Bian Huan glanced at him but clearly didn’t get what he meant.

"What did you mean when you said that he left?"

Bian Huan still seemed confused as if what he had said should be clear as day. "Well, that he left: He packed his bags and moved. You didn’t know?"

"No!" Of course, he hadn’t known. That day when he told him to stay away at the gym, he had immediately blocked him and not heard from him since then. He also hadn’t heard from anyone else.

Mo Fang actually moving away, that was something he would’ve thought Si Tao might bring up back at the cafe but he hadn’t breathed a word about that. But then, come to think of it, he hadn’t seemed to be up to date on everything either. So maybe Mo Fang had left before he told Si Tao anything?

He shook his head, unable to believe it. "But he’s lived in Shanghai his whole life. How could he just move somewhere else?"

Bian Huan shrugged. "Believe me, I was surprised as well. I’m not sure if he thought that one through. His English isn’t the best so I’m not sure if he’ll even be able to get around on his own."

Li Ming stared at him, feeling as if things were getting more bizarre by the minute. "His … English? You mean to say that he didn’t just leave the city, he left the country?"

Bian Huan raised brows. "Yes? He went to go and live overseas, should have been somewhere in Europe. I think either France or Italy, something like that. I think his mother has some contacts there so they might help him out in the beginning. Knowing him, he’s probably going to try and model over there. I don’t think he’s going to make it though. It’s difficult enough in China even though he has the looks. Outside, it’s going to be even worse."

Li Ming rubbed his forehead, wondering how he was supposed to react to that. "He … just left the country?" Actually, no, not just left the country, he left the whole continent. That … just seemed so wrong. Was this because of their breakup? Was he the one who had caused him to do that?

Somehow, he couldn’t help but feel horrible. Really, hadn’t he been too harsh? Should he have said those things that day? Couldn’t he have been gentler with him?

He got up, and paced up and down next to the table, completely out of it. Mo Fang … no matter what, he had loved him. And even though he had been hurt by what Mo Fang had done, he hadn’t wanted to hurt Mo Fang back. No, he had just thought that the two of them would both be happier if they were away from each other because he couldn’t deal with Mo Fang right now and didn’t think that it would be good for Mo Fang to run after him any longer just to see him get more and more frustrated. He had thought that this was the right path. But now, something this huge had happened.

Bian Huan ignored him and just picked up the pen, making a few notes on the contract before turning back to his laptop to stuff some of the pictures in another folder. Only then did he look up at him again. "Alright, I wrote down the file names. You can look through them again to see if you are alright with these."

Li Ming stopped in his tracks and turned to him, furrowing his brows. "Aren’t you worried at all?"

Bian Huan looked at him, still seeming puzzled. "No, why would I? I mean, yes, his language skills are a bit of a problem, but if his mother knows somebody over there, he’ll be able to figure things out. Also, maybe outside of school, he’ll finally be willing to learn. Actually, this might do him well. And anyway, what am I supposed to say? I’m not his parent and he’s an adult. He makes his own decisions and clearly didn’t want my opinion or he would have asked for it."

Li Ming stared at him, not sure what to say to that. Yes, in a way, Bian Huan was right. This wasn’t something for them to get involved in but … "Well, you are friends." He went to sit down at the table again, turning to look at the screen to check the photos.

Bian Huan propped his arms up on the table, looking at the screen as well. "You know, I don’t want to lose him as a model. And even as a friend, I would prefer him to be close by. But I have an established career here. For me, if I left, it would be the wrong decision. But for Mo Fang?

"I mean, he hasn’t really made anything out of himself career-wise, and now the two of you have also broken up. His relationship was honestly the only thing I was surprised he’d leave behind since he seemed so serious about you.

"So, I don’t see how this is a bad thing for him. And if I want contact with him, I can always just call him. Nowadays, it’s not like he’s out of the world just because he stepped onto a plane."

Li Ming nodded slowly. Right, he was probably overthinking this. Just like he had made decisions to turn his life around, maybe Mo Fang had as well. This wasn’t what he had expected but he also couldn’t say anything about it. Anyway, what was he to Mo Fang? Just another one in a row of ex-boyfriends. He probably wasn’t even the most notable one among them. So yes, who was he to judge?

He sighed and then pushed the laptop back to Bian Huan. "I’m alright with all of these."

"Great! Then I’ll go and write up a clean copy of the contract so you can sign. Do you want to go out and drink something together after this? I feel like this is a major milestone. This should be celebrated!" Even though he had just asked a question, he already rushed off, clearly unable to wait to finally get Li Ming to sign.

The person in question stayed where he was though, still staring blankly. He just … had a really hard time wrapping his head how around everything had changed so fast. Well, no matter what, he couldn’t get things to turn back to how they were before. And anyway, he shouldn’t. No, what he should do was to finally stop thinking about this. Not that that was done so easily.