Chapter 136 - 134: Saul Thorne’s Ascension
"I can wait two years for you!"
It was easy to imagine just how much weight those words carried coming from Chad Hector. Hearing them, many people in the crowd turned to look at Ethan Sterling with envy.
This was a championship-winning coach in their country. Every team he had ever led had reached the world stage and won numerous championship trophies in leagues both large and small.
To be regarded so highly by him showed just how outstanding Ethan Sterling’s performance had been today.
Ethan Sterling was a bit overwhelmed by the favor, but he quickly pulled out his phone to add Chad Hector on WhatsApp. He said humbly, "Chad Hector, I think I was just playing way above my usual level today. It was my first time against a pro team, so I just wanted to go all out. That’s why I played so aggressively. I was lucky I didn’t make any mistakes, otherwise I would’ve just made a fool of myself."
Hearing this, Chad chuckled. "That just proves you’re a clutch player. Your team lacks professional coaching and experience in major tournaments, so your weaknesses are pretty obvious—a lack of coordination and macro strategy. But you guys have the fearlessness of youth, daring to fight and take risks. That’s an advantage, too. I’ve never believed in those four words, ’playing above your level.’ In my book, if you can perform at that level, then that *is* your level. There’s no such thing as playing ’above’ it!"
Ethan Sterling smiled and scratched his head, a little embarrassed by Chad’s praise.
"Yo, Chad, found another promising sprout?"
Just then, another man with a buzz cut and wearing a suit walked over. Though his words were directed at Chad, his eyes were sizing up Ethan Sterling.
The man’s appearance caused another stir among the kids. It was Silas, the head coach of the Veridia New-G Team.
Chad looked at Silas and smiled. "Didn’t you watch the last match? This kid’s pretty incredible. Reminds me a bit of Black Cleaver back in the day."
"Of course I watched. Ethan Sterling, right?" Silas gave a slight smile, a hint of slyness in his expression. He raised an eyebrow at Ethan and asked, "Ever consider coming to my team? We’re both from Veridia. Shouldn’t you join a Veridia team?"
"Silas, you’re crossing a line. Poaching him right in front of me?" Chad joked.
Silas shrugged. "It’s fair competition. Besides, you’ve never been short on promising prospects, Chad. Your substitute bench must be full, right?"
Chad didn’t take the bait, simply saying, "The kid’s a high school senior preparing for his college entrance exams. Let’s not rush things. We’ll see what fate has in store."
"Is that so? Well, the exams are more important."
Chad’s team was up next, so he didn’t say much more. He exchanged a few more words with Ethan Sterling and then left.
Silas watched him walk away before letting out a cold sneer. He turned to Ethan Sterling, who was still basking in his joy, and his expression suddenly turned serious. "When you’re looking to go pro and sign with a team, keep your eyes wide open. Be careful you don’t waste your best years."
Ethan Sterling froze at his words, staring at Coach Silas for a moment before nodding.
He hadn’t said it outright, but there was clearly a hidden meaning. Ethan Sterling was smart; he understood.
"Thank you, Coach Silas. I understand."
Seeing this, Silas raised an eyebrow again with a smile, reverting to his nonchalant, swaggering demeanor as he sauntered away.
Only then did his friends swarm him excitedly. Whether or not Ethan Sterling would eventually walk the path of a pro gamer, being praised and invited by two championship-winning coaches today was, in their eyes, the coolest thing ever.
Cecilia Sterling had watched her brother’s entire match. Even though they lost in the end, she saw how he gave it his all on stage, and he was truly dazzling.
She sent her brother a large red envelope with a message: "I watched the match. You were amazing today. I’m so proud of you!"
*
Throughout the day, Cecilia Sterling repeatedly took out her phone, wanting to call Randall Jennings.
But in the end, she resisted the impulse.
Calming down, she thought it through. ’Calling him now would be pointless. Our team’s project doesn’t have any definitive results yet, so anything I tell him would just be a hypothetical.’
’Making empty promises is a big taboo in business. Mr. Jennings is an incredibly busy man. If I waste his time, it will only diminish his trust and goodwill toward me.’
’So, to be safe, I’ll wait a little longer. The timing will only be right after the project successfully completes its first round of testing.’
The following days were quite peaceful for Cecilia Sterling. Saul Thorne was very busy, but he still made time to come to the university to see her. When time allowed, the two of them would also go out on dates.
Near the end of October, by the shore of Lakeshore Heights in Lorcain, Saul Thorne confessed his feelings to Cecilia.
There was no long, soul-baring confession. Saul Thorne simply looked her seriously in the eyes and asked her in a simple, sincere tone, "Cecilia, let’s be together, okay?"
Cecilia didn’t hesitate for long. Saul had spoken up because he felt they were both on the same page and that the time was right.
And she felt the same way.
So she nodded and agreed.
In that moment, the emotion in Saul Thorne’s eyes was no longer restrained. It was a brilliant, unconcealed joy and excitement. He eagerly cupped Cecilia’s face and kissed her.
The first to hear the news were, naturally, Estelle Goodman and Blair. Both were somewhat shocked to hear that the handsome police officer’s confession had been successful and that Cecilia was officially off the market.
But beyond the shock, they also felt it was to be expected.
A uniform fetish, eight-pack abs, and the "professional" halo—the sexual tension was maxed out. It’d be hard to say no to that!
Besides, Captain Thorne had been incredibly attentive to Cecilia these past few days. He would even report the details of his daily patrols to her, telling them like stories.
Every night before bed, he would video call Cecilia for a little while. Cecilia would leave the video on while she did her own thing, and he would be content just watching her for a bit before saying goodnight and hanging up to sleep.
It sounded like a perfectly normal interaction for a couple, but when the person in question was Saul Thorne, it created a kind of charming contrast.
Thinking back to the man they had seen at the police station that night, who would have thought he’d be like this with Cecilia?
It was just as Cecilia had said: "Cops are people too. Take off the uniform, and they’re all the same!"
On this day, they returned to Omnia Tower, the location of their first date.
Holding hands, they made their way to the revolving restaurant on the top floor of the tower. As they passed the mall’s restrooms, Cecilia asked Saul Thorne to wait outside for her.
But when she came out and was just about to round the corner, she vaguely heard someone talking to Saul Thorne.
"Saul Thorne, what a coincidence. I didn’t expect to run into you here."
The speaker was a beautiful young woman in a tight black dress. Her wavy, tea-colored hair was very sexy. She was carrying a Dior bag in one hand and holding the arm of the man beside her with the other, her eyes fixed on Saul Thorne with an unmistakable look of schadenfreude.
With his hands in his pockets, Saul Thorne looked at her, his expression completely unfazed. "Is it that surprising? Wasn’t I the one who brought you here for the first time?"
The woman’s expression stiffened at his words, but the man beside her eyed Saul Thorne warily. "Darling, is this a friend of yours?"
The woman immediately let out a scornful laugh. "Oh, I forgot to introduce you. This is Officer Saul Thorne. He used to be the captain of the City of Lorcain’s Criminal Investigation Division. But then he violated protocol during a case and was demoted to some local precinct as a beat cop. But hey, a cop is a cop. Detectives, beat cops, they’re all the same in my book. What’s the difference? They all serve the people!"