The two men spent a romantic evening that only one of them seemed to have prepared for. The younger man handed over what seemed to be a thoughtful present while the other man could only blame him not getting anything for him on 'being busy with work' and he even spewed some lines about how he hoped the cake could make up for it a little.

It wasn’t necessarily an excuse. After all, he had gone to the bakery in the morning. But then, what he had picked was the cake the other man had taken and he hadn’t seemed to know that this was the favorite flavor of his boyfriend.

Watching on, their relationship also seemed quite one-sided: While his boyfriend asked about his day and cared for every little detail, he couldn’t be bothered to ask him a single question. Whether it was doing the emotional labor in their relationship or bustling around the kitchen to make sure that his lover had something to eat other than that cake, it was always him who took care of everything. His lover seemed strangely detached from everything. Even when they finally went to bed, there didn’t seem to be much passion between them.

After the act, the man from the bakery was leaning against the headboard, one arm behind his head while he smoked. There was a short replay of the moment when he stood in front of the bakery, featuring a close-up of the other man, highlighting the good-looking features, especially his eyes and lips before dropping further down to his slender neck.

The man reached up and rubbed his lips. What he thought was pretty obvious.

Li Ming turned to glance at the side again but Mo Fang still had the same gentle smile on his lips. This … wouldn’t be fake, right? He wasn’t just pretending to be strong, was he? Just thinking of that possibility, Li Ming’s heart hurt.

This time, he didn’t stop himself. "If this is too much for you, we don’t have to watch it."

Mo Fang looked up and raised his brows in surprise. Too much? How so? The good scenes hadn’t even come yet! But then, seeing Li Ming’s expression he realized that they were thinking of completely different things. He glanced at the screen and felt that he faintly understood. "You mean because of Lan Heng?"

Li Ming hesitated but then still nodded. "I mean I don’t know what’s going to happen but … it seems rather obvious where it’s going."

Mo Fang schooled his expression. He had thought that he would be able to turn Li Ming on a little with this movie but before that could even remotely happen, he was going in such a direction. Should he call it a pity or … see this as a heaven-sent opportunity?

Mo Fang lowered his head and lightly brushed over his leg, trying to look vulnerable. Anyway, turning him on was all well and good but who knew if it would make Li Ming think about him? Now, he had the opportunity to get close and stay close. It was actually the perfect addition to his plan.

Li Ming already reached out for the remote control to turn off the movie when he saw Mo Fang like this but before he could, Mo Fang reached out and grabbed his wrist, his slender fingers brushing over his skin and leaving a faint warmth.

"Don’t."

Li Ming looked at that hand and then up at Mo Fang’s still lowered head. "You’re obviously suffering. Why put yourself through this?"

Mo Fang pretended to hesitate for a moment before he let go of Li Ming’s hand. Li Ming used the opportunity to at least pause the movie. The scene was that of the first couple going out together, both smiling brightly. He furrowed his brows, feeling that turning it off would be better but since Mo Fang hadn’t wanted him to do so …

Mo Fang sighed, drawing back his attention. "You know, I really liked that movie previously."

"Oh." Li Ming nodded, feeling that he understood. He had liked this movie so he had suggested it without thinking about it any deeper but seeing it right now, he probably couldn’t help but remember. "Did you … watch it together?" That would make it even worse.

Mo Fang shook his head. "No, we didn’t. I did watch it with somebody else, actually. But our breakup was much more … amicable so I didn’t mind afterward. In fact, that movie collection is all thanks to that ex. He loved foreign movies."

"I see." Li Ming nodded. He had already heard a bit about Mo Fang’s ex-boyfriends so he wasn’t that surprised anymore. Anyway, this was rather harmless even though he couldn’t help but worry just how old Mo Fang had been when he had started to watch this kind of explicit movie. On second thought … it might be better not to know.

Mo Fang had no idea what Li Ming was pondering and just continued with his act. "You don’t know but I actually think that … despite how things go in the movie, they still end up well for everyone. So it’s a bit beautiful. Also, I liked how open all of them were when I saw it for the first time. Things like openly showing your love, being courageous about your feelings, daring to break up and date freely … That’s something I admired very much." Also, the sex scenes were really nicely shot. But he didn’t need to tell Li Ming what he thought about that.

Mo Fang sighed and looked up at Li Ming. "You see, I just don’t want to lose a precious memory because of him. I already lost so much. I don’t want to add that to the list. So … Please, let’s watch it together?" He reached out and put his hands on Li Ming’s thigh as if holding onto him for support. "I wouldn’t be able to do it alone but … with you here, I feel like I have the strength. The sooner I can be myself again, the better, isn’t that so?"

Li Ming had been unsure about it at first but hearing him say that and looking into those eyes, he really couldn’t help himself and nodded. "Of course. If that’s what you want, then that’s what we’ll do." He patted Mo Fang’s hand and picked up the remote control again. Yes, if he could help him get through this, then he would definitely do it.