They May Be Hard to Mess With, But I’m Harder to Mess With

"What are you talking about!"

Ivy Deng blushed at Ken Feng's words, shot him a glare, then turned to Evan Lin and asked softly, "When did you get back? Aunt Joy never mentioned it."

"Just got back," Evan Lin replied. He was about to sit next to Ken Feng, but Ken was quick and dragged over a chair, forcing Evan to sit beside Ivy Deng.

Evan didn’t mind and simply sat down, casually grabbing a skewer from the table and taking a bite.

Everyone here was from Whitewood County No. 1 High School. Most of them had only heard of Evan Lin by reputation, not in person, so as soon as he sat down, plenty of people started checking him out on the sly.

Based on all the rumors, Evan Lin was supposed to be some kind of big shot, but looking at him now, he just seemed a bit more charismatic and better-looking than the average guy.

Other than that, he seemed pretty normal—definitely not the kind of person you'd link to the guy who humiliated Max Ma.

"Shuai Zhang just ran off like that. I doubt he'll let it go so easily," Ivy Deng said hesitantly, glancing at Hank Chu.

To be honest, this whole mess kind of started because of Ivy Deng. If she'd stopped Shuai Zhang in time, maybe none of this would’ve happened.

"What’s there to be afraid of? With Evan here, bring it on!" Ken Feng said proudly, totally confident in sop Evan’s skills.

Ivy Deng didn’t say anything else. Amelia Jiao, meanwhile, kept staring at Hank Chu for a long moment. Then she picked up her untouched beer, took a sip, and finally seemed to make up her mind, standing up.

She looked at Hank Chu, eyes full of determination, and called out to him.

"Hank."

The moment she spoke, Hank Chu, who’d been about to open another beer, paused. Thanks to Shuai Zhang’s earlier outburst, Hank was still feeling pretty stifled inside.

He worked hard at school so his parents wouldn’t have to worry, all so he could get into a good university, land a solid job, and give his parents a comfortable life in their old age.

On that front, Hank and Evan Lin were basically on the same page. Over the years, plenty of girls had shown interest in Hank, but he’d always turned them down—the only one he ever liked was Amelia Jiao.

Hearing her voice now, Hank froze for a second, then turned to look at Amelia, dazed. "What’s up?"

"Can you come outside with me? I have something I want to talk to you about," Amelia said, nodding.

Ivy Deng shot her an encouraging look from the side.

After speaking, Amelia turned and walked straight out the door.

Hank was still holding the unopened beer can, totally forgetting to get up.

"What are you spacing out for? Go already!" Ken Feng said, frustrated, giving Hank a kick like he was disappointed in him.

Only then did Hank get up and follow her out.

"That guy’s got zero emotional IQ," Ken grinned at Evan. "What do you think’s gonna happen with those two?"

"No result," Evan said, cracking open a beer, his tone flat.

"Why do you say that? Hank used to really like Amelia, and lately Amelia’s figured out a lot of things," Ivy Deng said, frowning at Evan, clearly unhappy with his blunt prediction.

She and Amelia Jiao were close friends. This time, Amelia was only confronting Hank because Ivy had cheered her on.

"I know what kind of person Hank is. Some things, some people—once you lose them, they’re gone. Most chances only come once."

Evan’s calm words made Ivy’s heart skip a beat.

She glanced at Evan, feeling like his words held a hidden meaning. These days, all Flora Huang did at home was complain that Joy Zheng stole her students, or push Ivy to get closer to Evan.

Other people might not know Evan Lin’s true identity, but Victor Deng had heard Liu Tangguo mention him more than once. That made their whole family start seeing Evan in a new light.

Hearing Evan’s words, Ivy Deng couldn’t help looking a little down.

A moment later, the door opened.

Hank Chu and Amelia Jiao walked back in. Amelia was helping support Hank, her expression complicated, and Hank had a fresh cut on his face, still bleeding a little.

"What happened to you?"

Seeing Hank like that, Ken Feng’s face changed and he stood up from his seat.

"Some guy came over and started harassing me. Hank got into a fight with him," Amelia said, looking at Hank with concern.

"It’s nothing, just some out-of-towner who had too much to drink. He knew a bit of fighting, and it hurt, but I’ll be fine after a rest. Really, it’s no big deal," Hank said.

Hank managed a smile as Amelia helped him sit down.

"What the hell! Who’s got the guts to start a fight here?" Ken exploded.

Ken Feng’s face darkened. "Tell me exactly who did it! Screw it, I’ll take a crew and go mess him up right now! Touch my brother, and you’re asking for trouble!"

"He was wearing a black hoodie with a skull print on it. Kinda chubby," Amelia Jiao quickly explained.

She’d wanted to come clean with Hank, maybe give things a shot between them, but got interrupted—and Hank got hurt protecting her, which moved Amelia deeply.

"A chubby guy in a black skull hoodie?" Ken’s expression froze. All his earlier bravado faded, replaced by hesitation.

"You know him?" Ivy Deng asked.

Ken scratched his head. "Not really, but I’ve seen him once. He’s probably with those Oceanport City guys. This is gonna be tricky."

Ken’s dad had warned him over and over never to mess with the Oceanport crowd. Now Ken was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Evan glanced at Hank, eyes narrowing.

From Evan’s perspective, Hank’s wound was tinged with a dark sheen, and the flesh around it was shrinking at an alarming rate.

"Eat this."

Evan pulled out a Nourishing Essence Pill and, not waiting for Hank to refuse, popped it straight into his mouth.

Hank hesitated at first, but the pill melted instantly, flooding his body with energy. The bleeding from his wound stopped, too.

Evan moved so fast that no one really saw what he’d given Hank—all they saw was Hank, who’d looked awful just seconds ago, suddenly perking up.

"I feel way better now. What was that stuff?" Hank asked, staring at Evan in amazement.

"Just think of it as a super tonic," Evan said, shaking his head. Then he stood and looked at Ken Feng, who sat there looking guilty and frustrated. "Do you know which room they’re in?"

"Yeah, I know. They’re in the Gentleman’s Suite..." Ken nodded, still hesitant. "But, Evan, those guys aren’t easy to deal with."

"If they’re tough, I’m even tougher," Evan replied coldly, a flash of anger in his eyes.