Which way to go is the road?

When you keep something bottled up inside for too long, you eventually need to confide in someone. When there's no one like that around, you fall into painful self-torture, which can lead to a volatile personality, a distorted outlook on life, and cause the pain to intensify.

This kind of suffering can become a habit over time, making people addicted and annoyed, and they can never completely get rid of it, yet they still have the desire to get rid of it.

"Doesn't your grandma care about you?" Xiang Fei was filled with emotion and curiosity after hearing Wang Haoming's words.

Wang Haoming wiped away his tears: "When I was eight years old, my family went through a crisis, leaving only my grandmother as a relative. Perhaps she felt sorry for me, so she spoiled me rotten and couldn't bear to punish me when I made mistakes! I was spoiled as a child, and now that I'm older, I can't control her. If I make a mistake, she's afraid I'll become rebellious, so she can only try to persuade and educate me. When I dropped out of school because I couldn't pay my tuition, she just sighed and said it was all fate, that the sins of the father must be paid by the son, and that my father had committed too many sins!"

"You are you, what does it have to do with your father?"

"Sometimes I ask myself the same question: Why do I have such a father and such a mother? Why are I suffering the consequences of their sins? What the hell did I do to deserve this? Then I realized, I don't want to pay their debts. I want to create my own sins. Let whoever wants to pay these debts pay them!"

"So that's how you developed your current personality—finding fault with everyone, lacking patience for anything, laughing at others' misfortunes while resenting theirs, and feeling like there's no good person around you?"

Wang Haoming shook his head: "I think Sister Luo Mei is a good person. She took me in and gave me a job to make a living!"

Xiang Fei pondered how to resolve Wang Haoming's predicament, and after much thought, he finally came up with an answer: "Didn't you say your mother remarried? Go find her! Even if you have a stepfather, at least you'll be in a complete family!"

"How could an eight-year-old not cry for his mother? But my grandma thought I was the only son in the family and wouldn't let me take someone else's surname. As a child, I didn't know where to find my mother! When I grew up and understood, I went to look for her once!"

"How did it go?"

"She wouldn't see me at all, hiding at home and refusing to open the door. In the end, her husband came out and sent me away! I figured she must have her reasons, so I waited at the entrance of the complex all afternoon. When she went out to buy groceries, I suddenly went up and hugged her! Guess what?"

"She took you home?"

Wang Haoming sneered twice: "She said something to me that I'll never forget. She said I wasn't her biological child, that I was adopted from outside, and that she wasn't my mother! You know what? Xiang Fei, I was already 12 at the time!"

"How can a mother be so heartless?"

"That's just how it is. Without saying a word, I slapped her across the face and ran back to my grandma's house." Wang Haoming laughed haphazardly, his voice filled with despair and sorrow: "When I was 12, I slapped my mom, and I felt incredibly relieved! I never went to see her again after that, as if she never existed!"

"What was your family's main source of income back then? Did your grandmother have any income?"

"My grandmother was a retired bank employee with a full salary. I was still working and receiving a pension when I was a child, and now I'm retired and receive a pension! We're not having any problems making a living right now!"

"You're 22 years old, it's time to be independent. You can't rely on your family forever!"

Wang Haoming smiled wryly: "It's all your fault for ruining my livelihood. Besides knowing a little about computers, I know nothing else. I really don't know where I'd go if I left the internet cafe!"

"Then let's go back. I'll talk to Sister Luomei. But Haoming, you must change your personality and bad habits. You can't live in society without interacting with people. You should integrate into group life, calm your mind, and be kind to others!"

Just as Wang Haoming was about to reply, the red light in the emergency room went out. He quickly walked towards the doctor: "Dr. Tao, how is my grandmother?"

"They arrived just in time and are past the critical period. They'll stay in the hospital for observation for a few more days! I'm telling you, Xiao Wang, your grandma has a heart condition, so don't keep making her angry. Just go along with her!" Dr. Tao and Wang Haoming were already quite familiar with each other, and she couldn't help but say a few words to him.

"Okay, Dr. Tao!"

"What happened to your face and body? And him, did you two get into a fight?"

Seeing Wang Haoming hesitate and unsure how to answer, Xiang Fei stepped forward: "We were just doing a heroic job, fighting off some thugs and getting a few injuries!"

Dr. Tao was clearly not so easily fooled, and not knowing what to say, he nodded and went to attend to his own business.

Next, Xiang Fei arranged for Wang Haoming to stay with his grandmother while he went about his business step by step. Fortunately, his grandmother had a medical insurance card, which saved her a lot of trouble.

Having skipped breakfast, Wang Haoming felt hungry well before noon. Looking at his grandmother, still unconscious, he figured she'd be hungry when she woke up. He picked up his phone to call Xiang Fei, but the call ended abruptly. Then, he saw Xiang Fei had already arrived at the ward with lunch and some fruit.

Wang Haoming sincerely thanked him, but Xiang Fei didn't respond. Instead, he laughed and said, "This morning wasn't wasted. Grandma was saved, and you've become more polite!"

"What's wrong? Not used to it? If you're not used to it, I'll change back. Saying 'thank you' feels really awkward!"

Xiang Fei lightly tapped Wang Haoming on the back of the head: "Let me show you how to behave. I'm telling you, from now on I'm your full-time head teacher. If you make a mistake, I'll hit you!"

"You're really pushing your luck, aren't you? Hit me again, hey! You actually hit me? You'd better think about the serious consequences. Okay, okay, bro, I give up, stop hitting me. I'll do whatever you say, but if you hit me again, I'll have to take brain-damaging pills!"

Xiang Fei stopped what he was doing, nudged his shoulder, and the two smiled at each other, forgetting their past grievances and planting the seeds of friendship.

The noise woke Grandma. She opened her eyes and saw a stranger next to her grandson: "Xiaoming, who is this?"

Before Wang Haoming could answer, Xiang Fei said, "Grandma, I'm Haoming's friend. I came to see you! Are you feeling any better?"

Grandma wanted to sit up, so Xiang Fei and Wang Haoming quickly helped to rock the bed and put in pillows.

Grandma took Xiang Fei's hand: "Much better, it's just an old problem, nothing serious! When did you and Xiaoming meet? I've never heard him mention it."

"We met at an internet cafe. He was a colleague, very skilled with computers, and a nice guy. He often taught me things, and we became friends over time!"

Grandma smiled broadly: "This is the first time I've heard someone praise someone so much! I've spoiled this child; he has a bad temper. Please be more tolerant of him! Actually, he has a very kind heart!"

"I know, Grandma. Don't worry, Haoming will get better and better." Xiang Fei glanced at Wang Haoming, who looked ashamed. "Grandma, what did he do to upset you this time? Did he make you come to the hospital?"

Grandma quickly denied it: "No, it's just that I had some problems and couldn't think straight, it has nothing to do with Xiaoming! By the way, I haven't asked you your name yet?"

"My name is Xiang Fei, Grandma!"

"I'll call you Xiaofei then! Um, what trouble did Xiaoming get into at the internet cafe? Why did the internet cafe fire him? Can you talk to the boss and ask him to come back to work? I'm afraid he'll go astray again if he doesn't have a job!" Grandma said, tears streaming down her face.

Xiang Fei took out tissues from the pile of things he had bought and wiped his grandmother's tears: "Grandma, you're overthinking it. The internet cafe didn't fire Haoming. They're just upgrading their equipment. He can go back to work anytime after the equipment is updated, Grandma, I promise you!"

……