Which way to go is the road?

After the National Day holiday, "Shuiyunjian" hired a new cleaner, and Xiang Fei completely withdrew from the cleaning work to become a full-time network administrator. Although he earned half the money, the work became easier.

Moreover, in the eyes of Dong Lu, Lao You, and Bai Xue, Xiang Fei had achieved a remarkable transformation from physical labor to mental labor, which was an extraordinary accomplishment. Hearing this, Xiang Fei became a little conceited, spending all his free time playing games with everyone.

When they enter the internet cafe in the morning, the sun is shining brightly, but when they leave work at night, it is already dark and moonlit. To outsiders, the process seems monotonous and boring, but those involved enjoy it and never feel tired.

It was already 11:30 PM when Xiang Fei finished work. Pushing open the revolving door, he saw the twinkling stars outside and felt a strange sense of disorientation, as if he were in a dream. There weren't many cars on the road anymore; streetlights illuminated the cool night, and a few pedestrians hurried along. His own shadow shifted constantly with the position of the streetlights, like a distorted version of himself.

Reflecting on the events of the past few days, and taking advantage of the ten-minute walk to the basement, Xiang Fei composed a short poem and softly recited it!

The small building is lost and I dare not accept it.

Day after day, I am banished, night after night.

The lights faded silently behind them.

The shadows were horizontal, slanted, thin, short, and long.

As he walked while reciting, Xiang Fei didn't walk very fast. Just like back in his hometown, he enjoyed the tranquil night, and his heart calmed down. He looked up at the stars, casually brushed aside a falling yellow leaf, ran a few steps, and jumped around, experiencing a unique feeling of refreshment.

Just then, a figure hurriedly walked up from behind.

Xiang Fei was still running and jumping around happily, completely unaware of the person, and bumped into her, knocking her down and scattering her belongings all over the ground. Realizing from her clothes that she was a girl, Xiang Fei quickly apologized and knelt down to help her pick up her scattered items.

When Xiang Fei picked up the "Zopiclon tablets," he found several boxes of medicine. He glanced at the name under the streetlight and inadvertently read it aloud. Before he could finish, the girl snatched the medicine away. Only then did Xiang Fei see the girl's face clearly, and he was immediately horrified. It turned out this girl was his basement neighbor, the woman whose makeup made her look like a ghost. She looked like she had just cried; her makeup was ruined, and she looked even uglier than a ghost now.

Without saying a word, the girl picked up her things and headed towards the basement. She swayed and looked a little exhausted, but she still tried to walk as fast as she could. In the end, she and Xiang Fei went into their respective rooms one after the other!

It was already midnight, and Xiang Fei wanted to rest quickly, so he picked up a basin and went to the washroom to wash up. As he passed the ghost woman's room, he heard a hysterical cry.

It was the middle of the night, and she was crying like that—Xiang Fei felt incredibly uneasy! He quickly ran to the washroom, hurriedly washed up, and returned to his room, telling himself not to think about anything, before pulling back the covers to prepare for sleep.

But just like the story of "the monkeys of the Himalayas," the more Xiang Fei tried to stop thinking about it, the stronger his curiosity became, and he couldn't fall asleep no matter how much he tossed and turned!

Instead, he seriously analyzed the cause and effect of the matter. Old You had already told him that the ghost woman's makeup was called smoky makeup, not ghosts! Then why was this girl crying in the middle of the night? She seemed to have just been crying when she picked up the things, which meant she had encountered something extremely unpleasant. Why would she buy medicine if she had something unpleasant? He thought of a terrifying deduction, but shook his head, unwilling to believe it. But what if it was true? The only way to verify his speculation was to determine what those boxes of medicine were.

Xiang Fei immediately called Dong Lu to ask what "zopiclone tablets" were! But he found that the cell phone signal in the basement was extremely poor and he couldn't make a call at all. He couldn't help but mutter, "I really don't know how Dong Lu got through to Lao You that time."

Of course he didn't know that there used to be a cell phone signal amplifier in the basement, but it had been broken and no one had repaired it recently!

Xiang Fei got out of bed, put on his clothes, and went to the courtyard of the residential area. Finally, he got through on the phone.

"Hey, Xiang Fei, what are you doing! It's the middle of the night, can't you let people get some sleep? I have to go to work tomorrow—no, I mean, class!"

"Dong Lu, get up quickly! Don't you have computers in your dorm? Help me look up what this medicine is for, hurry! It's a matter of life and death!"

Upon hearing Xiang Fei's tone, Dong Lu knew he wasn't joking. Not daring to delay, she immediately got out of bed and turned on Bai Xue's laptop! The noise from this series of actions woke up all her roommates, but Dong Lu didn't care. She turned on the computer and connected to the internet.

"What's the name of the medicine?"

"Zopiclon tablets!"

"Zopiclon tablets, right? What are those words? I've turned on my computer, I can look it up now!"

"Why are you checking this medicine? Is anyone having insomnia?" Bai Xue was very curious about Dong Lu's unusual behavior.

"What did you say? What kind of medicine is this?" Upon hearing that Bai Xue understood the situation, Dong Lu left the computer and went directly to Bai Xue.

"These are sleeping pills! They're for treating insomnia. My dad has trouble sleeping, so he sometimes takes these! That's why I know!"

