Ning laughed quietly, returned to his seat, and picked up his utensils again as if the conversation had already stopped being worth his attention.
The men started to leave, but before they went far, one of them turned toward Jason.
"You look pretty happy to finally have someone sitting with you," he said. "Enjoy your new friend while you can, because you're going to get your share of this too."
Jason's hands tightened around his utensils.
Ning noticed the anger on his face immediately, but Jason said nothing. Whatever he wanted to answer, he kept it to himself until the group walked away.
Only after they were gone did Ning continue eating.
"So," he said after a moment, "we were talking about why everyone calls you a loser."
Jason stared at him in disbelief. "That is what you want to talk about after what just happened?"
"Oh, do you have another topic in mind? Go ahead. I'm great at small talk."
