Which way to go is the road?

Xiang Fei continued his role as a cleaner at the internet cafe. He knew he couldn't play this role for too long, otherwise his life's story would become too narrow, and he'd be finished if he couldn't escape this role. He made efforts in two areas: first, to continue learning how to install and repair computers for internet cafes, so that even if he didn't work as an internet cafe manager in the future, it would still be an essential skill for life; second, to continue reading in his spare time. He didn't plan to take the college entrance exam again, but he felt he couldn't let his mind stop developing.

However, these actions must be taken only after fulfilling one's primary job duties to a high standard. If one is lazy and perfunctory in their work, it will not only lead to job loss and jeopardize one's life, but more importantly, it will disrupt one's life rhythm and cause mental slackness.

However, Xiang Fei did not expect that his life rhythm would not be disrupted by himself, but was almost interrupted by a sudden change.

Four days later, Xiang Fei finished cleaning and walked towards the front desk, only to see the three internet cafe managers and the cashier huddled together, discussing something in a mysterious manner. The four of them were also having lunch together. It was only 9 a.m., what were they doing? Xiang Fei walked over with strong questions.

"If this internet cafe closes down, where will you go?" Lao You asked in a muffled voice.

"What? What did you say?" Upon hearing this news, Xiang Fei's head buzzed. The news was too sudden. Before anyone could speak, Xiang Fei was the first to interject.

"The boss wants to sell this internet cafe. He said his boyfriend is about to become a professional, and he wants to enjoy life with him and travel the world?" Xiangzi said, then lowered his head in frustration.

"Sell this internet cafe?"

"It's not selling, it's transferring ownership. Legally, this building belongs to Sister Mei's father, so she has no right to sell it. She just wants to transfer 'Shuiyunjian'!" Dong Lu sighed, abandoning her usual playful demeanor.

"Did Sister Mei inform you?"

"There was no official notification. I just went upstairs to settle the accounts, and Sister Mei said a few words to me. She also said that it's useless to spend money if no one is with you. A woman's greatest happiness is to spend every day carefree with the one she loves!" Dong Lu said with a mix of disappointment and envy.

"There's no need to sell 'Shuiyunjian' then. If we don't live there, how will we survive?"

"Maybe the money from selling this internet cafe will be enough for them to live on for the rest of their lives!" Xiangzi said bitterly.

"How is that possible..." Xiang Fei hadn't finished speaking when he saw Dong Lu giving him a series of meaningful glances. He turned around and saw that Qian Luomei had already come downstairs and was walking towards them.

"It seems Dong Lu told you not to worry. I promise you, no matter who takes over this internet cafe, you can still work here! You've all worked very hard for so long, and I've seen it all. To be honest, leaving you wasn't my intention, but please allow me to be selfish this once. I've finally found my happiness, and I'm willing to give up everything I have to be with him, to the ends of the earth. I'm not young anymore, so let me be crazy for love one last time!"

After Qian Luomei finished speaking, tears welled up in her eyes. Realizing this, she quickly wiped them away and tried her best to remain calm.

"Sister Mei, don't worry about us. We'll take good care of ourselves. We're a little sad because we're reluctant to part with such a good boss like you. You must be happy!" Dong Lu said obediently, tears welling up in her eyes, while holding Qian Luomei's hand.

"Yes, Sister Mei, you must be happy!" Wang Haoming continued. Xiang Fei turned to look at Wang Haoming in surprise, but then nodded in agreement with the others.

"Okay, my boyfriend is here, I'm leaving now. It'll be a few more days before I move out of the internet cafe. I'll treat everyone to dinner before I go!" Qian Luomei said, turning and walking towards the door. She opened the door and embraced the handsome soldier, looking just like a colorful moth.

"How many soldiers are this tall? And how many are this tall and handsome? Why did Sister Mei meet him and they became boyfriend and girlfriend? If she hadn't met him, Sister Mei wouldn't have left us, right?" Old You always had some strange ideas in his head.

"What if their meeting and falling in love weren't a low-probability event of fate, but rather a deliberate arrangement?"

"What did you say?" Dong Lu was completely bewildered by Xiang Fei's words.

"Dong Lu, if you met such a handsome soldier, would you fall in love with him?" Xiang Fei didn't answer Dong Lu's question, but instead asked her.

"Of course! He's so handsome! Sister Mei said he's also very caring and knows how to cherish women!"

"What if this person's family is very poor and has nothing?"

"Don't think of everyone as so materialistic, okay? Once a woman falls in love, she'll give a lot, even beyond reason!" Dong Lu paused for a moment, thought for a moment, and continued, "But this woman has to make some sacrifices, which means she has a certain amount of financial resources. If she's penniless, I'm afraid more than 60% of women will back down."

"Why are you suddenly asking these questions? Is there something wrong with Sister Mei's boyfriend?" Dong Lu was still pondering Xiang Fei's question when Lao You seemed to have figured something out and blurted out the question. This caused the other three to look at Xiang Fei with surprised expressions.

"I'm not sure yet, but Sister Mei's obsession and her decision to sell the internet cafe puzzle me. This fanaticism and addiction are abnormal!"

"That soldier got Sister Mei to do drugs? I'm going to kill him!" Wang Haoming's thinking was simple and direct.

"What are you talking about? Does Sister Mei look like she's on drugs? Don't make wild guesses. Xiang Fei, stop keeping me in suspense. What's going on? What did you find out?" Dong Lu glanced helplessly at Wang Haoming, then asked anxiously.

