Which way to go is the road?

Sometimes, people need to be more reserved and not show off all their talents at once, otherwise it will only cause them trouble!

Ever since Xiang Fei cooked that meal for Qian Luomei, his cooking skills have been recognized by everyone. As a result, Xiang Fei has to cook lunch for nine people every weekend. He is happy to show off and feels a great sense of accomplishment when he sees his friends enjoying his food.

But when all of this became an obligation, and his friends took it for granted and even treated it without any courtesy, Xiang Fei began to feel some resistance. Of course, this was also related to his recent addiction to online games.

It was already 1:30 PM, and even the most resilient internet addicts at Shuiyun Internet Cafe began logging off and leaving to satisfy their most basic physiological need—eating. However, Lao You and his friends were still testing their limits of hunger, not because of their strong will, but because they were waiting for their personal chef, Xiang Fei, to prepare a delicious meal. Unfortunately, Xiang Fei shared a common hobby with them—online gaming.

This game not only has weekend missions on weekends, but also corresponding festival missions on holidays, with rewards many times better than usual. This has led many people to skip meals to complete the missions as soon as possible, including Xiang Fei. If Qian Luomei hadn't said she was hungry and asked Xiang Fei to prepare a meal, he would have insisted on staying on the computer to finish the last part of the mission!

Everyone was already used to this, because Xiang Fei had been listening to Qian Luomei's every word lately, without even a single joke to argue back, which led everyone to scold him: "Snobbish, he only listens to the boss."

Xiang Fei simply replied, "If you're so capable, why don't you become my bosses too!"

This reason immediately silenced everyone's suspicions and dissatisfaction. After all, Qian Luomei was not only the internet cafe owner but also the leader of a guild in the game, holding everyone's "official hats" in her hands. Little did they know that Xiang Fei's obedience had another special reason—since the "finger-chopping" incident on the rooftop, Qian Luomei had completely forgiven Xiang Fei. Logically, Xiang Fei could now be free from this matter, but he believed that although he couldn't take actual responsibility, he had to show some psychological and moral obligation and bear a certain degree of responsibility.

Of course, Xiang Fei was doing the same thing. His relationship with Qian Luomei was no longer a simple boss and employee, gang leader and gang member relationship, or even a brother-sister relationship. Rather, it was a mixture of these relationships, plus a touch of romantic feelings, making it very subtle! Xiang Fei dared not think too much about this messy emotion, afraid of getting entangled, yet unable to completely get rid of it. He was just carefully maintaining the status quo.

Speaking of games, just two days ago, when the National Day event in the game started, Xiang Fei wasn't so obsessed. He didn't even take online games seriously like everyone else. After all, for someone who knew nothing about online games before, it would take a process or a stimulus for him to fully accept them. And that stimulus appeared on the first day of the National Day event.

……

"This is the final step of the mission, the ultimate reward is about to appear, mythical beast, here I come!" Lao You's deep voice reached everyone's ears through QQ voice chat.

"Hey, Lao You, take a good look at yourself. Do you even have the face of a mythical beast? If it were to be, it would be mine. Old Fish-Hanging Fish and Wave-Washing Sand, I'm here to take you!" Zhang Fang said with an air of certainty.

"You guys are too greedy. What do you mean by super guardian? I'll just have a high-level guardian. Dragon Gate Water Generals, Mountain Guardians, Yellow Turban Warriors, hit me all you want. I'm willing to be knocked unconscious by you!" Du Xinpeng also revealed his lewd and silly nature!

"Aren't you all annoying? Just because you're making a fuss doesn't mean the mythical beasts are yours!" Everyone was surprised to hear such a rational statement coming from Bai Xue, a veteran female gamer.

"Bai Xue, you're right, you have no manners at all! All you do is make a fuss, you've dragged down the overall quality of online game players!" Tian Hai always chimed in with Bai Xue at the right time, his intentions were as clear as day.

"Yeah, why are you making such a fuss? What's the use? No matter how much you fuss, that mythical beast is still mine!" Bai Xue's deep breath was really long, and even Tian Hai, who was speaking up for her, shook his head helplessly and lightly slapped his face.

