Evan Lin glanced up at the entrance, where the words "Triumph Manor" stood out in bold, eye-catching characters.
Inside, almost everyone at the banquet was dressed in suits and evening gowns. Only Evan wore sportswear, looking totally out of place.
As he entered, a few people glanced his way, but most of their eyes just swept past him, barely pausing.
Everyone who could show up here was either a boss or a second-generation rich kid.
He'd only taken a few steps inside when he spotted Charles Chen and Lynn Chen standing there. After a moment's thought, he walked over to them.
"Uncle Chen."
Evan called out.
As soon as Evan spoke, Daniel Ruan, Tim Ruan, and the others froze mid-conversation and turned to look his way.
To everyone else, the teenager looked clean and fresh, but showing up at a business banquet like this in casual clothes just felt absurd.
Tim Ruan noticed that, right after Evan spoke, Charles Chen—who'd looked pretty unhappy before—immediately broke into a smile.
Tim Ruan could clearly feel that ever since Evan Lin showed up, Lynn Chen—who’d been icy cold just moments before—suddenly let slip a rare, gentle smile. Her eyes lit up, too.
That made Tim Ruan seriously annoyed.
“Hey, you made it! I was just about to go out and meet you. Glad you’re here! Uh, why don’t you take Lynn and check out the buffet? Grab something to eat.” Charles Chen immediately broke into a smile, not hesitating for a second.
Charles Chen had already decided not to let Lynn and Evan get mixed up in all this drama tonight. This was the perfect chance to send them off.
“Mm.”
Evan Lin nodded.
Lynn Chen tried to act composed, still wondering how she was going to talk to Evan about what she wanted to say tonight—it was pretty embarrassing.
But before Lynn could walk over to Evan, Tim Ruan reached out and grabbed her wrist.
“Hold up. Isn’t there a thing called first come, first served? Sure, Lynn can hang out with you tonight, but she’s gotta spend time with me first.”
Tim Ruan’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
Lynn Chen’s face changed. She yanked her hand hard, eyes blazing with anger. “Let go of me!”
But Tim Ruan was gripping her wrist so tightly that she couldn’t break free, no matter how hard she tried.
Evan Lin glanced over, his brows knitting together.
Just then, a few society ladies walked over—Lucy Lu among them.
“Evan!”
Lucy Lu spotted Evan Lin and hurried over, but when she saw Tim Ruan clutching Lynn’s wrist, her face darkened. “Let go of my daughter’s hand!”
“Lucy, you’re being unreasonable. Tim holding your daughter’s hand is a blessing for your family!”
“I agree! Mrs. Ruan’s mentioned it so many times—Tim’s totally hung up on Lynn.”
The two society ladies chimed in, all smiles as they watched Tim Ruan grab Lynn’s hand—clearly siding with the Ruan family.
No matter how promising the Chen family looked, they were still newcomers. Tim’s dad being vice-chairman of the Chamber was enough to make these ladies pick a side.
Among them, a woman draped in a sheer wrap and a custom silk evening gown wore an expression of pride. She nodded slightly; this was none other than Mrs. Ruan, Tim Ruan’s mother and Daniel Ruan’s wife. “Mm, Lucy, last time I didn’t get a proper look at your daughter. Now that I see her again, she really is quite pretty. No wonder my Tianxing has taken such a liking to her.”
“Honestly, it’s no joke—our Tianxing has always been popular with girls. He’s dated plenty over the years, but he’s never cared about any of them the way he cares about your Lynn. That’s a real blessing for your Chen family.”
Mrs. Ruan kept up her airs, looking Lynn Chen up and down from above as if she were inspecting merchandise.
“Sorry, but my daughter doesn’t seem to like your son at all.” Lucy Lu’s temper flared at Mrs. Ruan’s words.
Hearing this, Daniel Ruan glanced at Charles Chen and gave a cold laugh. “Old Chen, looks like your wife and daughter have quite the stubborn streak. That’s not necessarily a good thing!”
Daniel Ruan then turned his gaze to Evan Lin, his face icy as he called out, “Where’s the manager of Triumph Manor? This guy clearly isn’t one of us—how did he even get let in?”
“Today is a Capitalview Chamber of Commerce members’ banquet. Everyone here is either a well-known entrepreneur or their sons and daughters. How did this shameless kid sneak in?”
Daniel Ruan called out loudly.
Immediately, a man in a suit led a group over. After a quick word with Daniel, he stepped in front of Evan Lin, face cold. “Sorry, friend, but unless you’re the child of one of our Chamber entrepreneurs, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”
“And what if I say no?” Evan Lin glanced at him, his voice flat.
“Then don’t blame me for getting rough.” The suited man snorted, and at once his team rushed over, surrounding Evan Lin.
“Chairman Ruan, what’s the meaning of this?” Charles Chen’s face changed as he saw the scene.
“No special meaning, just keeping to our Chamber rules.” Daniel Ruan smiled, swirling his wine glass with pride. “This isn’t a place just anyone can walk into!”
“Don’t think just because you get good grades and can fight that you can throw your weight around here, kid. The security here are all retired special forces! If you don’t want a beating, I suggest you get lost—right now!” Tim Ruan laughed arrogantly, full of himself.
“Looks like we’re not welcome here. Sorry, Chairman Ruan, we have other things to do—we’ll be leaving.” Charles Chen’s face darkened, and Lucy Lu immediately walked toward Evan Lin.
“You came all this way, Old Chen—how can you leave without at least having a drink?” Daniel Ruan snorted. “If you insist on leaving, let me be clear: if you step out of Triumph Manor today, your real estate company is finished! I’d like to see who in all of Capitalview dares to do business with you!”
Charles Chen’s face was ugly, Lucy Lu’s cheeks went pale with anger, and Lynn Chen clenched her fists, unable to break free.
Meanwhile, Evan Lin, surrounded by the crowd, shifted his gaze, sighed, and stepped forward, slapping each guard aside with a single blow.
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
A series of crisp slaps rang out, sudden and shocking.
By the time everyone snapped out of it, the so-called retired special forces were already sent flying to the side.
And Evan Lin was already gripping Tim Ruan by the neck with one hand!