A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

"That day, when we went to participate in charity relief, I saw a wealthy woman say she wanted to introduce you to someone, but you refused. Was it because of Brother Chen?" Lin Peishan asked cautiously.

"Huh?" Gui'er looked completely bewildered. She couldn't understand why Lin Peishan would think of this.

She quickly smiled and said, "What are you thinking? I think I told you before that this Brother Chen is actually my brother's classmate and good friend. We used to see each other often. Now that he sees me here alone, it's normal for him to take care of me. I'm quite grateful to him, but it's not what you're saying."

"Then why doesn't he like me?" Lin Peishan lowered her head in frustration.

Gui'er naturally knew the reason, but she couldn't say it outright, so she could only comfort him by saying, "I see that Brother Chen is all alone here and has no property. Your family is relatively well-off, so he probably feels that he is not good enough for you."

“I don’t care about these things. Although my father made some money doing business with foreigners, it has little to do with me. My mother is still the third concubine, so my dowry won’t be much.”

This was the first time Gui'er had heard her talk about her family. Sure enough, wealthy families in this era couldn't avoid having multiple wives and concubines.

Just as she was feeling hesitant, unsure how to comfort Lin Peishan, a commotion suddenly arose outside the window.

"Nanjing has fallen! Nanjing has fallen!" A newspaper boy shouted as he walked, holding up a newspaper.

"What? He's talking about Nanjing? That's the capital city."

In an instant, the people in the coffee shop were in an uproar. Some even ran out and managed to buy a newspaper from the newsboy.

Once he returned to the coffee shop after buying the newspaper, everyone, whether they knew him or not, craned their necks and said to him, "Hey, read it quickly, read it quickly."

The man who had bought the newspaper cleared his throat, unfolded it, and read aloud: "[Urgent Telegram] On December 13th, 1937, the Japanese army captured Nanjing. According to reports from the front lines, although our defending soldiers fought valiantly, they were outnumbered and ultimately the defenses collapsed. After the Japanese entered the city, chaos erupted, gunfire echoed through the streets, and refugees fled in panic; the scene was horrific. The Nationalist government has moved west to Chongqing, calling on the military and civilians to continue the resistance and vow never to surrender..."

Before he finished speaking, the coffee shop erupted in chaos.

The clerk in the suit slammed his hand on the table, spilling coffee. "Nanjing can't be defended? Where else can the Japanese be stopped?" His companion beside him turned pale. "My hometown is in Pukou, my parents are still there, what are we going to do..." he choked up.

An old man in a long gown in the corner was so angry that his beard trembled. He tapped his cane on the floor: "Where have all the brave men gone! The Battle of Shanghai lasted for three months, how could Nanjing fall so easily!" Someone next to him sighed: "I heard that the defending troops suffered heavy casualties and ran out of ammunition. It's already a miracle that they've held on until now."

Several young men who looked like students clenched their fists, and one of them suddenly stood up: "What's the use of just sighing! I'm going to sign up for the army tomorrow, even if it's just to carry a stretcher on the front lines!" His companion immediately echoed: "Count me in! With the country destroyed and our homes destroyed, no amount of studying will help!"

The ladies by the window took out handkerchiefs to wipe their eyes. One said, "My cousin is still in Nanjing. The front desk sent a telegram saying the situation was unstable and he was coming to stay with us. Now I'm afraid..."

Another chimed in: "My husband just came from the mainland. He said the streets were full of refugees, people carrying the old and the young, crying with every step they took..."

Gui'er stood there, stunned. She felt her hands and feet grow cold, even though she had known this day would come. But when it actually arrived, she found herself unable to accept it.

Lin Peishan murmured in panic, "Nanjing...that's the capital..."

Gui'er stared at her with wide eyes, wanting to say something but feeling a tightness in her throat. She thought of Miss Shen, Xu Wenjie, Zhou Huifang, He Ruizhu who had moved to Nanjing, and her classmates. She felt anxious and helpless about what would happen to them.

The two sat facing each other in silence for a while, completely losing interest in continuing their previous conversation.

“Let’s go,” Lin Peishan said.

After leaving the coffee shop, Gui'er wanted to go to the bookstore to exchange information with Chen Zhongyu, so she said, "I want to go to Brother Chen's shop to buy a newspaper about Nanjing. Do you want to come with me?"

Lin Peifang nodded.

The two arrived at Chen Zhongyu's shop and noticed that the newspaper rack there was much emptier than usual.

Gui'er asked, "Brother Chen, are you aware of the fall of Nanjing?"

Chen Zhongyu nodded: "I found out when the newspapers arrived early this morning."

Gui'er couldn't say it directly, so she expressed it tactfully: "Nanjing is our capital. I'm very sad and don't know what to do now."

Chen Zhongyu said, "I've read many newspaper reports. I think the main reason Japan dared to bully us was the disorganization of the Chinese people. This incident fully exposed the corruption and incompetence of the government and the shortcomings of the army. When the Japanese army was at the gates of the city, government officials were the first to flee, neglecting the people. The Nanjing defenders were completely disconnected from the people, and both the military and civilians lacked confidence in resisting the enemy. They also did not care about each other during the battle. Japanese militarism is cruel and barbaric, and I think even more tragic things may happen later. What we need to do is unite all forces that can be united to fight the enemy together."

Gui'er nodded, but was somewhat surprised that he would speak so bluntly in front of Lin Peishan. However, when she looked up, Chen Zhongyu also looked indignant, probably very shocked by the matter.

"Brother Chen, what you said is so true."

Gui'er turned her head and saw Lin Peishan looking at Chen Zhongyu with an admiring expression.

Gui'er originally wanted to discuss with Chen Zhongyu what to do, but now she felt like a third wheel, so she coughed awkwardly.

"Then, Brother Chen, what should we do?" The question that Gui'er didn't ask was instead asked by Lin Peishan.

“We must take action to let the international community know that we are not a mindless nation. I have some friends in academia and literature who say they want to hold marches and demonstrations to protest against the aggression of Japanese militarism.”

"I want to participate."

No sooner had Chen Zhongyu finished speaking than Lin Peishan excitedly expressed her opinion.

She said to Gui'er, "Gui'er, come too."

"Me?" Gui'er hesitated. Could underground party members participate in such public anti-Japanese demonstrations? According to the plots in anti-Japanese dramas, the authorities would definitely send people to follow and monitor them. Wouldn't that be the same as leaving a criminal record with the Hong Kong government?