By the time Evan Lin stepped off the plane, evening had already fallen.
This trip to Clearstream County to resolve Lily Zhong’s situation had taken most of the day. After leaving the airport, Evan grabbed a cab and headed straight home.
He opened the door—inside, it was empty.
Irene Xu was probably out on a flight. Being a flight attendant might look glamorous to outsiders—traveling the world for free—but only they know how exhausting and tough it really is.
Evan grabbed a few changes of clothes and took a quick shower. Just as he finished, his phone rang—it was Lucy Lu calling.
Lucy started by wishing Evan a happy National Day, which made him smile—he’d never had anyone open a call like that before.
"Xiao Yi, where are you right now?"
At home, Lucy had changed into a black evening gown—rare for her, and she’d clearly put in extra effort to dress up.
Ever since Lucy took the Youth-Preserving Beauty Pill Evan gave her, her looks, skin, and figure had transformed dramatically. Now she looked just like a woman in her twenties.
Even when she walked with Lynn Chen, people were more likely to think they were sisters than mother and daughter. She’d even been hit on by young guys a few times, leaving her thoroughly embarrassed.
"Auntie Lu, I just got back to Capitalview," Evan said.
Hearing Evan’s voice, Lucy glanced over at Lynn Chen, who was sitting on the sofa nearby.
Today Lynn was wearing a pale blue dress, her hair simply draped over her shoulders, showing off a sweet, adorable face.
She looked totally out of sorts. Ever since Evan had suddenly left, Lynn had been absent-minded about everything, spacing out every now and then, which left Lucy feeling helpless.
Lynn kept her head down, but her ears were perked up, secretly listening in on Lucy’s call with Evan. Still, pride kept her from showing it.
Lucy knew her daughter’s temperament, so she deliberately said, "So you’re back in Capitalview already? That was fast. I thought you’d be gone for days."
As soon as she said that, Lynn, who’d been motionless on the sofa, subtly slid her right foot toward Lucy, tilting her body and perking her ears up even more. She even slowed her breathing, straining to catch every word from the phone.
"So, do you have time tonight? I was actually planning to have you, Lynn, and Uncle Chen over for a family dinner, but your Uncle Chen just got invited to a wine reception—a buffet-style event organized by the Capitalview City Chamber of Commerce vice-chairman. If you’re free, why not join us?"
Lucy smiled as she spoke, sneaking glances at Lynn, who was obviously dying to listen but pretending not to care, which secretly amused her.
"Wouldn’t that be a bit inconvenient?" Evan asked.
"Of course it’s not inconvenient! How could it be? The whole point is to bring family along. Are you still going to act polite with Auntie Lu?" Lucy’s tone turned a bit mock-annoyed. "If you don’t come, I’ll think you’ve got a problem with me—and that would make Auntie Lu pretty upset."
Hearing this, Evan thought it over and agreed.
Lucy originally wanted to drive over and pick Evan up so they could go together, but he politely declined and just asked her to send the address.
Lucy gave him the address and hung up.
Next to her, Lynn was still sitting there, staring at her own feet, swinging her legs and keeping her head down.
"He’s coming too."
Lucy blurted it out, totally out of the blue.
"Whatever. Let him come if he wants—it’s not like it has anything to do with me."
Lynn huffed, forcing her face into a cold expression. She looked up at Lucy, pretending not to care: "If he’s busy, just tell him not to come. It’s not like we can’t go without him."
Seeing Lynn act like that, Lucy nodded, a sly glint in her eye. She picked up her phone and pretended to dial a number.
"Hello, Xiao Yi? It’s Auntie Lu. I just wanted to let you know—Lynn doesn’t want you to come, so you..."
Before Lucy could finish, Lynn—still trying to look cold—suddenly jumped up from the sofa, lunging to grab her mom’s phone, face flustered and panicked: "Mom! What are you saying?! I don’t care if he comes or not!"
When Lynn finally snatched the phone and saw the screen was off—Lucy hadn’t even dialed—her face froze.
"You say it’s nothing to do with you, but you were about to eat me alive just now. Girls really do change when they grow up."
Lucy reached out and ruffled Lynn’s hair. Lynn blushed, a little embarrassed.
"Alright, alright, I’ll stop teasing. At tonight’s reception, you should talk things through with Evan. It’s way easier to have a real conversation at a buffet than at a dinner table."
"You’ve made a lot of mistakes before, and Evan’s had to put up with a lot because of you. So if you need to apologize, do it. Don’t act like a little kid anymore, okay?"
Lucy patiently coaxed her.
Lynn nodded and gave a quiet "Mm."
"And one more thing—act like a proper young lady, okay? Don’t go scaring Evan off."
Lucy added one last thing.
Lynn immediately clung to her mom’s arm, pouting: "No way! I am a proper young lady!"
Just then, Uncle Chen—Charles Chen—came downstairs.
He’d changed into a tailored suit and was adjusting his cuffs as he looked down at Lucy and Lynn. Smiling, he asked, "What are you two chatting about? You seem to be in a pretty good mood."
"Evan just got back, so I told him to head straight to the reception later." Lucy walked over to help straighten his collar.
"He’s back? That’s great!" Uncle Chen’s eyes lit up and he broke into a grin. He glanced at Lynn and said, "You’d better seize the opportunity tonight, Lynn."
"The venue for tonight’s reception is really nice. You and Evan can find a quiet spot, have a little wine, talk about life, dreams, and maybe even the future."
"Dad!" Lynn stomped her foot in protest, clearly embarrassed.
"Alright, alright! I’ll stop. You young folks can handle things yourselves. Us old folks won’t butt in!" Uncle Chen laughed, ignoring Lynn’s flushed cheeks.
Once everything was ready, Uncle Chen headed out with Lucy and Lynn.
At the door, they happened to run into Ren Di, Hannah Han, and Ren Qiang, who were also heading out.
Normally these three couldn’t wait to cozy up to the Chen family, but today, seeing Uncle Chen and his family leaving, they quickly got in their car and drove off, not daring to linger.
"Huh, that family is acting so weird. It’s like they saw a cat and suddenly turned into mice. Are we really that scary?" Uncle Chen said, baffled.