Selina Shi drove her pink Beetle out of the city, heading east. Through the window, you could see a towering mountain—its peak piercing the clouds, looking absolutely spectacular.
"You probably haven't been here before, right? This is Jingwei Peak. Legend has it that the first pebble the mythic bird Jingwei used to fill the sea was taken from here and tossed into the ocean."
Selina explained to Evan Lin in a laid-back way, deliberately skirting details about the people they were about to meet. She kept changing the subject, clearly not wanting Evan to know their identities in advance.
Evan didn’t really care. He propped his head on one hand, watching the endless woods roll past outside the window. He opened the window, letting a breeze rush in.
The wind teased Selina’s hair as she drove, adding a gentle, elegant touch to her look.
From the foot of the mountain upward, a winding road climbed steeply—one wrong move and you could go straight off the cliff.
Selina’s driving was smooth and skilled, unfazed as she spiraled up the mountain. Outside, the occasional chirp of birds and insects broke the rare quiet.
"Once we get there, put your sunglasses on and remember to act cool and aloof," Selina reminded Evan, worried he might blow their cover. After speaking, she grabbed a hat from beside her and popped it onto her head.
A simple move, but it had its own charm. The baseball cap covered half her face just right, giving Selina a lively, playful vibe.
Evan shook his head and put on his sunglasses, his whole aura turning even colder and more distant.
At the very top of Jingwei Peak, a huge open area was packed with more than a dozen luxury cars—most of them million-dollar supercars. The most eye-catching was a deep blue Lamborghini.
Not far away, rows of standalone villas lined one side; on the other, a massive outdoor activity ground surrounded by fencing—easily the size of a stadium.
Right now, a crowd of stylishly dressed young men and women had gathered around.
“Gavin, why did you rush all the way to Capitalview? Weren’t you supposed to be prepping for college abroad?” grinned a cocky guy with teal hair, a cigarette dangling from his lips, as he eyed Gavin Guan sprawled on the Lamborghini’s hood.
Gavin Guan, still lying on the car, stared up at the fading sunset, chewing a stem of foxtail grass. “You think I wanted to come? I heard Selina’s on her own, so of course I had to show up and join the fun.”
Now that Warren Wu and Allen Ju are gone, I’ll just take Selina down quick. Then I’ll see what those two have to say. Damn, Allen Ju used to tattle on me nonstop, and Warren Wu kept sniping at me behind my back. But now they’re gone—once I get Selina, I’ll call them ‘bro’ to their faces and see what they can do about it.
Gavin Guan couldn’t help but grin, his eyes lighting up. Just thinking about Allen Ju and Warren Wu left him simmering with resentment.
Most people called him Young Master Gavin; those less familiar called him Young Lord Gavin. He’d been causing trouble since he was a kid, and nobody had ever dared challenge him head-on.
But last time he came to Capitalview, he messed with Allen Ju and Warren Wu—and they dragged him into a bathroom and force-fed him tap water. He’d held a grudge ever since.
But the Guan family’s power was mostly in Oceanport City, and Jinnan was weaker turf for him. Plus, Allen Ju and Warren Wu barely ever came to Oceanport, so Gavin never got a shot at revenge.
Now that Allen Ju was away from Jinnan, and Warren Wu had joined the Tiger Reserve, only Selina Shi was left in Capitalview.
Normally, even if Selina Shi was alone, Gavin Guan wouldn’t dare make a move—partly because of the Wu family, and partly because Kai Chen was always by her side. And with Colonel Sean Chen holding military power, Gavin never dared to go too far.
But today was different—Gavin had heard that Selina and Kai Chen seemed to be having a falling out. That gave him an opening. He’d pulled some strings to arrange this meeting with Selina; otherwise, he’d never have gotten close.
“Gavin, they’ll come back eventually. And I heard the reason Kai Chen hasn’t been with Selina lately is because of some guy…” said a woman in a tank top, hesitating.
In Jinnan, relationships were tangled and complex. She didn’t know the details, but she’d heard that Kai Chen was furious over something.
She wasn’t sure who the guy was, since she didn’t hang out much with Kai Chen—they ran in different circles.
“What’s there to be afraid of? Did you forget where we are?” Gavin Guan sneered, glancing at the nearby fence.
From his angle, Gavin couldn’t see inside the fence, but the others caught on. Someone chuckled, “True, Young Master Gavin grew up with all this. Even if Selina brings some guy along, he’ll just be a stepping stone to make you look good.”
“Not necessarily. What if the guy’s actually a pro?” Gavin Guan grinned, chewing his foxtail grass.
He glanced sideways and spotted another group of men and women nearby.
That group was all over twenty-five, obviously seasoned business types—totally different vibe from the rich-kid crowd here.
The two groups kept to themselves.
But when Gavin focused on a tall, elegant woman in a cheongsam, his eyes narrowed with a hint of appreciation.
“Hey, Leo, what’s her story?” Gavin asked offhandedly.
The pale-skinned young man in the green cap glanced over, then said, “I think she’s a flight attendant. That’s what my uncle told me.”
If Evan Lin had been here, he’d have recognized Leo Liu right away—the same guy he met in Oxhorn Village with Bella Xiao and the others.