Qi Li had always thought his bottom line was flexible enough.
Earning money wasn't shameful, after all.
Yet he never imagined that beneath every bottom line, there was a whole new low.
On his very first day at Vought, he was already on the verge of breaking down.
*Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap...*
"Brilliant! That is hands down the most brilliant hero origin story I've ever heard!"
Poppy clapped with feverish excitement, doing her best to play the enthusiastic hype woman.
Seth waved his hands modestly. "Thank you! Thank you! But we're not done yet. The biggest reveal is still to come."
Evan promptly cleared his throat.
Qi Li wore a look of utter despair.
Since things had already progressed this far, he might as well let the dynamic duo finish reciting their world-shattering masterpiece.
Evan put on a sorrowful expression and continued, "When they met once more, they had become familiar strangers—and each other's fiercest rivals."
Seth shook his head with a heavy sigh. "'Hey, Starlight,' he greeted her, feigning composure. 'Hey, Bronze,' she replied with a polite smile. Reality had turned two comrades who once fought side by side through life and death into mere strangers."
Evan spread his hands and looked to Seth. "What was he supposed to do? On one side was the woman he secretly loved; on the other was the coveted spot on the Super Seven he had dreamed of for years."
Seth's gaze shifted from hesitation to quiet resolve. "He remembered what Starlight had once told him: joining the Super Seven was her greatest dream. He thought back on his own years as a hero. If he failed to make the Super Seven, would all his hard work be in vain? No! He remembered the faces of those he had saved, smiling as they embraced their families. That was when he was truly happiest. His mind was made up: he would yield this opportunity to Starlight! To that end, he intentionally reduced his public exposure and cut back on PR resources!"
"And yet!!" Evan proclaimed, visibly moved. "He never imagined that Starlight remembered him just as deeply! She knew joining the Super Seven was his greatest dream too! She knew... that he held a place in her heart! And so, Starlight made the exact same refusal!"
"He stepped back."
"She stepped back too."
"He spread his wings to take flight, falling back again and again."
"She pursued him relentlessly, steadfast in her devotion!"
The corner of Qi Li's eye twitched uncontrollably.
Seth clasped his hands against his chest. "From beginning to end, they kept the truth from each other. All for the sake of letting the one they loved achieve their dream."
Evan raised a hand high, pouring his soul into the delivery. "In a world swept up in material greed, we have borne witness to a magnificent love!"
Qi Li buried his face in his hands.
"At last! He got what he wished for, and so did she."
"And yet! Starlight suffered the greatest setback of her life. Just when she was at her most helpless..."
"He arrived! He joined the Super Seven! He stood side by side with Starlight, their fingers interlacing, holding on tight!"
"'I'm here!'"
"'You... came!!'"
"'From this moment on...'"
"'We are together forever!'"
With that, Seth and Evan gazed deeply into each other's eyes, their fingers entwined, on the verge of tears from their own storytelling.
Qi Li peeled his hands from his face just in time to catch this eye-searing sight. His eyes rolled skyward, and he quickly looked away.
*Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap...*
Hot tears brimmed in Poppy's eyes as she broke into even thunderous applause.
Madelyn clapped along with evident satisfaction.
Turning to Qi Li with a smile, she said, "Bronze, this is your new origin story. The character profile is richer than before, the coming-of-age journey is more touching, and it adds the romance between Super Seven members that audiences love—just like Homelander and Queen Maeve back in the day. Trust me, once the campaign rolls out smoothly, your approval ratings and commercial value will skyrocket."
To be fair, Seth and Evan's pitch was undeniably marketable.
If only any of it were true.
Qi Li spread his hands, utterly drained. "It's a fantastic story, but over ninety percent of it is made up."
He had indeed grown up with three sets of foster parents.
Yet aside from the third pair being completely unhinged and constantly high out of their minds, the first two had simply parted ways with him due to personality clashes.
Furthermore, the third pair barely had enough stash for themselves; why would they ever share it with him?
Not to mention the mysteriously spawned 'Uncle Ben.'
Most importantly, he had never even met Starlight before this, let alone harbored an unrequited crush on her.
These people were hell-bent on shipping him and Starlight together, no matter what.
Seeing his reaction, Madelyn's smile faded slightly, replaced by a serious expression. "As long as the story is compelling, the audience doesn't care whether it's real or fake. They will open their wallets with boundless enthusiasm and chant the name 'Bronze.'"
