Evan Lin jogged three laps around Brightsea Garden Court before heading home, arriving around six o'clock.
Lucy Lu was preparing breakfast. Seeing Evan return from outside, she was a little surprised: "Up so early today? Aren't you tired?"
"Couldn't sleep, so I got up and went for a run. Not tired at all."
"Exercise is good, but how's your hand doing now?"
Lucy glanced at Evan's left hand, which was still wrapped in gauze.
Actually, Evan's hand had almost fully healed when he broke through to the first layer of qi-refining, but to avoid unnecessary trouble, he kept the gauze on.
Seeing Lucy's worried expression, Evan smiled: "It doesn't hurt anymore. It was never that serious, just scraped it a bit when I fell."
Lucy relaxed after hearing Evan's words: "Just be careful with the wound. Don't let it get infected."
"Yeah, I know."
"Breakfast is ready. Go upstairs and call Lynn and Yolanda down to eat. I'll make you guys some milk."
Evan headed upstairs, raising his hand to knock, but just then the door opened from the inside.
Yolanda Fang saw Evan standing at the door, paused for a moment, then nodded: "Good morning."
Evan glanced at Yolanda, not recognizing her at first.
Last night, Yolanda had heavy smoky makeup on, so Evan couldn't really tell what she looked like.
But now, with her makeup removed, Evan realized she was lively and striking, with a hint of heroic charm—especially those eyes, which made people want to take a second look.
Yolanda noticed Evan staring at her, head down and silent for a while, so she yawned and went off to the bathroom to wash up.
Inside the room, Evan saw Lynn Chen sprawled starfish-style across the bed, still not fully awake. One leg was wrapped around a white comforter, hugging a pillow, dressed in a sheer nightdress that faintly revealed tender skin.
"Who would've thought that Lynn Chen, who always acts like a little princess, sleeps like this," Evan thought helplessly, then called out: "Lynn, time to get up for breakfast."
Lynn Chen heard Evan's voice, frowned, clearly annoyed at being woken up, rolled over, and buried her head under the pillow, ignoring him.
Evan was a bit helpless, debating whether to go in and wake Lynn up, when Yolanda came back from the bathroom, shot him a look, and teased: "Enjoy the view just now?"
Evan scratched his head, giving a clueless smile: "Aunt Lucy asked me to call you down for breakfast. Lynn's still not awake, so could you get her up? I'll head downstairs first."
With that, Evan left on his own.
Yolanda crossed her arms, standing at the doorway, watching Evan's back. "Last night you were so fierce beating up all those guys, and this morning you're acting like a total wimp."
Thinking of this, Yolanda glanced down at the clothes she was wearing.
It was a blue-and-white checkered shirt Lynn gave her after her shower last night. Lynn had also handed her a bra, but the size difference was too much—plus Yolanda never wore one to sleep anyway—so she skipped it.
"Did he see everything when he stared at me just now? Probably not, this shirt doesn't seem that see-through."
Yolanda hurried into the room and checked herself in the mirror, noticing that there was a faint outline visible through the shirt, but fortunately it wasn't too obvious.
"Hey, Lynn, wake up," she said, confirming in the mirror before nudging the still-sleeping Lynn. Lynn just rolled over and pulled the covers over herself, so Yolanda decisively reached out and gave Lynn's chest a squeeze.
She squeezed a bit too hard, making Lynn wake up instantly, glaring at her best friend: "Yolanda! How many years has it been? Why do you still use that trick? I'm already small enough!"
"Alright, alright, get up and eat. I'm starving. If you want, you can squeeze mine back."
Yolanda grinned, leaned forward, and puffed out her chest, making Lynn even more resentful. Lynn glared at her with a sigh.
At the breakfast table, Yolanda had thrown on a denim jacket to cover up, and wore slim-fitting jeans below.
Her figure was similar to Lynn's, so the clothes fit well.
Lynn was wearing a light blue T-shirt today, but she looked a bit out of it from a bad night's sleep, sipping milk and nibbling on a sandwich.
"I still love Aunt Lucy's sandwiches. Feels like it's been ages since I had them." Yolanda took a big bite and washed it down with milk.
Lucy Lu smiled warmly: "That's because you haven't come by in ages, silly. You should visit and eat with us more often—you're family here, no need to be shy."
"Yeah, but isn't Uncle Chen coming down to eat?"
"He already left for work. After you finish eating, I'll drive you and Evan to school, then take Lynn to her school."
"Aunt Lucy, that's really not necessary. I can walk myself. No. 1 and No. 2 High aren't on the same route, and No. 1 is pretty far. Plus, traffic's heavy at this hour—Lynn might end up late." Yolanda replied with a smile, then glanced at Evan, who was wolfing down his breakfast, and gently asked, "You agree, right?"
Evan was busy demolishing the sandwiches in front of him.
After stepping into the first layer of qi-refining, Evan's appetite had shot up. He'd already polished off four sandwiches, and when he heard Yolanda's question, he looked up and met her eyes.
"Huh? I'm fine with anything."
Evan swallowed his sandwich. Lynn glanced at him and silently called him a pig in her heart.
Evan was used to walking to and from school by himself. Brightsea Garden Court wasn't far from No. 2 High—just a half-hour walk.
"Yolanda, I don't mind being late."
"No way. It's not far to No. 2 High, so there's no need to drive me. I can just walk with... with him," Yolanda said, stumbling when she realized she didn't know his name. "It's nice to have company on the way."
Yolanda suddenly realized she didn't know the guy's name and got stuck mid-sentence.
Lucy hesitated, glanced at Evan, wanting to ask if he was okay with it, but seeing how fast he was eating, she smiled: "Slow down, don't choke. There's more if you're hungry."
"Evan, I'm putting Yolanda in your hands. Walk her to school and keep an eye out on the way."
"A boy should remember to protect a girl. Yolanda's your responsibility now."