Silence fell.
The entire hall was heavy with tension, pressing down so hard that the students could barely breathe.
Standing beside Evan Lin, Rachel Liu glanced at him and noticed that, unlike everyone else, his expression remained perfectly calm, without the slightest ripple.
"That day... it was Allen who invited us, invited us to Sunwave Bluebay to hang out. Allen said he wanted to welcome his cousin back to the country..." Allen Zeng swallowed hard, his voice strained and trembling.
Speaking up at a time like this took a lot of courage.
As soon as Allen spoke, Zuo He and two others turned to look at him.
Zuo He nodded. "Go on."
"Then, after we set the time with Allen, we went to Sunwave Bluebay. At first, Simon hadn't arrived yet, so we just played by ourselves."
Allen took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but his heart still raced with fear.
"Yeah, Allen already told me that part. But what I want to know is: Who gave the order for so many people to slap Simon? I want someone to tell me, face to face, who did it."
Zuo He's voice was low and heavy.
Zuo He already knew most of what happened last night from Gavin Duan.
A bunch of people were celebrating Simon’s return from abroad. Then they ran into this guy named Evan Lin, who was with Rachel Liu. Evan pulled out a top-tier VIP card and forced the Sunwave Bluebay staff to obey his orders, making them take turns slapping Simon.
Even now, you could still see the bruises on Simon’s face—his head was crushed and deformed, and his cheeks were swollen beyond recognition.
As the head of the Zuo family, Zuo He always acted with extreme caution.
Others might not realize how much weight that top-tier VIP card from the Summer family carried, but Zuo He knew. That’s why he needed a good enough reason before moving against Evan Lin.
Otherwise, if he accidentally angered the Summer family, the consequences would be impossible to predict.
"Uh..."
Hearing Zuo He's question, Allen hesitated, glancing nervously at Evan, but after mumbling a few words, his voice faded and he didn’t dare speak up.
If Evan hadn’t just smashed a bottle over Brandon Yang’s head at Peaceful Melody Restaurant and then stomped and shattered Brandon’s leg, Allen probably would’ve sold him out already. But now, Allen kept quiet—he was afraid Evan would remember and come after him.
If Evan came after him once they left, stomped his leg and crippled him for life, Allen would be finished.
"Answer the question already! Stop stalling! If you don’t talk, I’ll feed you to the dogs right now!"
A middle-aged woman shrieked at Allen, her eyes fierce and murderous, looking like she might tear him apart on the spot. Allen’s legs buckled and he wet his pants in terror.
"See that guy lying on the floor?"
Simon’s father, the other middle-aged man, spoke up in a deep voice.
No one understood what he meant.
And then, the next morning, before she’d even gotten enough sleep, Vincent Wen dragged her out, and she and Claire got hauled here, and had to watch Manager Zhang get beaten nearly to death.
"I... I don’t know." Manager Zhang’s voice was hoarse, blood spilling from his mouth as he spoke. He’d clearly taken a serious beating.
"You really are a professional. The Summer family must be proud to have a manager like you—though I’m not sure if that’s a blessing or a curse."
The man sneered, signaling with his eyes. Immediately, a burly man came in from outside, holding a whip. With a cold face, he lashed Manager Zhang a dozen times, fast and ruthless.
Manager Zhang rolled on the floor, howling in agony, his cries echoing through the hall.
Everyone’s faces turned deathly pale at the sight.
"My son Simon can’t just die for nothing. If we don’t find out who’s responsible today, all of you will spend the night in the dog yard with those beasts!"
His voice was icy cold.
"Oh my god!"
Allen stared at Manager Zhang’s cracked, bleeding skin and exposed bone, and collapsed limply to the floor in terror.
"Talk!"
The man roared.
Before Allen could speak, Ivy Zhao lost her nerve first. She glared anxiously at Evan and shouted, "It was you! Are you too cowardly to own up? You want all of us to pay for what you did?"
"Yeah, it was him, it was Evan Lin!" Thomas Zhao shouted, voice shaking.
"It was Evan Lin! Evan Lin!" Owen Ou nodded hard. Everyone, boys and girls alike, looked pale and miserable.
On the other side, Claire Sheng heard this and turned to Evan, her pretty face anxious. "It wasn’t him!"
She’d barely gotten the words out when Nina Pei clamped a hand over her mouth. "Don’t talk, Claire. He’s the one who did it, so he should take responsibility!"
Nina absolutely hated Evan now. When he had someone slap the arrogant Simon Zuo, she actually kind of liked him, but then he turned around and got everyone thrown out.
That was the first time in her life Nina had ever been thrown out of a place.
It was beyond humiliating.
And then, the next morning, before she’d even gotten enough sleep, Gavin dragged her out, and she and Claire got hauled here, and had to watch Manager Zhang get beaten nearly to death.
Still, Nina kind of respected that chubby Manager Zhang. At first, she thought he was just a sly, annoying guy, but after all the beatings, he still refused to say Evan was the one who gave the orders with the VIP card.
Even when they chopped his fingers, Manager Zhang just kept yelling about professional ethics, refusing to talk.
"So, which one of you is Evan Lin?"
Zuo He’s face was dark as he asked slowly.
Except for Sisi Shao, who hesitated; Rachel Liu, who stood still; Claire and Nina; and Manager Zhang, who was moaning on the floor, everyone else pointed straight at Evan.
"Is it you?"
Zuo He looked at Evan, smiling coldly.
"Yeah."
Evan nodded and looked at Zuo He. "I’m here. And I can tell you—Simon Zuo was killed by me."
"You killed him?"
Zuo He and the others were stunned by Evan’s words.
"How did you kill him?"
The Zuo family had spent a ton of manpower searching for clues, but still had no leads.
The impact on the car roof was definitely not something ordinary.
Now, hearing Evan’s words, everyone looked at him in disbelief.
Only Rachel Liu seemed to recall something. She looked at Evan, a flash of shock in her eyes.