When the final whistle of the last regular season game blew, scattered applause rose from the stands.

"A genius, a true genius! The perfect ability to read the game! Unbeatable stamina! A clear head—" Wen Si was the first to rush over and flatter Li Wei. "Li Wei, you should be tearing it up in the NFL."

"Another four years, right?" Li Wei said with a smile, taking the water bottle from him, twisting it open, and taking a sip. "I have to get into the NCAA first."

"Not necessarily," Wen Si said mysteriously. "Let me tell you—"

"Hey, Li Wei!" Travis jogged over, interrupting them. "That was a beautiful long pass!"

"You’re the one who made the great catch... Oh, right," Li Wei pulled him over to Wen Si. "This is Travis, the running back I told you about."

Travis shrank back awkwardly, then, as if remembering something, puffed out his chest. Having grown up in this area, the sight of Wen Si in a suit and tie made him instinctively timid.

"And Craig... get over here!" He also called over Craig, the Black quarterback who had just recovered from an injury. "If it hadn’t been for his accidental injury, I never would have gotten the chance to start."

"Don’t say that, man," Craig said, genuinely ashamed. "I played terribly. Even if I hadn’t gotten hurt, I couldn’t have beaten Tottenville High School."

Li Wei ignored him. He slung his arms around both of their shoulders and looked at Wen Si. "Mr. Wen Si, I think these two players are really talented. Could you consider giving them a look? Maybe watch their game film?"

Wen Si glanced at the dopey-looking Travis and the bashful Black player, Craig.

"Of course," he said with a smile. "I’ll ask Coach Miller for their game film and take a look."

Travis and Craig were ecstatic.

Even an oaf like Travis knew what it meant for a veteran scout to be willing to seriously review their game film.

"Yo, man," Craig threw his arms around Li Wei. "Thank you. I mean it. Thank you."

"Alright, gentlemen, if you don’t mind," Wen Si said, draping an arm over Li Wei’s shoulders, "allow me to speak with Mr. Li Wei alone for a moment."

The two walked to a secluded corner, and Scout Arthur Wens glanced at Travis and Craig, who kept looking back as they left.

"What do you want me to do for them?" he asked bluntly. "There’s a lot I can do, but I want to make sure we’re on the same page first."

He held up three fingers. "One: you want me to fight for them to get the same deal you’re getting. Two: you want me to get them into the schools of their choice. Or three: you just want to give them a chance—get them into a college, any college, with a scholarship."

"Each of these options requires a different level of resources," he said. "Some of these are very difficult, and I can’t guarantee I can pull them off."

"I understand," Li Wei said. "Hmm... I’ll go with option three. We get along well, but we’re not *that* close. Just giving them a hand is enough."

’Travis and Craig each had their own struggles. Li Wei did want to give them a leg up, but he felt it wasn’t necessary to exhaust Wen Si’s connections and resources to do so.’

"That’s good," Wen Si said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I was afraid you were all very close and would ask me to shoehorn them into a D1 or a Group of Five school."

"I’ll be frank with you," he said. "They have some talent, but it’s average. It might look decent in high school, but if you insist on dragging them along with you, it’ll just be a thankless effort. You could end up bringing them into a world where they don’t belong. If they can’t handle it, they might even grow to resent you."

Li Wei nodded. "I get it. That’s why just getting them a scholarship to attend college is enough. I can’t do any more for them than that."

"Understood." Wen Si pulled out a notebook and jotted it down right then and there. "Right, what was it I wanted to tell you... Oh, yeah!"

He glanced around, then leaned in and whispered, "You’ve come along at the perfect time. The timing, the place, the people—everything has lined up for you. You lucky bastard, it’s like you’ve crawled right into the Goddess of Fortune’s underwear."

Li Wei paused, taken aback. "What’s lined up for me?"

"Based on the polls for the year-end election, anyone with eyes can see the Democratic Party is going to win. That means another big push for diversity, LGBTIQCAPGNGFNBA, and all that stuff is coming."

Wen Si rattled off the long acronym without a stutter. "To curry favor with the incoming president, plus the fact that New York is a Blue State, and!" he stressed, "the New York Giants have been on the decline for over a decade, while you!" He pointed at Li Wei. "You’re a mixed-Asian kid with talent for the ages! Your time is coming!"

"I didn’t understand a single one of those acronyms you just rattled off," Li Wei said calmly. "So what ’time’ of mine is coming?"

"Do you want to skip the NCAA?" Scout Arthur Wens took a deep breath. "And go straight to the NFL? Enter the draft next March."

Li Wei paused, then spoke cautiously.

"The NFL has an age requirement," he said. "You have to be at least three years removed from high school. I can’t enter even if I want to—"

"Don’t worry about that," Wen Si cut him off impatiently. "I’m asking you a simple question: do you want to or not?"

"Yes!" Li Wei said without hesitation. "Of course I do!"

"Great!" Wen Si slapped him hard on the shoulder, then winced and pulled his hand back. "Then next week at the training camp, go and become the camp MVP and get your five-star rating. Be dominant. I have faith in you."

"And then what?" Li Wei asked, stunned. "Are you saying the owner of the New York Giants will come watch, and if he decides he likes what he sees, he’ll push for me and find a way around the age rule?"

"Not ’find a way around it’," Wen Si said, waving his hand dismissively. "A special exemption. One that applies only to you."

"I’m not entirely clear on how it works myself. I’m just the one submitting your file," he added. "I really believe in you. You got this, kid."

By the time he got home, Li Wei’s head was still spinning.

That evening, he told Don Quixote about it.

Don Quixote, however, was very optimistic about the matter.

"Well, your doctor said you’re ready," he said, "and your scout thinks it’s a good idea. You should trust the experts’ judgment, not a layman’s opinion like mine. For me to weigh in would be overstepping, since my understanding of football is limited to the basic rules."

"Besides, this isn’t set in stone yet, is it?" he added. "Go to the training camp first and see what happens. Even if this doesn’t work out, it won’t affect your other plans."

"Anyway, I’ve got your back," he said with great optimism. "No matter what happens, you can’t lose." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"True," Li Wei threw himself onto the sofa. "I’ll just focus on passing the training camp tests this weekend first."

’To get the equipment, I have to play in the All-American Bowl. To play in the All-American Bowl, I have to become a five-star player. To become a five-star player, I have to pass the training camp’s evaluation and become the MVP.’

He was ready to dominate.

...

The 247Sports Elite Training Camp’s New York Station was held at the training facility next to MetLife Stadium.

This place was not only the cradle of the New York Giants and the Jets, but also the coveted stepping stone for countless high school students.

Li Wei, accompanied by Coach Miller, Wen Si Scout, and others, arrived at the camp at 7 a.m. to register and get his measurements.

He scanned the crowd of high schoolers from the New York Region attending the camp.

’Hm, I’ve crushed at least half of these guys before.’

"How are you feeling?" Coach Miller asked quietly. "Feeling confident?"

"Hmm..." Li Wei glanced around. "I don’t mean to be personal, but I just want to say that everyone here... is—"