Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

"Link, Jesus from the car repair shop said this is a 1966 Pontiac GTO second generation, worth at least 200,000 US dollars, and there's nowhere to buy it. How did you get it for 100,000?"

Daniel returned after taking the cars for a spin and handed back the keys, curiously bringing up the price of the car.

Link, hanging upside down from the rack and holding a 40-pound weight plate, waved his hand, "Don't disturb me, I'm working out."

Daniel turned his face to look at him, jokingly said, "Link, did some rich lady buy it for you?"

Link ignored him, and continued doing his sit-ups.

"Link, take a look at me, I'm not bad-looking either, and I've got muscles too. Why don't you bring me along, and we can conquer Miami's wealthy women together, how about that?"

Michael from the surf shop flexed his arms' muscles and winked suggestively as he spoke.

"Link, did really a rich lady buy you that sports car? Are you doing right by your late Grandpa Baker?"

James frowned, looking at him with a touch of sympathy.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Scram, all of you scram!"

Link said darkly, waving the weight plate.

The three of them ran off laughing and joking.

Ding-a-ling-a-ling!

The phone rang. Link ignored it the first time, but on the second ring, James ran inside from outdoors, picked up the phone from the living room coffee table, and handed it to him, hesitating before saying,

"It's Taylor's call, I'd support you being with Taylor over that rich lady."

"Thanks, you can go out now."

Link took the phone, flipped over to sit on the rack, and answered Taylor's call.

"Link, is it true what they're saying in the news? Are you really dating Emma Watson?"

Taylor asked with a thick nasal voice, sounding like she was crying.

"Me and Emma?"

Link slightly frowned. Had the news about him dating Emma Watson been leaked by the paparazzi?

He jumped down from the rack and walked towards the counter, speaking to Taylor as he walked, "Fake news. I know Emma, but we are not dating."

"Really? You're not dating Emma Watson?"

Taylor's voice brightened, as if she had heard some very happy news.

"Yes, we are just friends."

Link shrugged his shoulders.

Yesterday, Emma had mentioned that her family and agency thought she was too young, and her fans were also young. She was supposed to maintain a pure, academically-oriented public image for now and it would be best to avoid any public relationships, so their dates had to be kept secret and not told to others.

Link did not object.

Having a girlfriend meant daily check-ins, phone calls to attend to, being there for her when she's happy, and comforting her when she's not. In short, it was troublesome and could interfere with his routine training.

Emma's suggestion suited him as well.

Since Emma's side didn't plan to publicly acknowledge their relationship, when Taylor brought it up, he was able to say without any burden that he wasn't dating Emma.

He arrived at the counter, turned on the laptop, and used Google to search for Emma Watson.

The web pages were all news about Emma Watson's new love affair.

There was a set of photos taken by someone when he and Emma hugged farewell on a train. Yahoo Entertainment News stated that "Harry Potter" leading lady Emma Watson, while filming in Orlando, was dating a mystery man in Miami.

Since in the photos he was wearing sunglasses, his face was not clearly visible, but his tall and sturdy build, along with his handsome, chiseled facial contours, could be seen.

Many reports speculated about the identity of the new boyfriend.

But soon some media outlets released photos of Link, claiming that the man was Miami boxer Link Baker, the Golden Gloves championship super middleweight titleholder, and one of the "Boxing" magazine's top newcomers of the year.

Comparison by netizens concluded that the resemblance to Link was about 90%.

Emma Watson was one of the four new "it girls" recently chosen by The Hollywood Reporter, enjoying considerable popularity.

Following the exposure of the scandal, news of the two's dates graced various major news websites, with the story gaining widespread traction.

"Link, how did you end up with Emma Watson?"

Taylor asked.

"We met during a competition."

Link briefly explained how he met Emma in Orlando.

After listening, Taylor let out a sigh of relief and asked, "Link, do you have a girlfriend right now?"

"No! I've been training recently and I don't have time to look for a girlfriend."

"That's great, how about I be your girlfriend?"

"What?"

Link's hand paused as he slid the mouse, and his attention turned back to the phone.

"Link, I like you. From the first moment I saw you, I fell for you. Since leaving Miami, I think about you every day. I wrote three songs for you, so can we date?"

Over the phone, Taylor finished speaking in one breath, her tone urgent with a slight pant in her voice.

Link didn't know how to respond to Taylor. Being liked by a future music superstar was naturally something to be happy about.

But Taylor's professed affection seemed unreliable. If she really liked him, why would she have left Miami in such a hurry? Why would she have missed their date during the finals? And why, after such a long time and hearing he was dating someone else, would she suddenly make a phone call to confess her feelings?

And she wrote three songs for him?

Could that really represent the extent of her affection?

"Link, are you not speaking because you agree?"

Taylor asked cautiously.

Link thought she was quite brave and laughed, "Taylor, this is all so sudden, I'm a bit surprised. I didn't know you would like a guy like me."

"But I really do like you, very much. I've been busy promoting my new album and haven't had time to come to Miami. My schedule is lighter next month. Can I come to Miami Beach then and spend time with you? We can go diving, play the guitar, sing songs, and watch the rain pour down at sea, okay?"

Listening to her description, Link imagined the scenario and felt it was full of love. However, next month, he had to compete and train, and the month after that, he was going to Han Jing for the Olympics.

And since Taylor had just debuted, she would surely be busy too, and her time would be very limited.

Dating each other seemed impractical.

"Taylor, this kind of matter is not convenient to discuss over the phone. How about we wait until you come to Miami, spend some time together, and then decide whether we want to date or not?"

"Okay! Link, wait for me. I'll come to Miami soon. When I'm there, I'll teach you how to play the guitar and sing."

Taylor said happily.

"Okay!"

After hanging up, Link suddenly felt it was quite peculiar. Before the call, he was a standard bachelor, and after the call, he suddenly had a potential girlfriend, the future queen of the sea, Taylor Swift?

Link shook his head, certain that Taylor must have seen the rumours about him and Emma and felt provoked, like someone had snatched away a snack she liked, and made a rash decision in impulse.

It couldn't be taken seriously.

Ding-a-ling!

The phone rang again.

It was Emma Watson calling.

Emma's voice too was tinged with melancholy as she said that after their scandal broke, her aunt scolded her for keeping secrets and both her mother and father called, telling her to return home as soon as she finished filming. Read exclusive chapters at empire

Link comforted her, telling her that he would drive to Orlando to see her in a couple of days, as it only took two hours to drive there from Miami, which was very convenient.

Emma cheered up instantly, her voice turning joyous as she asked him to come over that night.

Link said that there were too many paparazzi around her these days and going now would make it easy to get photographed, which wouldn't be good. They should wait until the media frenzy died down.

Emma reluctantly agreed, planting several kisses through the phone before hanging up.

But before the phone was put down, the voice of Emma's aunt, Irene, came through.

Irene, in a stern and formal tone, told him that she hoped he would keep his statements in line with Emma's agency's publicity and not disclose their relationship to reporters.

It would be best to maintain silence in front of the media, claiming it was for Emma's best interest. Emma was only eighteen, and her fans wanted her to be like Hermione: intelligent, pure, and studious. A public romance would not suit Emma.

Link agreed.

After hanging up, he glanced at the time and realized an hour had passed since he had left the training rig.

He had lost a full hour of training.

Coach Liu was right; dating was a boxer's taboo.

Link decided to train an extra two hours to make up for the lost time.