Which way to go is the road?

Xiang Fei and Dong Lu followed the old man out of "Shuiyunjian" and got into a black SUV. The old man sat in the driver's seat, put on a pair of black sunglasses, started the engine, and drove home. He kept making phone calls along the way. Dong Lu and Xiang Fei had no way of knowing who he was calling, but they knew that this matter had blown up.

After walking for about 40 minutes, they turned and twisted their way into a fairly wide alley and parked the car in front of a courtyard house. Xiang Fei and Dong Lu followed behind the old man as they walked into the courtyard house.

This courtyard house is divided into front and back courtyards. The blue bricks and gray tiles give it an antique feel. Upon entering, there is a screen wall with a floral and bird pattern surrounding the character "福" (fortune). Passing the screen wall, you enter the front courtyard, where some exotic flowers and plants are planted in the four corners. A cross-shaped passageway in the middle connects the front and back courtyards with the vermilion corridors around the perimeter. Walking into the back courtyard, on the left is a lush grape trellis with bunches of crystal-clear grapes hanging among the green leaves. On the right is a round stone table with eight stone stools evenly arranged around it.

"Please sit here for a while, I'll be right out!" The old man walked straight into the room, and through the glass in the door, you could see him and his wife talking to each other, both of them looking quite excited.

"Isn't Sister Mei's house quite grand? No wonder Sister Mei has such an air of elegance and wealth!" Dong Lu looked up at the exquisite courtyard and couldn't help but say enviously.

"Yes, yes! Otherwise, we wouldn't have been targeted by scammers. Fortune and misfortune are intertwined!"

"That's true. Someone like me, a scammer probably wouldn't even give me a second glance!" A woman's sensitivity is everywhere.

Xiang Fei was about to say, "That's not necessarily true. Scammers not only swindle money, but they also prey on people. Your looks are quite attractive to those kinds of scammers!" But after glancing at the old man in the room through the glass, he changed his words: "Look at what you're saying, being targeted by scammers is no good thing!"

"I was wrong. I hope Sister Mei can resolve this issue soon! Actually, I really hope that soldier wasn't a conman. How can there be such a handsome conman?"

"Although there's no conclusive evidence yet, Mei-jie's unusual behavior these past few days, her irrational act of selling the internet cafe, coupled with my unintentional discovery, suggest that even if your soldier brother isn't a fraudster, he's at least withholding information!..."

Xiang Fei wanted to continue speaking, but then he saw Qian Luomei emerge from behind the screen wall and stride briskly towards the inner courtyard. He instinctively stood up, and Dong Lu, turning around, quickly stood up as well, calling out, "Sister Mei!"

"What are you doing here? Where's my dad?"

"The old man is inside!" Xiang Fei deliberately skipped the first question.

"Luomei, you're back?" The old man and his wife quickly came out of the room when they saw Qian Luomei return.

"Dad, where's Uncle Zhang? Didn't you say he was home? You even invited him to stay for dinner!"

"It's nothing, Uncle Zhang. Luomei, please sit down! Your parents want to talk to you about something very serious, something that will affect your future happiness! We hope you take it seriously!"

"Dad, I hope you can understand your daughter. I'm determined to sell the internet cafe! It has nothing to do with anyone else; it's my own idea! Let's not argue anymore. I hope to have your support and blessings!"

"It's not that you can't get our blessing, and I won't stop you from selling the internet cafe if you want, since it's your property. We, the old couple, can even support you for the rest of your lives! But we need to make one thing clear first. If we can't make that clear, you can't go anywhere!"

"What, are you going to restrict my personal freedom?" The emotional woman was irrational. She hadn't heard Qian Luomei's previous words, but the last sentence made her extremely agitated.

"Luomei, don't get so agitated! We're not saying we want to restrict your personal freedom, we just want to find out the soldier's true identity, because we're afraid our daughter will be deceived!" The old man stepped back, and the old woman stepped in!

"Mom, what are you all talking about? What real identity? You need to clarify this. I've already explained his family information and work situation to you! Didn't I show you his photo and military ID?"

"Luomei, family information and work details can be fabricated, and photos can be photoshopped, right?..." The old man tried his best to remain patient!

"Alright, so you just don't believe me. You've said so much, but what proof do you have?"

The old man didn't speak this time, but glanced at Xiang Fei standing under the grapevines. Xiang Fei understood and walked to Qian Luomei's side: "Sister Mei, a while ago, I took leave to visit relatives in Yandu, right? I met that soldier in the urban village there. You said he went to Lanzhou for special training. I wondered why he was there, so I secretly followed him and found that he went to a military camp converted from a civilian house."

"And then, what else did you discover?" Qian Luomei asked eagerly.

"The gate to that barracks was closed, I couldn't get in, and the walls were too high, I couldn't see inside!"

"That doesn't prove anything. Maybe he's on a special mission there! After all, he belongs to a special forces division directly under the Central Military Commission, and a lot of things need to be kept secret. It's normal for him to lie to me, right?"

Xiang Fei was speechless when asked. Although Qian Luomei's words were clearly defending her boyfriend, there was no logical problem with them! Xiang Fei's own speculation did have many flaws. Now that he thought about it, he wondered if he had gone to the trouble of adding fuel to the fire of the existing conflicts in Qian Luomei's family. He began to regret it.

"Luo Mei, don't worry. I've already called my friend in the military and asked him to check the unit number and the young man's military registration information. We'll have news soon!" The old man didn't mention that he had already called the police, so as not to provoke a stronger reaction from Qian Luo Mei.

