"Do you even know who you're talking to?"
Faye Zheng sneered coldly when she heard Evan Lin's words.
At this moment, Evan was still gripping Leo Li's neck with one hand. Leo's face was ashen, and he kept casting desperate glances at Yvonne Zhu and Bryce Gu, hoping they'd come to his rescue.
But neither Yvonne Zhu nor Bryce Gu even glanced at him; they simply ignored his existence.
And the way Evan spoke to Yvonne Zhu couldn't be called respectful in the slightest.
"Trying to get yourself killed, huh."
"One of my friends once got so excited meeting Yvonne Zhu that he stepped a little too close—and Bryce Gu broke his right leg with a single kick. And now this kid dares to talk to Yvonne Zhu with zero respect? Does he have a death wish or what?"
"This bumpkin probably has no idea what kind of person Yvonne Zhu is! The Zhu clan is way out of his league. He just arrived in Oceanport and already offended Yvonne Zhu—right in front of Bryce Gu! If I'd known, I would've just sat back and watched the show instead of joining in!"
Everyone lying on the ground was just waiting for Bryce Gu to explode.
Their faces were full of schadenfreude.
But after a moment, they saw Yvonne Zhu pause for quite a while—then actually nod her head!
"I don't have anything urgent right now. If you need help with something, just let me know." Yvonne Zhu tried to keep her tone as calm as possible.
Her gaze at Evan was filled with genuine admiration for a powerhouse.
But in Leo Li and the others' eyes, that look meant something entirely different.
They all thought it was just because no one had ever dared talk to Yvonne Zhu like this before, so she was stunned for a moment and agreed out of reflex.
"Miss Zhu! That guy is bad news!"
"Yeah! He's just some country bumpkin—don't let him fool you!"
"Hey, Bryce—aren't you going to do something about your Miss Zhu?"
The whole group turned pale, shouting and clamoring.
The kid in front of them was from a small county in Seacrest—that's what they'd heard from Leo Li before coming to the station.
A country kid like that—if you said he had any connection to Yvonne Zhu, or even knew her, they'd never believe it in a million years.
"Since when do you people get to tell Miss Zhu what to do?"
Bryce Gu shifted his gaze, swept a look over the crowd on the ground, and let out a cold snort.
As he spoke, he stomped his foot—the floor tiles instantly cracked.
The sudden burst of pressure made everyone's face change; nobody dared speak up again.
Faye Zheng saw this and her pretty face was full of shock and doubt.
"That's convenient." Evan nodded. "Come over here and slap her."
Evan's gaze turned to Faye Zheng.
"What did you say? You wouldn't dare!"
Faye Zheng's expression changed wildly, her face flushed with anger. "Evan Lin, don't forget—your mom is still living in my house!"
"If she finds out you did something like this, she definitely won't forgive you!"
Faye Zheng shouted angrily.
By now, quite a few people had gathered to watch the drama unfold.
Faye Zheng never expected Evan would really have someone slap her in front of everyone!
And that person—was actually Yvonne Zhu!
"Are you really going to hit her?"
Yvonne Zhu looked at Faye Zheng, then paused and glanced at Evan.
"Do it."
Evan nodded.
Seeing this, Yvonne Zhu sighed, stepped forward, and came up to Faye Zheng. "Miss Zheng, sorry about this."
Yvonne Zhu looked apologetic, then raised her hand and gave Faye Zheng a crisp, decisive slap across the face.
Smack!
The sound of the slap was sharp and clear, echoing in the air.
Faye Zheng's head snapped to the side from Yvonne Zhu's slap. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
Yvonne Zhu didn't hold back; half of Faye Zheng's face went numb from the blow.
"Sh-she actually hit her?"
"Am I seeing things? Yvonne Zhu and Faye Zheng might not be best friends, but they've hung out together before. Why would she slap Faye over some nobody from the sticks? This doesn't make sense!"
A few people turned pale at the scene, visibly shaken.
"What's so strange? Yvonne Zhu never goes looking for trouble, but she's also famous for not backing down from it. Plus, she's known for always keeping her word. She promised that kid, so of course she followed through."
A guy who knew Yvonne Zhu a little better let out a sigh.
They all rolled up in luxury cars, only to get flattened by a country bumpkin. This was the ultimate humiliation.
Now, with Yvonne Zhu standing here—her status towering over them—they didn't even have the guts to call for backup, terrified of crossing her.
"Sorry, that was a bit heavy."
Yvonne Zhu looked at Faye Zheng, her face full of sincerity. "I was the one who slapped you. If you have a problem with it, you can come find me anytime."
With just that one sentence, Yvonne Zhu made all the rich second-gens fall silent. They didn't dare speak up—just kept sneaking confused, uneasy glances at Evan.
She was clearly taking all the responsibility onto herself! The subtext was obvious: even if the Zheng clan came after them, Yvonne Zhu would stand in front and shield Evan Lin from the fallout.
How did that kid deserve this kind of backing?
"You slapped me—for that guy?"
Faye Zheng glared at Yvonne Zhu, half her face still burning.
"I slapped you because I gave my word. It has nothing to do with him."
Yvonne Zhu shook her head and turned to Evan. "Is that enough?"
"Too light. Three more."
Evan's tone was flat.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Faye Zheng's face changed dramatically. But before she could protest, Yvonne Zhu sighed, turned, and delivered three crisp slaps in a row—each one ringing out loud and clear.
The sound was even sharper and louder than the first slap.
Clear red handprints appeared on the side of Faye Zheng's face.
"Sorry—these three slaps are on me too. If I hadn't gone easy the first time, you wouldn't have had to take three more. My apologies."
Yvonne Zhu bowed slightly to Faye Zheng as she apologized.
Faye Zheng's eyes turned red, her heart exploding with grievance.
"Even my parents have never hit me!"
She shouted at Yvonne Zhu, and in her rage, tried to rush at her. But Bryce Gu, standing behind Yvonne, let out a cold snort and took a step forward. The overwhelming pressure forced Faye Zheng to stumble back a few steps, her legs giving out as she collapsed to the ground, utterly terrified.