American TV series: Starting with exploiting young Sheldon

Clearly, she had probably heard some rumors about Mike at school from George. Coupled with the fact that Mike rarely talked about his personal life at home, this only piqued Connie's curiosity.

“This…” Mike hesitated, wanting to change the bet.

Deep down, Mike is a "conservative" person; he doesn't want to share his personal secrets with others.

“It’s settled then.” However, Grandma Connie didn’t give Mike a chance to refuse. After finalizing the bet, she got up and walked towards the room.

When they reached the door, she suddenly stopped and said, "To be fair, you can't tell George about the bet, or you'll lose too."

……

Over the next few days, the school resumed normal classes. Only the football team was granted the privilege of training all day long.

After Monday's competition, Mike's outstanding performance earned him the title of "star" of the school.

Every time get out of class ends, many girls from all grades come to the sidelines to watch him train.

Some bolder girls would even publicly "profess their love" to Mike.

As the frequency of these "expressions of love" increased, it became a unique feature of Melford High School.

However, compared to his increased fame, Mike is not happy at the moment.

After several days of training, he found that he could no longer directly obtain physical attributes from his teammates.

It seems that everyone has a threshold: like Sheldon, Mike could easily gain intelligence from him at first.

However, gradually, it became increasingly difficult to acquire these attributes.

"Dingling bell~"

The school bell rang, and the girls reluctantly left the playground.

Mike, who was resting on the sidelines, returned to training after the girls left.

At that moment, a middle-aged man carrying a video camera was walking towards the playground from the school gate.

This man is Jack from the local TV station. Today, he shaved off his stubble and styled his receding hairline. He looks much better overall.

"Hi, Jack, you're here again." Coach George greeted Jack warmly when he saw him arrive.

Aside from Monday's game, this is the second time Jack has come to the school this week to watch everyone train.

“I’m planning to shoot some more footage of Mike so that when he becomes a big star, it will be his own special feature,” Jack said with a smile, explaining his purpose.

Clearly, Jack had high hopes for Mike, and he was betting his entire quarter's performance on him.

Coach George was not offended by Jack's behavior. In his view, Jack's promotion of Mike was equivalent to promoting the school's football team.

After Jack set up the camera, Coach George cleverly called Mike over, who was doing sparring on the equipment.

Then, he surveyed the field, glancing past Sam before calling over Captain Aaron as well.

"Aaron, put on your protective gear and have a scrimmage with Mike," Coach George said.

Dry, mechanical training is nowhere near as intense and exciting as real-life combat.

Aaron was clearly used as a tool by the coach.

"Um... Coach, I'm not feeling well today..." Aaron felt a little resistant after learning his fate.

Since his physique surpassed 150, Mike has been developing in a way that's almost inhuman. For an ordinary person like Aaron, combat training is nothing short of torture.

"So much to say, get ready quickly." Coach George saw through Aaron's little scheme and didn't give him a chance to refuse.

In fact, Coach George also had his own plans in mind; he knew that Aaron had a dream of playing professionally.

Now that he has the opportunity to appear on television, even as a background figure, it will definitely be beneficial to Aaron's future career path.

"Remember to be quiet in a bit..." Aaron whispered to Mike as he passed by.

"I'll try my best," Mike said with a friendly smile as he put on his helmet.

Once both players were ready, Coach George acted as referee and gave the order to attack:

"Start~"

At the command, Aaron sprinted and accelerated, lowering his center of gravity and stretching his arms forward, trying to grab Mike's waist.

He knew his own strength; he was no match for Mike. In this confrontation, he didn't seek victory, but only hoped to keep his opponent occupied so that his defeat wouldn't be too humiliating.

Mike, who has experience in third-degree football, believes that Aaron's challenge was full of flaws.

The moment the two made contact, Mike pushed away the other's hands, and using the momentum of his twisting waist, flung Aaron away.

In this confrontation, Mike relied on technique and didn't exert much effort.

"Aaron, don't think too much. Your goal is to take down your opponent," Coach George lectured Aaron, who had just gotten up.

In his opinion, Aaron was good in every way as captain, except that his personality was too mild, which, to put it bluntly, meant he lacked aggression.

This is not a good thing for Aaron, who is aiming for a career.

"Again! Show me your determination!" Coach George encouraged.

“Okay!” Aaron knew his own weaknesses, but this time he seemed to draw strength from his coach’s encouragement, and his eyes slowly became firm.

"Wait a minute, I'll give it my all." Aaron said again as he passed Mike, "And please give it your all too. I want to see just how big the gap is between us."

Seeing the other person's determined look, Mike nodded, indicating that he understood.

"Start~"

With another command, Aaron cast aside all distractions. He increased his speed, slightly shifting his body, ready for a true man's head-on clash with his opponent.

However, in Mike's view, Aaron, who sought to take the initiative this time, showed more weaknesses.

At the moment of their high-speed collision, Mike contracted his body, rapidly lowering his center of gravity.

When his shoulder touched the other's abdomen, Mike's core strength was instantly activated, and his whole body suddenly thrust upwards.

"OMG~"

Amidst the gasps of his teammates, Aaron traced a graceful arc before crashing heavily to the ground.

Mike, on the other hand, essentially completed a unique over-the-shoulder throw.

This was a perfect display of strength and skill.

"Are you alright? How are you feeling?" Knowing his own strength, Mike quickly went over and helped Aaron up from the ground.

