After they finished eating, Zhou Kai signaled the waiter for the receipt.
He reached for his wallet confidently. "As promised. Loser pays."
Before he could hand over his card, Juri calmly placed cash on the tray.
"My half," Juri said.
Zhou Kai paused mid-motion. "What's this?"
"I don't bully kids."
Zhou Kai slowly arched an eyebrow. "I'm probably older than you."
Juri didn't even blink. "I don't burden the elderly either."
Zhou Kai choked on air.
"…This brat."
He stared at Juri in disbelief. "You really know how to use a sharp tongue."
Juri simply looked satisfied.
In the end, Zhou Kai paid first, but Juri's share remained firmly on the tray. Neither of them backed down—so it ended in a strange half-compromise that neither acknowledged aloud.
They stepped out of the restaurant together.
The night air was cooler now, quieter than before. Most of the nearby shops had already dimmed their lights. The street stretched ahead in two different directions at the intersection.
Zhou Kai shoved his hand into his pockets. "Alright. It's a bye for now. You're heading this way, right? I'll be going then."
He turned casually, already about to take a step forward—
When something tugged lightly at his sleeve.
He stopped.
Looked down.
Juri was holding the edge of his sleeve with just two fingers.
Not tightly.
Just enough to stop him.
Zhou Kai blinked in surprise. "What's wrong?"
Juri hesitated.
For once, the confident expression was gone.
He looked slightly to the side, avoiding eye contact. "Umm… you know…"
Zhou Kai waited.
"You invited me here at this time," Juri continued, voice lower now, slightly uneven. "And now you're abandoning me in the middle of nowhere."
Zhou Kai looked around.
There were streetlights.
Passing cars.
A convenience store across the road.
"This is not the middle of nowhere."
Juri's grip tightened slightly. "That's not the point."
Zhou Kai sighed faintly, though there was amusement in his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. Tell me what you want."
Juri's ears were faintly red.
He turned his face sideways, clearly uncomfortable.
"…Accompany me on the way home."
Zhou Kai blinked.
"Huh? Are you a little kid?"
That did it.
Juri's face flushed instantly—not shy this time, but angry.
"Watch your tongue, you old man!"
"Who are you calling old man?!" Zhou Kai shot back.
Juri pointed directly at him. "You!"
And then—
He ran.
Zhou Kai stared at his retreating figure for half a second before scoffing loudly.
"Hey! Come back here!"
He chased after him down the sidewalk, the two of them arguing loudly under the streetlights.
"You started it!"
"You called me old!"
"You said kid first!"
Their voices echoed lightly into the night.
But even as they bickered—
Zhou Kai didn't slow down.
And he didn't turn back.
Because whether Juri admitted it clearly or not—
He wasn't going to let him walk home alone because someone has requested and you shouldn't reject kids request.
It wasn't far from campus now.
The familiar outline of the main gate could already be seen ahead, glowing softly under the streetlights. From there, Juri's house was about fifteen minutes away on foot.
They walked side by side, close enough that their shoulders almost brushed whenever one of them gestured too widely during their argument.
"You're still not admitting the claw machine was luck," Zhou Kai said.
"It wasn't luck. You just lack skill."
"You got lucky three times in a row?"
"That's called consistency."
Zhou Kai scoffed. "You're impossible."
"And you're loud."
Their bickering continued effortlessly, like it had always been this way—even though Juri was still a relatively new student and they hadn't actually spent that much time together.
But Zhou Kai noticed something.
He was good at reading faces. Always had been.
Even now, while Juri was arguing confidently, there were tiny pauses—small shifts in expression that didn't match his words.
When they passed by the darker stretch near the trees beside campus, Juri's steps slowed just slightly.
When a car drove by too close to the curb, his shoulders tensed for a brief second.
He kept talking.
Kept teasing.
Kept pretending nothing bothered him.
But Zhou Kai saw it.
Not fear exactly.
Not obvious discomfort.
Just… something restrained.
A kind of quiet alertness.
Zhou Kai didn't comment on it.
Didn't tease.
Didn't ask, Are you scared?
Because he knew Juri well enough already to understand—
If he asked directly, Juri would snap back defensively.
So instead, Zhou Kai simply stayed half a step closer when they passed darker spots.
Kept the conversation light.
Kept his tone easy.
Let the arguing continue naturally.