Eric Wang wanted to say something, but when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them instead.
They left the dorm and headed for the library.
"Isn't that Evan Lin?"
"Looks a lot like him, doesn't it?"
"Pretty sure it is. The guy next to him, Eric Wang—that's his roommate!"
Along the way, quite a few girls couldn't help but glance over at Evan Lin.
Right now, Evan Lin is a true campus legend—no freshman has ever stomped the entire Math Department like he did.
Whenever people look at Evan Lin, the girls mostly have a bit of admiration in their eyes, while the guys are way more envious.
"You’re seriously famous now, for real. You have no idea—ever since the news about your win hit, the school forums have been all about you."
Walking along, Eric Wang couldn't help but feel a flood of emotions.
Evan Lin didn’t comment much on it. If it were the Evan Lin from his previous life, maybe he’d have been that kid who dreamed of being the center of attention.
But the Evan Lin of today faces all kinds of attention with a calm indifference, barely feeling anything at all.
Eric Wang shook his head. He knew Evan’s personality well, so seeing Evan stay quiet, he didn’t bother pushing the topic any further.
They arrived at the library.
Tyler Tan and Ming Zhao were sitting a bit further inside, a few books laid out in front of them.
"Not to brag, but my relationship with Evan Lin? It's seriously tight, for real!"
Tyler had a couple pages open in front of him, but the stack of books beside him was basically untouched. Instead, his seat was surrounded by quite a few girls.
"So, when’s Evan Lin coming back?" one of the girls asked.
"Yeah, you promised to introduce us! No backing out now!" another girl said, clearly a bit anxious.
All their eyes were on Tyler, and their voices stayed pretty quiet.
The library really is a pretty good spot for a date. Plus, since it’s not exam season, there aren’t many people around—even the staff see the crowd here and don’t bother saying anything.
"Almost here, almost here—he’ll be back soon. You think I’d lie to you?"
Tyler Tan grinned, "And let me introduce my roommate Ming Zhao—he’s got a great relationship with Evan Lin too."
"Especially when Evan went to the competition, he and Ming talked over the math modeling problems and had a real exchange of ideas."
"So before Evan comes back, you should pay more attention to my roommate here—he’s basically an unpolished gem just waiting to shine!"
Tyler kept talking as he patted Ming Zhao, who was still buried in his book.
Ming Zhao looked up when he heard this, giving the girls around him an honest, slightly awkward smile.
"What’s he doing?"
From a distance, Evan Lin watched, thinking Tyler was actually studying hard in the library, trying to better himself.
But seeing this now, that’s definitely not the case.
"Two things,"
Eric Wang spoke softly: "First, he’s basically camping out here for Annie Shu. Back when the competition results weren’t out yet, Annie Shu was always in the library studying, and you know—since you showed up and stirred things up, her Sanda Club is pretty much toast now."
"Now Annie Shu barely even bothers to acknowledge Tyler Tan. Tyler keeps saying he doesn’t care, but he still runs over here every day."
Mentioning this, Eric Wang looked totally helpless.
Tyler Tan acts all carefree, but honestly, he’s pretty serious about his feelings.
But thanks to Evan Lin, Annie Shu now can’t stand Tyler at all.
"Second..."
Eric Wang was just about to speak.
"Second is that Tyler Tan is now totally focused on helping your other roommate find a girlfriend."
A teasing female voice chimed in, and Evan noticed that as soon as she spoke, Eric Wang’s expression got a little awkward.
Over there, Sophie Ge—the English Department’s Head Monitor—walked over in a short-sleeved shirt, a few books in her arms. She smiled at Evan Lin: "Our campus celebrity finally decided to show up again."
"I even tried setting your roommate Ming Zhao up with a girlfriend. You know, the English Department never lacks pretty girls, but your roommate is such a classic straight guy—none of it worked!"
Sophie glanced at Eric Wang, then, clearly annoyed, kicked him lightly: "And you—weren’t you supposed to treat me to dinner?"
"When did I ever say I’d treat you to dinner?"
Eric Wang looked pretty exasperated.
"I dreamed it, okay?"
Sophie acted totally unreasonable: "Or maybe I’ll treat you instead."
After the villa dinner, Sophie started liking Eric Wang a lot. After watching him for a while, she realized his personality is actually pretty similar to Evan Lin’s.
He’s definitely steadier than most people.
Sophie didn’t know what Eric’s family did, or if he had money, but she didn’t care.
Sophie originally thought about giving Eric Wang a chance. As a campus beauty and Head Monitor, she had plenty of admirers, but Eric never seemed interested in chasing her.
So in the end, Sophie had to take the initiative herself.
Luckily, Eric Wang and Evan Lin were roommates, so there were always some shared topics—otherwise, they’d barely have anything in common.
"It’s just a meal—whenever you’re free, let’s go,"
Evan Lin glanced at Eric Wang and said something. Eric opened his mouth, then just nodded.
"See? You’re the one who gets things done. Should’ve just asked you to help set up the dinner date!"
Sophie grinned and shot Evan Lin a look of gratitude.
As they were talking...
"Evan Lin! When did you get back?"
Tyler Tan, who’d been chatting nonstop, finally spotted Evan Lin and the group. He jumped up and walked over.
As he walked over, Tyler Tan called out to the girls, "See? Told you he’d be back soon. Didn’t lie to you!"
"Just like I said about my roommate—Ming Zhao’s got real potential, you should seriously consider him!"
Tyler played matchmaker, while the girls glanced at Evan Lin and giggled behind their hands.
Their natural shyness kept them seated. They’d ask Tyler for introductions, but now that Evan Lin was here, they felt a bit embarrassed.
"Have you eaten yet? If not, let’s go grab something."
Tyler Tan smiled, sizing Evan Lin up.
"No rush for food. Let’s go find Annie Shu first."