Mo Fang forced himself not to blurt out his true thoughts and instead smiled with starry eyes. "Ah, Bro Li, that’s such a smart response. I never could have come up with something like this."

Li Ming chuckled. "I think you’re exaggerating. Anyway, I had much more time to think about it than you."

"Well, that’s true." Mo Fang nodded immediately. While it was good to praise your boyfriend, it was also nice being praised. Naturally, he wouldn’t contradict him if his boyfriend said he could come up with something just as valid. "So … that’s one thing. What’s the rest of your top three?" In any case, he had needed to come up with so much. He wouldn’t let Li Ming get away that easily!

Li Ming actually hadn’t expected him to ask about this so he needed a moment to think. "For one, I think you are right that it’s important to be supportive. You don’t need to blindly do everything your partner wants or agree with them on everything but if there is something that is really important to them, then you should try and help them with it unless it doesn’t hurt somebody or goes completely against what you believe."

"And second?" Mo Fang smiled even more when the first thing was the same thing he had picked. That had to score him extra points with Li Ming, right?

Li Ming gave him a complicated look. While it was true that he thought that this was important, he had especially brought it up in the hope that Mo Fang wouldn’t try to always echo what he said in the future. It was alright to have your own ideas. In fact, he would love to know more about Mo Fang’s true thoughts.

The fact that Mo Fang’s face lit up as soon as he heard this was the same thing he had said and how he didn’t try to discuss it any further made him realize that they were far from getting to that point though. He sighed faintly but then just smiled.

"Well, I think the second point would be what I already told you on the phone yesterday: I think that at least your core beliefs should be the same. If you don’t share the things you want in life, somebody will have to compromise and I think that while some compromise is good, it is too much if somebody has to betray the vision they have of their own life down to the very root."

Mo Fang tensed. So to speak, if he hadn’t stayed vague yesterday, he already might have lost Li Ming yesterday? Thankfully, he had been prepared!

After grasping onto the fact that Mo Fang would often try to just please him, Li Ming kept a close eye on his reaction. Seeing that he was obviously shaken, he could imagine what was going through his mind.

He really wanted to sigh again but he finally held back. "Of course, not counting core values, I think that it’s very good to be a bit different. Even though I would want to spend as much time with my partner as possible, I think that it is important in the long-run that both partners have a chance to be their own person as well."

Mo Fang slightly relaxed but he wasn’t sure what to make of this. "Why though? Wouldn’t it be great to be able to do everything together? That would mean more time for us." Not that that was very likely. He also didn’t necessarily need to share everything with his partner but he wanted Li Ming to know that he was definitely there for him no matter what it was about.

Li Ming smiled. "Of course, sharing a hobby or having similar friends so that you can do these things together is great. But I like to think that the best couple is one that doesn’t overlap one hundred percent but complements one another." He fell quiet for a moment and then motioned at the plates between them. "Just think of how you don’t really care for cooking but I do. Isn’t that nice? I can do something for you. Of course, cooking together would also be nice but I think I enjoy being able to do this on my own as well. And it’s not like you can’t be there while I do it so we can still spend time together."

Mo Fang nodded good-naturedly. "I guess that’s true." He looked pensive for a moment and then got up.

Li Ming was slightly confused and raised his brows, watching as Mo Fang came over and reached out to him. "What’s the matter?"

Mo Fang grabbed his shoulder and then just sat down on his lap, giving him puppy eyes. "You’re so great, Bro Li. I’m sorry that you’re stuck with somebody like me now. I can’t do anything for you. Other than looking good, there really isn’t anything I’m good at."

Li Ming stared at him in a daze. He didn’t even know what to say. Also, how had Mo Fang just ended up on his lap? They were incredibly close right now … In fact, when he took a breath, he could smell the lotion that he usually used on Mo Fang. That was …

Mo Fang blinked his eyes and his gaze slipped down. "Well … I guess I could help you with that." He tried to look innocent when he looked back up but there was an unmistakable twinkle in his eyes.

Well, he had never doubted that his boyfriend was a man. Alright, maybe he had doubted it for a very short moment before but obviously, he had thought too much. This old trick of sitting on a man’s lap would really work every single time.