Evan Lin's tone remained flat.
River Liu, pinned under Evan's foot, howled in pain: "Teacher! Teacher!"
He looked pleadingly at Director Ben Lu and Henry Wang, who sat nearby.
All the surrounding students' faces changed, and they stood up one after another, looking over in shock.
River Liu's pitiful look struck them as almost comical.
"Evan Lin! Remove your foot from River Liu's face—this is a school!" Director Ben Lu took a deep breath and spoke up.
He stared at Evan, his eyes filled with complicated emotions.
If Evan's grades were mediocre, Ben Lu would’ve seized this chance to make trouble—calling the principal on the grounds that Evan had assaulted the school’s top student.
No matter what, a high-achieving student means a potential top score for Capitalview First High’s college entrance stats—a big win for the school’s reputation. If a bad student beats up a good student, the school always punishes the bad student first.
Even if Evan Lin had a powerful background, the principal would still have to discipline him to some extent.
But now things were different—Evan’s freakish scores were downright terrifying. When two star students clash, it’s a whole different story.
Henry Wang stood stiffly to the side like a block of wood, silent—he knew saying anything would be pointless.
Eric Yu, who had just gotten up from the floor, was so scared he darted to the far side of the table, putting as much distance as possible between himself and Evan.
"Come on, give me a smile. Make it look good—be happy about it."
Evan completely ignored Ben Lu’s words, keeping his eyes locked on River Liu beneath his foot.
River Liu swallowed hard, eyes brimming with tears, and looked pleadingly at Ben Lu again.
Wendy Wen’s hand trembled as she watched Evan act like this, while Lynn Chen opened her mouth, stood up, and said, "Evan, can you not hit people?"
Her brows were deeply furrowed, her gaze fixed on Evan, a hint of helplessness in her eyes.
Lynn had already been worried Evan might suddenly lash out, but there was nothing she could do to stop him. That sense of powerlessness left her deeply troubled.
After she spoke, Lynn looked at Evan’s back, but he didn’t move his foot at all—as if her words had been completely ignored too.
'Teacher!' River Liu cried out miserably.
After Ben Lu's expression shifted several times, he finally coughed and said, 'River Liu, you got first place in the grade again this time. That's something to celebrate and be happy about.'
'And you just met so many excellent new classmates here, right? That's also something to be happy about, so... just give us a smile.'
Ben Lu spoke righteously.
These words stunned River Liu and the other students.
The Director of Academic Affairs, always known for strict discipline, was now letting someone get away with violence!
Not only that, he even told River Liu, the one who got beaten up, to smile for Evan.
After Ben Lu finished speaking, he deliberately lifted his gaze, pretending not to see anything.
Everyone looked at Henry Wang, who quickly lowered his head, pulled out his phone, and started swiping the screen.
Both teachers chose to play ostrich and look the other way.
Seeing this, River Liu felt both hopeless and aggrieved. He had no choice but to force out an ugly smile at Evan, who was stepping on him.
'Looking like that and you still smile like a pile of cow dung—must have been hard on you.'
Evan lifted his foot and shook his head slightly.
He hadn’t planned to hit anyone; River Liu was beneath his notice. But the kid kept buzzing like a fly, so Evan casually 'educated' him.
As soon as Evan moved his foot, River Liu scrambled away on hands and feet, running in the opposite direction. In his panic, he tripped over a chair and fell to the floor—utterly pathetic.
'Can I leave now?'
Evan looked at Ben Lu and Henry Wang, speaking calmly.
'Yes, yes. Wendy Wen, your interview draft is ready, right?' Ben Lu nodded repeatedly, then turned to Wendy Wen.
'It’s ready.' Wendy Wen nodded, her gaze especially odd.
'Alright, the rest of you can leave. Wendy Wen, stay here—let me review your draft and you can make some edits.'
'Also, what just happened needs to stay confidential. Your class names are all on the interview forms, so don’t go spreading rumors outside—otherwise it’ll harm class unity and cause unnecessary trouble.'
As soon as Ben Lu finished speaking, the students started filing out of the conference room one by one.
Most of them left quietly, clearly understanding the weight of Ben Lu's last words.
The Director of Academic Affairs couldn’t control Evan Lin, but he could still control the rest of them.
Evan walked in front with his hands in his pockets, Lynn Chen followed two or three steps behind.
Eric Yu lagged even farther behind, eyeing Evan with obvious wariness.
River Liu was helped to the infirmary by classmates.
Once all the students had left, Ben Lu and Henry Wang exchanged glances and both let out a heavy sigh of relief.
'How does Evan Lin’s brain even work? How can his grades be this monstrous? Old Wang, have you ever seen a student like this?' Ben Lu asked Henry Wang.
'Nope, never in my life,' Henry Wang shook his head.
'What about his grades at his last school?' Ben Lu continued, 'I remember when he transferred here, he didn’t take his last final exam, but given his mind, his previous grades should’ve been good.'
'I checked his records—they were terrible,' Henry Wang replied.
The two men stared at each other for a long moment, unable to figure out why Evan would hide his grades, like some hidden master in a wuxia novel.
Wendy Wen sat nearby, listening to their conversation, thinking about Evan’s terrifying grades and enigmatic behavior, her thoughts a jumble.
'By the way, Wendy, let me see your draft.' Ben Lu walked over to Wendy Wen, who handed him her notes.
Ben Lu glanced over it, nodded slightly, and said, 'The earlier parts are pretty good, but why so few words for Evan Lin from Class 12?'
'Because he didn’t say much.' Wendy Wen replied awkwardly. She couldn’t exactly write ‘gifted beyond compare, learns everything at a glance.’
But Ben Lu simply took her pen, thought for a moment, and added five characters after Evan’s name in the interview notes.
A true genius.