Butcher walked off with Qi Li's autograph in hand.
Qi Li watched their retreating backs as Butcher slung an arm around Hughie and guided him away.
Earlier, he had wondered what kind of man Hughie might be blowing, but looking at Butcher now, the guy fit his—and practically everyone else's—stereotype to a tee.
No wonder Hughie had looked so unnatural just a moment ago.
Qi Li turned back and cast a sympathetic glance at Starlight.
Before she could look puzzled, he spoke up first: "Don't you think his accent is bizarre?"
Starlight knew the "he" Qi Li referred to was Butcher.
Seeing that Butcher had already walked far away, she nodded repeatedly with an 'I was thinking the exact same thing' expression. "His accent definitely isn't authentic. He doesn't sound American at all."
The two "native Americans," Qi Li and Starlight, shared a good critique of Butcher's "unauthentic" English, which served to break the ice.
"I haven't congratulated you yet on getting your wish and joining the Super Seven," Qi Li said, taking a seat across from her and steering the topic toward the team. "I hear Vought has already started planning your solo movie. Here's wishing you massive box office success in advance."
"Thank you..."
Starlight offered a strained smile. After a brief pause, she looked at Qi Li and spoke from the bottom of her heart: "Actually... if it were possible, I wouldn't mind giving up my spot to you, Bronze. Seriously!"
"Oh?"
Qi Li showed a look of surprise, though a glimmer flashed in his eyes.
It sounded as if Starlight had run into some bad experiences after joining the Super Seven.
That was precisely what he wanted to hear.
That was why, upon seeing Starlight, he had decisively stopped wasting time on Frenchie and shifted over to have this conversation.
Compared to the negligible risk Frenchie posed, gathering more intel on the Super Seven where Starlight operated was far more crucial for his future career.
Adopting a tone of measured concern, Qi Li asked, "Why do you say that? Did you run into some unfair treatment in the Seven, Starlight?"
As a certain corporate mogul had once said, when employees quit, it always comes down to two reasons: either the money isn't right, or their feelings are hurt.
Judging by Starlight's popularity, it was clearly the latter.
Unlike when she had talked with Hughie and refrained from digging deeper, Starlight hesitated for a moment and then continued.
It wasn't because she was closer to Qi Li.
The main reason was that Hughie was merely an ordinary person, whereas Qi Li, like her, was a superhuman—and an exceptionally powerful one at that.
The two were peers, and having been rivals lately, they had often been compared to one another.
This unique connection made her feel a distinct bond with Qi Li that went beyond simple romance, so meeting him offline for the first time didn't feel awkward or foreign at all.
Of course, just as Qi Li's agent and the people around him never mentioned Starlight without calling her a bitch, the people around Starlight frequently badmouthed Qi Li as well.
As for the specific names they called him, Starlight took one look at Qi Li and felt those insults were completely divorced from reality.
In short, seeing a peer who was strong enough to protect himself appear and actively ask about her gave the long-repressed Starlight an instant sense of relief, and she opened up without hesitation.
"I thought joining the Super Seven meant I could do more good and take down bigger, more dangerous criminals," she said. "Instead, when I finally got to take part in a crime-fighting bust, the entire thing... was totally different from what I imagined.
"'Hey, Starlight, you're supposed to say this line here. Hey, Starlight, punches aren't aesthetic; use your legs more—the audience prefers watching you kick enemies to death with those legs. Hey, Starlight, grab the bad guy by the neck, hoist him up, and turn sideways toward the camera here...' To hell with all that 'hey, hey, hey'! It felt like I was on a reality TV set. I even started suspecting the criminals were just hired actors."
For a moment, it was as if the floodgates had burst, and Starlight vented relentlessly.
"And that night, when I actually did something truly good and saved a girl from two bastards? Madelyn—the Vought VP who oversees us—couldn't have cared less about the truth. All she saw in the video was me beating those two scumbags, and she was ready to fire me on the spot! Then, after the public narrative turned around, they made me wear this... humiliating new suit, claiming it represents being bold, brave, and feminist."
At that point, Starlight looked down at her revealing costume and couldn't resist asking Qi Li, "Do you think this new suit embodies feminism or female empowerment?"
Qi Li answered honestly, "It feels more like sluttish club-girlism and male-pleasing empowerment."
"Whoa..." Starlight blinked in surprise, not expecting Qi Li to be so blunt, but she thanked him nonetheless: "Thanks for your honesty."
"Just stating the obvious," Qi Li accepted the gratitude with a calm shrug.
Starlight wasn't thrown off by the interjection. Knowing that Qi Li shared the exact thoughts she had harbored back then, she felt even more driven to vent about everything regarding the Super Seven.
As Qi Li listened, he realized that a large part of Starlight's struggle stemmed from the fact that she had never attended Godkin University.
From freshman year onward, Godkin University drummed the importance of media, the intricacies of the superhero industry, and acting classes into every student.
Most importantly, through the real-time ranking list, all students were driven to do whatever it took to boost their fame, which accelerated their growth.
By contrast, Starlight—a devout Christian who spent most of her time attending church functions and fighting genuine crime back in her hometown—was far less worldly. Or rather... she was naive.
Naturally, Qi Li was also surprised by some of the Super Seven operations Starlight described.
From the sound of it, most of the Seven's crime-fighting missions were practically scripted.
Their primary occupation seemed to have shifted entirely to being superstars, with over ninety percent of their time poured into commercial gigs, endorsements, shoots, and galas.
"Besides that..."
Starlight paused for a moment before gritting her teeth and adding, "I used to look up to some of the members of the Seven. But there are real scumbags in there! And... I guess distance makes the heart grow fonder, because the reality is worlds apart from what I used to imagine."
Qi Li's eyes lit up. She had finally touched on the core subject.
He immediately lowered his voice and asked, "Homelander?"
Among all the superheroes, the one Qi Li cared about and feared most was undoubtedly Homelander.
No matter whom he asked, everyone said Homelander was a saint.
Even when it came to dating, Homelander's only girlfriend to date had been Queen Maeve.
That was way too un-Western!
If not for the fact that Homelander had never been involved in scandals with men, Qi Li would have suspected the guy was gay.
If a person like that wasn't a genuine saint, then he had to be something far more terrifying than a saint.
Qi Li had to find out for sure.
Only then could he be prepared.
Chapter 47