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

Chapter 124 is set! It'll win an award!!

Inside the essay review and editing room.

Everyone is having a heated discussion.

"So, who do you think this Lawyer Xie is?"

The editor-in-chief began the discussion, and the young editors below fell into deep thought.

Editor Wang, ever the seasoned veteran, twirled his pen thoughtfully and replied, "If you ask me, he's a seasoned expert."

Zhang Wei, on the other hand, is a bit more radical. "I think it's inappropriate. He's not a master of writing style, but he might be a self-made entrepreneur."

Su Miao interjected at this point, "Have you guys seen Infernal Affairs before?"

Zhang Wei continued explaining. "I've read it. I think it's a bit of a shame that the author of Infernal Affairs didn't participate in the writing contest."

. . .

The editor-in-chief listened to everything these people said.

Why? He thought that "Ordinary World" was written by Zhou Shaoyuan.

But he already knew the outcome of the review, so he called Zhou Shaoyuan from his home phone last night.

Unexpectedly, Lao Zhou said that this was just an article written by an ordinary literature major student at his school, named Xie Lü.

Not only that, what happened next exceeded his expectations.

Because the editor-in-chief explained the general results to Zhou Shaoyuan, and after exchanging pleasantries, Zhou Shaoyuan couldn't help but reveal to the editor-in-chief that Xie Lu was the author of Infernal Affairs.

It was both infuriating and hilarious for the editor-in-chief.

Ironically, a group of such experienced editors almost buried this excellent work.

What's infuriating is that this kid is so young yet he can create such a shocking work as Infernal Affairs!!

Even worse, while discussing the essay contest, some people were even discussing Infernal Affairs!

"Alright, no more discussion about Infernal Affairs," the editor-in-chief reminded them.

The murmurs and croaks of the crowd immediately ceased.

After a while, we returned to the ordinary world voting.

"If you ask me, in this ordinary world, if someone is second, no one dares to be first." Zhang Wei was the first to make the voting decision.

"Yeah, I think so too. This story really resonated with me." Su Miao nodded frantically.

Only Editor Wang remained silent.

If given the chance to choose, he would definitely choose Infernal Affairs, not Ordinary World.

"Alright, let's settle it like this then. First place for 'Ordinary World.' Second place. Third place." The editor-in-chief read out the award rankings one by one, intending to push the rankings up to the highest judging panel in Beijing.

The next day, Xie Lu was woken up by Chu Yunfei.

Early in the morning, the dormitory supervisor said that someone was calling a public phone looking for Xie Lu.

Chu Yunfei answered the phone, but no, it was Zhou Shaoyuan.

Still half asleep, Xie Lu could only quickly get up, grab the letter he had stayed up all night writing, and head to Zhou Shaoyuan's office.

As soon as he entered, Zhou Shaoyuan quickly poured Xie Lu a cup of tea, looking at him as if he were a precious treasure.

He exclaimed excitedly, "Xiao Xie, do you know what the result was for your essay contest this time?"

Xie Lu rubbed his sleepy eyes: "I don't know, you tell me."

Zhou Shaoyuan felt like he was about to jump up in excitement. "First place! Xiao Xie! You're a true genius!!!"

Xie Lu's hands were sore from being gripped so tightly by his hands.

"Then, Teacher Zhou, may I make a request?" Xie Lu, that kid, is good at seizing opportunities to climb the ladder.

"I'll agree to any request, as long as it's not too outrageous." Zhou Shaoyuan was as happy as a child at this moment, not caring about anything else, he just agreed.

"Here's the thing, I'm thinking of organizing a club at school, a literature club, and I'd like to be the president. What do you think?" Xie Lu observed for a moment, and realized that the school didn't actually have a literature club, let alone a president.

"Oh, I thought it was something big. It's approved. As for the funding, I'll calculate the allocation later!" He readily agreed.

"I have something else to ask," Xie Lu continued, then took out the letter in his hand.

Zhou Shaoyuan calmed himself down slightly and looked at the letter Xie Lu handed him: "What's this?"

He opened the letter directly and read its contents to Zhou Shaoyuan: "This is written to the French writer Marguerite Duras. I think her anti-war love story 'The Lover' about Hiroshima Mon Amour is quite good, but the current translation is not widely circulated. I hope to contact her directly."

What a grand vision!

The student in front of me reveals a grand vision in just a few simple lines of writing.

Support, we must support! But that's not the point right now.

"Well, we don't have many French experts here, so I might need to try to find some for you. Oh, and right now, you should prepare your club first, and the results of the essay contest will be out soon."

"Oh right, isn't Infernal Affairs 2 about to go on sale? You should be busy with those important matters," Zhou Shaoyuan replied.

"I'll listen to your opinion." After saying that, Xie Lu took the letter back and put it in his pocket.

Then Zhou Shaoyuan brought Xie Lu to the school cafeteria. Since the student had won an award, they should continue to communicate and have a meal together to cultivate their relationship.

As soon as the cafeteria ladies saw Zhou Shaoyuan arrive, they all perked up and immediately stopped shaking their rice scoops.

Xie Lu ordered a fish-flavored eggplant, a stir-fried cabbage, and a stir-fried pork with green peppers.

Zhou Shaoyuan added a dish of boiled sliced ​​pork, and then the two of them ate two large bowls of rice.

This meal in the cafeteria was really not cheap.

Fortunately, Zhou Shaoyuan was treating, otherwise Xie Lu would definitely have felt bad eating like this by himself.

After chatting about what would happen next while eating, Xie Lu walked towards the school gate.

It looks like there are only a few days left before He Jinqiu is going to secretly come to see him.

Where to stay is a problem; he thinks it's best to arrange a hotel or something for them first.

It makes him appear important as a man.

So he went to the street in front of the school, a little further away from the school gate.

Not many students in this era booked rooms outside of school.

I found several popular hotels next to the bathhouse and asked at each one.

"How many days will you stay? Can I see your discharge certificate?" The hotel owner, seeing Xie Lu's buzz cut and upright posture, assumed he was a veteran returning from military service.

"Can I get a discount with my student ID?" Xie replied.

I didn't expect him to be a student.

"We only have double beds here, is that acceptable?" the owner said, glancing up at him.

"Yes, I can," Xie Lu replied as politely as possible.

"It's 2 yuan per night, and if you stay for 10 consecutive nights, you get 3 free nights," the owner explained.

Because most of the students who come to book rooms in this area do so secretly, especially the girls, who are afraid of running into acquaintances.

If you get 3 free nights for every 10 nights you stay, that's 20 yuan for 13 days, which is a great deal no matter how you look at it.

Even if she only stays for a few days, Xie Lu can come and stay beforehand to check if it's safe. If she leaves, he can sleep here for a few days and write something. After all, Chu Yunfei's snoring in the dormitory will affect his sleep to some extent.

"Okay, then let's book ten nights!" Xie Lu readily took out twenty yuan from his pocket and registered the hotel accommodations.