Logan didn't pick up his glass; instead, he said, "I've got a slight cold and took some antibiotics earlier, so I can't drink. You guys go ahead."
The others didn't mind and continued with their fun. Zach, Henry, and Fiona sang and drank in the private room as the night went on.
By 1 AM, the table was littered with empty bottles. Everyone except Logan was somewhat drunk.
Fiona, her eyes bleary, said she wanted to go home.
Zach immediately offered to take her home.
Henry quickly added, "I'll join you guys. We're heading in the same direction anyway."
"Let's settle the bill and leave together then," Logan said with a smile.
The waiter went to retrieve the bill.
Zach sidled up to Logan, throwing an arm around his shoulder, his eyes slightly hazy but with a glint of cunning.
"Logan, you should come to my house for dinner tomorrow! My parents miss you, and you know my mom wanted to make you her godson last time. Have you given it any thought?"
The memory took Logan a few seconds to recall.
Last month, when he visited Zach's house, Zach's parents had shown him a great deal of affection and even suggested adopting him as their godson so that Zach and Logan could officially be family.
Logan's father had moved to Harbor City from another city, so Logan had no close relatives from his father's side. After his father's death, his mother had remarried, and he'd lost contact with her side of the family as well.
Zach and his friends had filled a void in Logan's life, making him trust them completely.
In his past life, although Logan hadn't agreed to become Zach's godbrother, he had grown closer to him. He had even loaned Zach's family $1000000 to buy a new house.
Later, when the apocalypse hit, Zach's parents died early on, and Logan never got that money back.
Considering the timeline, Logan realized it was almost time for Zach to ask for that loan.
"No thanks. I'm not really into the whole 'being someone's son' thing," Logan replied with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Zach had always approached him with ulterior motives.
In his previous life, Logan had considered Zach his best friend, overlooking many things.
But now, with the rose-colored glasses off, Logan saw through Zach's schemes, which were far less sophisticated than they had once seemed.
This clarity was largely due to Logan's experiences in the apocalypse, where he had witnessed the worst of human nature.
Zach froze for a moment, just as the waiter returned with the bill.
The total came to $38,050, rounded down to an even 38,000.
The waiter handed the bill to the group.
Zach, Henry, and Fiona all turned their eyes toward Logan.
Logan raised an eyebrow.
"Why are you all looking at me? Zach said he was treating us."
Zach blinked in surprise, as if just realizing the situation. He patted his pockets, then awkwardly pulled out his phone and said, "Oh no, my phone's dead."
Zach gave Logan a pleading look.
If this were the Logan of his past life, he would have paid without a second thought.
But the present Logan merely smiled faintly, a hint of amusement in his eyes, and said to the waiter, "Bring him a charger."
The waiter's expression turned sour as he shot Zach a disdainful glance before leaving to fetch the charger.
Outside the room, the waiter told a colleague, "Keep an eye on them."
The colleague nodded in understanding.
Inside the private room, the atmosphere grew tense.
Henry and Fiona exchanged uneasy glances.
They were used to Logan always picking up the tab, so they hadn't anticipated tonight's turn of events.
Even though Zach had insisted he would pay, they all knew who usually ended up footing the bill.
Was Logan upset with Zach?
Henry gave Zach a questioning look: What's going on?
Zach was just as baffled, a flicker of anger crossing his face.
Logan was making him lose face in front of everyone.
His phone wasn't dead; he had only turned it off earlier to give Logan a reason to pay.
Did Logan want him to beg?
Zach was already starting to resent Logan but forced a smile as he said, "Logan, can you cover this bill? I'll get the next one."
Logan wasn't about to let Zach save face. With a confused look, he asked, "Zach, weren't you the one who invited everyone out? Don't tell me you didn't bring any money."
Zach's smile froze on his face.
"I…"
Henry and Fiona stared at Logan in disbelief.
They had seen firsthand how generous Logan was with Zach over the past three years. They had never seen him act like this.
And there were still four hostesses in the room, who hadn't even received their tips yet. Now they were witnessing what looked like a dine-and-dash scenario.
They had all heard Zach loudly declare that he was treating, and now they were looking at him with various expressions of disdain, contempt, and surprise.
Just then, the waiter returned with the charger, placed it in front of Zach, and gestured for him to plug in his phone.
Zach stood there, caught between a rock and a hard place.
The waiter, his face cold, urged him, "Go ahead and charge it, sir. We close in an hour."
Zach's face went through a spectrum of colors—red, white, then black.
No matter how cunning he was, he was still a 19-year-old, newly out in the world. At this moment, Zach couldn't keep his anger in check any longer.
"Enough!"
Zach gritted his teeth, his words clipped as he said, "Logan, please pay the bill now. We can talk about this later, okay?"
He still thought that he had somehow unintentionally upset Logan and that if he just played along, Logan would eventually give in as he always did.
But after experiencing Zach's betrayal, there was no way Logan would be the same pushover he once was.
Logan's expression hardened.
"So, you really invited us out without bringing any money?"
Zach felt his pride being trampled on, his eyes reddening with rage.
"Yes."
Logan chuckled softly, his gaze sweeping over the others.
"Well, in that case, let's split the bill evenly."
"What?!"
"Split the bill?!"
Now, even Henry and Fiona were taken aback.
Fiona frowned, "You guys don't expect a girl to pay, do you?"
Henry looked around uneasily and said, "I didn't know we were splitting the bill today—I didn't bring any money."
Henry nudged the now furious Zach and whispered, "What did you do to piss off Logan? Just apologize."
Zach glared at Logan, wishing he could punch him.
He couldn't figure out what he had done to make Logan so angry.
Ignoring the three of them, Logan calmly paid his share—$30 for a glass of lemonade.
Zach exclaimed in disbelief, "What do you mean, splitting the bill?!"
His mind was reeling.
Logan smirked, clearly enjoying Zach's distress.
"Yep, splitting the bill. Everyone pays for what they ordered. I only had a juice tonight—if you don't believe me, check the security footage."
With the situation as it was, the club had no choice but to review the footage, confirming that Logan was telling the truth.
After Logan paid his $30, they let him leave.
Under Zach's furious glare, Logan opened the door and walked out.
The three were left to face the waiter's stern demand:
"You still owe $37970. Please settle the bill."