Colonel Su spoke with concise authority.
He wore a plain military uniform with no insignia, deliberately keeping a low profile to avoid drawing attention to Evan Lin.
Just moments ago, he and Victor Su arrived, planning to quietly listen to Evan Lin’s speech from outside the crowd. But seeing the commotion, they had no choice but to step forward.
Now, with Colonel Su’s words, Director Zhao’s face turned ghostly pale, while Deputy Director Sun stood beside him, visibly shaken.
Even though they were in charge of the Education Bureau, in Jinnan, Colonel Su was a major player with connections everywhere. And that phone call he threatened to make—even if Director Zhao didn’t know who it was for, he knew it’d be someone way out of his league.
Director Zhao couldn’t care less about saving face. He nodded frantically, his smile more painful than crying: “Yes, yes, I just remembered I’ve got some work back at the office—I’ll leave right now!”
After speaking to Colonel Su, he quickly turned to Victor Su, apologizing in a panic: “I didn’t know you’d be here, Mr. Su. Sorry for not preparing properly, I’m terribly sorry!”
“No need to apologize to me.” Victor Su replied calmly.
Director Zhao immediately realized, sweat pouring down his forehead. He shifted his gaze to Evan Lin, now standing in front of Victor Su, and didn’t dare show the slightest hint of displeasure. He stepped forward and said, “This student—it was my mistake, a work error.”
“You’re the real student representative. My mistake, my mistake—please don’t take it to heart.”
Director Zhao’s groveling left the crowd stunned, unable to process what was happening.
Just a second ago, the Education Bureau chief was strutting around like he owned the place. Now, he was bowing and scraping to a student!
And Evan Lin didn’t even look like he planned to answer him.
“Go home.”
Colonel Su gave the order.
Director Zhao and Deputy Director Sun could only slink away, faces drawn, hustling toward the school gate.
Everyone at Capitalview First High watched in silence—no one dared say a word.
On the rostrum, Victor Su looked at Wendy Wen, whose eyes were red from emotion, and spoke gently: “The irrelevant people are gone. You can continue hosting.”
“Don’t be afraid—no one will dare blame you now.”
Victor Su’s words made Wendy Wen tremble. She looked gratefully at the kindly old man before her.
Before Wendy could speak again, Principal Damon Deng stepped forward with a smile, guiding Victor Su and Colonel Su to the seats originally reserved for the Education Bureau’s director and deputy.
Wendy Wen wiped her eyes. Damon Deng signaled to Stella Huang, who then told the cameraman to start filming.
Offstage, Eric Yu was a complete mess—no one paid him any attention. He clung to a classmate just to keep himself standing.
Everyone looked up at the rostrum.
“Next, let’s welcome our student representative, Evan Lin, to give his speech!”
Wendy Wen spoke with a slight catch in her voice, forcing a smile and trying her best to stay composed.
After her announcement, she handed the microphone to Evan Lin and stepped to the edge of the stage.
Evan Lin took the mic, turned, and looked down over all the students of Capitalview First High, his expression calm.
“Hi, everyone. I’m Evan Lin.”
His voice was steady, almost flat, but the quiet power beneath his simple words swept through the crowd like sudden thunder on a clear day.
All eyes turned to him, faces full of excitement, curiosity, and anticipation—everyone wanted to know what Evan Lin would say.
“I didn’t prepare anything for this speech. I just want to chat with you guys about life.”
Evan Lin glanced around at the crowd.
When he said ‘you guys,’ not a single student felt offended—in fact, it somehow brought everyone closer.
Only Lynn Chen’s gaze seemed lost. In her eyes, the boy on the stage spoke softly about trivial things beneath the blue sky, his face calm and unremarkable.
Yet those simple words left Lynn feeling empty inside. Even though she’d long sensed it, she now realized Evan Lin’s world was on a completely different level. No matter how hard she studied and fought, the gap between them felt impossibly wide.
No amount of effort could fill such a huge chasm.
“I come from a small county in Seacrest. Back in elementary school, my family was broke and I wasn’t smart. My mom raised me alone and suffered a lot for it. She went through hell, and I once swore I’d get strong enough to protect her.”
“But most of the time, all I felt was the pain of being human—the sense that life just isn’t worth it. Because I realized so many things were way beyond what I could ever reach, no matter how hard I tried.”
“For a long time, no matter how desperately I chased after it—reading, doing problems—my grades were still terrible. My inner world was barren, almost to the point of despair. Yet I still held on to a sliver of hope for the future.”
“I’ve been looked down on and treated with contempt.”
“I’ve been laughed at and humiliated.”
“There were times I felt like a bug crawling in the dark, destined to be a nobody at the bottom of the social food chain. Even if I fought like a wolf or a stray dog, maybe I’d still end up with nothing.”
“Sometimes I thought my whole existence was a mistake—a heavy burden on my mom’s shoulders.”
“Because being humble is already a kind of failure.”
Evan Lin’s tone was calm, his expression steady.
As soon as he spoke, many students below were stunned.
Ivy Liang froze, Wendy Wen’s face was complicated, and Stella Huang’s heart skipped a beat—she could feel the deep, raging unwillingness hidden in Evan Lin’s simple words.
Lynn Chen clenched her fists and bit her lip.
Everything Evan Lin said—even back in Seacrest—kept repeating itself. That pain of being powerless in your teenage years never really goes away.
Who hasn’t dreamed of being a sword-wielding hero, fighting for justice and helping the weak?
But most people are just background extras, cheering ‘awesome’ from the sidelines—never noticed, never cared about, never asked how they really feel.
Victor Su and Colonel Su exchanged surprised glances. Neither of them had expected Evan Lin to have such a past.
“Just like you, I once had a girl I liked—someone who left a mark on my fragile heart.”
“I’ve been rejected, I’ve been dismissed.”
As soon as Evan Lin said this, the entire field at Capitalview First High instinctively turned their eyes to Lynn Chen!