After finishing his phone call, Evan Lin stood outside the mall, leaning against the doorframe beside the entrance, quietly watching the busy street outside. His mood was unusually calm and peaceful.
Darren Chen wasn’t handsome—just average-looking. But with a Finance Bureau director for a dad, he carried a second-generation confidence. He wasn’t as arrogant as Max Ma, but he was definitely part of that privileged crowd.
“After we buy shoes, let’s go get some burgers. It’s been ages since I’ve had one.”
The boy was all smiles. The girl next to him wasn’t exactly pretty, but she knew how to dress—short skirt, blue sneakers, a shirt on top—making her stand out.
Hearing this, Chloe Cheng looked curiously at the boy beside her. “Darren Chen, did your dad give you a bunch of pocket money again?”
The boy called Darren Chen nodded. “A few days ago, a big boss from Minghai City came to invest in our county. He dropped a couple billion just like that.”
“You know my dad—he’s been at the Finance Bureau for ages and never landed any big projects. This time, he finally scored a huge one. He was so happy, he gave me two thousand yuan.” Darren grinned as he spoke.
“Two thousand yuan? That much?” Chloe was momentarily stunned, then nodded. “I heard about that investment from my mom too. I think it’s five hundred million, right?”
The boy in front of her was the son of the Finance Bureau director, Darren Chen.
Chloe’s mother, Lisa Liu, also worked at the Finance Bureau. Chloe and Darren hadn’t been close before; they’d only met once at a dinner.
After all of Lisa Liu’s encouragement, Chloe Cheng gradually started hanging out with Darren Chen more and more.
Darren Chen wasn’t exactly good-looking—just your average guy. But with a Finance Bureau director for a dad, he had that second-generation confidence, even if he wasn’t as cocky as Max Ma.
“Yeah, five hundred million! That’s a huge investment, and my dad’s been over the moon. He’s in meetings all day, researching the project—finally feels like he can really make something happen.” Darren boasted, puffing out his chest. “He even said, if he pulls this off, he might get transferred to Minghai City. If that happens, we’ll seriously be living the good life.”
“That’s amazing!” Chloe’s eyes widened in surprise.
Getting transferred from Whitewood County to Minghai City was the dream for a lot of folks. Even Chloe’s mom, Lisa Liu, had thought about it—better pay, better life, what’s not to like?
But Lisa Liu had been hoping for years, with no luck. In a small county, you either need connections or big achievements to get ahead—and both are tough to come by.
“Of course! And you know Secretary Leo Liu, right? The new guy—they say he came to our house late at night just to talk to my dad about this project. That’s how important it is!” Darren bragged, practically spitting with excitement.
Darren was so proud talking about his dad, it was almost like he was showing off his own achievements.
Honestly, with a dad like that, Darren couldn’t help but show off—even if he tried to play it cool.
“If my dad does get transferred to Minghai, I’ll have him get your mom moved there too.” Darren grinned.
Chloe shot him a look but didn’t say anything. In her mind, she was already calculating how likely that actually was.
They walked up to the mall entrance. Just as Chloe was about to go in, she noticed a familiar figure by the door. She looked up and froze. “Evan Lin?”
“Hm?” Evan heard someone call his name, turned, and saw Chloe standing there. He nodded coolly, his expression unreadable—a silent greeting.
But Chloe’s gaze toward Evan was complicated.
Back in junior high, Evan had taken the fall for Chloe. After her parents, Kevin Cheng and Lisa Liu, chewed him out, Chloe never apologized. Even when they ran into each other, she acted like he was invisible—just to avoid getting dragged down by him.
She knew deep down the problem was hers, but she couldn’t bring herself to apologize. Her parents were both public servants. And Evan?
He just had a mom teaching elementary school, lived in the shantytown, had bad grades, wasn’t good-looking, and his health wasn’t great. The only thing he did back then was always say yes when she asked for help as her deskmate.
“What are you doing here? When did you get back?” Chloe smiled at Evan.
“Just got back recently,” Evan replied, giving her a few glances, his heart totally calm.
Hearing Chloe talk to Evan, Darren sized him up, squinting. Then he asked Chloe, “Chloe, who’s this guy?”
“My junior-high deskmate,” Chloe answered straightforwardly.
“Oh, the guy who pestered you all through junior high? So it’s him.” Darren looked at Evan with a mocking smile.
Chloe’s face stayed blank—she didn’t care if Evan heard that lie, and didn’t worry if he felt bad.
She’d told Darren that story herself during some idle chat.
Of course, Evan never chased after Chloe, let alone pestered her. The only reason she said that was for face—she wanted people to think she was popular.
Girls love showing off their admirers, just like guys brag about their girlfriends.
Evan glanced at Chloe, his tone flat: “I’m not interested in you. Do yourself a favor—stop dragging my name into your stories.”
Evan’s voice wasn’t loud or soft, but it hit Chloe hard. She stared at him, frowning, clearly annoyed. “I never wanted to be associated with you, Evan. Why are you so harsh now?”
“Back when we were deskmates, you didn’t talk to me like this. Whatever I asked, you did, didn’t you?”
“Or did you find some connections to get into Minghai, and now you look down on me?” Chloe’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “From what I hear, you’re not doing great over there anyway. Your grades suck, so you’re just dragging down whatever class you’re in!”
“Any teacher who gets stuck with you is seriously unlucky!”
Chloe missed the last junior-high reunion, so she had no clue what Evan was up to now.
But hearing Evan talk back like this, Chloe was furious. He’s just some poor loser—how dare he talk to her like that?
What right does he have?