Amelia Jiao glanced at Ivy Deng beside her. Today, Ivy was dressed in a white T-shirt and casual jeans, radiating youthful energy.
Just sitting there playing on her phone, she drew plenty of attention from the boys. Most of them looked at Ivy with a kind of worship in their eyes.
In their class, Ivy Deng and Max Ma were basically a pair—almost an open secret, even if neither had officially admitted it.
As soon as Amelia spoke, Max Ma turned his head and looked at Ivy Deng, giving her a smile. "What's wrong, Ivy? You look a little off. Are you feeling sick or something?"
"I'm fine." Ivy Deng shook her head, but when she looked at Evan Lin riding that white fixie, her expression turned a bit strange.
After bumping into Evan Lin at Hongqing Grand Hotel yesterday, Ivy thought she'd never see him again. She never expected they'd cross paths here.
As for the lakeside barbecue and fishing trip with Max Ma and the others, that was something they'd planned in the First High student group chat.
But now, not only did Evan Lin show up, he brought Hank Chu and Ken Chu along. That was more than enough reason for Ivy to suspect this meeting wasn't just a coincidence.
Could it be... he came here on purpose to see me?
The thought flashed through Ivy Deng's mind, but she quickly shook her head, a faint trace of disdain flickering in her heart.
After all, Ivy Deng's family was loaded. Compared to Evan Lin, it was like heaven and earth.
If Evan Lin really was trying to pull some roundabout move, using a 'chance encounter' to hit on her, Ivy would rate him even lower in her heart.
"Hey! Ken Chu, Hank Chu, you guys aren't seriously planning to just leave, are you?" Max Ma called out again, looking at Hank and Ken with a cold smirk.
Max Ma did glance at Evan Lin standing beside them, but after a quick look, he didn't bother to linger—Evan didn't even register on his radar.
"Should we go over?" Hank Chu hesitated, glancing at Ken Chu.
Ken Chu and Max Ma never really got along. Max had openly looked down on Ken before, and Ken, because of Max's status, always had to swallow his anger—he didn't have the guts or the clout to go head-to-head with him.
Now, seeing Max Ma and his crew waving them over, and that mocking look in Max's eyes, Ken felt a wave of pressure inside.
He glanced at Evan Lin standing next to him, then, as if making up his mind, gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go. No matter what, we should at least say hi. We can't just chicken out!"
After he spoke, Ken Chu immediately put on his usual clownish grin, hopped on his fixie, and headed over with Hank Chu.
Evan Lin just followed along behind, looking as relaxed as ever.
When the three of them reached the sunshade, a few boys who were setting up the barbecue grill stood up and stared over.
One of the boys joked, "Yo, Hank Chu, Ken Chu, didn't think you guys actually had the guts to come over here."
"Why wouldn't I? Wasn't it Max Ma who invited me?" Ken Chu grinned, tossing his head so his bangs flipped back.
"Max invited you? You're really something, huh."
Hearing Ken Chu's words, a few girls couldn't help but laugh. Everyone knew Max had called Ken over just to mess with him, but Ken shamelessly played along—he was the definition of thick-skinned.
"That's right. Max called, so of course I came right over," Ken Chu said with a goofy grin, acting like he couldn't hear the sarcasm.
Hank Chu spotted Amelia Jiao sitting there in a pretty pink dress, and his face froze for a second. He pursed his lips, feeling a dull ache inside.
Meanwhile, Evan Lin saw Ivy Deng sitting nearby and nodded politely to her.
"We meet again," Evan Lin said calmly.
"Mm." Ivy Deng nodded. As Evan spoke, she became even more certain about her suspicions.
Obviously, Evan Lin must've heard about her from Hank Chu and Ken Chu, and that's why he showed up here.
Thinking this, Ivy Deng kept her face neutral, showing no emotion.
Max Ma overheard Evan Lin talking to Ivy Deng, and finally bothered to size Evan up. "Yo, who's this guy? You know Ivy?" he asked.
"He's my mom's colleague's son. I've seen him a few times at teachers' dinners."
Before Evan could answer, Ivy Deng quickly jumped in, clearly afraid Max Ma would get the wrong idea.
"Oh, so you're just a primary school teacher's kid. Got it," Max Ma said with a wide grin, squinting his eyes, his tone dripping with disdain.
One was a teacher's kid, the other a county magistrate's son. People always say everyone's equal, but in reality, there's a gulf between them you just can't cross.
Hank Chu and Ken Chu exchanged a look, then glanced at Evan Lin. Seeing Evan's calm, unreadable face, they felt a bit more at ease.
Still, after hearing Max Ma's words, Hank couldn't help but step forward, quietly pulling Evan behind him. "Didn't expect to see everyone here. We just came to say hi, then we'll go play somewhere else."
"Yeah, enjoy your food," Ken Chu said with a cheerful grin, already getting ready to ride off.
But Max Ma just laughed and walked forward a few steps, putting his hands on the handlebars of Ken Chu and Hank Chu's bikes. "Come on, we're all classmates here, right? It's not like a few more people will make a difference. We just need a couple extra bowls and chopsticks."
"How about giving me some face and joining us for a meal? Your friend looks hungry, and Hank, Amelia Jiao's here too—you guys can chat more."
Max's tone was playful. As he spoke, Amelia Jiao shot them a look, while Ivy Deng acted like she didn't care.
Several girls quickly chimed in. "Yeah, come eat with us! We brought tons of food, there's no way we can finish it all."
"Yeah, don't be shy."
Of course, they all knew exactly what Max Ma was up to.
Max clearly wanted to keep the three of them around, just to mess with them. Soft humiliation always cuts deeper than open hostility.
Hank Chu and Ken Chu still hesitated, while Evan Lin just stood there, looking totally unconcerned.
Finally, Ken Chu nodded. "Alright, since Max is inviting us, we'll join you for lunch."