Throughout the entire event, Xiang Fei, Dong Lu, and Qian Luomei remained completely uninvolved. Dong Lu was genuinely uninterested in the topic; no matter how lively she was, she wouldn't put her excitement into games. Qian Luomei, being over thirty, disdained such banter among young people, only shaking her head and smiling when she heard something amusing. Only Xiang Fei was utterly confused, unable to understand what they were talking about and unable to join the conversation. He didn't care about the so-called mythical beasts, super guardians, or advanced guardians, continuing to complete the tasks as instructed, even appearing somewhat listless and dozing off several times!

"The last battle is over. Come on, hurry up and go to Tang King Li Shimin to collect your reward. I'm telling you, Zhang Fang, hurry up! Right, eat a speed-traveling talisman, isn't that faster? Tang King, I'm here. Click, congratulations—you—have—obtained—a—divine—beast—pill—as a reward. Damn it, why are you giving me a divine beast pill? This thing only adds experience, it's completely useless. I want a divine beast!" Old You stomped his feet anxiously.

"Quiet down, it's not like you're the only one who got the Divine Beast Pill!" Bai Xue pouted, clearly unhappy.

"But some people have divine beasts! Look, it's even listed on the system. How envious!" Du Xinpeng said indignantly.

"Being jealous won't help. Who told you to be so loud? Look, you lost the mythical beast because of your shouting! Just relax and play the game!" Zhang Fang said gloatingly, but Lao You ignored him.

Everyone's mood instantly plummeted. They listlessly started trying to form teams to complete ordinary tasks. No one wanted to speak, and the voice chat remained silent. All they could hear were the faint sounds of keyboard and mouse clicks.

"Ugh, my pet inventory is full, what should I do?" Xiang Fei's voice was so grating at this moment, making people impatient.

"You're making a fuss about releasing a pet! Is that really something to be so upset about?"

"Of course I have to ask you if I don't know. Which one should I release?" Xiang Fei continued.

Old You was getting impatient! But seeing that no one was paying attention to Xiang Fei, he couldn't bear it any longer and patiently said, "Keep the monkey, and release any other one! There aren't many good babies around at this stage."

"Oh, then I'll release this one, Yan Ruyu! Anyway, it's only level zero, and it'll take a lot of time to level it up."

"etc!"

"Why!"

"Don't!"

……

Xiang Fei was completely baffled. What was wrong with releasing a level zero pet? Why were they all reacting so strongly, speaking in such unison, each word uttered clearly? Releasing a pet required entering a verification code, and Xiang Fei didn't know whether to enter the last digit or not; his fingers froze on the keyboard and mouse.

"Release the mouse and take your hands off the keyboard!" Xiang Fei thought Lao You was speaking in the voice chat when suddenly someone tapped him on the back. He turned around and saw Lao You, Zhang Fang, Bai Xue, Du Xinpeng, Tian Hai, Wang Haoming, and Xiangzi all standing behind him. Even Qian Luomei had come down to the first floor and was walking towards him. This scene almost gave Xiang Fei a heart attack.

Old You quickly pushed Xiang Fei aside, sat down at the front desk computer, and frantically typed away. He seemed to have accomplished something, let out a deep sigh of relief, turned around, and handed the computer to Xiang Fei: "Alright, do whatever you want, let it happen however it wants!"

Looking at the men and women with their ambiguous smiles and gleaming eyes, Xiang Fei was utterly puzzled by their behavior. Did releasing a pet in a game really require a ceremony, just like in real life? Confused, Xiang Fei quickly released the pet; otherwise, these idiots staring at him would make him a little uneasy. After the release procedure was completed, the little pet remained completely still, swaying back and forth in its enclosure!

"I told you to release it, and you actually did! Do you know this is a super guardian? It's a good thing I locked it up earlier, otherwise you alone would have disgusted us all to death." Old You swung his arm and slapped Xiang Fei on the shoulder, knocking Xiang Fei senseless.

"Exactly! You released such a beautiful female pet into the wild? Are you gay?!"

"This is called Yan Ruyu, one of the best pets in the game. My goodness, how did it end up with you? And you almost released it!"

"This pet alone could fetch at least 5000 RMB. How incredibly wealthy do you have to be to release it?"

