I am Shen Huaijin, the eldest son of the Shen family of Nanjing.
In 1925, I secretly enrolled in the Whampoa Military Academy without my family’s knowledge.
Six men in one dormitory: six passionate young men, six lives destined to take very different paths.
The eldest, Chen Jianqiu, was from Hunan and spoke little. He later became a lieutenant general in the Nationalist Army, decisive and ruthless, yet always leaving his brothers a way out.
The second, Zhao Jinglan, was charming and unrestrained, never saying anything serious. Later, personally selected by Dai Li, he infiltrated Manchukuo and became a key member of the Military Statistics Bureau in the Northeast, under the codename Nightingale. His cover was eventually blown, and he died a heroic death for his country.
The third was me, Shen Huaijin. I appeared refined and gentle, but inside me burned a fierce flame. My Party sponsor was Mr. Zhou, and there was always a codebook tucked beneath my pillow. I chose this path the day I entered Whampoa, and there was no turning back.
The fourth, Zhou Ziheng, was honest and kindhearted. He later became a traitor, and I personally sent him to his death. Just before he died, he called me “Third Brother,” exactly as he had twenty years earlier.
The fifth, Fang Xing, rose through the Nationalist Army to become a division commander, but no one knew he was an underground Communist. In 1948, he led his troops in an uprising in Hunan. At the time, we were all in the Nationalist camp, unaware of one another’s identities.
The sixth, Su Xiaoman, disguised herself as a man to enter the military academy. She had dimples when she smiled and fought harder than anyone. She had been secretly in love with me for years, but I pretended not to know. Later, she took a bullet for me and fell into my arms. “Third Brother, don’t lie to me again in our next life.”
This is the youth of an entire generation: passion, betrayal, faith, love, and a 1925 we can never return to.
It's really well written, five stars.