I was a top student in America.

"To be honest, Leo, you look like you're going to the NBA draft. All that's missing is a general manager standing next to you and shaking your hand."

At the "Big Baby" sports store on 59th Street, Li Ao was pulling at his brand-new Wyndham warm-up suit.

He gripped the basketball with one hand and rolled his eyes at Jamal.

This outfit was forced on him by his boss, Harris, who insisted that it was the only way to look like a "star player."

Jamal was there to join the fun, hoping to get a couple of free socks from the ever-generous Harris thanks to Li Ao. But upon seeing Li Ao's attire, he couldn't resist his gossipy nature.

Jay Chou looked you up and down, and then gave you a good look: "It's alright, at least it's better than your faded hoodie."

"Captain, what do you think?" Jaylen asked, turning his head.

Taisean stood aside with his arms crossed. He was there today specifically to keep Li Ao in check, afraid that Harris, that old fox, would bully an honest man.

The stern-faced deputy bishop didn't respond, but silently pulled out a brand-new Nokia and snapped a picture of Li Ao.

"Hey, don't take pictures!" Li Ao shouted.

"It's late, bro. Let's keep this as a memento."

Taishaun slowly put his phone back in his pocket, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Ever since Li Ao secured his position as the starting point guard and led the team to achieve good results, Taishan has completely treated him like his own brother and protected him.

Li Ao knew it was unrealistic to try and steal the gang leader's phone, so he simply tugged at his collar and straightened the team emblem on his chest: "Fine, do as you please."

Seeing this, Ty Shawn simply picked up his phone and took two more pictures.

For the next half day, Li Ao completely became the store's mascot.

He took photos with Harris at the entrance, signed autographs for passing children, and even posed for a ball while leaning against the shoe rack.

Harris was overjoyed, while Jamal and his friends were laughing so hard they almost choked.

"Let's go inside and shoot a few more sets," Harris waved.

After passing through the first half of the store, there is a small boxing gym converted from an old warehouse.

Several punching bags were hanging in the corner, and old boxing gloves and a peeling barbell were lying on the ground.

The owner of Harris's shop is a huge boxing fan, so he set up a boxing area behind the shop to teach young people how to box, and of course, he also charges a hefty tuition fee.

The photographer perked up when he saw the punching bag: "Want to throw a couple of punches? Let's capture some dynamic shots."

Li Ao naturally wouldn't refuse his sugar daddy's request. He put on the boxing gloves handed to him by the shop assistant and stretched his shoulders.

boom! boom! boom!

He probed with a jab, followed by a straight punch. After dodging to the side, he delivered a powerful short punch to the middle of the sandbag.

The movements weren't fancy, but the power was clear and the rhythm was tight, making him appear exceptionally fierce on camera.

Jamal and Jaylen, who were watching the commotion from the sidelines, were momentarily stunned.

Those in the know can see the details, and Harris, a semi-skilled fighter, certainly understood the trick:

"Wow, those moves were pretty professional! Clean movements, and quick retraction of your fist. Leo, I didn't know you had this skill; you've been keeping it a secret! You can come anytime you want to practice, it's on me."

He could tell that this was a combo that no amateur could execute.

"Brother Leo, you can box?"

Jamal looked like he'd seen a ghost.

He followed Li Ao around every day, but he didn't remember that Li Ao had ever learned boxing.

"I watched others teach boxing when I was working at 'Iron Box'," Li Ao replied casually. "I copied a few moves for self-defense."

"You can learn like this just by watching others? Your talent is incredible! But in our neighborhood, knowing a little martial arts won't hurt."

Harris patted the sandbag. "You really have to come and play sometime. I'll find a coach to give you a systematic workout."

……

Around noon, the morning's shooting finally came to a close.

The owner of Harris readily agreed and immediately produced the prepared sponsorship contract, then had a clerk hand over a two-thousand-dollar cashier's check.

