Mo Fang saw how Li Ming’s gaze softened while he looked at him and his smile eased a lot. Well, not that he had expected anything else but it was always nice to see that his charm wasn’t failing him. He lowered his gaze and put down the knife, looking as if he was shifting on the spot. "Bro Li, you’re making me self-conscious if you look at me like this."

"Oh." Li Ming hastily retracted his gaze and sat down next to him, picking up his own knife. "I’m sorry about that. I just … haven’t seen you like this before. It’s … it’s a nice change. I mean I love you no matter what you wear but being able to see another part of you always makes me happy. It makes me feel like you really trust me and that is a gift. One that I’m incredibly thankful for. So, thanks for giving me your trust."

Mo Fang smiled and reached over, putting his hands on Li Ming’s thigh. "I know we don’t know each other for long but I really do trust you. Last week, you were there for me when I was down in the dumps. Now that I’m doing better, how could I trust any less? You don’t have to worry about that. I am … very happy to be with you."

Li Ming nodded and then couldn’t help but lean over, giving him a short kiss, very much in the same way that Mo Fang had done with him before. He brushed his cheek with his fingertips and then leaned back, motioning at the ingredients in front of them. "Well, let’s get going or I’m afraid the two of us won’t get anything to eat today."

Mo Fang chuckled and nodded, picking up the knife again. "I hope I won’t ruin it. You know I’m not good at this. You can’t get angry if it looks hideous."

Li Ming shook his head. "Don’t worry about it. In any case, when it comes to cutting, I don’t think you can ruin that much. We’ll just adjust the time if it becomes too much of a problem."

Mo Fang nodded and then followed along as Li Ming started to work. To be honest, his worry about how he would do things was quite appropriate. It had been pretty much forever since he last touched any cooking.

Back then, he had also only tried to impress a boyfriend of his who was very much into the wifely type as well. But in the end, he had figured that it wasn’t worth it. It was just way too much work to learn from scratch. After all, impressing somebody with his skills would require him to have actually good skills. And going from nonexistent to good … Well, it would definitely need more than just a few weeks.

For a relationship that he didn’t even know how it would turn out, that had been a bit too much. With Li Ming, things were different though. They already were in a relationship and he was quite satisfied save for their lack of sex. And since Li Ming knew how to cook and he had also admitted to not knowing how to, there wasn’t any reason to really impress him with what he could do.

No, this time, the impressive thing was for him to even try. That was what Li Ming would admire: That he was willing to go so far out of what was the norm for him just to make him happy. If he picked up a skill at the side, it definitely couldn’t hurt either.

Li Ming was indeed quite happy. He didn’t need Mo Fang to do anything but seeing that he was willing to spend time with him like this was definitely something that he liked to see. Even if Mo Fang had just sat to the side and chatted with them, he would also have been happy but Mo Fang trying to join in and see if it was something that he might like to do was naturally even better. Getting along like this … it certainly was what he had dreamed of.

He cut with a faint smile on his lips, soon finishing his part of the preparation. At this time, Mo Fang wasn’t even halfway through his. Li Ming didn’t say anything and just quietly watched him, enjoying to see Mo Fang’s serious expression. This really was a look that he didn’t get to see too often. And he had seen a lot of looks from Mo Fang already in this week. Come to think of it, he was really somebody who wore his heart on the sleeve. That was also something that he enjoyed very much. It was just …

Li Ming’s own expression became a little difficult. He had noticed before that sometimes, Mo Fang would try to cater a bit too much to him. So sometimes, he wasn’t quite sure if he was really honest with him.

It was usually rather obvious but who knew if he was able to catch everything? That was something that he would really like to change. But that would take some time. When Mo Fang became really comfortable with him, then he wouldn’t mind opening up. He was sure about that. By that time, he certainly wouldn’t mind telling him the truth.

It was just that he was uncertain about them right now. He didn’t know how far he could go probably because he had made bad experiences before. That would take some time to heal. And he had to give him that time just like Mo Fang had to give him the time to be comfortable with being more physical with him. In any case, he felt like they were slowly settling into a routine. That was better than nothing.

The two of them quietly worked together until Mo Fang also finished. When he looked up, he realized that his boyfriend had finished and was actually just watching him. He felt startled and couldn’t help but wonder if he had exposed something that he shouldn’t.

Li Ming just smiled though. "I feel like you did really well even though you don’t have much experience. Now, do you want to help with the rest as well or should I just do it?"

Mo Fang smiled, feeling that his objective had already been reached. "Well, I wouldn’t mind giving it a try but looking at this, I feel like you’d finish much sooner if I just let you do it. I’m probably more of a hindrance than a help to you."