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

The door closed behind him, and Zhou Shaoyuan walked back to his desk. He couldn't help but pick up the document again and look at it, a smile he couldn't suppress on his face.

He felt as if he could already see Xie Lü's article standing out from numerous entries, winning first prize, and the name of Wuhan University's School of Literature appearing at the top of the list of winners...

As Xie Lu walked back to his dormitory, he thought about how Zhou Shaoyuan had been clearly happy yet pretending to be serious. He shook his head and smiled.

Before long, Xie Lu's thoughts turned to the essay contest.

What should I write?

In Shuangshui Village, a rural area in northern Liaoning, familiar people and events slowly emerge in my mind like faded paintings.

The hunched back of father Xie Youshan on the ridge of the field, the profile of mother Wang Yufen busy at the stove, the scene of villagers squatting under the wall basking in the sun and chatting, and Li Hanwen's greedy and lewd face...

change...

He needed to find a starting point, a story that could both bear the weight of the changing times and reflect the true emotions and spiritual core of ordinary farmers.

It shouldn't be too grandiose or unrealistic; it needs to find a balance between the grand narrative of the times and the subtle feelings of the individual.

Xie Lu thought about it for a while and felt that every angle seemed to work, but none of them seemed to be quite right.

Well, there's still some time before the deadline for submissions, so there's no rush.

He has more pressing matters to attend to right now; the prequel to "Infernal Affairs" is still missing an ending, and he needs to finish writing it first.

Editor-in-Chief He is still waiting.

With that thought in mind, Xie Lu turned around and went back to his dormitory.

Pushing open the door to 308, the room was filled with the aroma of food.

Chen Xiangdong was sitting on the edge of the bed, with several aluminum lunch boxes on the small table in front of him.

Seeing Xie Lu come in, he looked up and said, "You're back? I brought you your food, hot dry noodles and a plate of stir-fried vegetables. I was afraid the cafeteria wouldn't have anything good if you came back late."

Xie Lu was stunned for a moment.

He thought his roommates would have already eaten at the cafeteria, but Chen Xiangdong brought him food back instead.

"Thank you, boss." He put down what he was holding and took the lunchbox.

The hot dry noodles were a little soggy, but still warm, and the aroma of sesame paste was very strong. He picked up his chopsticks and started eating them in big bites.

Xie Lu buried himself in his food. After he finished eating everything in his lunchbox, Chu Yunfei turned over in bed and started chatting with Zhou Wenbin.

Xie Lu tidied up his desk, took out a stack of blank manuscript paper, and placed it in front of him.

He didn't start writing immediately, but just stared out the window for a while in a daze.

The room gradually quieted down. Chen Xiangdong went to the bathroom, came back, climbed into bed, and picked up a book to read.

Chu Yunfei muttered a few words, his voice growing softer and softer until he finally fell silent.

On an autumn afternoon, sunlight streamed obliquely through the window and fell on Xie Lü's unfolded manuscript paper.

The dormitory was quiet; Chen Xiangdong and the other two had all gone to bed and were asleep.

Xie Lu looked away and picked up his pen.

The pen tip scratched across the manuscript paper.

He wrote slowly, and one character after another emerged from the tip of his pen: Ni Yongxiao, Han Chen, Huang Zhicheng, and also Sha Qiang, Mary, Liu Jianming... those little people struggling between black and white.

In the first half, he wrote about how Ni Yongxiao stabilized the situation without bloodshed and how he controlled the Ni family with wisdom rather than violence.

This was Ni Yongxiao's shining moment; he was calm, profound, and strategically brilliant.

And now, in the second half, his twilight ending is about to arrive.

He flipped through the manuscript sheets one by one.

The dormitory was filled with the sounds of snoring, occasionally punctuated by the sound of someone turning over. Footsteps walked by in the corridor, approaching and then receding again.

Xie Lu was also immersed in the world of Infernal Affairs, and the plot and dialogue flowed out naturally like spring water.

He didn't need to rack his brains to come up with ideas; he simply recorded them faithfully.

He had read it countless times in his past life, and he had polished it countless times in this life. Every twist and turn, every line of dialogue, was as if it were engraved in his mind.

Time flies.

When he finally finished writing a paragraph, put down his pen, stretched his stiff neck, and realized it was almost 1:30 pm.

The stack of manuscript paper on the table had grown thicker.

He counted and found that he had written about four thousand words this afternoon, which was a good progress. He had completed more than half of the second half of the prequel, and in another three or four days, he should be able to finish it all.

He rubbed his sore eyes, carefully put away the completed manuscript, and placed it under a book.

Then he stood up, walked to the bedside, and patted Chen Xiangdong on the upper bunk.

"Boss, it's 1:30, time to get up, you have class this afternoon."

Chen Xiangdong groggily opened his eyes, looked out the window, and sat up abruptly.

He nudged Chu Yunfei in the next bed and called out to Zhou Wenbin, who was still asleep.

"Get up, class is starting."

Chu Yunfei mumbled something and rolled over, not wanting to move.

Chen Xiangdong pulled off his blanket, and Chu Yunfei got up cursing, his hair a mess. Zhou Wenbin rubbed his eyes and sat up, his glasses askew.

The four of them finished packing and went downstairs to the teaching building.

The sun was shining brightly, and the campus was filled with students rushing to class.

Chu Yunfei yawned as he walked, complaining that he hadn't slept well. Chen Xiangdong said he slept like a log, snoring loudly, and still had the nerve to say he hadn't slept well. Zhou Wenbin whispered that he had heard it too, but Chu Yunfei firmly denied it.

"How could that be? I never snore."

"Second brother, I've discovered you're truly shameless."

Chen Xiangdong looked at Chu Yunfei with disdain, which infuriated Chu Yunfei.

Chu Yunfei turned to Xie Lu and asked, "Fourth brother, tell me, did I snore at noon?"

Xie Lu nodded truthfully: "Yes, it was hit, and it was quite big."

"I don't care, I just didn't snore! You're all ganging up on me!"

Xie Lu walked beside them, not participating in their argument.

He was still thinking about the plot he had just written, his mind racing with how to move forward next. A breeze blew by, carrying a cool breeze that felt very comfortable.

This went on for four or five days.

Every day, Xie Lv's life is like a wound-up toy, very regular.

I get up in the morning, wash up, go to the cafeteria with my roommate for breakfast, and then go to class.

He would come back at noon, eat in the cafeteria, and while his roommates took a nap, he would start writing. If he had classes in the afternoon, he would write until 1:30, then wake them up so they could go to their afternoon classes together.

Sometimes I go to the library in the evening, and sometimes I continue writing in my dorm.

Before turning off the lights, he would put away the day's manuscripts and lock them in a drawer.

The manuscript paper grew thicker day by day.

The second half of the prequel is also drawing to a close day by day.

During those four or five days, he would occasionally think about the essay contest.

But he doesn't have the energy to spare right now.

There's no rush to submit articles; let's finish writing the Infernal Affairs prequel that I promised Editor-in-Chief He first.

During this time, He Chongshan's letter arrived. In addition to urging me to finish the manuscript, he also included a sentence: "Don't rush the prequel. Take your time writing it, but be sure to send it to me as soon as you're done."