As the saying goes, when at home, rely on your parents; when away, rely on your friends.

When you’re out in the world and out of money, the first option is to borrow from friends.

Rong Yi scrolled through his contact list and found himself with a headache. Among his close friends, one had just gone broke buying a house for their wedding, another was a famously cash-strapped spender, and the third, though a saver, had invested all their money into fixed-term financial products.

Hoping against hope, Rong Yi called the third friend, only to be greeted with an enthusiastic recommendation for a mutual fund. Although the return rate was average, it was very safe and reliable. The friend had invested all their spare money into it and suggested Rong Yi stop wasting money and start planning for the future seriously.

Despairing after hanging up, Rong Yi decided to post a message on his social media, asking if anyone was flush with cash and could lend him some for a while.

When posting it, he made sure to block a few people from seeing it—like his parents, Chen Keyao, and some coworkers, as well as the newly acquainted Zhou Li.

He blocked his parents because he didn’t want them to worry. Ever since graduating and moving to a different city, his parents had been constantly concerned about him. Rong Yi had long gotten used to only sharing good news with them. Unless he was truly out of options, he didn’t want to alarm them unnecessarily.

As for Chen Keyao, it was simply too embarrassing. Borrowing rent money from your landlord? How ridiculous would that sound?

And Zhou Li—though Rong Yi liked this Omega, he still worried that Zhou Li might have lingering feelings beyond friendship for him. Zhou Li had mentioned before that he was strapped for cash, and Rong Yi was afraid he would tighten his belt even more to help. As mere friends, how could he ever repay such a debt?

To his surprise, within five minutes of posting, his mom called.

She asked him what was going on—everything seemed fine before, so why was he suddenly asking to borrow money?

Rong Yi was dumbfounded.

At first, he thought someone had leaked the news. While trying to respond to his mom, he reopened his social media and realized what had happened. His heart sank. He had mistakenly set the post to be visible only to the very people he had meant to block.

Panic-stricken, he quickly deleted the post, praying that no one else had seen it. It was mortifying enough to imagine some of his colleagues discovering his desperate financial situation.

On the phone, his mom was equally alarmed.

As a retired woman with an active imagination, she asked if he had taken out some shady loan or gotten involved in a pyramid scheme.

Initially, Rong Yi tried to cover it up, but when his mom started worrying that he might end up unemployed and destitute on the streets, he had no choice but to come clean.

As expected, a round of nagging followed.

To prove that he not only had a place to stay but was also living comfortably, Rong Yi turned on his phone’s camera and gave her a tour of his apartment, including the living room. Just as he was about to head back to his room, Chen Keyao’s door suddenly opened.

“What are you doing?” Chen Keyao asked.

At the same time, his mom’s voice rang out from the phone: “Oh my goodness!”

Rong Yi’s head ached instantly.

“Who is that? Why are they living with you? Don’t block the camera—let me see! What are you up to?”

As Rong Yi pressed his phone to his chest, rushed back to his room, and slammed the door shut, he heard Chen Keyao’s voice behind him: “Hello, Auntie!”

Though unnecessary, after closing the door, Rong Yi crouched down and lowered his voice even more.

“Mom, stop overthinking. That’s just my landlord,” he said, looking at his phone. “Can you act a little more mature for your age?”

“I’m not overthinking,” his mom said with a big smile, “but I know my son can’t help but have certain thoughts when living with a landlord like that.”

“…”

As the saying goes, no one knows a child better than their mother.

Rong Yi’s mom knew all too well what her son was like when he was crushing on someone.

“I really don’t have any feelings for him,” Rong Yi’s face flushed. “Don’t be fooled by how good my landlord looks—he’s actually got a few screws loose.”

His mom immediately furrowed her brow.

“…Harmless screws loose,” Rong Yi quickly added. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Oh…” She nodded. “But just in case, if you really can’t control yourself, don’t force anything on him. And remember to take precautions, okay?”

“…”

“How much money do you need? I’ll have your dad send it over tomorrow,” she continued. “And delete that post—it’s embarrassing.”

“…” Rong Yi averted his eyes. “It’s already deleted.”

In the end, despite moving away from home, he still had to rely on his parents.

Rong Yi felt warmth in his heart, but also some embarrassment. Yet he couldn’t help but be grateful that, for the moment, he had escaped this financial crisis.

After hanging up and reflecting for a while, his phone buzzed again. Rong Yi assumed it was another message from his mom but was shocked when he checked it.

Chen Keyao had sent him a WeChat transfer—a substantial amount.

Rong Yi rushed to knock on Chen Keyao’s door.

“Why did you suddenly send me money?”

“For food,” Chen Keyao was still holding his phone. “Didn’t we agree you’d cook, and I’d pay? You’ve been fronting the money so far, right?”

Rong Yi hesitated for a moment. “But this is more than the rent… You could just deduct it from that. No need to send it separately.”

“Let’s keep things separate. Mixing it up can get confusing.”

