After the fourth period, the dismissal bell rang.
Victor Feng stood up from his seat, walked over to Evan Lin's desk, knocked on the table, and looked down at him from above: "You have half an hour to eat. After lunch, meet us at the field. The team is training at noon today."
"Even though you're just a substitute and might not get to play, you still have to show up. If you're not there, don't blame us for being rude."
Victor Feng's group of cronies all looked at Evan Lin with schadenfreude.
Evan Lin frowned as he watched Victor Feng and his crew leave.
Mia Chen walked over, glanced at Evan Lin, her expression flat: "I need someone to help me carry water to the field at noon. Can you help?"
"Sure." Evan Lin nodded slightly at Mia Chen.
"Okay."
Mia Chen didn’t say anything more and left the classroom after speaking.
Lunch was at the cafeteria. By the time Evan Lin arrived, it was already packed with people.
Everyone else was eating in noisy groups, but only Evan Lin sat alone, looking like an outcast.
After lunch, Evan Lin went to the field. Victor Feng and his group were already practicing, passing the soccer ball back and forth.
The soccer field at Brightsea No. 2 High School was professionally maintained; an orange-red rubber track circled the field, forming a ring. Beyond that was a sandpit for long jump and shot put.
Evan Lin found a shady spot beside the field and sat down. Soon, another team of players walked over from the other side of the pitch.
"Victor Feng, you guys are here so early?"
The leading boy was tall and handsome, holding a soccer ball in his arms as he greeted Victor Feng.
"Can't be helped. With Ethan Yi on your Class 3 team, even for regular practice we have to work harder. Otherwise, we'd get crushed by you guys."
Victor Feng grinned widely when he saw Ethan Yi.
Ethan Yi was famous at Brightsea No. 2 High. He’d qualified for No. 1 High but chose No. 2 just to play soccer, which earned him a lot of respect.
Besides that, Ethan Yi was good-looking, had great grades, and gave off a sunny vibe—so he was super popular with the girls.
"Come on, with you leading Class 7 as striker, we're feeling the pressure for sure."
Victor Feng loved hearing that. He grinned from ear to ear, feeling totally flattered.
"Got a minute? Can you help me carry a case of water over?"
Mia Chen walked all the way from the sideline to the stands, drawing a ton of attention.
She headed straight for Evan Lin, who was sitting alone by the field. Bending down, she looked at him and asked softly.
"Sure."
Evan didn't waste words. He followed Mia to the school convenience store.
"Hey, who's that guy? Is he Mia Chen's boyfriend from your class?"
A Class 3 player stared at Evan Lin with a jealous look.
Mia Chen was pretty famous at school, but thanks to Trevor Liu, most people kept their distance, scared of getting on Trevor's bad side.
Victor Feng glanced at Evan Lin, who was walking behind Mia with his hands in his pockets, looking totally lazy. "He's just a benchwarmer, here to make up the numbers. Right now, he's probably off fetching water for us."
"You kidding? With that loser vibe, how could he have anything to do with Mia? Last time he tried hitting on Rachel Liu from your class—didn't Buck Niu beat him up? Then he went after Mia and probably got wrecked by Trevor Liu too."
"Total trash, if you ask me."
Victor Feng looked at Evan with nothing but disdain and annoyance.
"No surprise there. Someone like him could never be close to Mia." The boys from Class 3 and Class 7 all cracked up.
"Hey, Ethan Yi, your fangirls are here!"
Outside the field, five girls walked over in a group.
They all wore school uniforms and were pretty good-looking, but the girl in front stood out the most.
She wasn't just pretty—her figure totally outclassed every other girl her age.
Yolanda Fang waved at Ethan Yi, shouting, "Ethan! Go get 'em!"
Ethan Yi waved back, and Victor Feng looked on, totally jealous.
"Ethan, we're all here to cheer for you!"
"Yeah, totally! Yolanda dragged us all here!"
The girls laughed and joked together, but Yolanda Fang was all confidence—no fake shyness at all.
Class 3 and Class 7 started their scrimmage, while the girls settled onto the bleachers by the field.
With girls watching, the guys all played way harder than usual.
On the other side, Evan Lin carried two cases of water from the convenience store, Mia Chen walking beside him.
"Are you upset?" Mia hugged a pack of water and glanced at Evan.
Since yesterday after school, Evan and Mia hadn't really talked.
Things were way worse between them than before.
"Why would I be upset?" Evan glanced at Mia. Her eyes were gorgeous—long lashes, double eyelids, and in the sunlight, her sudden gaze felt sweet and peaceful.
