Lynn Chen regretted what she’d just said almost immediately.
It might be almost autumn, but it’s still late summer—so the weather isn’t as hot as midsummer, but honestly, it’s still pretty warm out.
Besides, Evan Lin came to find her today. A guy and a girl hanging out, grabbing some desserts and strolling around would’ve been way more chill—but hotpot? Sweating buckets, lips burning, totally wrecks her ladylike image.
"Okay."
Evan didn’t turn her down. What they ate didn’t matter; apart from Auntie Lu and Joy Zheng bugging him about it, Evan had just thought of inviting Lynn on a whim.
The two of them walked through the city streets, surrounded by Beijing’s traffic and crowds.
In this city, both Evan and Lynn were outsiders. That feeling of being a stranger in a strange place—yeah, that pretty much sums it up.
Every now and then, Lynn would sneak a glance at Evan beside her. Seeing his calm face, hands in his pockets, she couldn’t help but drift into memories.
Back when they were little, visiting Whitewood County, Evan had stood up to a vicious dog to protect her. That scruffy kid had a shy, pure smile that stuck with her.
Evan was weak but honest and kind. Even though Lynn looked like a little princess, she never thanked that dirty kid—but deep down, she felt something she couldn’t quite explain.
That feeling kept her up for days, and every time she drifted off, she’d see that innocent smile in her dreams.
But as Lynn grew up, she was surrounded by more and more friends—kids from the city, clean and polished, nothing like that scruffy boy from Whitewood.
Gradually, as Lynn got older, she started to forget about that kid.
But then, in her first year of high school, the boy who should’ve stayed back in Whitewood showed up in her life again.
Seeing Evan again made Lynn secretly happy, but as the campus princess chased by tons of guys, she instinctively pushed him away.
It was that tangled feeling girls get. Maybe it was because little Evan once had the guts to fight a vicious dog for her, but the high school Evan just didn’t have that courage anymore.
Back then, Lynn only saw him as shy, humble, gentle, introverted, bad at talking, and honestly, a pretty lousy student.
She wished that even if he was broke and powerless, Evan would at least show some backbone. Whenever she teased him or showed her annoyance, she secretly hoped he’d push back, maybe even snap at her—instead of just obeying and acting all timid.
She pitied his bad luck, but was mad he wouldn’t fight for himself.
That was how she really felt deep down. So from freshman to sophomore year, Lynn never treated Evan very kindly.
She figured the brave kid who’d stood up to the dog for her and the timid high schooler just weren’t the same person anymore.
Cells in the human body change every day—old ones die, new ones are born. After more than ten years, someone’s basically a whole new person, so the Evan she saw wasn’t the Evan from back then.
Lynn had been disappointed, so she tried everything to keep her distance. The more she saw that introverted, struggling Evan, the more she remembered the tiny figure who’d stood between her and the dog.
But everything seemed to change again when sophomore year arrived.
Ever since that night at Imperial Grand, Lynn started seeing traces of the old Evan—his sharpness, his humility, his courage, and the fearless spirit he showed fighting that dog for her.
Back then, Lynn was just a little princess and didn’t want to show Evan too much enthusiasm—especially once she realized he was acting more and more indifferent toward her, which honestly drove her nuts.
Sometimes she just wanted to smack Evan.
But she wasn’t strong enough, didn’t have the guts, and honestly didn’t have the right to do it anyway.
So she just let it drag on. Eventually, after everything they went through and Evan kept helping her out of trouble again and again, Lynn finally started to accept him for real.
It all changed so quietly and slowly that Lynn didn’t even notice when she started caring about Evan’s every move—getting jealous when he talked to other girls, or worrying when he disappeared from school.
Liking someone means wanting to own them; loving someone is reaching for their hand, then pulling yours back. That’s pretty much how it feels.
Girls’ thoughts are complicated. Sometimes Lynn couldn’t even figure out what she wanted. But right now, walking shoulder to shoulder with Evan down the city sidewalk, she felt a rare sense of peace inside.
Cars rushed by, their engines humming, and Lynn’s footsteps matched Evan’s stride perfectly.
After three blocks, they finally stopped in front of a stylish hotpot restaurant.
"I was planning to come here with my roommates before, but it never worked out," Lynn said.
Lynn pulled open the door, smiled at Evan, and asked, "Can you handle spicy food?"
"Yeah, I can," Evan replied.
Evan nodded, barely saying a word, and Lynn was already used to it.
"Welcome!"
The smiling waiter led Evan and Lynn to their table.
They sat by the window.
From here, they could see the flow of people outside. The place wasn’t crowded.
Lynn picked up the menu, asking Evan what he liked as she placed their order.
Evan leaned back in his seat, gazing out the window, his eyes tracing the path they’d walked to get here.
At the far end of the street, sharp sword qi slashed through the air.
The sword qi cut like blades, each streak radiating a fierce, razor-sharp aura.
A ridiculously handsome guy walked right down the middle of the street, hands in his pockets. As he passed, car tires kept bursting and vehicles crashed together.
In an instant, the whole road was a mess.
Most of the tires had faint slash marks—cuts so clean they looked like they’d been sliced by a sword.
"What are you looking at?" Lynn asked, noticing Evan staring out the window, curiosity in her voice.
Lynn glanced at Evan, a little curious about what had caught his attention.
"Nothing much. Probably just watching some idiot," Evan said, shaking his head.
He shook his head, poured himself a cup of tea, and stayed as calm as ever.