Li Ming had no idea what was going through Zhu Yi’s head but hearing him repeat again and again, just how much he was his ideal candidate for the position, he almost wanted to laugh out loud. Zhu Yi really seemed to be an especially open person. Or maybe it wasn’t that he was open but that he felt empathetic about this interview-like situation and was trying to calm him down.

Well, it was working. Hearing him admit so easily to the fact that he had apparently questioned Duan Zhi Hao quite closely about their relationship and everything that had to do with him, he couldn’t muster the feeling of standing in front of his possible future boss. No, it was more like making a new acquaintance that you easily got along with. You just couldn’t help but drop your guard.

He reined in his desire to laugh just in case and decided to focus on the important matters for work. “Well, is there something you would like to know that he hasn’t told you already?”

Zhu Yi pursed his lips and thought for a moment, wondering if there really was something he wanted to bring up at their first meeting. “Well, I don’t think there’s anything specifically that I need to know right now. Anyway, we’ve talked about your qualifications and where you see some possible problems. So work-wise, I don’t think there are any problems. As for private matters … most of that will just come up naturally over time while we work together.”

Li Ming smiled. It seemed that in Zhu Yi’s mind, he had already hired him. Well, he certainly didn’t mind that. If Zhu Yi was more hesitant about this, he might have been worried but thanks to his enthusiasm, he felt like this would work out no matter what issues there might still be. Zhu Yi just gave this impression that he would find a way to work around any roadblock he encountered.

Zhu Yi didn’t mind the silent response and instead continued with a bright smile. “If you want to tell me anything, I’m definitely all ears though. I mean, I know that the two of us just met and that you might feel it’s too early to really be open with me, especially if you consider that I might employ you, but that is why I told you about the background of my work. If we could get along like friends while working, that would be my ideal working relationship. So you can always be honest with me. I’m not going to feel slighted.”

Li Ming nodded, feeling that this wasn’t too bad. “To be honest, that is kind of my ideal working relationship as well. At my current job and at the previous one as well, I’ve gotten along pretty well with my coworkers. And no matter where I go in the future, I would like to be able to keep it that way.

“If the relationship with the people you’re working with isn’t good, it can be pretty tiring. I guess that will be especially true if there is only one person to work with. So I see why this is so important to you.” He hesitated for a moment and then motioned back toward the office. “I hope you don’t have a problem with the fact that I have a boyfriend.”

Originally, he might not have cared so much but after a good three years of working at the hotel with people who were more than welcoming toward him being true to himself and not needing to hide a single thing, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to keep anything back.

It had just become so natural to show up to his place of work together with his boyfriend and show his affection even in public that he didn’t want to go back to how things had been before. No, he didn’t want to miss out on those things. He couldn’t any longer.

Zhu Yi raised his brows and shook his head. “No, it’s alright. He seemed nice.”

Li Ming nodded, but inwardly, he couldn’t help but wonder if Zhu Yi hadn’t gotten what he meant. But then, he wasn’t about to ask that. Anyway, even if this worked out, they would start working together slowly. If Zhu Yi had a problem with it afterward, he could simply drop out. And if not … that was even better.

“He is. Anyway, if there’s nothing that you want to know, there is a question that I would have: It’s about the scheduling of your courses. I don’t know how much Zhi Hao has already told you but I’m currently working shifts at a hotel. So my schedule isn’t really fixed ahead of time.

“My manager is pretty open-minded so I guess he wouldn’t mind being a bit more flexible and accommodating to my schedule. It’s something I would have to talk to him about though and I should be as specific as possible so he can have a look. So … You do have a set time for the courses, don’t you?”

Zhu Yi happily nodded. Just from this question alone, it was very clear that Li Ming had actually put some thought into this. That made him feel even more optimistic about him. “Don’t worry about that! I’ll send you the timetable I currently have.” He thought for a moment and then gave a hum while taking out his phone.

“Actually, I’ll just send you everything. I know that we’re just talking about the self-defense courses right now so don’t worry. It’s just in case you feel like you want to go full-time with this, after all. If that’s the case, then you already have some additional information. You can just take a look at it. There are quite a few that you could take over if you want to and it wouldn’t be a problem to open the old ones back up.”

Li Ming raised his brows, feeling that Zhu Yi was too forthright sometimes, but then, he’d rather have it this way than have to work with a boss who was keeping everything from him. So, in the end, he simply nodded before exchanging numbers with Zhu Yi. “Well, I’ll have a look.”