The sudden voice cut through the tension, making Victor Yu, who was on the verge of exploding, pause for a moment.
Who the hell dares to speak up at a time like this?
Victor Yu turned his head and saw a guy in a somewhat shabby jacket, looking thin and not particularly handsome or sunny—the kind of person you'd lose in a crowd—walking slowly over.
"Excuse me, could you please make way?"
Evan Lin glanced at the crowd in front of him, nodded lightly to signal them, then pushed past the two burly men blocking his way and walked right in.
"Who the hell are you? You think a place like Imperial Grand KTV is for people like you?"
Victor Yu's forehead veins bulged as he struggled to keep his anger in check, but he didn't make a move right away.
A guest is still a guest.
That was Damon Wang's rule.
If it weren't for tonight's special circumstances—those idiots in the private room had pissed off Boss Long—Victor Yu would never have brought his men to check the rooms.
After all, causing trouble for the venue's reputation is never a good idea.
"Sorry, I'll be leaving in a minute."
Evan walked through the crowd and into the private room, naturally reaching out to push Jason Zhao aside at the doorway.
Lynn Chen was still dazed, unable to figure out how Evan had managed to get past so many people and walk right in.
Standing in front of Lynn, Evan lowered his head and said, "Aunt Lu asked me to take you home. It's almost midnight; time to go."
Evan's tone was calm, his eyes on Lynn betraying no emotion at all.
"Who asked you to meddle!"
Looking at Evan in his outdated clothes and feeling uncomfortable under his unsettling gaze, Lynn snapped back instinctively.
"I'm not trying to control you. I just don't want Aunt Lu to worry."
Aunt Lu?
Hearing Evan's words, Sisi Shao and Yolanda Fang beside Lynn couldn't help but glance at him a few more times.
They knew exactly who Aunt Lu was, but Evan's identity still puzzled them.
"Lynn, who is he?"
Sisi Shao frowned, clearly unimpressed by Evan's shabby clothes and average looks. "Is he that shameless pursuer you mentioned? Seriously, his level is way too low. Not even 1.8 meters tall, dressed in bargain-bin stuff—his family must be dirt poor."
Sisi's face was full of disdain, not caring at all about Evan's feelings as she spoke.
Yolanda, on the other hand, studied Evan seriously. He looked familiar, but she couldn't quite remember where she'd seen him before.
"Stop using my mom to pressure me!"
Lynn felt utterly humiliated. She wanted to say she didn't even know Evan, but at this point, that clearly wouldn't help.
"She can't leave!"
Boss Long roared hoarsely from behind.
His voice was shrill, clearly still reeling from the blow he'd just taken to his crotch.
Evan turned and gave Boss Long a calm, indifferent look.
Boss Long puffed out his belly. "That woman isn't leaving! And you, kid—where'd you come from?"
Victor Yu waved his hand, not even glancing at Evan. "Break one leg of every male, send all the girls to Boss Long's room."
After a pause, Victor Yu added, "Every single one. That kid who just walked in counts too."
"Let's talk this out—"
Liam Li barely got half his sentence out.
The moment Victor Yu gave the order, Charlie Liang sprang into action—he landed a straight punch to Liam's face, knocking him to the ground, then spun and kicked Jason Zhao.
The black-clad enforcers surged into the room, immediately grabbing the boys and beating them mercilessly.
Outside the door, Boss Long stomped viciously on Simon Li, making him howl in pain.
"When you get a chance, run for it."
Yolanda Fang stood protectively in front of Lynn, gripping a beer bottle tightly in her slender hand, her sharp eyes locked on the black-clad thugs who could charge at any moment. Her pretty face was the picture of composure.
Lynn's face had gone completely pale. She watched helplessly as Jason Zhao was kicked to the ground by Charlie Liang, left in a sorry heap.
Against the former No. 1 High School boss Charlie Liang, Jason didn't stand a chance.
"What do we do? What do we do?"
Sisi Shao had lost all her earlier disdain for Evan, now looking panicked. "I am NOT getting dragged into that fat bastard's room!"
Evan glanced at the chaotic brawl.
The black-clad thugs obviously had the upper hand; the pampered No. 1 High students were getting thrashed and screaming.
"Still not planning to leave?"
Evan looked at Lynn's pale face and asked her again.
"Stop bothering me!"
Lynn snapped at Evan, her mood at its absolute worst.
"Fine, I'll just wait here for you."
Evan was a bit helpless—if it weren't for Aunt Lu, he would've left long ago.
Since Lynn still refused to leave, Evan found an empty seat, sat down, and poured himself a drink.
He took a sip, and the sour, astringent taste made him frown. "Never had grape wine before—turns out it's pretty awful."
Evan acted like none of this had anything to do with him, not caring about the chaos unfolding around him.
Lynn bit her lip. "It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, none of this would've happened."
Jason Zhao was pinned to the ground by Charlie Liang, who kept pounding his face with his fists.
Liam Li was being dragged by the hair and slapped repeatedly by a burly thug.
All the girls in the private room screamed and huddled in the corner while the boys got beaten by the black-clad thugs. Only Evan sat calmly on the sofa, holding a half-finished glass of wine, looking completely unfazed.
"Stop! All of you, stop!"
Lynn finally stood up, holding it in for a long time before she shouted.
"Hm?"
Victor Yu glanced at Lynn and waved his hand, making everyone stop what they were doing.
"I'll stay with him tonight! Just let my classmates go!"
Lynn was trembling all over, her voice hoarse as if she'd used up all her strength to shout.
"Lynn!"
Yolanda instantly pulled Lynn back, shielding her behind her.
Victor Yu looked at Lynn. "You'll stay, but they're not leaving either."
Victor Yu glanced at one of his men, who immediately stepped forward to grab Lynn.
Sisi Shao shrank back in fear, while Yolanda Fang gripped her beer bottle even tighter, ready to swing it to protect Lynn.
Just as the thug was about to reach Lynn, he suddenly felt a hand pressed against his chest.
"Hey, there are plenty of people and girls in here—take your pick. But this one, you can't touch."
Evan set down his wineglass, stood up from the sofa, and placed his left palm squarely on the thug's chest.
"Get lost!"
The thug glared at Evan and roared at him.
Before anyone could react, there was a loud bang.
A black figure was sent flying, crashing through two tables and shattering unopened wine bottles all over the floor.
Evan picked up a slice of watermelon from the table, took a bite, spat out a seed, swept his cold gaze over the room, and said flatly, "Sorry, but I said it—this person is off-limits."
"At least not tonight. I promised someone I'd take her home. Anyone who tries to stop me—"
"—will die."
Evan's face was expressionless, his tone calm and brooking no argument.