Rong Yi swayed behind him for a while before walking over and crouching down beside him.

He reached out and patted Chen Keyao’s back. “Did you drink too much?”

Chen Keyao finally stopped, wiped his mouth with his hand, and looked up at Rong Yi.

His expression was very complicated, but he didn’t say anything.

Rong Yi squinted at him. “Hey, want me to help you?”

Before Chen Keyao could even answer, Rong Yi stood up abruptly. But as soon as he stretched out his hand, the whole world suddenly spun. Rong Yi staggered, barely able to keep his balance, and just as he was about to fall on his butt, he was suddenly grabbed.

“Aren’t you the one who said you were going to help me?” Chen Keyao looked at him, half laughing, half crying. “Where exactly were you headed?”

When Rong Yi woke up the next day, it was already almost afternoon.

The hangover was miserable. His head felt especially heavy, dizzy, and faintly aching.

He stared blankly at the ceiling for a long while before he finally remembered that he had brought someone home yesterday. But now, after scanning the room, there was no one else around.

As he was wondering, the door handle carefully twisted open. Someone tiptoed in, taking half a step into the room, then relaxed after making eye contact with him.

Zhou Li smiled at him, then turned toward the door and shouted, “He’s finally awake!”

“…Who are you talking to?” Rong Yi asked.

Zhou Li sat down in the chair by the bed. “Your roommate.”

There were two bathrooms in this place, one in Chen Keyao’s room and another shared one connected to the living room hallway. Rong Yi’s room didn’t have its own bathroom.

Zhou Li said that he had woken up around noon, really needing to use the restroom and freshen up, but Rong Yi was still fast asleep, so he had gone exploring on his own.

The bathroom wasn’t hard to find, but he didn’t have any toiletries. All he could do was rinse his mouth with water and wipe his face with tissue paper.

“And when I opened the door and walked out into the living room, I saw someone, and it scared the hell out of me!” Zhou Li said, gesturing toward his own face. “So tall, such a fierce expression, and there was this huge scar across his face!”

“Pfft—”

Rong Yi couldn’t hold back his laughter.

Chen Keyao, when silent and frowning slightly, did look a bit intimidating. But not too long ago, you wouldn’t associate him with the word “fierce” at all.

It’s just that he’d recently gotten a wound on his face, which had just scabbed over. Ever since the bandages came off, a dark red scar ran across half his face, making him look very noticeable. Combined with his strong build, he was now just a gold chain away from looking like a gang boss.

For someone like Zhou Li, who was already biased against Alphas, this was like encountering a menace.

Just as Rong Yi was about to explain for Chen Keyao, Zhou Li continued, “But honestly, your roommate is actually really nice!”

It turned out that after a few moments of staring at each other, the scarred guy had suddenly asked him if he needed a toothbrush.

After that, Chen Keyao had brought him a disposable toothbrush and a face towel. And when he ordered breakfast delivery, he had even ordered an extra portion for Zhou Li.

“We ate together and chatted for a while,” Zhou Li said. “He’s actually pretty interesting to talk to. You really can’t judge a book by its cover.”

Rong Yi suddenly felt worried. “You don’t have a crush on him, do you?”

“Huh?” Zhou Li was startled and shook his head vigorously. “Don’t talk nonsense!”

“…It’s rare to hear you speak so highly of an Alpha,” Rong Yi looked at him suspiciously. “You’ve been pursued by plenty of Alphas, right? Some must have gone out of their way to impress you too.”

“It’s different. I feel like it’s obvious he doesn’t have any interest in me,” Zhou Li said. “That’s why it’s so comfortable being around him. Some people are so obviously trying to please you that it just feels awkward.”

Rong Yi hesitated for a moment. “Just in case, I have to warn you, don’t—”

“Hahaha,” Zhou Li suddenly laughed. “I know, he told me he’s not into Omegas, only Alphas.”

Rong Yi could see that they really hit it off.

Zhou Li seemed a bit peculiar, as if he hated being pursued by anyone. Rong Yi suspected that the only reason Zhou Li was still a bit fixated on him was because of how thoroughly Rong Yi had rejected him when they first met.

If he ever met someone who happily accepted him and was very forward, Zhou Li would probably toss them aside without a second thought.

For a moment, Rong Yi forgot about his own eternal singledom and started worrying about Zhou Li. At this rate, this guy might never find a partner.

As he was mulling over this, Zhou Li suddenly lowered his voice and asked sneakily, “Hey, can I ask you something? You have to answer honestly.”

Rong Yi became alert. “Depends on what you ask.”

“Do you… have a thing for your roommate?” Zhou Li asked.

Rong Yi almost had a knee-jerk reaction, his voice instantly rising several decibels. “Of course not!”

Zhou Li was startled by his outburst. “If you don’t, you don’t! Why are you so worked up?”

Rong Yi looked away. “Even if every Alpha on the planet disappeared, I still wouldn’t have feelings for him.”

Zhou Li just stared at him.