"You got dragged in as a substitute, but you won't even get to play. And it seems like you don't have any friends at school either."
"Why don't you just study harder, Evan?"
They reached the edge of the soccer field. Mia looked at Evan, her face a little serious. "If you just worked harder, even if your grades improved slowly, at least you wouldn't be so passive. You'd make more friends too."
"Nobody wants to be friends with someone who doesn't even try to improve."
Mia stood in front of Evan, half a head shorter. Her pink lips moved as she spoke, voice crisp and clear.
"Doesn't even try to improve, huh."
A faint sourness flashed through Evan's heart.
So all this time, in Mia's eyes, I've just been someone who doesn't even try.
(Chapter not finished yet~.~ Click next page for more!)
So before I was reborn, did Mia help me out of pity?
Mia saw Evan staying quiet and thought he hadn’t understood. She was about to say more, but didn’t get the chance.
"Watch out!"
From the field, Victor Feng’s shout rang out, followed by a sharp whistling sound.
Ethan Yi had just sent a powerful long pass. The Class 3 player missed, and the ball shot through the air, fast and hard, arcing straight toward Mia as she walked near the edge of the field.
Mia turned instinctively and saw the soccer ball flying right at her.
The ball got bigger and bigger in her vision, like it was about to smash into her face any second.
"Ah!"
Mia squeezed her eyes shut in fear.
A dull thud sounded.
But the pain she expected never came.
Mia peeked through her eyelashes and found Evan standing in front of her, still holding two cases of water, face expressionless.
"You're fine."
Evan said softly, nodded at Mia, then turned and set the water down by the field.
Mia saw the mark the soccer ball had left on Evan's back.
Victor Feng and the others came running over to Mia.
"Mia! You okay?"
They ran right past Evan without giving him a second glance.
Nobody cared about Evan, the one who actually got hit.
As Evan brushed past them,
Mia watched Evan’s lonely back as he walked away. Her heart suddenly tightened, a wave of sadness washing over her.
"I'm fine."
Mia shook her head, watching Evan get farther and farther away. For some reason, she felt like she’d just lost something.
Evan jogged over and sat down by the field.
Qi Refining, first layer. The qi whirlpool at Yongquan Point isn’t even halfway there. Way too slow.
Evan took a deep breath and just sat down by the field, ready to cultivate right there.
"Hey, we meet again."
Yolanda Fang ran over to Evan, her eyes lighting up with surprise. "I saw you from way off, but wasn’t sure it was you."
Yolanda grinned, totally unconcerned. "How’s your hand? Still hurt?"
She glanced at Evan’s left hand, still wrapped in bandages.
"Doesn’t hurt anymore. Thanks for asking."
Evan let out a quiet sigh. He’d just wanted a moment to cultivate, but got interrupted again.
"Yolanda, is this your friend?" The girls behind Yolanda looked Evan up and down.
They were all in school uniforms, young and pretty, each with plenty of admirers.
"Yeah, he's my friend."
Yolanda admitted it straight out, no hesitation at all.
But as soon as she said it, Evan could clearly feel a flash of subtle contempt in the girls’ eyes.
Clothes say a lot about your family background.
Everything Evan wore screamed poor kid from the countryside.
Not good-looking, not tall, not fit, and his left hand was bandaged up.
The girls instantly lost interest. "Yolanda, we’re going to sit over there and watch. Catch up with you later."
They waved at Yolanda, totally ignoring Evan.
Yolanda couldn’t help but frown.
"Why are you here? Are you in Class 3?"
Evan actually had a good impression of Yolanda. At least she was real. Last night, she was the only one who wanted to take him to the hospital.
"No, I just came to see someone. And maybe watch the game."
Yolanda plopped down next to Evan, pointed at Ethan Yi. "That guy over there—that’s my future boyfriend."
Evan glanced at Ethan. "Nice taste."
"Right? Like I’d ever have bad taste."
Yolanda looked super proud. Seeing her like that made Evan smile.
Yolanda glanced at Evan. "What about you? You’re not just here to cheer for Class 7, are you?"
"I got forced into being a substitute. Just warming the bench."
Mia had planned to come ask about Evan’s injury, see if he needed the nurse.
But when she saw Evan laughing and chatting with Yolanda, her brows knitted together. "Birds of a feather."
Yolanda was definitely a school beauty at No. 2 High, but she was also famous for not studying.
Mia didn’t stay by the field. She turned and headed for the teaching building.
On the other side, Victor Feng glanced over suspiciously.
"How does Evan know Yolanda Fang?"
Ethan Yi glanced over too, a flash of unhappiness crossing his face before it disappeared.