I was a top student in America.

On Monday afternoon, Li Ao walked towards the school bus stop with his schoolbag on his back and saw a large crowd gathered in front of the bulletin board from afar.

DeMarcus, who was standing next to him, curiously tugged at him: "Come on, let's go take a look."

Before Li Ao could nod, the kid had already squeezed into the crowd, relying on his physique.

Li Ao reluctantly followed, his gaze passing over the throng of people and landing on the notice wall.

"Holy crap, someone from our school got first place in the whole state!"

"Really? Someone from our school is participating in a math competition?"

The crowd erupted in gasps of surprise.

DeMarcus shoved Li Ao hard in the groin: "Leo, look! The school actually printed a 'Wyndham Light' logo on you! You're famous now!"

Li Ao remained silent, but taking advantage of his height, he immediately spotted the most prominent lines of text on the poster.

[Honors Roll: Wyndham's First State-Level Ranking in School History!]

[Leo Lee, Illinois State Mathematics Competition, Individual Division, 320 points (perfect score).]

[Tie for first place in the entire prefecture.]

……

Looking at the blinding "Wyndham Light," Li Ao was so embarrassed that he could dig a three-bedroom apartment out of the sole of his shoe.

It's understandable, though. For a public high school in the South District that has consistently ranked at the bottom to suddenly produce a state-level champion is quite unprecedented. The school administration is probably just used to this and it's normal for them to be excited.

Then again, isn't it just a state competition?

They're already in such a hurry to put up banners and posters. If I bring back an IMO gold medal, won't the school just build a statue of me on the playground?

After quickly scanning the information, Li Ao lost interest in reading any further.

He looked away and was about to continue walking towards the school bus stop when he sensed that something was off.

Suddenly, the surroundings fell silent, and dozens of eyes were fixed on him.

"Huh? This must be Leo?"

Someone shouted, and the crowd instantly erupted in cheers.

"Awesome, bro! You've really made the South District proud!"

"Don't we all usually take the C and D tests together? When did you secretly mutate behind our backs?"

"Hey buddy, can I take a picture with you?"

"Quick, quick, let me touch the hand of that perfect scorer and soak up some of their good luck! I'm counting on you for tomorrow's math quiz!"

As he watched the approaching, fanatical faces, Li Ao's eyelids twitched violently.

Without saying a word, he ducked and, with the boost from the [Explosive Power] attribute, shoved the two aside, squeezing out of the encirclement at the speed of a 100-meter sprint.

DeMarcus reacted incredibly quickly, using his physical advantage to spread his arms wide, forming a wall to block the crowd for him: "Back up! Everyone back up! Let my brother get out of here first!"

He thought escaping the crowd would give him a chance to catch his breath, but just as he ran back to the vicinity of the school bus station, a repulsive figure came into Li Ao's view:

Skinny and bony, with sunken eyes, he looked like a scumbag who had been using marijuana for years.

As the original owner's memories flooded his mind, Li Ao's brows instantly furrowed into a tight knot.

This is Todd, the original owner's uncle and also her nominal "guardian".

Because both parents were deceased and the grandmother was unregistered, guardianship fell into this person's hands.

In reality, this idle gambling addict had never fulfilled his obligations, and he only took on this job to scam the federal subsidies of over two hundred dollars a month.

The fact that they came here today is no surprise; they must have heard about the bonus somewhere and are just trying to leech off it.

"Hey Leo, I heard you got first place in the whole state, so I came here especially to congratulate you!"

Todd rubbed his hands together, forced a fake smile, and came closer.

Li Ao didn't even lift his eyelids: "Make way, the school bus is almost here."

After saying that, he took a step to walk around it.

Todd, who was heavily in debt, wasn't about to let go of this cash cow, so he quickly stepped in front of him to block it:

"Hey, don't be in such a hurry to leave."

Seeing that his attempts to get on his good side were futile, he simply dropped the pretense and spread his hands confidently: "I heard the school gave out bonuses? Give them all to me. Kids can easily go astray if they have so much money. I'm your guardian, I'll keep it for you."

