American TV series: Starting with exploiting young Sheldon

At this point, some of the girls who had been secretly watching Mike also turned their attention to the basketball game. After all, this crucial match concerned the honor of the two top universities.

On the basketball court, Mark, in excellent form, did not disappoint the students' expectations. From the start of the game, he unleashed a series of impressive plays, including steals, dribbles, layups, and points—a truly spectacular one-man show.

This display of strong individual ability also drew frequent nods of approval from scouts in the corners of the field.

Mark, who was celebrating his first goal, noticed the scouts' reactions out of the corner of his eye, so he swung his arm again, looking very excited.

Judging from the situation, his dream of becoming a professional basketball player is within reach.

Next, Mark, full of energy, cooperated with his teammates to score points repeatedly, and at one point the cheers from Columbia University students in the stadium overwhelmed Haval.

Scouts from various clubs in the corners of the field kept their pens constantly in hand, clearly showing their high regard for the technically versatile Mark.

Mark's importance to the team has once again overshadowed that of "Werewolf" Scott.

The intense match continued, with Mark displaying his full potential and unleashing his passion on the field.

However, he didn't notice that a woman on the sidelines was becoming increasingly strange.

Mark, with his eighteen-year-old face on the field, from his goal celebration to the way he wipes his sweat, and even the little gesture of lifting his jersey, is exactly the same as someone Scarlett remembers.

Gradually, in the woman's eyes, eighteen-year-old Mark overlapped with the image of the person she remembered.

'I can't believe it, but it must be O'Donnell~'

Having discovered the truth, Scarlett cried out in her heart.

But what good does it do? After her initial inexplicable excitement, the woman fell into a long period of contemplation.

'Maybe this is a good thing for both of us...'

Scarlett has also wondered if her "willfulness" back then caused O'Donnell to lose his brilliant basketball career.

This is what caused the other party to act as if they had given up on everything in the subsequent marriage.

Scarlett, who had suddenly understood many things, seemed to have let go of her worries. She smiled as she watched Mark, who was in high spirits on the field, score another goal, and then silently retreated towards the goal.

On the other side, Mark, who had just completed a brilliant alley-oop goal on the field, looked towards the stadium entrance as if by telepathy, just as he was about to celebrate.

There, a lonely figure is walking away, just like it was more than a decade ago.

That time, O'Donnell didn't want his girlfriend to bear the burden of being pregnant out of wedlock alone, so he resolutely abandoned the crucial match he was playing and ultimately chose to marry her.

"Mark...Mark! What's wrong?"

The teammates who were about to come over to celebrate Mark's goal saw him staring blankly at the empty stadium doors, so they called out to wake him up.

"N-nothing..." Mark seemed dazed for a moment, then, as if he had made up his mind, he tossed the basketball to his teammates and said, "I'm sorry everyone, I have to leave urgently. I'll leave the rest of the game to you."

After saying that, Mark seemed to have put down a heavy burden and ran lightly toward the door.

"Wait, Mark!" The slightly overweight Columbia University basketball coach quickly stepped forward and grabbed Mark, saying seriously, "Do you know what this means? If you leave now, it's like giving up your basketball dream..."

Basketball players who "run away" halfway through a game, lacking professional ethics, will not be accepted by professional basketball teams.

The reactions of the scouts in the corner confirmed this. They were all looking at Mark with surprise, completely baffled by the boy's actions.

"I'm sorry, Coach. And thank you for taking care of me all this time, but I have a reason to leave this time." After expressing his apology, Mark continued very quickly, "If you want to find someone to replace me, I recommend Alex. That kid has a good foundation and loves basketball..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Mark, who no longer cared about anything else, bypassed the coach and ran towards the stadium gate.

Behind them, the Columbia University basketball team, who understood what had happened, and the spectators outside the court erupted in an uproar.

One of their "trump cards" seems to have deserted at the last minute.

In the corner, some of the scouts even tore up all the previous data records about Mark.

Clearly, Mark's professional career is essentially over, given his perceived lack of basketball ethics.

