I was a top student in America.

"Representatives from the school district and the city councilor's office will be coming over today to present you with several awards. A reporter from the local newspaper has also specifically requested to interview you."

In the main hallway of Wyndham High School, Principal Smith couldn't stop smiling.

To prepare for today, he and Mrs. Paterson stayed up until midnight in the office last night, repeatedly checking the official lists of USAMO perfect scores and MOSP selections, and also working through the night to organize materials on the team's victory in the first game of the Greater Chicago Tournament.

When the two weighty report cards were placed side by side, Principal Smith realized the significance of the matter.

Wyndham has a history of students winning awards and teams winning games.

But it's absolutely unprecedented for someone like Li Ao to win a national-level math competition in the morning, then immediately lead his team to victory in the first-ever Greater Chicago Championship main event in the school's history, and even win the MVP award.

No wonder the city councilor's office called to inquire about this as soon as they heard about it yesterday.

So Principal Smith didn't even have time to finish his hand-drip coffee this morning, and rushed to the school gate early to guard the school bus.

"Oh, right," he added, still eager to continue, "the community education foundation and a sporting goods store will also be giving you awards, plus equipment sponsorship and gift cards for the basketball team."

"The headmaster made phone calls everywhere last night to try and secure these sponsorships, and he's incurred quite a few favors," Mrs. Paterson joked with a smile.

Upon hearing about the monetary reward, Li Ao's eyes lit up, and he immediately expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, Principal, thank you, Mrs. Paterson."

Mr. Brown, who was walking beside him, nodded knowingly.

He knew Li Ao's family situation well, and the bonus or transportation subsidy would be a great help to the family in their time of need.

"You deserve it," Principal Smith waved his hand. "It's already quite remarkable that our school produced a perfect score on the USAMO and was selected for the national summer camp. Now, the basketball team has broken the South Division's record of over a decade and made it into the quarterfinals. Wyndham High School has truly made a name for itself this time. Otherwise, why would reporters have come running?"

Taking advantage of the principal's good mood, Mr. Brown handed Li Ao a note.

"This is my daughter's email address. It's really a coincidence that the summer camp is being held at UIUC, and she's also participating in activities there during the summer. You're around the same age, so you can contact her when you go and look after each other."

Principal Smith was amused:

"Is that so? That's perfect. I was just worried that you wouldn't be able to find your way there since it's your first time, and I was thinking of asking Mr. Brown for leave so he could go with you."

……

The group chatted as they walked to the principal's office.

With a little while before class, the students in the corridor were attracted by the celebratory banners hanging at the entrance. They gathered in twos and threes, chattering away, and occasionally someone would peek into the office.

Li Ao sat on the sofa and waited for about twenty minutes before Coach Durant arrived with Tayshaun, Daryl, Jaylen, and other members of the school team.

Although everyone fought side by side to defeat Ryan Institute of Technology yesterday, everyone knows that Li Ao is the absolute focus right now.

As soon as he entered, several people surrounded him to greet him. Li Ao stood up and clapped high-fives in response, just like he always did in the locker room.

"Congratulations, Leo." Tyshaun walked at the back, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked at him.

Since the start of the semester, he has witnessed firsthand how this initially unremarkable Asian boy has made rapid progress and soared to great heights.

During this time, he had thought about it several times in private. If it weren't for Li Ao, the Eagles team probably wouldn't have been able to break out of the South District.

Especially when recalling the fierce battle in the stadium yesterday, Li Ao had only been training seriously for a few months, going from a substitute to a starter, and he was improving in almost every game.

This unfathomable potential is what's truly terrifying.

"Thanks, bro." Li Ao laughed and punched him on the shoulder.

Around 10 a.m.

Inside the small auditorium of Wyndham High School, Li Ao and others, along with school leaders, sat below to participate in the award ceremony.

After the detailed announcement, Li Ao learned that the reward was divided into several parts.

A perfect score on both AIME and USAMO triggered the school's highest level of academic award, totaling two thousand dollars.

He was selected for the National Math Competition Summer Camp and received an additional $1,500 training subsidy from the school and community education fund.

In addition, the sports department and sponsors provided a $500 training allowance and equipment gift card for the MVP of the first tournament match—

Li Ao alone pocketed a full four thousand US dollars.

Of course, the other guys on the basketball team didn't work in vain either.

Key rotation players like Tayshaun each received a $250 gift card, while the other substitutes on the roster each received $100, making everyone happy.

