Which way to go is the road?

Around 5 p.m., Bai Xue arrived, immediately attracting everyone's attention as she entered the revolving door. She wore a light blue faux fur coat, a pink turtleneck sweater, beige trousers, and burgundy wavy hair. Her fair face radiated a sweet smile, and her shallow dimples complemented the charming curve of her lips. Her attire was both sophisticated and beautiful.

Unable to contain his excitement, Xiang Fei was about to run over and hug his girl when Bai Xue stopped him with a quiet gesture. Following Bai Xue's pointing finger, he saw a man in his thirties walk in. He looked capable, not very tall, and had a buzz cut.

Bai Xue led the man closer to everyone and then introduced him to them.

"Let me introduce you all. This is my uncle, Kang Ruilong. He works at GG Company. He knows I have many good friends here, so he came to visit!" Bai Xue was a little reserved, taking a deep breath. "This is Sister Luo Mei, Zhang Chu, Lao You, Zhang Fang, Du Xinpeng, Tian Hai, and Xiang Fei, the friend I told you about who writes exceptionally good poetry!"

Kang Ruilong shook hands and greeted everyone in turn. When he got to Xiang Fei, he took a second look at him because of Bai Xue's special introduction: "I admire people who persevere in their literary dreams the most. I hope to read your masterpiece someday!"

"I was just writing it for fun, just for my own amusement. You're too kind, Uncle!"

Xiang Fei blurted out the words "little uncle," causing a chorus of people behind him to cover their mouths and stifle their laughter, and Bai Xue's face also turned red.

Actually, it's quite normal to call relatives by the same terms as friends; many people do this all the time, and often even use similar terms like "our dad" or "our mom" to build rapport. The key point is that no one else besides Xiang Fei used those terms; they simply shook hands, smiled, and said, "Hello!"

That made the "little uncle" sound very abrupt, and Xiang Fei himself felt this, so he smiled awkwardly while holding the "little uncle's" hand.

"Uncle, Bai Xue, you must be tired from the journey, right? Sit down quickly, I'll get you some water!" Dong Lu called out at the right moment, and everyone chimed in, trying to defuse the awkwardness!

"Uncle" Kang Ruilong was very cooperative, responding to every call and extremely accommodating to everyone, but he still gave Xiang Fei a meaningful look.

Xiang Fei gave Dong Lu a grateful look and quietly followed Qian Luomei to the attic to cook. Halfway there, he found Bai Xue had also followed, so he stopped and waited for her to go up to the second floor.

"I was so scared just now!" Bai Xue patted her chest as soon as she saw Xiang Fei on the second floor, looking like she was still in shock.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just blurted it out without thinking," Xiang Fei said apologetically.

Bai Xue winked playfully, glanced at the front desk on the first floor, thinking it must be a blind spot, and suddenly stepped forward to hug Xiang Fei: "But it's pretty exciting! Who cares? My uncle loves me more, so it doesn't matter if he finds out!"

When Qian Luomei saw Xiang Fei stop, she knew he was waiting for Bai Xue, so she went to the attic first. Just then, Wang Haoming came to the hallway to put down a cardboard box. Seeing the two of them hugging, he threw the box on the ground with a loud thud.

The two quickly separated and looked towards the source of the noise, just in time to see Wang Haoming's disgusted expression. Xiang Fei tugged at Bai Xue, trying to get them away from the scene. Bai Xue suddenly pulled back, and the two hugged again. Bai Xue kissed Xiang Fei on the lips, then looked at Wang Haoming defiantly!

Wang Haoming's disgusted gaze was now tinged with anger and helplessness. He turned and walked back to the internet area on the second floor, where he sat alone in a chair, sulking.

Qian Luomei instructed Lao You to inform the group of internet addicts early on: the internet cafe will close promptly at 7:00 AM for equipment maintenance, and everyone should prepare to log off in advance!

After the internet addicts finished their business, Zhang Fang and Lao You stayed on the first floor with their uncle Kang Ruilong while he surfed the internet. Xiang Fei, along with Qian Luomei, Bai Xue, and Dong Lu, cooked dinner in the attic. Xiang Fei was undoubtedly the head chef, Qian Luomei was the kitchen helper, and the other two could only work as prep cooks!