“O’Donnell, it seems you’ve made your choice…” Similarly, Ned, the rich second-generation who had been keeping an eye on his friend’s movements, had also seen Scarlett’s departing figure earlier.

Therefore, he was one of the few people present who understood the situation.

"The outcome may not be good, but so what!" The rich kid then shrugged contentedly, a smile on his face, seemingly happy for his friend's choice.

A moment later, he seemed to remember something and shouted, "Alex! Alex!! Let Alex come on!"

The father is gone, but he still has his son.

Ned had never felt so clever.

At the end of the Columbia University basketball team's bench, Alex overheard Mark's words to the coach before he left.

His current feelings can be described as a mixture of surprise and joy.

The good news was that the "big brother" had finally recognized him. The bad news was that he was afraid he would perform poorly when he went on stage.

The game was going to continue. The middle-aged coach observed the Columbia bench, and could still hear the occasional shouts of "Alex" in his ears.

"Alex, I'm putting you on the court now. Can you guarantee you'll perform well?" the middle-aged coach asked the nervous-looking boy.

"Yes, I definitely can!" Alex's expression gradually became firm.

“Very good. When you go on the court, I need you to do your best to assist Scott and help him create space…” The middle-aged coach assigned Alex a simple task.

Although Alex inherited his father's love for basketball, he doesn't actually have the same basketball talent as young Mark.

Even if he plays, he won't be a starter.

Fortunately, Columbia still has the "werewolf" star Scott on the court, so Columbia's chances of winning this semi-final are still very high.

Alex clearly understood his situation and did not object to the coach's arrangements. After a quick warm-up, he went onto the field.

As it turns out, as long as you love basketball enough, even if you're a substitute or a fringe player, as long as you have the opportunity to step onto the court, you are the "protagonist" in your own heart.

Meanwhile, when Mike saw Mark leave the stadium, he comforted the girls around him and then made an excuse to leave the stadium as well.

In the corridor, Scarlett, who was the first to come out, hadn't gone far; she was leaning against the wall, silently shedding tears.

Mark, who had chased after her, saw the woman's haggard appearance and breathed a sigh of relief, while also feeling fortunate for his choice.

"Scarlett~"

Mark called out his wife's name and walked towards her with firm steps, just as he had done more than a decade ago.

With tears in her eyes, Scarlett turned around and saw eighteen-year-old Mark walking towards her, his appearance gradually changing in the process.

Finally, when Mark stood face to face with the woman, his appearance returned to that of the woman's husband.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long..."

Mr. O'Donnell, who personally apologized, hugged his wife tightly as she cried again.

……

"A very good ability~"

Around the corner of the aisle, Mike used his powerful senses to find "God".

At this moment, "God" is depicted as an elderly cleaner with gray hair, holding a mop.

Mike had seen the school's janitor before; there was indeed such an old man, but this one in front of him was definitely an imposter.

[Power of Faith] *1000... [Power of Blessing]... [Power of Protection]... [Power of Punishment]...

A series of golden orbs almost blinded Mike.

“I can sense that you really want to see me…” Despite being exposed, the old man remained calm and slowly said, “May I ask what brings you here, young man?”

"It used to be there, but it's gone now," Mike said with a bright smile. He didn't mind playing the riddle-maker while the other person acted mysterious.

Anyway, I've already gotten everything I wanted.

This silenced the old man. He stared at the young man in front of him, as if trying to read his thoughts, but unexpectedly failed.

However, there's nothing to be surprised about. With so many people in the world, it's not unusual for a few to have unique traits.

For example, people with a strong and determined inner self, or those who have a childlike heart and do not seek external validation, are very difficult for others to understand.

Mike's situation is different. He already has the system as his first mental barrier, and now he has the [Guardian Power] to protect his mind. Even a "god" can't read his thoughts.

“You’re quite special.” The old man opposite seemed to have given up on the idea of ​​reading her mind and said calmly, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now. I still need to clean the basketball court later.”

With his appearance and demeanor, if you didn't know better, you would really mistake this old man for an ordinary cleaner.

"Something's up. I want to know, are you the legendary God?" Taking advantage of the rare opportunity, Mike asked the question that had been bothering him.

