Chapter 99: Chapter 80: League Champions! A Sudden Rise to Fame

The crowd in the stands had stopped caring about the score. Even though it was already 42-0, they were all focused on one thing—whenever Li Wei got the ball, they stomped their feet in unison and chanted, "King! King! King!"

The final whistle blew. Franklin High School won the championship with a lopsided 54-6 victory, becoming the most dominant champion in the history of the PSAL—a record that might never be broken.

The only reason the other team scored six points was because, with the score at 48-0, Li Wei let the fully recovered Craig take the field to get some playing time. With Craig in, the teams were evenly matched, and both scored six points.

Cheers erupted all around as his teammates rushed over and lifted Li Wei high into the air, as if hoisting their king.

And in fact, Li Wei was worthy of the title.

"You’ve changed the fate of most of these guys," Coach Miller said suddenly as they walked toward the sidelines. "The vast majority of them."

"I suppose so," Li Wei said, nodding as he accepted the praise. "Aside from Manu and Craig, the rest of them are a little lacking."

"On their own, this is a team that couldn’t win a championship even if they were juiced to the gills," Miller said, giving the celebrating players a look filled with complex emotions. "But now, thanks to you, they have a championship title. Maybe they can find some Tier 2 or Tier 3 colleges, get scholarships, and commit."

Li Wei wiped the sweat from his forehead and glanced back.

He saw his teammates—guys who usually wandered the ghettos, their futures uncertain—now frantically kissing the trophy or clinging to each other, sobbing. For most of them, this was likely the highlight of their lives, and their only springboard out of their social class.

Before Coach Miller could get any more sentimental, the entrance to the locker room tunnel was completely swamped by a dense wall of cameras and microphones.

"Li! ESPN! Six touchdowns in a single game, four of them rushing touchdowns. Do you think you’ve redefined the term ’mobile Quarterback’?"

"Li! New York Post sports! An insider at 247Sports said your physical attributes surpass those of every rookie currently in the NFL. What’s your response to that?"

"One at a time! One at a time!" Coach Miller roared, shielding Li Wei behind him. "Don’t block the path! Make way!"

...

That night, after the interviews, short-form video apps like TikTok and Reels were flooded with clips. The hashtag "#KingOfYankeeStadium" quickly shot to the top of the sports trending charts.

Set to a heavy-drum Phonk electronic soundtrack, one video showed Li Wei, ball in hand, blowing past two defenders as if they were children before sprinting into the end zone. It racked up over 150,000 likes.

The next day, the sports section of the New York Post dedicated an entire page to the story, quoting a remark from an ESPN data analytics expert:

"Usually, when we talk about a ’mobile Quarterback,’ we’re referring to agility and evasion. But Li Wei offers a completely new interpretation—he doesn’t need to evade. His physicality is on an entirely different level, simply number one. By having his teammates create an opening, he can just power his way directly into the end zone. This could become a new tactical approach and would place even higher demands on the Quarterback position."

For the entire week, Li Wei was constantly signing autographs and posing for photos. Even his AP course teachers would sometimes ask for one.

After two days of this, Li Wei grew sick of signing and started refusing all autograph requests.

"Hmph, isn’t he acting like a big shot?" the Indian girl said, sitting next to Wang Haoran. She watched as Li Wei turned down a 10th-grade girl who had asked him out. "He’s not even in college yet. Can you imagine how arrogant he’ll be once he gets there?"

She fiddled with her silk scarf, muttering to herself just loud enough for the surrounding one or two tables to hear.

After adding Li Wei as a friend on social media, she had sent him a message, but he never even read it, let alone replied. This felt like a crushing blow to her pride, instantly turning her from a fan into a hater and putting her firmly in Wang Haoran’s camp.

"And his attitude... so rude. That girl just wanted to get to know him. Did he have to be like that? A personality like his will get him into trouble sooner or later. That kind of ’celebrity sickness’ is the fastest way to ruin someone. And I think the news reports are insane, hyping him up like he’s the next Mbappe, Kobe, Ronaldo, or Messi. At the end of the day, isn’t he just an athlete who’s a little bit stronger than average?"

She ranted on until her throat was dry, only to realize that Wang Haoran—who usually led the charge in mocking Li Wei, or would at least chime in with a few words of his own—was being uncharacteristically quiet today.

Wang Haoran kept his head down, focused on his book. A pen spun rapidly between his fingers, but he didn’t say a word.

"Hey, Wang Haoran," she said, frowning and tapping on his desk. "Why are you so quiet? You’re usually the first one to say this stuff. What’s gotten into you?"

Wang Haoran slowly looked up. The sour jealousy that usually filled his eyes was gone.

He looked at the classmate who had once opposed him, only to later join his side, and suddenly her voice sounded like a buzzing fly—ignorant and cheap.

"I just think..." Wang Haoran began, "it’s pointless. Why are we so obsessed with his life? It has nothing to do with us."

"What’s gotten into you?" the Indian girl asked, staring at Wang Haoran in surprise. "You were never like this before."

’He might be the one who saved my life,’ Wang Haoran thought to himself, but he couldn’t say the words out loud.

He just slammed his book shut, stood up, and walked out of the classroom without a backward glance.

Beyond the fame that was spreading like wildfire among the student body, November was also college recruitment season, and coaches from top universities had all set their sights on the young prospect.

A school that had once been a mere blip on New York’s educational landscape suddenly became a hotbed for scouts from college football powerhouses all across the nation.

The most obvious change came on Thursday. Outside the chain-link fence surrounding the practice field, the students who used to secretly smoke weed were gone. In their place stood a neat row of middle-aged men in polo shirts emblazoned with university logos.

An assistant coach from the University of Alabama had been posted up here for three days, a speed gun in his hand to clock the velocity of Li Wei’s every pass.

Ohio State University went a step further, renting two long-term suites in a nearby hotel, ready to start negotiations with Li Wei at a moment’s notice.

After observing Li Wei practice for two days, the assistant coaches and scouts on site were finally convinced of his talent. They couldn’t sit still any longer, all of them scrambling to pull Li Wei into negotiations.

It was a case of a rising tide lifting all boats; even Manu, Craig, and Travis were basking in the glow of Li Wei’s success, each gaining a decent amount of exposure.

Manu and Craig each received a full-ride scholarship offer from a Division I university. Even Travis, whose talent was average at best, landed a conditional full-ride offer to a Division II school.

The condition was that he had to pass all his basic subject exams and maintain a 2.5 GPA.

By the weekend, illegal betting sites were even taking wagers on which university Li Wei would contact first.

However, to everyone’s surprise, Li Wei didn’t contact anyone at all.

"What’s going on?" Coach Miller asked him in private. "These are the top athletic powerhouses in the country—Ohio State, Alabama, Michigan... They’ve even agreed to build the roster to your specifications and are willing to offer you an estimated seven-figure NIL deal."

But Li Wei just shook his head.

"Mr. Wen Si told me not to sign anything. Everything is proceeding as planned," he said. "But I can’t say more until it’s a done deal."

Coach Miller, however, immediately recalled what had happened a month ago, right after they got out of training camp.

"You don’t mean... from that day?" he asked.

Li Wei nodded.

When the weekend was over, Li Wei had rejected all invitations from universities—for signings, campus visits, and home visits.

At the same time, a rumor from an unknown source began to spread like wildfire throughout the football world.