The two of them went to a small, family-owned restaurant that they had visited in the past already. Taking a seat and ordering a few dishes, Rui Lan gave Li Ming a questioning look. "So, what exactly happened?"

Li Ming sighed and crossed his arms on the table, not quite sure where to begin. "It’s … It’s all one big mess." He rubbed his face and then looked out of the window, slightly furrowing his brows. Where to even start explaining? "Well, Mo Fang moved in with me after his father threw him out. Things were going really well and I didn’t think that it would be a problem. In fact, we talked about that thing with his ex and my hangups over Su Yan and I think we both felt better about everything. Personally, I even thought that I could look forward and maybe start dating again."

Rui Lan raised his brows at that, completely surprised. "He did that?" Why did he have trouble imagining Mo Fang doing such a good thing? Although … if Mo Fang really was into Li Ming, then he would obviously have to make him interested in dating. So even though it was a good thing for his friend, it might still be because of some selfish hopes. Well, he wouldn’t complain about that as long as the end result was a good one. "Then what’s the problem? So far, that does sound quite good."

Li Ming smiled wryly. "Then today, Mo Fang’s ex came by. He suddenly stood in front of the changing room when Mo Fang wanted to leave."

Rui Lan’s gaze grew subtle. "In an employees-only area? That sounds a little strange." Like somebody asked him to come there.

Li Ming scoffed. "Well, that’s something that I’m going to have to have a talk with Zhi Bao Yu about. I’m pretty sure it’s thanks to her. We met her right before and she was acting a little strange. That is totally the kind of thing she would do."

Rui Lan pursed his lips but nodded. Indeed. Between Mo Fang setting that up himself and Zhi Bao Yu not being able to keep her hands off trying to 'help' other people with their love life, the latter was actually more logical. "I guess that made things difficult. Don’t tell me Mo Fang wants to get back together with him?" That shouldn’t be it. Even though Li Ming probably wouldn’t like to see that judging from the way he talked about Mo Fang’s ex, it wouldn’t be a personal problem for him. He didn’t think that Li Ming would react this harshly to that.

Li Ming sighed but didn’t talk immediately, waiting for the waitress to bring over the dishes. He nodded and gave her a smile, thanking her silently. Only when she had left did he continue. "That’s not the problem. Mo Fang made it pretty clear to him that he wasn’t interested anymore. His ex just didn’t want to accept it. I was a bit afraid he might get violent so I stepped up and told him he had to leave. He was still arguing though."

Rui Lan’s lips curled up and there was a faint spark in his eyes while he picked up his chopsticks. "So the two of you had a fistfight over a beauty?" Actually, if it was this, he might even go and congratulate Mo Fang. That was definitely the kind of thing he would like. And to be honest, if Li Ming really was developing feelings for Mo Fang, then maybe that wasn’t the worst that could happen.

Even though Mo Fang’s situation always seemed a little messy, he was probably still nice to be around and as long as Li Ming got over Su Yan, that would still be something good. Who knew if he would have the same hang-up over his next boyfriend?

Li Ming laughed and picked up his own chopsticks, shaking his head. "That’s not it. Actually, I was about to drag him out but then Mo Fang told him that he had moved on and already had somebody new. And he …" He hesitated for a moment but seeing that it was just Rui Lan and that he likely wouldn’t talk about it in front of the others, he still told him about it. "He kissed me."

Rui Lan’s brows raised and he took a few bites, slowly thinking things through. "He kissed you and … I guess it was nicer than you imagined?" He kept his gaze trained on Li Ming’s expression that turned a little subtle. "Looks like I hit the nail on the head. What’s so bad about that then?"

Li Ming’s smile turned a little strained. "The problem is that I’m still the same asshole I was before. Honestly, he did that just for his ex. It’s not like he’s into me or anything. He probably just wanted to give me a short peck and that was that. But I … I really took advantage of him." He lowered his chopsticks, staring at his food in a daze.

He still had some trouble grasping this. Obviously, he had been appalled at himself after what he did to Su Yan. He would’ve thought that something like that would never happen to him again but apparently, he was even worse of a person than he had thought.

Rui Lan looked at him, not very impressed. "Ah Ming, you’re thinking too much. He came onto you. If he didn’t step back, hit you, or bit your lip, then he didn’t mind. Mo Fang isn’t some frail beauty like you imagine. And even if he was, he is not as inexperienced as Su Yan was. He isn’t the type that will just freeze up if you kiss him. And even if he was, why do you believe that he wouldn’t have said something afterward?"

Li Ming glanced up but he wasn’t convinced yet. "He just ran away. That … that likely means he was shocked, doesn’t it?"

Rui Lan’s expression didn’t change one bit. "That could mean a lot of things. Honestly, you should just have a talk with him. You probably misunderstood everything."

Li Ming furrowed his brows but still nodded. "I definitely need to have a talk with him. It’s just … we’re working together and now we are also living together. I honestly don’t think that even if I bring it up, he would dare to tell me the truth. Maybe he feels that he can’t say no to me."

Rui Lan continued to look at him, feeling like he was an idiot. Unfortunately, it really was a difficult thing to beat idiocy out of somebody. Otherwise, he already would have done that.