"You!"
Harvey Xie gagged and retched for a long time, frantically clawing at his face to wipe off the cat feces smeared there. But that pungent stench was so overpowering he couldn’t help but throw up several more times.
When he finally looked up, there was no trace of Evan Lin anywhere.
"What the hell just happened?! Damn it!"
Furious, Harvey Xie roared and smashed his fist into the ground. The punch was so fierce that a surge of force erupted, landing right next to the cat feces.
As his fist struck, Harvey froze for a second. Before he could even celebrate the return of his Inner Strength, he could only watch in horror as the cat feces he’d just scraped off was sent flying by the shockwave—smacking right back onto his face.
"A mid-stage Inner Strength expert, and I almost didn’t know how to beat you up." Evan Lin sighed inwardly. If it weren’t for the inconvenience of fighting here, he would’ve already finished Harvey Xie off.
Joy Zheng is Evan Lin’s reverse scale; he won’t allow the slightest risk to her. Besides, with the trip to Fenghua Mountain in Zhaoyu Town tomorrow, if Harvey Xie shows even a hint of dissatisfaction or anger on the road, Evan will make sure to erase him without hesitation.
"If necessary, even the Fire Elder can be wiped out."
Evan Lin muttered to himself, "After all these days, Medicine King Valley must be in chaos by now. Looks like I’ll have to pay their valley a personal visit sometime. If I can loot a few aged medicinal herbs, that’d be a decent haul."
Back when Evan Lin and Harvey Xie fought, the seemingly gentle pat Evan gave Harvey’s shoulder had already sealed off all the force and energy in Harvey’s body.
Harvey’s Inner Strength only returned after Evan left.
That little trick was just to mess with a mid-stage Inner Strength expert like him. Rather than crippling him outright, Evan preferred to let him lose when he thought he’d win—so that idiot would be left stewing in his own misery.
Countless thoughts flashed through Evan Lin’s mind as he headed home. By the time he arrived, dinner was already on the table.
Joy Zheng saw Evan come in and quickly called out, "Xiao Yi, go wash your hands—dinner’s ready!"
Lynn Chen and Yolanda Fang also turned to look. Both girls had been a little uneasy just now—after all, Harvey Xie didn’t exactly give off a trustworthy vibe.
Whenever Lynn and Yolanda interacted with him, they always felt uncomfortable—especially when Harvey Xie stared at them. That feeling was even stronger.
And just now, when Evan said he was going out with Harvey, both girls worried Harvey might try something. Now, seeing Evan back safe and sound, they finally relaxed.
"By the way, where’s the person who went out with you? Didn’t he come in?" Joy Zheng glanced behind Evan, curious.
"Oh, he said he’d head home to eat, so he’s not joining us." Evan Lin smiled.
Joy Zheng frowned. "You kid—he said he was going home to eat, but why didn’t you stop him?"
"It’s fine, Auntie Zheng. Harvey Xie has different tastes than us, so it’s not weird he didn’t want to eat here. Come on, let’s eat together!" Yolanda Fang giggled, stood up, and pulled Joy Zheng to sit down.
"Yeah, Auntie Zheng, it’s been ages since I had your cooking. I’m starving—let’s just eat, forget about him." Lynn Chen chimed in with a sweet smile.
Joy Zheng let the two girls link arms and sit her down. She smiled at them. "My cooking’s nothing compared to your mom’s, but if you’re hungry, dig in—eat plenty."
Watching the two girls chatting so enthusiastically with Joy Zheng, Evan Lin quietly scooped rice for himself, holding his bowl and chopsticks, eating off to the side like an outsider.
But seeing Joy Zheng’s face full of smiles, Evan Lin felt genuinely happy for her.
Back when he was in school in Whitewood County, Evan would come home every day. He didn’t think much of it then—after all, Joy Zheng always made dinner after work, then went off to tutor.
In Evan Lin’s eyes, Joy Zheng was always busy.
Later, when Evan went to Minghai for high school, it was just Joy Zheng alone at home.
Facing an empty, lonely house every day—his mom must have felt pretty lonely too.
Thinking about this, Evan Lin felt a sudden pang in his heart. It’s not like no one ever tried to introduce someone to Joy Zheng, but she always turned them down, afraid it would affect Evan.
A scene this lively had never happened in Evan’s memory. Watching Yolanda Fang and Lynn Chen now, his gaze unconsciously softened.
"Hey, why do you keep looking over here? Got something you want to say?" Yolanda, who’d been chatting with Joy Zheng, suddenly turned and grinned at Evan, her delicate brows arching mischievously as she shot him a sly look.
Lynn Chen also turned her head and saw Evan looking over. Her heart skipped a beat, but she kept a calm face, lifting her chin in a slightly proud, tsundere way.
Lately, Lynn had been thinking a lot—about Evan, about herself. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about him, but at least the old disgust she once had was completely gone.
Instead, there was a vague, hard-to-define feeling taking its place.
Joy Zheng glanced at Evan and smiled. "What’s wrong? Are you embarrassed because there are girls at home today?"
Embarrassed?
Evan paused when he heard Joy Zheng’s words.
He’d lived for hundreds of years—he’d long since forgotten what embarrassment even felt like.
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Yolanda Fang shot Evan a scornful look. "He’s not shy at all, Auntie Zheng. Let me tell you, Evan’s super popular at school—tons of girls know him."
"I can vouch for that," Lynn Chen chimed in.
The two girls started chatting away, taking turns telling stories about Evan’s exploits at school.
Joy Zheng sat to the side, listening with great interest and occasional surprise, clearly impressed by Evan’s reputation at school.
The atmosphere was full of joy.
After dinner, Evan tried to help clean up, but Joy Zheng stopped him.
Joy Zheng told Evan to take Yolanda Fang and Lynn Chen out for a walk.
Once outside, walking down the street in the chilly wind, Evan watched Lynn Chen and Yolanda Fang walking hand-in-hand and couldn’t help being surprised by how well they handled things.
After all, in Evan’s memory, Lynn Chen always seemed to have a bit of OCD.
"Hey, having two beauties like me and Lynn Chen walking with you—don’t you feel honored?" Yolanda Fang teased, raising her eyebrows at Evan.
Lynn Chen shot Yolanda a look but also glanced at Evan, lifting her chin slightly.
No matter what, Lynn Chen and Yolanda Fang—one pretty, one with a striking figure, both turning heads wherever they went—could instantly draw the gaze of any group of boys.
"It’s okay," Evan replied.
His answer clearly left both girls a bit dissatisfied.
"Oh, please. You’re definitely grinning inside. Or are you saying there’s a girl in Whitewood County prettier than our Lynn Chen?" Yolanda huffed.
Just as she finished, not far away, a girl rode over on a bicycle, looking sharp and lively with a baseball cap on her head.