Mo Fang didn’t make much progress over the next few days either. While he scrolled through several websites every day and even contacted a few organizations in the hope that it would help, he simply didn’t have much to go of.

Still, he didn’t get discouraged and continued to search. Anyway, he had nothing better to do and this was the goal he had set for himself. Two weeks after he started, when he was just about to close yet another useless page with a sigh, his phone rang.

He picked it up without looking too closely, accepting the call. “Hello?”

“Xiao Fang …”

The person dragged out the last syllable, making Mo Fang’s lips curl up. “Ah Tao, what’s with the sudden call? And even greeting me with such a voice. Does your girlfriend know?”

Si Tao chuckled. “Of course, she does. Xiao Lan was even the one who told me to call you. You know, she couldn’t help but notice a distinct lack of calls and texts from your side.”

At this moment, Si Tao was at one of his businesses, dawdling away some time in the office he had grabbed from one of the execs. He leaned back, glancing out the window. Tong Lan had indeed mentioned this just in the morning.

She had met Mo Fang before he left China and the three of them had stayed in contact throughout the past three years. Recently, there hadn’t been much communication though.

Si Tao wasn’t the type of guy who would notice. He had a lot of friends and he also wasn’t somebody who always got back to everyone. Nobody expected it either. Of course, when it came to things that he himself didn’t do, he naturally wouldn’t hold others to a higher standard. So, Mo Fang not reaching out or getting back to him wasn’t something that he worried about. Tong Lan was different.

“She mentioned it’d be a good idea to invite you out one of these days. After thinking about it, I think she isn’t wrong. So, how about this evening? Come out before you grow moss or something.”

Mo Fang glanced at the phone of his laptop that still showed the website he had wanted to close. Well, he likely wouldn’t get much further today anyway. “I guess there isn’t anything speaking against that. Where do you want to meet?”

“Same place as usual?” From what he knew, Mo Fang really liked that one restaurant of his. Actually, most of his friends did so that was where they usually hung out. It wasn’t even a question anymore.

Mo Fang gave a hum. “What are the chances of running into Li Ming?”

Si Tao raised his brows. “Is that important?”

“You also knew how we broke up. I promised I would try my best to stay out of his way.”

Si Tao sighed. “It’s been three years and you’ve both moved on. Is there really a reason to be like this?” Thinking of something, he couldn’t help but click his tongue. “Although he did break up with his latest boyfriend just shortly ago so I guess he’s also single again.”

Mo Fang kept quiet for a moment. “Don’t gossip about him.” His voice sounded pressed but he didn’t give Si Tao time to respond and just continued. “Either way, if he’s there, I don’t want to come. Don’t make this difficult for me.”

“You’re no fun.” Si Tao might complain but he also wasn’t that much of a jerk that he would press the issue if Mo Fang was this direct. “Anyway, he does come by every now and then but he hasn’t in a while so you should be safe.

“We can also meet somewhere else but Jiahao said he’d drop by today so it’d be a good opportunity. That guy is also single again. He really can’t hold onto any of them. But then, I can’t say I’m surprised.”

Mo Fang taped the touchpad, finally closing the website he had been staring at, not bothering to react to Si Tao’s gossip.

Si Tao sighed. “Alright, just come by in two hours. If he really turns up, it’s not like you can’t leave or we could go to the back room. It’s not like I’ll force you to sit next to each other at a table.”

To be honest, he’d love to see that happen but then, he also knew that that was a vain hope. There were some things you simply couldn’t work out in a short time. And while it had indeed been three years since the breakup, Li Ming and Mo Fang had only met again recently.

So, right now, you could probably say that Mo Fang was on thin ice with this ex of his. Rather than trying to force the issue, he’d be better advised to focus on other relationships. Anyway, they had a lot of mutual friends so it wasn’t like he had no options to choose from.

Mo Fang still hesitated for a moment but finally gave a hum. “Alright, let’s do that then.” Anyway, he could always run into Li Ming randomly and since they did frequent some of the same places, there was a chance to see him whenever he was going out. So far, it hadn’t happened because he had been mostly holed up inside but he couldn’t do that forever. He also knew that.

So rather than dreading the possibility, wasn’t it better to confront it head-on? If they really saw each other out there, he could establish how they’d deal with it in the future. Surely, that would be more beneficial for both sides.

He nodded to himself and finally bid farewell to Si Tao. While two hours were still quite a bit of time, he should probably put on different clothes if he wanted to go out. Recently, he really hadn’t paid much attention to his appearance since he was only at home anyway.