Zhao Chen sighed when he realized this. “Thank you. Honestly, I think I already understand some things now.”

Linghu Jiahao didn’t bother scrolling further when Zhao Chen said this and simply nodded. “Well, you also should have seen what I meant about him being too open. I think he’s having an easier time now that he’s abroad but even here, he never thought twice. He … won’t hold back at all. Not on his job and also not privately.”

Zhao Chen nodded. This was actually astounding when he thought about it. Li Ming clearly seemed a bit hesitant to display his affection publicly even after getting into a relationship. How had that worked out with Mo Fang?

Linghu Jiahao stared at the latest photo on Mo Fang’s page again, feeling pained. Even though Si Tao was arranging that blind date for him, he still couldn’t let go. Maybe he could when he met that guy and they really hit it off but, right now, he wasn’t ready.

He sighed and shook his head at himself. He really shouldn’t judge other people’s relationships if this was how his own played out. “It’s one of the things I really liked about him. You can just see how passionate he is about everything. He loves modeling but he also fiercely loves whatever man he currently is with.”

Zhao Chen gave a hum. ‘Fiercely’ was probably the keyword here and what had made Li Ming fall like that. It had been a whirlwind romance, just that his partner in that romance happened to be somewhat of a con artist. He might not actively try to con the other person out of his money but he sure stole their heart away under false pretenses.

Linghu Jiahao who hadn’t experienced the same with Mo Fang was caught up in his own feelings and didn’t notice Zhao Chen’s almost disgusted look. “He has trouble committing though and just as I said yesterday, I think it’s because he doesn’t even know what he is looking for.”

At that, Zhao Chen was pulled out of his thoughts and raised his brows. “What do you think he is looking for?”

Linghu Jiahao gave a drawn-out hum, thinking about the partners of Mo Fang he had met or heard about and how long he had managed to stay with them. “I think there are two parts to it: He wants to be swept off his feet at the beginning but he also seeks stability in the long run.

“Actually, as much as I hate to admit it, but your boyfriend really checks both boxes. He’s handsome enough to get Mo Fang excited and I think the job description ‘security guard’ does play some role as well, but he is also a very … grounded person who doesn’t ask for much and looks for a stable family life, right?”

Zhao Chen smiled wryly. That wasn’t a bad description of Li Ming but he hated the context it was said in. “That’s like him for sure.”

Linghu Jiahao nodded. “Mn, I figured. I actually had trouble getting together. I liked Mo Fang before he liked me, something that’s … not necessarily the typical scenario with him.”

Zhao Chen raised his brows. “He is usually the one who pursues his partners?”

“He is. Usually, it doesn’t take much to get him interested. Be handsome, have anything about you that attracts his eye and you have an opportunity. But making him stay … that’s not so easy. I actually did a good job for a while but … in the end, I guess I did something wrong. I’m not sure what it was either. Maybe I made things too easy for him.”

Zhao Chen wasn’t sure what to make of that. “You do seem like a stable guy though. Actually, you’re a lot like Li Ming from what I’ve seen so far.”

Linghu Jiahao chuckled. “Maybe I am. I don’t know what the difference is either. Maybe it simply was the fact that I pursued him and not the other way around. From what I heard, Mo Fang had to work pretty hard to hook your boyfriend back then. To him who usually doesn’t have any trouble getting the next guy, that was probably really exciting.

“Also, circumstances might matter. I remember how he talked about the guy before me. He genuinely liked him but the guy finally broke up with him. In comparison, I was good as well but maybe being similar was actually a disadvantage. He might have felt it couldn’t go anywhere and I would break up as well. With Li Ming, it was different. He seems to have dated him after Lan Heng and — you can take my word for that — Lan Heng was a downright scumbag.”

Zhao Chen had heard that Li Ming had met his ex right after that guy had a bad breakup but he didn’t know any details. He wasn’t interested either though. Maybe he was being too harsh but he felt like this was a case of two people who deserved each other dating. After all, hadn’t that Mo Fang also been a scumbag in regard to Li Ming? So, how could he complain if somebody didn’t treat him right either? In a sense, he had simply had it coming.

Linghu Jiahao did notice his gaze this time and scoffed. “You’re looking at this from the perspective of Li Ming’s new boyfriend. And honestly, you do look jealous. I get it though. I’m jealous of your boyfriend for how long he managed to stay with Mo Fang and how much their break-up actually influenced him. I know how idiotic that is though. After all, they’re not even together anymore.

“So … take it from somebody who is just as out of it as you are right now: Let it go. It won’t help. I won’t get Mo Fang back no matter how much I resent Li Ming for his relationship with him, and no jealousy on your part will change your boyfriend’s past with Mo Fang. It’s simply facts that we need to accept. So better start doing that early.”