Rong Yi felt guilty. “What?”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Zhou Li said. “What’s wrong with you? You can have feelings for that fat guy, but you don’t feel anything for an Alpha like your roommate? Are you judging based on attractiveness or the opposite?”

What’s going on? I only slept a few extra hours, and this guy seems to have turned against me.

“I’m not trying to stir things up. It’s just… didn’t you say you were struggling to find a partner? He likes Alphas, and you basically look like one, don’t you?”

“…”

Rong Yi was extremely uncomfortable.

“I’m just thinking out loud. You’re never going to consider Omegas anyway, and instead of going for those random, hopeless types, why not someone like your roommate? I think you two match pretty well, but if you’re not interested, then forget it.”

It wasn’t a matter of being interested or not. But because of their messy past, Rong Yi found it hard to talk about. So, he decided not to explain further.

“By the way…” Zhou Li licked his lips, “Sorry if I overstepped, but when he asked me what our relationship was earlier, I lied and told him you were my boyfriend.”

Rong Yi hesitated for a moment and finally couldn’t help but ask, “…What was his reaction?”

“He complimented you, said you were great, and told us to take care of each other,” Zhou Li replied sheepishly. “If you don’t want him to get the wrong idea, we can explain it later.”

Zhou Li didn’t realize that his suggestion put Rong Yi in a tough spot.

Even though he and Chen Keyao seemed to be getting along fine now, their past still weighed heavily on his mind. He didn’t want anyone, not even as a joke, to think he still had feelings for Chen Keyao.

So he couldn’t bring himself to clear up the misunderstanding.

It would be so awkward to go to Chen Keyao and say, “We’re not a couple, don’t get the wrong idea.”

As he was caught up in his thoughts, the door suddenly knocked.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Chen Keyao poked his head in from outside. “There’s one more pancake, want me to heat it up for you?”

Rong Yi didn’t want to eat something as greasy as a pancake.

The hangover had left him with no appetite, and his mood was dropping too. By the time he finished freshening up and walked to the kitchen, just the smell of food made his stomach churn.

Chen Keyao had microwaved the pancake and was proudly offering it to him. “Here, eat up, come on.”

Rong Yi took it and set it aside, then opened the fridge to see if there was anything else.

“You’re not eating it?” Chen Keyao looked disappointed.

“My yogurt from two days ago is gone,” Rong Yi turned to look at him. “It was on the door. Did you drink it?”

Chen Keyao paused. “…Uh.”

Rong Yi frowned. “My stomach feels off. I can’t eat this.”

The yogurt thief, Chen Keyao, looked very guilty. “I’ll go buy you some now.”

Before Rong Yi could stop him, Chen Keyao’s phone rang.

“Right now? Sure… How long until you get here? Got it. Oh, wait, wait, wait. Could you pick up some yogurt from the convenience store on your way? Yeah, just a can. Thanks. Hold on a sec…” Chen Keyao turned to Rong Yi. “Do you need anything else?”

Rong Yi mouthed, “Your friend?”

“Liu Yuan,” Chen Keyao said. “So no need to be shy.”

Apparently, an old buddy from Chen Keyao’s dorm had recently gone back to his hometown and brought back a bunch of local specialties. He gave Chen Keyao’s portion to Liu Yuan, asking him to deliver it when he had time.

For some reason, Rong Yi felt a little awkward hearing this.

It was said that Chen Keyao had pursued two out of the four people in his dorm back then, yet he was still on good terms with his roommates. Unbelievable. Maybe all the open-minded Alphas in their school had coincidentally ended up in the same dorm.

Since Chen Keyao’s friend was coming over, Zhou Li took the initiative to leave.

Rong Yi wanted to invite him to stay for dinner, but Zhou Li said he hadn’t showered the night before and felt uncomfortable. Even though they were both Omegas, Rong Yi’s size was too different from his, so lending him clothes wasn’t an option.

Rong Yi walked him to the elevator. Just as the elevator arrived and Chen Keyao was nowhere to be seen, Zhou Li leaned in and whispered to him.

“Hey, how do two Alphas even date? Wouldn’t it be really painful for them when they get intimate?”

Alphas are naturally repelled by the scent of the same sex’s pheromones. It was common knowledge. So theoretically, if two Alphas were together long-term, it’d have to be platonic.

Rong Yi didn’t know much about this. “How would I know…”

“So for someone like you, an Omega, you’d be the perfect match for him, right?” Zhou Li said.

“Why are you suddenly so…”

“Just saying,” Zhou Li shrugged. “I think he’s pretty great. Instead of watching you stumble around, why not…”

As they were talking, the elevator doors opened.

Someone stood inside.

“Rong Yi, did you come to greet me?”

Liu Yuan stepped out with two plastic bags, grinning. But as soon as his gaze shifted to Zhou Li, he froze.

“I’ll head off then,” Zhou Li turned and waved to Rong Yi before stepping into the elevator.

Just as he was about to press the button for the ground floor, Liu Yuan, who had just stepped out, suddenly darted back into the elevator.

“Where are you going? Ground floor, right? Let me press it for you!”