"Evan Lin, you're here—please, have a seat." Principal Damon Deng greeted him warmly, smiling.
Damon Deng called out to him, his face beaming with a smile.
Evan Lin pulled out a chair and sat down, glanced at Damon Deng, and asked, "Principal, what did you want to see me about?"
"Here's the situation. First, let me apologize to you on behalf of our National Team Reserves."
As soon as Evan finished speaking, the assistant coach sitting nearby stood up and bowed to him.
He said all the right words, but his tone still carried a hint of reluctance.
Originally, he wanted to make a bigger deal out of this, force Capitalview First High to take a stand and make Evan Lin apologize publicly. But he was quickly scolded by Coach Peter and had no choice but to come here and offer an apology.
Just then, Wendy Wen walked in from outside, slightly surprised by what she saw.
She recognized the assistant coach—he was somewhat famous in the domestic soccer scene, but had a bad temper and liked to put on airs. Seeing him bow to Evan Lin, Wendy was genuinely shocked.
"Since you've said that, I can consider letting go of what happened yesterday."
Evan Lin nodded calmly.
As soon as he spoke, the assistant coach, Damon Deng, and Director Ben Lu all twitched at the corners of their eyes.
Wendy Wen felt like she was dreaming. This guy was so outrageously arrogant—even after they'd bowed and apologized, giving him plenty of face, Evan Lin still acted all high and mighty. It was way too disrespectful; he really didn't know how to behave.
"Wendy Wen, are you here? Did you finish the special feature I asked you to write?"
Principal Damon Deng coughed, choosing not to respond to Evan Lin's last remark, worried that a few more words might really annoy the assistant coach again.
"It's done, Principal. I'll leave it here—if you want any changes after reading it, just let me know." Wendy nodded, placed the manuscript on the desk, and quickly stepped out.
The manuscript was personally requested by Principal Damon Deng. It covered yesterday's soccer field incident, since things had blown up and both the school and National Team Reserves needed to save face. To calm things down, Damon Deng insisted on reviewing it himself before releasing it through the school journal or at the next Teacher–Student Assembly.
Before leaving, Wendy Wen gave Evan Lin a few more glances, her eyes filled with complicated emotion.
"Since everyone's here, Evan Lin, Coach Peter called earlier. He hopes you'll consider joining the National Team, and he guarantees you can enter directly as a full player. Or, he can recommend you to Crisbeal FC." Principal Damon Deng said, clearing his throat and smiling.
"That's right, Evan Lin! If I remember correctly, you're seventeen this year, right? If you join the National Team, you'll be the youngest player in its history!" Director Ben Lu said excitedly.
The youngest National Team player ever, personally selected by Coach Peter—if Capitalview First High produces someone like that, the school's reputation will soar.
"Our full players get great benefits too. I guarantee that if you join us, your annual salary won't be less than a million yuan. You know what that means, right?" The assistant coach nodded.
Nowadays, young people just want to make money. In this world, profit is everything, and that's the biggest lure he can offer.
"I've already said this to Coach Peter—I have no interest in soccer, no interest in joining the National Team or Crisbeal FC. Please pass that on for me."
After Evan Lin finished speaking, he added, "If there's nothing else, that's all."
Seeing Evan Lin about to leave, Damon Deng and the others were stunned. They were just about to stop him, but it was too late—Evan had already walked out.
The atmosphere in the principal's office suddenly turned a bit awkward.
"This student is just too much," the assistant coach said, his face dark. He'd come all the way here because of Coach Peter, and he thought he'd given Evan Lin plenty of respect!
But Evan just didn't care at all—he left without a second thought. Did he really not care about a million a year?
"I'll talk to Evan Lin again later. He's a very talented student." Director Ben Lu tried to smooth things over. He could pressure other students with his title, but with Evan Lin, he knew he didn't have that power.
Evan Lin left the principal's office. In the hallway outside, Wendy Wen stood with her arms crossed, frowning as she watched him.
Seeing Evan come out, Wendy looked suspicious. "What did you do to make the assistant coach apologize to you? Weren't you the one who caused all the trouble yesterday? I heard Ethan Yi is still in the hospital, and the doctor said he won't be able to play soccer for a while."
"Their whole team still has a lot of games left. At this rate, Ethan Yi probably won't make it onto the National Team this year. Wasn't his biggest dream always to join the National Team and bring glory to the country? You ruined his dream—how could you do that!"
Wendy kept complaining—she'd even visited the hospital on behalf of the school to comfort Ethan Yi.
When she saw Ethan Yi lying in bed, his face was dark with anger—and it was clear he still deeply resented Evan Lin.
Wendy stared at Evan, still waiting for his reply.
But Evan just glanced at her and looked away, too lazy to say anything, and walked right past Wendy.
"Hey!"
Wendy snapped out of it and quickly stepped forward, blocking Evan's way. "I'm talking to you—can't you hear me?"
"Ethan Yi's dream has nothing to do with me. He kept provoking me—if I didn't break his leg, I was already being merciful. So, you're standing up for him? Want me to take you to the hospital and show you how I'd really ruin him?" Evan said coldly. "He called all of you at Capitalview First High trash on the field, and he wasn't wrong. Funny how you weren't so eager to defend him then."
"Stop saying 'Capitalview First High' like you're not one of us! Sure, he was wrong, but did you really have to beat him up like that?" Wendy retorted, full of anger.
Down the hallway, Lynn Chen watched Evan and Wendy, but she was too far away to hear what they were saying.
Next to Lynn, Mason He stood watching Evan and quietly said, "See, Lynn? I told you—Evan's been getting close to Wendy Wen for a while. Don't let him fool you! He's not as high-minded as he looks, and Wendy's the school goddess. How could Evan not be interested in her?"
"Honestly, you'd be better off giving up on Evan Lin sooner rather than later!"