"Mia, let me tell you, I really think if I push a bit harder, I'll have a shot at getting into Beijing Institute of Technology. I checked last year's cutoff score yesterday, and I think it's doable!"
How about you apply to Beijing too? It'd be best if we both got into the same university—then we could look out for each other. I'm sure your parents would be really happy about that!
Victor Zhou walked beside Mia Chen, animatedly chattering away.
Mia kept her head slightly down, lost in thought. She only responded to him with absent-minded hums, obviously just going through the motions.
"You're not still thinking about that transfer student—the problem kid who left, are you? Someone like him definitely has no future. You even said before that he looks like Master Lin from Seacrest. I think you've lost your mind."
"Do you know what kind of person Master Lin from Seacrest is? He's basically like an immortal—how could someone like that possibly compare to a nobody like him?"
Victor noticed Mia was barely paying him any attention, and felt a bit resentful.
He could clearly feel that ever since that guy named Evan Lin showed up last time, Mia's attitude toward him had changed—she'd grown colder, and now even preferred asking Old Man Liu for help with her questions instead of coming to him.
That made Victor blame Evan Lin even more.
And ever since they watched that immortal battle at Thousand-Saints Mountain, Victor had invited Mia out multiple times, but every time she refused. If her parents hadn't forced her out of the house today because they were worried she'd tire herself out from studying, Victor probably still wouldn't have had a chance to walk with her.
"What's wrong?"
Victor had only walked a few steps when he realized Mia, who'd been beside him just now, had suddenly stopped. He turned to look and saw Mia standing there, dazed and absent-minded.
Victor frowned, sensing something was off. He followed Mia's gaze—and saw Evan Lin and Lynn Chen walking toward them.
His eyes swept over Evan Lin, full of hostility, then lingered a moment longer on Lynn Chen. He cursed inwardly—Evan really was a piece of cow dung that attracted flowers.
Lynn Chen was still replaying the solution to that problem in her mind when she suddenly sensed the atmosphere had shifted. She looked up.
Her eyes met Mia's in midair, then separated. Almost at the same moment, Lynn, feeling something was off, deliberately shifted half a step closer to Evan as she walked, narrowing the distance between them by half a centimeter to make them look more intimate.
Mia's gaze dimmed.
Wars between girls are often decided by a single glance or a tiny movement.
Mia looked at Evan, her face stern. "So we meet again. Aren't you planning to go to Mr. Liu's for extra tutoring?"
"Even though Mr. Liu spoke up for you before and said you might get recommended for admission to Clearwater University without exams, you should still consider what you'll do if that doesn't work out."
Mia's words were harsh, her brows furrowed as she deliberately ignored Lynn Chen, still acting like the Class Monitor of Grade 11, Class 7, talking to Evan as if he were still her student.
"Thanks for your concern."
Evan glanced at her. "Instead of worrying about my grades, maybe you should spend more time reading and practicing yourself."
"Class Monitor Chen, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now."
Evan nodded, then walked forward, brushing past Mia.
Lynn followed silently, not saying a word the whole time, though she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"What's so great about that guy, anyway? Is he rich or something? And isn't that girl Lynn Chen—the school beauty from our old high school? I heard she transferred too. Maybe they're at the same school now?" Victor muttered to himself, shaking his head.
After speaking, Victor noticed Mia was still watching Evan and Lynn's backs. Only when their figures finally disappeared around the corner did Mia turn away and walk on, head down.
"Hey, Mia, let's go get grilled fish! I know a new place that's supposed to be good," Victor hurried to catch up.
"No, you go ahead. I'm heading home to study."
Mia's words carried a chill.
"Was that your class monitor just now? She seems kind of interested in you."
Once they turned the corner, Lynn Chen subtly widened the gap between herself and Evan, returning to her usual reserved manner. She asked in an offhand tone:
"Yeah, but she's such a good, principled girl. I doubt she'd ever fall for someone like me."
Evan gave a self-mocking smile.
Back when he first came back to life, Evan had felt excited and hopeful, even inviting Mia to visit his home. But after he fought Trevor Liu right in front of her, Mia thought Evan had just been pretending to be weak and was showing off. She gave him a harsh scolding, even saying he was no different from other boys, leaving Evan helpless.
Still, Mia never really judged him unfairly. In their previous life, she had helped Evan out of trouble many times—she truly was a kind-hearted girl.
"You're actually not so bad yourself."
Lynn blurted it out before she could stop herself.
As soon as she spoke, Lynn realized she'd slipped up. She quickly shut her mouth and looked away, worried Evan would latch onto it and tease her, making things awkward.
But after a moment, when Evan said nothing more, Lynn felt both relieved and—strangely—a little disappointed.
After wandering for a bit, the two finally arrived home. Lucy Lu and Joy Zheng were already busy in the kitchen.
"You two go watch TV for a while—dinner’s not ready yet!"
Lucy called out from the kitchen.
Lynn curled up on the sofa with the remote, put on a movie, and kept thinking about how to start a conversation with Evan. Just then, the front door swung open.
Charles Chen came in first. His face lit up seeing Evan, but when he looked at Lynn, his smile faded to an apologetic expression.
"Well, since Evan and Joy are here, why not stay a few more days? School’s still a ways off." Charles chuckled.
"Oh, and Manager Sheng is off visiting relatives today. Yara Qu didn’t want to go and would be home alone, so she’ll stay with us for a few days. She and Lynn can do homework together."
No sooner had Charles finished speaking than he felt Lucy’s murderous glare from the kitchen, sending a chill down his spine.