Zhu Manor.
Evan Lin returned to his room; Yvonne Zhu had things to handle and said she'd come find him later.
He'd only agreed to Victor and Henry Zhu's invitation because he had nothing else to do.
Originally, Evan planned to visit the Guan family today, but after calling Sam "Second Brother" Su to ask about Butcher Tu's whereabouts, he found out that Butcher Tu had only just left Jinnan, and it was still uncertain when he'd return to Oceanport.
Butcher Tu had stayed in Jinnan for days, refusing to return to Oceanport, all to ambush Evan Lin. But since Evan wasn't in Jinnan, he never got his chance.
Just then, Auntie Lu called Evan, asking about how he and Joy Zheng were doing in Oceanport. She especially asked several times if anyone was bullying them, and emphasized that if Joy wasn't happy there, she should just come back to Minghai for New Year.
Evan simply said everything was fine, not mentioning any of the recent drama so Auntie Lu wouldn't worry for no reason.
In Auntie Lu's mind, Joy Zheng's background was never bad. Back in school, she already sensed it, but Joy never used her family status to pressure anyone, and her personality was the classic gentle southern girl—soft-spoken, graceful, and never one to compete.
It was only after Joy was forced to leave Whitewood that, during occasional heart-to-heart talks, Auntie Lu gradually learned more about her story.
"Auntie Lu, don't worry. I'll take good care of my mom. And if you ever run into any trouble over there, you can always come to me."
Evan Lin stood by the window, smiling as he spoke.
“What kind of trouble could I possibly have?” Auntie Lu shook her head with a laugh. “But these past few days, Yara Qu and her bestie have been coming over to my place all the time—inside and outside the conversation, they’re always asking when you’ll have time to tutor them.”
At this point, Auntie Lu paused for a moment and added, “And also, Lynn Chen has been stuck on all sorts of problems these days. Once you’re free, you should give her some one-on-one tutoring too.”
“One-on-one tutoring!”
Auntie Lu deliberately emphasized the words.
"Ever since you started senior year, your brain's totally switched on. Lynn's been scared every day that you'll pull farther and farther ahead, so now she just holes up in her room studying nonstop. Your Uncle Chen and I have tried to talk her out of it a bunch of times, but it's no use."
"The way you've been doing lately, that's just amazing."
Auntie Lu let out a sigh.
Evan felt a bit surprised at heart when he heard that.
Back when Lynn was at Brightsea No. 1 High, she was only a little above average—definitely not one of the top students.