Chen Keyao’s father had taken exceptionally good care of himself. Just from his appearance, he looked at most a little over forty, his figure still in perfect shape, and he dressed impeccably with not a hair out of place. Not only was he handsome, but his aura was also outstanding. He was completely different from the image of the old dad who would give his son a headache that Rong Yi had imagined.

So, when Chen Keyao’s father slightly furrowed his brows and sized Rong Yi up and down, Rong Yi, despite being nervous, blushed.

“And this is…?” His gaze remained fixed on Rong Yi’s face as he spoke.

“My tenant,” Chen Keyao strode over. “You don’t need to keep coming over, there are no more rooms available.”

Even though Rong Yi had been warned downstairs not to speak too much, he couldn’t resist trying to make a good impression on the handsome older man standing in front of him.

“Hello, Uncle,” he greeted proactively.

Who would’ve thought that after this older handsome guy nodded and greeted him in return, his brows furrowed even deeper.

“Yao Yao, be honest with me. Who exactly is he to you?”

“Dad,” Chen Keyao, who was opening the door, wiped his face with his hand. “Can you please stop calling me that in public…”

“Answer me first,” his father took another glance at Rong Yi, who was standing awkwardly on the side, “What’s your relationship with him, really?”

“I already told you, he’s my tenant,” Chen Keyao opened the door to his home, looking helpless. “He’s renting my place, and I’m his landlord. That’s it. Do you want to come in and sit for a while, or should I just take you home now?”

His father was still suspicious.

Rong Yi suddenly understood. Chen Keyao, with his bad track record of fooling around in ambiguous relationships, had already caught the attention of his Alpha father.

Now, walking in together like this, they probably looked like a couple planning to live together.

…This was truly humiliating.

Just as he was about to speak, Chen Keyao beat him to it: “Can you please not stir up trouble here? I only just met Mr. Rong for the first time today. We’re not even close. You’re really making us look like a joke.”

Rong Yi rolled his eyes internally.

Chen Keyao’s father seemed to believe about seventy to eighty percent of what was said. After nodding, he took two steps toward Rong Yi and spoke first, “Sorry about that, you’re Xiao Rong, right?”

Even the charm of this older man had its unique appeal. Rong Yi was deeply entranced and politely nodded.

Chen Keyao’s father approached him, lowered his voice, and said, “Xiao Rong, you better be careful with that boy. There’s something off about him.”

“…”

Rong Yi was speechless, but before he could react, Chen Keyao had rushed out from inside the house: “Dad! What are you doing?!”

Seeing Chen Keyao’s thoroughly embarrassed face, Rong Yi suddenly felt a bit of satisfaction.

He licked his lips and, right in front of Chen Keyao, said, “How could that be? Mr. Chen seems like a really nice and gentle person.”

Chen Keyao’s father immediately shot a wary glance back at his son. “That’s exactly why you need to be careful. If he’s being nice, he definitely has an agenda.”

Rong Yi had initially meant to embarrass Chen Keyao a little, and while his goal was achieved, he now felt like he had shot himself in the foot.

After all, Chen Keyao had indeed had designs on him back then. That had been one of the happiest times in his life.

Thinking about it made him feel uncomfortable again.

“Dad, let me call a car for you,” Chen Keyao dashed over, positioning himself between the two. “It’s getting late. You should head back.”

“Call a car? Can’t you just take me yourself?” His father seemed rather displeased. “I still have things I need to ask you.”

“My car’s in for repairs,” Chen Keyao said, throwing a glance back at Rong Yi, “The door’s broken.”

Rong Yi silently turned his head away.

.

After Chen Keyao’s father left, the atmosphere between the two of them quickly became awkward again.

After bringing Rong Yi into the room, Chen Keyao gave a few simple instructions before stepping out, even closing the door behind him as he left.

Rong Yi sat in the room, staring blankly for a while, suddenly feeling a bit dazed.

He had actually followed Chen Keyao back to his house and was even planning to stay for a while? Wasn’t that a bit strange?

Rong Yi had been through countless breakups, and in many cases, like with Liu Yuan, they were still able to remain friends and interact normally. But Liu Yuan was different from Chen Keyao. Liu Yuan had only made him feel a brief sense of loss and frustration. Chen Keyao, on the other hand, filled him with a deep sense of frustration, even resentment.

They were supposed to have nothing to do with each other anymore.

Of course, just a few hours ago, he never would have imagined that he’d ever cross paths with Chen Keyao again in this lifetime.

As he mulled over things, there was a knock on the door.

Apart from him and Chen Keyao, there was no one else in the house. Rong Yi, who had been lounging on the bed, immediately sat up straight and instinctively adjusted his clothes.

“What’s up?”

The door was immediately pushed open, and Chen Keyao walked in, carrying a chair with him.

After sitting down, he cleared his throat. “There are a few things I need to tell you.”

Rong Yi frowned at him.

“I usually get up around noon, so I’d appreciate it if you could keep the noise down when you leave in the morning,” Chen Keyao said.

Rong Yi nodded, but he couldn’t help but feel a bit strange.

In the short time they had spent together, he had gotten used to sending Chen Keyao a message every morning after waking up. And this guy would always reply within five minutes at most.

