Evan Carter opened the picture to take a look.

It was a chat log between Samuel Clark and Ryan Grant.

Ryan Grant had sent a message.

It looked like a mass message, just four characters: 【新年快乐。】

Seeing this, Evan Carter instinctively exited the chat window and glanced at her unread messages.

She didn’t see Ryan Grant.

But the profile picture for Ryan Grant in her contacts was the same as in the screenshot.

So she probably hadn’t added the wrong person.

Then why hadn’t she received the mass message...

He couldn’t possibly be that petty and deliberately not send it to her, right?

Or maybe it wasn’t a mass message?

But not long ago, he was still being lectured by his mother right in front of her, and he didn’t seem to have the time to send out New Year’s greetings one by one.

She thought about it for a while.

Evan Carter felt the most likely possibility was just as she’d thought before.

He had already deleted her.

Thinking this, she naturally thought of all the random people in her own contacts, and simply edited a mass message herself, using it as an excuse to clear out those who had already blocked her.

Not long after sending it, she immediately got over a dozen replies.

Evan Carter opened them one by one from the bottom up, occasionally replying a few words.

When she got to the very top message, Evan Carter paused.

Because she was startled to discover—

The person who replied was the very one who had inspired her to send the mass message on a whim, the one she had just mistakenly thought had long since deleted her, and at this moment, he was still standing just a few meters away from her.

He only sent a single symbol.

Ryan Grant: 【？】

“……”

Chapter 6

Evan Carter’s brow twitched, and she felt inexplicably startled inside.

This.

How come...

Back from the dead???

And what’s with just sending a question mark.

Evan Carter shifted her gaze, staring at the five words she had sent.

— Happy New Year ^_^

For a moment, Evan Carter even felt like she couldn’t read.

What she sent should be a greeting, not some kind of profanity...

But honestly—

Just sending a question mark like that was pretty intimidating.

Even through the screen, Evan Carter felt a bit cowed by him.

It was like he was seeing someone he’d completely cut ties with.

No matter what the other person said, even if it was a holiday greeting, he’d still throw out a question mark in response.

Evan Carter hesitantly typed in the chat box: 【Do you know who I am】

Before she could finish typing, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that someone was passing by her side. Evan Carter instinctively looked up and saw Ryan Grant walk to a spot about a meter in front of her, stopping next to a girl.

The girl was slim and quietly looking down, as if she was checking her phone.

Recalling Ryan Grant’s conversation with his mother, this should be his younger sister.

Evan Carter had some impression of this girl. She’d seen her back in high school, her name was Olivia Grant, about six or seven years younger than Ryan Grant. Back then, she was still small, looked like a porcelain doll, and Evan Carter had to bend down to talk to her.

Now she was almost as tall as Evan Carter.

Ryan Grant lazily said, “Brat.”

Olivia Grant looked up, “What?”

Ryan Grant: “I heard you’ve been under a lot of stress lately?”

Olivia Grant replied perfunctorily, “No.”

Ryan Grant continued on his own, “Because the college entrance exam is coming up?”

There was only one person between Evan Carter and them.

At this distance, their conversation was as clear as if a TV drama was playing right in front of her. Even though she didn’t want to eavesdrop, their voices kept drifting into her ears—

“I said no.”

“What’s the point of overthinking,” as if determined to carry out his mother’s instructions, Ryan Grant said slowly, “Back then, I didn’t even study, and I still got into Nanwu University. Besides, even if you’re not that talented, our family has enough money for you to repeat a year.”

“You didn’t study? You think I don’t remember?” Olivia Grant shot him a look, her tone growing annoyed, “Relax, you barely scraped into Nanwu University back then, I could get in with my eyes closed.”

“……”

“And,” after complaining about that, Olivia Grant added, “I heard from Mom today that you quit your job?”

“……”

“That can’t be true, right?”

Ryan Grant turned his head, “What’s it to you?”

Olivia Grant started talking to herself, “Did you get fired and just don’t want to admit it?”

Before Ryan Grant could reply, his phone rang. He glanced down and suddenly said, “If you won’t listen to me, how about letting your ‘real brother’ comfort you for a bit?”

“What—” Maybe she saw the caller ID, because Olivia Grant instantly fell silent, and after a few seconds, she said in a low voice, “No.”

After that, Ryan Grant didn’t say anything more and walked back to the pavilion to take the call.

It quieted down.

Although there were some things Evan Carter didn’t quite understand, being forced to overhear people she knew talking at such close range still made her a bit uncomfortable. Luckily, she was still wearing a mask, which gave her a bit of a sense of security.

Evan Carter lit up her screen again.

Noticing the unsent message still in the input box, she felt it wasn’t quite appropriate, so she deleted it all. She wanted to tactfully confirm whether the other person knew this was her WeChat, and after thinking it over, she cautiously replied with just: 【？】