1985, the year of the great writer, began with Infernal Affairs!

"You must be tired from the journey."

"Not tired." Zhao Wanwan smiled and shook her head. "By the way, your school is really big, much bigger than our East China Normal University. I wandered around for ages and almost couldn't find my way out."

"It's quite big. Did you come alone?"

Zhao Wanwan nodded: "Yeah, my roommates are all packing their things, so I came out by myself."

The two continued talking, completely unaware of Chu Yunfei standing beside them.

Chu Yunfei remained in that position, his expression shifting from anticipation to confusion, then to embarrassment, and finally to frustration.

He slowly lowered his hand, his shoulders slumping.

Chen Xiangdong and Zhou Wenbin stood by, watching this scene unfold.

Chen Xiangdong's lips curled into a wide grin. If it weren't for the fact that Xie Lu and Zhao Wanwan were still there, he really wouldn't have been able to hold back.

Zhou Wenbin pushed up his glasses, trying to suppress his laughter, but he couldn't.

"puff."

First it was Zhou Wenbin, then Chen Xiangdong.

They both laughed.

Chu Yunfei turned his head and glared at them.

The two quickly stopped laughing, but their shoulders were still shaking.

Zhao Wanwan then noticed that there were three other people beside her.

She glanced at Chu Yunfei, then at Chen Xiangdong and Zhou Wenbin, and somewhat embarrassed, hid behind Xie Lu.

"Who are they?" Zhao Wanwan peeked out from behind Xie Lu, glanced at Chen Xiangdong and the other two, looked up at Xie Lu, and asked in a low voice.

Xie Lu took the initiative to introduce Zhao Wanwan: "This is my roommate, this is Chen Xiangdong, the leader of our dormitory, this is Zhou Wenbin... and this is Chu Yunfei."

Zhao Wanwan nodded to them and said politely, "Hello, my name is Zhao Wanwan. I'm from East China Normal University. I was a high school classmate of Xie Lu from the same place."

Chen Xiangdong and Zhou Wenbin nodded in response.

Chu Yunfei was still a little stunned, and could only manage a weak smile.

"Where are you going?" Zhao Wanwan asked.

"Just browsing around, wanna come along?"

"May I?"

Zhao Wanwan happily tilted her head back and looked at Xie Lu.

Her purpose in coming today to deliver chili sauce was secondary; her main reason was to see Lawyer Xie.

Xie Lu glanced back at Chen Xiangdong and the other two, and all three indicated they had no objections.

The five continued walking forward.

Chu Yunfei walked at the front, his steps quick, as if he wanted to escape the awkwardness from just now.

Chen Xiangdong and Zhou Wenbin followed behind, glancing at each other every now and then, and couldn't help but laugh, though this time they were much more restrained.

Xie Lu and Zhao Wanwan walked at the back.

"How's your dorm?" Zhao Wanwan asked, taking the initiative to speak.

"It's alright, everyone's quite interesting."

"There are four of us in my dorm, all from the south, so I can't quite understand their accents. But they're all really nice people."

"..."

The two chatted about their respective schools.

Zhao Wanwan said that the dormitories at East China Normal University are relatively old, but they are close to the teaching buildings.

Xie Lu said that Wuhan University's campus is large and students have to walk a long way to class. These were all trivial matters, but the conversation went very naturally.

Chu Yunfei, who was walking ahead, would occasionally glance back, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Chen Xiangdong nudged him: "What, still not giving up?"

"Don't give up." Chu Yunfei said irritably, "I'm just... just a little depressed."

"What's bothering you?" Zhou Wenbin asked in a low voice.

"How come she didn't see me when I'm so handsome?" Chu Yunfei said, puzzled.

Although he admitted that Xie Lu was a head taller than him, a bit more handsome, seemed more energetic, and spoke better...

But he's not as good as me on a deeper level!

Chen Xiangdong and Zhou Wenbin laughed again.

"What are you laughing at!" Chu Yunfei glared at them. "I'm serious!"

"Be serious, be serious." Chen Xiangdong patted his shoulder. "Next time, next time we won't laugh."

Chu Yunfei snorted and turned his head away.

By noon, the sun was high in the sky.

The sun was shining brightly, making the ground scorching hot.

The five of them unknowingly strolled to the gate of Wuhan University.

Everyone was hungry by now.

I got up early this morning and walked around campus for most of the day, so now I'm exhausted.

Xie Lu stopped and looked at the street outside the school gate.

There are some small shops on both sides of the street, selling stationery, snacks, and a few small restaurants.

It was lunchtime, and the aroma of stir-fried dishes wafted from the restaurant entrance, glistening with oil and tempting the appetite.

Xie Lu took the initiative to suggest, "Let's go out for a meal, consider it the first team building activity for dormitory 308, it's on me."

The other four were stunned when he said that.

Zhou Wenbin pushed up his glasses and said in a low voice, "Outside, the restaurants outside are so expensive."

How about we go to the cafeteria? It's pretty good.

Although Chen Xiangdong also wanted to try the local flavors at the restaurants near Wuhan University, he thought that eating at restaurants must be expensive, and considering Xie Lu's wallet, he agreed with Zhou Wenbin: "That's right, we are all students now, and it's just the beginning of the semester, so we don't have much money. If you want to treat us, you can treat us at the cafeteria, we're not picky."

Although Chu Yunfei usually seemed carefree, he had no intention of taking advantage of the situation at this moment.

He glanced at Xie Lu's faded shirt, then at his own shiny black leather shoes, and said, unusually seriously, "Fourth brother, we appreciate your kind gesture."

But really, you don't need to. The cafeteria food is fine and cheap.

Looking at the three of them, Xie Lu felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

That's how it was in my past life.

At that time, his family was the poorest in the dormitory. His parents were farmers in the village and could not save much money all year round.

After deducting expenses such as books, he only has a few dollars left for living expenses each month.

The cheapest dish in the cafeteria cost five cents, and he only dared to order one dish per meal. Sometimes he wouldn't even order any dishes and would just eat steamed buns with pickled vegetables.

The other three people in the dormitory all came from families with better financial conditions than him.

Chen Xiangdong's father was a factory worker and his mother was a primary school teacher.

Chu Yunfei is the son of a high-ranking official.

Zhou Wenbin's family were intellectuals; although not wealthy, they were not short of money either.

Whenever the class organizes a dinner party, or the dormitory wants to go out for a better meal, they always consider Xie Lü's feelings.

The three of them secretly pooled their money, including Xie Lu's share, and even lied to him, saying, "This time it's a bargain."

Either everyone just stays home and says, "Eating in the cafeteria is fine, it saves us the trouble of going."

Attorney Xie knew all about these things.

Human hearts are made of flesh and blood.

Xie Lv remembers their kindness to him.

Now, Xie Lu has been reborn.

Although I'm still a student, things are different now.

He can now make money by writing books. He earned 600 yuan in royalties from just the first half of Infernal Affairs, which is 30,000 words long, enough for him to live comfortably through his freshman year of college.

Treating my brothers to a meal is nothing.

"No way." Xie Lu shook his head, his tone resolute. "We have to go out for a meal. We're happy today, so don't argue with me."

Zhou Wenbin wanted to say something, but Chen Xiangdong tugged at him and shook his head.

Having said that, the three of them could no longer refuse.