Xiang Fei then recounted to the four men his encounter with the soldier near his cousin's house during the soldier's supposed special mission in Lanzhou, revealing his suspicions and analysis. After he finished speaking, the four men fell silent, earnestly analyzing the current situation and seeking a solution.

"I understand!" Xiangzi, who had been silent until now, spoke up first, and everyone looked at him. "That soldier might be a fake, and Sister Mei might have been fooled!"

Everyone wanted to kick him. They were all very serious and focused, but this little incident made them laugh.

Dong Lu was also very direct: "Please, brother, Xiang Fei has already said all this. Didn't you hear him? Now we need to figure out how to investigate the whole thing. Either prove that the soldier didn't lie, so Sister Mei can live a happy life from now on; or we need to find evidence that the soldier was greedy and deceived her feelings, so we can save Sister Mei from her suffering. That's what we need to think about right now, okay?"

Xiangzi scratched his head sheepishly and sat on the sofa without saying another word.

After much deliberation, everyone couldn't come up with a perfect solution that wouldn't ruin Qian Luomei's good marriage while also uncovering the truth. In the end, they decided to go directly to the urban village to investigate their hideout, euphemistically calling it "straight to the heart of the matter!"

The sooner the better. Dong Lu stayed behind at "Shuiyunjian" while Xiang Fei led the way. The other three followed and stormed out the door, but almost bumped into an old man who was about to enter. Xiang Fei looked up and recognized him. It was the old man who had helped him on the subway. For some reason, the old man seemed to have a bit of anger on his face.

"Grandpa, what brings you here?" Xiang Fei quickly ushered the old man into "Shuiyunjian".

"Grandpa, you're here! That's great, we're saved!" Xiang Fei saw Dong Lu inexplicably run over to help the old man up and respectfully help him sit down on the sofa. She then quickly went to pour him some tea. During this time, the old man gave Xiang Fei a strange look.

"Who is this?" Taking advantage of the moment when Dong Lu was pouring water, Xiang Fei walked over and nudged Dong Lu with his elbow, asking in a low voice.

"Don't you know him? I just saw you talking to the old man!"

"I only bumped into him once on the subway, and he even helped me out. We haven't seen each other since, so who knows who he is!"

"Sister Mei's father!"

Xiang Fei thought to himself, "How can it be such a coincidence? There's no story without coincidences. Could it be that I live inside a book?" But what is reality? Books are based on reality, but reality is far more exciting than books, with all sorts of tragedies and comedies unfolding. However, books are written by authors, while the plots of reality require individual consciousness and collective consciousness to drive them forward.

Xiang Fei shook off his momentary lapse in concentration, turned around to look at the old man, and knew that there was hope now.

"I know Lulu, but I haven't met the others yet. You four are all employees here, right?" The old man sat up straight, took a sip of tea, and slowly raised his head to look at the four young men!

"Yes, all of them," the four answered in unison, respectfully and honestly.

"Young man, what are you doing here? How long have you been here?" The old man turned his gaze to Xiang Fei and asked as calmly as possible.

"Grandpa, no, sir, I'm a cleaner, I've only been here for less than a month?"

"Oh! Is that so? Where are the three of you?"

"They're all network administrators, sir!" Old You answered the question respectfully.

"I'll cut to the chase! I'm here to ask about Luo Mei's recent situation, especially with that soldier. You probably already know he wants to sell this internet cafe. To be honest, I didn't approve of him opening this internet cafe in the first place, but since he's already opened it, and now he's giving it up halfway through after only a few years, I'm even more against it. You've seen him with that soldier, and I don't object to them dating—after all, I was in the army before—but I feel like things have been off ever since Luo Mei started seeing him. I won't go into details, but Luo Mei says selling the internet cafe was her own idea and has nothing to do with that soldier. I don't believe her, so I came to get some information from you!"

"Grandpa! It's good that you've come. We didn't know what to do! That soldier..." Xiang Fei explained the situation to the old man in detail.

The more the old man listened, the more restless he became, his wrinkled face radiating a fierceness incongruous with his age. However, having lived through many things in his sixties, he took a few sips of tea, his expression calming slightly. He picked up his phone and made a call, and when the call connected, he even spoke with a smile.

"Oh, Luomei! Your mom and I have figured it out, if you want to sell the internet cafe, then sell it! Have you found a suitable buyer yet? What's the price range? I've found one too, the price is a bit higher than yours, yes, it's your Uncle Zhang's son who wants to buy it! He's visiting us right now! Why don't you come back and discuss it? Okay, we'll wait for you at home, let them have lunch here!"

The old man hung up the phone, his smile vanishing instantly. He turned to Xiang Fei and said, "Xiang Fei, right? I'm sorry, we've met twice and I still don't know your name. Your cousin lives near that military camp, right?"

"Yes, it's a bit far, but not too far!"

"Xiang Fei, could you please trouble your cousin? If you have the time, no, it would be best if you could find out about the military camp right away, especially the unit number, the number of soldiers, when they will be stationed there, and their daily drill schedule! I will reward you handsomely afterwards!"

"Okay, I'll call my cousin right away, please wait a moment!"

Xiang Fei quickly called his cousin Wang Zhiqiang and explained his intentions. Wang Zhiqiang agreed without hesitation and promised to reply as soon as possible!

"My cousin has already agreed!"

"Okay, you and Lulu are coming home with me. The rest of you take good care of the internet cafe!"