This piece of gossip originated from the former assistant of a well-known sports lawyer and agent, who drunkenly claimed that Li Wei had reached a secret agreement with a heavy hitter from an NFL team.

"I’m tellin’ you, man," he said, slurring his words. "That kid, Li Wei, he’s gonna challenge the NFL’s current rules again. He’s following in Maurice Clarett’s footsteps, and this time, an NFL team owner is backing him."

Back in 2004, Maurice Clarett was the star running back for Ohio State University. He led the team to a national championship as a freshman, but after being suspended for violating school rules, he decided to challenge the NFL’s eligibility rule—which requires players to be three years out of high school—and declare for the draft.

However, Clarett lost his lawsuit, and no one had been able to challenge that rule since.

The moment this gossip broke, the football world erupted.

Some supported Li Wei, arguing that based on his current performance in the PSAL and the stats he put up in training camp, he had already far surpassed the level of a high schooler, or even the intensity of NCAA competition.

Forcing him to play in the NCAA would be unfair to him, delaying his prime. On the other hand, it would be unfair to his opponents, as playing against Li Wei carried a constant risk of injury.

Opponents, however, argued that the regulation had been in place for over 20 years. If top-tier geniuses were allowed to skip the NCAA, it would lose its core appeal—and the NCAA was a massive, multi-billion-USD industry. Withdrawing sponsors and shrinking broadcast fees would ultimately cause tens of thousands of regular students who rely on athletic scholarships to lose their opportunity for an education.

For reasons unknown, the public debate sparked by this bit of gossip escalated within 72 hours, evolving into one of the most profound philosophical debates in the history of modern football in the United States of America.

Social media, academia, and the world of sports commentary became fiercely polarized.

On X (formerly Twitter), posts and engagement under the hashtags #SkipNCAA and #LiWeivsNFL exploded.

"If Li Wei succeeds, won’t the NCAA just become a feeder league? High school students will rush the NFL one after another. Will anyone even watch college games anymore? A century-old foundation will be destroyed in an instant!"

"Did you see his tape from Yankee Stadium?! A monster with that kind of physique playing against freshmen would be murder. All the haters in the comments telling him to just play in the NCAA should line up and try to stop his charge themselves."

Beyond X, the younger generation on TikTok was more inclined to embrace the ’break the rules’ narrative.

Countless creators clipped Li Wei’s game footage and live videos into shorts. Paired with his handsome face and his identity as a person of color, he surprisingly attracted a huge wave of female fans and people from outside the football world to cheer him on.

While everyone was busy arguing, someone finally realized something: what did Li Wei himself actually think?

Li Wei, for his part, had simply taken two days off from school. He was holed up at home, researching the academic admission requirements for Yale and Harvard.

After all, getting into a university through athletics basically required going the NCAA route, similar to the special recruitment for student-athletes in the Celestial Dynasty.

If he could really get directly into the NFL with John Mara’s help, he’d be considered a professional and wouldn’t be able to use the student-athlete track. He would have to get into a university based on academics alone.

Just as he was looking up Yale’s admission interview requirements, his phone suddenly rang.

He picked it up and saw it was an unknown contact; the number was blocked.

Li Wei frowned and answered the call.

"This is Li Wei," he said. "How can I help you?"

"Hello, Li Wei," a gentle female voice replied. "This is Elizabeth Mellon."

’Elizabeth Mellon?’

Li Wei’s mind immediately flashed to the stunningly beautiful young woman from the Mellon Family. To be honest, they hadn’t had any contact since meeting at the art museum a month ago, when she had given him her personal business card.

"Miss Mellon," Li Wei said, "is there something I can do for you?"

"I do apologize for calling so suddenly," Elizabeth Mellon said apologetically. "It’s just that I’ve recently learned you seem to be in a bit of trouble."

Li Wei lifted his hand from his laptop’s trackpad, his eyes drifting away from the ’Student Academic Profile (SAT/ACT Requirements)’ page on the Yale University website.

"I think I’m doing fine," Li Wei said. "I don’t consider any of this to be trouble."

"Oh, is that so?" Elizabeth Mellon’s tone was flawless. "Then I am truly sorry. It seems I was being presumptuous."

Her tone was sincere, her cadence unhurried, and her voice gentle, but for some reason, Li Wei had a very bad feeling about her.

Maybe it was because she still owed him a tip, or maybe it was just his gut telling him she was incredibly pretentious.

"Don’t worry about it. I have my own plans," Li Wei said. "If there’s nothing else, I’m busy."

"Very well, I won’t disturb you then," Elizabeth Mellon said gently. "If you do run into any problems, feel free to call my personal number. I’ll help you resolve them."

"What if it’s a really big problem?" Li Wei retorted with a smile. "If I killed someone, could you solve that for me, too?"

"In the United States of America, all people are equal; no one is more noble than another," Elizabeth said politely. "I’m confident Mr. Li Wei wouldn’t do something so cruel."