6 Keys

Chapter 6

A few days passed with occasional bickering. Although his mood remained unaffected, Xuan Congnan was someone who disliked trouble. He wanted to completely detach himself from the Xuan family.

Now alone, even if he moved out, Zhuo Yajun would still say that whether alive or dead, he belonged to the Xuan family.

Forget it. Overall, life was still stable, and he hoped it would stay that way.

The morning breeze brushed his face as Xuan Congnan jogged along the lakeside in the park, wearing long sleeves and pants. His forehead was damp with sweat.

Before leaving, he had asked Gu Shi if he wanted to join the run, but Gu Shi replied, “I can’t go out.”

Xuan Congnan had asked just out of courtesy and simply nodded upon hearing that, not interested in probing further.

When changing into his running shoes, he thought of the twenty thousand yuan. Looking up, he said, “What do you want to eat? I’ll bring breakfast back.”

Gu Shi replied, “Whatever you eat, I’ll eat.”

Last night’s seaweed rice rolls were unfinished and still in the small fridge, which could serve as part of the breakfast.

Otherwise, it would be a waste, especially in the heat.

Gu Shi’s comment, “Fair enough,” struck a chord with him. Being treated as a substitute for someone else’s ex-boyfriend, that was indeed a fair breakup.

“Xiao Xuan, out jogging again?” The elderly folks doing morning exercises in the neighborhood waved and greeted him.

Xuan Congnan waved back, “Yeah.”

As he ran a few meters away, one elderly woman said to the man beside her, “This kid is really disciplined.”

The lake’s surface rippled gently in the breeze. Xuan Congnan took a deep breath of fresh air and felt he could run a couple more laps.

A long queue had formed outside the breakfast shop. Young women hurried toward the subway station, munching on sandwiches. Taxis waited by the roadside for customers. Xuan Congnan’s eyes scanned the scenes of daily life before him.

Suddenly, he wondered: if Gu Shi were here, would he be looked at the same way those people looked at him last night?

When leaving the police station, Officer Li had said, “Wear your mask properly, and don’t cause traffic jams.”

Xuan Congnan gradually slowed, bent over, and rested his hands on his knees.

After catching his breath, he straightened and took out his phone, opening the browser to search for the name “Gu Shi.”

No TikTok, no Weibo, no games—his phone was too slow, and he never downloaded useless apps.

Three minutes later, Xuan Congnan looked at the basic information the browser displayed and stood silently for a moment.

A top-tier celebrity, actor.

Over 60 million fans.

He brushed a strand of damp hair back and scratched his forehead with his index finger, recalling a classmate’s remark: “Your CPU is overheating.”

Being involved with someone like that—even if only sharing a place for a month—if his fans or the media found out, could he still live peacefully afterward?

Thinking back to this morning when Xuan Zhuoyao came over, Xuan Congnan felt a pang of fear.

If he hadn’t made sure Gu Shi locked the door upon returning to the bedroom, Xuan Zhuoyao’s big mouth would have spread the news.

No, he couldn’t allow such a dangerous, unpredictable factor in the house.

Xuan Congnan opened his balance and stared at the twenty thousand yuan that had just been deposited yesterday, preparing to return it to Gu Shi.

He hated to part with the money—he needed to save.

He then checked his bank account, which showed a balance of 688,512.88 yuan.

Adding the twenty thousand just now, that made a little over seven hundred thousand.

It had taken six years to save this much; every penny was hard-earned. He needed more.

At this rate, when would he save twenty million? When would he be able to…

Perhaps, that was impossible in this lifetime.

Without these twenty thousand, progress would have been even slower.

The order on the shopping app showed the simple wooden bed and mattress, one point two meters wide, purchased last night, had already shipped.

Xuan Congnan thought about it—Gu Shi would only stay for a month. It would be over soon.

Later, when he returned home empty-handed, he pushed open the door and saw Gu Shi in the living room on the phone. Remembering he forgot to buy breakfast, he clenched the door handle and pulled it sharply, stepping back and shutting the door loudly as he left.

Gu Shi’s attempt to call “Congnan” went unheard; the person was already gone.

“Gu Shi? Where are you now? Don’t disappear on me, please!” the agent’s voice was hoarse.

After filming a commercial endorsement yesterday afternoon, Gu Shi was supposed to go home that night. Instead, he performed a real-life vanishing act and was unreachable, frightening the agent terribly.

The agent said, “You still have work today, come back!”

The agent rattled on, but Gu Shi didn’t listen, saying, “Something came up, gotta hang up.”

Xuan Congnan’s expression grew wary, as if something was beyond his understanding. Fearing Gu Shi might vanish for good, he grabbed a mask from the table and was about to chase after him.

The door opened from the inside; Xuan Congnan reached for the handle but found it empty, raising his eyes in confusion.

Downstairs, he had bought some steamed buns and two cups of eight-treasure porridge. Standing in the doorway, he and Gu Shi looked at each other silently.

Xuan Congnan was the first to react, quickly pushing Gu Shi back into the living room.

“Are you going out? Is someone coming to pick you up?”

“No,” Gu Shi answered.

Xuan Congnan raised an eyebrow. “Then why go out in broad daylight just to be stared at like a monkey?”

Gu Shi removed his mask. “I thought you weren’t coming back because you looked bad.”

