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

The girl in the mirror had a faint blush on her cheeks from the excitement and the secret anticipation in her heart.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she thought to herself: I'm just going to East Lake for fun, and maybe... if I'm lucky, I might "bump into" her?

The thought made her heart beat even faster, and she quickly lowered her head to arrange the slippers she had taken off.

"Wanwan, let's go!" Qian Mei had already slung her bag over her shoulder and opened the dormitory door.

"Coming," Zhao Wanwan replied, taking one last look at her bright eyes in the mirror before turning to follow her roommates.

Zhao Wanwan and the other three squeezed onto the swaying bus, which took nearly half an hour to reach a stop by East Lake.

It was midday and the sun was quite strong, but a breeze blowing from the lake brought a touch of coolness, which immediately dispelled the heat.

The surface of East Lake is vast, stretching as far as the eye can see, and shimmers with golden light under the sun.

In the distance, the outline of mountains can be seen. Willows are planted along the lake, their branches drooping to the water and swaying gently in the wind. A path has been built along the lake shore, not very wide, and occasionally bicycles can be seen riding by with a clanging sound.

"It's huge!" Qian Mei exclaimed as soon as she got out of the car and looked at East Lake. "It's much bigger than the reservoir in my hometown."

"The air is fresh too." Zhang Xiaoli took a deep breath.

Sun Fang had already taken a few steps towards the lake without looking back: "Where should we start our stroll?"

Zhao Wanwan got off the bus and glanced instinctively toward Wuhan University, but she couldn't see anything through the trees and buildings, only vaguely making out the outline of the area.

My heart started beating faster for some reason.

"Let's find somewhere to eat first," Qian Mei said, rubbing her stomach. "I only had a cold bun this morning, I'm starving."

"Yes, you need to be well-fed to have the energy to play," Zhang Xiaoli agreed.

The four of them walked slowly along the lakeside path, looking for a place to eat.

There were a few small shops along the roadside. Some had signs outside that said "Hot Dry Noodles" or "Doupi" (a type of tofu skin), while others looked like state-run restaurants with larger storefronts, but the prices seemed quite high.

They hesitated and lingered in front of several shops, looking at the price lists and discussing in hushed tones.

"This place is a bit pricey..."

"That place seems to only sell noodles?"

"Shall we look further ahead?"

Zhao Wanwan's three roommates all came from ordinary families. Only Qian Mei's family was better off, as they were from a cadre family. But in those days, cadre families didn't have much money. A meal at a state-run restaurant could easily cost more than ten yuan, so they didn't even dare to step into the door.

Zhao Wanwan followed behind, listening to her roommates' discussion, her eyes scanning the unfamiliar shops.

Suddenly, she remembered something, and her eyes lit up slightly.

"I know a place that has really good food and isn't expensive," she said. Her voice wasn't loud, but the other three heard her and turned to look at her.

"Where?" Qian Mei asked.

"Not far from here, on a small street next to Wuhan University, there's a restaurant called 'Old Liu's Restaurant.' The food is pretty good, and the prices are reasonable. I ate there last time I came here."

She was referring to the time when Lawyer Xie treated her to dinner.

"Really? Let's give it a try!" Sun Fang was the first to respond. As a true foodie, she was most interested in food.

Zhang Xiaoli and Qian Mei nodded in agreement, since there didn't seem to be any suitable alternatives here.

So, Zhao Wanwan became the guide.

Guided by her memory, she led the three away from the main road by the lake and turned into a relatively quiet street.

Qian Mei walked beside Zhao Wanwan, then suddenly turned her head and asked curiously, "Wanwan, you seem quite familiar with this area around Wuhan University? Aren't you from Liaobei? Have you been here before?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wanwan paused for a moment, not expecting Qian Mei to ask this question.

My face felt inexplicably hot.

"Ah... um."

Zhao Wanwan gave a vague reply, her eyes fixed on the road ahead, avoiding her roommate's gaze: "I've been here once before."

"Just once? You remember that so clearly?" Qian Mei blinked and smiled mischievously. "You even know which alleyway the restaurant is in?"

Zhang Xiaoli also came over, a gentle yet slightly teasing smile on her face: "Wanwan, tell me honestly, is something going on at Wuhan University? Is your sweetheart studying here?"

"No way!" Zhao Wanwan's face flushed red instantly. She hurriedly retorted, but her voice lacked confidence. "Don't talk nonsense... we're just, just ordinary classmates."

"Oh... just a regular classmate..." Sun Fang drawled, mimicking Zhao Wanwan's tone, then exchanged a knowing look with Qian Mei and Zhang Xiaoli, and the three of them laughed.

Zhao Wanwan was so embarrassed that her ears burned.

She decided to ignore her three "annoying" roommates, and quickened her pace, focusing only on walking forward, pretending to carefully identify the road, while her heart was pounding wildly.

The word "lover" made her heart flutter.

She and Xie Lu are completely innocent...

Fortunately, she didn't walk far before she saw that familiar sign.

Lao Liu Restaurant.

"It's right there." She pointed ahead, her voice still a little unnatural.

Her three roommates stopped teasing her and looked in the direction she was pointing.

The shop is indeed small, with two rooms as its facade. The glass windows are clean, and through the windows you can see several square tables inside, where several customers are already seated. Although the furnishings are simple, it looks quite clean.

The four of them walked to the restaurant entrance, which was ajar. They could smell the aroma of stir-fried dishes wafting out, glistening with oil and carrying the fragrance of scallions and ginger, which was very tempting.

Just as Zhao Wanwan was about to push the door open and go in.

The entrance to Wuhan University.

Xie Lu just walked out of the School of Arts building.

The midday sun in autumn shone directly down, making it hard to open one's eyes. He raised his hand to shield his eyes.

A rumbling sound came from my stomach.

Xie Lu was dragged out of bed by Chu Yunfei to queue for newspapers and magazines in the morning, and then called to the office by Zhou Shaoyuan. After a whole morning of this, apart from eating a bowl of cold hot dry noodles at the breakfast shop, he hadn't eaten anything else.

However, Zhou Shaoyuan was so engrossed in reading that he started reading the manuscript as soon as Xie Lu brought it back, sometimes frowning, sometimes nodding, sometimes sighing, completely forgetting the time.

When he finally looked up, took off his reading glasses, let out a long sigh, and gazed wistfully out the window, he realized that the sun was almost at its zenith.

"Oh dear! What a forgetful me!" Zhou Shaoyuan quickly checked his watch, his face showing apology. "It's already this late! I've kept you waiting for so long, you must be hungry, right? Come on, come on, I'm treating you today, let's find a place to eat and chat!"

Zhou Shaoyuan was in high spirits. He was extremely satisfied with the prequel manuscript written by Xie Lü, and Ni Yongxiao's image was deeply rooted in people's hearts.

Just as Xie Lu was about to speak, there was a knock on the office door.