She gestured to Poppy, taking the tablet handed to her, and continued, "Bronze, you were Professor Brink's student and took his Hero Brand Marketing class. Brink spoke very highly of you. You of all people should understand this."
Of course Qi Li understood.
To be honest, although he found having his childhood rewritten beyond recognition absurd, he could begrudgingly tolerate it.
It was all in the past anyway, and he had never been close with his former foster parents.
Besides, the revised narrative didn't tarnish his image. If anything, the stark contrast between his childhood hardships and his shining, selfless adult persona would move audiences even more.
That had been Seth and Evan's goal all along.
Eccentric though they were, they clearly knew their craft.
The only problem was: why tether him to Starlight? And why frame him like a lovesick simp?
Qi Li voiced his objection.
In response, Madelyn swiped across the tablet a few times and held it out to him, her voice brimming with excitement.
"Look at the latest data! The public satisfaction rating for you and Starlight as a pairing reached ninety-eight percent! Bronze, do you have any idea what that means?"
Qi Li honestly didn't. "What does it mean?"
Madelyn gestured toward Poppy.
Poppy could hardly contain her thrill as she addressed Qi Li: "Ninety-eight percent satisfaction! It means you and Starlight broke every record in the company's history! Oh my god! Honey, you made history! Homelander? Not even close! Soldier Boy? Forget it! Right now, you and Starlight are the public's favorite duo!"
Madelyn picked up where she left off. "Our phone lines have been flooded with calls. Fans are practically begging to see the two of you on screen together. Just like at last night's welcome event, there is an electric spark and chemistry between you."
She opened her arms, painting the grand vision. "Trust me, you will become the most famous male-female duo in Vought's history. Not just during livestreams, patrols, or crime-fighting coverage, but in movies, music, comic books... For instance, the comics division is about to reboot the universe with a new run called *Bronze: Origins*, featuring plenty of new interactions between you and Starlight. Add it all up, and tens of millions—even over a hundred million dollars—in royalties will effortlessly land in your pocket every year."
*Gulp.*
Hearing that staggering figure of Franklins, corporate worker Poppy swallowed hard.
Seth and Evan stared at Qi Li with unmasked envy.
That was more money than they could earn in a lifetime of scriptwriting.
Seemingly swayed, Qi Li offered a suggestion of his own: "In the comics, no matter how many times you reboot the universe, make sure my uncle's name stays Ben."
That way, behind every superhero named Bronze, there would always be an Uncle Ben's grave.
If he ever ran into Spider-Man:
*"Your uncle was named Ben?"*
*"Yours was too?"*
The two of them would exchange looks, each pulling out a photo packed with Uncle Ben headstones. That would be sheer perfection.
"No problem!" Madelyn assumed Qi Li had fully agreed and nodded immediately, glancing over at the writers.
Seth and Evan paused briefly, their minds racing, before their eyes lit up.
"Ben is a great name."
"Soldier Boy's name was Ben."
"Bronze grew up loving Soldier Boy's comics and movies."
"Uncle Ben possessed the same noble character as Soldier Boy Ben."
"In a way, he is the living embodiment of Soldier Boy's ideals."
"Flawless!!"
Qi Li shrugged. If they wanted to tack on a dead role model, whatever made them happy.
However, there was one thing he had to make clear: "I have a girlfriend."
Poppy, waiting on standby, was already prepared. "Kate Dunlap from Godkin? Don't worry, she loves you deeply, Bronze, right? If so, she'll understand what's best for your career and won't get in the way. Besides, the company has high hopes for her future and will allocate resources to her."
Madelyn nodded, adding in her calm tone as Vought's Vice President, "Indeed. Vought has kept an eye on Miss Dunlap and will ramp up development for her moving forward."
Qi Li smiled. "Then I'll thank you on Kate's behalf. But she's not the only one I'm talking about."
Poppy's heart skipped a beat, a sense of dread creeping in. "Not the only one? What do you mean?"
Qi Li scratched his head in mock embarrassment. "I mean there are far too many women I'm currently seeing. Lily, Mary, Carly, Lori... There are too many whose names end with that sound alone. I can't help it. I've already been upfront with them, telling them to go find their own true loves. But they won't listen. They keep calling me, and I don't have the heart to turn them away. *Sigh...*"
Silence fell over the room.
The two women froze.
