Since Liu Chen was going back to Beijing, he naturally mentioned it in their five-person group chat.
Mi Zhuzhu: What the heck, Tsinghua is that harsh? It's only early in the semester! They're already asking people to return to campus?
Lai Jielun: I haven't heard of Tsinghua asking for an early return to campus?
Sang Ling: Maybe the school has some project, the advisor for the project Liu Chen was involved in before, I heard they're starting a new one next semester.
Ren Mo: Then you're going back to Beijing, will you stay at school or...
As soon as Ren Mo asked this, the group chat fell silent. At the same time, the three people in C City, holding their phones, typed furiously in the chat box, then deleted each message one by one.
Mi Zhuzhu, who had been lying on the sofa under a blanket watching TV, sat up abruptly, crossed her legs, and flew her fingers across the phone keyboard.
However, after typing a long message, Mi Zhuzhu's gaze lingered on the words "Beijing Small Squad Group" for a moment, then she deleted everything. Instead, she exited the group chat and opened the private chat with Liu Chen.
Thus, Liu Chen, who was about to "go to sleep," received a soul-searching question from Mi Zhuzhu.
Mi Zhuzhu: Chen Chen, you're going to Beijing, are you going to live with Ren Yu?
Mi Zhuzhu: Although we know Ren Yu inside and out, but... living together is very risky. Look, in our department, there was a senior who was exceptionally brilliant academically. She was originally going to intern at China Central Television.
As a result, she and her boyfriend moved in together outside of school and she got pregnant. Fortunately, both families knew each other, and after discussion, they bought them a one-bedroom apartment as a marital home outside the school. The senior took a one-year leave of absence to have the baby.
Now, the baby is born, and the senior is at home taking care of the child, struggling with domestic chores. Meanwhile, her boyfriend found a job at a TV station in his hometown.
Now he wants to bring the child and the senior back to his hometown.
Mi Zhuzhu didn't continue after sending the QQ message. Seeing this long string of messages, Liu Chen thought of Mi Zhuzhu from his previous life.
"You understand what you want earlier in this life than in your past life."
After sighing, Liu Chen didn't know how to reply to Mi Zhuzhu's question.
Actually, Liu Chen hadn't really thought about letting Ren Yu live in his house before, after all...
Wait, Ren Yu seems to be his boyfriend, and whether it's real or not, he is!
Thinking about his recent obsession with tutoring, which led him to sneak upstairs to "sleep" after every meal, Liu Chen felt a little ashamed.
If he chose not to live with Ren Yu, then...
At least for these twenty-odd days, he really had no time to go on dates with Ren Yu, and perhaps not even time to video call.
What's more, after he announced their relationship on Weibo, he received so many private messages and mentions that his phone became unusable for the Weibo app, so he hadn't logged into his account for several days.
The announcement was made, but to provoke the behind-the-scenes manipulator who habitually created unexpected situations, Liu Chen felt—this level was far from enough.
Showing affection was an effective way to accelerate the opponent's actions.
Moreover, to prevent the other party from monitoring him in secret, Liu Chen couldn't let them see him staying cooped up in his house for more than half a month without going out on dates, right?
Thinking this, Liu Chen suddenly realized that it seemed he had to live with Ren Yu?
Looking at the chat window with Mi Zhuzhu on his phone, after much consideration, Liu Chen finally chose to reply:
Ren Yu will stay in the guest room, don't worry, I won't let a man affect my career! Working hard, working hard!!
Almost two seconds after sending this message, Liu Chen received a reply:
Mi Zhuzhu: Chen Chen, you're done for! I don't care anymore, you must take protective measures!
Liu Chen: Ahem, we've only just confirmed our relationship, it's not that far... but I'll keep it in mind.
Whether Mi Zhuzhu was desperate or felt she had said all she could, she didn't reply for a long time after this message.
Sitting in his chair for two minutes, Liu Chen closed the chat with Mi Zhuzhu and opened the chat with Ren Yu.
But his hands hovered over the phone screen for a while, showing no intention of moving.
"Talking about this on QQ seems a bit insincere?"
Liu Chen pursed his lips and pressed the button on the side of the screen. The screen immediately turned into a dark mirror.
"Click."
He pressed the button on the side of the screen again. The dark mirror lit up, showing the current time.
8:13 PM.
Liu Chen leaned back in his chair, his head tilted slightly back, looking at the ceiling illuminated by the desk lamp with faint edges and shadows, and said with some dejection:
"It's already past eight, Ren Yu might be asleep?"
"Liu Chen, Liu Chen, how old are you? Why are you so hesitant to invite someone to stay in your guest room? You've lived all these years in vain!"
After saying this, Liu Chen suddenly sat up straight in his chair and let out a quick puff of air through his nose.
"Who's afraid of whom!"
He picked up his phone, which was upside down on the table, stood up, and pushed the chair aside. This was the first time in several days that Liu Chen had left his bedroom after dinner in the evening.
Liu Chen descended the stairs quickly and quietly in three steps, arriving at the door of Ren Yu's guest room.
He raised his hand, turned it over, with the back of his hand facing the door, and looked at the door. A myriad of thoughts churned in his mind again.
"What if Ren Yu thinks I'm actively inviting him to live together?"
"Will he think I'm too casual?"
Just as Liu Chen hesitated, the door suddenly opened inward, revealing Ren Yu, wearing a black bathrobe.
His hair was still wet, possibly from a recent shower. Water droplets even trickled down from the ends of his hair, along his neck and shoulders, and into the depths of his open chest.
Having lived for over thirty years, this was the first time he had admired a man's body radiating heat up close, and...
If he wasn't mistaken, what was revealed at the neckline of the bathrobe was—pectoral muscles?
Sensing the gaze fixed on his chest, Ren Yu smiled, clenched his fist, and pretended to cough twice: "Ahem, are you satisfied?"
Realizing he had been staring at Ren Yu's chest for a long time, Liu Chen's cheeks flushed, and his entire mind felt as if it were soaking in a hot spring.
"Um, I, I came to discuss something with you."
Ren Yu leaned casually against the doorframe, his hands in the two pockets of his bathrobe. Because the length was insufficient, his elbows were slightly bent, giving him a relaxed and at ease appearance.
"What is it? If it's going to take a long time to discuss, should I change?"
Seeing Ren Yu's relaxed demeanor, Liu Chen couldn't help but feel a playful urge.
"Um... it's not something that will take a long time, it's just... I want to invite you to live in my place in Beijing with me."