The rain is still falling, maybe we should have seen the Sino-French War or the Sino-Japanese War just now. "Student, are you trapped by the rain?" I turned around, Xinjie opened the umbrella and said with a smile. I shrugged wryly. "Let's have a meal together! I invite you. It's a repayment for saving my life." "You are too polite, I just happened to pick up your student ID card. 』 "For the students, the witness is there; the witness is dead. So you saved my life. Let's go!?" Although the weather was not "clear", Xinjie was very enthusiastic. I was embarrassed to refuse his kindness, so I nodded. Xinjie's umbrella is not too big, in order to avoid getting wet, we are close together. Fortunately, the sleeves of both of us are intact, and we don't have the habit of "broken sleeves". Otherwise, in this atmosphere, it would be easy for us to misfire. We walked to the school cafeteria to eat and chatted. "Student, what should I call you?" Xinjie asked politely. "I'm Hiroichi now, you should call me senior."But I am one year younger than you, you can also call me brother. So you'd better call me senior brother instead of classmate. 』 "Hahaha—you are so interesting. Let me introduce myself first, my name is Xie Xinjie. "Xie" is Xie An's thanks to Qin Fujian's million-strong army before the battle of Feishui; "Letter" is the letter of Oda Nobunaga who defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto in the Battle of Ozazama; "Jie" is the Jie of Zhang Shijie who lost to Mongolia in the Battle of Yashan and led to the demise of the Southern Song Dynasty. " I froze for a moment, then laughed. I didn't expect Xinjie's self-introduction to be so interesting. I thought for a while, imitated his tone, and introduced myself like this: "My name is Cai Zhihong." "Cai" is Cai Lun's Cai who invented papermaking in the late Eastern Han Dynasty; "Chi" is the wisdom of Mitsuhide Akechi who betrayed and killed Oda Nobunaga at the Honnoji Temple; "Hong" is Hong, the name taboo of Hongli, the name of Emperor Qianlong of Emperor Gaozong of Qing Dynasty who called himself Shiquan old man. 』 In fact, I usually tell others that "wisdom" is the wisdom of wisdom. But since Xinjie wanted to be Oda Nobunaga, Chihiro had no choice but to sacrifice his life to accompany Junzi and become Akechi Mitsuhide. "Hahaha——please just call me Xinjie from now on, don't call me Oda Nobunaga." "Then please call me Chihiro, instead of Akechi Mitsuhide." 』 "Tomohiro, I didn't expect you to know the history of the Warring States Period in Japan." "Actually, it's okay. I just finished reading the complete set of "Tokugawa Ieyasu" a while ago. 』 "Oh? Really? Let me ask you, do you like Ieyasu Tokugawa?" "I can't say I like it, but compared to Toyotomi Hideyoshi who arrogantly wants to annex the Ming Dynasty, Tokugawa is cuter. 』 "In fact, the evaluation of historical figures often has subjective likes and dislikes, and it is difficult to have objective standards, and sometimes it is mixed with complicated factors such as ethnicity." "How to say? 』 "For example, in the case of Tokugawa Ieyasu, although the Japanese blamed him for the humiliation of the Western powers' invasion caused by the Tokugawa shogunate's policy of sequestering the country, the Japanese still respect Tokugawa very much, especially appreciate his forbearing character under disadvantaged conditions Foreigners even believe that the main reason why Japan can recover quickly after the war is precisely because the Japanese have more or less this Tokugawa character.” Xinjie pushed his glasses with the ring finger of his right hand, and then said: "But what if Ieyasu Tokugawa let the Chinese judge? Maybe Tokugawa, who also killed his wife, would be ridiculed like Wu Qi for killing his wife and asking for a general. But what ——" Xinjie paused and took a sip of water. "But what? 』 "However, the Japanese applaud his wife-killing behavior." Following Xinjie's example, I pushed my glasses with my right ring finger: "Maybe it's just because Japanese women had no status in the Warring States Period, so killing a wife is no different from killing a dog."Perhaps Japanese historians are generally afraid of their wives, so they subconsciously appreciate Tokugawa who dared to kill his wife. 』 "Hahaha—Chihiro, we will definitely become good friends in the future." "why? 』 "Because your point of view is very interesting. Although it is nonsense, it can also provide another perspective on history." "Xinjie, we are good friends now.isn't it? 