Of course, there were no strict restrictions on the division of labor. When Xiang Fei saw that Bai Xue's method of cutting vegetables was wrong, he taught her step by step and unknowingly helped her complete most of the work. Dong Lu and Qian Luomei complained and felt indignant on the side, which made Bai Xue have to push him away and do it herself! After Dong Lu and Qian Luomei finished their own work, they came to watch Xiang Fei cook and stew meat, hoping to learn some skills. Bai Xue couldn't stand it and came over to make trouble.

Xiang Fei simply pushed the three people into the living room to watch TV, and got busy with his own things.

After the food was prepared, Qian Luomei called over everyone from the first and second floors, but did not start the meal until the two most important guests arrived—Grandpa Qian and his wife Wang Fang.

The gathering took place on a fairly large coffee table, which was piled high with various dishes. Most of the food was cooked by Xiang Fei and Qian Luomei, but a few dishes were also ordered from restaurants in case there wasn't enough food.

"Dad, why don't you start the show for us?" Qian Luomei said to Old Master Qian after everyone was seated.

"That won't do, Bai Xue's uncle is here! Xiao Kang, right? Come on, you start the show for Luo Mei!"

"No, no, I wouldn't dare. Opening this venue would shorten my lifespan by 10 years. Please come!" Kang Ruilong had been a successful businessman, so how could he not know that this was just a gesture of respect and shouldn't be taken seriously?

"Alright, then I'll take over! The success of Luo Mei Internet Cafe is entirely due to everyone's strong support, and I first want to express my deepest gratitude. I also hope that everyone will continue to support my work, through thick and thin, in good times and bad, in smooth sailing and rough waters! No matter what, I, Qian Ruofeng, will never let you down. Also, today is the Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, so I wish everyone a happy Lantern Festival! Cheers!"

Everyone raised their glasses together, the ladies drinking red wine and the men drinking white wine. Originally, Qian Luomei wanted everyone to drink red wine, but Grandpa Qian objected, saying he wasn't used to foreign liquor and that white wine was much stronger and that a real man should drink white wine. Qian Luomei had no choice but to agree.

"This chicken stew is excellent. Xiang Fei, your cooking skills have improved!" Du Xinpeng said as he picked up a piece of chicken and put it in his bowl.

"Really? Let me try it."

"I'll try some too."

……

Everyone set their sights on the chicken in the bowl, and soon devoured more than half of it, praising Xiang Fei's improved culinary skills as they ate.

"Sister Luomei, thank goodness I stewed both chickens as you said, otherwise we really wouldn't have been able to get a piece each!" Xiang Fei turned around and whispered in Qian Luomei's ear.

Qian Luomei gave everyone a smug look, picked up her glass, and called out, "You all know what? This chicken is delicious, not because Xiang Fei is such a good cook, but because it's different from the chicken we usually eat!"

Du Xinpeng interjected, "What's the difference? It has three legs and two heads?"

Qian Luomei crumpled a napkin into a ball and threw it at Du Xinpeng, hitting him on the forehead and landing on his plate: "You talk too much! You should have two mouths, one for eating and one for talking, so you can do both without any problems!"

"Hehe, I think we should use the napkins to eat the chicken for now! The napkins don't taste good!" Du Xinpeng picked up the napkins and put them in the ashtray, then picked up another piece of chicken!

Amidst everyone's helpless laughter, Qian Luomei continued, "These are free-range chickens that Xiang Fei brought from his own home, and the peanuts were also brought by him. Let's all applaud to show our gratitude!"

A round of applause erupted, and Xiang Fei bowed to everyone, saying, "Hurry up and eat, it'll get cold soon. Eat as much as you like!"

"That's right, hurry up and eat! I have something important to announce after everyone has finished eating and drinking!" Qian Luomei put two pieces of chicken on each of the two elders' plates.

"What's so mysterious about it?" the old man asked, puzzled.

Qian Luomei remained mysterious: "You'll find out in a moment."