I was a top student in America.

Since Principal Smith had already spoken, Li Ao didn't stand on ceremony and directly asked the question that concerned him most:

"If I advance from AMC 12 to AIME, and then to USAMO, does the school offer any corresponding rewards?"

Before Smith could reply, Mrs. Paterson immediately chimed in with a smile:

"USAMO is the top math competition in the United States, so of course the school will reward you." She adopted the professional demeanor of a finance manager, but her tone was exceptionally enthusiastic. "Of course, the specific amount still needs to go through the approval process, but I guarantee that it will definitely be higher than the amount for this state competition."

"Your only task right now is to stay focused on your exam preparation."

Li Ao had a better idea of ​​what to do, but his appetite didn't stop there.

He stared at the two people in front of him, and casually dropped another bombshell: "What if... you were to win a gold medal representing the United States at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO)?"

Even Mrs. Paterson was taken aback by these words.

Smith suddenly slapped his thigh and declared on the spot, "If you can really bring the IMO gold medal back to Wyndham, I'll risk my reputation and fight for the maximum bonus for you on the board of trustees!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Smith, I will definitely make it into the national team." Li Ao's tone was calm, but it conveyed an unquestionable certainty.

This is not the time for modesty.

"Good, well said!"

Smith beamed with delight, clearly enjoying the arrogance.

Having made his promise and reassured him, Smith didn't linger and waved him off to go back and rest.

No sooner had Li Ao left than Mr. Brown made an excuse to go back and grade papers before taking his leave.

Durant followed suit, using the excuse of preparing for tomorrow morning's training session to slip away.

Only the captain and his deputy remained in the empty stands.

Mrs. Paterson gazed at the closed door, a sense of melancholy washing over her.

"Mr. Brown has a great eye; he's been strongly recommending this child to me from the very beginning. Mr. Smith, shouldn't we also allocate some money from the budget to give him a 'talent scout award'?"

"This matter will be discussed later."

Smith's smile vanished, and he sat up straight with a serious expression. "With a once-in-a-century genius like Wyndham, those private schools in the North District will definitely be scrambling to recruit him. The most urgent thing now is to prevent them from poaching us."

He stared intently at Patterson. "Don't let them take him out of our sight."

Mrs. Paterson nodded solemnly, making a firm commitment: "Rest assured, I will give him the green light for all his logistical approvals and will not give him any reason to transfer schools."

……

The next morning, Li Ao pushed open the door of the East Building Gymnasium with his schoolbag on his back.

Before he even stepped onto the court, Coach Durant's powerful roar boomed over, making the entire arena buzz.

"Did you stay up all night playing games again last night? Look at you today, you're walking on cotton!"

"Don't think you're all set just because you've made the rotation list. If you dare to slack off like this again, you'll be back on the bench watching the water cooler tomorrow!"

Jay Chou, who was being scolded, stood there like a telephone pole, head drooping, without saying a word.

He was suffering. In order to pass the math final exam, he did algebra problems with Li Ao every day until 2 a.m., and was then dragged out of bed for morning training. Now, when he was running tactics, he could almost see the basketball hoop as a double image.

Little did Durant know that he was staying up all night studying, and assumed that the silly boy had lost his mind while playing games again.

Just when Jay Chou thought he was going to be criticized for another half hour, he caught a glimpse of Li Ao walking to the sidelines.

Durant, with his sharp eyes, turned his head in an instant, and his previously icy face instantly blossomed into a smile like a spring breeze—a change of expression so swift it was astonishing.

"Leo, come here quickly."

After calling the person over, Old Du leaned in and asked with concern, "Are you tired from preparing for that competition lately? If your body can't take it, you can rest for a while during this morning's training. You don't need to push yourself too hard."

Li Ao glanced at Jay Chou, who looked utterly dejected, and replied curtly, "Not tired. I slept quite well last night. Everything as usual."

He then went to the sidelines and started jogging to warm up.

Upon hearing about the top student's standard schedule, Durant turned and glared at Jaylen again, issuing an ultimatum:

"Did you hear that? Learn from Leo's attitude! If you're acting like a deadbeat again tomorrow, don't bother coming to the gym!"

……

At the same time, inside Apartment 306 in the South District.

With a series of impatient bangings on the door, Liu Guifang had barely opened it a crack when Todd swaggered in.

"Mom, how have you been lately?" He casually made up a polite remark, then immediately revealed his true colors. "I heard Leo got first place in the whole state, and the school gave him a huge sum of money. I'm his legal guardian, so shouldn't I be in charge of that money?"

Liu Guifang stopped folding the old clothes she was folding, sighed, and said in a tired but resolute tone:

"That's money my child and I saved for winter medicine, don't even think about touching it. You haven't taken a single penny of the monthly federal guardianship allowance. You're insatiable, there's no room for negotiation on this."

When Todd didn't get the money, he immediately lost his temper and started yelling at the old lady for being biased.

"That little brat is hoarding so much money and won't part with it; he's an ungrateful wretch!"

He took two menacing steps closer, his finger almost poking Liu Guifang's nose, and with his other hand he yanked over the wooden table beside him. "Old woman, I'm telling you, I'm taking this money today!"

Just as the wooden table was about to tip over, the door was pushed open.

Two young Black men wearing oversized hoodies stepped in silently.

The leader grinned at Todd, his tone so familiar it sent chills down your spine:

"Hey, isn't this Todd? We've got some personal business to discuss with you. Come on, let's go outside and have a 'good' chat."

Before he could finish speaking, the two men had already grabbed Todd's shoulders tightly from both sides, dragging him out the door like a dead dog.

"Mom, Mom!"

Just moments ago, Todd was arrogant and domineering, but upon seeing who it was, he instantly turned as pale as a quail with its neck being choked.

He struggled and kicked, calling out Liu Guifang's name repeatedly, but he was half-dragged and half-pulled down the stairs, his thin body unable to move at all.

The hallway quickly fell silent, and the room returned to quiet.

Liu Guifang stood there, staring blankly at the door where her youngest son had disappeared for a while.

Then, she silently turned around, picked up the old clothes from the basket again, and continued to fold them neatly one by one.

……

With AMC12 drawing ever closer, the pace of weekend workshops has completely accelerated.

Green's lecture pace visibly increased, and the number of questions doubled.

All the trainees were like tightly wound machines, and no one dared to catch their breath for a moment.

Li Ao went into "devil mode," practicing full AMC practice tests every day with a stopwatch, working hard to train his biological clock and answering rhythm.

Under this intense bombardment of mock exams, coupled with the internal lecture notes specially provided by Green and the thick "AP Calculus" textbook, his dual-track intensive study of competitions and calculus not only did not throw him off balance, but instead, under high pressure, he integrated and thoroughly grasped the deeper derivation logic.

Now, his intelligence score has quietly surpassed the 109 mark, and he is only one step away from breaking through the 110 mark and obtaining the next entry.

It's worth mentioning that ever since he was "friendly sparred" with Ty Shawn's brother that day, Todd has vanished into thin air and never dared to show his face at Li Ao's door again.

Chicago's winter deepened day by day.

After the noisy Christmas season, the New Year's bells rang, and time officially entered 2007.

And there are less than 30 days left until the fateful AMC12 exam.