Which way to go is the road?

Dear Customer:

Hello, due to the theft of a player's game account and password (including item passwords) at this internet cafe, resulting in a significant financial loss, we suspect a Trojan virus was involved. We hereby warn all players who have recently logged into our internet cafe with their account passwords (including but not limited to games, email, and communication tools) to immediately change all their passwords and refuse to accept any suspicious files from strangers, even acquaintances or relatives. If you need to receive files online, please verify the sender's identity or seek assistance from the internet cafe administrator.

———————————————————————This is to inform you——————————————

—————————————————————— "Shuiyunjian" Internet Cafe ————————————

———————————————————————On a certain day of a certain month of a certain year————————————

As soon as the notice was issued, the entire internet cafe was in an uproar. Some people had already started changing their passwords, while others doubted the authenticity of the notice, thinking it was a prank or that the internet cafe had been attacked by cyberattacks.

For a time, the network administrator became the busiest person at "Shuiyunjian".

They verified the authenticity of the notification, inquired about the existence of Trojan viruses, asked whose account was stolen, how much was lost, and some customers even cursed the network administrator for being incompetent and allowing such a thing to happen.

The others were fine, knowing that the best thing to do at this time was to be patient and listen to whatever the customers said as if it were a song. But it was difficult for the eccentric Wang Haoming, who almost got into a fight with a customer. Fortunately, Xiangzi was there and pulled them apart in time.

Seeing the customers in the internet cafe still full of complaints, Qian Luomei was very anxious but helpless. She could only watch the surveillance video in the attic and watch these internet addicts make a ruckus like an uprising!

"Sister Luomei! Sister Luomei! This is Xiang Fei. I need to discuss something with you. Please come downstairs!" Xiang Fei's voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"Okay, I'll be right down."

Qian Luomei left the attic and rushed to the door on the roof. She opened the door to enter the stairwell, only to find Xiang Fei standing inside.

"Why don't you come in? I set up fingerprint and facial recognition for you so it would be easier for you to come up and cook. You could just swipe your fingerprint to come in!"

"I...I forgot!" Xiang Fei replied after thinking for a moment.

Qian Luomei's face showed a hint of displeasure, but in such a anxious moment she couldn't care less about that: "What do you want?"

"These internet addicts outside are getting increasingly restless. Shouldn't we think of something? This situation is very detrimental to the internet cafe's business; we might even lose some of our regular customers!"

"I know that. It's admirable that you could still think of these things after going through so much today. But what can we do?"

After pondering for a moment, Xiang Fei hesitantly voiced his thoughts: "To salvage our internet cafe's image, we have to spend some money!"

"How much money will it cost, and how will it be spent?" Qian Luomei asked, seemingly eager to hear the details.

"Actually, these internet addicts, despite their foul language and violent outbursts in games, are actually very kind-hearted and easily satisfied! As long as we offer them some small favors and make corresponding promises, they will definitely shut up and stop causing trouble!"

"Then how should we offer small favors and make any promises?" Qian Luomei nodded and asked again.

"Each person will be given a bottle of beverage, and a promise will be made—if another account theft occurs in the internet cafe, after official verification and confirmation, we are willing to compensate for all losses!"

"A bottle of drink is fine, it doesn't cost much, but isn't that promise too harsh? What if I lose tens of thousands like you? If a few of these people come every day, I won't be able to do any business!" Qian Luomei couldn't resolve this issue for a moment.

"I asked Xiangzi and Lao You, and as long as we stop accepting Trojan virus files indiscriminately, the chances of our internet cafe being hacked again are basically zero! We can attribute the acceptance of Trojan files to our own fault, state that in the notification, and there's official verification and confirmation too! There shouldn't be any problem!"

"Okay, we'll do it your way! We have drinks in our warehouse, and I'll call and order more if we need more. Also, let's spread some word that the rest of the day's 'internet access' is free. I'm not making any money today!" Qian Luomei thought this was a great idea and decided to go all the way.

Xiang Fei, beaming with excitement, said, "Okay, I'll do as you say right away!"

"How could it be my idea? It was clearly yours!" Qian Luomei, having shaken off her earlier anxiety, looked at Xiang Fei with a beaming smile: "Hey! Xiang Fei, who taught you crisis management? You're quite the expert!"

"Huh, public security organs? What does that mean? I haven't studied it!" Xiang Fei was completely confused.

"It's nothing, you go and post the notice!" Xiang Fei turned around and was about to go downstairs when Qian Luomei stopped him again: "Forget it, let's go down together. I, as the boss, can't just run away when something happens! Come on, let's go distribute the benefits to everyone!"

……

After the "crisis management" was implemented, the commotion intensified, but the resentment and complaints subsided. They excitedly discussed the boss's generosity and were relieved that their game accounts had escaped unscathed. Consequently, they began praising the internet cafe's responsible approach, saying that otherwise they might not have suffered such significant losses.

The situation began to turn for the better, and Qian Luomei said with a smile, "Very good!" But as she looked at the video surveillance in front of her, a young face flashed into her mind.

Bai Xue, Dong Lu, and Lao You helped out throughout, but it was 3 PM, and they had to go back; they had a class at 3:30. No one dared to miss their end-of-semester university courses, as no one wanted to fail.

Bai Xue pulled Xiang Fei, who was busy at work, over, kissed him, and hugged him again: "I'll come again tonight. Are you alright?"

"It's alright, it's just 20,000 yuan. We can earn it back. But you'd better be prepared, your boyfriend will be penniless from now on. First of all, I'll have to be careful with the monthly payments!" Xiang Fei laughed self-deprecatingly.

"It's alright, you can be Sun Shao-ping, penniless and homeless! I'll be Tian Xiao-xia!" Bai Xue said, her face beaming like a flower. She casually stuffed something into Shao-ping's shirt pocket and ran off like a cloud.

Xiang Fei reached into his pocket and pulled out 500 yuan. He was about to run out to return it to Bai Xue when someone stopped him.

"Don't chase after her. You need money to live now. You can pay her back later! This is what Zhang Fang and I have, a total of 800 yuan. Compared to your loss of 20,000 yuan, this is nothing! But let's get through this difficult time first. Every step in the city costs money, and the New Year is coming soon. You can't go home without any money!"

After Dong Lu paid and left, Lao You came over and said, "I can't give that much, here's 200, use it wisely! Bye!"

Du Xinpeng and Tian Hai both placed varying amounts of money into Xiang Fei's hands. Xiang Fei held the money for a long time without moving it or saying a word of thanks. Their silent gazes conveyed their gratitude, allowing their beautiful feelings to ferment and spread far and wide in the quiet air.

Xiang Fei, carrying only 200 yuan, ventured to Beijing and only survived thanks to the help of Dong Lu and Lao You. His 20,000 yuan vanished in an instant, but these friendships gave him the means and courage to survive. What's the point of money? It's better to cultivate friendships. In the face of disaster, money is worthless; only mutual friendship and affection can save your life and prevent you from losing all hope.