Chapter 180 The Most Powerful Heir of Empire City is About to Reveal His Identity
Dennis flicked her forehead lightly. "Lost in thought?" "Nothing." Lily held back, but resolve hardened, she'd unravel it all.
The car soon arrived outside the school.
Lily shot him a glance. "Off to school now. Keep that arm dry in the shower for the next few days, got it?"
Dennis's brow furrowed faintly, though he stayed silent. Lily fished Band-Aids from her bag, applying four around the wound. "Much better now."
"These hold up in water?" "Hardly, they'll betray any shower splash." Triumph lit Lily's face. "Heading out."
Dennis tracked her retreating figure into school, eyeing the pink band-aids sheathing his arm.
A smirk tugged his lips. So childish. Still, Dennis left the Band-Aids untouched.
Dennis held his gaze until Lily vanished inside the school, then his eyes shadowed ominously. Danger laced his voice. "Where are those scum?"
Earlier, in front of Lily, he hadn’t made a move, but that didn’t mean he was letting this go.
Cameron glanced at his phone. "Rounded them up and roughed them up already. Your orders?"
Dennis rolled down the window, resting one hand on the window frame, his fingers tapping. His voice was cold: "Sew that male coach's mouth shut. Warn him to watch...""What he says. Then have them testify to make sure that disgusting man stays locked up for life."
Cameron nodded. "Vermin like them belong behind bars, releasing them poisons everyone." Dennis stared at the Empire City University dorms, lost in contemplation.
Dennis's phone buzzed then. He eyed the caller ID, paused, then picked up. "Hey, Mom." "Injured?" Celeste pressed.
Dennis’s gaze deepened. "No."
"Think you can fool me? I know about the hospital." Dennis massaged his temples. "Barely a scratch, Mom."
"Is this injury also because of that girl? Last time you had that car accident, you were with her too!"
"It has nothing to do with her."
Dennis knew that going to the Gonzalez family hospital would definitely reach his family, but since they were already there, he had no choice—otherwise, Lily might get suspicious.
"Dennis, if she's the one, I won't object, bring her around. Who are her parents?" Weight thickened his tone. "No point in meeting."
"Don’t tell me her family background is very ordinary. You’ve always had high standards since childhood." "With girls flocking to you, an average one catches your eye?" "Separate issue. And stop digging into her." Dennis cut in.
"I’d like to, but you’re protecting her so tightly.""Who could uncover dirt anyway? I've poked around endlessly, no leads. You're shielding her tight."
If he didn't care, why would he do this?
Their talk tapered into silence. Celeste sighed, ending the call. Dennis stared at his phone, then dialed Mark.The sound of bar music came through.
"Where are you?"
"Dennis, I’m at a bar. You coming?" Mark shouted back.
"Go home and spend time with your mom these next few days. Stop fooling around."Dennis clicked off swiftly. Mark's chaos at home would drain that woman's focus from him.
Cameron nervously spoke up, "Mr. Gonzalez, I shouldn't have taken you to the private hospital. It was my mistake."
Celeste's call hit Cameron hard, he cursed taking Dennis to that hospital, too visible to their circle.
Dennis slowly closed his eyes. "Just focus on keeping her safe."
He could handle things on his end.
Back in her dorm, Lily replayed the gym scene. Who knew unflappable Dennis hid such a reckless streak?
That punch unleashed a stranger, raw, unlike his polished detachment. Did Dennis conceal a secret identity?
The next day, Zoey forwarded a post to her.
"I heard a pervert got arrested at the gym across from school.You need to be really careful at the gym—apparently…" "Plenty of girls have tangled with that creep there." Lily tapped the post, yesterday's fiasco, clear as day.
Looks like she guessed right. That jerk had succeeded several times and even hurt those girls
College girls stood no chance against a grown brute, let alone a serial predator. Thank goodness she purged a menace from society yesterday.
But Dennis got hurt. She took out her phone to message him:
[You awake?]
Dennis: [What’s up?]
Lily: [Send me a photo.]
Dennis, propped against his headboard, shot back: [Of where?] Lily glimpsed the reply and slammed her phone screen dark, panic flaring at prying eyes.
She calmed down, then opened her phone again to reply:
[The band-aids I put on yesterday.]
Dennis: [Still there.]
Lily: [I don’t believe you. Show me.]
Dennis: [Why don’t you come see for yourself?]
Lily stared at the chat window. Could this guy ever talk normally?
After class, Lily went to the team’s base. She needed to train with the team members.
Their sights set on next year's competition, relentless effort now offered any shot at the finals.
Lily signed on when a friend request popped up abruptly. The name read Mark. She paused, mind racing. She tapped accept, then typed: [How did you know my game ID?] Mark, lollipop twirling between his lips, smirked, of course he'd memorized his future sister-in-law's handle.
Preemptively charm his future sister-in-law, bolster Dennis's pursuit of her heart, thwart the forced union, this was his masterstroke!
Mark replied: [Anyone who’s your fan would know.]
Lily looked at Mark’s name, feeling conflicted because she thought this person was verylikely the one she had a crush on in her past life.
She paused for a moment and said: [I have a question for you.]
Mark: [What question? Go ahead and ask.]
He knew everything about Dennis, including his secrets. His feelings for Lily were as clear as day.
Lily hesitated. [Hypothetically—just hypothetically—in these finals, would you withdraw from the competition because of someone, or because of something?]
In her past life, Mark had abruptly bailed from the finals, stunning all, without a word. Whispers even pinned it on threats from the Roberts Group.
Lily knew Mark hailed from the Gonzalez dynasty, the Roberts lacked such sway. Mark eyed her question, confusion clouding his gaze.
Why was Lily asking such a question?
It caught him completely off guard!
Seeing that Mark hadn’t replied for a long time, Lily typed: [If it’s hard to answer, forget it.]
Mark: [It is kind of hard to answer.]I haven't mulled that yet. But my pro ethics run deep, I'd never ditch a tourney without cause.]
Let alone the finals.
But if Lily was asking this, she must have her reasons.
Was she probing his gaming devotion? His mom forbade pro play, after all. Without Dennis's pact, he'd have no shot whatsoever.
Mark thought for a moment: [I thought about it—there is indeed one person who could make me withdraw from the finals.]
Dennis!