Dominate the Super Bowl

A girl, carrying her high heels, tiptoeing and stepping quietly like a cat, opened her room door with a wobbly silhouette that could barely stand, her disheveled hair, smudged eyeliner, and dilated pupils faintly recording last night's craziness.

The stench of vomit could be smelled on her sequined short skirt, and a surge in her stomach forced her to take a couple of deep breaths to control herself.

Then,

she carefully closed the door again, ensuring that it didn't make too much noise, before she let out a long sigh. Her throbbing head felt like it was about to explode. As her heels touched the ground again, before she could steady herself, she turned around to see the figure in front of her, and her heart stopped beating for a second.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Her heels, once again, tiptoed.

"Oh, Jesus Christ."

The girl clutched at her chest, the vomit she had managed to push down threatened to surge up again as she looked at Li Wei, her knees going weak.

Li Wei revealed a smile, lifted his eyes to gesture at his short hair, "Still look like it? I thought after the haircut I wouldn't resemble it anymore."

The girl was momentarily stunned.

One second, two seconds, then she finally caught on to Li Wei's teasing, and couldn't help chuckling, stealthily casting a glance at Li Wei—

Despite the early morning, Li Wei had already finished his morning routine training, a thin layer of sweat glowed on his forehead, his black hair slightly damp, his eyes brimming with the first ray of morning light, clear and bright, a stark contrast to his aggressive dominance on the field.

Unconsciously, her heartstrings were gently plucked.

Her heartbeat lost its rhythm, she hastily lowered her gaze, "The game, uh, I mean, good luck with your training. Go Crimson Tide!"

Li Wei, "Thank you." His eyes noticed the mug in the girl's hand, held alongside high heels, "Ah, that mug..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the girl glanced at the mug she was holding up, let out a scream, covered her face in embarrassment, and fled lightning-fast, with sprinting ability that could rival an Olympic 100-meter finalist, vanishing before one could even blink.

Only her voice resonated in the air: Aaah...

Li Wei blinked, "…It's not mine." The rest of the sentence just got stuck in his throat, despite the "Li Wei" label stuck on the mug, that really wasn't his cup.

Shaking his head in resignation, Li Wei pushed open the dorm room door, and was met with a wave of stale air mixed with alcohol. He walked over to the opposite side, pulled up the blinds, and pushed open the window, letting fresh air rush in. The figure curled up on the bed groaned with difficulty.

However,

he did not get up.

Instead, he pulled up the blanket, curling up completely.

That person was Li Wei's roommate, Simon Hunt, also a sophomore, who abided by Harvard University's classic theory:

"Study hard, play harder."

Last night, he probably had been up all night studying at the library. When Li Wei got up for his morning routine, he hadn't seen the guy, only to come back to this scene. Plus, considering the girl who had just left the dorm, it wasn't hard to guess that last night's library study might've turned from "A Beautiful Mind" into "Before Sunrise."

Li Wei looked at the caterpillar curled up underneath the blanket, shouted, "Fire, fire!"

Whoosh!

With a swift jerk, Hunter leaped up, wrapped in a blanket, burst out of the dorm, and stood in the hallway, looking around bewilderedly.

"Fire!"

"Fire?"

The empty hallway didn't look at all like a fire scene, and in his groggy state, Hunter looked back towards the dorm to see Li Wei making a gesture:

Pinky touching ring finger, middle finger next to index finger, both pairs spread apart, and finally, thumb stretched out as much as possible.

This is the Vulcan greeting gesture from "Star Trek."

If Hunter didn't get it by now, he'd be a fool. Rubbing his eyes, he walked back, raised his right hand to high-five Li Wei, then let out a silly laugh, "Heh, you got me."

Li Wei looked at his desk, which was empty and didn't have his mug, "Did you lie to the girls again, telling them that mug is my favorite?"

Hunter chuckled, "I didn't say anything. Misunderstandings are their prerogative."

Li Wei was speechless—

Since the end of the warm-up games, Li Wei had become an instant celebrity at the University of Alabama, greeted by cheers and whistles wherever he went; it seemed like he became well-known throughout the campus overnight.

Not just on campus, even when going to the supermarket or a gas station, the town residents would also greet Li Wei with great enthusiasm, giving him the sensation of an undercover agent whose cover had been blown.

And more!

Countless girls were throwing autumn's spinach his way, and even during class, girls would slip him little notes with phone numbers scribbled on them.

But to be honest, Li Wei currently didn't have the time to respond to these.

He knew his mission; he needed to perform well in the new season to prove himself, or else he faced a lawsuit and potential compensation, especially since his secret weapon was exposed on nationwide live broadcasts after the warm-up games, which meant he might face even more challenges.

In just three short weeks, the content he learned was still far from enough, whether it was real-life training or system simulations.

Training, improvement, progress, those were the urgencies at hand.

As for other matters, they could wait.

But Hunter had firmly seized the opportunity and enjoyed a truly "fortunate" period recently, which then led to Li Wei's personal items disappearing every now and then.

Initially, Li Wei didn't understand and thought it was just him being forgetful, having mentioned it to Hunter inadvertently; later on, Hunter had made a bunch of mugs. Whenever a girl followed him back to the dorm, he'd sneakily place his self-printed mugs on Li Wei's desk.

Over the past three days, Li Wei stopped losing things.

Seeing Hunter's blissful face as he flopped back onto his bed left Li Wei with mixed feelings, "Simon, does that really not bother you?"

Those girls seemed to be using him as a stepping stone.

Hunter let out a long moan, "Why should it? It's a case of mutual benefit, a barter. If they can't have you, yet they don't mind settling for me, why would I refuse? The more the merrier, the more the merrier; it's been this way since Ancient Babylon."

"You have to give something to get what you want. If you can't have it directly, taking another route is also viable."

As he talked, Hunter's voice faded, and he fell back into slumber.

Just when Li Wei thought Hunter had passed out, Hunter spoke again without warning.

"Hey, buddy, you're really outstanding, staying true to yourself despite so many temptations; I certainly couldn't do it one hundred percent."

"If you weren't aware of this, I just wanted to tell you; if you already knew..."

The rest of his words were lost, replaced only by the sound of even breathing, a sure sign he must have passed out again.

Li Wei didn't bother with Hunter anymore.

The reason he could continue to persevere was partly due to self-discipline and partly because of the existence of the system, which not only quantified the gains from each training session and game but also allowed clear visualization of tangible improvements and benefits.

Just like now—

He could finally flip the card again, at last!