Before anyone else could even process Chen's words from earlier, Juri suddenly grabbed Chen's hand across the table, eyes bright.
"Professor," he said excitedly, "I want to see those kittens."
The movement was quick. Natural. Completely innocent.
But Xiao and Zhou Kai's eyes shrank at the exact same time.
They both looked at Juri's hand.
Then at Chen.
Then back at Juri.
…They knew he was harmless.
Still.
Chen, however, lit up at the enthusiasm.
"Really?" he said, smiling warmly. "Then come with me. It's time for their lunch anyway."
He stood up immediately, already in mission mode.
Xiao and Zhou Kai stood at the same time.
"We'll go too."
They said it in perfect sync.
Chen paused mid-step and looked at them.
"…You too?"
The tone wasn't rejecting.
But it wasn't exactly thrilled either.
Zhou Kai's expression instantly shifted into something tragically wounded.
"Professor," he said, voice small, "you don't want us to come?"
Chen waved his hands quickly. "No, no! It's not like that. I just thought… you weren't responding very happily earlier, so I assumed maybe you don't like cats."
The accusation hit harder than expected.
This time Xiao spoke first, tone calm but firm.
"I love cats."
Zhou Kai immediately added, "Me too."
Chen's eyes widened.
"Wow. You both too?"
Xiao and Zhou Kai turned to look at each other.
Their expressions mirrored the same confusion.
…Why are you saying it like that?
Then, almost simultaneously, they remembered.
The third rival.
Their thoughts aligned in silent suspicion.
Did he already say something?
Did he tell Chen first?
Did he—
Chen continued casually, unaware of the mental warfare happening behind him.
"Xu Jin loves cats too," he added. "He has one."
Silence.
The air shifted.
Xiao's smile froze for half a second.
Zhou Kai's jaw tightened.
Xu Jin.
Of course.
Somewhere in their minds, a new scoreboard was quietly updated.
Juri, meanwhile, simply blinked. "Professor," he asked innocently, "can we go now? Before the kittens get hungry?"
Chen beamed again, completely oblivious to the storm brewing beside him.
"Yes! Let's go."
And just like that, four grown men marched toward the department backyard—
Two determined.
One genuinely excited.
And one entirely unaware that his love for cats had just escalated a silent rivalry.
They followed Chen out of the cafeteria and toward the department building.
It was a short walk.
But for Xiao and Zhou Kai, it felt strangely… new.
Because this was the first time they had seen Chen talk like this.
Not calm.
Not reserved.
Not gently professional.
But enthusiastic.
Actually enthusiastic.
"And the smallest one is white with little gray patches," Chen was saying as they walked, eyes bright. "It keeps trying to climb over its siblings and then falls over."
Juri listened like an attentive student in a lecture hall.
"How many are there exactly, Professor?" he asked eagerly.
"Four," Chen replied. "The mother cat is very protective, but she trusts me a little."
Zhou Kai and Xiao exchanged a look.
They both knew Chen fed stray cats around campus.
They had—purely by coincidence—
cough cough
accidentally seen him crouched near the side gates before.
But they hadn't realized it was to this extent.
He knew their personalities.
Their feeding schedule.
Their… climbing habits.
Juri hurried closer to Chen, nearly walking shoulder to shoulder with him.
"Do they meow loudly? Do they open their eyes yet? Can we hold them?"
Zhou Kai felt an odd sense of urgency.
He quickened his steps slightly and cut in.
"Will they play catch-catch?"
Juri blinked. "Catch-catch?"
"You know," Zhou Kai said confidently, "you throw something and they bring it back."
Xiao frowned immediately. "No. Cats don't usually do that."
"They will," Zhou Kai insisted.
Xiao adjusted his glasses coolly. "They play with balls. Or string. When they grow up."
"Oh?" Zhou Kai shot back. "And you're a cat expert now?"
Chen and Juri both stopped walking.
They turned slowly.
And gave them identical looks.
Chen's brows lifted slightly.
"…Have you two never seen a cat before?"
The silence that followed was heavy.
Zhou Kai coughed. "I have."
Xiao answered at the same time, "Of course I have."
Juri tilted his head. "Then why are you arguing about whether they play catch?"
Zhou Kai opened his mouth.
Closed it.
"…It was hypothetical."
Xiao nodded smoothly. "A theoretical discussion."
Chen stared at them for a long second.
Then shook his head with a soft laugh.
"You two are strange today."
And just like that, he turned around and continued walking, completely unaware that behind him—
Zhou Kai and Xiao were both thinking the exact same thing.
I cannot lose over cats.