Xiang Fei was thoroughly berated, receiving a slap or a shove from each person, but he felt it was all worth it! They told him he'd acquired an unparalleled pet in the game, worth two and a half months' salary. He gazed intently at the graceful, beautiful pet holding a pipa on the screen, feeling a surge of joy. That evening, Xiang Fei treated everyone to a lavish meal, becoming the center of attention. For the first time, he felt that being envied and resented was a kind of happiness, gaining a sense of pride and vanity he'd never experienced before. This process fundamentally changed the game's place in Xiang Fei's heart, leading to his later care and addiction.

……

Around 2:30 PM, everyone was starving and couldn't resist rushing to the front desk to wait for the food. They were restless, constantly glancing towards the stairwell. When Xiang Fei called for everyone to come up and get the food, they were overjoyed, like children celebrating the New Year. The food was brought down, and they devoured it in a flash. Even Zhang Fang and Dong Lu, who were usually very careful about their appearance, didn't care about table manners and just focused on filling their stomachs, making Xiang Fei feel quite guilty. People often ask what kind of food is the best, and the answers are varied and none of them are wrong. The most accurate answer is that when you're hungry, any food tastes good.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, seeing their disheveled appearances, Lao You suddenly snapped, "Xiang Fei, what happened to you? As our go-to chef, you've failed in your duty today!"

"That's right, look how hungry you've made us! You're responsible if we get too thin!" Du Xinpeng's unique goofy expression made even his cursing comedic.

"Yeah, so what if you can cook? So what if you can cook well? Eating your food is giving you face. If you keep this up, I'll go on a hunger strike, you believe me?" Tian Hai and Du Xinpeng had been spending too much time together, and their comedic timing was contagious.

"If you don't believe me, then don't eat it! You all eat your fill and then criticize the chef, is that how it is?" Lately, Bai Xue has been intentionally or unintentionally defending Xiang Fei, even more so than Dong Lu, who was the first person Xiang Fei knew.

"That's right, is it wrong for Xiang Fei to cook for you? Did you pay for it or put in the effort? You're all just eating for free, and you still have so much to say!" Dong Lu's defense of Xiang Fei was consistent, as if the two had a natural mutual appreciation.

"Make it clear, that's called eating for free, not being an idiot!" Old You corrected earnestly.

"You're such an idiot, an idiot, an idiot!" Bai Xue's unreasonable behavior was still so cute. Tian Hai stared at Bai Xue silently without saying a word. Everyone guessed the subtext from Tian Hai's dazed look. They glanced at Xiang Fei and turned away with a dissatisfied expression.

"Women can be really unreasonable sometimes!" Lao You didn't care whether she offended Bai Xue or not, and went back to her computer to continue her battle.

"What woman? I'm a girl!" Bai Xue said sweetly to Lao You's back.

"Alright, stop arguing because of me. It was definitely my fault! I didn't know this game could be run in two instances on one computer. From now on, I'll give the account to Dong Lu to run in two instances at noon, and I'll just go cook!" Xiang Fei said, seeing that everyone was embarrassed because of him.

"Hey, Xiang Fei, I've been so protective of you, how about we switch accounts and play for a couple of days? Let me see your super guardian Yan Ruyu!"

"No, I don't like playing female characters. They deal less damage and have lower agility!" When Xiang Fei first met Bai Xue, he always paid attention to this pretty girl, intentionally or unintentionally! But ever since the Qian Luomei incident, he has shut out all interest in the opposite sex. Even if he wants to say yes in his heart, what comes out of his mouth is absolutely no.

"Never mind then, I'm going to the computer!" Bai Xue looked clearly displeased and pouted as she went to the internet area.

"What's wrong? Didn't you take the initiative to ask me about Bai Xue's information those days? Now that she's taking the initiative, why are you acting all high and mighty?" Dong Lu asked, puzzled.

"No, it wasn't what you thought at first. Besides, I really didn't want to play a female character, and I couldn't bear to part with my beautiful pet!"

"Fine, I can't be bothered with you!" Dong Lu pouted and walked to the internet area.

Xiang Fei also opened the game, logged in, and enjoyed the cheers and amazement, the affirmation and adulation that are hard to come by in real life. He freely expressed himself and showed off his personality in all kinds of battles! He cursed when he was angry, and fought when he was anxious. There was also the thrill of chasing and being chased from time to time. He enjoyed the extreme experience of looking down on the world and being on the run. This was much more exciting and interesting than reality.