While Cen Wei was out walking the dog, Chu Lai stayed home to deal with the work problems that had piled up from his day off. Liu Yuan sent him several messages asking how things went.

As Chu Lai reviewed the documents sent by the intern, he replied to Liu Yuan: “It was alright.”

Liu Yuan, eager for gossip, saw that Chu Lai had responded, so he simply called him.

Chu Lai answered the call directly on his computer.

Liu Yuan: “What do you mean by ‘alright’? Was it easy dealing with the big boss’s parents?”

Chu Lai usually ignored work messages after hours, but this issue involved the intern under his supervision. Even though he had taken the day off, he still had to clean up their mess. The intern was on the internal software, nervously awaiting a response from Chu Lai, terrified of upsetting him. However, the other colleagues reassured the intern, telling him not to worry.

“Your boss has never gotten angry.”

Chu Lai didn’t even show much emotional reaction when he was cheated on and dumped, let alone getting mad over work. As the sound of typing and mouse clicks could be heard from Chu Lai’s side, Liu Yuan chuckled: “Are you gaming?”

Chu Lai replied, “Overtime.”

Liu Yuan winced: “It must have been your so-called husband who gave you a ride back, right?”

Chu Lai: “He’s walking my dog.”

Liu Yuan: “Wait, did I hear that right? He hasn’t gone home yet?”

Chu Lai: “Since I had to work, he offered to walk the dog.”

Liu Yuan, much sharper when it came to relationships than Chu Lai, clicked his tongue twice: “I think you two have potential.”

Chu Lai’s expression remained unchanged as he stared at his screen. The one-bedroom apartment wasn’t large. There was a motion-sensor light by the entrance, and Chu Lai did his work at a desk near the window, the only light coming from his computer screen.

“What potential? It’s a straightforward deal between us.”

Liu Yuan: “But his parents don’t seem to think so. You didn’t get any hard time from them, did you?”

Chu Lai leaned back in his chair. It was a bit chilly outside in early autumn, but the room was still warm. He had taken off his jacket, the sleeves of his thin sweatshirt covering half of his hands as he curled up in his chair.

“No, nothing like that,” Chu Lai replied.

Liu Yuan: “That’s good. I still remember how Shen Quanzhang’s parents treated you.”

Clearly, the impression Shen Quanzhang had left on Liu Yuan was deep, and he continued ranting about him for quite a while. Chu Lai, meanwhile, treated Liu Yuan’s complaints as background noise, occasionally responding with a word or two.

When Cen Wei returned, he rang the doorbell, and the little dog, seemingly tired from playing, sat quietly on the doormat outside.

All the apartment doors in this complex looked similar. Last time, Cen Wei hadn’t paid much attention, but this time he noticed that Chu Lai’s doormat was quite amusing, with sections labeled for “takeout” and “tip money.”

As someone who rarely browsed silly internet trends, the umbrella company boss hadn’t seen the recently popular item. When Chu Lai opened the door, he saw the words “takeout” right where the dog was sitting, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

Liu Yuan: “That doorbell of yours scared me to death.”

Chu Lai was startled too, “I’ve told you not to ring the doorbell.”

Liu Yuan chuckled: “It’s Cen Wei coming back from walking the dog, isn’t it? You two are married now, don’t be so distant. Why not register his fingerprint?”

Chu Lai didn’t respond and went to open the door.

The dog rushed inside, heading straight for its water bowl while still dragging its leash behind. Cen Wei didn’t expect the dog to move so fast and almost tripped on the leash, but Chu Lai caught him just in time. “Watch it,” he said.

Chu Lai had also taken off his sweatshirt, leaving him in a loose shirt with the collar open to his collarbone, making it seem as though he had borrowed someone else’s shirt.

He barely touched Cen Wei, just steadying him briefly before leaning against the door frame. As Cen Wei was about to step inside, Chu Lai said, “Hold on.”

The only light in the room was from the desk lamp. The motion-sensor light at the entrance flickered briefly. Cen Wei asked, “Are you kicking me out?”

Chu Lai didn’t understand how he reached that conclusion, but he suddenly realized that with two men squeezed into the entryway, the space felt significantly smaller.

“Come over here and register your fingerprint.”

