The sports facilities at Capitalview First High are top-notch, with everything from basketball courts to soccer fields and a full rubber track.
When Evan Lin and Jason Liu arrived at the field, there was already a crowd gathered by the soccer pitch.
A group of boys clustered around Ryan Luo. As soon as he saw Evan Lin and Jason Liu, Ryan pointed at Evan and barked, "Liam, that's the kid! Damn, just some troublemaking transfer student—came here and started picking fights with me, doesn't even know what kind of trash he is!"
Ryan Luo's tone was vicious—after being publicly grabbed by the collar and thrown aside by Evan Lin, it was the ultimate humiliation for him.
"Not only that, this kid even dared to flirt with Wendy Wen!"
Ryan's words hit hard. As soon as he finished, the boys standing beside Liam Liu were stunned for a moment, then started getting fired up in solidarity.
"Holy crap, he dared to hit on Wendy Wen? Dude's got some serious guts!" one boy spat, face full of anger.
"He even went after my literary goddess!"
"This guy's really wild, huh? Not afraid of getting drowned in spit by every guy in school?"
After Ryan Luo's outburst, the boys who'd only looked down on Evan Lin before suddenly got a lot more fired up.
Wendy Wen is a girl from Experimental Class 3. She joined the school's Literature and Arts Club back in her freshman year, and with her good looks, top grades, and love of the arts, she's become the crush of countless guys. Still, after all this time, no one's ever seen her get close to any boy for real.
The moment they heard that Wendy Wen had been hit on by a brand-new transfer student, all these hot-blooded boys' faces changed again and again. Their looks toward Evan Lin grew even nastier.
One of the boys—a tall, fair-skinned guy—narrowed his eyes. That was Liam Liu, PE rep of Experimental Class 1, campus heartthrob, and good buddy of Ryan Luo.
"He's nothing special, looks-wise."
Liam Liu sized up Evan Lin for a few seconds, then snorted coldly. "Ryan, don't worry. However he hit you, you hit him back the same way. If he dares fight back, all of us will back you up!"
"Yeah! No way we're letting some outsider act so cocky in our school. If word gets out, people will think Capitalview First High is full of weaklings!"
"Let's go! Time to have a little chat with that guy!"
A bunch of boys, just itching for trouble, started heading straight for Evan Lin and Jason Liu.
Jason Liu was visibly nervous. The moment he saw Ryan Luo and the others on the field, his face went pale. Now, as the crowd headed their way, his first instinct was to turn and run—only for Evan Lin to grab him by the arm and hold him in place.
Evan Lin watched Ryan Luo and his crew approach with a calm, indifferent look, not caring at all.
"Transfer student, huh? Heard you're pretty cocky. If you ended up in Class Twelve, you must have crap grades—so what, your family pulled some strings? Come on, tell us, what does your family do?" Liam Liu asked, grinning and spinning a soccer ball in his hand as he swaggered over with his crew.
Now up close, everyone stared at Evan Lin, sizing him up. He looked kind of pale and decent, but judging by his build, he didn't seem like the fighting type.
"What my family does is none of your damn business."
Evan Lin stared at Liam Liu, his tone flat. The moment he spoke, Liam's smile froze and he narrowed his eyes. "Didn't expect you to have such a sharp mouth, kid."
Liam Liu said coldly, "Ryan, this is the kid who hit you, right?"
"Yeah! This punk really thinks he's something—started mouthing off at me the moment he showed up!" Ryan Luo stepped forward, glaring at Evan Lin. "But I'll give him this, he's freakishly strong."
"Strong? So what if he's strong? If muscle's all he's got, he should go haul bricks after graduation—construction sites love guys like that!"
One student sneered, setting off a round of laughter.
The boys quickly closed in, surrounding Evan Lin and Jason Liu.
Not far away, a girl with a cold expression was passing by with a cup of milk tea and a few friends.
"Ivy, I heard the national soccer team's reserve squad just got a new player named Ethan Yi. He's super handsome and crazy skilled—in just a few practice matches, he's racked up awesome results. In one game, he even scored three goals by himself. Total legend!"
Ivy Liang sipped her milk tea, face still cold, listening to her friends chatter away. She nodded, "Yeah, he's pretty good."
"And Ethan Yi is coming to our school soon for a soccer exhibition match—he'll play against our school team! Just thinking about it gets me so hyped!" another girl gushed, practically bouncing with excitement.
"Our school team?" Ivy Liang paused, surprised.
"Yeah, the team Liam Liu leads—he's the captain, right?" The girl nodded, glancing toward the center of the soccer field and pointing with her chin. "Look, Liam Liu's right over there."
"That's weird. Why are so many people crowded over there? Normally during PE, Liam Liu and his crew are just playing soccer." Someone looked on, puzzled.
"Looks like they're about to fight—this is gonna be good!" another girl said, eyes shining with excitement.
Ivy Liang barely reacted, taking a small sip of her milk tea. Her gaze drifted, mind still replaying the face of that boy she'd seen last night.
Thinking back, their choice was understandable—after all, a bunch of girls staying there wouldn't have helped. But the way Victor Wen and the other guys bolted made Ivy Liang secretly look down on them.
Still, leaving that kid alone in such a godforsaken, remote spot wasn't great, and Ivy Liang had no idea if he'd made it out okay after being surrounded by all those thugs.
Just as she was thinking this, Ivy Liang's gaze froze. Peering through the crowd around Liam Liu, she caught a glimpse of the side profile of the boy standing in the middle.
That familiar face made Ivy Liang's heart skip a beat. She muttered, "No way—is this for real? Am I seeing ghosts in broad daylight?"
Ivy Liang mumbled to herself, but before she could react, her excited friends grabbed her and dragged her toward the commotion, clearly eager to watch the drama unfold.