"Okay, let's see what you find out. If it turns out he's innocent, I hope you won't stop us and will give us your blessings." Qian Luomei is a businesswoman who knows when to maximize her own interests and has absolute confidence in her judgment and her boyfriend's character.

When it comes to major life decisions, the waiting time always seems incredibly long. Everyone in the courtyard carries an old clock in their heart, the second hand ticking away shakily. In this small space, love, family, friendship, trust, and loyalty are put to unprecedented tests.

Qian Luomei sat silently on the stone bench, fiddling with the only protruding zipper on her handbag. Her long hair fell down, covering her entire face. The old man and his wife nestled together, glancing at their daughter from time to time, exchanging glances, and then shaking their heads helplessly. Xiang Fei returned to the grape trellis. Dong Lu gave him an encouraging look, then lowered her head to stroke the green grapes.

Xiang Fei saw a dark cloud approaching from the northwest, wondering how much wind, thunder, rain, and lightning it would contain, and how long it would last.

"Ring ring ring, ring ring ring," the small ringtone drew everyone's attention like a thunderclap. Dong Lu instinctively reached into her bag, only to find the ringtone no longer belonged to her. Xiang Fei answered the phone, and after a few words, went over and handed the phone to the old man: "It's my cousin on the phone!"

The old man took the phone, immediately turned on speakerphone, and pressed the record button: "Hello, this is Qian Ruofeng. Thank you for helping us investigate this matter. Please tell us what you found!"

"Okay, Grandpa Qian, I drove back as soon as I got Feifei's call. After making some inquiries, I found out that the owner of the house is named Li Dabao, over 50 years old. He no longer lives in the village and rented the house to these soldiers! Later, I contacted Li Dabao through a friend, and he told me that the person who signed the rental contract with him wasn't from any military unit or the People's Liberation Army, but a young man named Wang Zaifei! Later, I noticed they were wearing military uniforms, and when I asked them what unit they were from, they said it was the special forces, that they had a special mission, but they didn't say anything else! Li Dabao thought to himself that the government was renting their house and even waiving a lot of rent! That's the situation!"

"Okay, thank you! I have other things to thank you for later, so I'll hang up now!"

"Well, it was nothing, really, it wasn't necessary... Alright! Goodbye then!" Wang Zhiqiang originally wanted to say a few more polite words, but seeing that Grandpa Qian was in a hurry to hang up, he stopped rambling.

"That doesn't prove anything!" Qian Luomei's face relaxed considerably after the phone call.

"Don't worry!" The old man immediately made another call: "Dazhi! The person renting the room is named Wang Zaifei, the 'Zai' in 'load' and the 'fei' in 'flying,' but his identity information might not be accurate! Can you help me check?" The old man wanted to give a few more instructions, but another call appeared on his phone screen; "Hang up first, I have an important call!"

"Dad, how could you let Dazhi do such a thing..." Seeing the old man make a gesture to be quiet, Qian Luomei forced herself to stop speaking. But the words in the speakerphone felt like needles piercing her heart.

"Hey! Old Li, sorry to bother you, but how's the investigation going? Is there a special forces division directly under the Central Military Commission right now?"

"I'll skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point! You know our military definitely has many classified units, but these are usually represented by meaningless numbers. So, a designation like 'Directly Subordinate Special Forces Division' is definitely not a classified unit. In fact, according to my investigation, there's no such designation at all! As for the person you asked me to look into, I had someone check, and there's no such person in the military!"

"Uncle Li, you're not colluding with my parents to lie to me, are you?" Qian Luomei asked anxiously, trying to hide her inner turmoil.

"Luomei, is it? Girl, it's been a long time. I heard about you from Old Man Qian, so I'm not surprised you think this way. But I swear on my honor as a soldier: what I just said is true! And I would never lie to you with your parents! Be strong, child. Three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged men are everywhere. By the way, if you want to find a partner in the army, I can help you..."

Before she could finish speaking, Qian Luomei hung up the phone and walked straight into her room behind the grape trellis without saying a word. Dong Lu followed silently behind her.

The sky suddenly darkened, and a cool breeze swept away the silence. The raindrops gradually increased in speed, forming a line in the sky. In summer, such a sudden rain without thunder and lightning is rare. Perhaps it was unwilling to disturb those who were sad, lost, and whose hearts were complicated and desperate!

The sudden downpour forced everyone into their rooms. The old lady wanted to go and comfort her daughter, but the old man stopped her: "Lulu can go. You don't need to go. She probably doesn't want to say anything right now, or even see anyone. Just have Lulu bring her some water and keep her company! Bring some necessities over later, and Dong Lu can stay here tonight!"

The old man's phone rang again: "Dazhi, any news? What? This Wang Zaifei is an alias, someone's already sued him? A case's been filed for marriage fraud? Then bring your men to me, a young man named Xiang Fei knows their hideout! Okay, we'll wait for you!"

When a problem is no longer elusive and is clearly laid out before you, it has already been solved.

That evening, after investigation, all five suspects were found at their hideout. Under the cover of darkness, the criminal investigation team dispatched thirty officers to raid the fake military camp. This fake military camp, converted from a civilian house, not only had a flag-raising platform but also had its walls repainted to resemble military barracks. The officers maintained their quarters and performed morning and evening drills like real soldiers. Most astonishingly, it contained more than ten sets of standard military uniforms, including spring and autumn uniforms, winter uniforms, and summer uniforms, as well as training uniforms.

Some might wonder why such professionalism, meticulousness, and hard work would be used to scam money in any field. But if such skills truly existed in reality, why would they risk breaking the law and going to jail to do something so nerve-wracking and hypocritical?