I Have a Girlfriend in Marvel

The latter half of the grand opening celebration went much more smoothly.

After Tung Fu Rue's antics, everyone had witnessed Su Ye's formidable strength. His Super Cracking Blast was a complete game-changer, instantly quelling any thoughts of challenging him.

Now, everyone was solely focused on building a good relationship with the Shiranui Dojo. Ideally, they could send their children there to train. They didn't need to master everything—just reaching the level of the "No-Shadow Kick" would suffice.

As for themselves, they decided against it. Most were either established martial artists or direct disciples of their dojos. Switching allegiance would be too embarrassing.

Su Ye and Mai Shiranui didn't mind. These older martial artists would be difficult to manage anyway. As long as they sent their kids, that was enough.

If all the children of New York's martial arts instructors trained at the Shiranui Dojo, the publicity would far surpass any repetitive, brainwashing advertisements like those "buy-buy-buy" holiday jingles.

The only tough nut to crack was Tung Fu Rue.

He outright refused to leave the dojo, claiming he was staying undercover to expose Su Ye as a cheating fraud.

When Su Ye later challenged him to a one-on-one fight, Tung Fu Rue outright refused.

"You said it was a draw, and I reluctantly agreed. Now you want to humiliate yourself again in a duel? Are you a masochist?"

Tung Fu Rue lounged lazily on the dojo's training floor, wearing an expression that screamed, "A dead pig isn't afraid of boiling water."

He had made up his mind—no matter what, he wouldn't fight Su Ye again. Not only was Su Ye a stamina monster, but his Super Cracking Blast hurt like hell. Worst of all was that mysterious white projectile. Until he could guarantee he wouldn't become the "Prince of Exploding Eggs," he wouldn't lift a finger against Su Ye.

However, since he had nowhere else to stay in New York, he shamelessly decided to stick around the Shiranui Dojo.

"Look, with so many students signing up today and just the two of you, there's no way you can manage them all. So, Master Tung here will graciously help train your disciples."

"Don't get too emotional just yet. Of course, I won't train them for free. Judging by the hefty tuition fees you're charging, just give me an easy $1 to $2 million a month, and I'll reluctantly accept."

Tung Fu Rue staying might also have something to do with the system. After all, he was Andy's teammate and close friend. He needed a reason to stick around.

Keeping him wasn't out of the question, but some things needed to be made clear first.

"If you insist on staying, you'll be responsible for the students' daily physical and basic training. Monthly salary: $3,000."

A monthly salary of $3,000—converted to Dragon Country currency, that was over ¥20,000, considered a decent income even in top-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen.

But this was New York, where the average annual salary was around $80,000, translating to a monthly salary of $6,666. $3,000 wasn't even half that.

With such an insulting offer, there was no way Tung Fu Rue would agree.

"That little? What do you take me for, a slave? Let me tell you, orcs never serve as slaves!"

"Room and board included."

"Deal!"

$3,000 with room and board to hire someone who could be considered a legendary figure in the global Muay Thai community to teach at his dojo? That was a steal, practically paying him in scraps.

But then again, this guy nearly destroyed the dojo.

Until he recouped the costs for renovations, rent, and damages, Su Ye planned to work Tung Fu Rue like a mule.

With Tung Fu Rue onboard, even with the large influx of students, the Shiranui Dojo soon found its rhythm.

Su Ye's life became a cycle of home, school, and the dojo. He was so busy and fulfilled that even his nightly Spider-Man "cosplay" outings became rare.

Except for the occasional emergency calls from Gwen, Su Ye's Spider-Man persona was mostly off-duty.

Being a hero had always been a hobby for him. Now that he had a dojo to manage, Su Ye naturally felt less inclined to act.

However, the media and fans, especially those of Iron Man, didn't see it that way.

Iron Man had only recently arrived in New York, and Spider-Man had gone silent shortly after. Wasn't it obvious that Spider-Man was afraid of Iron Man?

In no time, ridicule and insults targeting Spider-Man flooded social media, quickly trending.

"Spider-Man's hiding like a turtle—he should change his name to Turtle-Man!"

"Iron Man comes to New York, and Spider-Man's too scared to make a peep!"

"Iron Man shows Spider-Man who's boss!"

"This Spider-Man isn't New York's pride—he's New York's disgrace!"

It was obvious these trending topics were fueled by rival factions—trashing Spider-Man was their specialty.

Spider-Man's fans tried to fight back by launching their own hashtags.

#SpiderManTheTrueHeroByAvoidingPointlessFights#

#SpiderManShowsWisdomByRetreatingFromIronMan'sProvocations#

#ThisIsTheHeroWeNeed—FightingEvilNotSeekingGlory#

Unfortunately, calm fans and neutral bystanders were always in the minority. Most people were swayed by the earlier criticisms, and public sentiment was overwhelmingly hostile.

They believed Spider-Man should stand up for the city and defend New York's honor.

What they didn't know was that Su Ye had no interest in defending New York's honor. He'd rather spend that time strengthening his bond with Gwen.

Lately, Su Ye had been so busy with the dojo that he had inevitably neglected Gwen. Though she hadn't said anything, her displeasure was written all over her face.

To maintain his relationship with Gwen and deepen their bond—ideally to a level where he could come and go freely—Su Ye decided to ask her out for a movie.

Recently, a Dragon Country superhero movie had been released on a limited scale in the U.S. Apparently, it was supposed to be pretty good?

"Peach Blossom Warrior vs. Chrysanthemum Monster?" Gwen's eyebrows furrowed in disbelief.

"I'm not trying to diss your Dragon Country superhero films, but just from the title, this movie screams 'train wreck.'"

Su Ye scratched his head. He couldn't help it—this was the only popcorn flick available. The rest were dreary art films. If not this, would they rather sleep through one of those?

Wait a minute! Could it be…

Suddenly, Su Ye felt like he had grasped Gwen's intention.

Instead of watching this disaster, maybe she'd rather go to a midnight screening of an art film—to "sleep" in every sense of the word.

But, is it really okay to do this for the first time in a cinema?

It's said that many theaters have infrared cameras; you might even end up being watched live!

As he was lost in thought Gwen pulled out two tickets with a flourish, "The Stark Industries Expo opens tonight. Let's go watch the opening ceremony!"