Based on his intuition, Mike felt that the "old man" in front of him, although he had many tricks up his sleeve, seemed to have only limited strength and was still far from the omnipotent God of legend.

"Am I God?" The old man laughed and said, "God is omnipotent and omnipresent. You can be God, I can be God, anyone can be God... as long as God wants to."

What a charlatan! What he said was as good as saying nothing at all.

Mike mentally scoffed for a moment, then asked again, "So, are you God?"

The old man's expression froze, as if he realized that the young man opposite him was a serious person.

“In your understanding, I am not God.” Having just completed a “redemption” mission, the old man seemed to be in a good mood and said a few more words: “God has gone on a trip to other places. We are just his messengers left behind. People usually call us angels.”

"Us?" Mike grasped the key point in the other person's words.

"Are there many angels in the world? How many exactly?" Mike continued to press.

The special aura emanating from just one angel made Mike feel twice as powerful in every way. If he could find more angels, he might just become the legendary "God".

I can't even imagine what that scene would be like.

“You have a lot of questions, little one.” The old man smiled but did not answer. Then, as if he had thought of something, he continued, “You can call me Angel Number One. Young man, would you like to experience what it’s like to be an angel? I can grant you power, and all you need to do is use this power to help me protect the peace around Apple City for a period of time.”

Like God who went out to play, the angels also want to go on a trip to relax after working for a while.

During this period, the angel will choose a qualified human agent to perform the necessary tasks on its behalf.

In Angel Number One's view, Mike, a deep and emotionally stable person, was very suitable to work for him.

However, in Mike's eyes, the mysterious Angel Number One was becoming more and more like a charlatan.

The other person seems to be tempting me...

From the words spoken by the other party, Mike had already guessed that there were probably quite a few angels in the world, but not too many, and their abilities were not boundless.

Even among these angels, there probably aren't many opportunities for interaction.

Otherwise, Angel Number One could simply ask a familiar colleague to clock in for her.

In conclusion, Mike, who already possesses the strength to back him up, has no intention of becoming a proxy angel and working for free.

Instead of wasting time, wouldn't it be better to think about how to find other angels to collect the light clusters?

“No interest. I have my own things to do.” Mike shook his head, declining Angel Number One’s offer to hire him.

"Alright then, see you again sometime~" As a Good and Lawful alignment, Angel Number One did not press the matter further after being rejected.

Besides, he only made the previous suggestion out of interest and did not insist on it.

As I said before, there are so many people in the world, and there are quite a few who are willing to work for angels for free.

After the chat ended, Angel Number One, with a mop in one hand and a bucket in the other, walked towards the stadium like a real cleaner.

Chapter 421 Harvest

"O'Donnell, you should lose some weight around your belly..."

On the other side of the aisle, Scarlett, who had just been moved to tears, began to complain about her increasingly overweight husband after a warm embrace.

You should know that she had just seen her husband's handsome appearance when he was eighteen years old, which was incomparable to the middle-aged, overweight man in front of her now.

The contrast is striking!

'If only O'Donnell had recognized me sooner!'

When women rediscover happiness, some unhealthy desires inevitably arise in their minds.

O'Donnell had no idea that his wife was longing for his younger self. Seeing that his wife's emotions had finally stabilized, he tentatively asked, "Scarlett, will you remarry me? I promise I'll be a good husband and a good father from now on."

After this amazing life experience, O'Donnell also realized where she went wrong before: once you've chosen your path in life, you shouldn't go back on your word, and you shouldn't complain and run away when you encounter problems.

“Why would I want to remarry? I still have the divorce papers in my hands.” Scarlett said that their marriage was not over, and then joked, “Of course, if I find out in the future that you have wronged me, those papers will still be valid.”

"I promise I will never do anything to betray you and our family again..." O'Donnell, who had just won back his wife and family, quickly made this vow.

Seeing her husband's nervous expression, Scarlett smiled and hugged him.

Warm moments always pass too quickly~

After the O'Donnells spent some time cuddling in the aisle, a super loud cheer erupted in the indoor basketball court.