Tonight, the Universe Will Shine for Him (Seeking Collection!)

Hawk left the old gym and headed toward the parking lot.

He had no idea what happened behind him.

But even if he did, he wouldn't have cared.

Though Spider-Man was hailed as the number one IP character in American comics, truth be told, Hawk and Peter weren't close.

Even if they were in the same grade.

By the time Hawk reached the parking lot with his single-strap bag, the door of the last orange school bus was already open.

A bearded driver in school uniform was slumped over the steering wheel, fiddling with a portable radio.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Hall," Hawk said politely as he boarded. "Any special news today?"

The bearded Mr. Hall looked unusually fierce.

But Mr. Hall wasn't fierce at all.

Quite the opposite.

He was a good man.

"Still the news about the Quantico Building collapse—they're saying it's a terrorist attack," Mr. Hall said, glancing at Hawk as he fiddled with his radio, then checking his watch. "Hawk, you're two minutes later than yesterday."

Hawk shrugged.

"Sorry, took a little longer showering today."

"Good thing I know you ride with me every day, or I'd have driven to the school gate. Take a seat—we're heading out."

"Okay."

Hawk stayed polite, slung his bag over his shoulder, and walked toward the back.

Mr. Hall had already started the engine and was about to close the door to pick up students at the gate.

Just then.

Peter darted in from a distance and squeezed through the door just as it was about to shut.

Mr. Hall jumped.

"Holy..."

Seeming to realize swearing wasn't polite, he choked back the words, then looked at Peter, who was panting as he squeezed in, and then at Flash Thompson and his three friends running over from outside.

Flash Thompson and his lackeys didn't board the bus. They stood outside, staring at Peter.

Mr. Hall's gaze swept between Peter on the bus and Flash Thompson outside, then he frowned at Flash. "Hey, you guys getting on?"

Flash Thompson glanced at Mr. Hall, said nothing, turned, and walked off with his three cronies, looking disgruntled.

Bullying a classmate was one thing. Bullying in front of school staff was another.

He was a bully, not a stupid bully.

Peter wasn't stupid either, so after Mr. Hall closed the door, he thanked him.

Mr. Hall glanced at Peter but said nothing.

He knew what was going on, but as long as no bullying happened on his bus, it was fine.

Elsewhere?

He was just a bus driver. Not his business, not his problem.

Peter didn't say anything more either. He turned to find a seat, spotted Hawk sitting in the back by the window, thought for a moment, and walked over.

"Thanks."

"..."

Hawk, who had been staring out the window, lost in thought about the early morning—also the next day—snapped back to attention. He looked at Peter standing in front of him, expressionless. "I didn't help you with anything. No need to thank me."

After saying that, he turned his gaze back out the window and ignored Peter.

He didn't know if Peter had mutated yet.

Probably not into the Spider-Man he remembered.

But even if Peter had mutated, Hawk didn't want to deal with him.

To be precise, he didn't want to deal with any superheroes.

Superheroes sounded nice, but in reality, they were tightly tied to all kinds of disasters.

Before his cheat activated, he never planned to chase after these superheroes. He just wanted to live a long life—reborn once, at least die of old age.

If possible, study hard, improve every day, and try to live a little more freely.

Now that his cheat was online, Hawk's original intention hadn't changed.

Only...

From living a little more freely, it became: if possible, live a little longer, live a little more freely.

But regardless of which one, the prerequisite for achieving this goal was the same.

One sentence.

Don't get involved in superheroes' messes.

So even after enrolling and learning about Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, he had no intention of actively seeking them out.

Gwen was different, though.

No helping it.

Gwen was their eleventh-grade student assistant, but dating the universally recognized first girlfriend of American comics, Gwen Stacy?

Hawk had no such thoughts—at least not now.

He wasn't qualified for love yet.

Peter watched Hawk, who turned his head back to the scenery after saying that, opened his mouth as if to say more, but after a moment's thought, chose to shut it and turned to sit on the right-side seat.

Soon.

The school bus pulled up to the gate. As Mr. Hall opened the door, the students waiting outside for the last free bus ride boarded one after another.

The once-quiet interior quickly became a buzz of chatter.

An hour later.

Jackson Heights arrived.

Mr. Hall, opening the door, looked at Hawk already standing by the exit and smiled in farewell.

"See you tomorrow, Hawk."

"See you tomorrow, Mr. Hall."

Hawk replied politely, stepped off the bus, and headed toward a nearby five-story old apartment building with a mottled orange facade.

This old apartment building was owned by the New York City Housing Authority.

Hawk's apartment was on the fifth floor. It wasn't large, but it had one advantage: he could easily reach the rooftop via the fire escape outside his window.

Soon.

Back home, Hawk set his backpack on the table, pulled out a plastic bag of laundered clothes, grabbed two hangers, opened the window, and climbed out along the fire escape to the apartment rooftop.

After hanging the clothes to dry, he walked to the railing, propped his hands on it, and looked up at the planes that occasionally streaked across the sky, heading to or taking off from nearby LaGuardia Airport.

Enjoying the breeze while counting planes.

It was one of his few ways to unwind.

But recently, he'd picked up a new hobby.

Stargazing!

Night fell.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, leaning against the apartment's ventilation shaft, Hawk savored the summer evening breeze while gazing at the starry sky emerging after dusk.

The cosmos was vast.

Stars dotted the expanse.

Maybe it was an illusion.

Since half a year ago, Hawk felt that as he kept up his daily routine of ten thousand punches, he somehow seemed to connect with the boundless starry sky.

Today, that feeling was even stronger.

Constellations that had been blurry to the naked eye last night were now strikingly clear.

Pegasus!

Draco!

Cygnus!

Andromeda!

Phoenix!

Lacerta!

The forty-eight constellations symbolizing the forty-eight Bronze Saints, in Hawk's eyes right now.

It seemed.

Tonight.

The entire universe would shine for him!!