"Evan?"
The girl riding a bike over there spotted Evan Lin and called out to him.
Yolanda Fang and Lynn Chen, who had just been talking, both paused and turned to look. The girl on the bike wore a single ponytail. Her figure wasn’t as eye-catching as Yolanda Fang’s, but she had a carefree, energetic vibe that really stood out.
Especially when she balanced herself with one foot on the pedal and the other on the ground, her straight and well-proportioned calves were enough to make Yolanda Fang and Lynn Chen feel a bit envious, even as fellow girls.
Selina Shi sat on her bike, took off her earphones, and glanced casually at Evan Lin and the two girls beside him. Her gaze was relaxed, but Yolanda Fang and Lynn Chen immediately became a bit guarded.
Standing off to the side, Evan Lin could clearly feel the invisible tension in the air as the three girls sized each other up.
"What are you doing here?" Evan Lin looked at Selina Shi and was the first to break the slightly awkward silence.
"Nothing to do tonight, so I just went out for a ride. Didn’t expect to run into you here." Selina Shi nodded, then looked at Yolanda Fang and Lynn Chen, smiling: "Friends of yours?"
"Yolanda Fang." Yolanda stepped forward first, reached out, and shook hands with Selina Shi.
"Lynn Chen." Lynn also reached out her hand.
"Selina Shi." After shaking hands with them, Selina turned to Evan Lin and said straightforwardly, "Just happened to run into you, so I’ll pass on the message—Uncle Liu said it was all thanks to you this time. He asked me to thank you when I saw you, though I honestly have no idea what it was about."
As Selina Shi said this, she stared hard at Evan Lin, but he just stayed calm and unreadable, which left her a bit frustrated inside.
"Also, Allen Ju and my big brother Walter Shi are about to leave too. Maybe we’ll meet again someday."
After saying that, Selina Shi nodded slightly to Evan Lin, put her earphones back in, started humming a tune, and rode off without any hesitation.
Even though Selina Shi was curious about what kind of background a guy like Evan Lin had, she still felt it was better to keep things light and not dig too deep.
After all, no matter how surprising Evan Lin’s actions had been lately, at the end of the day he was still just a kid from a small place like Whitewood County.
Whether it was Selina Shi, Walter Shi, or Allen Ju, they all appreciated Evan Lin in their own way, but from the moment they were born, their worlds were destined to be completely different.
Some people are only meant to be passing guests in your life—sharing a brief, happy moment before eventually parting ways.
Selina Shi saw this clearly. Though she felt a bit regretful, she still had to figure out how to shake off Kai Chen’s pestering, and she was genuinely curious about how far a guy like Evan Lin could go someday. But all that was way off in the future, and not something she could predict.
In the end, it’s nice when goodbyes can be light and easy—no debts, no drama, just a quiet exit. That’s why none of them even left Evan Lin an address.
Watching Selina Shi ride off with that laid-back, carefree vibe, Yolanda Fang suddenly spun around and stared at Evan Lin, eyes sharp: "Spill it—who was that girl?"
"Just a regular friend."
Evan Lin’s answer made Lynn Chen look over too: "She doesn’t seem that ordinary. And what’s with that Uncle Liu thanking you? Who is this Uncle Liu?"
"The county Party secretary for Whitewood. He thanked me because I helped him out with something small before."
Evan Lin replied calmly and unhurriedly.
"County Party secretary? How could you possibly know the county Party secretary?" Lynn Chen made it clear she didn’t believe him at all.
"Yeah, I don’t know much about this stuff, but even I know the county Party secretary outranks the county magistrate, right? What could you possibly help him with?" Yolanda Fang eyed Evan Lin, face full of curiosity.
It was obvious neither of them believed a word Evan Lin said.
"Helped him crack a fraud case, and brought in some investment while I was at it."
Evan Lin had barely finished speaking.
Yolanda Fang rolled her eyes: "Yeah right. I’d sooner believe you saved him from a gang fight than cracked some fraud case. Are you saying you’re better than the local cops? And what about that investment—how much did you bring in?"
Yolanda Fang eyed Evan Lin curiously.
"Five hundred million." Evan Lin sighed—he knew that even if he told the truth, these two probably wouldn’t believe him anyway.
Sure enough.
"Five hundred million!" Yolanda Fang exclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief.
"There you go bragging again, Evan Lin. Can you ever stop loving to brag so much?" Lynn Chen, unable to hold back, frowned in annoyance.
After everything that had happened recently, Lynn Chen had actually started to see Evan Lin in a new light. But she hadn’t expected that, right after meeting up, Evan would start bragging again—and his stories were getting more and more outlandish.
High-ranking county officials—how could ordinary people ever get close to them?
And he claimed he helped solve a fraud case!
This isn’t a movie or some kind of novel!
Lynn Chen looked at Evan Lin, saw he wasn’t responding, and kept going: "Auntie Zheng is counting on you, Evan. If you keep spouting nonsense like this, how are you ever going to make it in the real world?"
"You’re not grounded at all!"
With that, Lynn Chen didn’t give Evan Lin a chance to defend himself—she grabbed Yolanda Fang’s hand and strode off ahead.
Evan Lin just shook his head and followed at a leisurely pace, keeping a little distance behind them.
Yolanda Fang, dragged along by Lynn Chen, hurried after her, and kept turning back to make faces at Evan Lin.
You couldn’t really blame Lynn Chen and Yolanda Fang for not believing him—anyone would have a hard time swallowing what Evan Lin just said.
They kept walking until they reached the entrance of the Whitewood Century Hotel, where Evan Lin finally stopped, watching them head inside.
"Don’t forget to wake up early tomorrow!"
Just before going in, Yolanda Fang turned and yelled at Evan Lin, waving goodbye.
On the top floor of the Century Hotel, in a suite, a white-bearded old man stood by the window, gazing out at the pitch-black night, hands clasped behind his back and eyes serene: "Tomorrow we set out for Fenghua Mountain. We’ll take the Wanhe Ancient Jade from that man, so the Valley Master can lay down the Heaven-Slayer Earth-Shade Formation. Once it’s complete, even if Evan 'Nine Mysteries' Lin has power to shake the heavens, he’ll be killed on the spot!"
"He dared to steal Medicine King Valley’s spirit medicine and kill our disciples and elders—he deserves to die!"
The old man’s tone was chilling, and the air around him seemed to heat up. His gaze dropped from the sky, spotting the thin figure of a young man heading away from the hotel.
His expression quickly returned to calm: "Any leads on Evan 'Nine Mysteries' Lin?"
Inside the room, Xie Huoyan stood off to the side, head bowed, not daring to meet the old man’s gaze. Hearing the question, he hurriedly answered: "Since Evan 'Nine Mysteries' Lin last appeared in Minghai City, there’s been no sign of him. He’s probably gone into hiding."
"No matter. I don’t believe he can hide forever!"