』 "Yes, Not Bad." I was deeply impressed by Xinjie's erudition and cheerfulness. If you can become good friends with him, it is naturally a dream. As expected, Xinjie studied history, and when the topic turned to history, he would talk about it with eloquence. From Emperor Qin Shihuang Yingzheng to Emperor Xuantong of Qing Dynasty Aixinjueluo Puyi, he seems to know everything well. "Xinjie, you must not have a girlfriend. 』 "Huh? How do you know?" "I don't think there is a girl who can stand up and listen to your Chinese history." 』 "Hahaha—that's true. But I really like talking about historical stories." "Then you should change your study of American history. In just two hundred years, you can finish it all at once." 』 "Hahaha—you are mocking America!" Now that the chatterbox has been opened, Xinjie simply mentioned his embarrassment: "One time when I talked to a girl about Tang Gaozong Li Zhi, I said that my gentle personality was very similar to Li Zhi. She suddenly said that she was like Wu Zetian, so she was going to seek the king Tang Jiangshan." "and then? 』 "Of course I refused to admit defeat, so I became Tang Xuanzong Li Longji and rejuvenated the Tang Dynasty." "Xinjie, your reaction is very good. 』 "Who knew that her reaction was faster. She said that she could become Concubine Yang and still bring down the Tang Dynasty." "Hehe——this girl is very special!You should take good care of it. 』 "Alas—it's a pity that she left before I transformed into Guo Ziyi to quell the Anshi Rebellion." "Xinjie, you are too boring.You should talk more about romance. 』 "No way, this is my occupational disease. School girls often help me introduce girls, but no one can stand my boring. My specialty is that I can immediately tell the time of any major event in history, but I can't see it at a glance. The year of the girl's birth." "I also have occupational diseases.I major in water conservancy, and my specialty is that I can judge how long the ditch has not been dredged based on the growth of weeds in the ditch, but I can't tell at a glance how long it has been since the girl had a boyfriend. 』 "Chihiro, we are in the same boat." "Ok.But you are sicker. 』 "Hahaha—there are a lot of girls in the history department, I'll introduce a few for you to meet some other day." "Then thank you for your righteousness to destroy the "pro". 』 We blinked at the same time in a tacit understanding, and then smiled at each other.Xinjie said that friendship like ours is less likely to "see differences and change".In other words, you don't want to change your friendship just because you see "different" sex. After that chat in the restaurant, I became very familiar with Xinjie.I often go to the place where he lives to read. His room is not too big, about five square meters, but it is almost full of history books.The same is true of my roommate, but my roommate's room is full of PLAYBOY.Therefore, for me who loves to read historical stories, Xinjie's room is the best place to pass the time. Xinjie, like me, rents a house outside. We happen to live on the same road, but in different alleys.There are two roommates, one male and one female, the male is his classmate and the female is his junior.It's really "a loyal family", all of them read history.Xinjie's male roommate is called "Chen Yingzhang". It is believed that Jie said: "Chen is a cliche Chen, Ying is a person full of evil, and Zhang is a notorious Zhang." The name of another schoolgirl, Xinjie said Several times, but I still can't remember.All I know is that she belongs to the track and field team of Chengda University, specializes in triathlon, and has participated in the College Cup. Although I often go to Xinjie's residence, I am not very familiar with Xinjie's roommates.When we meet occasionally, we just nod and say hello.Until one time the four of us played mahjong together, we were not considered "gambling friends".That time it was because the history student saw a mouse and screamed loudly.Xinjie and Chen Yingzhang started to search the whole house thoroughly in order to catch it. But the mouse was not found, but a mahjong was found. Xinjie said that if he saw mahjong and didn't play it, he would be punished by God, so he suggested playing mahjong. "There are only three of us, what if we lack one of the three?" Chen Yingzhang said, rubbing his itchy hands. "Don't look at me, the friends I know all have high moral standards, so they don't know how to play mahjong!" The student from the history