I was a top student in America.

When Li Ao walked out of the teaching building, the corridor behind him was still noisy.

Although the thugs who had come to watch the spectacle dispersed, the gossip still spread rapidly.

In a place like Wyndham, any new news can spread throughout the east and west buildings in minutes.

In the classroom, Lin Jinni finally picked up her schoolbag.

A girl named Latoya, also from the track and field team, was squatting next to her. She nudged her with her elbow and muttered:

"Old Brown didn't get angry just now? What kind of crazy method did Li Ao use to get through this?"

Lin Jinni didn't even turn her head: "Maybe I've been studying hard in private lately."

How did you know?

"I saw it."

Latoya opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to gossip a bit more, but Lin Jinni had already slung her backpack over her shoulder and left.

Just as Li Ao reached the entrance of the teaching building, someone called out to him from behind:

"Wait a minute, Li Ao."

He turned around and saw Mr. Brown walking briskly from the bottom of the stairs, an old brown paper bag tucked under his arm.

The old man was clearly surprised to find someone actually doing math problems in this run-down school, and his attitude changed as a result.

"I have some old AP math materials here, not specifically for AMC12. You can take a look at them first."

Li Ao took it, felt its thickness, and found there were about twenty or thirty pages inside.

"Thank you, Mr. Brown."

Brown waved his hand, turned and took two steps, tossing out a sentence without looking back: "Remember, don't lose it."

The old man still used the same tone when he urged us to hand in our homework, but the meaning behind his words was completely different.

DeMarcus watched the whole thing from the sidelines, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

Damn it.

What kind of treatment is this?

The two boarded the school bus one after the other. DeMarcus squeezed next to Li Ao and stared intently at the old paper bag.

"This is outrageous! What kind of spell did you cast on Brown?"

He had naturally noticed Li Ao's recent unusual behavior.

It's one thing to read algebra books in class, but even Brown, who is usually very serious, is giving me extra materials. It's really weird.

We've been hanging out together for over two years, so who doesn't know the other's background?

"You little brat, have you been secretly going to tutoring classes?" DeMarcus couldn't hold back any longer.

"Have you ever seen a tutoring center that takes in penniless people?" Li Ao added. "Just study. How about you start learning algebra with me tomorrow?"

Upon hearing this, DeMarcus seemed to conjure up some image in his mind, and he shook his hands violently, leaning back repeatedly.

"Spare me, looking at that thing is harder than killing me. Getting a diploma and working as a box mover at Walmart would be better."

Li Ao smiled, didn't insist, leaned back in his chair, and picked up the materials that Teacher Brown had given him to read.

The school bus engine gave a muffled groan and slowly drove away from the Wyndham High School parking lot.

The next morning, Li Ao got up at 5:10 as usual, and it was just getting light when he arrived at the classroom.

The corridor was empty, with only the sound of the cleaning lady mopping the floor coming from afar.

The only person in the classroom was Lin Jinni, who had just finished her morning exercise. She looked up when she heard the noise, saw Li Ao, and nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

She had an SAT vocabulary book open beside her, and a printed table next to it.

Li Ao didn't exchange pleasantries. He walked to his seat, sat down, and opened his AP math materials to continue flipping through them.

A few minutes later, Lin Jinni suddenly spoke up: "Li Ao, are you really planning to participate in AMC12?"

"Um."

"I heard that... the early bird registration for AMC12 closes next week, and the registration fee will go up after that."

Upon hearing the news brought by Lin Jinni, Li Ao paused for a moment.

The early bird registration fee is $55, which will increase to $75 after October, and then to $110 if you register at the end of the year.

He now has $40 in "consultation fees" from Tayshaun, plus the odd jobs he's earned at the gym these past few days, which is enough to cover the registration fee.

The problem is that once you've saved up enough money, the money you saved for winter will be wasted.

"Thank you. I have a few more days. I'll work and earn some more money before I sign up. Are you going to participate too?" Li Ao asked.

Lin Jinni shook her head: "I don't have that ability, it would be a waste of money, but a regular customer at my restaurant mentioned it once."

After saying that, she continued to look down at her book.

The classroom fell silent again.

Li Ao looked at the documents in his hand, but his mind was preoccupied with something else:

I need to figure out how to squeeze out another $55 before the end of the month.

After school, Li Ao went to work at the "Iron Box" gym on 65th Street as usual.

When he arrived, TySean was already inside.

He wasn't training; instead, he was leaning against the front desk, drinking mineral water.

Seeing that the big, dark-skinned man was holding two folded pieces of paper, Li Ao understood immediately and nodded.

"I've looked up the list of NCAA core courses for you."

TySean handed over the papers—a printout of his high school transcript and a handwritten list of his target schools.

The names of the three universities were listed crookedly on lined paper.

