The two of them went over to the living room and Mo Fang had Li Ming connect the TV system to the cloud where he had saved the movie. Li Ming raised his brows at the rows upon rows of files in the cloud. Quite a lot of them seemed to be movies and … well, judging from both the titles that were being displayed and the thumbnails …
He coughed and looked away, focusing on just fiddling with the remote control before he handed it over to Mo Fang. He couldn’t help but be a little worried though. The type of movies Mo Fang watched … they seemed pretty explicit? Well, he had already agreed to watch whatever Mo Fang had in mind though so he could only sit down on the couch next to him and lean back, trying to look relaxed.
Mo Fang glanced at him and then scrolled through the list, finally clicking on one of the items in the second half of the list. When he had done so, he pulled his legs up on the couch, innocently leaning closer to Li Ming while he was at it.
Li Ming glanced over but decided to ignore it. Mo Fang was probably just trying to make himself comfortable. Anyway, he wouldn’t sit this way the whole time, would he? He just turned back to the TV and started to watch the movie.
The opening scene was unassuming enough: There was a seemingly European man walking into a bakery that should be — judging from the style of the architecture — somewhere in France. The man was good-looking and dressed fashionably, definitely very easy on the eyes. He bought a drink and a small cake and then left. Just when he stepped outside, he almost collided with another man who reached out to help secure the cake before it could fall, their hands touching for a moment. The two of them looked at each other over that cake, the sparks between them almost visible in the air.
Mo Fang’s lips curved up in a smile and he gave a faint hum. That was classic love at first sight! Exactly the way he always decided on who to pursue.
Li Ming’s expression was slightly thoughtful and his gaze locked on the first man’s faint smile for a moment. Ah, that was exactly how he had fallen in love with Su Yan back then …
Before either of them had time to sort out their feelings, the two men on screen already shook themselves out of their reverie, lightly nodding at each other before they passed. They didn’t forget to glance at each other over their shoulder though before one left and the other entered the store. He hesitated when deciding what to by and thought back to that cake just now, finally taking the same order, probably wondering about where that handsome stranger had been on his way to with that cake.
These two people that had obviously felt a connection with each other … What were the odds of them meeting again?
Li Ming completely expected the next scene to be one of loneliness and longing before they somehow managed to beat the odds and re-encountered each other after all but … instead, he saw the first man go to an apartment, ring the doorbell, and then raise the cake with a bright smile when another man opened the door.
To say that Li Ming was dumbfounded was an understatement. He glanced at Mo Fang who still had the same innocent expression on. He wanted to ask since Mo Fang knew the movie already but in the end, he just turned back and continued to watch. Who knew? It might be different from what he expected. That guy might be his brother or —
Li Ming’s hopes were dashed in a moment when the two men on screen ate the cake together, sharing some rather intimate gazes, and even their conversation indicated that the two of them should be a couple.
This time, Li Ming really couldn’t help himself. He lightly cleared his throat and turned to Mo Fang. "Say, are those two a couple?"
Mo Fang turned to look at him with bright eyes and a cute smile and nodded. "Mn, they are."
"Then the man before …"
Mo Fang looked down, his lips curving up even further. "If I tell you, wouldn’t I spoil the story for you?" He glanced up through his eyelashes just when the sound of a passionate kiss came from the TV.
Li Ming stared at him and then mechanically turned his head to the TV. The man that had bought the cake had climbed onto the other man’s lap and they were indeed kissing passionately, their shirts already crumpled. The man whispered a 'Happy Birthday' and was soon hoisted onto the table.
Li Ming was left feeling more confused than everything else. That gaze at the bakery had seemed so obvious … Could he have really gotten it wrong? But what was the scene for then? He couldn’t believe that there was no relevance to it. Not with how prominently that encounter had been shown.
In that case … Was it possible that this movie would feature something like an open relationship? He knew that some people liked to live that way. It wouldn’t be anything for him but he wouldn’t comment on other people’s relationships. Everybody needed to decide that for themselves.
Continuing to watch the movie, he soon found out that things were even more complicated than he had thought: The second man from the bakery went to work but in the evening, he also returned home where a young man was waiting for him, his whole face lighting up when he saw the cake in his boyfriend’s hands.
"Did you get that for our anniversary?" he asked and took the cake from his hands, being even happier when he saw what it was. "It’s even my favorite flavor. Thank you." The gaze he used to look up at him was heartbreaking when thinking back to that scene at the bakery.
Li Ming couldn’t help but start to feel uncomfortable when he saw it and his gaze slipped toward Mo Fang who was still quietly sitting next to him. This kind of story … wouldn’t it inevitably end in heartbreak? Was that really a movie he should watch right now? But they had already started and asking him to stop would be strange as well. Thus, he could only turn back to the screen with a heavy heart.