Without any extra procedures or additional conditions, Li Ao could deposit the money into his account in no time.

When Li Ao first arrived in the morning, he had already looked around the place.

As Principal Smith said, this established store, which has been around for over a decade, is quite large and has no shortage of customers thanks to the strong sports consumption power of the surrounding community.

This Harris owner, a graduate of his alma mater, is probably a die-hard Wyndham Hawks fan and is trying to bolster the school's team.

……

On Friday, Mr. Brown granted Li Ao a half-day off and drove his beat-up Ford to Whitney Young High School in the North District early in the morning.

Although the math workshop has ended, the lecture hall that was temporarily used was unusually lively today.

A printed poster was prominently displayed at the entrance: Congratulations to Leo Lee for being selected for the American Mathematical Olympiad Summer Camp (MOSP).

At the very bottom of the poster, a line of small print was highlighted in bold: Illinois's only nominee this year.

The lecture hall, which could hold several hundred people, was packed with students from various schools in the North District, mostly fresh faces from the ninth and tenth grades.

Li Ao was led by Teacher Green to the center of the podium, where he was to impart his "competition experience" to his younger schoolmates.

A buzz of whispers filled the audience.

"I heard it's him? A perfect score on USAMO?"

"Is he really from Wyndham High School in the South District?"

"Don't even mention it. My dad just lectured me about it last night, saying that even someone from a lousy school could get into MOSP, and that I shouldn't complain about the difficulty of the questions."

"Well, now parents have another 'other people's child' to talk about."

For these lower-grade students who are still working hard on AMC, they used to only hear the legends of geniuses from the top schools in the North District, but now a living "model of ordinary people's counterattack" is sitting right in front of them.

If you fail an exam in the future, you won't even be able to use the excuse of "poor school resources" anymore.

Compared to the groans and lamentations in the audience, Mr. Green, who organized the report, was beaming with pride, having completely shaken off the gloom of his team's previous defeat in the state competition.

Who would have thought that a dark horse would emerge from the workshop they organized, shocking the entire United States?

With Li Ao's reputation as a star, he has recently been inundated with offers from prestigious universities in the northern region, who are eager to poach him with high salaries, and his career has reached a new level.

Today's experience-sharing session even attracted school leaders from several middle schools to come and listen in.

Green held his old classmate Brown's hand tightly, too excited to let go for a long time: "Old buddy, thanks to you for getting Leo into my workshop back then..."

He kept muttering to himself, and when he looked at Li Ao on the stage, his eyes were as eager as if he were looking at a rare treasure.

As soon as the report ended, Li Ao didn't stay in the North District for long. He rushed back to school that afternoon to participate in Durant's basketball training.

After dealing with this series of interpersonal issues, he was finally able to focus completely on his upcoming standardized tests.

Calculus, physics, chemistry, statistics, computer science—he signed up for five AP courses in one go.

As I learn a vast amount of new knowledge, the [Intelligence] value on the system panel begins to steadily increase, one step at a time, every day.

By the end of May 2007, Chicago finally warmed up, and Li Ao finally finished studying all the test points for the five AP exams.

Everything is ready; all that's left is to wait for the Memorial Day long weekend before heading to the exam hall to see who truly shines.

Having taken this step, Li Ao also set new goals for himself.

Before the start of the math competition summer camp, I completed all the past IMO (International Mathematical Olympiad) past exam questions.

The summer camp's top "black belt group" consisted of only about ten people, each of whom was a math whiz since childhood.

To snatch a spot to represent the United States from these guys, you have to fight tooth and nail.

Late start?

Then we'll rely on the system's support, plus the effort of working sixteen hours a day to make up for it.

And so, the short holiday slipped away in this almost self-torturing seclusion.

Early on June 1st, Li Ao boarded the Red Line subway alone, heading towards downtown Chicago amidst the rumbling noise, ready to face his first tough battle.

AP Physics Exam.

……