Seeing Hank fall silent, Lin Wansheng continued. His voice was not loud, but it dissected the relationship between the two of them with precision.
“The problem between us is that you think I have potential, but not that much potential. That’s normal.”
“So from the very beginning, we’ve been in an unequal negotiating position.”
He took a step forward, closing in on Hank, his gaze not wavering in the slightest.
“Since you can get me onto JV, why not be more straightforward and put me directly on Varsity?”
“That way, you can find out faster whether this investment of yours is actually worth it. Isn’t that right?”
The air seemed to freeze.
Kate, standing to the side, nearly stopped breathing as she listened. She felt Lin Wansheng must have gone insane.
A player who had not even made it into training camp was actually daring to bargain for a spot on the first team?
However, Hank’s reaction once again exceeded Kate’s expectations.
He did not get angry. Instead, he let out a low laugh, a laugh filled with the delight of meeting a worthy opponent.
“Kid, you’re smart, but you’re thinking of high school football as too simple.” He shook his head.
“What do you think Varsity is? A farmers’ market, where you can come and go as you please?”
“An eleventh-grader who hasn’t played a single minute suddenly parachutes onto Varsity. How is Bob supposed to explain that to the sponsors?”
“How is he supposed to explain it to the parents of those players who donate money to the school?”
Lin Wansheng was not cowed by Hank’s presence. Instead, he smiled.
He leaned against the railing outside the school, hands in his pockets.
Calm and unhurried, he looked at Hank.
“Our Varsity wide receiver, Spencer Hank, should be one of your family members, right?”
The smile on Hank’s face froze.
Lin Wansheng seemed not to notice the change in his expression.
He continued, “That’s also why you were able to find out my background information so quickly. Right?”
“I heard Spencer has already received verbal offers from several D1 college scouts.”
“Of course I’m not choosing to be parachuted straight onto Varsity.”
“But I need you, at the appropriate time, to have Spencer give up his position to me.”
“That way, after I demonstrate my true value.”
“Only then can the two of us sit down.”
“And properly discuss our big business.”
……
……
……
Lin Wansheng watched Kate and Hank walk toward the school parking lot.
He felt as though everything that had happened today was somewhat like a dream.
He had already accepted the reality that he would no longer play football, thinking he would just drift along with the team in twelfth grade, get a bit of high school scholarship money, and then happily go off to college.
He had not expected the matter to take such an unexpected turn.
If not for Hank’s sudden whim, even with his physical attributes forcibly raised by the system, at such a crucial point in twelfth grade, he might not necessarily have gotten a chance on JV.
After all, most of the players on the football team might truly be like the rumors said—their brains had been smashed up on the field. If they relied on GPA alone to get into college, Manhattan Community College was probably the only place that would take them.
Suddenly, the system’s voice sounded in his mind again.
【Observation: The steward has actively plotted and planned in hopes of breaking the deadlock.】
【Main Destiny Line, third stage completed.】
【You have gained the favor of the Lord of Black Slaves, temporarily making him your wing.】
【Clear-sighted perception has been demonstrated. A new attribute is hereby unlocked.】
【Reward: Bearing +2, Intelligence +2, Insight +1.】
The corner of Lin Wansheng’s eye could not help twitching.
“Lord of Black Slaves”
……
This system’s understanding of interpersonal relationships was really making things difficult for itself.
Forget it.
Might as well look at the actual benefits.
With a thought, he opened the panel, then fell into contemplation.
【Miner Success System】
【Host: Lin Wansheng】
【Age: Ten】
【Intelligence: Thirteen】
【Physique: Twenty-five】
【Bearing: Seventeen】
【Insight: Eleven】
【Remaining attributes unlocked.】
【Family Circumstances: Poor.】
Previously, he had always thought that a base value of 10 points on the panel represented the average level of an ordinary adult.
But judging from the degree to which his 【Physique】 had increased these past few times, that guess was clearly wrong.
He suddenly realized—could this system be treating 10 points as the average level of a child?
Looking at it that way, it seemed much more reasonable.
After all, something like IQ did not increase infinitely with age. What increased was only one’s understanding of things and experience.
Bearing could be understood as charm, Intelligence should be IQ, so what was this newly unlocked “Insight”?
He thought back to his conversation with Hank just now. It seemed to have appeared only after he saw through the other party’s intentions and counterattacked.
Could this attribute refer to the ability to see through people’s hearts?
Forget it. He could only force that explanation for now.
In any case, asking this damn system was useless. It never answered.
Still, no matter how he understood it, one thing was certain: the more points added, the better.
……
……
……
After Teacher Li finished explaining the Eight Principles of the character “Yong,” she distributed a new stack of red-tracing copybooks.
“All right, that’s it for today’s class.” She adjusted her glasses, her gaze sweeping over the group of little brats.
Finally, it landed on Lin Wansheng. “Wansheng, keep an eye on them. Today, they must finish tracing this page before they can leave.”
With that, she turned and walked into the inner room.
Lin Wansheng nodded and skillfully took over the situation.
Just then, a faint sound of footsteps came from the stairs.
Li Shuyao, whom he had not seen for several days, was wearing a plain, elegant light-blue dress as she slowly walked down.
She seemed somewhat thinner, and her complexion looked slightly pale.
But when those clear eyes saw Lin Wansheng, they still lit up for a moment.
She walked to Lin Wansheng’s side and watched him skillfully scold a child who was trying to draw Ultraman with a calligraphy brush. She could not help laughing softly.
Only after Lin Wansheng finally pressed that child back into his seat did Li Shuyao ask in a soft voice, “Are you still going to that stand-up comedy club tomorrow?”
“Of course I am.” Lin Wansheng answered without thinking, his tone carrying a bit of smugness.
“I just go onstage for ten-odd minutes, move my mouth a little, and three hundred bucks is in my pocket. How could I possibly not go for a good thing like that?”
Hearing this, Li Shuyao’s brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. After hesitating for a moment, she still said, “Recently I heard that after last time’s performance, some white people felt you were a little too insult.”
“That’s not called cursing people. That’s called the art of offense,” Lin Wansheng corrected her, a trace of a wicked smile on his face.
“Besides, they laughed louder than anyone else, and they even threw money at me. That shows they like being scolded. I’m just satisfying customer demand.”
“Sophistry.” Li Shuyao rolled her eyes at him, though there was not much reproach in her voice.
“You’re always like this. No matter what it is, you can come up with a whole set of twisted logic for it.”
“What else am I supposed to do?” Lin Wansheng spread his hands. “Life is already bitter enough. I’ve got to find some fun, and make some money on the side, right?”
He looked at Li Shuyao, then changed the topic. “Speaking of which, why haven’t I seen you these past few days? Were you sick?”
Li Shuyao’s eyes dodged slightly, and she gave a soft “Mm.” “It’s nothing. I just felt a little unwell, so I rested upstairs.”
Just as Lin Wansheng was about to ask more, the phone in his pocket suddenly began vibrating wildly.
He took out his phone and saw the caller ID: “Coach Bob.”
As soon as he picked up, before he could even speak, Coach Bob’s roar came from the other end of the line.
“Lin! Get your ass down here, right now!”
Lin Wansheng hesitated a little. He glanced at the group of children in the classroom who were still writing away furiously.
Li Shuyao had been standing quietly to the side the whole time. Although she could not hear the contents of the call clearly, from Lin Wansheng’s troubled expression and the coach’s faintly audible roar, she roughly guessed what was going on.
Seeing Lin Wansheng standing there with a conflicted look, she took the initiative to speak. “If you have something urgent, hurry and go. I’ll help you watch things here.”