Which way to go is the road?

At nine o'clock in the morning, "Shuiyunjian" had just started to open to customers, with only a few internet users scattered around the spacious lobby. The spider plants and pothos had just been watered, their leaves bright and inviting, and fish swam nimbly in the fishpond, the electric waterwheel splashing water again and again, creating a crisp and pleasant sound!

However, Zhang Chu at the front desk paid no attention to any of this. Her eyes were fixed on the revolving door, and she paid special attention to each time it opened. When she found out that it was just an ordinary customer, she was disappointed again—Xiang Fei, who usually arrived at work early at 7 o'clock, was still nowhere to be seen.

Finally, Xiang Fei walked in from outside, but he didn't look well. His hair was messy, and there was still some cloudy stuff in the corners of his eyes. As soon as he saw Xiang Fei come in, Zhang Chu quickly ran over to him.

"You're finally here! If you hadn't come, I would have gone to the basement to find you!"

"Is it really necessary? I just didn't sleep well last night, and that's why I'm late."

"Is it really that big of a deal? Your sweetheart was just snatched away yesterday. What if you end up like me, feeling hopeless?"

"What sweetheart? Don't talk nonsense, she's Tian Hai's girlfriend now!" Xiang Fei warned Zhang Chu in a low voice, then smiled and said, "I'm not doing anything rash, are you disappointed?"

"Am I really that gloating?" Zhang Chu chuckled and playfully punched Xiang Fei. After thinking for a moment, he added mischievously, "But then again, if you're ever this reckless, I can save you! That way we're even, and I won't have to spend every day with you, seeing your face and feeling like I owe you a life!"

"What's wrong with you? Did I tell you you owe me something? Just live your own life. Aren't you tired of carrying a cross around every day?"

"I was just kidding, but I've accepted you as my older brother and Sister Luomei as my older sister. I know you've been good to me, and I'll be good to you in the future!"

"It's not just the two of us, Dong Lu, Bai Xue, and Lao You are all very good to you!"

"Alright, but you two are better than them, the best!"

Xiang Fei patted Zhang Chu's shoulder with a helpless yet affectionate expression: "I never imagined that girl who wore makeup like a ghost could have such a gentle and lovely side, with such delicate and touching little thoughts!"

"I was corrupted by that bastard, okay? With him dressed like that, how could I possibly be dressed in a flowing dress, looking gentle and charming?"

"Yes, yes, yes! You made the right decision to leave him now. Look how great things are now! As Lao You would say: 'Naturally beautiful without artifice, like a lotus emerging from clear water!'"

"Old You can still come up with such elegant lyrics? I have to say, I quite like listening to it!"

"Of course, the more you get to know him, the more you'll discover about Lao You's strengths. This guy is incredibly shrewd! He's just a bit reserved!"

"Oh, don't even mention Lao You. Didn't you sleep well last night? Look at you, all disheveled. If I were Bai Xue, I wouldn't be looking for you either!"

"Don't flatter me! I have absolutely nothing to do with Bai Xue, not now, not in the future, and never!"

"That's pretty heartless! But don't say that to me, say it to him!" Zhang Chu said, his eyes fixed on the revolving door.

Xiang Fei turned around and saw Tian Hai walk through the revolving door and come straight to Xiang Fei. He had just successfully proposed yesterday, and he should have been in high spirits, but he had dark circles under his eyes, messy hair, and looked listless, which puzzled Xiang Fei.

"It's not the weekend, don't you guys have classes? Tian Hai, what brings you here now? By the way, where did you two go for a romantic getaway after your successful proposal yesterday?"

"Why are you asking so many questions! Xiang Fei, come out with me for a bit, let's talk!" Tian Hai's expression was serious, lacking the gentle and refined manners one would expect from a scholar!

"Okay, let's go!" Xiang Fei followed Tian Hai out, then turned back and saw Zhang Chu silently following as well: "Zhang Chu, don't follow us. The front desk can't be left unattended. It's alright!"

Xiang Fei followed Tian Hai out of "Shuiyunjian" and walked for a few minutes until they came to a ginkgo tree. Tian Hai turned around and stared at Xiang Fei hatefully for more than ten seconds, making Xiang Fei very uncomfortable.

"What happened? Did something happen to Bai Xue? Or did something unpleasant happen between you two?"

