After Evan finished speaking, he strode forward once again.
Lily Liang stood frozen for a long time, replaying Evan's words in her mind. She frowned, watching his departing figure, and muttered to herself, "What does that even mean?"
Is he telling me that if I hadn’t stopped him just now, he would’ve killed Sheldon Shang right then?
The thought sent a jolt through Lily’s heart.
But then, her brows arched and she scoffed, "Sheldon Shang is a first-grade Vajra, just a step away from Pointing-to-Mystery. You think you could kill him?"
You really don’t know how high the sky is or how deep the earth goes!
Lily grumbled under her breath, but didn’t hesitate for a second—she quickly caught up to Evan.
When she reached his side, she put on an even softer, friendlier smile.
He’s got ten billion in his account and just took down Tyson Xiang, a fifth-grade Vajra.
There’s no way a teenager like him isn’t a little proud and arrogant, Lily thought.
She hid all her dissatisfaction with Evan deep inside, never wanting to say anything at this moment that might annoy him.
Walking beside Evan, Lily glanced at his profile out of the corner of her eye.
Aside from her first impression—when Evan and Sisi Shao entered the Liang house and Lily thought he was just a clueless country bumpkin—now Lily found him more and more pleasing to the eye.
Lily pondered: If she really did marry this guy, it wouldn’t be such a bad deal.
Back in school, Lily had dated plenty of boyfriends, hooked up with handsome guys, and even had an abortion.
But after returning to the Liang family, she cut ties with all of them.
Even Tyson Xiang, who’d always had a crush on her, had no clue about this. And now Lily was at the age where marriage talks were getting serious.
She’d had plenty of relationships and even an abortion, but Lily still considered herself a good girl.
Thinking it all over, Lily felt that Evan seemed better and better.
At the very least, if she needed a rebound guy, Evan was way better than Tyson Xiang.
Evan still seemed pretty clueless and straight-laced to Lily, but that wasn’t a big deal.
She was confident that once she got Evan, she could ‘remake’ him and get him to listen to her.
“This area is just the Shang family’s outer perimeter. See those rows of houses?”
Lily pointed to the shops along the road: “Those are all for Shang family insiders. As long as you join the Shangs, you get a place like this.”
“Once you really join the Shangs, you’ll see just how powerful they are.”
By the end, Lily’s words carried a hint of pride without her even realizing it.
After all, the Shangs were from Tangshan, and so was her Liang family.
Same roots, same branches.
Evan didn’t comment on any of it.
They hadn’t walked far before a large villa surrounded by people came into view.
The villa itself was European-style, with a grayish-blue façade and a massive artificial rockery inside.
At that moment, plenty of people were already gathered outside, waiting.
The Liang group stood in a somewhat marginal corner, and it was clear that while the Liangs had some clout outside, here among the Shangs, their strength paled in comparison to other families.
Lily led Evan over.
"The trip went alright, yeah?"
Lily’s mom stepped up, visibly relieved that Evan had arrived. Her smile grew even warmer.
She’d been worried Evan might get lost or change his mind and leave halfway.
"It was fine. And we ran into Third Uncle Sheldon at the gate—he’s agreed to let Sisi’s friend enter the Shang compound and even maybe get a job here."
As soon as Lily said this—
Several nearby people instantly turned to stare at Evan, their eyes full of undisguised shock.
"Getting noticed by Sheldon Shang is a huge honor for you."
Ben Liang’s mom stepped forward and praised Evan: "Work hard, and maybe someday you’ll rise above the crowd with the Shang family’s backing!"
"I really believe in you."
A few other women chimed in, all showering Evan with praise.
"Where’s Ben?"
Lily glanced around and realized Ben Liang and Sisi Shao weren’t there. She paused, confused.
"Oh, they went inside with the family head to meet the Shang patriarch."
Ben Liang’s mom explained.
"How do they even qualify to go in?"
Lily was even more puzzled now.
Looking around, there were definitely a lot of people present—all sorts of second-generation heirs, plus plenty of family heads.
The Shang patriarch was hands-down the strongest figure in Tangshan’s entire family power chain.
Whenever something big happened, besides those sent by their families to help the Shangs as fighters—stationed around the villa as guards—only the family heads were allowed inside the Shang villa.
For these families, even a tiny favor from the Shang patriarch could mean huge benefits for their development.
That’s why meeting the Shang patriarch was no easy feat.
As for other family members—even the children of family heads—unless they had serious talent and caught the patriarch’s eye, they basically had no chance of entering the Shang villa.
But this time, Ben Liang actually brought Sisi Shao with him into the Shang villa, following the Liang family head to meet the Shang patriarch?
That really shocked Lily.
"You don’t know, do you, Lily? I heard your Liang family just struck it rich!"
Someone nearby overheard Lily and laughed: "I think I just heard your family head say there’s a huge business deal he wants to do with the Shangs."
"Tsk tsk, looks like your Liang family’s about to make it big."
"If you get rich, don’t forget us!"
A few clan juniors who knew Lily pretty well shouted from the side.
Hearing this, Lily was confused at first—until she noticed her mom and Ben Liang’s mom, along with a few other women, constantly glancing at Evan. Suddenly, it all clicked.
A young man with ten billion in his bank account.
Now he’d entered the Shang estate alone—he was basically delivering money to their door.
Ten billion!
That huge sum was tempting even for the Shang family.
The Liangs wanted to grab Evan’s money and leave, but they weren’t stupid.
Anyone who could casually hold ten billion had to have some serious background.
The Liangs didn’t dare eat the whole pie themselves—they feared backlash. But teaming up with the Shangs was a different story.
The Shangs, Tangshan’s overlords, were truly capable of swallowing such a huge sum.
Thinking this, Lily glanced at Evan, only to see him find a seat, pour himself a glass of water, and calmly take a sip.
He seemed totally unaware of the old saying: ‘the innocent man gets blamed for his treasure.’
While Lily and the others kept glancing at Evan—
There was something they couldn’t see.
A flicker of black light flashed over the Spatial Ring on Evan’s hand.
Three Maiden Spirits floated out, circling Evan, their presence bringing gusts of chilly wind.
People nearby just suddenly felt the air grow noticeably colder.