Lucy drove, taking everyone back to Brightsea Garden Court.
On the way, Lucy and Joy Zheng chatted happily, while Lynn Chen looked a little sulky and couldn’t be bothered with Evan Lin.
In the afternoon, Lucy dragged Joy Zheng and Lynn Chen out shopping, leaving Evan alone at home.
By around six in the evening, Lucy and the others still hadn’t come back, and Charles Chen was out discussing business.
Evan’s phone rang—it was Yolanda Fang, which surprised him a bit.
He answered. On the other end, Yolanda was silent for a moment before speaking: "Evan, do you have time right now?"
"Yeah."
Evan frowned slightly. Even though Yolanda was trying to sound calm, he could still keenly sense a faint loneliness in her words.
"Can you come out and walk with me? I’m outside Lynn’s place right now. Let’s go climb the mountain—the one right next to Brightsea Garden Court, Thousand-Saints Mountain."
After saying this, Yolanda waited for Evan’s reply.
Evan hesitated for a moment, but still agreed.
When Evan stepped outside, he quickly spotted Yolanda waiting at the entrance to the complex. She was still dressed in her usual sports jacket and jeans.
It was deep summer, a little past six. The evening sun burned red across the sky, streaking the horizon. Under the fiery clouds, Yolanda stood with her head slightly bowed, looking at her toes, her foot tapping the pavement. The wind lifted her black hair, revealing a pale, delicate neck.
The setting sun stretched her shadow long across the ground. Seeing her from afar, Evan felt a strange sense of loneliness in his heart.
"What’s up? Why’d you call me out so urgently?"
Evan walked up to her, looking at Yolanda.
"It’s nothing. I was going to call Lynn, but her phone wouldn’t connect, so I called you instead. You don’t mind me stealing your time, do you?" Yolanda looked up at Evan, smiling slyly, her eyes curving with a hint of mischief.
Yolanda used to give off a bold and carefree vibe, always acting like she ran the show—daring to love, hate, fight, and scold. But now, standing in front of Evan, she seemed more like a little fox feeling a bit lost.
Her face, usually full of energy and youthful spirit, looked softer and more delicate in the gentle evening light.
Thousand-Saints Mountain.
The steps climbed higher, and the further up they went, the steeper the path became.
Evan remembered running into Victor Su and the others coming down the mountain here a few months ago. It felt like ages had passed since then.
Yolanda led the way, hopping up two steps at a time, leaving Evan with just her back and her hair flying in the wind.
"Hey, do you remember what you were like the first time you came to Brightsea?" Yolanda called back, lowering her head to look at Evan a few steps below.
Evan thought for a moment. "Yeah, I think I remember."
"Pfft, ‘think you remember’? Was it so lame back then you don’t want to think about it?" Yolanda rolled her eyes and laughed.
Evan didn’t argue. Back then, he really was pretty down on his luck—bad grades, no connections, no money, and greedy enough to chase after Rachel Liu, the campus goddess, like a toad dreaming of swan meat.
At least in everyone else’s eyes, Evan was definitely that toad.
"Sigh, Evan, honestly, I kind of admire you." Yolanda suddenly blurted out.
"Admire me?" Evan looked a little curious.
"Yeah! You actually dared to chase after Rachel Liu. Even though it was a moth-to-flame move that was doomed from the start, you were still full of courage back then." Yolanda said seriously.
"A lot of people laughed at you, called you a daydreaming toad, but I think you were a real warrior. If someone sincerely goes after the person they like—no matter their status—as long as they’re serious and don’t bother anyone, they deserve encouragement and praise, not ridicule."
"You were actually really amazing. I mean the old you, not the you now."
Yolanda finished and couldn’t help but laugh herself, bright as a flower. Saying stuff like this now really did sound a bit like hindsight.
Evan smiled but didn’t reply.
Halfway up the mountain, Yolanda lifted her head and gazed back at Thousand-Saints Mountain.
They’d reached the halfway point. Looking up, they could just make out a tiny temple on the mountain above, the wind stirring the branches and leaves.
"Legend says a great living Buddha passed away here on Thousand-Saints Mountain. I’ve never liked all that mystical stuff, but sometimes I envy monks and nuns—they just knock on wooden fish all day and don’t have so many worries."
Yolanda pouted, and before Evan could answer, she bounced over, grabbed his wrist, and dragged him toward a big rock off to the side.
The huge rock beside Thousand-Saints Mountain was like a viewing platform. From here, you could see most of Brightsea City spread out below—an amazing view.
"You can see half of Brightsea from here, but right now there’s only one thing I want to do," Yolanda said solemnly.
"What’s that?"
Evan sensed something strange in Yolanda’s mood. Before he could finish asking, Yolanda took a deep breath, puffed her cheeks, then stood on the big rock and shouted out over Brightsea City: "I’m so freaking annoyed! Ahhhhhhh!"
Yolanda yelled for more than ten seconds before stopping, breathing hard, her face flushed and looking excited. Then she glanced at Evan, a little dissatisfied: "Hey, why aren’t you shouting?"
"I don’t really have anything I want to say." Evan shook his head.
"Hmph, maybe you don’t now, but you might not get another chance later." Yolanda stretched, then after a moment’s silence, suddenly said, "Evan, I’m leaving Brightsea."
"Huh?" Evan looked at Yolanda.
"You’ve met my mom. My parents have been living in Oceanport all these years—they hardly ever came back. This time, she’s here to take me to Oceanport." Yolanda’s eyes were wide, her tone calm, like she was just mentioning something trivial.
"Maybe… after this, we might not get to see each other again."
"I wanted to tell Lynn, but if she knew, she’d be really upset. I was afraid she’d cry—you know how she acts all proud, but she’s actually super easy to cry. So I asked you to come climb the mountain with me instead."
After finishing, Yolanda looked at Evan and asked, "If I go to Oceanport and never come back, will you come visit me?"