Tian Hai didn't answer Xiang Fei's question. Instead, he asked back, "Xiang Fei, you really shouldn't have come to Yandu. Why did you have to come to Yandu of all places? Coming to Yandu is fine too, you've met Dong Lu. If none of this had happened, my romantic proposal yesterday would definitely have succeeded! Bai Xue couldn't possibly have rejected me!"

"Didn't Bai Xue agree to your request yesterday? It was a great success!" Xiang Fei was completely bewildered by Tian Hai's inexplicable words.

"A high school student, what kind of poetry is he writing! Does he really want to be a poet? A writer? What a pipe dream!"

"What's wrong with you today? Did I offend you? You're saying I'm wrong in this and wrong in that! Yes, I didn't get into university, and I failed the college entrance exam, so I can't come to Yandu? I'm not even qualified to know Dong Lu, or to know you guys? What does it have to do with you that I write poetry? Didn't you ask me to write it for you yesterday?" Xiang Fei's sensitive nerves were finally triggered by Tian Hai's repeated provocations.

"You can do both, but you shouldn't have let Bai Xue know you. That way you won't like Bai Xue, and she certainly won't like your poetry or you!"

"I don't like Snow White!"

"Bullshit, do you think everyone else is blind or stupid?"

"So you knew I liked snow, and you even asked me to write poems for you?"

"I just wanted you to write it, to use your own poetry to help me win over Bai Xue, but I was wrong. It's all your fault for writing such terrible, awful poetry!"

"That's enough! Yes, I like Bai Xue, but I haven't done anything to ruin your relationship. If you keep this up, we can't be friends anymore!"

"You like Bai Xue! Humph, let me ask you, you're a college entrance exam failure, penniless, no diploma, no money, just a lowly internet cafe manager! What makes you think you like Bai Xue? Just because of your crappy poems? Can they eat or drink, or be used as cash?"

In his interactions with these college students, Xiang Fei understood the gap between them and carefully concealed his inferiority complex. He wrote poetry partly out of hobby and partly to seek a certain balance in his heart. However, when he heard Tian Hai's barrage of insults and discrimination, his inner balance was shattered, and his temper flared up.

"Why can't I like someone? What right do you have to tell me who I like? I just like Bai Xue, so what? So what if I failed my college entrance exam? So what if I don't have a diploma or money? So what if I'm a network administrator? Can't I like a pretty girl? Bullshit!"

"You son of a bitch!"

"You son of a bitch!"

……

In the midst of their verbal sparring, the two lost their usual composure and started fighting. Fighting over girlfriends is not uncommon, but their physical altercations wouldn't solve anything. The winner wouldn't necessarily have Bai Xue, and the loser wouldn't necessarily lose her; in fact, the outcome of this fight was meaningless! Strictly speaking, their punches weren't for Bai Xue; they were simply looking for someone to vent their anger, resentment, and disappointment on. In that sense, they had indeed chosen the right person, and the fight was understandable.

The fight didn't last long; Zhang Chu, who had run out, pulled them apart shortly afterward. However, fists and feet have no eyes, and both men still had quite a few marks on their bodies. They glared at each other, panting heavily.

"Tian Hai, what's wrong with you? What did Xiang Fei do to you? Yes, he has feelings for Bai Xue, but he didn't do anything to ruin your relationship, did he? On the contrary, wasn't the poem you recited at your proposal ceremony yesterday written by Xiang Fei? How come you're ungrateful for his kindness?" Zhang Chu said angrily, standing up for Xiang Fei.

"I……"

After Zhang Chu said that, Tian Hai immediately felt that he was in the wrong. He wanted to say something but couldn't open his mouth. He just breathed heavily and sulked.

"You fucking started cursing at me right away, what the hell? What happened between you two?" Xiang Fei was stunned by the barrage of insults and had just come to his senses.

Tian Hai didn't reply to Xiang Fei. He spat out a mouthful of blood and turned to walk towards the school. Xiang Fei watched his retreating figure with a puzzled expression, wondering, "Didn't Tian Hai's proposal yesterday succeed? Didn't Bai Xue agree? What happened?"

