Maverick had gone out to pursue his true love.
Qi Li relaxed.
If there were always an invisible person standing silently in the corner of the room, spying on him all day, just thinking about it made him feel uncomfortable.
Qi Li could also understand why the school had arranged Maverick as his roommate.
This was so he could establish a connection with Maverick's father, Translucent of the Super Seven.
"They're all more invested than I am."
Qi Li shook his head and began tidying his room.
At the time, he didn't yet know that, because his enrollment was complete and his personal information had been entered into the Godkin University app, his official ranking on the Godkin University ranking list was shooting up, to everyone's astonishment.
Ding ding ding—
Dormitories, hallways, the cafeteria, the stadium—many Godkin University students were walking along when they suddenly realized their phones were sounding the alert for a major news push.
They pulled out their phones one after another, took a look, at first thinking they were misreading it, but after confirming again and again, they were all shocked, with exclamations rising and falling.
"Who is Qi Li?"
"He just enrolled, so how is his Godkin ranking suddenly so high?"
"It's still rising! His ranking is skyrocketing!"
"He's already broken into the Godkin top ten!"
"Why hasn't it stopped? This momentum is too intense..."
Some quick-witted Godkin University students had already skillfully taken out their selfie sticks and phones, and excitedly started a livestream facing the camera:
"Hey! A new day, a new beginning. I'm your best friend Lisa..."
"Everyone! Everyone! You absolutely won't believe what happened at Godkin University today? A newcomer, a student who enrolled less than a day ago, now his ranking has already entered the Godkin top ten..."
"Oh my god! He's set a new Godkin University record! Right before my very eyes..."
As Kate walked along, she saw quite a few upperclassmen gesturing wildly in front of the camera, their mouths constantly uttering shocked words like "Qi Li," "Godkin top ten," "record-breaking," and "unbelievable."
Meanwhile, the freshmen stared blankly at the upperclassmen's exaggerated performance, looking like total greenhorns who had never seen the world.
Kate took out her phone.
On the Godkin University ranking list on the screen, Qi Li's striking profile picture suddenly appeared on the Godkin top ten page.
Just then, amid another round of exclamations rising and falling around her, Kate looked up again to see Qi Li's profile picture leap from eighth place just moments before to third place, and judging by the momentum, it seemed far from stopping.
Kate noticed that people around her were already asking incessantly who this Qi Li really was.
She played the good Samaritan and introduced him to those around her: "He stars in Bronze: Deadly Weapon."
Luke was cleaning his dorm room when he heard his phone sound a push notification, so he casually opened it.
After a long silence, he sent a screenshot of the page to Andre with one sentence:
"Bro, we need to work twice as hard!"
Andre was busy with other matters at the moment and had no time to reply.
Elsewhere.
Godkin University's No. 3, Sigrid, was sitting at her office computer reviewing the enrollment list for the College of Crime Fighting when she also turned her gaze to the Godkin University ranking list.
She watched helplessly as Qi Li surpassed her in one go, bumping her down to fourth place.
"Damn it."
Sigrid muttered softly.
Then she searched online for Bronze: Deadly Weapon, a film not yet released, and quickly booked a ticket for the last showing today.
"Hey, Sigrid, Invisible Force is out. I have two tickets; will you go with me tonight?"
At that moment, a young white man came over as if they were old friends, placed both hands on her office desk, struck a pose he thought was handsome, and issued a date invitation:
"After the show, there's an Italian dinner at Via Carota. Taylor Swift, Sarah Jessica Parker, and many celebrities have been there. Reservations are hard to get, but fortunately, there's nothing I can't arrange."
Sigrid's response was a middle finger: "Get lost!"
"Wow!" The young white man seemed long used to it and wasn't discouraged, continuing to smile: "Sigrid, you should smile more. I bet you'd look beautiful when you smile."
Sigrid finally looked up, looking at him with an expression of weary annoyance, and said speechlessly: "Derek, stop using those tired Soldier Boy pickup lines. They don't work at all, really!"
Derek didn't believe it, raised his eyebrows, and retorted: "How is that impossible? Soldier Boy back in the day was..."
Ding ding ding—
A loud new push notification sounded simultaneously on both their phones, abruptly cutting off Derek's next words.
Sigrid lowered her head and glanced at the screen.
The next second, she smiled just as Derek had hoped: "Derek, your self-important date invitation is coming to an end. Your Godkin University number one spot isn't secure anymore."
"Sigrid, you really know how to joke. How could that guy Dylan possibly surpass me..."
Derek didn't believe it at first, until he unhurriedly opened his phone.
Then confusion, incomprehension, and panic quickly flitted across his face, until finally it froze into disbelief mixed with anger.
He stared at the screen, looked again and again, and after confirming multiple times that the profile picture above his name was real, he finally spoke anxiously:
"Qi Li? Who is this bastard? Where did he come from? Is there a problem with the school system? Yes, that must be it..."
Sigrid watched him in this flustered and annoyed state and smiled even more happily.
...
Qi Li still didn't know that so many people were thinking of him.
He hadn't paid much attention to that Godkin University ranking thing.
His first starring movie had grossed over a hundred million, he had appeared on all the major top talk shows, graced the covers of several weekly magazines, held several major endorsements, and recently even Louis Vuitton had been reaching out to him proactively, plus the added boost of the Super Seven draft, a major hot topic.
It was only natural that he easily got Godkin University's number one spot, wasn't it?
Without such confidence, President Shetty and the others wouldn't have placed their bets on him so quickly.
However, the freshly minted Godkin University No. 1 had another worry at this moment.
Qi Li smelled a strange stench.
A long time ago, he wouldn't have been able to tell what this smell was.
But now, although he never touched those things himself, through constant exposure he could still tell clearly.
Judging by the strength of the smell wafting over, there were definitely quite a few.
If they weren't disturbing him, he was too lazy to bother.
But now, especially since superhuman senses were generally superior to ordinary people's.
Qi Li frowned and rubbed his nose, enduring for one minute, two minutes...
After three minutes, he could no longer endure it; he stood up directly, went to the door of the dorm across from him, and raised his hand to knock.
No response.
Only deafening, passionate music kept coming through.
Qi Li shook his head, and without hesitation, with a loud "bang," he punched the door off its hinges and strode in.
Chapter 14