department spoke firmly, but forgot that she could play mahjong herself. "Alas—three missing one is indeed one of the four major pains in life." Xinjie said with emotion. The four great joys in life are well-known: "When there is rain after a long drought, when you meet an old friend in a foreign country; when you are married and candle night, when you are named on the gold list." As for the four major pains in life, Xinjie said: "While cycling in the field and getting caught in the rain, enemies who run away from home will know about it; in the hot summer night when there is a power outage, there will be a shortage of time in three card games." "I figured it out! I know a student from the engineering school, he must know how to play poker." Xinjie was suddenly very excited. "How do you know he will fight?" Chen Yingzhang asked suspiciously. "Students in engineering colleges are all exposed to equations and numbers, and the concept of etiquette, justice, and shame is relatively weak." "Senior, your words are so poisonous." The history student said with a smile. So Xinjie called me. On the phone, he said: "If you want to break Cao Gong, you should use fire to attack; everything is ready, only the east wind is owed." "what are you saying?Why learn to speak like Kong Ming? 』 "To put it simply, we want to play mahjong, but there are only three houses in the south, west, and north, so I want you to be the east wind." "Really, if there are three missing ones, just say it straight! 』 "Chihiro, can you fight?" "Are you kidding me?"Of course I will fight!I will let you with my left hand later. 』 30 yuan as the base, 10 yuan per set, for students, it is a price that will not destroy friendship even if they lose money.Xinjie was unlucky that day, there were three delicious barbecues in one family, and I was the most delicious one.Beifengbei, Xinjie's jedi counterattack made him pull seven times in a row.Originally, he was grilling the meat well, but suddenly he started to smell the aroma, and it was the three of us's turn to grill the meat.When it was time for the eighth Lianzhuang, Chen Yingzhang threw a handkerchief onto the poker table.Xinjie's dice-throwing hand stopped suddenly, and then he asked: "Xiao Chen, why are you throwing the handkerchief?" Throw in the handkerchief when you throw in the towel at the poker table.” "Wahhahaha——" Xinjie said with a smile while counting the money, "The losers and losers at the poker table are just like the ups and downs of history. They are always unpredictable and have their own will. Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, although he was repeatedly defeated and fled from east to west, he finally changed his color in the battle of Gaixia and asked Xiang Yu to play Farewell My Concubine.” Xinjie, who won the money, was full of ambition and talked loudly, and imitated Liu Bang's stock attack and sang: "When the strong wind rises, the clouds are flying, Vega will return to the homeland, and the warriors will guard the four directions." If Xinjie was Liu Bang, then I would be Xiang Yu, because I was the one who won the most money. I think of Xiang Yu's misery at the end of his life when he was besieged in Gaixia. "Strengthen the mountain and the world is overwhelmed, the time is not good, the time is not dying, the time is not dying, so there is nothing to do, and the time is not dying, so there is nothing to do. 』 It was my turn to imitate Xiang Yu and prepare to say goodbye to Yu Ji. "Beauty Yu Ji is here!" The student from the history department suddenly yelled, which startled me. Unexpectedly, she also sang along: "The Han soldiers have plundered the land, and the singing is everywhere. The king is exhausted, and the concubine can't live." Her strong physique learned from Yu Ji's figure, turning the beauty Yu Ji into a "entertainment concubine" for entertaining guests. If I really want to bring this Concubine Yu back to Jiangdong, I would rather kill myself by the Wujiang River. Only Chen Yingzhang was not crazy. So Xinjie's eyes drifted to him, to see which historical figure he could become who fell under Liu Bang's hands. "I am Han Xin, Marquis of Huaiyin. Liu Bang, Liu Bang, without me, Han Xin, how could the Han Dynasty have been established? I didn't expect that after you unified the world, the first hero you would deal with would be me! Sigh—" Chen Yingzhang, who was throwing the handkerchief, imitated Han Xin not to be outdone, and said in a deep voice: "When the tall birds are