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

This scholarly dean of the Faculty of Arts, at this moment, resembled more of a book lover who couldn't wait to know how the story would unfold.

Xie Lu wanted to laugh a little, but he didn't show it on his face.

"Thank you for your concern, Dean. The main body of the prequel has been written, but we're currently adjusting some details, so it hasn't been completely transcribed yet."

"Finished writing?!" Upon hearing Xie Lu's words, Zhou Shaoyuan's eyes lit up instantly, and he almost lost the composure he had been deliberately maintaining.

He leaned forward unconsciously. "Is the main body finished? How many words are there?"

"It's about 80,000 words, but I haven't had time to organize some of it yet," Xie Lu said truthfully.

"Eighty thousand words?! Great, great! Young people are so efficient! Much faster than I was writing articles back in the day."

When Zhou Shaoyuan was so young, he had to grind his writing, squeezing out a little bit each day like toothpaste. It would take him a month to write a thousand words, and the quality of his writing was nowhere near as good as Infernal Affairs.

Sometimes, you can't compare yourself to others, or you'll just end up making yourself miserable.

"So...do you have a completed draft on hand right now? Not all of it, just a part will do."

After saying what he had just said, Zhou Shaoyuan felt that asking the question was a bit too direct, so he quickly added, "What I mean is, if you're willing, I can take a look first."

After all, I'm quite old and have read many manuscripts, so I might be able to offer some immature suggestions in some places.

Of course, it depends on whether you're willing or not. If you're not willing, you don't have to force yourself. This isn't a one-man show.

After he finished speaking, he stared intently at Xie Lu, his eyes filled with an almost overflowing longing.

Looking at Zhou Shaoyuan's attempt to conceal his feelings but failing to do so, Xie Lu recalled how this teacher in his previous life would talk about his favorite articles with the same animated expression, completely absorbed in the moment.

"Yes, there is." Xie Lu stood up. "The recently revised part, which is about 40,000 words, is in my dormitory. If you don't mind, Dean, I'll go get it right away."

"No problem at all!" Zhou Shaoyuan quickly waved his hand and stood up as well, his face beaming with undisguised joy. "Then, I'll trouble you to make the trip. I'll wait here."

He seemed to think this was too hasty, so he sat back down, picked up the pen on the table, unscrewed the cap, and pretended to be grading a document: "No rush, take your time to go back and get it. I have something to take care of."

But Xie could tell that his mind wasn't on the documents at all.

"I'll be back soon." After saying that, Xie Lu turned and walked out of the office, gently closing the door behind him.

As soon as the door closed, Zhou Shaoyuan put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, let out a long sigh, and smiled.

He picked up the magazine "Contemporary" again, flipped to the ending of "Infernal Affairs," and reread the scenes of Lau Kin-ming saluting and the final flashbacks. His fingers gently traced the pages as he murmured, "What exactly is this kid planning to do next?"

Xie Lu went downstairs, walked through the somewhat noisy corridor, and listened to many students still excitedly discussing the ending of Infernal Affairs before quickly returning to his dormitory.

No one was in the dormitory; Chen Xiangdong and the others had gone to class.

Xie Lu pulled a hard-covered notebook from under his pillow. It had a dark blue cover and contained the manuscript of the prequel to "Infernal Affairs" that he had recently compiled. It was about 40,000 words long. He had previously written the manuscript on loose pages, and after making revisions, he had neatly copied it into this notebook.

Back on the third floor of the School of Humanities, Xie Lu knocked on the door again.

"Come in," Zhou Shaoyuan's voice came immediately, much faster than before.

Xie Lu pushed open the door and went in. Zhou Shaoyuan was already sitting behind his desk again, with a document spread out in front of him and a pen in his hand, seemingly engrossed in his work.

But Xie noticed that the document in front of him seemed to be exactly as it was when he left.

"Dean, the manuscript is here."

Zhou Shaoyuan immediately put down his pen, quickly took the notebook, and moved a little hastily. He weighed it in his hand, opened the cover, and inside were neat and tidy penmanship, the handwriting clear and powerful, the rows and columns orderly, with almost no corrections. Just looking at the copying skills, one could see the seriousness of the work.

He quickly glanced at the first few lines, which were the story Xie Lu had told about the prequel to Infernal Affairs. After Han Chen and Officer Huang's conversation, the plot continued with Ni Kun's death and Ni Yongxiao's appearance to stabilize the situation.

His gaze was immediately drawn to it, and he instinctively wanted to look down.

But he still managed to restrain himself, raised his head, and smiled at Xie Lu, "Okay, let me take a look first. Little Xie, please sit down, don't stand."

"Have you had some tea? It's gotten cold. Let me add some more hot water."

"No need, Dean, it's just the right temperature." Xie Lu sat back down on the sofa, picked up the cup of tea that had been warmed, and took a sip.

Zhou Shaoyuan didn't bother with formalities and said, "Then read the newspaper for a while." He then lowered his head, put on his reading glasses, and became completely absorbed in the story of the prequel to Infernal Affairs.

East China Normal University.

The girls' dormitory was quieter than usual.

It was morning, and those who had classes were in the classroom, while those who didn't were either in the library or still in bed.

Occasionally, someone would walk by in slippers in the corridor, or the sound of washing clothes could be heard coming from one of the dorm rooms.

On the third floor, at the east end of a dormitory room, the door was closed, and the doorplate had four artistic characters cut from colored paper: Spring Blossoms and Autumn Fruits.

This was made by the four girls in the room themselves.

The room wasn't big, with four bunk beds and desks underneath, and two old desks placed side by side by the window.

At this moment, all four tables below were occupied by people.

Zhao Wanwan sat at the table near the door. Her roommate Qian Mei, a round-faced girl with short hair, was sitting cross-legged on the bed opposite her.

Two tables were set up by the window, where Zhang Xiaoli, with her hair in two braids, and Sun Fang, with her short, ear-length hair, sat respectively.

All four of them were holding something in their hands. Zhao Wanwan and Qian Mei were reading the latest issue of the "Contemporary" newspaper together, while Zhang Xiaoli and Sun Fang were reading another one together.

These were all items that the four of them managed to snag this morning after a lot of effort.

They read very slowly and very attentively; apart from the occasional rustling of turning pages, there was almost no other noise in the room.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the dust motes floating in the air, as well as the brand-new pages of the newspaper and the focused profiles of four young girls.

During this month, Zhao Wanwan's life at East China Normal University was packed with classes and a lot of things to memorize. Besides attending classes every day, she spent most of her time in the library or in her dormitory reading and organizing notes.

My three roommates are all from the south, and they speak with different accents. At first, I wasn't used to it, but now I'm gradually getting used to it.

Qian Mei is cheerful and straightforward, Zhang Xiaoli is quiet and meticulous, while Sun Fang has a somewhat boyish personality and loves sports.

The four people have different personalities, but they get along well.

They ate together, saved seats together, and chatted about girls' secrets and school gossip after lights out. Zhao Wanwan really liked this new group.