Evan Lin spoke each word clearly and deliberately. The moment his words landed, Eric Yu's smile froze for a split second.
The students from Class 2 standing beside him all wore strange expressions.
"You know Serena?" Eric Yu asked.
"Never met her," Evan Lin shook his head.
The last time he went to Medicine King Valley, Queenie Tong had begged a Nourishing Spirit Pill from Evan outside the valley to keep her sister Serena alive. By now, Serena’s condition probably wasn’t looking good.
Evan knew exactly what that Nourishing Spirit Pill could do. It wouldn't cure her overnight, but at least it would keep her alive.
So when Evan said Serena might want to see him, it wasn’t just empty boasting.
"You've never even met her! Serena Tong is a huge celebrity—why would she want to see you? Who do you think you are, Daniel Wu or something?" Mason He sneered.
After he finished, Evan glanced at him. Mason’s face changed instantly; he retreated a few steps and shrank into the crowd, terrified Evan might lose his temper and beat him up for fun.
"Serena's super popular right now. There’s no way she’d want to see you. You’re just imagining things." A girl nearby shot Evan a look.
"Maybe you dreamed about Serena Tong and now you’re mixing up dream and reality? Is that why you think she wants to see you?" another girl giggled.
A bunch of people burst out laughing.
Lynn Chen’s frown deepened.
"Well, Serena does like funny people, but meeting her won’t be easy. Even if you somehow found her, you’d still have to get past her manager. And if you manage that, her little sister would probably stop you too." Eric Yu chuckled.
"So honestly, you’re pretty funny."
Nobody here believed Evan’s story; everyone thought he was just talking nonsense.
"Evan, where are you headed? The exams are just a few days away."
Lynn Chen finally spoke up. She glanced at Evan’s backpack, looking puzzled—and she was clearly trying to change the subject so he wouldn’t feel even more awkward.
"Just running an errand."
Evan glanced at her, then pulled out his phone to check the time.
Evan was still using his old Nokia. For him, the long battery life meant he never missed a call from Joy Zheng, and that alone made it worth keeping.
Compared to that, all those fancy iPhones and smart gadgets just ran out of juice way too fast.
"Didn’t expect you to still use a Nokia. Makes me miss my first phone," Eric Yu said, glancing at Evan’s phone with a smile that carried a hint of mockery.
Mason He and the others just saw Evan as a poor kid. Who here didn’t have a smartphone these days?
Nokia’s old-school phones had been left behind by the times ages ago.
Hearing Eric’s words, Lynn Chen felt a little uneasy inside.
She didn’t believe Evan was short on cash for a new phone.
"If you’re not coming to eat, we’ll head off. Next time I see Serena, I’ll ask her for you—see if she’s interested in meeting you." Eric Yu said lightly, but everyone could tell he was just teasing.
Mason He looked at Evan with open disdain, getting a kick out of isolating him from the group.
Just then, a black Land Rover came roaring up from down the street.
The Land Rover’s engine roared, and the driver looked seriously tough. The SUV barreled toward them, screeched to a halt with a wild drift, and kicked up a cloud of dust.
Eric Yu, who was standing right up front, turned pale and jumped in fright—he nearly got hit by the Land Rover’s tailspin. The SUV came in so fast that Eric lost his balance and landed flat on his butt.
"What the hell is wrong with your driving?"
Eric looked disheveled and humiliated, yelling at the Land Rover.
"If you can’t drive, don’t drive!"
"Think you’re hot stuff just because you’ve got money?"
"Do you even know who you almost hit?"
The girls crowded around Eric, glaring angrily at the Land Rover. Their faces were full of outrage.
The driver’s door swung open from inside, and out stepped Grizzly. His face was cold and pale, but the wild arrogance in his bearing was impossible to hide.
He’d been through years of street fights and had blood on his hands—a real brute. When his eyes swept over the students, a chill ran through the crowd and nobody dared say another word.
To the students, Grizzly looked like pure menace, but instead of glancing at Eric Yu, he swept his gaze over the crowd, spotted Evan Lin, and instantly switched to a fawning, respectful smile. He hurried over and opened the rear door for Evan.
"Young Master, Second Brother Su is waiting for you now."
Grizzly hesitated for a moment, unsure how to address Evan, so he just blurted out "Young Master."
That one word left Mason He and the others stunned. It sounded weird, but the Land Rover was a bona fide million-yuan luxury SUV, and Grizzly’s aura was absolutely overwhelming.
Wait—was that car really here to pick up Evan?
Eric Yu’s face darkened, while Lynn Chen’s heart skipped a beat—she was totally lost.
Evan didn’t say a word. He just stepped into the back seat of the Land Rover.
Grizzly shut the door for him, grinning with satisfaction. As he passed Eric Yu, he shot him a glare: "Next time, don’t block my way! If I really hit you, I’ll fucking kill you!"
Brutal.
Killing intent.
Just a few glares from Grizzly were enough to scare the students.
That same fierce Grizzly hopped into the driver’s seat and started the car, now driving slow and smooth—as if he was worried about jostling Evan in the back seat.
"Who is that guy, anyway?" Mason He’s expression kept shifting before he finally spoke up.
Everyone turned to look at Lynn Chen.
She was the only one here who really knew Evan.
But as everyone stared at her, Lynn’s gaze was fixed on the Land Rover’s disappearing tail lights.
The SUV headed for the end of the street, turned at the intersection, and vanished—leaving a crowd of silent students behind.
"Come on, everyone’s hungry. Let’s eat—my treat."
After a long pause, Eric Yu forced a smile and broke the awkward silence. Nobody mentioned what had just happened.
Nobody brought up the odd pairing of Evan’s battered old Nokia and the million-yuan Land Rover, or the wild, brutal man who’d gotten out only to bow and call Evan "Young Master."