I was a top student in America.

On the timer, the bright red countdown numbers were jumping rapidly; there were less than ten seconds left in the game.

The Wyndham Eagles trailed by two points, 72-74.

Li Ao was panting heavily, his hands supporting his knees, sweat dripping from his chin onto the floor, but his eyes were fixed on the opponent's half of the court.

The opposing point guard received the ball on the baseline, his eyes just glancing towards the wing, before he could even pass the ball, when Tayshaun darted out from the side like a cheetah!

He glided forward, lunged forward, and swung his long arm with a sudden burst of speed.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound rang out as the basketball slipped from his grasp and slammed onto the floor.

Daryl roared and fell to the ground, sliding along the floor, managing to hold the ball tightly in his arms.

He tried to get up, but two defenders immediately surrounded him like an iron barrel, cutting off his shooting space.

Seeing that time was running out, he twisted his waist and turned halfway, throwing the ball towards the top of the arc.

The ball swept across the halfway line and landed precisely in the hands of Li Ao, who had retreated to defend near the center line.

The timer has only three seconds left.

There was no timeout, and it was too late to pass the ball. Moreover, the defender on the right was rushing in at full speed to block the path.

Li Ao was still two or three steps away from the three-point line, with nowhere to retreat, so he decisively lowered his center of gravity.

Sink your shoulders, leap off the ground, and raise your arms high.

A long-range three-pointer!

The basketball left the fingertips, soared over the defender's blocking hand, and drew an extremely high parabola in the glare of the incandescent light.

The entire room fell silent instantly.

Everyone's attention was drawn to that small basketball, watching it climb, pass its highest point, and then plummet.

"Whoosh!"

The snow-white netting fluttered up. A hollow core entered the net!

Almost at the same moment, the final red light came on, and the whistle blew piercingly.

The scoreboard stood at 75 to 74.

Lore!

The bench erupted instantly, and everyone roared as they rushed onto the field.

TySean, Daryl, Jamal, and Jaylen crashed in from all directions, grabbing Li Ao and throwing him into the air.

The ceiling lights swayed violently in my field of vision, and all I could hear was the deafening roar of revelry.

As soon as everyone put Li Ao down, Coach Durant squeezed into the crowd, his face stern and his gestures firm:

"Take it easy! Don't push him too hard, give him a break. He has a math competition the day after tomorrow!"

Instead of calming down, the team members joked and teased, "Come on, Coach! Even if Leo took a nap during the exam, he'd still get a perfect score!"

Li Ao pushed through the crowd, panting heavily, and followed the flow of people toward the changing room corridor.

As I turned the corner, I caught a glimpse of two familiar faces standing on the sidelines.

It's Lin Jinni and Latoya.

Lin Jinni seemed to be in poor condition; her face was pale, and half of her weight was on Latoya's shoulder, making her appear unsteady.

Li Ao paused, frowned, and walked over: "Why are you here? What happened to her?"

Lin Jinni moved her lips but before she could utter a sound, Latoya interrupted her like a torrent of beans:

"It's nothing, we're just tired. We just finished a track and field competition nearby, and she insisted on stopping by to cheer you on."

Lin Jinni managed to stand up a little straighter with the help of Latoya's arm, her voice very soft and slightly panting:

"Congratulations on making it to the quarterfinals! That was a cool last-minute winner! Best of luck in next week's competition."

Li Ao nodded: "Thank you for coming..."

Before she could finish speaking, Lin Jinni's knees suddenly buckled, and she fell forward without warning.

Li Ao subconsciously took a step forward, stretched out his arms, and steadily supported the person.

Amid Latoya's exclamation, Li Ao knelt down, grabbed Lin Jinni by the knees, and lifted her up in his arms.

He turned his head and quickly snapped at Latoya, "Let's go find the infirmary!"

After saying that, he strode towards the depths of the venue.

The two hurried deeper into the venue.

Lin Jinni is not short, but when you actually hug her, she is much lighter than you would have imagined.

Thanks to his recently increased strength attribute and [Explosive Power] stat, this amount of weight was negligible for Li Ao.

