Which way to go is the road?

Qian Luomei took Fang Dazhi to the attic to discuss the matter, while the people below surrounded Xiang Fei in layers, asking him about the burns on his face!

Bai Xue was stuck outside, worried about Xiang Fei, but she couldn't squeeze in no matter what she did, and in her frustration she lost her temper.

"All of you, get out of here!"

Upon hearing this roar, everyone turned around, glanced at it, and quickly made way for a "path of love."

"Are you alright? Does it hurt?" Bai Xue quickly went to Xiang Fei's side and gently touched his burned cheek with her fingers.

"It's nothing. I deliberately poured unboiled water, thinking that this bastard would get a stomachache and diarrhea from drinking it. Who knew that not only would he not drink it, but he would also splash it on my face!" Xiang Fei said nonchalantly.

"It's already red even though it's not open, but thankfully no blisters have formed. It looks like peeling skin on my face is inevitable!" Dong Lu added.

"Really? Will applying some medicine help? Peeling skin looks terrible," Bai Xue asked Dong Lu, holding Xiang Fei's hand.

Dong Lu seemed to know a lot about wound care: "If it's been too long, no amount of treatment will work. It's okay, it's just a thin layer of skin peeling off, it won't leave a scar! It's a good thing Xiang Fei was careful and didn't use boiling water!"

Du Xinpeng noticed a Coke bottle scattered on the ground, with Coke sprayed everywhere. As if discovering a new continent, he asked, "What happened to this Coke? Did you guys take advantage of it?"

"I guess that counts as fighting. He threw a can of Coke at me, but I blocked it! The Coke bottle was under pressure and burst, spraying everywhere!"

"Did you give him a Coke and ask him for money?" Lao You recalled Xiang Fei shouting "Five yuan" when the scarred man left.

"Why wouldn't I want it? We can give away things from 'Shuiyunjian,' but not to these bastards. We won't give it away even if they break or smash it! If they want it, they can buy it with money! I didn't ask them for more!"

"Bravo!" Applause erupted from the crowd.

"Aren't you afraid they'll beat you up? There are so many of them!" Compared to Xiang Fei's heroic demeanor, Bai Xue was more worried about his safety.

"Of course I was scared! To be honest, you and Sister Luo Mei arrived at the perfect time. If you had come a moment later, I definitely would have been beaten! But that cup of hot water splashed on my face, I was so angry! At that moment, even if they beat me to death, I would still want that 'five yuan'!"

Seeing Xiang Fei's resolute tone, everyone felt a surge of admiration. Bai Xue even changed her earlier worry into pride and gripped Xiang Fei's hand even tighter!

"Showing off like that, burning your face, is it really that big of a deal? Is this some kind of superhero comeback?"

Wang Haoming still had that same sour face, cynical and eccentric. After speaking, he ignored everyone's condemning gazes and walked upstairs.

"I'm going up too. We need to start bringing people up, so I'll go get ready! I'll also talk to Haoming while I'm at it. That guy's personality is really weird, Xiang Fei, don't mind him!" Xiangzi greeted everyone with a simple smile and then went upstairs to get busy.

Upon hearing Wang Haoming's words, Xiang Fei lost interest in continuing the conversation. No matter how much everyone tried to persuade him, he remained silent and quietly went over to clean up the mess.

Everyone saw that those who were on the computer were back on the computer, those who were working were back at work, and life returned to normal.

The morning's turmoil brought anxiety to the "Water Clouds" group, making it difficult for them to concentrate even while playing games. Yes, they were afraid, terrified, and this fear ignited a force that united them to take steps to cope with and eliminate their fear.

Old You felt guilty; after all, he was the one who first clashed with them, and it seemed that all of this stemmed from that. Looking up at Zhang Chu, who was busy at the front desk, he felt a greater sense of responsibility than guilt—to protect her!

"Hey guys, are you all on QQ voice chat?"

Everyone answered in turn, indicating that they were all present.

"Those thugs and hooligans who left today, who knows if they won't come back later? Shouldn't we think of a way to deal with them?"

"How do we deal with this? We don't know when they're coming, and even if we did, we wouldn't have as many people as they do!" Tian Hai said, his heart filled with fear, as he tried to back down.

"So what if we don't have as many people as them? Should we just let them bully us instead of fighting back? Xiang Fei wasn't afraid of facing so many people all by himself, so what are you afraid of, Second Brother?" Lao You retorted, gesturing to Tian Hai.

Tian Hai was displeased upon hearing this: "Who said we're afraid of them! I'm just stating the objective facts. Their arrival time is uncertain, and they outnumber us. We should address these two aspects with our countermeasures! Don't condemn them outright!"

"Why kill him with a single blow?" Du Xinpeng always managed to seize on the awkward moment: "Because Marshal Tianpeng descended to earth? Hey, Tian Hai, that's not right of you. Old You has already lost weight and is much slimmer, isn't he?"

"Get lost! You're everywhere! Second brother, I misunderstood! I apologize, but we really should think of a solution, otherwise we'll be completely caught off guard!" Lao You continued.

"I have an idea. Let's discuss it with Sister Luo Mei. Could we install stronger security doors at the main entrance, stairwell doors, and rooftop doors? That way, if we encounter danger, everyone can take cover and hold out for a while until the police arrive!" Zhang Fang said.

The suggestion received a positive response, and Lao You was very pleased. After thinking for a moment, he added, "That's great! This way, we can avoid unnecessary injuries. It would be best to make it electric and remote-controlled, so it can directly lock the security door when it sees someone!"

"You could also buy a few stun guns, the kind with lights, to use as flashlights during power outages. They'll instantly turn any thugs into dog-beating sticks!" Du Xinpeng suggested, not forgetting to make a joke.

"One more thing, we need to give the girls extra protection. These next few days, the girls aren't allowed to go anywhere alone; they'll need a few of us to escort them!"

Listening to the men's earnest pre-battle preparations, Dong Lu, Bai Xue, and Zhang Chu felt much more at ease. A warm current flowed through their bodies, and the frightened women, who had been like startled birds after the incident that morning, regained their composure.

But Zhang Chu wouldn't let it go, still complaining, "Isn't that restricting our freedom?"

"Freedom is worthless compared to the safety of life, and we are here to follow and protect you, not to restrict where you go!" Old You spoke with a strong voice, and it seemed that his lung capacity had increased after exercising!

"Okay! I'll listen to you then!" Zhang Chu said obediently.

"Zhang Chu, you're wrong!" Du Xinpeng said, seemingly offering well-intentioned advice, but his voice carried an unusual concern.

Zhang Chu asked, puzzled, "What's wrong with that? Listening to him is wrong!"

"It's not that it's wrong, it's that you said it wrong. You should say, 'Dad, I'll listen to you!'"

The crowd burst into laughter, and Zhang Chu's face instantly turned red: "You stinky Du Xinpeng, you ugly man always cause trouble!"

Lunch was again at "Shuiyunjian". Xiang Fei and Qian Luomei cooked, with Bai Xue and Dong Lu helping out. In addition to the usual simple dishes, they also stewed two fish, made braised chicken pieces, sweet and sour pork ribs, etc.

Looking at the table full of food, Lao You felt something was missing. He went to the supermarket next door and bought a bottle of baijiu (Chinese liquor) weighing about 500 grams. He poured it evenly into paper cups and distributed it to the eleven people.

No one declined the drink this time; everyone downed it in one gulp, fueled by the youthful passion surging in their hearts. It was somewhat like an ancient blood oath, lacking the elaborate formalities but possessing a more substantial meaning. Everyone genuinely felt the significance of being a family.