Howie Hao and the others instinctively looked in that direction.
In the distance, a Maybach sped down the street.
Its streamlined body reflected dazzling metallic gleams under the sunlight.
"That car is gorgeous!"
Someone cried out in surprise.
"I saw that car at the auto show with my dad before. This year's limited edition—there are only three in all of Oceanport."
Staring at the Maybach, Howie Hao spoke up, a hint of show-off pride in his tone: "One of them was bought by a mysterious figure just a few days ago, for a total of twenty-two million."
"Not sure if this is the one, but whoever owns it definitely isn't short on cash. Maybe I even know them."
At this point—
Howie Hao paused mid-sentence.
The black Maybach sped past Ivy Deng and her friends.
Ivy's gaze followed the speeding car. In that split-second, she caught a glimpse of the driver's side profile—a young man's face—which made her freeze.
"When I get a chance, I'll ask my friends if anyone bought that car. Maybe we can take it for a spin together sometime."
Howie Hao said with a smile.
You only feel the real thrill of a beast like that when it roars past you.
The wild engine seemed to thunder in everyone's chest.
"That'd be awesome! Cars like this, we only ever see them on TV or in magazines. Seeing one in real life would be pure luck!" a guy exclaimed, quickly chiming in.
"I just can't get rich people's hobbies. Dropping millions on a car like it's nothing—man, I'm jealous!" another person sighed.
The group kept chatting about the Maybach, even as it disappeared into the distance.
One girl noticed Ivy Deng looking dazed and absent-minded, and reached out to grab her wrist. "What's wrong, Ivy?"
"Are you feeling sick?"
She asked with genuine concern.
On this outing, Howie Hao was definitely their group's anchor.
Howie's family ran a major business—there was even a listed company under them. The economy hadn't been great lately, but they still had assets worth several hundred million.
Second-generation rich kids at this level weren't rare in Oceanport, but they weren't everywhere either.
For kids from modestly well-off families like theirs, coming to a big city and meeting someone like Howie was enough to shatter all their old pride.
Ivy Deng did well on her college entrance exam, got into a top-tier university, and chose Oceanport as her destination.
Oceanport was a global metropolis.
She brought the pride nurtured by Victor Deng and Flora Huang since childhood, determined to make a name for herself in Oceanport.
She thought that after entering college, she'd be just as much the focus of attention as she was in middle and high school.
But when too many outstanding people gather together, she just feels insignificant.
That huge contrast left Ivy more and more dispirited.
She often remembered that summer night.
She leaned out from her balcony, asking Flora Huang downstairs—who was chatting with Joy Zheng—where her iPad was.
Glancing down, she saw a boy standing next to Joy Zheng, looking up at her balcony.
The boy's features were clean, his expression calm as he met her gaze.
She responded with a frosty, distant attitude, not a hint of warmth.
She'd thought that boy was just a passing stranger.
She believed their worlds would never really overlap.
In Ivy's eyes, Evan Lin was dull, honest, hopeless, with poor grades—and after getting tangled up with Qiong Cheng, Joy Zheng had to beg for favors and pay money for him, but in the end, he still got kicked out of Whitewood No. 2 High.
He ended up going to Minghai for school—rumor had it he was still a slacker.
But that slacker made a comeback.
During that brief, sweltering summer vacation—
That boy, ignored and underestimated by everyone, suddenly swept through the whole town, becoming its hottest topic overnight.
Even Victor Deng, usually so proud, scrambled to curry favor with County Secretary Thomas Liu, who treated Evan as a VIP guest.
People like Allen Ju, whose backgrounds were mysterious, started calling him a friend.
And then, in the one area Ivy prided herself on—her studies—when the college entrance exam results came out, that boy crushed her with an almost scary margin.
All from a kid she'd never cared about.
A boy she'd looked down on so much she couldn't even bother to say a word to him!
She thought that by getting into Oceanport and meeting guys like Howie Hao, whose family was worth hundreds of millions,
She thought that, on her new path in life, she'd finally be ahead of that guy, Evan Lin.
But she never expected—
Just as the Maybach sped past, Ivy felt herself completely defeated.
It was—
Just too much like him.
The glimpse was so brief, she couldn't be sure if the driver was Evan Lin.
But... it really looked just like him.
"I'm... I'm fine," Ivy replied.
She shook her head, but couldn't help glancing back toward the direction the Maybach had gone.
"Do you like that car?"
Howie Hao smiled and said, "If you like it, I can ask my friend to lend it to me in a couple days."
"I'll take you for a spin when I get it."
"Pretty sure my friend bought one."
Howie's words made everyone look at Ivy Deng with even more envy.
Ivy just smiled, staying silent and a bit withdrawn.
"By the way, Ivy, you never told us—was there a guy in high school you liked? Or someone who made a deep impression on you?"
The same girl pressed her again.
This time, Ivy's feelings were complicated. She stayed silent for a long moment, unable to answer.
"Forget it. Even if there was, that's all in the past now."
Someone else joked, glancing at Howie, "Besides, how could anyone from a small town compare to our Howie?"
Howie Hao looked proud, his face full of self-satisfaction.
The car sped along the highway.
They left Oceanport behind, heading straight for Medicine King Valley.
Queenie sat in the front passenger seat, her face pale from the breakneck speed.
In the back, Yvette Locke was sprawled out, napping through the ride, unfazed by it all.
Six or seven hours later—
The rest of the way was mountain road, impassable by car.
Evan Lin parked in the nearest small county to Medicine King Valley. Then he and Queenie and the others set off on foot.
As soon as Evan entered the mountain forests surrounding Medicine King Valley, he caught a faint scent in the air.
It was a mix of herbs, mountain breeze, and the earthy smell of soil—all of it made Evan pause for a moment.
But most striking of all—
The vegetation in the forests around Medicine King Valley was far more lush than before.
It was as if the entire mountain forest had grown up overnight.