After Hank Chu finished speaking, he glanced at Evan Lin and hesitated: "Do you mind? If you do, then just the two of us can go for some skewers, and we can invite Ken next time."
Hank wasn’t too clear about the history between Ivy Deng and Evan Lin, but he had heard his mother mention that when Joy Zheng ran her tutoring class recently, she had a pretty unpleasant run-in with another teacher—Flora Huang, Ivy’s mother.
When Hank called Ken earlier, he hadn’t realized this could be an issue. It was only after hanging up that he remembered, and started asking Evan for his opinion.
"It’s fine, let’s go."
Evan Lin shook his head.
The last time Evan Lin and Hank Chu went to Whitewood Hills Resort, the place hadn’t even been properly renovated yet and most of the facilities were incomplete. Now, after a few months, Evan happened to want to check it out again.
Whitewood Hills Resort.
Nestled beside the mountains and a large lake, rows of stylish wooden cabins had already been built. These cabins were all connected by an L-shaped wooden corridor.
Around the cabins, clusters of bamboo had been transplanted, giving the whole place an otherworldly vibe.
It was already nighttime, but the area was still brightly lit as always.
Whitewood Hills Resort is a key project for Whitewood County, with a focus on rural leisure. The place has been heavily promoted the past few months and has attracted plenty of tourists.
Right now, inside a slightly smaller cabin at the resort, more than a dozen people were gathered around. In front of them was a bonfire with a grill set up over it, surrounded by all sorts of fresh ingredients.
There were both guys and girls mixed in, but the clear ringleader was a boy dressed in a little suit, acting all put-together and important.
Next to him sat Ivy Deng, looking especially pretty tonight. Beside Ivy was Amelia Jiao, who seemed a bit absent-minded.
As for Max Ma, the magistrate’s son who used to be the little boss of this group, he wasn’t here tonight.
"Ken, who was that on the phone?"
A girl looked at Ken after he hung up, curiosity written all over her face.
"Hank Chu."
Ken smiled as he spoke, glancing over at Amelia Jiao sitting off to the side.
Ever since the last incident at the resort, Amelia had tried to get closer to Hank Chu, but it hadn’t worked out.
Hearing Ken’s words, Ivy Deng reached out and nudged Amelia Jiao beside her, laughing: "Well, that’s perfect—last time Amelia was asking me if Hank Chu would show up."
“Who said that? I never asked.” Amelia rolled her eyes from the side.
Back in the day, everyone knew Hank Chu liked Amelia Jiao, but with Max Ma around, Amelia barely even spared Hank a glance.
But ever since Evan Lin’s rise, Hank’s status with the group had shot up too.
Even though nobody really knew what Evan Lin’s background was, just the fact that he’d been invited by Allen Ju, Warren Wu, and Selina Shi to go boating that day was enough to make people think twice.
Allen Ju, Warren Wu, and Selina Shi—these two guys and one girl who crashed into Whitewood’s scene—even Max Ma had bluntly said they were 'untouchable.' That was why Jason Jiang was so willing to play lackey for them—these three’s status was just on another level from Amelia and the others.
"You’ve got it all wrong, Amelia. Not to put you on the spot, but honestly, Hank just can’t put down his pride. Back in junior high, he used to talk about you all the time in front of me." Ken looked at Amelia and continued, "Now he just can’t get over that mental hurdle. If he does, you two could totally be a thing."
"Let me be straight with you: Hank is a brother to both me and Evan, and he’s a genuinely good guy—solid grades, good at sports, a decent person. He’s way better than Max Ma, who you’ve been hung up on all this time. Besides, who knows if Max even cares about you anymore?"
Ken said all this with a joking, teasing tone.
On one hand, he was ribbing Amelia, but on the other, Ken was also trying to stick up for Hank Chu.
Hearing Ken’s words, Amelia’s expression shifted, but she quickly went quiet. Ken’s words were blunt but true—right now, Amelia didn’t really have the 'face' to keep acting proud.
Recently, Hank Chu had made huge progress in his studies—he even ranked in the top fifteen in the last exam, while Amelia hovered around the top hundred.
Honestly, Hank was a sure bet for a top university in the future, and with help from Ken and Evan Lin, who knows how far he could go.
"Alright, alright, it’s my birthday today. When Hank gets here, let Amelia handle it herself—let’s not butt in." Ivy Deng tried to smooth things over, clearly a bit annoyed at Ken.
Originally, Ivy hadn’t planned to invite Ken to her birthday party, but with seating so tight at the resort, she had to ask him for help booking a spot. She didn’t expect Ken to show up himself, take over the place, and play host like it was his own party.
Plus, since Ken put the bill on his own tab the moment he walked in, it counted as his treat. Ivy couldn’t exactly kick him out, which left her pretty frustrated.
"Hey Ken, I heard there are some big shots here at the resort this time? Is that for real? What are they here for?" A boy asked, chewing on a skewer as he glanced at Ken.
Recently, there was an incident at Whitewood Hills Resort where someone got hurt. As Whitewood County’s flagship tourism project, it was supposed to boost the county’s GDP, so the moment something happened, people started investigating.
But in the end, nothing came of it.
"Those guys? Just a bunch of second-generation heirs—what else would they be doing?" Ken’s grin faded for a moment. "I heard they’re from Oceanport. This time, Max Ma and Jason Jiang are both busy keeping them company."
"Honestly, I wanted to book the bigger Gentlemen’s Pavilion today, but those guys snatched it up, so we had to settle for this smaller spot."
Ken looked a little uneasy as he said this.
At first, Ken thought he could use his dad’s position to force the Gentlemen’s Pavilion, but he got a sharp warning instead.
"People from Oceanport? They wouldn’t come all the way here just to play, right? They’ve been here for days." Everyone was surprised.
Ivy Deng and Amelia Jiao were both full of curiosity.
"I’ve got no clue. I heard one group is just here to play at the resort, but some others have been staying at the Whitewood Grand Hotel for days. What they’re really up to, I have no idea."