"She knows?"
Max Ma and the others, hearing this, all turned to look at Ivy Deng, who was sitting over there.
Ivy Deng was taken aback, not expecting Evan Lin to bring her up at this moment.
"Ivy, do you know what prize he won?" Max Ma frowned, looking at Ivy Deng.
Ivy Deng, under the group's focused gaze, hesitated briefly before nodding: "Mm. First prize in the Provincial Math Olympiad."
As soon as Ivy Deng spoke, everyone's expressions became complicated, and their eyes toward Evan Lin grew more serious. Especially Max Ma, who looked thoughtful.
He narrowed his eyes, seriously sizing up Evan Lin before nodding: "Didn't expect you to be a study god. Not bad."
Max Ma spoke lightly, brushing past the subject they had just tried to use to put Evan Lin down.
Amelia Jiao looked absent-minded, glanced at Hank Chu, and found him watching her too. Instantly, some dissatisfaction welled up in Amelia's heart.
Actually, Hank Chu was tall and decent-looking, and his grades were okay, but his family background was far too poor—both his parents were workers—so Amelia Jiao couldn't help but look down on him a bit.
So when Hank Chu looked at her, Amelia Jiao fiddled with her phone and absent-mindedly changed the subject: "Wasn't Brandon Yang supposed to come? And Yvonne Xie? Why aren't they here yet?"
Brandon Yang.
When Hank Chu and Ken heard that name, their faces turned a little ugly.
Evan Lin slowly looked over at Amelia Jiao.
Earlier, during the Math Olympiad, Brandon Yang bullied Martin Ma, and then at Peaceful Melody Restaurant, Evan Lin broke Brandon's right lower leg with a stomp. He hadn't expected Brandon to show up here too.
But since this whole group were First High locals, and Brandon Yang's family was rich and powerful, it wasn't surprising he could hang out with them.
"Yvonne Xie went with him to the hospital for a dressing change, so they'll probably be here soon. But he's really unlucky—went to the Math Olympiad, got ditched by Martin Ma, and even broke his leg." A girl nearby muttered.
They absolutely refused to discuss grades or school matters with Evan Lin anymore.
"Isn't that right? If Martin Ma hadn't ditched him, Brandon Yang would be famous now—the only Math Olympiad prizewinner in all the county-level high schools. With that, he could've gotten direct admission to a second-tier university."
"Wasn't Brandon Yang supposed to get back at Martin Ma? But now Martin is a school-protected star, so Brandon doesn't dare touch him. I heard Brandon's big brother Yang Binwei is planning to ambush Martin for a beating. Poor Martin probably has no idea how much trouble he's in."
A bunch of people chattered noisily over there.
Ken Feng and Hank Chu busied themselves with the barbecue, while Evan Lin sipped his drink, enjoying the lakeside breeze.
The slightly annoyed glances Ivy Deng occasionally threw his way were completely ignored by Evan Lin.
Soon, an electric scooter drove in from outside the mountain. The girl riding it was above average-looking, wearing a black tank top under a plaid sweatshirt, and white canvas shoes. The boy on the back seat had a cast on his right leg, held crutches, and looked a bit depressed.
In Whitewood County, taxis are rare; most people use three-wheeled Mazdas, but electric scooters are the preferred way to get around.
Seeing the newcomers, Max Ma stood up with a grin: "Speak of the devil, and he appears—Brandon Yang is here. Ken Feng, Hank Chu, you should introduce your friend."
Ken Feng and Hank Chu's faces fell at Max Ma's words.
Everyone knew Brandon Yang had been in a bad mood lately. He was reckless, always relying on his infamous older brother, Yang Binwei, the top dog at Whitewood County No. 3 Vocational High School, to cause trouble.
If he saw Evan Lin, he'd probably start mocking him without thinking. And with Brandon's personality, you couldn't reason with him—he never listened, would start a fight if he lost an argument, and if he couldn't win, he'd call his brother. If that didn't work, he'd get his dad involved.
Brandon was a classic troublemaker with no sense and no boundaries, always causing chaos in Max Ma's circle. Calling him a nuisance was putting it mildly.
Max Ma, despite having a county magistrate father, was always a bit smarter—he wouldn't make enemies without a reason.
"Hey, Evan, when Brandon Yang gets here, no matter what he says, just don't respond. Best not to get him riled up," Ken Feng whispered to Evan Lin.
"If he really crosses the line, just hit him and run," Hank Chu suggested, though he wouldn't normally say that. But with Amelia Jiao present, Hank was feeling especially frustrated.
The electric scooter slowly came to a stop.
Yvonne Xie, in her sweatshirt, carefully helped Brandon Yang off the back seat and set up his crutches.
"Careful, take it slow," she said.
Seeing Brandon's cast, Yvonne Xie couldn't help recalling the boy who had broken his leg at Peaceful Melody Restaurant that day.
Though time had passed, every time Yvonne thought of it, she couldn't help feeling a chill. That boy had been terrifyingly decisive, breaking bones without hesitation.
"I'm fine!" Brandon Yang snapped, shaking off Yvonne Xie's hand. "Damn, this cast has been killing me. Makes me look like an idiot."
"And that jerk Martin Ma—asked me to write his name and give him money, then ditched me. Otherwise, I wouldn't still be in school; I'd have a guaranteed college spot by now!"
Brandon Yang got off, crutches in hand, looking fierce and shouting angrily.
Max Ma noticed Brandon Yang's bad mood and smirked, glancing at Evan Lin, who looked unconcerned. Max sneered inwardly.
Max Ma called out to Brandon Yang as he approached, laughing: "Brandon, relax! That temper of yours isn't good for your health."
"I'm fine! Doctor says I'll be walking in a month." Brandon Yang replied, calming down a bit.
He instinctively glanced at Ken Feng and Hank Chu sitting nearby.
Ken Feng grinned: "Yang bro."
Ken really didn't want trouble with someone like Brandon Yang, but Brandon still shot him and Hank Chu a nasty look.
He'd told others his leg was broken in an accident, not that someone had done it to him—too embarrassing otherwise.
After learning Ken Feng and Hank Chu were close to Evan Lin, Brandon Yang made trouble for them when he got back.
Now, seeing Ken Feng smiling at him, Brandon Yang arrogantly cursed: "What are you grinning at, idiot?"
Ken Feng's face stiffened, while Max Ma and the others couldn't help smirking.
After cursing, Brandon Yang felt a bit better. He glanced around and suddenly spotted a familiar figure.