Autumn Zheng looked dazed for a moment when she heard Evan Lin's words, then smiled: "Of course I hope Master Ben can be cured."
He's supported our Zheng family for so many years. Without him, we might've collapsed long ago.
Autumn Zheng let out a sigh.
These past years, life in the Zheng family hasn't been nearly as glamorous as outsiders think. We've basically been keeping our heads down just to get by.
"You wanted something from me?"
Evan Lin didn't respond to that.
"I just wanted to talk," Autumn Zheng nodded. "Last time I saw you at Capitalview First High, working through exam papers, I could tell you were different. With your grades, you'll definitely hit the Hundred-School Joint Exam cutoff for direct admission. Professor Gordon Gu has really high hopes for you. Do you want to go study at Clearwater University?"
As she spoke, Autumn Zheng watched Evan's expression closely, but to her disappointment, his face stayed exactly the same—no change at all. She couldn't get any answers from him.
"No."
Evan Lin shook his head.
"Not going?"
Autumn Zheng was caught off guard by Evan's answer and blinked: "Clearwater is the top university in the country, and the math department leads into all kinds of fields. Beyond math and research, you could go into finance or AI algorithms—there's tons of room for you to shine."
But halfway through her pitch, Autumn suddenly remembered—Evan Lin was actually Master Lin from Seacrest.
What ordinary people see as a top university just doesn't mean that much to him.
"For now, I'm not considering Beijing," Evan replied simply.
Earlier, when Evan mentioned this to Joy Zheng, she clearly didn't want him going to Clearwater University. Evan didn't bother asking why, and couldn't care less. Unless it's absolutely necessary, he has no plans to set foot in Clearwater.
In his last life as the Nine Mysteries Immortal Lord, he'd been everywhere. Sure, China has its beautiful mountains and rivers, but very few places could truly catch his interest.
Maybe the old Evan would've looked up to Clearwater University, but now he just saw it as ordinary.
After saying that, Evan started walking toward the door.
Autumn Zheng steadied herself and hurried after him, forcing a wry smile: "Professor Gordon Gu is honestly super excited about you going to Clearwater. If he finds out you don't want to, he's gonna be heartbroken."
Evan Lin didn't answer her. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "What kind of person is Fang Qiuji from Oceanport?"
"Fang Qiuji?"
Hearing Evan's question, Autumn Zheng was a bit taken aback. She glanced at him, her tone a little hesitant, then finally spoke: "I heard he came to Oceanport from out of town more than ten years ago. At first, he worked tough jobs on construction sites, but later he entered the business world. During the late '90s internet bubble, he made a fortune, then followed up with several acquisitions that quickly made his name."
After briefly summarizing Fang Qiuji's rise, Autumn sighed again: "Honestly, he's a bit strange, but you could call him a legendary figure in Oceanport."
"A bit strange?" Evan glanced at Autumn Zheng.
Before this, Evan had only ever crossed paths with Sandra Ling.
Sandra first tried to put Evan in his place back in Minghai, hoping he'd cut ties with Yolanda Fang. Then, in Jinnan, she got Quentin Yu to pressure Charles Chen's group, trying to force Evan back to Minghai. After Linda Guan left Capitalview in disgrace, Sandra probably hates Evan's guts by now.
But really, Sandra only has that kind of confidence because of Fang Qiuji. Up till now, Evan barely knows anything about Fang Qiuji.
"Yeah. People call Fang Qiuji the Oceanport Oracle. His decisions are almost never wrong. Not long ago, there were rumors he was planning a marriage alliance with the He family. Their young master Henry He is ranked ninth on the Oceanport Young Tigers List—a rare all-rounder with both brains and brawn."
Autumn nodded. She used to be impressed by Henry He's talent, but after glancing at Evan, the comparison made Henry seem pretty average.
"Henry He," Evan repeated the name. "What's the Oceanport Young Tigers List?"
Evan was actually more curious about the Young Tigers List than Henry He himself.
"The Oceanport Young Tigers List is a ranking for people under twenty-five, based on talent, family background, and potential. It's updated every month."
Autumn paused briefly, then continued: "There are only twenty spots on the whole list. Anyone who makes it is set for a huge future."
Henry He is only twenty-one, but his strength is about fourth-grade Vajra. With the He family's background and his athletic and academic talent, that's how he got ranked ninth.
A while back, the Guan family's first-grade Vajra enforcer Butcher Tu vanished. Austin Guan, who used to be ranked fourteenth, dropped to seventeenth—three spots down. If not for rumors that Austin might soon break into fourth-grade Vajra, he would've fallen off the list altogether.
Autumn explained briefly.
Evan shook his head. "These guys aren't that capable, but they sure know how to play games."
For regular martial artists, reaching Vajra in their early twenties is already amazing. But in Evan's eyes, they're nothing but ants.
That day, Evan killed Butcher Tu outright on Phoenix Mountain's rain-slicked road. Austin Guan dropping in the rankings is only natural.
"When Sandra Ling talked about arranging a marriage alliance with a big family, it must've been the He family."
Evan thought it over, but didn't bother to go looking for them yet.
Sandra's moves were all in Evan's sights. He'd promised Yolanda Fang that as long as she wasn't willing, he would never let anyone force her to make a choice. Evan didn't want to interfere with her freedom.
He figured there was still a year to go. "Sandra, are you really ready to see me again?"
Evan let out a cold laugh, his eyes full of indifference.
Standing off to the side, Autumn Zheng studied Evan's figure, her eyes full of complex emotions.
She secretly thought that if Evan ever decided to compete for a spot on that list, he could probably go straight into the top three.
But outside the Zheng estate, all people really know is that the Qi family came looking for trouble and ended up fleeing in disgrace. The Zhu family, who witnessed it, refuse to talk about what happened.
In Oceanport, there still aren't many rumors about Master Lin from Seacrest.