“And… I rarely use the kitchen. If you do, please make sure to clean up afterward. But you probably don’t cook, do you?”

Rong Yi immediately denied it. “Of course I do!”

Chen Keyao frowned. “Didn’t your kitchen catch fire before…?”

“That was an accident!” Rong Yi emphasized. “I’m really good at cooking!”

“Okay then…” Chen Keyao nodded, “Just make sure to clean up after yourself…and don’t set anything on fire.”

Rong Yi held his breath.

“If there’s space in the fridge, feel free to use it. But I sometimes forget what I’ve bought. If you don’t want me touching your stuff, you can stick a label on it or something.”

“Got it.”

Chen Keyao continued, “I usually go to bed around three in the morning. If the noise bothers you, let me know, and I’ll try to keep it down.”

Rong Yi really wanted to ask what he was doing staying up so late, but then thought, given their current relationship, it probably wasn’t appropriate, so he swallowed the question.

“The first-aid kit is in the living room cabinet, and there’s a toolbox under the shoe cabinet by the door. You didn’t bring much with you, so if you need anything, feel free to use it.”

“…Oh.” Rong Yi nodded.

“And…when you find a new place to stay, let me know. Once the room’s free, my dad will start bugging me again, so I need to be prepared.”

This basically confirmed that Rong Yi’s stay was only temporary and that he’d be moving out soon.

Of course, that was indeed what Rong Yi had in mind.

“That’s about it,” Chen Keyao looked at him. “If you have any questions, feel free to ask now.”

Rong Yi did have something he wanted to ask.

Like… were you really getting up early every day just to reply to my messages?

And now, you’re letting me stay here just to keep your dad off your back?

If there’s something wrong with you, why not get it treated?

After holding it in for a while, he finally asked, “How much is it going to cost to fix the car door?”

Chen Keyao was stunned for a moment before unexpectedly laughing. He looked at Rong Yi, raised his eyebrows slightly, and nodded. “Pretty expensive.”

“…”

Any trace of guilt that Rong Yi had felt immediately vanished. He imitated Chen Keyao’s nod. “Well then, I’m relieved.”

Chen Keyao didn’t seem angry at all; he just lowered his head and chuckled for a while before pulling out his phone from his pocket.

“Just in case, let’s exchange contact information.”

As Rong Yi took out his phone, he grumbled internally. You jerk, so you actually deleted my number too.

.

The living room in Chen Keyao’s house was spacious, and their rooms were on opposite sides of it. Once they both closed their doors, it was almost impossible to hear any noise from the other side.

At midnight, according to Chen Keyao’s own words, he wasn’t asleep yet.

Rong Yi sneaked open the door and peeked in the direction of Chen Keyao’s room. A faint light was visible under the door, but no matter how hard he strained to listen, there wasn’t a sound.

Back when they were still together, Chen Keyao used to say goodnight to him at this time.

So, it turned out that the guy hadn’t been asleep at all.

Their time together had been so short that, looking back now, Rong Yi realized he knew almost nothing about this person.

Apart from the few nights a week he spent teaching kids, what else did he do most of the time? That job was probably just part-time, right?

After mulling over it for a while, Rong Yi started to get angry with himself.

Why should he care? Even if Chen Keyao was out stealing in the middle of the night, it had nothing to do with him. Once he found a suitable place, he would leave immediately, and by then, he would delete Chen Keyao’s contact information again.

Stop overthinking it. Time to sleep.

Rong Yi climbed into the unfamiliar bed, tossed and turned a couple of times, then overturned part of his earlier thoughts.

If Chen Keyao really was a thief, he’d have to report him. Catching him red-handed would give him all the evidence he needed to call the police.

.

The next morning, when Rong Yi woke up, he was momentarily disoriented in the unfamiliar room.

Once he came to his senses, he started feeling dazed again.

After stepping out of his room, the house was quiet. Chen Keyao’s room door was closed, with no sound coming from inside.

Rong Yi tiptoed over, pressed his ear against the door, and listened for a while. Still, nothing.

When he got to the office, after sending an email to the client, he received a call from Liu Yuan.

“I heard from Keyao that you’ve moved in with him,” Liu Yuan sounded rather cheerful. “Getting along well?”

From the tone of his voice, it was clear Chen Keyao hadn’t mentioned anything about their past.

Rong Yi frowned, deliberately avoiding the topic. “How well do you know Mr. Chen?”

“Keyao and I were college buddies. He was the guy who slept in the bunk below me,” Liu Yuan said. “Don’t be fooled by how big and scary he looks—he’s actually really gentle.”

What a bizarre description.

Rong Yi listened, thought for a moment, and then cautiously asked, “…Did you know that Mr. Chen, well, that…”

As soon as he probed a little, Liu Yuan’s tone changed as expected.

“Did he… tell you something?” Liu Yuan clicked his tongue lightly. “I did tell him you’re an Omega… Ah, don’t worry. Even though he’s an Alpha, actually…uh…”

Both of them hesitated, realizing that they were both skirting around the same topic.

So, Rong Yi took the initiative to break the ice: “You were both Alphas, living in the same dorm. You must’ve figured it out, right…”

“…Duh,” Liu Yuan’s tone was awkward. “There were four of us in our dorm, and he pursued two of them.”