"Grab every single one of them for me!"
Outside the car, Big Tank's rough voice roared. Instantly, a swarm of people—more than a dozen—poured out from the Mercedes and started fighting the trench-coat men with steel pipes in the middle of the street.
Not far away, doors to the bars and KTVs along the lively street were thrown open one after another.
As soon as the doors opened, waves of thuggish-looking gangsters charged out, wielding steel pipes and stools, carrying all sorts of makeshift weapons, sprinting straight toward the fight.
From Xuan Ling's seat, looking outside, all she could see was a sea of bobbing heads packed together.
"Ah!"
The newcomers quickly joined the fray, completely overwhelming the trench-coat men by sheer numbers. Each of the dozen attackers was pinned to the ground by several people and beaten mercilessly.
Their screams echoed nonstop, like pigs being slaughtered—a chilling sound that made your hair stand on end.
Xuan Ling's face was deathly pale. Her body trembled with fear as she stared wide-eyed through the car window at the chaos outside, her heart in turmoil.
But when she glanced at Evan Lin sitting beside her, his expression calm and indifferent, not fazed at all, an indescribable feeling welled up inside her.
The next second, Xuan Ling heard the sound of the passenger door being pulled open from outside. Before she could react, she saw a huge, overweight man standing outside the car—his body and face were both covered in fat, enough to make anyone queasy. But right now, his entire face was lit up with a smile.
It was a fawning smile—extremely obsequious—the kind Xuan Ling had seen countless times on the faces of those begging Fang Qiuji for favors.
Her mind was still blank, but she quickly assessed the man based on his flashy clothes and the luxury watch worth tens of thousands on his wrist.
Before Xuan Ling could figure out if she'd seen this man before—or if he was just another one of Fang Qiuji's petitioners—the overweight man spoke in a tone so deferential, it sounded almost slavish.
"Master, I'm sorry I'm late. I hope I didn't frighten you."
Big Tank rubbed his hands nervously. The moment he'd caught a glimpse of Evan Lin's face in the passenger seat, he froze for a split second, then immediately ordered the driver to turn around and called several bar and KTV security chiefs.
The hundred or so men who'd just rushed over were all security staff from those bars and KTVs. The moment they got Big Tank's call, they charged outside.
Master?
Xuan Ling stiffened. She turned to look at the boy in the passenger seat.
The boy looked completely calm, as if he was long used to being called that.
But the overweight man remained outside the door, standing respectfully and waiting for orders. The trench-coat men who'd just been attacking were now all sprawled on the ground, barely clinging to life.
Evan Lin didn't spare a glance at the fat man outside, or at the hundred-odd security guards surrounding the car.
"I don't care what you or Fang Qiuji have done to make enemies—if someone wants your lives, that's your business. It has nothing to do with me."
At last, Xuan Ling saw the boy—who had been staring straight ahead—slowly turn his head to look at her.
Under the calm, pitch-black gaze of those eyes, Xuan Ling felt a rare sense of unease.
"I'm not a good person, and my temper isn't great either. So you'd better remember what I just told you."
"Don't ever piss me off. Otherwise, you'll deal with the consequences yourself."
After Evan Lin finished speaking, Xuan Ling's expression kept shifting. She watched as the boy got out of the passenger seat and, surrounded by the fat man, walked over to another Mercedes nearby.
As soon as the boy got in, the overweight man—who looked every inch a local boss—waved his hand, and the hundred-odd men melted away like the tide receding, heading back the way they came.
All that was left by the Cadillac were the battered, bruised trench-coat men.
Fang Qiuji made his name through ruthless tactics in the business world. In the end, business is just big fish eating little fish. The family business those trench-coat men represented was simply weaker—Fang Qiuji seized the chance to swallow them whole, piling a mountain of debt on their heads. No wonder they hated him.
To outsiders, Fang Qiuji's methods seemed heartless, but to Xuan Ling, it was just standard business practice.
She'd met plenty of ambitious young men at Fang Qiuji's side, but never anyone as unpredictable as Evan Lin.
"Was that a threat or a warning?"
Xuan Ling glanced at the now-empty passenger seat, her expression cold. She turned her gaze to the Mercedes fading into the distance and let out a chilly laugh. "So I underestimated you? Brightsea's local snakes, huh? You dare talk like that only because you're not in Oceanport!"
"When there are no tigers in the mountains, the monkeys play king. Two years from now, I want to see if you still have the guts to talk like that in front of me when you come to Oceanport!"
"Besides, the man Yolanda is set to marry is someone you could never shake—even if all of Brightsea backed you, what could you do?"
Xuan Ling's face was icy as she gripped the steering wheel, staring at the now peaceful street as if nothing had ever happened.
In the Mercedes, Evan Lin sat in the back seat with his eyes closed, resting.
Big Tank kicked the original driver out and took the wheel himself, chattering away excitedly as he drove Evan Lin, barely able to contain his enthusiasm.
But seeing that Evan Lin wasn't interested in chatting, Big Tank sensibly shut his mouth.
Following Evan Lin's instructions, Big Tank drove him to Brightsea No. 2 High School. After heading toward the nearby neighborhood, Evan glanced out the window in the direction of Lily Zhong's rented apartment.
All he saw was darkness—the place looked completely empty.
Big Tank then slowly drove through Brightsea's streets. When they neared Brightsea Garden Court, he let Evan Lin out.
Evan Lin walked into the estate, his feet crunching on the stone path of Brightsea Garden Court. The breeze was cool on his face, his mood steady and calm.
Arriving at the villa, he pushed open the door. The living room table was covered with all sorts of things.
Joy Zheng, Lucy Lu, and Lynn Chen were unpacking everything, chattering away with smiles in their eyes.
Seeing Evan Lin return, Joy Zheng called him over to try on the new clothes they'd just bought.
Back in his room, Evan Lin closed his eyes. The next second, he snapped them open and looked out the window, murmuring, "Three days from now, we set out for Medicine King Valley!"