Chu Lai grabbed his phone and noticed that the WeChat call on his computer was still ongoing—Liu Yuan was still listening in.

Chu Lai hung up without hesitation.

Almost immediately, his phone buzzed with a message from Liu Yuan, an emoji of a winking face with the text: [Not going to disturb your long, romantic night.]

“Long, romantic night?” Chu Lai thought to himself, opening the app for the electronic lock and starting the fingerprint registration process. The AI voice prompted him for action, and Chu Lai turned to look at Cen Wei.

“You?”

“Who else?”

Chu Lai handed the phone to Cen Wei, tossing out, “Figure it out yourself,” before going to untangle the dog’s leash, making it clear that people were more important than dogs.

Holding the unfamiliar phone in his hand, Cen Wei couldn’t help but feel that he was being trusted without question. He thought to himself, “Is he really this careless?”

Registering the fingerprint was quick. Before Chu Lai even finished talking to Da Cai, Cen Wei had already closed the door and walked over.

“You’re not worried at all. What if I took your phone and did something with it?”

No matter how many times Chu Lai moved, he always left a spacious corner for the dog, complete with all sorts of dog food, fish oil, and treats. As he wiped his hands and took the phone back, he replied, “I don’t have as much money as you, so you won’t need to take out a loan using my identity.”

That was true.

Just as Cen Wei was about to say something, Chu Lai, after wiping his hands, looked up at him, “We’re married, aren’t we? Why would I need to guard against you?”

Although this statement was based on their agreement marriage, Chu Lai’s tendency to drop words made it sound almost heartless to Cen Wei.

With nothing to say, Cen Wei just shrugged and nodded.

Chu Lai added, “I also sent you the passcode, so don’t ring the doorbell next time.”

Turning back to his computer, Chu Lai sank into his chair like someone sinking into a soft bed, his voice tinged with complaint, “The doorbell on this lock is ridiculously loud, like a church bell—it gives me a headache.”

For some reason, that made Cen Wei want to laugh.

The cake he had brought back from the Cen family was placed in the fridge, while the snack gift boxes were left on the small, cluttered table. Chu Lai’s couch was piled with stuffed toys, and the wall was adorned with puzzle art from some sports anime. The bookshelf beside the couch was filled with single-volume manga, several of which Cen Wei recognized as the same sets he had at home.

Though the one-bedroom apartment was small, it felt cozy, like a place where you could easily sit down, stretch out, and grab something relaxing within arm’s reach.

After forwarding the files, Chu Lai closed the work page. He had skipped today’s livestream, and his account’s activity feed was filled with old fans wailing in despair.

Seeing the account online again, more private messages flooded in.

Exhausted from the day, Chu Lai had no energy to play games. He shut off the computer and turned to see that Cen Wei was still standing there. “You’re not leaving?”

The hint to leave was obvious, but the way Chu Lai said it didn’t come off as rude.

Cen Wei nodded, “I’ll leave now.”

Chu Lai stood up to see him off, but suddenly, there was a clap of thunder, and a flash of lightning illuminated the floor-to-ceiling windows, already covered in raindrops. His phone, sitting nearby, flashed with a heavy rain warning.

The dog, scared of thunder, huddled up against the nearest person—Cen Wei.

As he rubbed the dog’s head and picked up his car keys from the table, about to speak, Chu Lai’s phone vibrated again.

He glanced at it. The message was from the WeChat contact he had just added today.

It was from Cen Wei’s mom.

Chu Lai looked at Cen Wei, who noticed his expression and asked, “What’s wrong?”

There were several voice messages. Chu Lai handed the phone to him, “Here, listen.”

After Chu Lai and Cen Wei had left, it had already gotten late. The elders in the Cen family usually went to bed early, but Xuan Rongqing, lost in old memories, had taken a bath and noticed she hadn’t heard from Cen Wei, so she messaged Chu Lai instead.

Chu Lai asked, “Did you forget to tell your family you got home?”

Chu Lai had no close family. Though his mother was still around, she had her own family now, so whenever he returned home, there was no one he needed to report to.

His tone was casual, but it reminded Cen Wei of Chu Lai’s expression at the dinner table.

He had met many people, some of whom were also indifferent to relationships, but Chu Lai was different. His needs were strange, but he wasn’t greedy. His reminder now seemed even more out of place given his background.