“…But,” Rong Yi felt conflicted, “it doesn’t really cost that much for groceries.”

“Really?” Chen Keyao was surprised. “I never buy groceries, so I wouldn’t know. But when I used to hire an auntie just to cook, it cost about this much, and she didn’t even clean the living room. Plus, her cooking wasn’t as good as yours.”

“…”

“Too much, huh?” Chen Keyao said. “Then give it back.”

Rong Yi stared at his face for a moment, frowning, then silently returned to his room.

He was tempted to ask if Chen Keyao had seen the social media post he had accidentally made visible. But the words felt too awkward, so he swallowed them back down.

After lying in bed for a while, he hesitated, then sent a message to Chen Keyao, who was just in the next room.

“What do you usually like to eat?”

The money from Chen Keyao was a lifesaver. After all, to avoid worrying his parents, he had downplayed the actual amount of his debt.

The next day at work, even a colleague he wasn’t that close to approached him during lunch to discreetly ask if he needed any help. Rong Yi, touched, politely declined the offer.

It seemed like his luck had turned after hitting rock bottom. As they say, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Looking back on the encounter with the thief, it had been incredibly dangerous, but he’d come out unscathed and even managed to survive what he thought would be the toughest financial crisis.

And recently, maybe thanks to Zhou Li, the balding client from the Alpha company had become much easier to deal with. The whole team’s work was progressing smoothly, and they were on track to finish ahead of schedule, which meant time off and a hefty bonus.

With everything going so well, it wouldn’t be surprising if a perfect Alpha suddenly appeared in his life and fell in love with him, right?

While the perfect Alpha hadn’t appeared just yet, there was a pretty great Omega right in front of him.

Zhou Li had been venting his frustrations, saying he suspected he was being harassed at work. One of his Alpha superiors had recently been calling him into the office alone for “discussions” and acting overly familiar, touching him unnecessarily while talking. It made Zhou Li uncomfortable, but confronting the superior felt tricky since the behavior hadn’t crossed any obvious lines.

“Send me a picture!” Zhou Li said over the phone. “I’ll set it as my desktop wallpaper so he’ll see it. Maybe that’ll make him back off.”

Rong Yi thought for a moment. “How about I come pick you up from work this weekend?”

Chen Keyao had class that day, so he didn’t need to go home and cook. Besides, Rong Yi had been feeling a bit cooped up lately and wanted to go out with a friend.

Zhou Li was thrilled. “Yes, yes! Come! I’ll treat you to dinner!”

Rong Yi had gotten so good at pretending to be an Omega’s partner that it made even him feel sorry for himself.

Growing up, he’d done this so many times. Aside from helping friends fend off unwanted suitors, he’d also helped those who, due to their average looks, struggled to attract attention from others. His arms had been affectionately wrapped around by many Omegas over the years, and the feeling was hard to describe.

But for reasons even he couldn’t fully explain, despite feeling sorry for himself, whenever a friend needed something like this, he was always the first to volunteer without hesitation.

Rong Yi prepped carefully before heading out, and as soon as he arrived at Zhou Li’s office building, an unfamiliar Omega approached him to flirt.

Just as Rong Yi was about to decline, Zhou Li emerged from the building, accompanied by a slightly chubby Alpha. Watching Zhou Li dash over to Rong Yi like a bird set free, then grab onto his arm, the Alpha’s expression immediately changed.

“Darling!” Zhou Li’s over-the-top act left Rong Yi momentarily speechless. “You didn’t even tell me you were coming to pick me up! What a surprise!”

“…” Rong Yi felt the urge to laugh but held it in. “That’s why it’s called a surprise.”

Zhou Li then turned to the Omega who had approached Rong Yi. “Excuse me, do you have any business with my boyfriend?”

The Omega quickly retreated.

Zhou Li gave Rong Yi a sly smile before turning back to wave at the Alpha still standing in the doorway. “My boyfriend’s here to pick me up, Manager Li, so you don’t need to trouble yourself with giving me a ride!”

Rong Yi smiled politely at the pudgy Manager Li, perfectly playing along.

Just as they were about to slip away, the frowning manager suddenly called out, “Rong Yi? Are you Rong Yi?”

Rong Yi’s heart skipped a beat, and he stiffly turned around.

Zhou Li, sensing the tension, also became nervous.

“You know him?” Zhou Li asked in a whisper.

Rong Yi stared at the slightly round face in front of him, racking his brain. The guy did seem vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t place him.

So he couldn’t be anyone too important, right? Rong Yi hesitated, wondering if he should just deny knowing him.

In the brief moment of hesitation, the man furrowed his brow and stepped closer.

“You don’t remember me?” he said. “I’m Li Xiaoran.”

Rong Yi blinked twice, and then, suddenly, terrible memories came rushing back.

“You really know him?” Zhou Li asked again.

Know him? That’s an understatement.

Rong Yi felt like he wanted to bury his face in the ground.

He’d actually pursued this guy back in the day.