The guy strode forward, his face full of arrogance.
He stood there, staring at Evan Lin, his gaze filled with scrutiny.
"Don't make trouble."
Seeing him act like this, Chloe Cheng felt a chill rise in her heart.
She grabbed his hand, wanting to leave the place.
But when she pulled, he wouldn't budge at all.
The guy was clearly showing he had no intention of leaving.
He was the boyfriend Chloe Cheng found at school.
Ever since the last incident, Max Xu never dared to contact Chloe again, afraid that being involved with her might bring trouble from Master Lin from Seacrest.
If he really got involved, Max Xu felt like his whole family wouldn't be able to handle even one round with Master Lin from Seacrest.
Sacrifice the pawn to save the king.
That was the choice Max Xu made.
Chloe Cheng also understood just how serious this was, so she never shamelessly went back to find Max Xu again.
But Chloe was never going to give up her dream of climbing up the social ladder so easily.
So she spent ages scouting around at school, and finally settled on the guy next to her: Leon Li.
Leon Li didn't really have the kind of looks that make girls fall for him at first sight.
But his family still had some money.
"What are you making a fuss about? Who's making trouble with you?"
Leon Li suddenly shook off Chloe Cheng's hand, his eyes still fixed on Evan Lin.
His gaze intentionally or unintentionally drifted to Lynn Chen and Jill Jing standing next to Evan Lin.
If this had been before,
If Chloe Cheng suggested going somewhere else, Leon Li definitely wouldn't have argued.
To him, this beef ramen shop on a tiny carpet wasn't anything special anyway.
But seeing Lynn Chen and Jill Jing sitting next to Evan Lin instantly changed his mind.
Guys always want to show off in front of girls.
Especially when they're pretty.
"I knew something was off just now. Why do you keep staring at my girlfriend?"
Leon Li glared at Evan Lin, full of swagger: "Or is it that people from small places like yours all have this kind of habit?"
"Leon..."
Chloe Cheng was terrified by what he was saying.
Right now, she just wanted to drag Leon Li away as fast as possible.
But after several failed attempts, Chloe had no choice but to look at Evan Lin, her face full of pleading: "Sorry, he's my friend, he doesn't know you."
"Please don't take it personally. We'll leave right now."
As Chloe spoke, she was still trying to persuade him.
She was regretting it so much now—if only she'd never brought Leon Li back here.
"Chloe, what are you saying? Why should we leave now?"
Leon Li heard her and immediately looked annoyed: "I already said, there's no way I'm leaving!"
"Today, right here, I'm definitely eating this bowl of ramen!"
Leon Li's words were loud and firm.
He turned to Evan Lin again, seeing that the boy hadn't said a word the whole time and thinking he was actually scared. He knocked the table: "I'm talking to you, kid. What's your deal? Staring at my girlfriend, and scaring her off?"
"Come on, just be honest—what's your deal?"
Chloe Cheng was utterly hopeless now.
There were quite a few onlookers nearby, all staring over with curious faces.
The more people gathered, the more excited Leon Li got.
He actually worried there wouldn't be enough people watching.
If there weren't enough people, it wouldn't be lively.
Without a crowd, how could he show off?
"You're really something, huh? How did he supposedly scare your girlfriend off?"
Lynn Chen frowned at Leon Li, her face cold: "We're just here to eat noodles, we haven't done anything. And somehow, in your mouth, we're suddenly the ones scaring your girlfriend?"
"What gives you the right to say that?"
As soon as Lynn Chen finished speaking,
Leon Li sneered, "What, kid? Are you only brave enough to hide behind a girl?"
Jill Jing sipped her cola, not planning to say anything at this point.
But the look she gave Leon Li made him feel a bit pitied.
That's right.
It was pity.
That look was so strange, it made Leon Li feel more and more uncomfortable.
But he just couldn't figure out what it meant.
Clearly, the one who should be in trouble here is that kid in front of me!
"What do you want me to say to you?"
Evan Lin looked at him and spoke calmly.
"I want you to apologize to me and my girlfriend. Right now. Immediately."
Leon Li was full of swagger.
In his eyes, Whitewood was just a tiny county town.
What kind of future could someone from a small town possibly have?
To put it bluntly, Leon Li's dad owned a company in River City, and it was about to go public!
Once it was listed, the Li family would be worth hundreds of millions!
Hundreds of millions!
With that kind of money, he figured he could scare the kid in front of him to death.
"Why?"
Evan Lin didn't get angry either.
"Because my dad is Li Ruhai, because his company is about to go public, and because my family's worth hundreds of millions!"
Leon Li let out a cold laugh, and his words immediately drew gasps from the crowd.
A net worth in the hundreds of millions.
That was pretty rare in a place like Whitewood.
The people who'd been annoyed by Leon Li before suddenly changed their expressions.
Leon Li really enjoyed the shocked murmurs from the crowd.
He lifted his chin proudly, looking down at Evan Lin with a superior gaze.
But to his disappointment, the boy in front of him didn't react at all.
"Li Ruhai."
Evan Lin couldn't recall this person: "Wait a moment."
After speaking, Evan Lin picked up his phone.
"Yeah, that's right. Li Ruhai."
"Okay."
The people around just saw Evan Lin make a call, say a couple of words, and then hang up.
"What, are you trying to look into my family's business?"
"But with your connections, how could you possibly know what my family does?"
"You act like you know what you're doing, but you don't."
Leon Li grinned, the sarcasm in his eyes obvious.
The circle of people around Evan Lin watched curiously, wondering who he had called and what he'd said.
But...
At the same time...
River City had already fallen into brief chaos.
Everyone in Sawyer Summer's company—the richest man in River City—was searching for every piece of information about Li Ruhai through every channel possible.
It only took three minutes.
Li Ruhai's rise to wealth and all his connections in River City had been compiled and placed in front of Sawyer Summer.
Then Sawyer Summer personally made a phone call.
River City, storm was brewing.
Back in the Whitewood ramen shop, Evan Lin asked the owner for a bottle of Fanta and took a sip.
Meanwhile, Leon Li was getting impatient, slapping the table: "I'm talking to you, I want you to..."
He was about to keep acting tough, hoping Evan Lin would obediently apologize to Chloe Cheng.
But...
Right at that critical moment...
His phone rang.