Leo Lewis's face twisted with terror. He struggled desperately in Evan Lin's grip, like a dying pig thrashing for its life.
Evan Lin didn't budge. With one hand, he hoisted Leo Lewis up and carried him to the window, lifting his whole body outside.
Cold wind howled, and the cool moon hung high in the sky.
"What are you doing!"
Leo Lewis opened his eyes and saw the tiny street far below. The cold wind blasted him, making every hair on his body stand up as pure terror took over.
Leo Lewis's face turned ghostly pale. His voice was shrill: "I was wrong! Bro! I was wrong! Please let me down! Whatever you want, money, anything—I'll give it to you! All of it!"
As Leo Lewis opened his mouth to beg, the wind rushed in, making his face look even paler.
"A lowly ant like you isn't even qualified to negotiate."
Evan Lin let go. Leo Lewis's bulky body shot down from the high window.
A few seconds later, a heavy thud sounded from below, followed by a chorus of shocked screams from the crowd.
Yolanda Fang trembled all over. She stood there, gasping for breath as she stared at Evan Lin's calm face, still not recovered from what had just happened.
"You... he, he fell..." Yolanda could hardly believe her own eyes.
"It's over. You should go home now." Evan glanced at Yolanda and shrugged indifferently.
Hands in his pockets, Evan turned and walked out of the room. After a dazed moment, Yolanda took a deep breath and quickly followed him.
As she stepped out, Yolanda saw the corridor littered with unconscious bodyguards. She bit her lip, watching Evan's back ahead of her, countless thoughts swirling in her mind.
"Hey, I didn't see anything just now. And... thanks for today."
On the way downstairs, Yolanda finally gathered her courage and called out to Evan.
"Honestly, Evan only threw Leo Lewis down because of me," Yolanda muttered to herself, her mood gradually calming.
Leo Lewis has hurt plenty of people before. Falling from the building—well, you could say he slipped and fell on his own.
"Mm." Evan replied softly, saying nothing more.
Yolanda bit her lip and followed Evan Lin downstairs.
When they reached the first-floor lobby, the fire was already out, but the hall was a charred wreck.
Crowds of hotel guests had gathered outside.
Outside the hotel, there was a fire truck and a police car parked.
Leo Lewis's body lay motionless on the ground, while nearby police hurried to set up a cordon.
Just moments ago, they’d responded to a call about trouble at the Crescent Grand Hotel. Before their car had even stopped, they heard a loud thud—Leo Lewis's body had slammed into the pavement, instantly lifeless.
Yolanda glanced nervously at the police, terrified they’d come over and arrest Evan Lin.
Evan, hands in his pockets, didn’t even look their way. He just walked to the street.
Only after leaving the Crescent Grand Hotel did Yolanda’s nerves finally start to settle.
"Hey, are you... okay?" Yolanda asked, watching Evan's back under the dim streetlights.
The boy's thin back looked a little lonely, but his posture was impossibly straight—like a sword.
"Why would anything be wrong with me?" Evan shook his head. "You should go home. Stay out of bars, and don't go looking for trouble."
Earlier today, Yolanda had been chewed out by Ethan Yi, which left her miserable. She'd wanted Lynn Chen to come out drinking with her, but right after calling, Yolanda got targeted by Leo Lewis at the bar.
Yolanda used to have a huge crush on Ethan Yi, all because of his insane soccer skills. Since middle school, he'd been the undisputed campus idol, famous for his talent on the field.
But this afternoon, on the field...
Class 3, led by Ethan Yi, got utterly crushed in just one half by Evan Lin alone—he made them look like amateurs. Yolanda suddenly realized that the supposedly unbeatable Ethan could actually lose!
And Evan Lin, with that always-bored face, somehow kept doing jaw-dropping things so casually that Yolanda found him more and more impossible to figure out.
When she was drinking, Yolanda kept replaying Evan's incredible moves on the soccer field in her mind, leaving her feelings in total chaos.
Thinking about Evan Lin, Yolanda couldn't help but feel something else stirring inside her.
Not far away, a taxi pulled up.
Evan Lin waved for the taxi. As it stopped, he opened the door and glanced at Yolanda: "Once you're home, call Lynn Chen. I can save you once, but I can't always save you."
Yolanda bit her red lips and silently lowered her head as she got into the car.
She'd meant to ask Evan if he wanted to get in, but as soon as she was inside, he shut the door without a word.
The driver stepped on the gas. Yolanda, sitting inside, turned to look back. Evan's figure grew smaller and smaller, stretched long in the streetlight's glow.
In that moment, time seemed to turn. In the years to come, Yolanda would often recall this night—the boy's figure, thin yet unyielding, etched in her memory.
Watching the taxi disappear, Evan finally turned around, his voice cold: "Come out. Following me all this time—aren't you tired?"
After Evan spoke, silence lingered. No one answered.
"I'll give you three seconds."
"Three."
As Evan began to count, a shadow slowly emerged from the roadside corner, eyes glinting.
"You knew I was following you?" Victor Yu stood ten meters away from Evan, dressed now in a casual black shirt. He looked at the lonely figure before him, his tone complicated.
"Why else do you think I came down this road?" Evan sneered, leaning against a streetlamp, eyes cold as he looked at Victor. "Go on, give me one good reason not to deal with you right now."
"Tonight you took out the Dongting Tiger, Barry Shaw, plus Leo Lewis of the Liu family, and Evan 'Nine Mysteries' Lin. I want to know—who are you, really?" Victor's gaze never left Evan as he spoke.
The first time they met at Imperial Grand KTV, Victor had thought the boy before him had strength far beyond his age.
The second time, Evan had Victor by the throat, making him feel death was near.
Now, meeting again, Victor felt the boy before him was like a cold, solitary sword—its edge enough to make anyone shudder.
Victor was already starting to regret following him here.