Fat really is the biggest killer of good looks.

Back when Rong Yi first developed feelings for Li Xiaoran, the guy was the most popular star player on their high school basketball team.

There’s something uniquely charming about sporty young men. At the time, at least one entire class of Omegas was completely captivated by his performance on the court, and Rong Yi was undoubtedly one of the more enthusiastic members of that class.

This intense teenage love drama ended with one party confessing and the other reacting in horror, saying, “I’m not gay!”—bringing the affair to a gloomy conclusion. After that, the heartbroken one who failed in his confession was comforted by another gentle Alpha from the same class, mistakenly thinking he’d found a new springtime romance… but that’s another story.

Now, as Rong Yi is forced to face this part of his embarrassing history again, he can’t help but feel a bit bitter, not just because of the drastic changes in Li Xiaoran’s appearance, but also because of the memories it stirs.

Back then, Li Xiaoran’s response made him seriously question if he could only find a gay Alpha as a partner. However, now he understands that as an Omega like himself, even surviving in the cracks of society isn’t easy.

Li Xiaoran, who had grown prematurely chubby before even reaching middle age, noticed the change in Rong Yi’s expression and immediately confirmed he hadn’t mistaken him for someone else.

He quickly stepped toward the two, frowning with a complex expression: “I can’t believe after a few years, you really…”

Rong Yi could pretty much guess what the unfinished sentence was going to be.

Looking like this, you really did end up as gay after all.

In this situation, there was no way to clear things up. Rong Yi nervously rubbed his hands by his side, then mimicked the other’s expression, furrowing his brows: “Did we know each other before? Sorry, I really can’t remember.”

Li Xiaoran paused for a second before letting out a mocking laugh.

He turned his head to Zhou Li: “This is your Alpha?”

Zhou Li’s eyes widened, lips pressed tight as he thought for a moment in obvious nervousness before replying, “I only ever said he was my boyfriend, never said he was an Alpha. I… I actually don’t even like Alphas.”

“I remember hearing back then that not long after I rejected you, you got involved with some Omega from your grade,” Li Xiaoran said to Rong Yi, “I thought it was just a rumor… but turns out you really are someone who’s down for anything, huh?”

Rong Yi looked at him and asked, “Sir, what exactly are you trying to say?”

Li Xiaoran glanced at him before focusing his attention back on Zhou Li.

“This guy had quite the reputation at our school,” he said. “Being an Omega, sleeping around without fear of getting pregnant, no idea how many people he was two-timing. You’d better watch out.”

Zhou Li nervously glanced at Rong Yi before gulping. “Wow, I actually like people like that—so much personality.”

Once they were finally out of Li Xiaoran’s sight, Rong Yi immediately covered his face. “There were a lot of misunderstandings back there…”

“What did he mean, ‘you confessed to him’? You actually liked that guy? Oh my god!” Zhou Li grabbed him and started shaking vigorously. “That was a misunderstanding, right? It has to be a misunderstanding!”

Rong Yi was awkward. After all, that was the one part that wasn’t a misunderstanding—it was true.

That now somewhat creepy-looking, chubby guy was once a handsome and bright young man. Rong Yi’s temporary lapse in judgment back then could be completely blamed on teenage hormones. But even he found that excuse a bit flimsy, especially since he still has occasional lapses in judgment to this day.

“That was almost ten years ago…” He continued to cover his face. “Who hasn’t fallen for one or two jerks when they were younger?”

When he finally dropped his hands, Zhou Li’s expression was indescribable.

“That kind of idiot? That kind of idiot?!” Zhou Li said. “My image of you is totally collapsing right now!”

Rong Yi cleared his throat. “So, you see, love at first sight is totally unreliable.”

About a ten-minute walk from Zhou Li’s company, a new fish hot pot place had opened with great reviews online. They’d made a reservation the day before, and now, as they were walking there, naturally, their conversation drifted back to the bit of history Li Xiaoran had mentioned.

“Be honest with me,” Zhou Li looked dead serious, “have you ever dated an Omega?”

“Absolutely not. I only like people who radiate that unmistakable Alpha aura,” Rong Yi said. “But I have helped out a lot of my Omega friends with things like that.”

“Things like that?”

“You know, the kind of help you asked me for today.”

Back then, a series of events occurred that might have caused some misunderstandings.

He had a crush on a very gentle and kind Alpha in his class and soon became close friends with him. The Alpha had no clue about Rong Yi’s feelings and, knowing Rong Yi was close to another Omega in their class, asked him to deliver a love letter to that Omega.

Rong Yi, heartbroken, reluctantly passed the letter to his rival, but in his emotional turmoil, forgot to mention the author, causing quite the misunderstanding. The Omega ended up thinking they were already dating.

In the end, none of the three involved was happy.

After that, feeling down, Rong Yi skipped class and went to mope on the school rooftop, where he ran into another Omega girl from their class. She looked completely dejected, standing dangerously close to the edge, which gave Rong Yi, who had almost dozed off, quite a scare. After pulling her back to safety, he listened to her vent for a long time. The girl complained about how, since middle school, she had always been bullied for being unattractive and later for being an Omega. A few days before, one of the most popular Omegas from their old class invited her to a class reunion, saying she could bring a partner. Still single, she didn’t want to go and endure more ridicule but was also afraid that if she didn’t, they’d mock her even more behind her back. The more she thought about it, the worse she felt, even questioning her life choices. Hearing this, Rong Yi slapped his thigh and said, “That’s easy—I’ll go with you!”

