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

He saw his daughter sitting next to Xie Lu, leaning slightly forward, smiling, her eyes sparkling.

She was saying something, and when she got to the funny part, she started laughing herself, covering her mouth and her shoulders shaking.

This scene is a little too harmonious.

The harmony made He Chongshan's heart skip a beat.

He Chongshan stood there, watching his daughter chat with Xie Lu, feeling a mix of emotions.

On the one hand, he was happy for his daughter; it was her good fortune to have met such an outstanding young man.

On the other hand, he was also worried that Xie Lu was too outstanding, so outstanding that it made him uneasy.

Moreover, he is only eighteen years old, and he has a long road ahead with too many variables.

But seeing his daughter laughing so happily, he couldn't bear to interrupt her.

Zhou Shaoyuan also witnessed this scene. He nudged He Chongshan's arm and whispered, "Chongshan, your daughter seems to be getting along quite well with Lawyer Xie."

He Chongshan smiled wryly: "Yes."

"It's normal for a young person. Besides, Xie Lu is a really likable kid. He's talented and steady."

He Chongshan remained silent.

He walked over and coughed.

He Jinqiu and Xie Lu both looked up.

"What are you talking about?" He Chongshan asked, trying to keep his tone relaxed.

"We were talking about Peking University," He Jinqiu said. "Lawyer Xie knows quite a bit about Peking University."

"Is that so?" He Chongshan looked at Xie Lu.

"I've heard some things from others."

"Alright, let's eat first." Zhou Shaoyuan walked over and interrupted the three of them: "I've already decided on a place, the one near the school gate, it's pretty good, let's eat and chat."

"Okay." He Chongshan nodded.

He glanced at his daughter, then at Xie Lu, and sighed inwardly.

Oh well, let nature take its course.

When a daughter grows up, she is no longer under her father's control.

At noon, the four of them left the School of Arts and headed towards the school gate.

Zhou Shaoyuan chose another upscale hotel next to Wuhan University, called "Wuchang Hotel".

The storefront was much larger than Lao Liu's restaurant, with two floors, whitewashed exterior walls, and decorations; the two were not in the same league.

As I entered the store, a waiter greeted me.

She was a middle-aged woman, wearing a white shirt, black pants, and a white apron.

"Dean Zhou is here." She clearly recognized Zhou Shaoyuan, her face beaming with a smile. "How many are in your party?"

"Four people, do you have a private room?"

"Yes, yes, please come upstairs."

The waiter led the four of them upstairs to the second floor. The private room was small, with a round table, four chairs, and a traditional Chinese ink painting of the Yellow Crane Tower hanging on the wall. The window was open, and they could see pedestrians on the street.

The four sat down, and the waiter immediately handed them the menu.

The menu is more elaborate than that of Lao Liu's restaurant; it's printed separately, not handwritten, and the price is listed after the dish name.

Zhou Shaoyuan looked at the menu first, then ordered a main dish: "Steamed Wuchang fish, one large one."

The waiter noted it down: "Okay."

Zhou Shaoyuan handed the menu to He Chongshan: "Chongshan, take a look and see what you want to eat."

He Chongshan took the menu and glanced at it.

The vegetables weren't cheap, but they weren't expensive for him either.

He ordered two dishes: "Stir-fried shrimp and braised pork hock."

The waiter made a note of it.

He Chongshan handed the menu to Xie Lu: "Xie Lu, you order two dishes too."

Xie Lu took the menu and looked at the prices.

Steamed Wuchang fish: 1.2 yuan.

Stir-fried shrimp: 9 mao (0.9 yuan).

Braised pork hock: one piece.

Other dishes are priced between 50 and 80 cents.

He thought for a moment and ordered two things: "Stir-fried greens and Mapo tofu."

Zhou Shaoyuan glanced at him but didn't say anything.

He Chongshan then said to He Jinqiu, "Qiu'er, you should order one too."

He Jinqiu waved her hand: "That's enough, that's enough. We can't finish eating all that we ordered."

Zhou Shaoyuan said to the waiter, "Another soup, lotus root and pork rib soup, a large portion, and four bowls of rice."

"Okay." The waiter finished writing it down and left with the menu.

The private room fell silent.

The sound of bicycle bells echoed from the street outside the window; it was midday, and there weren't many people on the street.

Zhou Shaoyuan poured a cup of tea for everyone.

Zhou Shaoyuan took the initiative to speak to Xie Lu: "Lu Xie, have some tea. This is jasmine tea, and it tastes quite good."

"Thank you, Dean Zhou." Xie Lu accepted the gift from Zhou Shaoyuan with both hands.

He Chongshan also picked up his teacup and took a sip.

Then he looked at Lawyer Xie: "Lawyer Xie, we were so busy talking about 'Infernal Affairs' in the office just now that I forgot to ask you something."

Attorney Xie looked up: "Please ask."

"You mentioned in your previous letter that your admission notice was withheld by the village."

"What exactly happened? Can you tell me about it?"

Zhou Shaoyuan also looked at Xie Lu.

He had overheard He Chongshan mention this in the office, but because of the Infernal Affairs incident, he hadn't asked about it in detail yet. Now it was a good time to hear it.

Xie Lu put down his teacup.

"It's an old grudge between my father and the village clerk, Li Hanwen."

"Five years ago, Li Hanwen harassed women in the village. My father couldn't stand it and beat him up. He has held a grudge ever since."

After a pause, Xie Lu continued, "This summer, I was admitted to Wuhan University, and the admission notice was sent to my village."

Li Hanwen is the village clerk, responsible for collecting mail. He received my notification letter but didn't give it to my family; he withheld it.

"Why are you withholding it?" He Jinqiu asked, frowning. Having grown up in a privileged environment, she was unaware of some of the shady practices in society, so she couldn't understand why Li Hanwen was deliberately withholding Xie Lu's notification letter.

In her view, no matter what the adults' grudges are, they should not involve the children.

Xie Lu began to explain: "At first, he wanted his nephew to take the place, but someone leaked the news and it spread throughout the village."

Fearing things would escalate, he changed his mind and demanded two hundred yuan from my family, otherwise he wouldn't give us the notice.

Zhou Shaoyuan frowned: "Two hundred yuan? Can your family afford that?"

"I can't come up with it." Xie Lu shook his head with a wry smile: "My family are farmers, and we can't save much money all year round. Two hundred yuan would take us several years to save up."

"What should we do then?" He Jinqiu couldn't help but ask, her voice filled with concern.

"At the time, I thought I'd write an article and try submitting it. If it was accepted, I'd get paid, and that would solve the problem. Even if it wasn't accepted, it would be fine. I could just treat it as practice. It just means I don't have much hope of going to university in this lifetime."

Xie Lu said this deliberately in front of He Chongshan and Zhou Shaoyuan.

It's not shameful to play the victim in front of your superiors.

Zhou Shaoyuan and He Chongshan weren't just old for nothing; they could naturally see that Xie Lu was deliberately trying to gain sympathy in front of them. However, they didn't object to Xie Lu's attempt to gain sympathy.

He Chongshan looked at him: "So Infernal Affairs was written around that time?"

Xie nodded: "Yes, from the time I found out the notice was withheld to the time I finished writing the first Infernal Affairs, it probably took seven or eight days."

The private room was silent for a few seconds.

Can you write a work like "Infernal Affairs" in seven or eight days?

He Chongshan and Zhou Shaoyuan exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.