"How can you talk to me like that, student!"
Deputy Director Simon Sun's face went cold at Evan Lin's words. "So as long as he comes up on stage, you'll step down, right?"
Simon Sun glared at Evan Lin, totally unimpressed with his attitude.
No matter what, Evan Lin was just a student at Capitalview First High in his eyes. For a kid to talk back to a deputy director? Total disrespect!
"Mm."
Evan Lin nodded.
Simon Sun finally relaxed inside.
He was most afraid Evan Lin would argue with him and make him lose face.
"Eric Yu, come on, get up here! You're the real student representative!"
Simon Sun instantly switched to a big fake smile.
As soon as he spoke, everyone turned to stare at Eric Yu.
There were all kinds of looks; the students around Eric Yu were giving him weird stares.
Eric Yu's face was pale as a ghost. Frozen in place, with all eyes on him, his heart was in chaos.
He looked up at the stage. Evan Lin was standing with his back to him, not even bothering to turn around, but Eric Yu was already drenched in cold sweat, totally freaked out.
"Get up here!"
Simon Sun saw Eric Yu still frozen and got anxious, shouting again.
"I..."
Eric Yu took a deep breath, forced himself to step forward.
At that moment, Evan Lin casually shifted his stance on stage.
Eric Yu's heart nearly jumped out of his chest, his legs buckled, and right in front of everyone, he dropped to one knee, drenched in sweat.
"Holy crap, is Eric Yu really this much of a wimp? He can't even stand up straight!"
Someone looked at him with utter disdain.
"Bet he messes around all the time after school. Dude probably has kidney problems."
Another kid clicked his tongue, shaking his head in amazement.
"What a disgrace. Did Evan Lin scare him sick or something?"
A bunch of students couldn't hold back their laughter, gossip breaking out everywhere.
Eric Yu was burning with shame inside, trying to get up, but his body just wouldn't cooperate. Just thinking of Evan Lin's words on stage made him shiver.
"Why can't he even stand up? Come on, get moving!"
Deputy Director Sun was startled. He hurried down from the rostrum and grabbed Eric Yu, hauling him toward the stage.
Eric Yu's legs were jelly; he was basically being dragged by Deputy Director Sun.
Down below, Lynn Chen looked worried, Byron Yang sighed inwardly, and Simon Wang couldn't help feeling a little smug.
As long as Director Victor Zhao and Deputy Director Sun backed Eric Yu up, he'd have that student rep spot in the bag.
"Come on, just lift your foot and get on stage."
Deputy Director Sun, belly bulging, huffed and puffed as he finally managed to drag Eric Yu to the steps beside the stage.
He took a deep breath, reached out, and tried to lift Eric Yu's right foot onto the step.
But Deputy Director Sun could clearly feel Eric Yu had gone stiff all over. When he turned to look, Eric Yu's face was ghostly pale, eyes glued to Evan Lin's back on stage, pure terror in his gaze.
"What are you so scared of!"
Deputy Director Sun looked confused, then barked, "Get moving! You go up, he'll step down! What's there to be afraid of?"
Countless eyes were fixed on Eric Yu.
Deputy Director Sun was about to give Eric Yu one last heave up the steps when Evan Lin, standing on stage, let out a lazy yawn.
"No... no!"
Eric Yu, who'd barely been able to move before, totally lost it when he saw Evan Lin yawn. He shrieked and broke free from Deputy Director Sun, bolting in the opposite direction of the stage.
Deputy Director Sun was caught off guard and went down hard, toppled by Eric's sudden escape.
The whole student crowd erupted in laughter.
Deputy Director Sun scrambled up, looking a mess. Director Victor Zhao, sitting next to Principal Damon Deng, slammed the table and shot to his feet, glaring at Evan Lin. He barked, "This is a school! How dare you threaten a classmate in public!"
"Principal Deng! This student is a serious problem and you're just sitting there? Are you not going to do anything?"
Director Zhao's voice was dripping with anger.
He'd promised Quentin Yu this would be easy—Eric Yu gets the student rep spot, everybody's happy. But now Evan Lin had crashed the party and made him, Director Zhao, look like a total fool.
"Director Zhao, this student hasn't said a single word since stepping on stage. How can that be called a threat?" Principal Damon Deng replied, feeling pretty annoyed.
He'd planned to support Evan Lin as student rep today. Evan's exploits at Capitalview First High over just one semester were legendary.
But now Director Zhao was acting like none of that mattered, just to deny Evan's achievements.
"Principal Deng, you really need to work on your ideological awareness! If Evan Lin wasn't threatening Eric Yu, why would Eric act like a mouse in front of a cat, huh?"
"He was fine a second ago—now he can't even walk! He was obviously scared out of his mind!"
Director Zhao was dead serious, face dark as thunder. He pointed at Evan Lin, practically fuming: "We promote all-round development these days! For a troublemaker like him, I suggest temporary suspension!"
"Suspend him until he admits his mistakes!"
Director Zhao's voice boomed across the field; Principal Deng looked seriously pissed.
Wendy Wen hadn't expected things to blow up like this and looked panicked. Lynn Chen tried to step up for Evan several times, but her mind went blank—she had no idea what to say.
It was early spring, the weather shifting from cool to warm.
The old gatekeeper at Capitalview First High was lounging in his chair, looking totally relaxed.
He was just about to doze off when a knock at the window startled him.
He opened his eyes, expecting it to be some student running late, but instead saw a man in military uniform.
The man had a square face and a righteous look, standing outside the window with quiet authority. Behind him, an elderly gentleman stepped out of a black sedan, gazing at the school grounds with a wistful smile.
"Hello, we're here for the senior-year mobilization rally. Could you open the gate? Here's my ID."
The man outside the security booth spoke up, handing his credentials through the window.
The old gatekeeper didn't dare hesitate and quickly took the ID. Just seeing the first few words made his heart race.
The prefix on the ID was unmistakable—Jinnan Military District.
The ID holder's surname: Su.