"Xiang Fei, these are sleeping pills, what's wrong? Who..." Dong Lu realized that before she could finish her sentence, the phone was hung up!

Xiang Fei didn't dare waste a moment. He quickly ran into the basement, arrived at the ghost woman's room, and pushed the door open, only to find it locked from the inside. He quickly took a few steps back, then kicked the iron door with a running start. The door was a little loose but didn't open. Xiang Fei kicked it several more times, and finally, the door tilted to one side!

Once inside, Xiang Fei found the lights were still on, and the ghost girl was lying on the bed with some white foam coming out of her mouth! Xiang Fei picked up the ghost girl and ran outside. He found that although the girl was not very tall and was very thin, she was still very heavy. He was already panting when he reached the entrance to the basement.

He persisted, not daring to slow down!

The autumn night was chilly, but Xiang Fei was already drenched in sweat by the time he reached the alley entrance. Looking around, he couldn't see a single car pass by. Frustrated, he called Qian Luomei, explained the situation, and she agreed to drive over immediately!

Qian Luomei drove to the alley entrance, only to find it deserted, without a soul in sight. She drove quite a distance before spotting Xiang Fei carrying the ghost woman, inching forward!

Together with Xiang Fei, they carried the ghost woman to the car and sped to the nearest hospital. The whole process took less than 20 minutes, and the ghost woman was finally taken to the emergency room. Xiang Fei clutched his chest and it took him a while to calm down before he and Qian Luomei sat on a bench waiting for the emergency results.

Before long, Dong Lu, Bai Xue, Lao You, Zhang Fang, Du Xinpeng, and Tian Haiquan arrived at the hospital, all panting heavily. They crowded outside the emergency room, and the corridor was instantly packed!

"Why are you here?" Xiang Fei asked curiously.

"It's all your fault! You called and said it was a matter of life and death, but you didn't say anything else. You asked about the medication and then hung up! How could I not worry? I was afraid you couldn't handle it alone, so I called Lao You and the others!" Dong Lu was still panting, clearly having run for quite a while!

"We're in a hurry to save lives! We're worried it might be too late!" Xiang Fei said anxiously.

"Who's inside? What did you do to them? Why are you trying to commit suicide?" Bai Xue swallowed hard and asked anxiously.

"What could I possibly do to her? Am I that kind of person? Don't make wild guesses, okay?" Xiang Fei said, glancing furtively at Qian Luomei. "Well, that's our basement neighbor, the girl with the smoky makeup who scared me. Oh, and Dong Lu, didn't she scare you too?"

"Then why did she commit suicide? How did you find out?" Qian Luomei's questions always get to the point!

"I don't know either. I accidentally bumped into her on the way back, and I saw the name of the medicine when I was helping her pick up her things. I heard her crying while I was washing up in the basement, so I became suspicious and called Dong Lu! You can probably guess what happened next!"

"You're really born to be a hero!" Zhang Fang said with a helpless smile. "Alright, you must be tired. Go back and rest. We've got this covered!"

"That's right, give us a chance to prove ourselves, let's go back!" Lao You, Tian Hai, and Du Xinpeng also urged Xiang Fei!

"No, I can't sleep without knowing the results! Let's wait until we have the results!"

Time ticked by, and everyone waited quietly outside the emergency room. They couldn't sit or stand still, so they paced back and forth as if that would make time pass faster.

More than half an hour passed, and the red light in the emergency room finally went out, and several doctors wearing masks came out.

"Doctor, how is the girl inside?" Xiang Fei hurriedly stepped forward and asked.

"Which of you is a family member?"

This question left everyone speechless, and they all fell silent. Xiang Fei honestly replied, "Doctor, there are no family members here!"

"What about your friend?"

"No, not at all!" Xiang Fei quickly explained upon seeing the doctor's surprised expression, "I'm her neighbor. I found her attempting suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills, broke down the door, and saved her. They're all my friends who came to help!"

"Oh, young man, you're really good. Thanks to your timely arrival, she's out of danger now after her stomach was pumped. This girl had taken a large amount of sleeping pills; if she had been brought in any later, even if she had survived, she could have suffered serious long-term effects!"

"That's good, that's good, it's good that he's alive!..." Xiang Fei finally felt relieved, and was extremely excited, but for a moment he couldn't find the right action to express it.

Everyone cheered with joy. After all, a vibrant life had been reborn under their watchful eyes. What could be more beautiful than the flower of life?

The ghost girl was transferred from the emergency room to a regular ward. Qian Luomei paid all the fees, and although everyone wanted to chip in, they refused. Bai Xue and the boys were all sent back to rest by Qian Luomei, leaving her and Dong Lu to take care of the girl.

Bai Xue didn't want to go back, but considering that someone would have to take over the next day, she didn't insist. Xiang Fei and Lao You thought about it and agreed; after all, it would be inconvenient for a man to take care of a woman if they weren't close, so they didn't insist either.

Back in the basement, Xiang Fei didn't go straight to his room. Instead, he stepped over the iron door he had kicked down and entered the ghost woman's room.

The room contained a guitar, a double bed, and some simple furniture. Xiang Fei didn't linger. He moved the items he thought were important and might be stolen to his own room, then righted the fallen iron door and used it as a makeshift shield against the doorframe.

Only then did he drag his tired body into bed, lie down, and have a good night's sleep.