After hanging up on Summer Mu, Evan Lin walked straight out of the classroom as soon as class ended.
"The battle at Moyang—who knows how it'll end? But with about two months left in the semester, it's time to refine some Nourishing Spirit Pills."
Evan pondered silently.
Ever since he got Scarlet-blooded Astragalus and Greenleaf Violet Lotus from Medicine King Valley and refined a batch of Nourishing Spirit Pills, Evan hadn’t made any more pills.
To be honest, up to now, Evan had only refined pills twice.
Once was the Nourishing Spirit Pills, the other was the Youth-Preserving Beauty Pills for Joy Zheng and Lucy Lu. Aside from that, he mostly made Human Pills.
But Human Pills weren’t much use to Evan himself—he’d mostly handed them out for others to take.
"Back then, I didn’t have enough herbs or firepower. But now, with the Fire-Spirit Mortal Body strengthening my left arm, plus the Scarlet Flame Command and the Miracle Hand Sect’s Fire-Vein Ground, refining pills is way easier. It really is time to make something new."
Next time he went home would definitely be for New Year’s. Joy Zheng had already taken the Youth-Preserving Beauty Pill, so she looked younger now, but her body was still pretty weak.
This time, Evan planned to refine some Foundation-Cultivating Pills specially for Joy Zheng. They were much gentler and could really improve someone’s constitution.
If he gave Joy Zheng a Nourishing Spirit Pill directly, her body probably couldn’t handle it—instead of helping, it might backfire.
Just as Evan stepped out of the classroom, still thinking about calling Warren Wu for the herbs once he left campus, he spotted Lynn Chen and Wendy Wen arm-in-arm, wandering down from the upper floor at the end of the hallway.
When Lynn Chen saw Evan leaving the classroom and heading straight for the school gate, she froze for a moment and blurted out, "Skipping class again?"
"Hm?" Evan turned and glanced at her.
Wendy Wen, standing beside Lynn, rolled her eyes when Evan looked over, then muttered, "Skipping class is totally normal for him. Even the principal can’t control him. And with grades like his, does it even matter if he shows up or not?"
Wendy’s words were tinged with envy. Lately she’d been grinding nonstop—studying, doing practice questions, nerves stretched tight. She’d even put all her school club and broadcast team stuff on hold, just to focus on prepping for the Hundred-School Joint Exam and hopefully get a decent score.
But the harder Wendy studied, the more unfair it felt—especially seeing Evan Lin from Class Twelve, always slacking off and goofing around, yet somehow pulling off insane scores every single time. It just made it worse.
"Yeah," Evan nodded.
Lynn Chen frowned. She opened her mouth, ready to scold him, but the words died on her lips. Instead, she asked, "How long are you skipping this time?"
"No idea. Could be seven days, could be a month or two."
Evan’s tone was flat.
If this were before, Lynn would’ve totally exploded hearing that.
But after seeing Evan’s insane scores, even Lynn had to admit—whether he studied or not didn’t really matter.
"Okay, just be careful then," Lynn said.
She nodded, then pulled Wendy along, walking right past Evan without even looking back at him.
After they’d passed him, Wendy glanced back at Evan’s retreating figure, then leaned over to Lynn and whispered in her ear, "He was watching you."
Lynn’s steps faltered, her face suddenly flushing, a little flustered.
But before she could sneak a glance, Wendy sighed, "Just kidding. He left without even turning his head."
Instantly, Lynn’s heart sank. She shot Wendy a look. "Like I care. Who even wants him anyway?"
"Oh, sure, you don’t care. Everyone knows Eric Yu’s chasing you—you care about him, right?" Wendy grinned, waggling her eyebrows at Lynn.
"Don’t say that! I have nothing to do with him!" Lynn blurted, suddenly flustered by Wendy’s words.
Seeing this, Wendy couldn’t help feeling a little envious of Lynn.
On one side was the super transfer student, on the other a movie star like Eric Yu—both had ties to her.
For most girls, getting attention from even one of them would be nearly impossible.
"Got it, don’t worry, I won’t say anything." Wendy stopped teasing and, seeing Lynn relax a little, guessed that she was worried Evan might overhear and take the rumors seriously—maybe even get upset. That’s probably why Lynn cared so much.
"Lynn, do you actually like Evan Lin?"
They walked from one end of the hallway to the stairwell on the other side, about to go upstairs. With no one else around, Wendy thought for a moment, then just asked outright.
"Huh?" Lynn was caught off guard.
There were things she’d only told Lucy Lu; even in front of Chen Qiangshan, Lynn was too embarrassed to bring it up. Now, with Wendy asking so bluntly, she froze, her heart pounding.
"I’m asking if you really like Evan Lin," Wendy repeated, enunciating every word.
"What does it even mean to like someone?" Lynn didn’t answer directly—she asked instead.
Sometimes she honestly didn’t know what she was thinking. Girls just seemed to get caught up in these tangled emotions, totally helpless.
"Liking someone probably just means you always want to see them, for no reason at all," Wendy said after thinking it over.
Wendy looked at Lynn, and Lynn looked right back.
Neither of them spoke. Lynn’s face felt hot.
"If you really do like him, things might get tough." Wendy didn’t wait for Lynn to reply, just continued seriously: "Because I honestly think he’s not in the same world as us normal people anymore."
"Not in the same world as us... What does that mean?" Lynn’s heart skipped a beat, and she asked instinctively.
Wendy’s words made her nervous. She’d always had a vague sense of it, but it was hard to put into words.
"Like, our futures will probably be all about getting into a good university, finding a good job, marrying a decent guy. But someone like Evan Lin—his life’s never going to be that simple."
"His future might actually change the world."
"He could end up like Einstein or Hawking—someone everyone remembers. But people like us, in Evan’s eyes, are just tiny. So small, it’s like no matter what we do, we’ll never be able to keep up with him."
"So, Lynn, if you really like him, the future’s going to be tough."
Wendy looked totally serious.
After she finished, Lynn just stood there, frozen.
It was only then that Wendy noticed Ivy Liang standing at the stairwell above, who-knows-when she’d gotten there.
The three girls looked at each other in silence, none of them saying a word.