Xiang Fei's doubts were answered at noon. Bai Xue and Dong Lu rushed over as soon as class ended, bringing Yunnan Baiyao for treating bruises and sprains. Xiang Fei's injuries didn't seem too serious when he was in the fight, but by noon the bruises had spread, becoming red and swollen, and looked quite severe. Bai Xue opened the medicine box to apply the medicine to Xiang Fei, but didn't know how to do it, and spent a long time reading the instructions.

"Let Zhang Chu do it! Bai Xue, you don't need to do anything!" Xiang Fei was a little scared when he saw Bai Xue not knowing where to start, and at the same time, he deliberately reduced his contact with Bai Xue.

"What's wrong? What are you afraid of? Applying medicine won't cause any accidents!" Bai Xue said with a grin.

"What happened between you and Tian Hai? What's wrong with him? He came over today and scolded me without saying a word, and then we got into a fight!"

"I guess it's because I rejected him yesterday!"

"What? You rejected him? He proposed to you yesterday, and you said yes?" Xiang Fei used the anxiety on his face to hide the joy in his heart.

"Who said I agreed? Yesterday I said I accepted his love poem, not that I accepted him! There were so many people there yesterday, making a fuss and chanting slogans, I couldn't refuse him directly! But we made things clear later!"

"You rejected him, so why did this idiot come over and yell at me? We even got into a fight!"

"You should ask him about that. By the way, did you participate in his courtship ceremony yesterday?"

"without!"

"Really?"

"I just helped write a poem!" Xiang Fei's lies never stood up to suspicion, and this time was no exception.

"No wonder I hit you, you deserved it!" Bai Xue pinched a cotton swab dipped in iodine and vigorously applied it to the red and swollen area, causing Xiang Fei to cry out in pain!

"Did I make a mistake in helping someone?"

"Yes, that's wrong! Think about it, I didn't accept him yesterday, but I accepted this love poem, and you even wrote it! No wonder he's jealous of you! Besides..."

"What are you saying?"

"The ancients said, 'Poetry is the expression of one's will; what is in the heart is the will, and what is spoken is poetry.' In other words, poetry expresses one's true thoughts. If he cares about me, he should express his own feelings instead of having someone else write it for him! He is wrong, and you are also wrong for having someone else write for you!"

"He can quote classical texts in every sentence. By the way, this sentence is quite good. Which book is it from, and who said it?"

"Stop interrupting, go check it online yourself! Tell me, aren't you wrong?"

"I was wrong, really wrong! I will never do it again!" This was Xiang Fei's true thought.

"By the way, Xiang Fei, your poems are so good! The imagery is beautiful, the language is elegant yet sincere, and the words are earnest yet original. You couldn't have written them without genuine feelings, could you?"

This statement is double-edged. On the surface, it discusses poetry writing, but in reality, it is probing Xiang Fei's thoughts. If Bai Xue had no feelings for him, she wouldn't have needed to do this. Xiang Fei knew this perfectly well, and after struggling internally, he chose to back down.

"I wrote it according to Tian Hai's wishes; it contains genuine feelings, and it truly reflects Tian Hai's own thoughts!"

"I understand!" Bai Xue lowered her hand from applying the medicine and handed the medicine box to Zhang Chu: "My hand is cramping a bit, Zhang Chu, you can do it. There's only a little bit left! Remember to bandage the area around your eye with gauze."

"Alright!" Zhang Chu quickly came over to take over from Bai Xue.

"Let's go, Dong Lu, let's go back to school! Don't we have a class around 1 p.m.? Let's go back early."

"Bye-bye!" Xiang Fei didn't know what to say, so he just uttered those two words through gritted teeth. It would have been better not to say anything at all.

"Okay, goodbye!"

As Bai Xue and Dong Lu walked out of "Shuiyunjian" and disappeared through the glass of the revolving door, Xiang Fei felt a tremor in his heart and almost burst into tears.

"Can I still say that now, in the future, and forever have nothing to do with you, brother?"

"What is false may be taken for true, and what is true may become false; what is nothing may be taken for something, and what is something may become nothing! Let nature take its course!"

"If you ask me, love is love, hate is hate! Why think so much? The more you read, the more you think. Reality isn't 'Dream of the Red Chamber,' there's no such thing as true or false!"

Xiang Fei remained silent, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the stairs at the end of the fishpond, and unconsciously recited the poem he had composed the night he saved Zhang Chu:

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.