"You said last time that the NCAA would recalculate GPAs according to their own standards, not necessarily the grades given by the schools." Tyshaun stared at him. "Then take a look at my situation."

The two henchmen behind TySean, one fat and one thin, also leaned their heads in to join in.

"Our leader is a starter on the school team, and he's one of the best in Illinois."

"Exactly, getting into these universities is a piece of cake."

Li Ao completely ignored the two guys and quickly glanced at the report card.

He had already seen a sample of Wyndham's transcript format in the library, so he knew which columns to look at.

"Your core course GPA is 2.7 according to the school's calculation method, which looks okay, but two of your courses—'Life Skills' and 'Health Education'—are not on the NCAA's list of accredited courses."

"If you remove those two courses, your GPA will definitely drop, to around 2.4." Li Ao paused for a moment. "Of the three schools on your list, one has a minimum requirement of 2.5 for athletic scholarships, another has 2.3, and I haven't found the third one yet, but it won't be lower than 2.2 by convention."

"Does that mean... there's one place where I basically have no chance?" Tyshaun's voice lowered.

"Applying directly with the current transcript, the chances of passing the initial screening are definitely very low. But it's not entirely hopeless..."

"What should we do then?"

When those three words came out of TyShaun Jackson's mouth, his two henchmen were dumbfounded.

In this neighborhood, a tough guy like him wouldn't easily ask others "what to do".

"Two options." Li Ao picked up a rag and started working. "First, see if you can take an NCAA-approved course this semester to improve your GPA."

"Second, try to create supplementary materials and find an excuse to explain why your GPA is a little low."

"I suggest you do both, just in case."

"Do you know how to prepare this 'supplementary material'?"

"Okay, I'll write a template for you. You can add some materials yourself, and I'll polish it for you." Li Ao nodded and added, "It'll be included in that forty yuan, but you have to do me another favor."

"What kind of busy?" Ty Shawn immediately became alert.

"Are basketball team tryouts held after the midterm exams?"

"Huh?" Ty Shawn didn't react for a moment, stunned for a second before looking Li Ao up and down again. "You? You want to join the basketball team?"

"Since you're planning to do this, and you're the captain of the school team, could you put in a good word for me with Coach Durant?"

Instead of directly answering whether it was possible or not, Tayshaun asked, "Have you ever played basketball?"

"I've practiced shooting a little."

TySean clicked his tongue, noncommittal: "With your physique, it's unlikely. Getting into the school basketball team is basically Coach Durant's decision. I can offer suggestions, but if you perform terribly during your tryouts, I definitely won't say a word."

This wasn't a yes, but it wasn't a no either.

"Okay, that's enough."

Li Ao didn't ask any further questions, nodded, and turned to go to the back to move equipment and get to work.

When he returned to the front hall after moving the last set of dumbbell racks, he found a familiar face at the door.

Lin Jinni walked in carrying a sports bag and was stunned when she saw Li Ao.

"You're practicing here?"

"No, I work here."

Lin Jinni changed out of her oversized hoodie and into a fitted sports vest and shorts. Although the gym was dimly lit, her muscle definition was still clearly visible under the overhead lights.

Perhaps feeling a little awkward about running into Li Ao here, she explained softly:

"There's a small competition next month, and the school's weight room is full, so I'm coming here to practice for a while."

"Then you practice yours."

The two went their separate ways and didn't talk anymore.

Lin Jinni went to a corner and found an empty squat rack to start warming up, while Li Ao continued wiping the equipment while pondering his own affairs.

Today is October 16th.

The AMC 12 exam is in February next year, which is about 100 days away.

Is 100 days enough?

Among the students he helped in his previous life, the fastest one went from zero knowledge to passing the AMC in four months.

That's assuming you have a dedicated tutor, a complete set of textbooks, and at least six hours of study time every day.

What do I have now?

An IQ of just over 100, a newly unlocked "learn by analogy" term, a stack of old AP materials, two competition books borrowed from the library, and three or four hours squeezed out each day.

Not exactly well-off, but not entirely without hope either.

As for the basketball team, it would be best if I could join.

Athletic sports are an important plus for college applications, and as Jamal said, having a varsity team means you won't always have to live with your head down in the South Campus.

However, the basketball team's tryouts are less than ten days after the midterms.

Even with Ty Shawn's help, I definitely can't perform too poorly. I still need to practice when I have time, just like I'm working out.

He glanced at the free weight area in the corner.

Anyway, there are no customers right now, and the boss didn't say he couldn't use the equipment.

Li Ao walked over, hung a 25-pound iron plate on each end of the barbell, and tried pushing it for a set.

It was a little strenuous, but my movements were much more stable than on the first day.

He added another ten pounds and continued with the second set.

By the third set, my chest and deltoid muscles were starting to ache, but each repetition was smoother than the last.

Putting down the barbell, a line of text appeared in the corner of my vision:

[Training in progress... Strength +0.1]

……