This intimate gesture was noticed by a young boy dancing in the center of the living room. He immediately let out a disgruntled “hmph,” his face darkening as he muttered under his breath, “pretty boy!”

　　“What’s wrong? Who upset you?”

　　The young girl dancing with him asked curiously.

　　Both of them were around twenty years old, and judging by their clothes and appearance, they came from well-off families.

　　This was originally just a small gathering of scions from prominent families in Beijing. In the late 1980s, there were no CD players yet, let alone karaoke. In the capital, being able to throw a party in such a villa was not something just anyone could do.

　　“It’s all because of William Lawson… As soon as he arrived, he started clinging to Sister Julia, and just won’t stop… Damn, what’s he pretending for? He’s not a kid anymore, still acting all cutesy and coquettish, it’s disgusting, pfft!”

　　The young boy seemed quite annoyed.

　　“Oh, are you jealous?”

　　The young girl also glanced sideways at William Lawson and Sister Julia in the corner, pouting, her expression equally displeased. But her displeasure was directed at Sister Julia.

　　“Are you out of your mind? Why would I be jealous? Sister Julia is my sister-in-law, okay? The adults from both families have met and agreed to their relationship. What’s so great about William Lawson? He’s like a piece of sticky plaster, just won’t let go of Sister Julia!”

　　The young boy cursed.

　　“Oh, so it’s settled? How come I didn’t know?”

　　The young girl’s jealousy vanished instantly, and she pressed on with interest.

　　The young boy said disdainfully, “Do I have to tell you everything? There’s a lot going on in this city that you don’t know about. You’d better learn.”

　　He put on an overbearing air.

　　A flash of anger crossed the young girl’s face, but she quickly forced a smile, speaking in a slightly coquettish tone: “I just got here… Since you know so much, you should teach me…”

　　It seemed the girl was quite wary of the young boy. Perhaps it wasn’t the boy himself she feared, but his family background. Everyone present in this villa tonight was a scion of a distinguished family.

　　William Lawson hadn’t noticed what was happening on the dance floor at all, and continued chatting with Sister Julia.

　　In his previous life, when he was young, he loved attending these gatherings of prominent families. Everyone goes through a restless adolescence. A group of young people getting together to watch movies, drink beer, sing, and dance was a great way to let off excess energy. At home, they were constantly under their parents’ watchful eyes, but at these parties, they could finally let loose.

　　But now, things were different. Even though the equipment in this villa was the most advanced in the country at the time, compared to even the lowest-end bars in the future, it was still lacking. William Lawson no longer had any interest in mingling with these young people. He had a very clear purpose for attending this gathering today.

　　“Sister Julia, there’s something I’d like to ask your help with.”

　　William Lawson sipped his beer, speaking in a tone that sounded casual.

　　“Oh, getting all polite with me now? Go ahead, as long as it’s something I can do.”

　　Sister Julia laughed, her face full of affection.

　　William Lawson said, “This might be a bit tricky, so don’t agree too quickly.”

　　Sister Julia raised her eyebrows, looking at him with a half-smile: “What, trying to use reverse psychology on me? Looks like you’ve really grown up, even know how to play mind games with me now?”

　　That faintly melancholic, handsome smile appeared on William Lawson’s face again. He pondered and said, “This really isn’t a small matter…”

　　Sister Julia’s expression grew serious as well. She asked, “Is it something important?”

　　“Yes, it’s important. I wrote an article, it’s a bit long—about twenty thousand words—refuting bourgeois liberalization. Do you have any way to get it published in the magazine ‘Horn’?”

　　William Lawson hesitated, finally revealing his true purpose.

　　It had been a few days since the old man’s eightieth birthday. William Lawson hadn’t rushed back to work at Qingfeng Agricultural School, but stayed in Beijing, shutting himself in his room every day to work on this article. The title was “Resolutely Oppose the Ideology of Bourgeois Liberalization.”

　　Although the Liu family was high-ranking, they still didn’t have a computer at home. This twenty-thousand-word thesis was written by William Lawson with a fountain pen. Fortunately, in his previous life, he had always been a teacher and researcher, never putting down his pen. His thoughts were still clear, and it only took him four or five days to finish the article.

　　Sister Julia was truly shocked. She said, “Refuting bourgeois liberalization? Weihong, what are you trying to do? That’s not the trend now! The central policy is to focus all efforts on economic development and set aside all ideological debates…”

　　This was also Comrade Yuehua’s consistent guiding principle.

　　Many later scholars have pointed out that this period was the most chaotic time in the ideological sphere.

　　William Lawson said, “Don’t worry about that. Just find a way to get the article published. I know you can do it. This is very important to me—extremely important!”