" Wait ... Who is this teacher ? I ' ve never met him before . What is this school ? Why ' s everything so ancient ?" Her neighbor , Mei Ning , gave her a look of disbelief , then quickly scribbled on her notebook .
" You are in St Mary ' s Hall in Shanghai . Is everything right ? You seemed like you forgot everything ." Ke Rou scrutinized the notes written by Mei Ning . Eyes widened and hands trembling , a stark realization struck her . At the top right corner of the paper was a tiny line of words : 09 December 1935 .
When the bell rang , signaling the end of the school day , Ke Rou ran for her bicycle . After acquiring every piece of information she needed about her persona from Mei Ning , she figured out the best way was to go straight to her home in the Chinese city .
When she rode out , the scene on the street took away her breath . The road was filled with bicycles and rickshaws . Thick cables stretched across the skies as trams scuttled through the road .
" I knew a shortcut through the former French concession to this place ." thought Ke Rou and paddled faster along the road .
Suddenly , a trio of French soldiers stopped her and grabbed the front wheel of her bike .
" Such a pretty young lady and a nice bike , “ said one with a crooked smile .
" Let go !" cied out Ke Rou exasperatedly , as contents from the front basket rolled out .
Suddenly , a pair of sapphire eyes caught her sight . It ' s the French boy from the shop !
" Nathan ! Help !" she called out . Surprised , the boy in the military uniform looked towards her way .
" What ' s going on ?' he shouted . " Comrades , let the girl go ! Don ' t you recognise her ? She ' s the daughter of the mob boss , Du Yue Sheng !"
" What ?!" exclaimed the soldiers . " I ' m awfully sorry , mademoiselle , please accept our apologies . Our friend , Nathan , shall escort you home ," said one of the soldiers with trembling voice . Right after his speech , the trio fled .
Ke Rou bent down to pick up the objects on the floor . In the pile , she found her lost pair of shoes ! What the boy said at the store rang in her ears .
" You Chinese , really should stop trespassing into others ’ territory ," Nathan ' s voice broke Ke Rou ' s line of thoughts . " Wait , how did you know my name ?"
" I ' m Ke Rou , not ' Chinese '. Besides , how can ' you French ' treat people like that ? What happened to Liberté , égalité , fraternité ? Shouldn ' t all people be treated equally ?" huffed Ke Rou .
The soldier stared at her , wide-eyed and taken aback . " You are weird too ."
" Don ' t you remember me ? I ' m the girl from the store ."