Scarlet Romance

Chapter 1 Introduction
Deep in Zhong Yuemin's memory, what happened in the winter of 1968 is very clear. He was almost involved in a murder case that winter, and he still has lingering fears when he thinks about it.

1968 was a tumultuous year. The background in Zhong Yuemin’s memory was red. At that time, the streets and alleys in Beijing were covered with red paint, with quotations from Chairman Mao written all over them. Red flags, red quotation books, Red armbands... In short, red became the main color at that time, and even everyone's heart was full of red hope.

Zhong Yuemin still hasn’t clarified why, one day in 1968, he and his companions, including the children in the Beijing government compound and military compound, suddenly seemed to be possessed by evil spirits, with a surge of adrenaline, a kind of youthful feeling. The mixture of passion and evil is like a bomb exploding in the body. Against the red background, a fierce red shock wave is suddenly generated, which spreads around with violent force.What is amazing is that this red shock wave actually affected their whole lives...

Many years later, Zhong Yuemin discovered that 1968 was an eventful year. Many major events took place in the world in this year. The earth was dangerously inflated and restless like a balloon filled with hydrogen gas. A small spark could also cause an explosion. ...

In the spring of this year, the big brother of the Soviet Union finally got annoyed by the little brother Czechoslovakia.As a result, a large number of Soviet airborne troops and armored troops, under the guidance of Brezhnev's "limited sovereignty theory" theory, drove straight in and occupied Czechoslovakia.The whole world was shocked, followed by a public outcry.

In March, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the black American leader who always said "I have a dream," shocked the whole world, international public opinion was in an uproar, and the United States almost caused a commotion.Martin Luther King Jr. was recorded in the annals of history as a celebrity, and his extremely humane speeches and his thick and magnetic baritone have since become swan songs.

In May of this year, romantic French youths also made trouble. The cause turned out to be a conversation with the Minister of Youth and Sports, François Misofort.The minister went to the University of Nuntaire in Paris to cut the ribbon for a newly built swimming pool. It happened that Danny Cohn-Bundy, a German student in the sociology department of the school, was also a troublemaker like Zhong Yuemin. Ask why he doesn't mention the students' sexuality in his speeches and articles.Mr. Minister's answer is very unpleasant. To use our Chinese saying, it is called standing and talking without back pain.He suggested that Cohen Bundy could jump into the water when he was horny.The minister's suggestion was like stabbing a hornet's nest, and the students started making trouble.

In May of this year, the students in Paris finally rose up for a revolution. They attacked those in power and demanded the destruction of the "old order".The Latin Quarter in Paris became a forum for ancient Greece for a while, and everyone was protesting, and the object of the protest was diverse, from the rules and regulations of the university, class differences to the Vietnam War.

On May 5, police cleared the University of Paris, prompting a more violent reaction in the Latin Quarter.

Many places were spontaneously taken over by the masses, workers occupied factories, radical doctors occupied medical societies, actors closed theaters, and even some clergymen declared their "revolution".The dedicated police filled the Latin Quarter with the smell of tear gas. President de Gaulle finally couldn't bear it anymore. He slipped out of the Elysee Palace through the back door and went to his hometown Colombe.The news made the students a little dizzy, and they believed that the "revolution" was about to succeed.

The world was stunned by May in Paris, and almost the whole Western world was excited.For the French, almost all of them can be regarded as old revolutionaries. Their revolutionary tradition can be traced back to at least 1789. In that year, the citizens of Paris rushed into the Bastille like a booing. The huge dynasty was destroyed, and they were the pioneers of the revolution.

At this time, college students in Paris were building barricades in full swing along the path walked by the Chinese Red Guards, holding high the portrait of Mao Zedong and the flag of the Paris Commune, rushing to fight on the street, ambitious to "sweep" again on the European continent All monsters, ghosts and monsters", even the clergy who eat God's food will rebel, and the great philosopher Mr. Sartre will follow suit. The world is really messed up.

However, there is always an end to everything in the world.

On May 5, President de Gaulle returned to Paris and delivered a speech on the radio. He called on the people to love their country.Mr. President simply told the people that if this trouble continues, everyone should be mentally prepared for the coming material deprivation.This big truth is more effective than any unpredictable and profound theories. If the revolution lasts for a long time and you have nothing to eat, then the revolution will be meaningless, not to mention that most ordinary people are tired of the hustle and bustle on the street.So they responded to Mr. President's call and brought home a group of children who continued to mess around in the barricades with their ears. The May storm in Paris was considered to have come to an end.

As an adult, Zhong Yuemin finally understood. No wonder he acted like a bewitched man. He dared to love no one, and the students in Paris were not easy-going lamps.Had I known this, the brothers in the "linkage" back then should have sent liaison officers to connect with the buddies in Paris. Once the East and the West join forces, maybe the world revolution will be successful.However, the slogans shouted by students in Beijing and Paris at the same time are quite different.The slogans here in Beijing tend to be a little more violent, either to fry someone or to smash someone's dog's head, but there is a romantic atmosphere in the other side:
Not for bread, but for roses...

Make love, don't fight...

Listen, it's really fucking enjoyable to finish the revolution while you're having fun.

However, Zhong Yuemin in 1968 knew nothing about what happened in France, he just found a new way of life, and lived happily.When the students in Paris returned home from the barricades, Zhong Yuemin and his gang had just appeared.

(End of this chapter)