exhausted, the good bows are hidden, the cunning rabbits are dead, the lackeys are cooked, and the enemy country is destroyed, the plotters are dead." After the battle of Gaixia at the poker table, Liu Bang showed mercy and invited us to Dongning Road to drink beer and eat braised meat. "Anyway, this is an ill-gotten fortune!" Liu Bang was very straightforward. Where is the injustice?This is the hard-earned money of my tutor! After eating and drinking, I also began to get acquainted with Chen Yingzhang like Han Xin, and a history student who thought she was Yu Ji. Chen Yingzhang has two girlfriends, one in Tainan and the other in Taipei. Those who live in Tainan have known each other for a short time; those who live in Taipei have known each other for a long time. Chen Yingzhang often said: "Whoever gains the right time will lose the right place." So the longer we know each other, the farther we live. "Then who do you like better?" 』I once asked him curiously. "I'm a Libra, of course I'm just and I'm not partial." But I still can't remember the name of this history student, so I have to call her Yuji all the time. She always said that as long as I have the courage to call her Yu Ji, she will have the courage to admit it. Yu Ji, who is 172 cm tall and has practiced weightlifting, is actually a very careful girl. She usually takes care of the affairs of the room that Xinjie rents. Yu Ji said that the process of getting to know her boyfriend was an "accident". It was when she bumped into a boy riding a bicycle while running on campus. However, it was the boy who was knocked down, not Yu Ji. Later, he became Yu Ji's boyfriend. Therefore, I have always been a warning and reminded myself to be careful when riding a bicycle on campus. In 1994, on a cool September day, Xinjie called me: "Hello, I am Liu Chan, Liu Bei's unworthy son. Is Zhihong there?" Xinjie's bad habit has come again, he is probably studying the history of the Three Kingdoms. "I'm not Zhihong, I'm Zhao Zilong who rode the savior alone in Changbanpo, Dangyang. 』 "Haha! Chihiro, in order to thank you for saving your life, bring a gift to celebrate my birthday tonight!" It was at Xinjie's birthday party that night that I saw Itakura Yuko for the first time. In fact, the person who first knew Itakura Yuzi was not me, nor Xinjie, but Yuji. In the summer vacation of 1994, Yu Ji had a summer course of "Modern Chinese History". After Itakura Yuko came to Taiwan in early July 1994, although she has been taking classes in the Chinese Department, she also audited modern Chinese history in the History Department. The teacher of modern Chinese history is an old pedant who has experienced the ravages of the Second World War. Once in class, when I talked about this period of history, I couldn't help but shed tears. With tears in his eyes, he continued to accuse the atrocities committed by the Japanese army in China. Yuko Itakura didn't know where she got the courage to raise her hand timidly and asked, "Teacher, I'm sorry. When I was in high school in Japan, it wasn't written like this in the history books." It was then that Yu Ji realized that Yuko Itakura sitting next to her was Japanese! The atmosphere in the classroom suddenly became solemn, and Yu Ji began to worry about the teacher's reaction. As a result, the teacher just sighed heavily, and then said: "Alas—I never thought that besides the Chinese, there are Japanese people who have deliberately forgotten this period of history. That's all—after the next semester starts, grandma will come and take my class. ! I will teach the correct history.」 After class, Itakura Yuko took the initiative to ask Yuji about some course selection matters, and kept thinking about the teacher's accusation just now. "Hon-Do? (Really?)" Itakura Yuko asked Yuji with wide eyes. "Is it true!? It's written in Taiwan's history books. After all, we have never experienced that era." Yu Ji's answer was actually very objective. If the Japanese had their own version of the same historical event, why wouldn't the Taiwanese also have their own version? The truth of history should not be distorted, but those who record history have their own positions. So Concubine Yu became Itakura Yuko's first Taiwanese friend. Concubine Yu often takes the initiative to invite Itakura Yuzi to dinner, and often takes her shopping. Through Yu Ji's introduction, Itakura Yuzi also met Xinjie and Chen Yingzhang. But before Xinjie's birthday party, I never had a chance to meet Itakura Yuko.