As soon as Mia Chen spoke,
Not only did Victor Zhou and his group all turn to look this way,
Even the others waiting in line instinctively glanced over.
Mia Chen was just too pretty.
A beautiful girl, wherever she goes, always has a natural aura that draws everyone's eyes.
Not to mention, Evan Lin now looked sunny and handsome at first glance.
A pairing of handsome guy and pretty girl.
In an instant, they became the focus of countless people around them.
"Go ahead, ask."
Evan didn't feel anything special about it.
To Evan, all the stares from people around him were no big deal.
He honestly couldn’t care less what everyone else thought.
Back then, before sophomore year, you were always getting bullied in class.
Mia adjusted her tone, looking at Evan seriously: "Were you really bullied back then?"
Later, I saw you fight Trevor Liu and the others, and you weren't anything like your old self.
The old you could never have stood up to Trevor Liu and all those guys.
Mia’s words were full of uncertainty.
From before the college entrance exam, to after, and then to university.
Mia always remembered how, ever since freshman year, Evan was bullied and looked down on by so many classmates.
That Evan—humble, weak, frail, helpless—always looked like the honest kid.
He never had any bad intentions.
Except when it came to his grades, which improved way too slowly.
The teachers thought he was a bit slow.
The classmates didn’t just think he was slow—they said he totally lacked social awareness.
On top of that, coming from Whitewood County and always wearing old, unfashionable clothes, he seemed completely out of place in the class.
Hardly anyone wanted to be his friend.
Back then, Mia was class monitor and, out of a sense of duty, helped Evan with his homework.
But that’s exactly why Trevor Liu started targeting Evan.
Trevor Liu cornered Evan after school several times, warning him to stay away from Mia.
At first, Mia had no idea this was happening.
Later, she learned the truth from other people.
But through all of it, Evan never once complained to her.
He swallowed all the hardships by himself.
Whenever Mia looked at him, Evan still managed a gentle smile.
To keep Trevor Liu from bullying Evan, Mia even confronted Trevor once.
But Trevor was used to running wild at school.
He refused to let Evan go, and said any guy who got close to Mia would regret it.
To protect Evan, Mia gradually stopped talking to him.
And then, came that day.
PE class ended.
Break time was over.
When the bell rang for Old Man Liu’s math class, Mia saw Evan’s empty seat.
Then she overheard a bunch of boys in the back row whispering about what just happened.
On the playground, Evan had handed a love letter to Rachel Liu and got knocked out by Buck Niu—a total embarrassment.
She couldn’t figure out why Evan dared to confess to Rachel Liu.
She was worried about Evan’s health.
Luckily, Evan came back soon enough.
The boy pushed open the classroom door, stood at the entrance, faced the fact that he was late, and called out 'Report' to Old Man Liu up at the podium.
He ended up getting punished and had to stand outside.
But after class, Evan walked straight to her desk and invited her to head home together.
All those memories flashed through Mia’s mind like snapshots.
And then, back to that day.
The boy pushed open the door, walked toward her, and invited her to go home together.
From that day on, he rose with the wind—never weak or humble again.
He was strong, confident.
Like a king awakening from dust, opening his eyes.
For a long time, Mia couldn’t tell which Evan was the real one.
"Before sophomore year, the bullying was real."
Evan met Mia’s gaze, not avoiding it: "As for what happened later, you can call it a sudden awakening."
"After being a coward for so long, I just wanted to live differently."
Mia nodded, half understanding.
Victor and the others watched Mia and Evan talk, their expressions sour.
They didn’t get the meaning behind Evan and Mia’s words.
This was all stuff from their school days—just between Evan and Mia.
They started boarding, showing their tickets.
Evan found a seat by the window.
Mia sat across from him.
Victor originally wanted to sit next to Mia.
In everyone else’s eyes, Victor was clearly chasing Mia.
He figured he had the advantage—right place, right time, right people.
His mom and Mia’s mom got along, and both families hoped the kids would get together.
But Mia wasn’t interested.
Before Victor could grab the seat, Emily Yi sat down next to Mia.
Victor had no choice but to sit beside Evan.
The others took seats nearby.
It was a sightseeing ferry.
It would circle Seahaven Island before docking at the pier.
Mia watched Evan across from her. After boarding, he barely spoke, and she stayed quiet too.
She’d thought, after seeing him again, he’d ask her more questions.
But Evan’s attitude was nothing like she expected.
Evan stared out the window at the sea.
Waves rolled and crashed.
Tourists were already snapping photos out on the deck.
Emily Yi watched Evan curiously, trying to figure out his relationship with Mia.
"You said your friend’s waiting for you on the island—are they a guy or a girl?"
Victor, seeing Mia’s attention still on Evan, grew more annoyed.
He turned to Evan, forcing a fake smile as he asked.
The other boys perked up and looked at Evan too.
Evan answered calmly, "A girl."
Victor’s face darkened.
Evan didn’t bother explaining further.
Mia looked at Evan, then at Victor, then smiled slightly.
Emily Yi jumped in, "Hey, maybe it’s a girlfriend!"
Mia rolled her eyes, "He’s not that kind of person."
Victor snorted, "Who knows?"
Evan just smiled faintly, not saying a word.
The ferry kept moving, waves sparkling under the sun.
Everyone’s moods were tangled, but the boat pressed on toward Seahaven Island, where everything was about to change.