I was a top student in America.

2006 10 Month 21 Day.

More than 300 students from all four grades gather in the East Building of Wyndham High School.

Today is the day of the midterm exams.

"Hey, who brought an extra pen?"

"Does anyone have a calculator I can borrow?"

"FXXK, we even have a history test today..."

……

In the corridor, a tall boy with sleepy eyes was wandering towards the classroom, muttering curses under his breath, his hands empty.

The girl following behind was even more arrogant, keeping her head down and busy sending text messages until she was glared at fiercely by the security guard patrolling the corridor, at which point she reluctantly stuffed her phone back into her pocket.

Next to the vending machine at the intersection of the east and west buildings, several teachers who had come out for some fresh air during a break from exams were chatting over coffee.

Brown leaned against the wall, with his English teacher, Patricia Coleman, standing opposite him.

"Ms. Brown, I heard the education bureau is going to cut the budget again next month," Patricia said, frowning. "Our school's after-school tutoring program will probably have to be cut in half."

Brown took a sip of his coffee but didn't reply.

He's heard this kind of news dozens of times in the past twenty years, and he's long been immune to it.

"Good morning, Robert." A middle-aged white woman in a beige trench coat walked over.

Mrs. Paterson.

The school's financial officer and project coordinator.

At Wyndham High School, she was always impeccably dressed, as if she had been temporarily transferred from a school in an affluent neighborhood.

She nodded to Patricia as a greeting, then turned to Brown:

"Long time no see! How's your eldest daughter's college application going? Don't hesitate to ask if you need any help."

"I'm still looking at a few state universities," Brown straightened up, his tone becoming more polite. "Thank you for your concern, Mrs. Paterson."

He paused, then casually added, "By the way, we have an 11th-grade student at our school who has a good foundation in math and is preparing for the AMC 12 next February. I've never done this before, could you approve some funding to buy some study materials?"

"AMC? What's that?"

Upon hearing that she needed to apply for funding, Mrs. Paterson immediately became alert.

"The student in the National Mathematics Competition is quite smart, and his problem-solving approach is also very good. I want to support him. Buying some study materials won't cost much."

Mrs. Paterson forced a smile:

"Okay, I understand. I'll try to meet with the school leaders when I have some free time to discuss it."

"Of course, as you know, the school district is also facing a tight budget recently, so we'll try to use the money wisely."

Before Brown could respond, she nodded, ending the conversation, and turned to Patricia to talk about reimbursement for her business trip next month.

Brown didn't say anything more. He had only mentioned it casually and didn't have much hope.

Just then, the sound of a door opening came from the other end of the corridor.

Li Ao handed in his algebra exam paper early, walked out of the exam room, leaned against the windowsill, took out a folded English vocabulary list from his pocket, and began to memorize it.

The exam was supposed to last 90 minutes, but just over an hour had passed.

"Li Ao, have you finished everything?"

Brown walked over and asked.

"Okay, we have an English test next class, so I'll review beforehand." Li Ao didn't even look up and continued memorizing vocabulary.

It's quite a sight that students who hand in their papers early don't hide in the bathroom to smoke or go off to mess around.

Mrs. Paterson couldn't help but look over and scrutinize Li Ao a couple more times.

"This is the student I was just talking about, Li Ao. He's good at math."

Brown then introduced her to Mrs. Paterson.

"Yes, your English is alright, and you've made significant progress recently."

Ms. Patricia chimed in.

Mrs. Paterson glanced at Li Ao again, thought for a moment, and said:

"Robert, I'll give you an answer about buying the data as soon as possible."

Inside the examination room, Lin Jinni was peeking out through the crack in the glass door, her pen still struggling with the big questions.

Upon seeing Li Ao in the corridor, she paused, immediately lowered her head, and continued scribbling on the draft paper.

A few minutes later, DeMarcus also handed in his paper and slipped out.

He was about to call out to Li Ao when he caught a glimpse of the group of teachers standing nearby, and then looked at the vocabulary list in Li Ao's hand. He swallowed his words back.

He lingered along the wall for a couple of hours out of boredom, then decided to wander off on his own.

Just then, a tall figure appeared at the stairwell at the end of the corridor.

TySean Jackson, wearing that eye-catching red and black school team jacket, walked straight toward Li Ao.

The teachers next to the vending machine immediately stopped talking.

Patricia frowned, and Brown put down his coffee can and straightened up.

Just as he was about to step forward to stop him, Ty Shawn had already stood in front of Li Ao.

