After hanging up the phone, Evan Lin stayed in his room for a while before heading downstairs.
When he got downstairs, Old Man Liu and Rachel Liu still hadn’t come down yet.
Thomas Zhao and the others were waiting there. Seeing Evan, Thomas snickered, “Evan, why’d you come down? Changed your mind and decided to hang out with us after all?”
“Didn’t you just say you didn’t want to go? Now you’re changing your mind?” Ivy Zhao looked at Evan, pouting.
Lydia Liao kept quiet off to the side.
Just then, the elevator doors opened and Sisi Shao and her crew walked out.
“Evan? You’re coming too?” Sisi Shao looked at Evan with a slightly odd expression.
“Why wouldn’t he go? Sunwave Bluebay’s a high-end spot. I went once with my cousin—it was awesome, they have everything, just crazy expensive.” Allen Zeng started rambling, then glanced at Evan: “With a chance to see how the rich live, no way he’d pass it up.”
“Yeah, can’t waste this chance. But that girl just now was really pretty—I didn’t expect River City First High’s crew to be so friendly.” Owen Ou was clearly excited.
They’d just bumped into Claire Sheng and her group outside, and Vincent Wen immediately invited them to hang out at Sunwave Bluebay that night.
Sisi Shao and the others didn’t hesitate—they agreed right away. A couple of the guys and girls even went back to their rooms to change outfits.
Everyone was chattering away. Evan headed over to the lobby couch and sat down, waiting for Old Man Liu.
“Hey, we’re heading out. You’re not coming?” Sisi Shao glanced at Evan, noticing he was still sitting and didn’t seem interested in leaving. She was a bit curious.
“Oh, he’s probably not going. That girl even came over to invite him, but Evan turned her down. I bet he’s embarrassed—Sunwave Bluebay’s too high-end for most people to handle.” Ivy Zhao chuckled when she saw Evan wasn’t getting up.
“Forget him, let’s go.” Allen Zeng snorted. “If Evan’s not going, he’s obviously chickening out.”
The group left, still chattering. Sisi Shao glanced at Evan one last time but didn’t say anything, then followed them out.
Evan sat in the lobby and waited for a while.
Old Man Liu and Rachel Liu finally came out of the elevator.
“Let’s go.”
Old Man Liu nodded at Evan. Evan got up, and the three of them headed out the hotel’s front door together.
“This time I’m taking you two to meet an old friend of mine. He used to run River City’s Olympiad training for years, then became a math professor in Beijing.”
“I’m bringing you to see him partly because it’s been years since we caught up, but also because I hope he can teach you some problem-solving tricks. If you do well in this Olympiad, it’ll really help your college entrance exams.”
Old Man Liu spoke in a gentle tone, but his expression was serious.
They flagged down a cab by the street. Old Man Liu took the front seat, leaving the back for Evan and Rachel.
“Sunwave Bluebay.”
Old Man Liu gave the address, then quietly settled into his seat.
The driver didn’t waste any time—he floored it and sped off.
In the back seat, Evan could smell the faint, fresh scent coming from Rachel—it was pleasant and calming.
Rachel glanced at Evan sitting beside her. What felt odd to her was that Evan turned to look out the window, not at her at all.
That left Rachel with a strange, inexplicable sense of disappointment.
The ride was quiet all the way until they arrived at Sunwave Bluebay.
Sunwave Bluebay was a famous five-star hotel in River City—twenty-four stories tall, located in the CBD. It was always known for being high-end, high-spec, and high-priced.
As they entered through the front door, Evan noticed a line of text at the bottom right corner of the hotel’s sign.
A subsidiary of the Summer Group.
“Old Liu! I’ve been waiting ages for you! Haha!”
Just as they entered the lobby, a man in a suit, looking about fifty with gold-rimmed glasses, stood up from a tea table nearby.
He was completely bald on top—a classic ‘Mediterranean’ look. He was a bit skinny, but there was a hidden sharpness in his eyes.
“Old Gu! Long time no see!”
Seeing the old man, Old Man Liu—usually so serious—actually cracked a rare smile.
He stepped forward and the two old men hugged for a few seconds before letting go.
“Haha, it’s really been ages—last time I saw you, your hair wasn’t this white!” Old Gu laughed.
Old Man Liu nodded. “Back then you weren’t bald either, were you?”
“Look at you!” Old Gu just shook his head, not bothered, and then turned his gaze to Evan and Rachel.
He looked at Evan for three seconds, then at Rachel for even longer.
“These are the two kids you mentioned?”
“Yep. I think both of them have real talent for math. I brought them to this Olympiad hoping they’ll get good results.” Old Man Liu smiled. “And since I heard you were coming to River City, I figured I’d drop in and bother you a bit.”
“Bother me? Come on.” Old Gu glared at Old Man Liu, then sighed. “Back then, Beijing University and Huaqing both tried to recruit you as a professor, but you stubbornly refused and insisted on staying in Brightsea.”
“You know me—I’m lazy, and once I settle in somewhere, I don’t want to move.” Old Man Liu shrugged.
Hearing this, Rachel was shocked.
Beijing University and Huaqing were top schools in all of China. Being invited to teach at either meant that Old Man Liu—who always seemed so ordinary at school—actually held serious influence.
Rachel glanced at Evan and saw his expression was calm, completely unfazed.
“I know, I know. Come on, let’s go talk in my room. I’m telling you, just one night here costs as much as your whole month’s salary. If the school wasn’t paying, I couldn’t afford it.”
“Come on, let me show you how the other half lives! Haha.”
Old Gu joked around, not minding at all.
Old Man Liu called Evan and Rachel over, and the three of them took the elevator upstairs.