"That's not even the half of it—he's more than just your model student. You might not believe it, but he actually kicked a soccer ball straight across the entire field and scored on the National Team Reserves. Yeah, the same team led by Ethan Yi, the one you've been talking about nonstop. Wasn't today their exhibition match against Capitalview First High?"
Stella Huang grabbed an ice pop from the fridge, then flopped onto the sofa, munching away as she spoke.
"No way. You’re telling me Ethan Yi’s team actually let him score? Doesn’t that mean he’s basically at national team level now? That’s impossible—I don’t buy it for a second."
Irene Xu shook her head. "You’re just biased. Sure, maybe he could fight off those guys and save you—that just means his kung fu’s decent. But soccer isn’t something you can win with fists and kicks alone. It takes real training and talent!"
"See? You don’t believe me. And if I told you he actually beat Ethan Yi up on the field too, you’d probably jump up and start arguing with me, right?" Stella Huang rolled her eyes. "I was at Capitalview First High this afternoon, there to do an interview. Saw the whole thing with my own eyes. If you don’t believe me, just go check a few hospitals in the city—Ethan Yi and his crew will probably be staying overnight."
Seeing Stella Huang so dead serious, Irene Xu couldn’t help doubting her, even though she knew Stella never lied. After all, this Evan Lin kid looked so clean-cut and fair-skinned, with a decently built body, but nothing about him screamed explosive strength.
"Looking at you, I think you’d better be careful. Don’t go catching feelings for that kid, or you’ll end up getting burned." Irene Xu put on her best warning face.
"What are you even talking about!" Stella Huang shot Irene Xu a glare. "He’s just a senior in high school—my little brother, basically. Why would I have any ideas about him? If anything, it’s you who needs to stop daydreaming. Don’t go scaring him off."
"Look at you, all nervous." Irene Xu shook her head, then continued, "By the way, guess who I ran into today?"
"Who?" Stella Huang looked at Irene Xu, curiosity piqued. "Don’t tell me it was some celebrity again?"
Irene Xu works as a flight attendant, so she’s met plenty of celebrities—she’s even taken photos with quite a few. Stella Huang didn’t find this surprising at all.
"Nope, not a celebrity this time—I ran into Wade Wei!"
"Wade Wei?" Stella Huang blinked, confused.
"Are you serious? He’s the young master of the Wei family—they run the jade business. I bumped into him on a flight to Nanyun, he was heading there to buy rough stone. You know about jade gambling, right? Sometimes you crack open a palm-sized rock and find jade worth millions inside. The profits are insane!"
"And the best part? He asked for my number—said next time he’ll take me along for the ride." Irene Xu looked absolutely thrilled.
"What’s he like? Just don’t get scammed, okay?" Stella Huang didn’t care about the jade, but she was genuinely worried about Irene Xu’s safety.
"Relax, I’m not stupid! If I go next time, I’ll bring you along too—let’s see the world together!"
Evan Lin went back to his room and called Joy Zheng for a quick check-in. From her, he learned that all the business projects were moving ahead smoothly—Big Tank was now a well-known boss in Whitewood County, Ken Feng’s father’s resort project was coming along nicely, and Hank Chu’s dad had quit driving to work with Ken Feng’s dad on the development.
Joy Zheng, on her end, specifically asked about Evan’s situation. After getting a call from Lucy Lu, she knew Evan had moved out of the Lu family’s place, so she checked if he needed money—worried he might not have enough for rent or a decent apartment.
By the time he hung up, it was already past eleven at night.
The next day, Evan Lin arrived at school. Jason Liu was absent, and their homeroom teacher Byron Yang kept glancing Evan’s way during class. When the bell rang, he walked over and asked Evan to go to the principal’s office.
Leaving the classroom, Evan found himself the center of attention—students all along the corridor stared at him, each with their own expressions.
"Evan Lin from Class 12, right? He totally flattened Ethan Yi on the field yesterday—absolute legend!" one boy gushed, face full of awe.
"Mason He and Liam Liu are always acting tough, but this time Ethan Yi put them in their place in front of everyone. They didn’t even dare say a word. If Evan Lin hadn’t stepped up, Capitalview First High would’ve lost all its dignity. Honestly, yesterday’s fight was so satisfying!" a girl said, her face burning with righteous anger.
"Oh, come on. Ethan Yi was here as part of the National Team Reserves. Sure, Evan Lin got his revenge, but what’s everyone going to think about our school now? If we can’t beat them at soccer, so we just start fighting? That’s not cool at all. Honestly, Mason He and Liam Liu were the ones who really swallowed their pride! Evan Lin’s just a troublemaker looking for attention!"
Plenty of students clearly didn’t like Evan Lin—some were just jealous, others openly envious. Meanwhile, more than a few girls craned their necks out of the classroom, hoping to get a good look at the legendary Evan Lin.
Rumors flew up and down the hall: some said Evan Lin had gone to Peiying High School last night and watched the entire arts gala sitting next to Selina Shi!
A lot of students scoffed at that—Selina Shi is famous even at Capitalview First High, and while Evan Lin might seem impressive, hardly anyone believed he could actually be close to someone like her.
When Evan reached the principal’s office, he knocked, and the door was quickly pulled open from inside.
The one who opened the door was Director Ben Lu. Seeing Evan Lin outside, he hurriedly stepped aside, beaming: "Evan Lin, you’re right on time! How’d you sleep last night?"
"Not bad," Evan Lin replied, glancing at Director Ben Lu.
Director Ben Lu hadn’t liked Evan Lin since the start of the semester, but after everything that’s happened, he’s grown more and more unsure about this student—and deep down, he can’t help but feel Evan’s anything but ordinary.
"Glad to hear it. Evan, remember—studying is important, but so is your health!" Director Ben Lu nodded earnestly, putting on a show of concern.
Inside the office, besides Director Ben Lu and Principal Damon Deng, there was another man—the assistant coach of the National Team Reserves, the same guy who’d been shouting for Evan Lin to be punished after the incident on the field.