To get to the infirmary, you have to walk through a corridor without heating, and the cold wind of late January blows straight in through the cracks in the door.

Li Aogang had just finished the game, wearing only a thin sleeveless jersey.

Stimulated by the cold draft, a few tiny ice crystals formed on the sweat-dampened ends of my hair.

Pushing open the dilapidated door of the infirmary, Li Ao carefully laid Lin Jinni flat on the physiotherapy bed and casually pulled a pillow over her head to support the back of her head.

Latoya then followed in, panting.

The on-duty doctor examined her eyelids and performed a simple physical examination:

"It's nothing, just low blood sugar. I guess he was too excited watching the game and fainted. Drinking some sugar water will help him recover."

Li Ao leaned against the door frame and glanced at the girl on the hospital bed.

This usually decisive and efficient top student was lying there completely unguarded, her tightly closed eyes revealing the absence of her strong exterior.

Lin Jinni woke up less than two minutes later.

She first stared blankly at the ceiling, and when she realized that she had fainted in public, a blush of embarrassment instantly rose on her pale cheeks.

She instinctively tried to sit up, but a large hand gently pressed down on her shoulder.

"The doctor said it's low blood sugar, so don't get up too suddenly."

Li Ao smiled and handed her the freshly prepared warm sugar water.

Lin Jinni lowered her head to take the paper cup, and seeing the steam rising from the rim, her gaze involuntarily lingered on Li Ao's forehead.

The icicles that had formed on the ends of his hair were melting as the temperature rose, dripping down his rugged face.

I don't know if it was sweat or moisture.

It was only then that she belatedly realized that the tall boy in front of her was only wearing a thin, sleeveless jersey.

She hastily looked away, staring at the paper cup in her hand, her lips pressed tightly together, her voice barely audible:

"……Thanks."

Seeing that Lin Jinni was alright and that Latoya was with her, Li Ao said goodbye: "Don't mention it, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now. It'll be too late, the team's bus back to school will be leaving soon."

He greeted Latoya and Lin Jinni on the hospital bed, then turned and strode out of the infirmary.

Lin Jinni leaned against the headboard, her gaze uncontrollably following that broad back until the door closed.

She lowered her head silently, her fingers unconsciously digging into the edge of the paper cup, her ears burning slightly.

Latoya, who was standing to the side, saw everything, raised an eyebrow, and smiled secretly.

An hour later, Li Ao rode his creaking secondhand bicycle back to Apartment 306 in the South District, braving the cold wind.

Pushing open the peeling iron door, the house was still chilly, but the old stove in the kitchen was bubbling with heat.

A rich aroma of chicken soup wafted over, instantly dispelling most of the chill from my body.

Grandma Liu Guifang has already finished get off work.

Today, the old lady went to the Chinese supermarket for the first time ever and chopped up a whole chicken, which she stewed in an old iron pot until it was bubbling.

Compared to the usual simple meal of pickled vegetables with rice, this dinner was unusually grand.

Actually, a while ago, the old lady was terrified that her grandson would bring home cash every few days, fearing that the boy was getting involved with those shady gangs on the streets of the South District.

It wasn't until Ty Shore and his friends came to her for advice on the application process, and Ms. Brown called to praise her, and she personally cashed the $600 check at the counter, that the old lady finally felt relieved.

A few nights ago, when Li Ao got up to use the bathroom, he happened to see his grandmother secretly taking out a portrait of his parents wrapped in an old handkerchief from the bottom of a box. She was wiping away tears as she looked at it in the dim light.

"What are you standing there for, spacing out like that?"

Liu Guifang carried a large bowl of golden chicken soup to the dining table. Looking at her grandson who had just entered, her eyes were full of smiles, yet she couldn't help but feel a little red. "Drink it while it's hot. You stay up late studying every day, so you need to make up for it. Your parents in heaven can rest easy seeing how successful you are now..."

Li Ao smiled, pulled out a chair, sat down, picked up the large bowl, blew away the oil on the surface, and gulped it down in one go.

He grabbed a tissue and wiped his mouth haphazardly, then looked up at his grandmother:

"Oh, right, Grandma, I have to go out later. The team members are waiting for me to celebrate."