If he wanted to get into college through academics, even a prestigious university, his high school teachers could write him recommendation letters—he was quite outstanding academically. Compared to test scores, American universities value recommendation letters more. But for basketball scholarships, teachers were of little help, since the two could be obtained together, but for basketball scholarships, the school team coach could help with recommendations. Yet, even his alma mater, Illinois State University, was unwilling to offer a full basketball scholarship.

Currently, the average annual income in China is only three to four thousand, and compared to the tuition fees for international students at American private universities, academic scholarships are just a drop in the bucket—not even enough for living expenses. And just like in high school, American universities charge foreign students more than domestic students.

As for loans... as a Chinese national, getting a loan from an American bank was pure wishful thinking. He did want to earn money to pay it back after graduating from college, but with such huge tuition expenses for international students, most American students themselves rely on loans... Although his dad would definitely provide money, Henry Bolton wanted to lighten the family’s burden a bit.

Henry Bolton was in a pretty bad mood right now. Money, the root of all evil! He really didn’t know how to make quick cash, and in America, what could he even do!

Thinking back to the days when, as the best-performing Chinese player in the China-US Youth Basketball Challenge, he was noticed by an American high school coach—yet after coming to the US, everything he experienced was far from what he had expected or dreamed of.

Nothing but harsh reality... Wait, Henry Bolton suddenly had a thought, and the subtitles that only he could see popped up again.

“Remaining lifespan: 365 days, usable lifespan: 364 days.”

“...Damn!

I only have one year left to live... Even though I don’t know if this really shows how much time I have left, but with two sets of memories overlapping, even that has happened... If it’s just one year, what’s the point of worrying about all this?

So what if I get into the NCAA? Am I supposed to chase my basketball dream in just one year? Screw your basketball dream!”

Just as Henry Bolton was suddenly getting furious, the subtitles changed!

“Do you want to dominate basketball?”

The sudden change startled Henry Bolton!

He looked around—no one was there. No one had seen his dumbfounded look just now. Henry Bolton quickly ran back to his room and shut the door.

Looking at the words “dominate basketball” on the subtitles, although he still liked basketball, the dream of becoming a superstar like Jordan had gradually faded after repeated setbacks over the past month.

Although after the California high school league ended, Sports Illustrated ranked him 22nd among all high schoolers in the US, at this time the high school rankings were a mess—different media outlets had completely different rankings, and Sports Illustrated was biased toward Los Angeles. In some other states’ media, his name couldn’t even be found.

But that was normal. These days, with just one state apart, it was hard for a high schooler to become famous elsewhere—only three to five could be known nationwide.

Those college teams didn’t trust him, or simply didn’t want to give him a chance.

Seeing basketball, Henry Bolton still loved the game, but at this moment he felt inexplicably irritable, and all the frustration from the past two months of constant setbacks surged up.

Plus, he only had one year left to live... If the lifespan countdown was real, then what’s the point of dominating basketball in just a year!

All these negative emotions piled up, and Henry Bolton couldn’t help but shout, “Screw your basketball dream, I don’t want it!”

After shouting, it was as if he had vented his unwillingness. Henry Bolton felt he was really being stupid, actually yelling at some stupid subtitles. Luckily, Pierce had gone to school, and it was mid-afternoon—except for students like him who had already passed the college entrance exams, everyone else was still in class, so it seemed no one was disturbed by his yelling... Even if they were, they wouldn’t understand anyway!

But when Henry Bolton came back to look at the subtitles, he vaguely felt the words were getting “closer” to him.

And, it seemed to be getting closer and closer. Henry Bolton had the illusion that the words were about to stick to his eyes... and they really did!

Henry Bolton was so startled he kept backing up until he was against the wall, but the subtitles kept coming closer... For some reason, he felt as if the words in front of him were making a final inquiry—if he refused again, he would lose this opportunity.

He didn’t know why he regarded this bizarre scene as an “opportunity,” but that’s just how he felt.

At this moment, the dream he had when he first came to America, full of ambition and wanting to change Chinese basketball, seemed to return.

And he suddenly remembered, these subtitles had previously been counting down his remaining lifespan—so to break the deadlock, maybe he could only rely on these subtitles! This might be his golden finger!

The key was, in the memories belonging to this era, he had spent more than ten years striving to become a real basketball player. Even with the memories of the future fused in, that passion for basketball couldn’t be erased.

He felt a surge of impulse—he wanted to accept!

And, he wanted to live! Not just for one year! Although for the him with memories of the future, being able to move freely for a year was already a godsend, for the him of this era, it was truly a nightmare.

At this moment, Henry Bolton made up his mind: “I want to! Is that good enough?!”