Madelyn promptly turned to Poppy, who recalled Qi Li's dossier. His dating history indeed spanned several pages.
Though she suspected Qi Li was exaggerating, Poppy gave a cautious nod.
As for Seth and Evan, their envious gazes toward Qi Li burned even hotter than when they heard the royalty figures.
Seth glanced down at his frostbitten lower half, his expression dimming with gloom.
Just then, another thought occurred to Qi Li, and he added, "Oh, right, almost forgot to mention. A lot of my female friends happen to be Hollywood starlets. Once my 'romance' with Starlight is officially announced and sparks a media frenzy, I'm fairly certain they will..."
Qi Li trailed off, offering a knowing look.
Madelyn understood all too well.
The moment Bronze and Starlight went public, those Hollywood actresses wouldn't hesitate to ride the massive publicity wave and milk his clout dry.
Even bad publicity was still publicity!
Normally, that wouldn't be an issue.
Yet the narrative they had crafted for Bronze and Starlight was an innocent, childhood-sweetheart romance where the two would walk through fire for each other—not a tale of Bronze hooking up with half of Hollywood on his way to Starlight.
Promoting that fairy tale under these conditions could easily trigger a disastrous backlash.
Madelyn rubbed her temples, thoroughly exasperated.
They had to revise the plan!
When Qi Li walked out of the room, he was in high spirits.
Under the finalized proposal, he and Starlight would no longer be presented as a couple, and the secret crush storyline was scrapped. However, their on-screen interactions would remain frequent, maintaining an ambiguous tension that left everything open to interpretation.
There was no helping it; a ninety-eight percent satisfaction rating was simply too lucrative to abandon!
Vought would never give up on the Bronze-Starlight duo.
Marketing had estimated that sales from a joint figurine line alone would net the company hundreds of millions in fresh revenue.
To say nothing of other merchandise.
A cash cow like that could never be discarded.
Qi Li was perfectly fine with this arrangement.
After all, compared to starting every future date by having to explain that he and Starlight were only dating on paper—and constantly worrying about scandals blowing up—this new setup carried zero moral baggage. No matter how much they flirted, there was no persona to collapse.
It suited him perfectly.
And his earnings would still skyrocket.
He gave his nod of approval to the updated plan.
As for the other party, Starlight, Madelyn assured him there would be no problem at all.
"Starlight, Miss Stillwell wants to see you."
"Oh."
Passing Starlight in the corridor, Qi Li delivered the message.
Not long after, Starlight's shrill scream echoed from the Vice President's office:
*"WHAT?!"*
Qi Li shrugged and went on his way.
...
The weather was clear and bright.
Down across the bustling metropolis of New York, heavy traffic crawled along the avenues, and dense crowds packed the main thoroughfares like swarms of tiny black dots.
*BOOM—*
A sharp sonic crack echoed through the sky.
As a third-generation New Yorker, Mike was nothing like those obnoxious out-of-towners and tourists who made a fuss over every little sound, eagerly lifting their phones to record while babbling endlessly.
It was just a superhero flying overhead.
What was the big deal?
He had heard those sounds countless times growing up. Immersed in it over the years, he could sometimes tell which hero was flying by ear alone.
For instance, right now, wasn't that just... wasn't that...
"It's Bronze and Starlight! I'm actually seeing them! Holy shit! They're waving at me!!"
A classic Boston accent suddenly erupted beside Mike.
Frowning, Mike turned to look. A grown man getting that worked up over Bronze and Star—
Wait!
Bronze and Starlight?!!
"OH MY GOD!! BRONZE!! STARLIGHT!! I'M YOUR NUMBER ONE FAN!!"
Mike ripped off his shirt on the spot, revealing a fresh tattoo stretching across his chest and abdomen—a Starlight Bronze Sword—as he wildly waved his arms toward the sky.
It was the wildly popular collaborative product symbolizing the two heroes: a bronze sword adorned with golden stars along the blade.
There were toy versions for kids, collector figurines, replica editions, adult novelty versions, and more, all flying off the shelves faster than they could be stocked.
Die-hard fans of the duo had even tattooed the emblem onto their skin to prove their devotion.
Because Mike's flailing was impossible to miss, Qi Li and Starlight, cruising slowly through the air, caught sight of him and gave a casual wave.
"Oh my god! Oh my god! They saw me! They're waving at me! Holy shit!"
In that moment, Mike went wilder than the Bostonian beside him.
Chapter 88