As soon as the young man spoke, several women turned their heads to look at Evan Lin sitting there.
They were all in their twenties, about the same age as Lily Zhong.
"This guy's got pretty fair skin," one of the heavily made-up women teased.
"Of course. Back in our day, a guy who looked like this would definitely be called 'class heartthrob,' no matter what," another woman nodded.
Compared to before, Evan Lin looked much fairer now, and his vibe had lost that timid feeling from the past—replaced instead by a bit of masculine sharpness and edge.
"Yeah, I'm here for his wedding too."
Evan Lin nodded.
"Perfect, you can just come along with us later!" the young man said cheerfully.
Hank "Doggy" Han's connections were extremely wide. This time, he reportedly booked the county's biggest restaurant, inviting plenty of relatives and friends. The setup was impressive.
It's normal for people coming to the banquet not to know each other.
"What exactly does the Han family do?"
Evan Lin asked curiously.
"On the surface, the Han family controls two building materials factories, pretty much monopolizing the whole county's construction market. Any developer who wants to build has to use their stuff."
The young man explained, "Besides that, they secretly run several card rooms. The one where Old Man Zhong lost all his money is actually Han family's place. But Old Man Zhong's a bit slow—he got played and never even realized it."
"But honestly, even if Old Man Zhong figured it out, he wouldn't say a word. On one hand, he's got no power at all—no one to turn to. On the other, he's dirt poor. Marrying off his daughter to a good family means his later years will be nice and comfy, right?"
Hearing this, Evan Lin didn't say anything else.
The road from River City to Clearstream County was a bit rough. In the second half, all those guys and girls fell quiet, leaned back in their seats, closed their eyes, and started dozing off.
The bus arrived at the Clearstream County station.
Once the bus stopped and the door opened, Evan Lin slung on his backpack and got off.
"Since you're also here for Hank 'Doggy' Han's wedding banquet, just come along with us."
The young man looked at Evan Lin and called out to him.
Evan Lin followed them out of the station. Compared to Whitewood County, Clearstream County was much wealthier—the streets were packed, people everywhere, and you could see vendors hawking their goods along the roadside.
"This time Hank 'Doggy' Han booked out the entire Lakeview Pavilion. It's seriously next-level."
"Well, his dad's loaded. If you were rich, you could do it too."
The group chatted and joked as they walked, occasionally talking to Evan Lin. But when they saw he wasn't much in the mood for conversation, they let it drop.
Lakeview Pavilion stood beside a lake in Clearstream County. The whole building had an old-school look, decorated in a traditional style, backed by a mountain—great feng shui.
In front of Lakeview Pavilion, plenty of people were greeting guests from all directions. There was a special spot just for collecting gifts, with someone keeping track of the accounts.
Not everyone brought a gift. Lots of young people came with their families, and just a single red envelope from the whole family was enough.
The young man and his group handed over their gift money. Seeing Evan Lin do nothing, they just assumed he was some kid from the area, back home for the feast, so nobody paid attention.
Lakeview Pavilion had five floors. After heading upstairs, Evan Lin and the others picked a random seat and sat down.
People around them chatted, mostly catching up after not seeing each other for so long, passing cigarettes and talking about their lives.
The students who were doing well or came from good families always had more people gathered around them, and it was even more obvious around the pretty girls.
Evan Lin sat at a table with the young man, poured himself a cup of tea, and waited calmly and quietly.
......
Inside a room.
Lily Zhong sat on the sofa, her eyes empty and lifeless.
Beside her, several women were busy helping her with her makeup and hair.
In the corner of the room, Old Man Zhong, wearing a suit and limping on one leg, looked a bit ridiculous. Grinning, he checked himself out in the mirror. "Heh, I've never had the chance to wear a suit in my whole life, but today I finally get to!"
"Daughter, hey, daughter! Look at your dad in a suit—doesn't he look good?"
Old Man Zhong, his teeth yellow and crooked, turned to Lily Zhong as he spoke.
Lily Zhong didn't say a word.
Seeing her like this, Old Man Zhong limped over, frowning. "Hey, daughter, I'm talking to you! Why are you ignoring me? I'm your father!"
Old Man Zhong huffed angrily. "If I hadn't raised you, would you have gone to school? Would you have gotten into college? Graduated and become a teacher? That's all thanks to me!"
"And your husband already said, didn't he? You like teaching, right? After you marry him, he'll talk to the principal at Clearstream High School and get you a job there—good pay, easy work, way better than running off to Brightsea City to be some low-paid teacher!"
"The money for my schooling came from my mom. What does that have to do with you?" Lily Zhong replied coldly, her voice completely emotionless.
Lily Zhong's mother passed away early. She knew exactly what kind of person Old Man Zhong was, so before she died, she left Lily some money—that's how Lily managed to finish high school.
Later, Lily Zhong got into college, applied for student loans, and worked part-time. All these years, not only did she never take a cent from Old Man Zhong, she even helped pay off his debts.
"Wow, listen to yourself. How can you be so ungrateful? I'm your father! Without me, you wouldn't even exist!" Old Man Zhong's face turned fierce, full of bullying arrogance. "That money your mom left you? That was our joint property! You used it for school, so I paid for your education! What's the difference?"
"And if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have a cent to your name, no dowry, nothing. Who would want a girl like you? You'd just be a burden to any family that took you in!"
"Look how good things are now! My son-in-law gives me money and a house. He marries you, you give him a big, healthy son, and life will be great! Besides, he said he knows you're still a virgin, so he hasn't forced you to do anything before the wedding! You should be grateful—not some ungrateful brat!"