"This is the apartment my friend and I rent together. Three bedrooms, one living room, spacious view, and the property management is excellent—very safe, too."
The elevator reached the fifteenth floor. After stepping out, the woman led Evan Lin to one of the units, took out a key, and opened the door. What greeted them were floor-to-ceiling windows, wool carpets covering the floor, and photo frames arranged on a wooden shelf to the side.
The whole place was decorated warmly, and there was a faint, pleasant fragrance in the air.
"Are you a reporter?"
Evan walked in, noticed a press card on the table, and asked.
"Intern reporter. I'm a senior in Capitalview University’s Media Department, and right now I’m interning at Capitalview TV Station. Tonight I went out to film evidence—I plan to use this experience for a report, and also as material for my graduation thesis."
"These days, college students aren’t vigilant enough. Many get tricked into online loans, then are pressured in all sorts of ways to pay them back. So I wanted to do something about it."
After closing the door, the woman formally extended her hand to Evan Lin and introduced herself with a serious look: "My name is Stella Huang."
"Evan Lin." Evan shook her hand briefly, then glanced at her swollen ankle. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, "Come sit over here. You’ve twisted your ankle—I’ll help you out."
"Help me?" Stella Huang was a bit puzzled by Evan’s words.
After she collided with Evan Lin and fell, her ankle hurt badly, but she kept forcing herself to walk. Now, after covering so much ground and finally stopping, a sharp pain shot through her ankle.
Hearing Evan say that, she was still a bit confused, but his calm demeanor somehow made her trust him.
Once they reached the sofa, Stella Huang sat down. Evan Lin squatted beside her, and lightly tapped a few points on her swollen ankle with his fingers.
Stella’s face, tense with nerves, suddenly froze. She felt a gentle warmth flow through the swollen, painful spot as Evan’s fingers tapped it. In just a few breaths, the swelling was completely gone, and there was no pain at all.
"It doesn’t hurt at all! How did you do that?" Stella Huang moved her foot and stared at Evan in astonishment.
"I’ve learned a bit of medicine. As long as it’s better, that’s good." Evan nodded.
"You can fight and you know medicine—you really are something!" Stella suddenly seemed to remember something. "Evan Lin... Capitalview First High... That sounds so familiar. Oh right, this afternoon I went to your school to interview a student who helped crack a major case, but I didn’t get to meet him. That student’s name was also Evan Lin. That wouldn’t happen to be you, would it?"
Stella looked suspicious. She’d been assigned to interview someone at Capitalview First High, but the interview ended without her meeting the subject—she had to rely on Wendy Wen’s account to write her piece. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have known how to report back.
At the time, Stella had been a bit annoyed, feeling that guy was way too full of himself, acting like he was such a big deal—even ignoring an interview from the city TV station.
"That was probably me."
Seeing Evan nod, Stella Huang found it all a bit miraculous. She wanted to say something else, but her clothes were filthy and she looked a mess. So she stood up and said, "Let me get your room ready. You can just stay here—it’ll be convenient for your classes."
"Aren’t you afraid I might be a bad guy?" Evan glanced at her.
They’d only met about an hour ago.
"Come on, little bro, you’re just a kid—bad guy, bad guy... Besides, I was already looking for someone to share the place. If you were really a bad guy, you wouldn’t have saved me just now." Stella said confidently.
"Rent here is six thousand a month for a three-bedroom. If that’s too much, just give me five hundred. If you’re short on cash, I’ll cover it for now—just move in first." Stella looked at Evan, guessing he probably wasn’t well-off.
The reason she mentioned five hundred was to avoid hurting Evan’s pride—guys his age usually have strong egos.
"Two thousand. I’ll pay you tomorrow."
Evan shook his head, turning down Stella’s kindness. He wasn’t picky about living arrangements, and money meant nothing to him—he just didn’t want to owe favors.
"Then it’s settled. I’m going to shower—make yourself at home." Stella led Evan to his room. The furnishings were simple: just a bed, a desk, and a wardrobe. The window faced the city streets, and in the distance, you could see the campus of Capitalview First High.
Evan opened the window and looked out. Cold wind rushed in, whistling past his ears, chilling the room.
In the bathroom, Stella Huang turned on the shower and washed up. Afterward, she went back to her room and lay on the bed, her face burning hot.
"Why did I suddenly bring someone home to live with me? Am I crazy?"
Stella muttered to herself, patting her face. When she heard Evan was looking for a place, she’d impulsively invited him to share the apartment.
Now, after her shower and having calmed down, Stella thought back on everything that happened and felt like she was dreaming. "Oh my god, Stella Huang, what are you thinking? You just brought someone home to live with you—it’s not like you’re losing anything!"
The next morning, Evan Lin got up early and headed straight to school. On the way, he ran into Wendy Wen, but she just turned her face away and ignored him, clearly still holding a grudge over yesterday.
During breaks, Mason He kept finding excuses to talk to Lynn Chen and maintain his presence, while Liam Liu and the others had already started soccer practice, growing more excited for the arrival of Ethan Yi and the national team reserves.
As for Evan skipping class last night, Byron Yang just pretended it never happened. Meanwhile, at the Capitalview City police station, Chief Gary Chen received a video showing Wolf and his crew forcing indebted female college students into prostitution. The footage caught his attention, and he quickly mobilized officers to raid Wolf’s group, arresting everyone involved.
However, when Chief Chen found Wolf’s gang, they were all already lying in the hospital, in casts and looking absolutely miserable.