After a long hesitation, Hugh Hu let the host take the stage and the gala continued.
Evan Lin sat with Jason Liu on his left, and on his right, Selina Shi in her pink dress looked perfectly calm. The students on stage kept performing, but almost no one in the audience was paying attention anymore—their eyes were all drawn to Evan.
Just now, everyone could tell that Hugh Hu didn’t dare face Evan Lin head-on. Maybe it was out of respect for Selina Shi, but the key was that Selina seemed to have a very unusual attitude toward Evan Lin.
Luke Lu felt uneasy—not because of Evan Lin, but because of Selina Shi.
“What about your brother and Allen Ju? Aren’t you all at the same school?” Evan asked.
Selina didn’t even turn her head, still watching a skit on stage. She replied coolly, “After our last trip back from Whitewood, my brother was sent to the military—grassroots level, supposed to train for a few years before anything else.”
“As for Allen Ju, I have no idea what he’s up to now. But he’s definitely grateful to you—after all, you helped Thomas Liu, and Thomas is his uncle.”
At this, Selina suddenly stopped talking, too lazy to say anything more about it.
Even if Thomas Liu was sent down to Whitewood County, he’s still the top official there—the county’s number one. And Thomas is only about forty, so getting to that position so young means there’s a lot going on behind the scenes. Selina figured Evan Lin probably wouldn’t understand, and even if she explained, it’d be pointless, so she just didn’t bother.
When the gala ended, Selina stood up, glanced at Evan, and said, “Wait here. I’m going to change clothes. I’ll show you around my school in a bit—you’re free tonight, right?”
Without giving Evan a chance to reply, Selina walked straight toward the backstage area.
As soon as Selina left, Ryan Chen and Hugh Hu both fixed cold stares on Evan.
Hugh Hu took a moment to make a phone call. When he hung up, he wore a cold, malicious smile.
Jason Liu’s face was seriously swollen from the beating, but he didn’t make a sound. Compared to his former timid self, he was like a different person.
"Does it hurt?"
Evan glanced at him. Jason Liu shook his head and stayed silent, still fiddling with his phone and looking deeply troubled.
Luke Lu glanced at Evan and Jason, a cold gleam in his eyes. “Clueless idiots. Do you really think having Selina cover for you means you’re untouchable? At a time like this you’re not running—you’re actually waiting for her to come out and show you around campus?”
Sharon Shen looked at Jason Liu with lingering contempt. Even though Jason had just exploded with a burst of courage, it couldn’t change her ingrained impression of him.
“Let’s see how you manage to walk out of here on your own two feet!”
On the other side, Hugh Hu was seething. He hadn’t planned to mess with Evan Lin again, but seeing Evan and Selina sitting together made his anger flare up all over again.
After thinking it over, Hugh Hu didn’t dare call home. Instead, he dialed Grizzly.
Grizzly was pretty infamous around Capitalview, mainly because he commanded a bunch of desperate thugs—some of them even carried guns.
“I don’t buy it. Maybe fists can’t take you down, but a gun? Let’s see you handle that.”
Hugh Hu sneered to himself.
At a KTV in Capitalview, a man about 1.8 meters tall in a gray shirt hung up the phone, casually shoved the woman on his lap aside, and stood up.
His crew quickly crowded around, all looking respectful. “Boss Grizzly, what’s up?”
“Get the car ready. We’re heading to Peiying High—got a job tonight,” Grizzly said. Then he added, “Bring a gun.”
Grizzly’s eyes were cold as he spoke. On the call, Hugh Hu had specifically asked him to bring a gun. Even though Grizzly thought it was overkill, he decided to bring one anyway.
“Boss, is that really necessary? There’s nobody in Capitalview who’d make you use a gun! Once we get there, you won’t even need to lift a finger—we’ll take care of it ourselves!”
The guy at the front had a ruthless look in his eyes.
Grizzly shook his head. "Better safe than sorry. Besides, if Hugh Hu’s calling me personally, I should show a little extra sincerity."
Grizzly knew exactly what kind of background Hugh Hu had. Guys like him—second-generation elites—only called for help if they ran into something they couldn’t handle themselves. Normally, just Guang Zhengping would be enough to fix their problems.
After Grizzly spoke, none of his men dared say another word.
Grizzly grabbed a black jacket, threw it on, and opened the door to the KTV suite. The hallway outside was packed with his men, all standing respectfully.
“Boss Grizzly!”
The moment Grizzly appeared, the crowd at the door shouted in unison, startling everyone dancing in the KTV’s main hall.
At the bar, Yolanda Jiang watched the scene, raising her eyebrows. “Wow, that’s impressive. If I had a boyfriend like that, nobody would dare mess with me.”
“Come on, Yolanda, that guy’s Grizzly—he’s ruthless. If you got mixed up with him, you’d be in over your head.” Victor Wen shook his head. “People like him live on the edge. We’re just regular folks, best not to get involved.”
“Looking at him now, I bet he’s off to handle something big.”
Victor Wen chuckled, a little smug. “But I’ve got a buddy who’s pretty tight with Grizzly. If you ever need something, I could call in a favor.”
After saying that, Victor Wen turned to Claire Li, concern written all over his face. “Claire, you haven’t seemed yourself lately. How about we go swimming by the sea when you’re free? It’s been ages since we hung out—could be good to get away for a bit.”
“No need. I’ve just been in a bad mood lately, that’s all.” Claire Li shook her head.
“Claire, come on. I know you’re still thinking about that kid from First High. You really don’t need to feel guilty—so you forgot to pay him last time, just remember next time.”
“Seriously, he’s just a high schooler. Maybe he seems a little different now, but odds are he’ll end up an ordinary guy. Why worry about it? Don’t feel like you owe him anything.” Yolanda Jiang saw through Claire’s thoughts and rolled her eyes.
Claire Li sighed. “I just feel kind of bad about it.”
“There’s nothing to feel bad about. Last time, you, me, and Ivy waited for him outside his school—three beautiful girls. That gave him plenty of face. Guys like that are vain, you know. He’ll probably brag about it for ages. Bottom line, we gave him his moment.”
Yolanda Jiang swirled her beer bottle and spoke calmly.