Which way to go is the road?

Xiang Fei and Lao You pushed open the door and entered "Shuiyunjian" and found a group of people staring at them: Qian Luomei, Dong Lu, Zhang Fang, and Bai Xue. What made them most nervous was that the old man Qian Ruofeng was among them. It seemed that Sister Luomei had already informed him of the whole matter.

Without exception, these people all frowned and stared at the two of them with serious expressions. Although it was already the beginning of spring, Xiang Fei still felt a chill. This feeling was even more uncomfortable than when he was surrounded by that group of hooligans. Was there something wrong with his speech just now? Or did he do something wrong?

Old Master Qian walked over and looked the two men up and down, his brows furrowing even more deeply: "Xiang Fei, you've really got a death wish! Do you know that? When you started giving your speeches on the catwalk, I felt like killing you both. You two are just greenhorns, reckless, unaware of the consequences, and clueless about your own safety!"

Xiang Fei keenly grasped the key word "beginning," and a sense of anticipation naturally arose within him. He couldn't help but ask, "Old man, what about now? Do you still hate us to the core? Do you think we've been meddling, gossiping, and preferring to mind our own business?"

Grandpa Qian actually nodded, which terrified Xiang Fei. His confidence and courage from before were replaced by doubt. He quickly recalled the process in his mind and confirmed that there was nothing wrong with his words and actions.

Could it be that I have really fallen into a cognitive bias, and that my own ideas of what is right and what is correct are just wishful thinking and stubbornness?

After nodding for a few seconds, Old Master Qian's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed. Seeing the two bewildered individuals, he couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Alright, I won't scare you anymore. Although you two were a bit reckless, and I already gave you three 'no's' earlier, seeing your performance and the final result, I'll give you two more 'no's's. You've lived up to your mission and expectations!"

The expressions on everyone's faces changed constantly as Grandpa Qian spoke. At first, they couldn't help but feel worried, doubtful, or even afraid, but later their faces relaxed and blossomed into warm smiles.

"My god! That scared me to death!" Old You grabbed a paper cup, filled it with cold water from the water dispenser, and gulped it down. "Grandpa, your dramatic breathing is really unnerving. I wasn't this nervous even when I was sitting across from you. I need to sit down for a bit!"

"You two are really something. Is it really necessary to make such a fuss just because you're home? The people across the street didn't do anything to you. Do you think we'd cook you two up now that you're back?" Qian Luomei said with a smile, teasing the two of them.

Two tears welled up in Xiang Fei's eyes, whether from joy or a realization of his earlier grievances, he didn't know. Before the tears could fall, he wiped them away with his hand: "Sister Luo Mei, you're really wrong. What I'm most worried about isn't what will happen to the other side, but rather that I might act recklessly due to my limited understanding, failing to help and instead causing more trouble! If good intentions lead to bad results, that would be truly upsetting!"

"Alright, my two heroes, stop being so sentimental! I thank you both. You handled this matter very well! You've brought honor and glory to our 'Shuiyunjian,' and you've also solved a major problem. On behalf of Luomei, I've decided to reward you both with 5000 yuan each. I don't have that much cash on me today, so I'll cash it in for you tomorrow!" Old Master Qian looked at his two juniors with boundless affection in his heart!

"yeah!"

"Someone's treating again!"

……

The crowd surrounded Xiang Fei with various strange shouts, celebrating his triumphant return. Bai Xue leaned against him, her eyes filled with admiration, but compared to the joy of the others, she also felt a sense of worry.

"You weren't beaten up over there, were you? We were watching you from the rooftop the whole time! But then you two were surrounded by a group of people, so we couldn't see you! We didn't see any injuries on your faces, but did you get any injuries on your body?"

Xiang Fei felt clear-headed and refreshed, a surge of confidence welling up within him. Hearing Bai Xue's question, he suddenly felt like teasing his girlfriend, so he leaned close to her ear and said, "Any injuries? I'll show you tonight!"

"How annoying!" A blush crept across Bai Xue's face as she feigned anger, then smiled sweetly again!

Zhang Fang and Dong Lu came over after the two finished flirting.

"Xiang Fei, don't be in such a rush next time. You can wait for us to come over and discuss it before figuring out a solution. At least we can cooperate with your plan and make things more secure!" Dong Lu said with concern.

Zhang Fang continued Dong Lu's words, "Exactly! That way we can get a share of the bonus too! 5000 yuan, that's two months' living expenses! Just thinking about it makes me excited!"

"All you care about is money. Can't you live without money?" Dong Lu looked at Zhang Fang with disdain and stomped on his foot with her hard-soled shoe.

Zhang Fang curled his lips, clenched his teeth, letting the air pass through them, causing a hissing sound. He quickly sat down, clutching his feet: "I was just joking, is it really that serious? Dong Lu, are you trying to murder your husband?!"

"What do you mean by 'husband'? Did I marry you? At most, it would be like murdering your boyfriend!"

……

Bai Xue and Xiang Fei didn't even have time to say anything, so they simply stood by and leisurely watched the fun, occasionally bursting into laughter.

"Xiang Fei, Lao You, you two come out here!"

Hearing the noise, everyone looked towards the door and saw Du Xinpeng walk in, his face bruised and dirty, looking indignant. Seeing him like this, everyone quickly came to greet him.

"Forgot about this guy! Sister Luo Mei, Grandpa, he's also a hero of our operation! The plan was able to proceed smoothly thanks to Du Xinpeng's ability to liven up the atmosphere!" Xiang Fei explained as he walked towards Du Xinpeng.

"Fourth brother, what happened to you? Did you get beaten up? That shouldn't be! I heard Li Qi on stage saying that you shouldn't fight back when hit or talk back when insulted!" Lao You asked.

"It wasn't from being hit!" Du Xinpeng gasped for breath. "It was from being trampled!"

"Who stepped on it?" everyone asked in unison.

"Those audience members!" Du Xinpeng's face was full of bitterness as he recalled that unpleasant experience: "Didn't you tell me to cooperate with you? At first, I didn't understand what was going on, but later I found out, so you made me a shill! To stir up everyone's emotions, I hid down there and shouted slogans!"

"That's right! I think you did a great job. I heard your voice several times, and I looked for you in the crowd, but I couldn't find you at all! You hid very well!" Xiang Fei exclaimed.

"I hid so well! I was afraid they would recognize me and remember me, so I was squatting on the ground shouting. But the crowd around me was too excited and didn't notice me squatting on the ground. I don't know who accidentally pushed me, but I fell to the ground and was kicked several times! My forehead was even scraped!"

"That was so dangerous, Xiang Fei! It sounds even more dangerous than what you guys are doing on stage. You know stampedes can kill people!" Qian Luomei suddenly felt a bit scared!

"That's exactly right, I was prepared to die a martyr!"

"Then how did you get up?" Bai Xue asked curiously.

"Luckily, everyone stayed put and didn't move, so I wasn't trampled to death. Finally, after I shouted, everyone found me and helped me up!"