That story actually had a pretty happy ending. Rong Yi put on quite a performance at the reunion, making her the center of envious attention. And to top it off, a surprise followed.

A Beta girl, who had been fairly close to this Omega in middle school and often helped her out, sneaked out of the party to cry in the hallway. When the Omega went to find her and nervously told her, “He’s not my Alpha, we’re just friends, don’t misunderstand,” the two soon had their own happy ending.

Rong Yi, pleased with their outcome, couldn’t help feeling sorry for his still-lonely self.

After that, an Omega from the neighboring class bet a thousand bucks with someone, saying if she confessed to Rong Yi, she’d definitely succeed. The whole thing netted Rong Yi, who was a bit short on cash at the time, a nice five hundred.

After peacefully breaking up with this “business partner,” he became good friends with another Omega from the neighboring class who also happened to be a fan of the same Alpha singer. They traveled out of town together to attend a concert, and rumors started flying when they got back.

By the time Rong Yi finished recounting these messy experiences, they were nearly done with their hot pot meal.

Zhou Li, who had listened to it all, was deeply moved.

“I think you’re amazing, especially that one part… that part…” He slurred slightly after drinking several cans of beer. “Ah, but no wonder people got the wrong idea. You didn’t notice at all?”

Rong Yi cringed. “…I didn’t have the self-awareness back then.”

“But still, after all that, how did you end up liking that idiot? Unbelievable!” Zhou Li, slightly drunk, slammed his hand on the table. “What’s so great about him? He’s creepy! And the jokes he makes are so gross and vulgar!”

“He used to be… kinda handsome… and I wasn’t the only one who liked him,” Rong Yi muttered as he poked at his dipping sauce with his chopsticks.

“Don’t you find it disgusting how he stares at you with those pervy eyes?” Zhou Li started ranting. “Alphas are all gross!”

Rong Yi didn’t know how to respond.

He had never been stared at by an Alpha with “pervy eyes” in his life, so he couldn’t exactly relate. But when he imagined it, he thought that if the Alpha was handsome enough, it might not be so bad.

“If we’re both still single when we’re old, let’s just grow old together,” Zhou Li waved his chopsticks at him. “We can plant flowers and play chess! Won’t that be nice?”

Rong Yi, also a bit drunk, rested his head on his hand. “I’d still prefer to have a big family and a ridiculously handsome husband, even in my old age.”

“You’re hopeless!” Zhou Li declared, then flopped down on the table. “I’m so jealous of you… You don’t have to deal with any of that annoying stuff, living your carefree life…”

“I’m jealous of you too,” Rong Yi sighed. “If I were half as cute as you, I’d probably have a kid by now.”

After he said that, he started imagining things.

Clearly, Li Xiaoran liked people like Zhou Li. If Rong Yi had looked like that back then, his confession would have worked out. If they had gotten married… would he now have a fat, bald husband?

Rong Yi suddenly felt a chill.

He realized that, in the future, before falling impulsively into love and confessing, it might be a good idea to first check out the other person’s parents. If there were signs of weight gain or baldness, he would need to think carefully.

As he dazedly mulled this over, he noticed that Zhou Li had been lying face down for a while.

Zhou Li, for all his bravado, actually had a terrible alcohol tolerance.

Luckily, his drinking behavior wasn’t too bad, and he didn’t get wild, but he was completely knocked out. Rong Yi had already tried everything short of shaking him awake, but it was no use.

Rong Yi thought about sending him home but didn’t know his address. After hesitating, he remembered that he had already consulted Chen Keyao earlier, so he decided to just take Zhou Li back to his own place for the night.

Zhou Li was small and light. After getting out of the car, Rong Yi carried him princess-style up to his apartment. When he reached the door, he hesitated, unsure how to free a hand to get his keys.

Rong Yi had had almost as much to drink as Zhou Li, and his mind was foggy. He stood there dumbly for a while, not even thinking to ring the doorbell. Just as he was considering hoisting Zhou Li onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, the door suddenly opened on its own.

Chen Keyao, who had been about to step out, was startled.

“…What’s going on here?” He looked down at Zhou Li in Rong Yi’s arms. “You actually brought him back?”

Chen Keyao stood in the doorway, blocking the entrance, which irritated Rong Yi, who had carried Zhou Li all the way up and then stood in front of the door for a while.

“Move, would you?” Rong Yi grumbled, squeezing past. “My arms are killing me.”

Chen Keyao frowned and stepped back, watching as Rong Yi hurried toward his own room. After a brief hesitation, Chen Keyao followed him.

As soon as Rong Yi laid Zhou Li down on the bed and was about to stretch his arms, Chen Keyao, leaning against the doorframe, spoke up.

“Um…” He looked conflicted. “I thought you were just making stuff up to my dad. Turns out it’s real, huh?”