After Mister Mo put away the gifts, he started to put the dishes on the table. Mo Fang naturally just sat down, wanting to have a chat with Li Ming while his father did so.
Li Ming felt a little worried though. "Boss Mo, shouldn't we help you?" He felt that this should be the natural thing to do. While he was a guest, this person was also his employer and the father of his boyfriend to boot. It didn't seem right not to offer.
Mister Mo just waved though. "No, no, you just sit down and wait a bit. Anyway, it isn't much." Even though he said so, he carried one dish after the other into the room and spread everything out on the table. There was soup, rice, different meat dishes, and another two vegetarian dishes. Clearly, Mister Mo had put in quite a lot of effort.
Seeing this, Li Ming didn't even know what to say. Mister Mo was really sincere in this. While it had been Boss Mo who originally invited him, he still hadn't expected that he would go all out. In any case, he and Mo Fang hadn't been together for long. Who knew if their relationship would last? In the future, after they had been together for quite some time, this kind of thing might not be strange but right now, he was definitely overwhelmed by the favor.
Finally, the last dish was put on the table and Mister Mo sat down with a smile. "I hope you'll like it!" Even though what Mo Fang had said wasn't wrong, he could still hope a bit, couldn't he?
Li Ming nodded, not too worried. "I'm sure that I will."
Mister Mo beamed but his son couldn't help but rain on his parade.
"Bro Li, you don't have to force yourself though. My father's cooking isn't very good. So if you don't like it, just give it a taste and leave it be. In the worst case, we can all just get take out later on."
Li Ming's brows shot up and he wondered if it was really alright to say that.
Mister Mo just sighed. "Well, it's true. I'm not that good of a cook. Unfortunately, Mo Fang isn't any better. It's good that you know how to do it, Li Ming. That way, you won't have to worry in the future. Mo Fang definitely can't cook for you. It's good that you can take care of that." Even though he didn't say it out loud, there was the implication that he expected Li Ming to take care of his son's food problem as well.
Li Ming looked from the son to the father and back again, feeling that these two were really quite blunt. He had never seen somebody being this honest about their cooking and their struggles at home.
He awkwardly picked up his chopsticks and put on a wry smile. "I'm sure Boss Mo is too harsh on himself."
Mister Mo just sighed again and then motioned for him to go ahead and pick something. "Well, give it a taste. We'll see if you like it. Anyway, take out really is an option." He went ahead and took something for himself and also didn't forget to fill his son's bowl while he was at it, not forgetting to tell Li Ming a bit about his son's habits so the future would be smooth sailing for them.
"This child, he has always been the same since he was a little child. No matter how much you feed him, he just doesn't gain weight. It's all from his mom's side of the family. They are all like this. So when you feed him, you don't have to worry. Even if he gains a bit in the future, I guess he wouldn't have trouble getting rid of it either. So don't worry that he'll get too fat for you."
Li Ming stared, his mouth already dry. He really didn't know if he would be able to take this dinner, not because it wasn't well-cooked but because the dinner talk was really too spicy.
Mo Fang next to him gave a huff. "You're not giving Bro Li enough credit, Daddy. He isn't that shallow. Even if I was getting fat in the future, I'm sure that he would still like me." He reached over and grabbed Li Ming's hand for a moment before he hurriedly pulling back, giving Li Ming a sweet smile.
Li Ming could only nod wordlessly, having no idea how to navigate this.
Mister Mo looked at him, his expression thoughtful. "Actually, Xiao Fang might not be wrong about this. I really think you're that type of person. It's good that he finally found somebody like this.
"I don't know how much he told you about his ex-boyfriends but they all weren't that good. I mean, there was a teacher once that I actually quite liked. But you know how it is, young people these days, they all can't stick together. They just went out with each other for a few months and then it was already over.
"By now, I originally wasn't even bothering to learn their names anymore. It's good that I already know you. You'd better stay together. I don't want to have to get to know somebody else again."
Li Ming gave a faint hum and then bowed his head to just give the dishes a taste. In any case, even if the cooking was horrendous, he still felt that it was safer to engage in that than the current talk.
Wasn't there some kind of unwritten rule that you didn't talk about your exes in front of your partner? Although, well, Mo Fang also hadn't held back from telling him about them before. But he wouldn't have thought that this kind of talk would also come up in front of Mister Mo. This was really opening his eyes.
Little did he know that this wasn't even the most explosive thing that would happen this evening.