The campus field behind the old arts building was already busy.
Wooden boards were stacked to one side. Cardboard sheets, small hammers, nails, insulation foam—everything had been arranged neatly.
Senior Xiao stood with his hands in his coat pockets.
Zhou Kai was beside him.
And Juri stood between them like a self-appointed supervisor.
"Can you two not be so obvious?" Juri muttered under his breath, elbowing them both.
They froze.
"Obvious?" Senior Xiao repeated calmly.
"About what?" Zhou Kai added, pretending innocence.
Juri gave them a flat look.
Both of them fell silent at the same time.
Was I being that obvious? they each thought.
Before the awkwardness could stretch further, a figure came jogging toward them from across the field.
Chen.
He wore casual clothes today—a soft sweater layered over a shirt, simple jeans, hair slightly messy from the wind. Winter was slowly approaching, and the air had that crisp chill to it.
Senior Xiao and Zhou Kai both went quiet.
