Li Ming hadn’t been wrong when he thought so. After everyone introduced themselves, Linghu Jiahao immediately got into teaching, starting from the very basics of communication before he also covered the more specific topics in the following days. He made sure to include a bunch of exercises, letting the participants pair up or even work in groups to try out the theory they had learned.

Most of the people here had actually come because they wanted to further their career or do better in their communication with business partners, colleagues, employers, or employees and only a handful of them were looking for strategies to communicate better in their private life. Because of that, the focus was often on the business side of things but Linghu Jiahao make sure to also include enough in regard to other parts of life. From speaking to relatives, a romantic partner or friends, to people you were meeting on the street for the first time, everything was included.

The longer the course went on, the more Li Ming felt that he really benefited from this. Part of the course was how to effectively communicate what you wanted without offending the other person even if what you had to communicate wasn’t something positive.

Two days before the course ended, he couldn’t help but sigh when they were finally packing up.

Yao Ai looked up at him, raising her brows. "What’s with that? I thought you really liked the course. Why are you suddenly sighing like that?"

Li Ming shook his head. "I do like it. It really was the right decision to come here. I just thought that I should have known this a few months earlier for my last relationship."

"Oh!" Yao Ai gave him her trademarked look of 'I know exactly what you’re talking about!' that usually meant she didn’t understand anything.

Duan Zhi Hao also leaned forward, raising his brows in a rather similar look. "So that’s the reason you really came here. And you actually pretended it was about your work. You should be ashamed of yourself."

Li Ming turned to look at him, feeling that you really couldn’t judge a book by its cover. At first, he had thought that Duan Zhi Hao was the quiet type but after almost two weeks, he was sure that he was just like Yao Ai, always having a comment on everything.

He shook his head at the two of them and clicked his tongue, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "I didn’t lie. I did come here with the intent of learning some new skills so I could find a better job but it still would’ve been neat to know these things in my last relationship. Not that I think it would have ended any different even if I knew." He sighed again, shaking his head at himself.

Actually, in the last ten days, he hadn’t thought about Mo Fang as often. While in the course, there were so many new things to learn that he didn’t have the time for it. It was just that every now and then when the topic of relationships came up, he couldn’t help himself and his thoughts would drift back there. Well, that was no wonder either. After all, that had been his last relationship. Of course, that was what he would remember first when the topic came up.

"That doesn’t sound as if it was a good relationship." Yao Ai also picked up her bag and then walked out of the door ahead of him.

Li Ming sighed for the third time and followed her, Duan Zhi Hao directly behind him.

"You know, I think of myself as a pretty forgiving person. If it hadn’t been really bad, I never would’ve broken up."

Yao Ai waited outside the door, her expression thoughtful. "How bad could your girlfriend have been? I really can’t imagine."

Li Ming smiled non-committal, not bothering to correct her on the assumption that his partner had been a woman. "Be happy that you haven’t had the kind of relationship that would make you know. I hope you’ll never get in one."

Duan Zhi Hao couldn’t help but jump in at that. "I bet she was a big spender! You just couldn’t keep up. That is also why you want to further your career now."

Li Ming didn’t even know what to say to that. Was this how straight couples worked? "Actually, we were coworkers before. So you could say he was pretty self-reliant." And he knew that the family of Mo Fang’s mother was rich. So there really was no need for Mo Fang to rely on him for money.

Yao Ai rubbed her cheek and suddenly looked as if she had an epiphany. "In that case, it must’ve been your future mother-in-law! I bet she was awful to you. I’ve seen it all in those rom-coms. They make your life a living hell. Although I always thought that was just for future daughters-in-law."

Li Ming raised his brows, wondering why exactly these two had started to try and figure out his past relationship. "It wasn’t about that either. She … was a little odd I will admit but not the kind you’d see in a TV series. Anyway, it’s already over. Do we have to talk about this?"

Yao Ai pursed her lips but seeing that he didn’t seem to want to talk about it, she also didn’t force the issue. "Well, I was just trying to help you figure out what the problem was. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to."

Li Ming shook his head, not quite sure why she thought that she would be able to tell him anything he didn’t know already. "Thank you for that but it’s really not needed. You know, I’m just … happy it’s over. In the future, I’ll find somebody better. Anyway, I’m not that old yet, am I?"

Yao Ai gave him a look that was hard to misinterpret but he didn’t bother about that. Instead, he just smiled and pressed the elevator button, motioning for the two of them to get in first before he followed along. No matter what, he knew what he wanted. As for Mo Fang … well, that was a thing of the past. With time, he would think about him less and less. The last ten days had proven that.