In the sky?
Queenie Tong could clearly sense that after she finished speaking, the girl on the other end of the call fell completely silent.
The atmosphere became strangely tense.
"Um... I'm not lying to you, he really is in the sky."
Queenie worried the girl might misunderstand.
Even though suddenly getting a call from a girl so obviously interested in Evan Lin—and apparently quite close to him—left Queenie feeling a bit uneasy and strangely lonely deep down.
But she wasn't selfish enough to use the information gap to force the other girl to back off.
After all, Queenie wasn't that domineering, and she believed that any girl who was this close to Evan Lin probably wasn't some unreasonable troublemaker.
Queenie didn't even want things to get awkward between them.
"I understand."
The girl on the other end of the line let out a deep breath and laughed, "You don't need to explain, I get what you mean."
"I know he always runs into all sorts of weird things, so even if you say he's hanging in the sky and hasn't come down yet, I can understand."
The girl sounded pretty open-minded.
And as she spoke, Queenie could also sense a hint of helplessness and tenderness in her voice—especially when she mentioned Evan Lin, Queenie sharply caught an indescribable feeling lingering in the girl's words.
Maybe this was someone just like her, who wanted something from Evan Lin but had no way to get it.
"How about this—when he comes down, I'll have him give you a call?"
Queenie continued speaking on her end.
"If it's convenient, just have him call me back. My name is Lynn Chen."
"If it's not convenient, that's fine. I just wanted to know if he's safe right now."
On the other end, the girl's voice remained calm and gentle.
"He's safe, really safe—you don't need to worry about that."
Queenie hurriedly added, "I've known him for so long, and I've only ever seen him bully other people—I've never seen anyone manage to bully him."
When Queenie mentioned this, she quickly heard Lynn Chen's soft laugh on the other end of the call.
"That's actually just like me."
"I don't think I've seen him get bullied either—well, it's probably been a really long time since that happened."
Lynn Chen paused to think.
Back before senior year, Evan Lin was pretty timid. At that time, they weren't at the same school, so Lynn really never got the chance to see him being bullied.
Back then, she would only occasionally hear news about Evan from Minghai No. 2 High.
Most of it was about Evan getting bullied again, or hearing Lucy Lu at home talk about Evan's grades—how lousy they were, how he should work harder but not put too much pressure on himself.
If you really think about it, their worlds only truly intersected that night at Imperial Grand.
Deep inside, a nameless emotion suddenly welled up in Lynn Chen.
She was standing on her dorm balcony, gazing out at the Beijing University campus.
Ever since Evan Lin last came to Beijing and then left, Lynn always felt like something was missing from the campus.
Back when Evan hadn't visited Beijing University to find her yet, she could mostly numb herself by throwing herself into nonstop studying.
But now, every time she passed the school gate—and sometimes looked across at Clearwater University opposite—Lynn couldn't help but remember those brief times Evan stood at the gate, called her out, and took her to eat together.
Those beautiful moments were short and gentle.
It seemed like the best memory Lynn had of this summer.
But now, deep summer was ending, autumn was coming, the trees on campus were starting to turn yellow, and the scorching heat of summer was quietly slipping away.
Lynn Chen held her phone and tightened her jacket around herself.
That Math Department guy, after losing to Evan in the math modeling competition, finally gave up. But one time he came to Lynn, asking her to pass a message to Evan—Beijing had several Lakeside Courtyard contracts ready for Evan to take over.
Lynn hadn't mentioned this to Evan—she just felt sorry for that guy, and figured Evan should decide whether to take the courtyard or not.
Lynn didn't refuse on Evan's behalf; this time, she suddenly thought of him, wanted to call, but couldn't find a good excuse—so she decided to use this as a reason to talk.
But after several failed attempts, Lynn grew anxious, contacted various people, and after several rounds finally got through to Queenie Tong and got news about Evan.
Two girls.
One in a Beijing University dorm, the other on the rooftop terrace of Orchid Crown International Hotel in Hong Kong.
Separated by thousands of miles, talking about the same boy.
Lynn Chen and Queenie Tong seemed to find resonance in their conversation. The two chatted happily, circling around Evan Lin and talking about him at length.
Lynn told Queenie about Evan's past—how he stubbornly protected her from a vicious dog as a kid, and how she herself, when she was young and foolish, did a lot to hurt him.
Lynn spoke lightly about rights and wrongs, without much concealment.
Queenie listened to Lynn and, through her words, glimpsed the ordinary side of Evan Lin before he became Master Lin from Seacrest.
Then Queenie told Lynn how she and Evan met by accident, and later begged him for help with all sorts of things. The two chatted for a long time.
But throughout their conversation, they always just called him 'Evan Lin.'
Queenie never brought up the title 'Master Lin from Seacrest,' because that name made Evan feel too distant from her.
Lynn also avoided mentioning how her parents always called Evan 'Little Yi,' purposefully keeping family pressure out of their relationship.
And Lynn could tell that Queenie, too, harbored feelings for Evan Lin.
Serena Tong watched Queenie chatting on the phone and shook her head.
She'd overheard a bit, and was curious about the other girl's relationship with Evan, but as Queenie's older sister, Serena quickly restrained her own feelings.
She liked Evan Lin, but that's as far as it went. She knew when to stop.
She wouldn't say it aloud, and would never compete with her sister for a guy.
Mature affection means letting go.
Serena Tong had always been calm, never fighting or competing.
Of course, Evan Lin was always too distant for both her and Queenie—competing for him wouldn't necessarily mean winning him.
Serena looked up at the wall of fire in the sky.
Behind the wall of fire, the silhouette of the young man seemed to grow clearer.
"Hello, Serena Tong. If it's convenient, I'd like to speak with you privately."
Suddenly, a voice sounded beside her.