It took Evan Lin more than half a month to return to Capitalview from the mountains.
When Evan pushed open the door, the apartment was empty. It was afternoon, so Stella Huang was probably still rushing news drafts at her company, and Irene Xu was likely on a flight—both were at work.
Evan showered first, setting his Nokia on the table to charge before washing up.
The phone had been unused for so long that it had automatically powered off.
After a quick rinse, Evan changed into fresh clothes.
Evan had never cared much about clothing—he always wore simple T-shirts and jeans, as long as they were comfortable.
Once the phone had charged a little, he turned it on and immediately saw over ninety-nine missed calls and countless texts, most from Joy Zheng and Lucy Lu. Evan felt a headache coming on.
His decision to go into closed-door cultivation had been so sudden that he’d forgotten to notify them.
The phone had just powered on, and before Evan could call back, Joy Zheng’s number was already calling.
Evan pressed the answer button.
"Hello, Mom."
"Evan Lin! Where have you been all these days? You scared me to death! How could you not call me for so long, and you didn’t even go to school!"
On the other end, Joy Zheng’s voice was full of anger and sternness, with a faint tremble that sounded close to tears—clearly, she was frantic with worry.
"Something came up unexpectedly, so I went out for a bit. It’s all fine now."
Evan explained.
Joy Zheng kept nagging at length, scolding Evan thoroughly. She’d rarely ever raised her voice at him before, but this time she was truly frantic.
Evan held the phone and listened quietly, feeling a rare warmth at his mother’s anxious nagging.
Finally, Joy Zheng calmed down, took a deep breath, and said, "If you ever do this again, next time I won’t let you back home! You nearly killed me with worry!"
"By the way, call Auntie Lu when you get a chance. She was so worried that she even went to the police to file a report. If I couldn’t reach you today, I was going to come to Capitalview myself!"
After that, Joy Zheng’s tone softened. She asked about Evan’s daily life, especially his studies, telling him not to put too much pressure on himself—try his best for a good score, but don’t force it if it’s too much.
Evan answered every question, then asked about things at home. He learned that all the old neighbors were busy renovating their new resettlement apartments, and no one at her school dared target Joy Zheng anymore, which reassured him.
Joy Zheng also mentioned that she wanted to sponsor several poor students through college and asked Evan’s opinion.
Evan simply encouraged her—if she wanted to do it, she should. Joy was relieved; she’d worried he might object, since college tuition for several students isn’t cheap.
Afterward, Joy Zheng continued with practical motherly advice about his health. She also mentioned Lynn Chen, saying Lynn had called recently to check on her condition and express concern.
Once Evan hung up, before he could dial out, Lucy Lu’s number popped up immediately.
"Auntie Lu."
Evan sighed as he answered—the call came almost too fast.
"Evan, where have you been all this time? I’ve been looking for you for ages, even filed a police report! Your phone was off and unreachable—you nearly scared me to death!"
Lucy Lu felt a bit calmer once she heard Evan’s voice.
"I was just in a bad mood and went out for a walk. My phone died on the way and I kept forgetting to charge it. Sorry."
Evan chuckled awkwardly.
"Forget to charge? Then how come you never forget to eat, huh?"
Lucy Lu sounded a bit dissatisfied.
Truth be told, Evan had barely eaten at all during that whole time.
"Now that you’re fine, call your mom so she can relax. And you are absolutely not allowed to do this ever again! You’ll drive people crazy with worry!"
Lucy Lu admonished, and Evan could only nod and agree.
"Are you free tonight? Come over to Auntie Lu’s place and let me cook you something nourishing! You definitely haven’t been eating right out there, and outside food isn’t clean. What if you upset your stomach or hurt your health?"
"Tonight... I really just want to sleep, so maybe not."
Evan thought it over and decided to turn down the offer.
Lucy Lu insisted a few more times, but when Evan wouldn’t budge, she relented and told him to just call whenever he wanted a good meal, and to say whatever he wanted to eat.
Lucy Lu continued to encourage Evan about his studies—senior year was less than a year away, so he should settle down and study hard. There’d be plenty of time to play once he got into college.
Evan listened quietly to all her advice, never once getting annoyed.
Lucy Lu talked for nearly an hour before finally hanging up, still not quite finished.
"Was that Evan on the phone?"
Just then, Charles Chen came in through the door, saw Lucy Lu hanging up, and asked curiously.
"Who else could it be? That kid disappeared all of a sudden last time, without a word. I was really afraid something had happened to him. If anything really did, I’d never be at peace for the rest of my life." Lucy Lu sighed, finally able to relax after learning Evan was safe.
"Nothing’s going to happen to him. You know how capable Evan is—he’s way more impressive than we can imagine. Last time Chairman Wang met him, his attitude was just... wow." Charles Chen laughed cheerfully.
He’d gotten off work early today, hung his suit on the rack by the door, and walked over to the sofa, putting an arm around Lucy Lu’s shoulders. "Honestly, Evan is almost magical. I still can’t figure out how he got Chairman Wang to respect him so much. And Wang’s son, Keaton Wang, practically worships him—he’d follow Evan around like a fanboy if he could."
"Give it a rest. Don’t even think about using Evan to get resources from Chairman Wang. Do your own work," Lucy Lu said, rolling her eyes as if she could read Charles’s mind.
Charles just laughed, still in a good mood. Work had been going smoothly lately, ever since Wansheng Wang personally came to support them, and everything afterward had gone off without a hitch.
"By the way, that student who’s been close with Lynn lately—his name is Eric Yu, right? His dad is Quentin Yu, president of the Capitalview Chamber of Commerce. He even told me about it last time; I wouldn’t have known otherwise."
Charles Chen slapped his forehead as he remembered.
"And that Eric Yu is apparently a teen star actor too?"
Lucy Lu paused mid-apple-peeling, turned to look at Charles, and asked curiously, "Do you think Evan’s bad mood lately might be because Lynn and Eric Yu have been spending too much time together?"
Charles and Lucy exchanged a look and suddenly fell silent.