Chapter 140: Chapter 99: Bro, Merry Christmas

This was his brother in arms, his best friend.

’This system is way too stingy,’ Li Wei thought. ’If it gave me 10 free attribute points at once, I might actually consider it.’

He glanced up at the history teacher at the podium, who was engrossed in a newspaper, then looked back at Travis.

Even though he and Craig had been tutoring Travis for a while now, Travis’s brainpower seemed to be on par with a silverback gorilla’s—though in terms of build, they were pretty similar.

He turned away, snatching Travis’s test and shoving his own over to him.

Travis took one look and saw that the paper Li Wei gave him was already filled with neat, closely-packed answers. He’d already finished the entire test.

He was instantly overjoyed and thumped Li Wei hard on the back in a burst of excitement.

However, for some reason, it felt like he’d just punched a block of marble. His fist ached from the impact.

"Hss," Travis winced, pulling his hand back. "Dude," he whispered to Li Wei, "do you wear a bulletproof vest to school or something?"

Li Wei couldn’t even be bothered to respond. He made corrections on Travis’s paper, essentially rewriting the whole thing, before crossing out Travis’s name and writing his own.

[You have chosen Route B: Help a classmate pass the exam]

[Free Attribute Points +0.1]

Ten minutes later, the bell rang, signaling the end of class. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Pass your papers up to the front," the teacher called out, folding his newspaper with a relieved expression. "Have a great Christmas break. See you next semester."

When Li Wei took the paper Travis passed forward, he sighed.

’Just as I thought. This big idiot didn’t even change my name back.’

He quickly changed the name back to Travis’s before passing the stack of papers forward.

The history teacher glanced over both Li Wei’s and Travis’s tests, then gave Li Wei a smile without saying a word before gathering them up.

For a student like Li Wei, who had made history for the school, minor infractions were tolerable in the eyes of the teachers and the dean, as long as he wasn’t openly breaking school rules.

The moment they walked out of the school building, a biting cold wind mixed with snowflakes hit their faces, but to Travis, it felt like the warmest wind in the world.

"You saved my life! Bro! Seriously!" Travis was so excited he wanted to give Li Wei a bear hug. "Without your help, I probably wouldn’t have made it to Pace University."

"Don’t get too excited," Li Wei said. "The answers I gave you were complete nonsense. Didn’t you notice?"

The color drained from Travis’s face in an instant, and he felt his heart skip a beat.

"Kidding," Li Wei said with a laugh. "But for real, if you pull this crap in college, the professors won’t let you slide."

"Fack! You scared the shit out of me!" Travis felt like he was about to cry. "College is a future problem. Anyway, what are you doing for the holidays?"

"I have to fly to San Antonio right after Christmas," Li Wei said, tightening his scarf. "What about you? Did Pace University send you a training plan?"

"They did, but I’m gonna make some money first," Travis said, scratching his head. "I’m planning to shovel snow over winter break, plus I found a night shift gig moving boxes at a warehouse."

"You’re not going to rest?" Li Wei asked, a little surprised.

"Rest for what?" Travis said. "With my dad’s leg like that, we don’t have much money. Shoveling snow and working at the warehouse makes money and saves me a gym membership. Moving hundred-pound boxes is just like lifting barbells at school."

"Hang in there," Li Wei said. "Just don’t get injured."

"Don’t worry, I take my growth hormone shots every week," Travis said, patting his chest. "Craig’s the one who’s really lucked out, though."

Just as he spoke, Craig walked out of another classroom with his backpack on, an unconcealable smile on his face and a spring in his step.

"What’re you guys talking about?" He bumped fists with both Travis and Li Wei.

"Talking about how you hit the jackpot," Travis said. "Did Syracuse University send you an offer?"

"Yup," Craig’s smile grew even wider. "D1, full-ride scholarship. The coaches invited me to visit the campus after Christmas and try out their training facilities. Room and board all paid for."

"Syracuse University, that’s a powerhouse in the ACC, the Atlantic Coast Conference," Li Wei said, happy for his teammate. "You’ll freeze to death playing up there, but the media exposure is incredible. You’ll definitely have a shot at the NFL in the future."

"Yeah, I never expected it," Craig said, his voice full of emotion. "My parents went nuts when they heard the news—"

"But you’re Black," Travis cut in cheekily. "You have a dad?"

Craig shot a kick into Travis’s ass and flipped him off.

"They thought I’d be lucky to get into a D2 school," he said. "Li Wei, for real, if you hadn’t led us to that New York championship, none of these D1 scouts would’ve even looked at me."

"You earned it," Li Wei said. "Keep grinding when you get to college."

The three of them chatted as they walked toward the school gate.

Craig’s girlfriend and childhood sweetheart, Jasmine, joined their group. After saying hi to everyone, she suddenly asked:

"Hey, Li Wei," she said, "aren’t you leaving for the All-American Bowl soon?"