"I'm fine~" Aaron shook his head with a wry smile.

Sometimes, the gap between people cannot be bridged through effort alone. Especially since Mike grew up under Aaron's watchful eye.

This made Aaron feel very powerless.

Coach George was also taken aback by the intensity of the confrontation. He quickly came over to check on Aaron and found that the other man was not injured.

Then, he patted Aaron on the shoulder with satisfaction and encouraged him, "Well done, go and take a rest."

Although Aaron's performance was less than satisfactory in this round of competition, Coach George saw a drive in him.

This is a good start for Aaron.

Chapter 50 Contradictions

After Aaron went to rest, Coach George turned his attention to the players who had gathered around to watch the commotion.

Obviously, the more material available, the better, if the goal is to promote the Melford High School rugby team.

Faced with the coach's gaze, the team members all turned their heads away guiltily, and soon scattered in all directions.

The team members had already experienced Mike's strength firsthand, and they didn't want to be the second "lucky one".

Coach George wasn't too surprised by the players' reaction. He shook his head, then looked at Jack, who was fiddling with the camera, and asked, "So, did you get all the footage from before?"

“Of course! As a sports reporter, how could I miss such a wonderful moment?” Jack’s face was full of excitement, and then he praised, “I am even more certain that Mike will become a ‘big shot’ on the football field in the future.”

Jack's bet on Mike paid off. Footage he filmed of Mike scoring a touchdown during the game had already been selected by a local radio station for their "Top 10 Football Reports of the Week."

This also earned the down-on-his-luck sports reporter a substantial bonus.

Therefore, Jack now finds Mike, this dark horse, quite pleasing to the eye.

Coach George was pleased with Jack's praise of his players. He smiled and turned to Mike, saying, "Alright, you can go back to training now."

Mike nodded and returned to the equipment area to begin his individual workout.

Another afternoon was spent in tedious exercise.

Jack also managed to capture a lot more footage of Mike training. Seeing that it was almost time, he packed up his equipment and, before leaving, reminded Mike to watch the sports channel that evening.

During the inter-school league, local television stations will compile highlights from the league and broadcast them during prime time on Friday nights.

This turned the school rugby game into a carnival for everyone.

After Jack left, Coach George gave the team a briefing on next week's opponents and urged them to prepare diligently at home.

Then, as soon as Coach George announced "disbandment," the team members cheered and left the field.

For the team members, the joyful weekend time is just as important as winning the game.

Mike quickly washed up and left the locker room. Following the pattern of the past few days, he once again declined invitations from several girls who were still waiting persistently at the door.

Given Mike's current popularity at school, he could easily have an in-depth conversation with any girl with just a wave of his hand.

However, after Karen's experience, Mike has lost all interest in girls who are not particularly attractive.

However, his nonchalant attitude was infuriating to little George.

George Jr. expressed: Envy, jealousy, and hatred!

"Isn't that little Sheldon?" The two hadn't walked far when Mike spotted Sheldon's small figure by the roadside.

"What an annoying guy..." George muttered, putting on a poker face.

His expression seemed to say, "Seeing Sheldon on campus is an unlucky thing."

In the past, after school, Sheldon would ride straight home in George's car, unlike George and Mike who would take a leisurely walk home.

His unusual behavior today must mean something happened.

"Hey, Sheldon, what's up?" Mike greeted him.

"It's nothing," Sheldon replied, trying to appear natural.

But without realizing it, his pace caught up with Mike's. Looking at the conflicted expression on his face, it was clear he was troubled.

“Okay.” Mike smiled and didn’t ask any more questions. He knew Sheldon’s proud and arrogant personality very well.

Moreover, based on his understanding of Sheldon, he knew that if the other boy had something on his mind, he wouldn't be able to keep it to himself for long.

Sure enough, after the three of them left the campus, Sheldon hesitated for a while before finally asking, "Mike, do you think George and Mary will get a divorce?"

"What do you mean?" Mike asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Mary and George were a model couple, and Mike couldn't think of any reason why they would end up getting a divorce.

“These past few nights, I’ve often heard George and Mary arguing in their room,” Sheldon Jr. analyzed seriously. “As far as I know, every couple goes through this phase before they divorce.”

"Why are they arguing?" Mike continued to ask.

"I don't know either, maybe it's because of Grandma's secret barbecue recipe," Little Sheldon sighed.

No matter how smart young Sheldon is, he can't understand why Grandma Connie's barbecue recipe has such "power".

However, Mike guessed some of the hidden reasons: George was probably not angry about a barbecue recipe, but rather he felt that his efforts over the past ten years had not been understood or "rewarded" by his family.

Humans are emotional beings after all. After giving, they also want to receive some positive "feedback" to show their value.

Connie's grandmother's barbecue recipe can only be considered a negative trigger.

However, Mike still found it hard to believe that George and Mary would go to the point of divorce over such a small conflict.

So he turned to ask, "Little George, do you know what George and Mary were arguing about?"

"How should I know?" Little George, who had been invisible all along, hadn't noticed the change in the atmosphere at home.

He then continued, "Isn't arguing normal? I often argue with some people on the football team."

“Shut up, little George.” Young Sheldon, annoyed by George’s foolish remark, said, “George’s argument with Mary is completely different from yours…”

Next, Sheldon tried to explain the difference between the two to George.

"Whatever," little George said nonchalantly. "If they divorce, I want to live with George. You can't choose the same thing as me..."