"You made a special trip here just to tell me some idiot wants to challenge me?"
Inside the upscale restaurant, Qi Li spoke toward the empty space beside him, each word clipped with clear annoyance.
"This is no ordinary challenge. Word is, the school is going all out to promote this *Campus Showdown*. They're inviting tons of high-society celebrities, and it's even streaming live on Vought's pay-per-view channel."
"Just like Queen Maeve versus Deep Sea back in the day, or Condor Hand versus Blindspot, it's destined to be a legendary battle etched into the university's history books. And you, my good brother, are going to become a true legend."
An excited, high-pitched voice piped up from the empty air.
Across all of Godkin University, only Maverick could pull off an entrance like this.
Qi Li had been having a perfectly lovely date with Kate.
With exquisite dishes adorning the table and the melodious strains of a violin floating through the air, he had already managed to take Kate's gloved hand in his.
Subconsciously, both of them leaned forward.
Kate slowly closed her eyes, a bashful, expectant look on her face as she waited for the moment to arrive.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, Qi Li caught sight of a small patch of carpet beside them sinking down out of nowhere.
The realization struck him instantly.
Aside from Translucent and his severe voyeuristic streak, the only person who could possibly be standing right there was his own exceptional roommate.
He had zero interest in being intimate with Kate while a completely naked grown man hovered beside them, watching intently like a hawk.
And so came his opening outburst.
Right now, Qi Li felt an overwhelming urge to punch someone.
"Couldn't you have just called?"
He was convinced Maverick had harbored ulterior motives from the start.
Delivering news was merely an excuse; sneaking in to spy on his date with Kate was the real objective.
Why else would the guy take off the hat he usually wore?
Maverick hastened to plead innocence. "Bro, I don't have your number!"
Qi Li paused for a second. Thinking back, that was actually true.
Yesterday, not long after they first met, Maverick had been egged on by him to chase after his "true love."
By the time Qi Li returned this morning, there was that mess with Sigrid.
And right after that came rushing to class.
From beginning to end, they genuinely hadn't exchanged contact information yet.
That said, it definitely wasn't his fault.
Qi Li demanded, "Is the match today?"
Maverick shook his head. "Promotions haven't even rolled out, and the sponsorships aren't set up yet. How could it be that fast?"
Qi Li latched onto the crux of the issue, his glare turning increasingly hostile. "Then why couldn't you tell me later? Why did you have to pick this exact moment to barge in?"
Maverick naturally wouldn't admit that his gossiping heart was ablaze, desperate to get first-hand dirt on the current Godkin No. 1's new romance.
He scrambled to justify himself. "Well... wasn't I just too excited?! I only wanted to share the good news with you the very second I heard it, Qi Li. I spent a full half hour searching every restaurant nearby before I finally found you."
Qi Li rolled his eyes hard. "So I should thank you, then?"
He'd have to be an idiot to buy Maverick's nonsense.
"Right here, right now, get lost. If I catch you lurking around peeping again, when I get back, I'm having donkey hot pot every other day."
Anything else might not have fazed Maverick, but when it came to his black donkey, he fell in line immediately.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to offer Kate an enthusiastic greeting: "Hey, Kate, I'm Qi Li's good buddy, Maverick."
Kate lifted the slender hand she had just pulled back and waved her fingers. "Hey, Maverick."
Afterward, Kate asked curiously, "Who was that?"
Qi Li explained, "Translucent's son. Inherited pretty much the same quirks as his old man. Though he's a bit better—compared to women, he prefers donkeys these days."
Kate's pretty eyes went wide with shock. A flurry of emotions churned inside her before ultimately boiling down to a single word:
"Wow!"
Once she got over the bizarre revelation, her attention quickly shifted back to Qi Li.
Knitting her brows slightly, she asked with concern, "My roommates mentioned that Derek Fowler's superpower is extremely strong. Plus, he comes from a military family and has been trained since childhood. Qi Li, are you..."
Qi Li replied confidently, "Don't worry, he's no match for me."
He had learned all about Derek's superpower from Sigrid already.
As for being trained since childhood...
Heh.
Could training ever match the efficiency of real killing?
How many people had Derek actually killed so far? And how many of them were superhumans?
Qi Li didn't mind having a bit of fun with this former Godkin No. 1, using this *Campus Showdown* to further boost his own fame and commercial value along the way.
He never complained about having too much money.
Especially not in a society driven entirely by profit.
Without money, how could he sit in a luxury restaurant like this, enjoying a leisurely date with Kate?
Would they just wander the streets and share a cheap chicken burrito?
That had a romance of its own, sure.
But given the choice, he wanted to hold every option comfortably in his own hands, free to pick whichever form of romance he felt like.
Now, thanks to Maverick's interruption, the tender intimacy between Qi Li and Kate had completely evaporated.
Trying to force it back would feel awkward and contrived.
Besides, Kate was still secretly anxious after hearing about the showdown.
Right around then, phone calls began rolling in one after another for Qi Li.
First was Dean Shetty, asking for his thoughts on the Campus Showdown.
Upon receiving his firm, affirmative answer, Shetty spoke with boundless drive, stating that the university would immediately mobilize the media resources of Godkin and Vought International behind it to make sure the hype for this showdown went through the roof.
The second call came from his manager, Monica.
In high spirits, she promised she would negotiate a solid cut of the pay-per-view stream for him on *Campus Showdown*.
In Monica's view, as a student of Godkin and the biggest star on the card, he could waive an appearance fee, but he absolutely had to get a share of the streaming revenue—after all, the vast majority of paying viewers would tune in because of him.
Qi Li let his manager handle the business side.
No sooner had he hung up than another call came through.
"Hey, Qi Li, this is Jeff, Godkin's social media director. You probably already know about the *Campus Showdown*, so I won't waste time explaining. It's set for a week from now at the Vought International and Spa Center."
"Congratulations, man. You're going to be crazy busy over the next few days. Tomorrow, you've got a solo poster and pre-fight promo video shoot; the day after tomorrow is an appearance on the *Haley Miller Talk Show*; the day after that, you're shooting an ad for Vought's latest functional sports drink..."
Chapter 22