“It was my oversight,” Cen Wei admitted.

Chu Lai pressed his lips together, “You can use my phone to reply.”

Clearly uncomfortable with so many voice messages, Chu Lai slumped onto the couch, grabbing a nearby tablet to play with.

This home was the kind of place where you could just lie down anywhere, completely different from Cen Wei’s own apartment.

“Can I sit down?” Cen Wei asked.

Chu Lai glanced at him with a touch of disdain, “You’ve already slept in my bed, why be so formal now?”

Cen Wei: …

Fair enough.

The voice messages from Xuan Rongqing were for Chu Lai, so when Cen Wei played them, both of them could hear.

“Se Se, did you and Ah Wei make it home?”

“I saw it started raining, and it’s really coming down.”

Chu Lai glanced outside. Thunder boomed, and the little dog jumped onto the couch, snuggling up to Chu Lai as he absentmindedly continued his tablet game.

The city they lived in was large, and it wasn’t unusual for the weather to vary significantly between districts. You could board the subway in sunny skies at the first stop and step out into a downpour at the last.

This storm likely started in the district where the Cen family lived.

“I’m sorry for bringing up such a heavy topic earlier. I just hope…”

Xuan Rongqing’s voice was gentle, even through a voice message, and her sincerity was almost palpable.

It confirmed what Cen Wei had suspected—his mother had indeed told Chu Lai about his father.

If Chu Lai were truly someone Cen Wei loved and married, such a thing would have already been shared long ago.

But Chu Lai wasn’t.

The atmosphere grew awkward.

Chu Lai continued petting the dog until it started snoring. Since the couch wasn’t very large, the two men sitting side by side, along with the cushions and various stuffed toys, made the space feel even more cramped.

Da Cai, clearly content, wagged its tail, brushing against Cen Wei’s arm.

The sound of rain and thunder filled the air—it was getting late.

“I…” Cen Wei started to say something.

But before he could finish, his phone buzzed again. Earlier, he had used Chu Lai’s phone to send a message to his mom, telling her they had arrived at the apartment. Now, Xuan Rongqing had replied.

“If I’m not mistaken, Se Se’s apartment is quite far from yours, isn’t it?”

“You two should rest early, Ah Wei, make sure to send Se Se to work tomorrow.”

Cen Wei hesitated.

Instead, Chu Lai glanced at him, “Do you still have something to do?”

“Why?” Cen Wei asked.

“I thought you seemed reluctant, so I figured you had another date or something.”

Chu Lai’s personality and tone often had a sarcastic edge, and at that moment, Cen Wei felt like he was being teased.

But as Chu Lai lounged on the couch, playing on his tablet, he had removed his glasses at some point, and from where Cen Wei was sitting, both the man and the cozy atmosphere of the apartment seemed too fitting to be called anything other than “home.”

Amused, Cen Wei chuckled, “What date could I possibly have?”

Chu Lai nodded, “Well, you should wash up and sleep. Just do what you did last time—I won’t say more.”

His tablet let out game sound effects, and Chu Lai didn’t even look up at him, giving instructions clearly, “Your mom mentioned you like to get up early to exercise. If you wake up earlier than me, could you take Da Cai for a walk?”

His voice was lazy, “I want to sleep in a bit.”

“Sure,” replied Cen Wei.

“But my building doesn’t have a gym, so you’ll have to make do.”

The way Chu Lai phrased it made Cen Wei burst out laughing, “Make do with what?”

Chu Lai reached out, though he didn’t touch him, just traced the outline of his arm from a distance, “A body like that doesn’t need daily workouts? I hear fitness is addictive.”

“It’s not that addictive.”

Cen Wei thought to himself, “Your addiction is the one I’ve never heard of.”

Chu Lai gave a dismissive “Mm” then sank back further into the couch, seeming annoyed that Cen Wei was taking up too much space. “Go take a shower and get to bed. I’ll keep playing for a bit.”

Unable to resist, Cen Wei reminded him, “Don’t hold the screen so close to your eyes.”

Chu Lai grumbled, “You’re so annoying.”

Cen Wei thought to himself, “Who said he doesn’t have a temper? Seems like he has quite the attitude after all.”