In the South District, based on Wyndham High School's past standards, this prize money is definitely a huge sum.

After all, this place used to produce very few students who could rank among the top in national academic competitions, let alone win the main tournament of the Greater Chicago Championship.

If this achievement were at one of the top sports schools in the North District, it might only elicit a simple verbal praise, but at Wyndham, it's a breakthrough achievement.

"Next, please welcome Mr. Rodriguez from the city councilor's office to present the subsidy to Leo, who has been selected for the national math competition training team."

Upon hearing his name called, Li Ao strode onto the stage and took the check with a prominent number written on it from the other person.

"Thank you, Mr. Rodriguez."

"I hope that you will continue to represent the young people of our South District and strive for honors, whether in academic competitions or on the basketball court."

Mr. Rodriguez patted Li Ao on the shoulder and encouraged him with a smile, "Everyone is proud of you and is waiting for your good news."

Li Ao nodded in agreement: "I will do my best."

The award ceremony lasted for more than half an hour.

After everyone finished taking group photos for the school's honor wall, Principal Smith strolled over with a slightly overweight middle-aged man, chatting and laughing.

"This is Mr. Harris, the owner of 'Big Baby' sporting goods store on 59th Street. He brought some gifts..."

Before the principal could finish his introduction, Mr. Harris had already warmly grasped Li Ao's hand: "You must be Leo? I watched yesterday's game, that last and-one was really tough!"

Halfway through his sentence, he turned back and waved to the shop assistant not far away: "Push it over here, push it over here quickly."

The shop assistant responded by pushing over two large cardboard boxes, each about half a person's height.

Inside, everything was neatly arranged: brand-new basketball shoes, wristbands, training socks, plus a thick stack of sports store gift cards.

"Knowing that you still have games to play, the team trains hard and wears out equipment quickly."

Mr. Harris smiled and pointed to the cardboard box, "I took the liberty of preparing some practical items for the lads on the team."

Looking at the box of equipment, Li Ao secretly admired the boss, thinking that he was indeed good at dealing with people and knew how to run a business in the South District.

The team's training intensity has increased recently, and his basketball shoes, which cost only a few dozen yuan, are almost worn through.

I was originally planning to buy a sturdier pair of shoes when I received my bonus, but this saves me some money.

He accepted his share of the equipment with both hands and said thank you sincerely, "Thank you, Mr. Harris."

Mr. Harris looked Li Ao up and down, then changed the subject: "Mr. Smith and I have discussed this, and if you don't mind, we'd like to invite you to the store for a photo after the local newspaper publishes the interview. In return, I'll personally sponsor you an additional two thousand dollars as a travel and living allowance for the subsequent matches."

If a box of equipment was a pleasant surprise, then these two thousand yuan were a real lifesaver.

During summer camp, transportation and meals at UIUC are significant expenses.

Although he is now better off than before, he still has to carefully budget his money for rent, electricity bills, and his grandmother's insulin, and avoids touching any cash in the house if possible.

More importantly, this sponsorship comes through legitimate channels from the school and community, eliminating the need to painstakingly raise money under the guise of "Cousin Consulting".

The price was just a few photos.

The weighing of pros and cons happened in an instant, and Li Ao readily nodded: "No problem."

"Alright! I'll contact Principal Smith again in a couple of days." Mr. Harris smiled, his eyes narrowing into slits, extremely satisfied.

After the generous boss left with his staff, Jay Chou looked at the gift card worth over a hundred yuan in his hand, then glanced at the four-figure check in Li Ao's hand, and sighed with envy.

"I'm only in 10th grade, is it too late for me to participate in math competitions?"

Jamal, standing by, mercilessly added, "Dude, could you at least get a B in your math finals first?"

The surrounding teammates immediately burst into laughter.

Taishaun, standing to the side, saw things very clearly: "It's well-deserved. You should have taken the money. If it weren't for your game-winning shot yesterday, none of us would have even had a chance to touch the gift cards today."

After the laughter and merriment, the awards ceremony officially came to an end.

The teammates left the auditorium together and headed to the arena to receive coach Durant's training.

Before leaving, everyone was excitedly muttering that if they could make it into the top four of the tournament, they wondered what other good things they could get.

As for Li Ao, he had to stay behind to wait for interviews by local newspaper reporters, so he could only "regretfully" miss out on a grueling training session.

at the same time.

More than 100 miles away on the UIUC campus, the teacher in charge of registration and accommodation for the math competition summer camp is sitting in his office, flipping through the list of the new batch of trainees...

……