Evan Lin hadn’t yet figured out who was waiting for him. As soon as he walked into the hotel, he immediately saw a girl standing prettily in the center of the lobby.
The girl looked about 1.6 meters tall, with long jet-black hair and a delicate, porcelain-doll face.
She stood there, and when she saw Evan Lin walk in, she was stunned at first—feeling that he looked very different from before, more handsome and composed, especially those eyes. Claire Sheng couldn’t help but steal a few extra glances, and before she knew it, Evan was already standing right in front of her.
Claire Sheng looked a little nervous. "You’re back."
"Yeah." Evan Lin nodded, looking at Claire Sheng in her school uniform, feeling that she seemed a little different today.
After saving Haiyang Sheng before, Evan had met Claire Sheng a few times. She always felt to him like the shy girl next door. Evan hadn’t expected her to come back here specifically to look for him.
"How did you know I was here?" Evan asked, a bit curious.
Evan knew Claire was a student at River City First High School, but he had no idea how she’d figured out he was here.
"Aunt Lu told me," Claire said softly. Her voice was gentle and a little timid, and as she looked at Evan, her porcelain-doll cheeks flushed lightly.
This scene made everyone watching secretly hate Evan Lin in their hearts.
"So you’re Evan Lin, huh? Claire’s mentioned you before. You go to Brightsea No. 2 High, right? I heard No. 2 High does okay, but it’s still not as good as Brightsea First High."
Three other students had come with Claire Sheng: two boys and one girl.
The boy who spoke had a buzz cut and wore the latest New Balance tracksuit. He looked energetic, but there was a quiet arrogance deep in his eyes.
River City First High is the top school in the area. Students here are seen by teachers as future leaders of the country, with a clear shot at getting into the best universities.
After he finished speaking, the boy curled his lips into a slight smile and reached out to Evan Lin. "I’m Vincent Wen, Claire’s best friend. We’ve known each other since we were kids."
When Vincent Wen spoke, he put extra emphasis on 'best' and 'since we were kids.' His eyes locked onto Evan, as if trying to see right through him.
"Leon Chen." Next to Vincent stood a tall, cool-looking guy—handsome, at least 1.85 meters tall, with a powerful presence.
That made Ivy Zhao and Lydia Liao, standing nearby, keep sneaking glances at him.
"I’m Nina Pei, and Claire’s like my little sister. Hey, if you want to chase after Claire, you’ll have to get past me first." The only other girl, dressed in a school uniform and about 1.75 meters tall, slung an arm around Claire and eyed Evan Lin up and down.
"Nina!" Claire’s face turned even redder at Nina Pei’s words. She nervously glanced at Evan Lin, relieved to see his expression hadn’t changed at all—he wasn’t angry, but that made her feel oddly disappointed too.
"Hi." Evan Lin nodded as a greeting.
"Hey, Evan, you free tonight? We’re having a little get-together for my cousin—he just got back from overseas. Why not come along?" Vincent Wen looked at Evan, the corners of his mouth lifting into a half-smile as he extended the invitation.
"Sorry, I’ve got some things to do." Evan Lin shook his head.
"Don’t be so boring, Evan. If Claire hadn’t wanted to invite you, we wouldn’t have been waiting around here for you." Nina Pei rolled her eyes at Evan, clearly annoyed.
"My cousin’s kind of a big deal in River City. If you get to know him, then if you ever run into trouble here, you can just mention his name and you’ll be fine." Vincent Wen looked a bit smug as he said this.
"You guys go have fun. Enjoy yourselves."
After saying that, Evan Lin ignored them and headed upstairs.
Watching Evan Lin’s back as he left, Claire Sheng’s eyes dimmed a little. Beside her, Nina Pei raised her eyebrows, annoyed. "What’s with him? We were just trying to be nice, and he gives us zero face?"
"He probably needs to get ready for tomorrow’s Math Olympiad, Nina. Don’t be so hard on him." Claire Sheng shook her head.
"The Olympiad’s so easy—who even needs to prepare for that?" Leon Chen scoffed, sounding unimpressed.
"Well, if he’s not coming, then let’s go ourselves." Vincent Wen’s eyes shifted to Ivy Zhao, Lydia Liao, and Thomas Zhao. He smiled, "Hey, you guys free tonight? Want to come hang out with us at Sunwave Bluebay? There’s nothing else going on anyway."
"Us? Really?" Ivy Zhao’s face lit up at the invitation.
"Of course. Just making friends." Vincent Wen nodded.
He sneaked a glance at Claire Sheng, who still looked a bit down, and felt a surge of frustration.
He’d never seen Claire care this much about any guy before. But from Evan Lin’s clothes, it was clear he wasn’t some rich kid.
The real reason Vincent Wen invited Ivy Zhao and the others was to learn more about Evan Lin.
"That’s great! We were just wondering where to go tonight!" Ivy Zhao agreed quickly. Lydia Liao, standing nearby, tried to act cool, her face calm, but she kept glancing over at Leon Chen.
"Can I come too?" Thomas Zhao asked, looking pleased.
"Sure, anyone’s welcome. If you want to invite more classmates, go ahead—the more the merrier. Sunwave Bluebay is huge: there’s a pool, arcade, basketball court, you name it." Vincent Wen’s eyes gleamed.
Back in his room, Evan Lin ran through the Grand Dao Qi-Refining Art a few times, then opened his eyes and looked at the Soul-Sacrifice Beauty Scroll.
Inside the Soul-Sacrifice Beauty Scroll, the three female spirits peeked out from the painting, quietly sizing up Evan Lin.
But when Evan Lin looked their way, they quickly hid themselves again.
"Does it feel bad, being lonely wandering spirits?" Evan Lin asked softly.
A few soft murmurs came from the Soul-Sacrifice Beauty Scroll.
All the spirits inside the scroll had been forced into it, turned into the souls of the painting. In reality, the Soul-Sacrifice Beauty Scroll was a kind of magic artifact.
Evan Lin stared at the Soul-Sacrifice Beauty Scroll, lost in thought. If he could find the right materials, once he reached Foundation Establishment, maybe this artifact could have other uses.