"Chairman Summer, White Dragon Court is ready."
After Hugh Hu, Neil Kong, and the others left, the atmosphere in the hall became strangely tense.
Zhang Dewang, Xiao Yun, and Zhang Yi sat nearby, glancing now and then at Joy Zheng and Lucy Lu, wanting to speak but always holding back when the words reached their lips.
They couldn't bring themselves to speak.
Just moments ago, they had all pressed Evan Lin with endless questions, but now, seeing how much respect he commanded, their hearts were a jumble of emotions.
Especially since Sawyer Summer and Victor Su, both sitting beside Evan Lin, acted as if they had no airs at all.
Keep in mind, the table was a mess—bowls and dishes overturned everywhere, filthy as could be. But when Evan Lin pulled out a chair and sat down, the two of them followed suit without batting an eye.
Henry Zhang came into the hall with a hastily bandaged head wound, bowed, and spoke to the group.
"Yes, White Dragon Court is ready. Young friend, shall we head over now?" Sawyer Summer looked at Evan Lin, who nodded and stood up.
"Old Man Su, you should join us too," Sawyer Summer said, turning to Victor Su. Victor Su chuckled, "Then I won't stand on ceremony. Today, I'm basking in this young friend's glory."
The group stood up together.
Sawyer Summer and Victor Su clearly had plenty to talk about. They'd heard of each other's reputations before, but this was actually their first time meeting face-to-face.
The others all chimed in with flattery, but Sawyer Summer and Victor Su didn’t act aloof at all—instead, they responded naturally and exchanged a few words with everyone.
"Hey, what did you do to that old guy? Why does he act so respectful toward you?" Yolanda Fang had been holding back a bunch of questions; now, seeing Sawyer Summer and Victor Su walk ahead, she grabbed Lynn Chen, hurried up to Evan Lin, and asked in a low voice.
As she spoke, she eyed Evan Lin suspiciously, guessing, "Don’t tell me you’re that old man’s long-lost grandson or something?"
Yolanda looked genuinely curious—she just couldn’t figure out what could make both Sawyer Summer and Victor Su look at Evan Lin in a whole new light.
And honestly, the way those two acted, it almost seemed like they were deliberately trying to curry favor with Evan Lin.
Lynn Chen hesitated for a moment, glanced at Evan Lin, and quietly asked, "You didn’t get yourself into trouble, or brag to them about something crazy, did you?"
Thinking about it, a worried crease appeared between Lynn Chen’s brows.
Lately, the impression Lynn Chen had of Evan Lin was that he’d gotten more and more into bragging, always talking big and never keeping his feet on the ground.
Then, thinking back to how Sawyer Summer and Victor Su had just treated Evan Lin, Lynn Chen grew even more uneasy.
More importantly, Lynn Chen felt like Evan Lin's bragging skills were getting stronger by the day. Seeing his totally unconcerned look, she couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed.
"I saved their lives. Of course they respect me," Evan Lin replied offhandedly.
Yolanda Fang jumped, quickly reached out and clamped a hand over Evan Lin's mouth, while nervously glancing at Victor Su and Sawyer Summer up ahead.
Seeing that neither of them turned around, she finally relaxed, shot Evan Lin a glare, and said, "Ugh, listen, you saying you saved Sawyer Summer, I could maybe buy that—after all, you did go to River City, and you have that mysterious old doctor nobody's met. But Victor Su? Didn't you only just meet him today?"
"Don't tell me you're about to say that just from meeting him once, you managed to save his life too."
Yolanda stared at Evan Lin. When he nodded, she rolled her eyes and muttered, "If I believe you, I’m a pig. You think I’m brainless or something?"
"Back in elementary school, I aced all my Chinese and math tests, okay!"
Evan Lin couldn’t be bothered to argue with Yolanda Fang and Lynn Chen.
Nearby, Joy Zheng was walking arm-in-arm with Lucy Lu. She’d wanted to ask Evan Lin what had happened, but now she and Lucy were surrounded by a crowd.
None of these people dared go up and chat with Victor Su or Sawyer Summer, so they all flocked to Joy Zheng and Lucy Lu, hoping to get close.
After all, everyone had seen how Victor Su and Sawyer Summer treated Evan Lin. If they could get in good with Joy Zheng and Lucy Lu, maybe they’d have a shot at connecting with Evan too.
Stella Cui kept nudging her husband Lawrence Wang. As a college math teacher, Lawrence always had a bit of a bookish vibe and wasn’t great at socializing. He’d originally come hoping Stella could use this reunion to connect him with Neil Kong for a better job, but now Neil had slunk off in defeat—so much for that plan.
"Evan Lin, Lynn Chen, and Yolanda Fang are all starting senior year soon, right? You’re a math professor—go volunteer to tutor them, help raise their grades, and don’t charge them a cent. That’ll work!" Stella urged Lawrence.
Nearby, Yolanda Wang watched eagerly. She’d been completely won over by Evan Lin and now didn’t even dare talk to him—she just looked on enviously at Yolanda Fang and Lynn Chen, who could joke around with him.
"Ahem, I can do that," Lawrence Wang coughed. Math was the one thing he was good at, and to help out with family expenses, he often tutored students on the side.
Lawrence Wang took a deep breath, forced a smile, turned to Evan Lin, hesitated, and finally said, "Hi, do you guys need help with math?"
The moment he spoke, Stella Cui felt a wave of frustration—his delivery was just so clumsy.
But the rest of the group, hearing Lawrence Wang’s offer, jumped on the topic like it was a lifeline. "Isn’t Stella’s husband a college math professor? These kids are all about to take the college entrance exam, right? He can totally help them prep."
"Right, right, academics should come first. My daughter Ivy Zhang, her grades are all over the place. Last time, out of 150 points, she only got 133 in math—drives me crazy."
Xiao Yun sighed dramatically, then smiled at Lucy Lu and Joy Zheng. "How about this—why not have your kids and my daughter Ivy Zhang all go to Stella Cui’s place for tutoring? It’s only one year, and senior year is tough."
Xiao Yun thought she was being clever. She figured she’d made a bad impression on Evan Lin’s group today, but there was no way she’d give up this connection. Zhang Dewang had already lost his job—if she could get on Evan’s good side, maybe Sawyer Summer would go easy on them.
"Oh right, um, Evan probably needs some math tutoring, doesn’t he?" Stella Cui looked at Lucy Lu and Joy Zheng expectantly.
After all, seeing how Evan Lin could fight and was so close with Victor Su and Sawyer Summer, they figured his grades had to be terrible—nobody could be good at everything, right?
Everyone else looked on expectantly, waiting for their answer. After all, at a class reunion, it’s all about family background or whose kid is better. If you can’t win at anything else, maybe you can at least compete in academics.