Xuan Congnan’s expression grew stranger. “This is my home.”

Gu Shi replied, “Indeed.”

“There are still some sushi in the fridge, and here are buns and porridge,” Xuan Congnan placed the breakfast on the table. “If you’re still hungry, you can buy something yourself.”

“I’m full,” Gu Shi said.

“I’m all sweaty from running. I’m going to shower,” Xuan Congnan went into the bedroom and locked the door. About twenty minutes later, he came out.

Not bothering to dry his damp hair, he sat on the sofa wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt and light blue jeans, biting into a meat bun. He took the initiative to break the silence.

“I’m not very tech-savvy.”

Water droplets formed on the ends of his hair and dripped onto his shirt. Gu Shi raised his eyes. “Huh?”

Xuan Congnan understood. “You surf the internet?”

Xuan Congnan used a straw to poke at a cup of porridge. “I prefer a quiet life.”

Gu Shi said, “I’m very quiet.”

“I know,” Xuan Congnan sipped the porridge. “But your status is special. I don’t have time to follow online stuff, and I don’t watch TV—people like me who don’t know you are rare. If others see you here…”

“I behave,” Gu Shi interrupted, “I won’t let others see.”

That didn’t sound like a typical roommate… Xuan Congnan glanced at him.

He couldn’t understand what drove Gu Shi to so resolutely live here. Xuan Congnan had lived here for almost three years, yet today it felt like he had just moved in, quietly observing the apartment’s layout. Nothing unusual—unless there was gold or diamonds under the floorboards?

Xuan Congnan said, “The bed’s bought. You can stay here. But there are ground rules.”

Gu Shi sat up straight. “Go ahead.”

“First, when you leave for work from my place, you must be fully covered and leave quickly. No one can find out.”

“Second, though we agree to share the place as roommates for a month, we might run into each other outside. If that happens, you can’t acknowledge me or greet me, and I won’t do the same.”

Gu Shi lowered his eyes. “Okay.”

“Third, you can’t tell anyone you’re living here.”

Xuan Congnan glanced at the table. “Your phone is vibrating.”

Gu Shi came back to himself and answered the call.

Turning the volume up, Xuan Congnan, standing close, could hear some voices on the other end.

It didn’t sound important, as Gu Shi didn’t move away to take the call privately.

The agent’s voice came through angrily: “Gu Shi, how dare you hang up! Why aren’t you answering my calls!”

Gu Shi took a bun from a plastic bag and ate it with the elegance of savoring French steak.

Calm and poised.

His voice was cold. “Didn’t hear it.”

The agent yelled, “Where are you?! Tell me! I’ll come get you! Stop messing around!”

“Friend’s place. You can’t come,” Gu Shi sipped the porridge slowly.

“How do you have friends here without me knowing? Stop lying!” the agent asked. “Why can’t I come?”

Gu Shi glanced at Xuan Congnan and obediently said, “He doesn’t want anyone to know I’m staying here.”

Xuan Congnan: “...”

The agent shouted, “Why weren’t you so obedient before?!”

Gu Shi hung up and temporarily blocked the agent, explaining, “Agent.”

Xuan Congnan remained expressionless. “The third rule. I just now said it.”

—Third, you can’t tell anyone you live here.

“Sorry,” Gu Shi said softly with a good attitude, “I hadn’t had time to agree before. I thought I could.”

Not naming him was a minor issue. Xuan Congnan said, “Don’t say it anymore.”

Gu Shi nodded immediately. “Okay.”

After a pause, he asked, “What about family? Can’t tell them either?”

Xuan Congnan raised an eyebrow. “Huh?”

Gu Shi said, “If family calls and asks where I am, can I tell them? They’re elders and definitely want to know my whereabouts. Otherwise, they’d worry.”

Family…

Xuan Congnan relented. “Family is fine.”

Gu Shi said, “Good.”

“I have class at 9:30 AM. I’m going to school now and won’t be back for lunch. You’ll have to handle lunch yourself. Do whatever you want, just remember the ground rules.”

Xuan Congnan packed a glass cup into his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. “If anything happens, message me. I’ll reply if I see it. But my phone is slow, so sometimes I don’t get messages.”

Gu Shi stood and walked him to the door, calling out, “Congnan.”

They had only known each other a day, but that name sounded natural and firm, as if they had known each other for a long time.

Xuan Congnan turned around. Apart from knowing Gu Shi was an actor, he had no memory of him before.

“What’s up?” he asked.

The apartments in this complex were all old, with no keyless locks or fingerprint scanners. Doors could only be secured with original brass locks, and each household bought their own.

Gu Shi said, “Can you give me a key to the house?”

Each lock came with three original keys. Xuan Congnan always took two when he went out, never carrying them together.

To prevent both from being lost and having to break the lock open.

Each key cost six yuan.

One spare key was always kept deep inside the side pocket of his backpack. Xuan Congnan didn’t take out the usual one but opened the bag, shifting aside his sketchbook and pencils to reach deeper.

A blue dolphin keychain adorned a shiny silver key. The dolphin looked lively and agile, as if leaping in the sunlit ocean.

Xuan Congnan handed the spare key to Gu Shi. “One key alone is lonely. Take the keychain, too. Don’t lose it—little dolphin’s two yuan.”