Chapter 165: Chapter 107: Not Flaunting Success is Like Wearing Brocade in the Dark

She had rehearsed it in her mind so many times that she sometimes felt like a real actress who had finally found the perfect opportunity.

However, Li Wei didn’t have any particular favorite bands, so Anya forced him to find one he liked within a month and give her a list of his five favorite songs.

Li Wei found it a bit baffling, but he agreed to her request anyway.

The next day, Li Wei splurged on a $599 pair of headphones. While waiting for school to start, he began cramming to build his playlist.

A few days later, when he returned to Franklin High School, he was taken aback by the grand spectacle that awaited him.

A massive red banner with gold lettering hung above the main school building, warmly welcoming him back as the MVP of the All-American All-Star Bowl and proclaiming the school’s pride in him.

The moment he walked through the main doors, the already crowded and noisy hallway burst into a clamor ten times louder than before, as if a bomb had gone off.

"Hey! MVP!"

"That’s Li Wei! It’s really Li Wei!"

"Li! Over here! Give us an autograph!"

Even many gang members, covered in tattoos with colored bandanas tied around their heads or waists, were now scrambling to give him a high-five.

Principal Herman, his face flushed and beaming, watched him as if he had completely forgotten their past conflicts. He was flanked by several photographers who were busy adjusting their cameras.

"Look who’s back!" He spread his arms wide, his posture making it seem as if Li Wei wasn’t his student, but his long-lost father. In a way, Li Wei was even more important to him than his actual father. Li Wei’s name and influence were already starting to pay dividends. Rumor had it that applications from student-athletes wanting to transfer to Franklin High next semester were already piled high on his desk, and sponsorships of all kinds had more than tripled.

"Make way, everyone! Let our hero through!" the principal commanded the crowd, his face beaming with pride. "Li Wei, come to my office after first period. We need to put that MVP trophy of yours in the most prominent spot in our display case."

"A replica would be fine, too," he quickly added, noticing the strange expression on Li Wei’s face. "Or even just for one day so we can get a photo."

He made his way through the crowd. Everywhere he went, even the white and Black students who had once been racist toward him now scrambled to shout his name as he passed, hoping to boost their own social standing.

This was especially true for the football players he didn’t know well. If Li Wei so much as nodded in their direction, they would beam with pride. The girls around them would even look at them with newfound respect just because Li Wei had acknowledged them with a nod or a simple hello.

Although it was just a high school, the place was slowly turning into a microcosm of fame and fortune with Li Wei as its undisputed center.

The commotion didn’t die down until class finally started.

The winter break had passed, and while Craig, Travis, and the others hadn’t changed much, something strange caught his attention.

Michael seemed like a completely different person.

Previously, he would have been the first to greet Li Wei, but this time, he seemed to have completely withdrawn into himself. He was even absent-minded during class.

At lunch, Li Wei deliberately turned down an invitation to eat with Travis, Craig, and Jasmine, instead sitting down across from Michael while shaking his protein shake. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Is this seat taken?"

Michael was mindlessly poking his fork at the vomit-like glob of the school’s special meat sauce and mashed potatoes. He jerked his head up at the sound of Li Wei’s voice.

When he saw Li Wei sitting across from him with his protein shaker, a flicker of panic crossed his eyes.

"Oh, it’s you," he said sluggishly, making no attempt to hide his bloodshot eyes and stubble. "Sorry, I forgot to message you... Heard you won MVP at the All-American All-Star Bowl. Congrats."

"What’s wrong?" Li Wei twisted open the lid of his shaker, took a large gulp, and then pulled out his own packed lunch. "You look like you just crawled out of a dumpster. What about your brother? Did he get sent to rehab?"

"Kevin’s dead. It happened on Christmas Eve," Michael said flatly. "The funeral’s the day after tomorrow."

Li Wei’s hand, which was lifting the shaker to his lips, froze in mid-air.

"I’m so sorry, Michael," he said. "I didn’t know..."

"He was following his boss’s orders, selling crack cocaine on a new block, and got into a fight with him," Michael said, as if he were telling a story about a stranger. "He killed the boss. Then, when he was coming home with the money, he ran right into me while I was out looking for him. He died in my arms."

Li Wei looked at his anguished friend, his mind racing.

’To be honest, from a purely rational perspective, I don’t feel sad about this. After all, I only met Kevin a handful of times. Besides, my impression of him was never good; he tried to drag me down into his mess the very first time we met.’

’Looking at it as Michael’s friend, I even feel like this isn’t a bad thing for him. It’s actually a kind of release.’

’Michael has incredible willpower and the ambition to study medicine, to change his destiny and transcend his social class. But his brother, steeped in sin and stuck in the mud, was like a lead ball chained to his ankle. Sooner or later, Kevin would have dragged Michael down with him, either to a prison cell or the morgue.’