"Make me pay the price? You?"
Buck Niu let out a scornful laugh.
"Watch out!"
At that moment, Rachel Liu, who’d been silent, suddenly spoke up.
Buck Niu paused for a split second, then his eyes widened in shock.
Evan Lin closed in instantly, appearing right in front of him in the blink of an eye.
Evan raised his leg and swept it sideways at Buck Niu.
"Just your leg strength?"
Buck Niu snorted coldly, raising his left arm and curling his right hand into a claw.
"As soon as this kid’s leg comes over, I’ll grab it, and then Evan Lin will be at my mercy!"
Buck Niu felt a surge of contempt—moves like Evan’s might work on grade-schoolers, but there’s no way they could threaten him.
Evan’s right leg was already there.
"Perfect!"
Buck Niu shouted and reached out his right hand, ready to grab Evan’s calf.
Evan didn’t slow down at all, his expression calm.
Bang!
"Impossible!"
The instant Evan’s right leg slammed into Buck Niu’s left wrist, Buck didn’t even have time to grab it before a massive force shot through his arm, sending him flying sideways.
"How is he so strong?!"
Buck Niu’s face was full of shock and disbelief. Just as he was about to hit the ground, he steeled himself, hunched over, and did a quick roll to dissipate most of the force. Using the momentum, he managed to stand back up instead of falling.
"Evan Lin! I’m going to personally—"
Buck Niu glared furiously, ready to charge Evan, but before he could finish, Evan was in front of him again—another kick.
Buck instinctively tried to block, but this time the force was even greater, flipping him straight onto the ground.
"How can this be…"
Buck clutched his left hand with his right. The pain from his fractured bone stabbed at his nerves. He was tough enough not to cry out, but the sweat pouring down his forehead gave him away—he was in bad shape.
"Rest up for three months if you want to recover."
"I held back this time—as thanks. Next time, it won’t be just a single bone fracture." Evan stepped forward, his gaze cool as he glanced at Buck, who was gritting his teeth on the ground.
Just as he turned away, Evan saw Rachel Liu jogging over.
As she brushed past him, Evan caught a faint whiff of her fragrance.
"Why did you hit him so hard?" Rachel Liu crouched down to check Buck’s injury, her pretty face darkening with anger as she glared at Evan. "I’ll never like you, you know! Do you have to push so hard just because of that? Evan Lin!"
Evan paused. By now, a crowd was already watching.
Whether it was the guys fighting or the presence of Rachel Liu and Lynn Chen, this spot had become the center of attention.
"Push so hard?"
Evan turned his head slightly, glancing at Rachel Liu crouched beside Buck Niu.
If it hadn’t been for that prank love letter back then, Evan wouldn’t have lost his head and confessed to Rachel, only to get KO’d by Buck and become the school laughingstock.
"Let’s get something straight. I’ve never been pushy—first, I’m not interested; second, he’s not worth it."
"I admit I used to like you, but that was in the past."
Evan shook his head slightly. "Rachel Liu, maybe you’re the dream girl for half the guys at school, maybe one day you’ll be a goddess in countless hearts, worshipped and cherished."
"But sorry, I’m not one of them."
"Not me, Evan Lin."
Evan Lin shoved his hands in his pockets and said nothing more.
Rachel Liu bit her lip, staring at Evan’s back.
Once, Evan had been just another boy secretly crushing on her. But a girl like Rachel Liu, born to be adored, had never even looked his way.
Even when the whole school was talking about Buck Niu knocking Evan out with a single punch, Rachel never gave Evan a second thought.
Her whole life, from grade school to high school, she’d walked through crowds of flowers and applause, always surrounded by boys who admired her looks or her vibe—but she’d never cared about any of them.
This was the first time—ever—that someone had spoken to her like that.
His voice was calm, almost emotionless, and for the first time Rachel felt truly ignored.
"Let’s go."
Evan walked straight over to Yolanda Fang and Lynn Chen, glanced at Lynn, and spoke coolly.
"You…" Liam Li looked at Evan, his face shifting between anger and uncertainty.
He helped Jason Zhao up. Jason clutched his mouth, blood still dripping, glaring at Evan with pure hatred.
"Here’s a tip: don’t look at me like that. If I’m in a bad mood, I might just beat you up again." Evan shot Jason a sideways glance.
"Evan Lin, you’re way too arrogant," Liam Li spat.
Just a couple of kicks and Evan had flattened Buck Niu, leaving everyone around stunned.
Maggie Ma, Lillian Wang, and Cathy Li all looked at Evan with newfound fear.
Simon Li stepped up next to Liam, glaring at Evan. "You think being good at fighting means you can do whatever you want? Jason Zhao is our Judo Club’s vice-captain!"
"Vice-captain? So what?" Evan sneered, making Simon and Jason look even more embarrassed.
Summer Mu glanced at Jason, shook his head, then looked at Evan with even more excitement.
Just imagining learning moves like that made his heart race.
Summer Mu quickly followed after Evan’s group. This time, Evan and his crew were leading the way.
There was a temporary clinic at the mountaintop, so Liam and the others took Jason there to get patched up.
"I’ll make him pay. He’s just some nobody from a small town—he’s not gonna stir up any real trouble." Jason clenched his fists, broken teeth making his words whistle.
"That Evan Lin is way too rough—he’s just a barbarian." Lillian Wang snorted, glaring at Evan with disgust.
"A guy like him, once he leaves school and hits the real world, he won’t even know how he died." Maggie Ma chimed in.
"Isn’t Zane Zhan, the Judo Club’s minister, coming back soon? We should get him to teach Evan a lesson." Cathy Li pumped her fist, as if she wanted to knock Evan out herself.
"If we can get Minister Zhan, Evan Lin is nothing!" Simon Li agreed, nodding.
Sisi Shao stayed silent, turning to look outside the clinic, where Evan, Summer Mu, Lynn Chen, and Yolanda Fang were fishing together.
Sisi’s gaze drifted, lost in thought.