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

After a while, Shen Jingshu brought the food to the table—three dishes and a soup, all steaming hot. She took off her apron and called out to her daughter's room, "Qiu'er, dinner's ready!"

A voice came from inside the room: "Coming, coming!"

But we only heard a response; no one came out.

Shen Jingshu called out again, "Eat first, then watch!"

The door opened this time, and He Jinqiu poked her head out, still holding the stack of manuscript papers in her hand: "Mom, I'll just read one more page, just one more page!"

"Not even a single page, the food's getting cold." Shen Jingshu walked over, reached out and took the manuscript away. "You can look at it after you finish eating."

He Jinqiu watched helplessly as her mother took the manuscript away. Reluctantly, she followed her out and sat down at the dining table, her eyes still glancing at the coffee table from time to time.

He Chongshan also sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and took a piece of braised pork. The pork was stewed until it was very tender and melted in his mouth.

"tasty."

Shen Jingshu rolled her eyes at him, but was secretly pleased: "All you ever think about is food."

He Jinqiu ate very quickly, finishing the rice in her bowl in just a few bites, and then went to get her manuscript.

"Sit down, sit down and digest your food, what's the rush?"

Hearing her mother speak, He Jinqiu had no choice but to sit down again, but she felt like she had a nail under her butt, twisting and turning, her eyes constantly glancing towards the coffee table.

Looking at his daughter's anxious expression, He Chongshan recalled that he had been in the same state when he received the manuscript yesterday.

They really are her biological children.

After finishing her meal, Shen Jingshu cleared the dishes and went to the kitchen to wash them.

He Jinqiu was finally free. She darted to the coffee table, grabbed the stack of manuscript papers, and rushed back to her room, shouting before closing the door, "Don't disturb me until I've finished reading!"

The door closed again.

He Chongshan sat on the sofa, listening to the faint sound of turning pages coming from his daughter's room, and suddenly felt a little sentimental.

When he brought "Infernal Affairs" home, his daughter looked just like that.

I stayed up all night reading, and went to school the next day with dark circles under my eyes.

While watching, he kept muttering to himself, and after watching, he would discuss it with him, asking what would happen to Chen Yongren in the end, and whether Liu Jianming could really escape.

Here we go again.

Shen Jingshu finished washing the dishes and sat down next to him.

The two of them sat there, listening to the occasional noises coming from their daughter's room: the sound of turning pages, soft sighs, and occasionally a "wow."

Shen Jingshu glanced over there and whispered, "This girl is just like you."

He Chongshan laughed: "Isn't this a good thing? It's a good thing to love reading."

"It's a good thing, but I'm worried she'll go to class with dark circles under her eyes again tomorrow."

He Chongshan thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you go and remind her not to stay up too late?"

Shen Jingshu shook her head: "It's no use reminding you. When I was young, the things you wrote were just like that."

He Chongshan was stunned for a moment: "I wrote it? When did I ever write anything?"

Shen Jingshu glanced at him: "The letters you wrote when you were pursuing me were all longer than the last, and I read each one several times."

Seeing his wife expose his past, He Chongshan was speechless.

7:30 in the morning.

The sun was high in the sky, and the sunlight streamed in through the living room window, so bright that it was hard to open one's eyes.

He Jinqiu came out of the study.

Her hair was a little messy, and she was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, all wrinkled.

The most obvious thing is the two dark circles under her eyes, bluish-black, hanging there as if they were drawn on.

She yawned as she walked, one yawn after another, until tears streamed down her face.

In the living room, Shen Jingshu was setting breakfast on the table.

Millet porridge, boiled eggs, pickled vegetables, and a few leftover steamed buns from yesterday, reheated and still steaming.

She looked up at her daughter and frowned.

"You stayed up all night again?"

He Jinqiu didn't say anything, walked to the table and sat down, picked up her chopsticks and tried to pick up a steamed bun.

Shen Jingshu moved the plate of steamed buns to the side.

He Jinqiu's chopsticks hovered in mid-air as she looked up at her mother.

Shen Jingshu stared at her, his gaze sweeping from top to bottom before finally settling on her dark circles.

"What time did you go to bed last night?"

He Jinqiu opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything.

Shen Jingshu asked again, "One o'clock? Two o'clock? Or did you not sleep at all last night?"

He Jinqiu lowered her head guiltily and whispered, "It's not that late..."

"Not that late?" Shen Jingshu sneered. "Look at your eyes, they look like panda eyes, and you call that not that late?"

He Jinqiu raised her hand and touched under her eyes, but didn't find anything. Knowing her current state, she didn't argue and just sat there, waiting for her mother to scold her.

Shen Jingshu started scolding him endlessly: "What did I tell you? I told you to go to bed early, to go to bed early, but you just wouldn't listen."

Is reading manuscripts really that important? More important than sleeping?

Look at yourself now. If your classmates see you at school, they'll think you're sick.

He Jinqiu lowered her head and remained silent.

After venting her anger, Shen Jingshu pushed the plate of steamed buns back to her: "Eat up, eat up. Go to school quickly after you finish. If you do this again, you won't get breakfast."

He Jinqiu then picked up her chopsticks, took a bite of a steamed bun, and found it still warm. It was filled with cabbage and pork and smelled quite delicious.

Shen Jingshu sat opposite her, watching her eat, and couldn't help but say, "Eat slowly, don't choke, have some porridge."

He Jinqiu took a sip of porridge, then a bite of a steamed bun. After a few bites, she looked up, her face showing the dazed look that comes with staying up all night.

"Mom, I finally finished watching the prequel last night, staying up all night."

Shen Jingshu hummed in agreement, waiting for her to continue.

He Jinqiu put down the steamed bun, picked up her chopsticks and gestured in the air, wanting to say something but not knowing where to begin.

After holding it in for a long time, I finally managed to say, "That's amazing!"

Shen Jingshu rolled her eyes at her daughter, who looked like she wanted to express herself but didn't know where to start. She had been looking at her all night and her head was spinning.

The daughter is just like her father; neither of them is easy to deal with.

He Jinqiu was still muttering to herself when Shen Jingshu impatiently urged, "Eat your food, you're going to be late."

He Jinqiu looked down at the porridge in her bowl, then at the clock on the table. It was 7:40. She quickly stuffed the bun into her mouth in a few bites, drank half a bowl of porridge, stood up, and ran.

"I'm leaving!"

"Backpack!" Shen Jingshu called out.

He Jinqiu ran back, grabbed the schoolbag she had forgotten on the sofa, and rushed out the door.

Shen Jingshu stood at the door, watching her retreating figure, and shook her head.

This girl is just like her father.

He Jinqiu jogged all the way and arrived at school just in time to be on time.

She entered the classroom, found her seat, and sat down. Just as she caught her breath, two heads crowded around her.

The girl with short hair on the left is Lin Fang, a friend she's known since high school; they both got into Peking University.

The girl on the right with the ponytail is Xu Wei. She's a new friend from university, also in the Chinese Literature department, and we get along quite well.