Hearing these shameless words, Li Ao laughed in anger, too lazy to even comment on where the man got his thick skin.

"I've already spent it all, paid the rent a long time ago. If you want to pay off your gambling debts, find another way. I don't have a single penny."

He refused decisively.

After being flatly rejected, Todd's expression changed drastically, and his ingratiating smile instantly turned into a scoundrel's face.

"You little bastard! You ungrateful wretch!"

"I raised you from infancy, and now you think you're all grown up and turning your back on me, huh?"

He started yelling and causing a scene in the street, "What were you doing at Wyndham High School? Giving bonuses to minors without even telling me, your legal guardian!"

This loud commotion quickly drew the attention of students near the school bus station.

Li Ao was furious at the noise and was just figuring out how to get rid of this pest when a roaring motorcycle engine suddenly came from the street corner.

Tae-Sean, accompanied by Fat Malik and Skinny Ricky, roared into the street corner on their motorcycle and then slammed on the brakes.

Seeing these three burly, arrogant black men approaching, Todd, who had been so cocky just a second ago, suddenly fell silent as if someone had grabbed him by the neck.

He shrank back warily, pointed at Li Ao twice with his finger, and didn't dare to say anything harsh before slinking away along the wall.

That's how it is in places like the South District. Trying to reason with rotten people is a waste of breath; only fists and local bullies who are even more ruthless than them will work.

Malik got out of the car, glanced at Todd's retreating figure with disgust, and asked Li Ao, "Who's that old geezer?"

"My uncle, a gambling addict, has been pestering me for money lately," Li Ao said bluntly.

If this kind of scoundrel isn't dealt with properly this time, he'll keep bothering me like flies, and I don't have time to deal with all this mess.

Hearing this, Malik chuckled and said, "It's no big deal, leave it to me. You pulled me out from under the barbell in 'Iron Box,' I still owe you a favor."

TySean straddled the motorcycle and casually asked, "What's his name?"

"Todd."

Li Ao did not hesitate.

Taishun nodded. In his opinion, the basketball team had finally built up its momentum, and Li Ao, as the core substitute and the team's most reliable shooter, should not be distracted by such trivial matters.

Moreover, Li Ao was also helping him with his university application materials, which could be considered as returning a favor.

"We'll help you 'talk him out'," TySean said.

With those words from him, Li Ao felt at ease.

The wicked will be punished by the wicked; this is indeed true.

"Oh, right," TySean got to the point, "Coach Durant asked me to tell you to go to the arena and find him right now."

"There's no training today, why are you looking for me?" Li Ao asked, somewhat puzzled.

……

Ten minutes later, Li Ao pushed open the door of the East Building Gymnasium with his schoolbag on his back.

He immediately spotted head coach Durant standing at the edge of the court.

"Coach," Li Ao greeted him.

As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed that there were three other people sitting on the seats in the stands next to him—Mr. Smith, the principal of Wyndham High School, Mrs. Paterson, the treasurer, and Mr. Brown.

This display of hospitality startled Li Ao for a moment, and he quickly took the opportunity to greet everyone in turn.

Smith, a burly middle-aged Black man, immediately stood up from his seat with a beaming smile when he saw Li Ao enter: "Leo, your statewide math competition result is the first time in Wyndham's history that you've won first place in a statewide competition. You are now the pride of the entire faculty and student body."

The principal spoke with great enthusiasm, like a politician campaigning for votes, "Coach Durant said you're not only smart, but also the team's best sixth man! Our hopes for a Southern Conference playoff berth this year rest on your shoulders. Keep it up, achieve even greater success! And if you have any requests in the future, just let the school know!"

Compared to the principal's enthusiasm, Mrs. Paterson, the treasurer standing to the side, had a much more subtle expression.

Looking at this genius who not only won first place in the state competition but was also the team's best sixth man, she felt a chill run down her spine.

Thinking back to how I seriously set a testing threshold for AMC for a mere $300 budget, it's almost laughable.

She was now incredibly grateful that she had approved that funding; otherwise, faced with this dazzling report card, she, as the leader, would have truly become a blind, clown, and wouldn't have had the face to sit here and claim credit.

……