While a period of waiting started for Mo Fang, Li Ming was going about his life as usual. Most of his time was spent at work whether that was at the hotel or doing the course with Zhu Yi. In fact, the next courses had already started and they were still just as popular as before which meant that he didn’t have to worry too much.

He also hadn’t run into Mo Fang again these days, making his life feel quite comfortable. Even the pain from having to break up with Zhao Chen had started to dull a while ago. By now, he felt ready to confront the big question of what he wanted his future to be like.

He hadn’t thought about it before but since the day Zhao Chen and he broke up, he started to realize that the current situation wouldn’t be sustainable forever. His apartment, the gym, and the hotel were too far away from each other to work at both places.

He could move to save some time but that only seemed like a short-term solution. Whenever he started dating again in the future or added any other responsibility into his life, it would stop working again because he would have too little time for something.

Since moving wouldn’t work, it was clear what had to be done: One job had to go. He didn’t want it to be the course with Zhu Yi. He liked doing it and it gave him more purpose in life than being a security guard at a hotel. The problem was that it wasn’t enough to sustain his life, not with the few hours he was currently working.

At this time, Li Ming was at home, sitting in his living room. He had been thinking about this for several days already but wasn’t able to come up with any solution.

Zhu Yi wouldn’t be able to let him work more. After all, he might be a security guard and able to help out with the self-defense course but he couldn’t help with the general fitness courses in the same way.

Well, maybe he could but that wasn’t what he wanted. He liked the self-defense course because he felt that he was doing something good. That was the kind of job he wanted to do. Just being a fitness instructor wouldn’t give him that.

He furrowed his brows and opened the budget app on his phone. Right now, he was able to put some money away every month, working toward some long-term goals. If he quit the job at the hotel, it definitely wouldn’t be enough to reach those. It wouldn’t even be enough to cover the expenses for his daily life even though he was the frugal type.

He could live with putting less toward his savings but he needed to be able to pay for his living expenses and at least save some money. After all, there could always be something he would suddenly need money for.

He calculated for a while and pursed his lips. Right now, he was working one full-time job and a bit on top. Reducing his hours at the hotel would give him time but he didn’t think it would be possible. Just letting him change his schedule so he could work with Zhu Yi had already been generous. He couldn’t ask for more. And even if he did, that also wasn’t a long-term plan.

He tapped the table with his fingers, staring at the numbers in front of him. He could probably reduce the costs a little. A cheaper apartment would help a lot and moving was something he had already considered anyway. Actually, buying would be nice and lessen the cost in the long run but his savings weren’t quite there. If he truly were to buy, he definitely couldn’t change his career path anytime soon.

Li Ming raked a hand through his hair and put the phone aside. Really, how did other people manage to do something they loved? Well, not that he wasn’t. It was just … it was so hard.

He thought of how Zhu Yi had said that he would help him but he wasn’t sure if he should pick him up on that offer. Talking about it with somebody would certainly be nice but … they were working together and Zhu Yi was technically his boss. It seemed a bit wrong to discuss this with him?

He stared at his phone and finally picked it up after all. Anyway, boss or co-worker, the two of them could also be considered friends at this point. There was nothing embarrassing about speaking to your friends when you were stuck, right?

He thought for a while and finally sent Zhu Yi a message, asking to meet up. After hesitating for another moment, he also admitted what he wanted to talk about. Anyway, it was better if Zhu Yi knew ahead of time. This way, he could prepare for it and wouldn’t feel awkward.

Li Ming hadn’t thought he would hear from him soon. After all, Zhu Yi was working today while he could leisurely sit at home thanks to having a free day again. To his surprise, just five minutes later, he received a message.

Zhu Yi: [Sure! Let’s meet up this evening?]

Li Ming just wanted to reply when Zhu Yi added another message.

Zhu Yi: [Is it alright if Ah Xiang comes along?]

Li Ming stared at the second text and pondered. Ah Xiang was Zhu Yi’s girlfriend who he had originally wanted to do the courses with. He had met her and the two of them got along well even though they weren’t as close as he and Zhu Yi were. On the other hand, after her accident, Rong Xiang had had to find a completely new direction for herself so she likely had a unique perspective on this. Thinking of that, he finally messaged back.

Li Ming: [The three of us haven’t met up in a while. It’ll be nice to see her again. Just sent the time and place!]