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

Xie Lu stood there without saying a word.

Zhou Shaoyuan had already pulled the manuscript paper out of the file folder, turned to the first page, put on his reading glasses, looked down at a few lines, and then looked up again.

"Have a seat first, let me take a look." Zhou Shaoyuan casually greeted Xie Lu, but his mind was already completely captivated by the manuscript.

"Dean, please go ahead with your work, I..."

"No rush, no rush," Zhou Shaoyuan said without even looking up, waving his hand. "Sit down, sit down."

Xie had no choice but to sit down.

Zhou Shaoyuan no longer cared about him.

He lay face down on the table, his head bowed low, flipping through the pages of manuscript paper one by one. His reading glasses slipped down to the tip of his nose, but he didn't bother to push them up. He would only push them up occasionally before continuing to read.

The office was quiet, with only the rustling of papers turning.

Xie Lu sat quietly, not disturbing him.

The clock on the wall ticked away.

Ten minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour...

Zhou Shaoyuan's movements as he turned the pages became slower and slower, sometimes stopping on a particular page and remaining motionless for a long time.

Sometimes I flip back and reread a particular section.

His brows furrowed and relaxed at times, and his facial expression constantly changed, sometimes solemn and sometimes sighing.

After a long time, Zhou Shaoyuan finally turned to the last page.

He stared at that page for a long time without turning it.

Then, after reading the last word, he slowly took off his reading glasses, put down the manuscript, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long breath.

He didn't speak, he just looked out the window.

"Lawyer Xie," he said, his voice lower than usual.

"Um."

"This Ni Yongxiao," Zhou Shaoyuan paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully, "you've written about him too well."

Xie Lu did not respond.

Zhou Shaoyuan remained silent for a long time before continuing, "He's a bad person. He smuggles, kills, and does all sorts of illegal things. But when you look at the methods he uses and hear the things he says, you can't help but hate him. You might even... even understand him a little and feel sorry for him."

He turned his head and looked at Xie Lu with a complicated expression.

"That's what people are like. It's not black and white; it's a mix of good and bad, inseparable and inextricably linked."

He has his bottom line, his obsessions, and his weaknesses.

He did those things not for himself, but for his family, for the Ni family.

He has a hundred reasons to go bad, but in his own logic, everything he does is right.

As Zhou Shaoyuan spoke, his tone was filled with emotion, even a touch of melancholy.

He shook his head: "What a pity about this person."

He picked up the manuscript, turned to one of the pages, and read aloud: "My name is Ni Yongxiao, and the foundation of filial piety is protecting one's family."

He turned to another page: "I just want to help my family hold their heads high."

He put down the manuscript and looked at Xie Lu: "I can't forget these two sentences."

A person who would stop at nothing for the sake of their family, in the end, all they want is to hold their head high with dignity.

But the path he chose destined him to never be able to hold his head high again.

Zhou Shaoyuan took off his reading glasses, slowly wiped the lenses with a soft cloth, and remained silent for a long time.

"Do you know how I felt after reading it?" he suddenly asked.

Xie shook his head.

Zhou Shaoyuan put on his glasses and looked at him: "I'm reminded of a movie."

Xie Lu knew it was The Godfather.

That is, the Chinese translation of "The Godfather"!

Zhou Shaoyuan continued speaking to himself: "The patriarch of that family was also ruthless, but he led the family to establish itself and grow into a powerful force. He held a wedding for his daughter, ate with his family, and finally died slowly in the garden... making people even forget that he was a murderous and robbed mafia boss. You only see an old man, a father."

He paused for a moment: "Ni Yongxiao is the same. He stands on the stage, calm, decisive, and meticulous in his calculations."

But all his scheming was for the sake of his increasingly precarious family.

He was a guardian, and a martyr.

He was destined not to hold on, and he was destined not to live long.

Zhou Shaoyuan sighed, rearranged the manuscript paper, and put it back into the file folder.

"Lawyer Xie, I have seen many good works over the years."

But this is the first time I've ever seen two completely different works written within the same story framework, each with its own protagonist and its own soul, yet perfectly interwoven together.

He looked at Xie Lu with the appreciation of an elder for a younger generation.

"I've told you that before, and I'll say it again today."

Xie Lu lowered his head: "Dean, you flatter me."

"It's not an overstatement, it's the truth." Zhou Shaoyuan waved his hand. "I'm not one for empty talk."

He placed the file folder on the table, his hand still resting on it, and gently patted it.

"When are you planning to send this to Lao He?"

"The sooner the better. Editor-in-Chief He has been indirectly urging us several times."

Zhou Shaoyuan nodded: "He should urge him; I would do the same."

He thought for a moment and then said, "Alright, leave this to me. I'll have someone send it to Kyoto as quickly as possible today."

He paused for a moment, then a slightly embarrassed smile appeared on his face: "Speaking of which, Lao He has been sending me a letter every other day these past few days."

He took several letters out of the drawer and placed them on the table.

The envelopes all had stamps on them, and the postmark dates were all different; the most recent one was from the day before yesterday.

Zhou Shaoyuan pointed to the stack of letters: "Look, all these letters have the same subject, they are all asking how your manuscript is going."

He asked me to help him urge you, saying he felt embarrassed to write to you every day to urge you, afraid that it would put pressure on you, so he asked me to do it.

As a result of repeated reminders, the manuscript was delivered to my door on its own.

Zhou Shaoyuan laughed as he spoke, his wrinkles crinkling at the corners of his eyes.

"If he knew that the manuscript was already finished and that I had read it first, he would probably yell at me on the phone."

As Zhou Shaoyuan spoke, his tone was smug, like an old child who had gotten a good deal.

Xie Lu smiled as well.

"Okay, then I'll arrange to send it. Once Lao He receives it, things should calm down on his end. These past few days, I've been getting letter after letter; I'm worried he'll become too familiar with the postman."

He carefully placed the file folder into the file compartment next to the drawer and looked up.

He suddenly remembered something: "By the way, have you come up with any ideas for that essay contest?"

Xie Lu shook his head: "Not yet. I've finished writing the prequel, so I can focus on thinking about it now."

"No rush, no rush," Zhou Shaoyuan quickly waved his hand. "Take a few days off first, there's no rush."

He paused, then couldn't help adding, "Just put in a little more effort; this competition opportunity is pretty good."

Xie Lu nodded: "I understand, Dean."

"Alright, then you can go ahead and get busy." Zhou Shaoyuan waved his hand, regaining his composed dean demeanor.

Attorney Xie left the office and gently closed the door behind him.

Zhou Shaoyuan arranged for his assistant to make an appointment with the postman. When the postman came to the school to deliver mail, Zhou Shaoyuan personally handed the manuscript to the postman and sent it as an express mail so that it could be delivered to He Chongshan in Kyoto a few days earlier, so that he would not have to write to him every other day.