This big, dark-skinned guy, who always had a sour face, actually gave Li Ao a smile.

He greeted them in a low voice and pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket.

"This supplementary information page," Tyshaun pointed to a passage on the paper, "in the third column, should I fill in the community service activity, or the knee injury rehabilitation?"

Li Ao shifted his gaze from the vocabulary list and glanced at the spot the man was pointing to:

"Write about your knee injury. It will explain why you missed those two months of school and also showcase your athletic perseverance. Community service sounds good, but it's too weak here."

"Okay, I understand. I'll fill out the forms this afternoon and give them to you in the 'Iron Box' so you can polish them a bit more."

TySean nodded, folded the paper, put it back in his pocket, and turned to leave.

DeMarcus, who was not far away, was dumbfounded, his mouth agape for a long time.

Next to the vending machine, Patricia and Brown looked at each other in bewilderment.

Brown didn't say anything, leaning back against the wall, his gaze still fixed on the direction Tyshaun had gone at the end of the corridor.

……

Before we knew it, it was afternoon.

The final midterm exam papers were collected.

The hallway instantly erupted in chatter, with people talking about Halloween parties and making plans for the weekend, but no one mentioned the exam they had just finished.

Li Ao didn't join in the fun.

With the basketball team tryouts just around the corner, he's been on edge these past few days, trying to avoid looking too bad and to make sure Ty Shawn's words carry weight.

Fortunately, I played on the high school team for two years in my previous life, so I still have the foundation. After practicing for a while, I have started to slowly regain my basic skills.

School ended early today, and since the gym where he works part-time wasn't open yet, he went straight to the community sports field with his bag.

For the next two hours, he spent the court repeatedly practicing spot shooting and passing.

During training breaks, several notifications would occasionally pop up in the corner of my vision:

[Repeated passing drills in progress... Agility +0.1]

[Training in progress... Stamina +0.1]

……

In the blink of an eye, another two days passed.

With his agility points increasing rapidly, Li Ao felt much more at ease, as if every drop of his sweat had been worthwhile.

At least these past few days I've felt much lighter, and I seem to be running faster too.

With the added benefit of the phrase "learn by analogy," he learned the movements quickly by following online videos and also managed to correct several awkward habits he used to have when shooting.

That afternoon, Li Ao, who was practicing spot shooting, suddenly stopped.

The breakthrough notification he had been waiting for for several days finally popped up on the panel:

[Repeated shooting practice in progress... Agility +0.1]

Current Agility: 100.0

[Attribute Breakthrough! Unlock the attribute - Muscle Memory!]

[Effect of this entry: Repeatedly practiced movements are more easily solidified and become more stable when invoked.]

"Muscle memory?"

Li Ao wiped the sweat from his face and stared at the subtitles in front of him, pondering the situation.

This thing is practically made for shooting, and secondly for passing.

As for dribbling, it certainly has its uses, but his current physique is still too frail. He'll struggle against high-intensity pressure, and expecting him to dribble like the wind based on a single statistic is simply unrealistic.

Especially in the current basketball team selection process, coaches definitely prefer solid movements and a steady touch to flashy crossover dribbling skills rather than those prone to mistakes.

This term is similar to "learning by analogy"; it can't make you instantly stronger, but it can ensure that the muscle memory you develop within a limited time can be used flawlessly when you're on the field.

that's enough.

He took a deep breath, picked up the ball, stood at the free throw line, and tried to shoot again.

Bend your knees, push off the ground, lift the ball, and press your wrists down.

This time, there was no need to consciously think about where to exert force. The details of the movements that had been rehearsed countless times in my mind flowed naturally and instinctively.

The basketball flew out of his hand and swished through the net with a "whoosh".

He made all five of his mid-range shots.

The entire shooting motion was several levels smoother than before.

Li Ao was overjoyed and quickly retreated to the three-point line to shoot another three-pointer.

"Bang!"

This time the ball hit the rim and flew out.

It's slightly off-center.

Li Ao watched the basketball bounce away, shook his slightly sore wrist, and immediately realized where he was lacking.

The movements are correct, and the stability has improved, but the strength is clearly insufficient.

Muscle memory can only retain the trajectory of practice. In actual competition, leg explosiveness and wrist strength are the hard indicators that determine shooting range.

The basketball team selection is just around the corner. Technical skills can be covered by the relevant information, but core strength needs to be trained extremely hard.

……