“Didn’t I faint? Why am I not in the hospital? Paul is so unreliable... Wait, no... Not going to the hospital is actually great!”

From the current situation, it looks like a family doctor was called. Although it’s not cheap either, hiring a doctor for even a minor cold can cost him a week’s living expenses.

But in any case, it’s still cheaper than the diagnostic fees at the hospital, and there’s no need to pay thousands of dollars for an ambulance, or several thousand to tens of thousands of dollars for various tests and medications.

As for public hospitals, forget it. By the time you get in line, you might as well not get treated at all.

Family doctors are very common in the US. Most of them are doctors from public hospitals working part-time. Although it’s called part-time, family doctors are actually more attentive and patient than when they’re at the hospital.

Henry Bolton was extremely relieved that he didn’t go to the hospital. With a jolt, he suddenly sat up. The chubby black guy reading comics on the chair next to the bed leaned back so far he almost tipped the chair over.

“Alex, you’re finally awake! You scared me to death. I had just come out and saw you collapse. The doctor said you’re fine, just under too much stress. I told you, why do you worry so much? If UCLA doesn’t want you, just try another school. Oh my god, I don’t want to go to UCLA anymore either... Ahem, Alex, don’t be so anxious. Training like this every day is too much for your body. There will always be opportunities. Even if you’re strong, too much stress is still too much. Luckily, you’re okay this time. The doctor said you fainted from being too tense and told you to pay attention...”

Looking at the chubby guy in front of him, Henry Bolton felt his eardrums ache a little. He could vaguely tell that this was the future Celtics team soul Paul Pierce from his memories, but why was he so fat?

And, Pierce is actually a chatterbox? What happened to the proud and cold “undying bird” who survived being stabbed 11 times? Maybe he just annoyed someone with his nonstop talking and got stabbed... Oh right, this guy has always been a chatterbox!

The differences in the two sets of memories about Pierce immediately became apparent, but he quickly sorted them out. This kind of thing is bound to happen at first, but over time he’d get used to distinguishing between “now” and “the future.” Henry Bolton knew that people and things in this world should be judged by the memories of the international student, while the memories of the future... were his trump card! Unfortunately, a lot of the things he remembered required capital, and he couldn’t recall any of those one-in-a-million lottery numbers.

Who in their right mind would remember that kind of stuff?

But if he had some capital, there were a lot of things he could accomplish.

Pierce had no idea what Henry Bolton was thinking. Otherwise, he’d definitely challenge him to a duel! He hated it when people called him fat the most!

So what if he’s fat? Even fat, he’s still the top basketball player among California high schoolers!

Pierce was still in chatterbox mode. Henry Bolton knew this landlady’s son all too well. After moving into this apartment, it took less than two months for the same-aged Pierce to latch onto him. At first, the landlady was worried that this kid from a backward country across the ocean was too withdrawn and might get bullied, while her own son was usually the one bullying others, so she asked Pierce to look after Henry Bolton.

But their personalities complemented each other. Pierce was talkative, passionate, and loyal, while Henry Bolton was withdrawn but secretly longed for friendship. One liked to talk, the other was willing to listen, so they naturally became friends.

Ignoring the unstoppable chatterbox Pierce for now, Henry Bolton had a thought, and a subtitle popped up in front of his eyes... He glanced at Pierce beside him, who didn’t notice a thing, and Henry Bolton let out a sigh of relief.

Faced with something like this, he would never think of telling anyone to share the secret. A secret, once you tell someone and agree it’s a secret, is still a secret, but once it’s out, it will eventually be discovered.

This kind of thing can’t be told to anyone!

Thinking that Pierce probably stayed up all night to watch over him, Henry Bolton felt a bit touched... But as he watched the changing content on the subtitle, his heart sank.

“Remaining lifespan: 365 days. Usable lifespan: 364 days.”

After dealing with Pierce and sending him away with the excuse of needing to rest, Henry Bolton began to sort out his current situation.

Chapter 2: I Sign Myself!

The date is April 10, 1995.

The place is a student apartment in Inglewood, Los Angeles. The school he attends is Inglewood High School, one of the top private high schools in California.

Just over a month ago, he and Pierce led their team to win the California high school league championship. Pierce was named California Mr. Basketball, and he was selected for the California high school all-first team.

At the moment, NCAA March Madness had just ended a few days ago. Ed O’Bannon led UCLA to win the NCAA basketball championship for the first time in 19 years.

Just a couple of days ago, UCLA, fresh off their NCAA championship, rejected Henry Bolton’s basketball scholarship application and suggested he apply for admission based on his test scores.

But for now, Henry Bolton didn’t want to deal with that.

“Only one year left to live?”

Lying in bed, Henry Bolton looked at the “countdown” written on the subtitle, feeling very complicated.

The “future” memories gave him a year to live freely, which to him was a godsend.

But the memories of this body had a big impact on him. Another thought in his mind was—this is just too tragic. A young high schooler, and he only has one year left to live!