During the last two classes, Evan Lin quietly kept working through his own stack of problems.
When lunch break rolled around, Trevor Feng swaggered over, parked himself by Evan's desk, shot him a sideways look and said, "We're playing Class Five in a practice match at noon. Don't flake."
Before Evan could even answer, Trevor rounded up the Class Seven soccer crew and marched straight out of the classroom.
Evan headed to the cafeteria for lunch. The place was packed, and a huge line snaked all the way from the serving window.
"Hey, did you hear? That guy Evan Lin gave Yolanda Fang from Class Five a set of sexy lingerie this morning," a chubby kid with glasses gossiped to the plump girl next to him.
"Please, I've known forever! I even heard he ran into Ethan Yi and almost got his face rearranged. Ethan Yi is the best—killer on the field, easy on the eyes. How does Evan Lin even dare go after Yolanda Fang?" The chubby girl clutched her lunchbox, chin up, eyes full of admiration.
"Honestly, I'm jealous of Yolanda Fang. Ethan Yi actually stands up for her." The girl's eyes sparkled as she pictured Ethan Yi.
"No way, I heard Ethan Yi actually got knocked down by Evan Lin." The chubby boy said sourly, earning a glare from the girl: "Impossible! If he fell, it was definitely his own fault."
The girl shot him a glare, and the boy with glasses just grunted twice and clammed up.
Lingerie?
Standing behind them, Evan Lin overheard those words and thought the rumor was getting more and more ridiculous.
The crowd kept shuffling forward. Evan took a few steps and suddenly realized the person next to him looked familiar. A closer look—Isabel Lu.
Isabel Lu was clutching her lunchbox, bored out of her mind in line. She glanced over and spotted Evan Lin.
"You..."
Isabel Lu froze for a second, then her expression turned weird. She opened her mouth but the words just got stuck.
"We meet again." Evan nodded at Isabel Lu, greeting her.
"Whoa, you're gutsy, bro! You're Evan Lin, right?" Isabel Lu's voice was loud, her eyes sparkling—not a hint of disdain, just pure excitement.
"Evan Lin?"
"Where's Evan Lin? Damn."
The moment Isabel Lu shouted Evan Lin's name, everyone in line started craning their necks, dying to see the guy who's all anyone talks about these days.
He actually dared to give Yolanda Fang lingerie.
And right in front of Ethan Yi!
No normal student would ever do something like that.
Soon, every eye in the crowd locked onto a guy who looked a little skinny and, honestly, not all that handsome.
Surrounded by all those stares, Evan Lin sighed quietly to himself. He didn't really mind the attention, but less drama is always better than more.
Realizing she'd blurted something out, Isabel Lu stuck her tongue out playfully at Evan. She was already regretting it the moment she spoke, but it was way too late.
"So this is Evan Lin?" someone exclaimed.
"He just looks like some poor kid trying to chase after a goddess. What a joke," another person scoffed.
"Damn, is this guy not afraid of anything?" another kid said, staring at Evan Lin.
"Evan Lin... why does that name sound so familiar?" a tall, skinny guy frowned, racking his brain.
Just as he was thinking, a commotion broke out outside the cafeteria.
The crowd kept splitting apart as two people strode in from outside.
Up front was a guy in a button-up shirt, just over 5'7", buzz cut, muscles bulging—he looked like a walking tank.
Especially his eyes—sharp as knives. When he walked, it was like a slow-moving bunker rolling through. Wherever he went, people just parted automatically.
Beside him, a girl walked slowly.
She had delicate features and wore a sporty tracksuit, but even that couldn't hide her long, beautiful legs.
She wore white sneakers and a single ponytail, her expression cool and distant—like an ice queen.
"Buck Niu and Rachel Liu!"
Someone caught on first and shouted in surprise.
"Make way!" Buck Niu shielded Rachel Liu behind him, clearing a path.
Buck Niu's voice boomed, and wherever he went, people scrambled out of the way.
Rachel Liu kept a calm, distant look, her gaze unfocused. But her looks, figure, and aura made every girl present instantly feel second-rate.
"Wow, Rachel Liu! If only I had her vibe—and a bodyguard like Buck Niu! I'm so jealous." Isabel Lu stared at Rachel, envy written all over her face.
"Evan Lin... oh! The guy who confessed to Rachel Liu and got KO'd by Buck Niu was also named Evan Lin!" The tall guy suddenly remembered, slapped his thigh, and shouted.
"So the guy who confessed to Rachel Liu and got punched was him?"
"This dude is wild! Damn, that's badass."
"Looks like this toad is dead set on chasing after a swan, but he's just a nobody," someone in the crowd said, glancing at Evan Lin.
Evan Lin looked at Rachel Liu.
Even though it was only the second time he'd seen her, she was still stunning. No wonder he'd once rushed to confess with a love letter.
The reason Evan dared to confess to Rachel Liu was because he found a note on his desk supposedly written by her.
The note sounded friendly and even asked Evan Lin to write a love letter and bring it to her.
Back then, Evan was a total outcast at school. When he found a note from the campus goddess Rachel Liu, he got all fired up, wrote a love letter, and dashed off to confess.
He hadn't expected to run into Buck Niu, who decked him with a punch and turned him into the school's laughingstock.
Thinking back, that note was probably just a prank. No way Rachel Liu would've written it to the old me, Evan thought, a little self-mockingly.
Buck Niu walked at the front, and everyone in line had to make way for him.
"You, move aside." Buck Niu glared at Evan Lin, his thick brows scrunching up as he rumbled.
Everyone around Evan had already moved aside, but Evan Lin stood his ground.
"I've been standing in line just fine."
"Why should I move?"
Evan spoke calmly, each word making Buck Niu's frown deepen.
Everyone who heard Evan was stunned, faces full of disbelief.
"Why should I move?"
Because he's Buck Niu, that's why. Some people thought this to themselves, but nobody dared to warn Evan.
They kept glancing between Buck Niu and Evan Lin, their eyes full of schadenfreude, all waiting for the show to start.
Everyone was waiting for the drama to unfold.