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

The porridge was still steaming.

He paused for a moment, then turned to look at the bedroom door. The door was open, and the blankets on the bed were neatly folded. Shen Jingshu had already left.

He picked up the bowl of porridge, took a sip, and found the millet porridge cooked until it was soft and just the right consistency—not too hot to burn his mouth.

He smiled; his wife still loved him the most.

He Chongshan left home earlier than usual today.

There was nothing I could do; I slept on the sofa all night. Although there was hot porridge and steamed buns this morning, my back still aches a bit.

He wanted to get to the editorial department as soon as possible to arrange the follow-up matters.

Xie Lu finished writing the Infernal Affairs prequel so quickly, so he absolutely cannot hold back the project.

Upon arriving at the editorial office and pushing open the door, He Chongshan sensed that something was amiss.

At this time of day, there are usually only two or three people in the office, some making tea, others flipping through newspapers, all taking their time.

Today, everyone was present, sitting in their seats, pretending to look at things, but their eyes kept glancing towards the door.

He Chongshan had just stepped in with one foot when Old Li, who was closest to him, stood up.

"Editor-in-chief, you're here?"

He Chongshan nodded and walked inside.

After taking a couple of steps, I realized something was wrong.

Old Li followed him without returning to his seat. Then he saw that Xiao Chen had also stood up, as had Old Zhang, Old Liu, Sister Wang... They all stood up, their eyes shining as they stared at the briefcase in his hand.

He Chongshan stopped and looked at the group of people who had gathered around him, and then he understood.

"What are you doing...?"

Old Li spoke first, smiling a little embarrassedly: "Editor-in-Chief He, I heard that... Infernal Affairs prequel arrived yesterday?"

He Chongshan nodded.

Old Li rubbed his hands together and chuckled, "Have you finished looking at it? Can we take a look too?"

Xiao Chen chimed in from the side, "That's right, that's right! We were all looking forward to it after you said you received it yesterday. You've been looking all afternoon, shouldn't it be our turn today?"

Old Zhang chimed in, "Editor-in-chief, you can't keep all the good manuscripts to yourself! We're all waiting to see them too."

He Chongshan looked at this group of people, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

These guys are usually listless in meetings, but now they're full of energy.

He Chongshan walked to the door of his office, turned around and said, "Wait, I'll take it out."

He went into the office and took out the thick stack of manuscript paper.

When He Chongshan walked out of the office with a stack of manuscript papers, a group of people had already gathered around, waiting expectantly.

He Chongshan handed the manuscript to Lao Li: "Here you go. Be careful not to get it dirty or damaged. This is the original manuscript."

Old Li took it with both hands, holding it carefully as if it were a precious treasure.

The others immediately crowded around, craning their necks, all wanting to take a look first.

"Don't push, don't push!" Old Li protected the manuscript. "Let's find a place to sit down and read it slowly."

"Let's go to the conference room!" Xiao Chen suggested. "The conference room has a bigger table."

So a group of people surrounded Lao Li and led him to the conference room.

He Chongshan stood at the office door, looked at their impatient expressions, shook his head, and smiled.

He turned and went back to his office to deal with the backlog of things from the past two days.

I had only been sitting down for a few minutes when I heard noises coming from the conference room.

At first, it was lively and noisy.

"Let me see the first page!"

"Don't grab it, don't grab it, everyone can see it!"

"Old Li, don't let your hands shake!"

After about ten minutes, the sound gradually subsided.

After a while, it became completely quiet.

He Chongshan sat in his office, listening to the quiet outside, and knew what was going on.

Those guys should be inside by now.

He continued with the task at hand.

A stack of manuscripts needs a second review, several letters need to be replied to, and there's a meeting to prepare for this afternoon.

He looked through them one by one, very quickly. The quality of these manuscripts was generally average, with nothing particularly outstanding, but occasionally there were one or two that he could actually read.

Before we knew it, more than an hour had passed.

He looked up at the clock on the wall; it was almost ten o'clock.

The meeting room remained quiet, without a sound.

He Chongshan stood up, walked to the door, and glanced towards the conference room.

The door was ajar, so he couldn't see inside. He tiptoed over and peered through the crack in the door.

In the conference room, seven or eight people sat in a circle around a long table.

Old Li sat in the middle, with a stack of Infernal Affairs prequel manuscripts spread out in front of him.

Next to him was Xiao Chen, and next to him was Lao Zhang, and behind him were other people. Everyone had their heads down, staring at the manuscript in front of them, without moving.

No one spoke.

After reading a page, Old Li gently turned the page and handed it to Xiao Chen next to him. Xiao Chen took it and continued reading. In this way, the pages were passed around in an unusually quiet manner.

He Chongshan watched for a while, then quietly retreated to his office.

He knows that feeling.

A truly good manuscript has a magical quality.

It can suck people in, making them forget time, where they are, and everything around them.

That's how these guys are now.

He's the same as he was yesterday.

He returned to his desk and sat down to continue working on the manuscripts.

It was almost midnight when He Chongshan looked up at Zhong again, but there was still no movement from next door.

He thought for a moment, then went to the cafeteria to get his colleagues' meals and brought them to the editorial department.

He Chongshan followed him into the conference room, walked over to Lao Li, and patted him on the shoulder.

Old Li didn't react.

He patted it again.

Old Li seemed to wake up from a dream, suddenly looked up, his eyes still a little blurry. He looked at He Chongshan, and it took him two seconds to recognize who it was.

"Editor-in-chief?"

He Chongshan pointed to the clock on the wall: "It's already 12:30, time to eat."

Old Li followed his finger and looked over, then paused, "It's 12:30?"

Xiao Chen, who was standing next to him, was also startled. He looked up, looking bewildered: "12:30? That can't be right. I just checked and it was only a little past nine."

He Chongshan laughed: "You've been watching for more than three hours. Come on, let's eat first, and then we can continue watching."

Old Li looked down at the manuscript in his hand, then at the person next to him who hadn't finished reading, and felt a little reluctant to part with it.

"Eat first," He Chongshan said again, his tone leaving no room for discussion.

Old Li then put down the manuscript and stood up.

The others gradually came to their senses, rubbing their eyes, stretching, and loosening their stiff necks.

"My God, I didn't even realize it had been so long," Xiao Chen said, rubbing his eyes.

"It's been a long time since I've been this engrossed in a book." Old Zhang stood up, holding his back. "My back is so stiff from sitting so long."

Today's meal consists of stewed cabbage with glass noodles, braised pork with potatoes, scrambled eggs, and a large bucket of rice, with all the bowls and chopsticks provided.

Everyone helped themselves, serving rice and vegetables, and then sat down around the conference table.

At first, no one spoke; everyone was eating in silence. After a couple of bites, Old Li suddenly spoke up.

"Editor-in-Chief He, have you finished reading this manuscript? What do you think of Ni Yongxiao?"