Since he had been given a chance to start over, of course he had to try a different lifestyle—playing basketball might just be a good attempt.

If he could play on the same court as O’Neal, Duncan, Nowitzki, Kobe, Iverson... and the others... Well, that was thinking a bit too far ahead.

After calming down, he realized this path seemed pretty tough!

His basketball skills were only impressive within his own department. With his nearly two-meter height and decent jumping ability, he could dunk easily, which made him a dominant force in the computer science department full of out-of-shape nerds.

But last semester, when he represented his department in the campus tournament, they lost both games in the first round against the art department. They couldn’t even beat a bunch of art students and were eliminated right away.

Individually, when facing defenders a head shorter than him, he played terribly—either getting the ball stolen or getting blocked so he could only hold the ball up to avoid a turnover...

Let’s talk about it after making the school team!

If he couldn’t even get into the school team and the system couldn’t be activated, then all this thinking was pointless.

Chapter 3: Just How Bad Is This Team?

After two long classes, Edward Thompson and Liam Pike headed to the parking lot together.

In theory, only faculty and staff could park here, but theory and practice are always different.

Liam Pike got into a sports car and asked, “Not coming out with me tonight? My treat!”

Edward Thompson refused as usual: “I’m not going. I have to go home and cook tonight.”

Liam Pike scoffed, “Tch, what a goody two-shoes. None of the international students from your country are like you. They all party harder than I do.”

“Wow, so you actually know you’re a pervert!” Edward Thompson looked at him as if he’d discovered a new continent.

“Haha, you’re so conservative. Are you planning to just find a woman and get married for life?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, really. I actually admire it. But you should at least get a girlfriend, right? You’re already 18 and you don’t even have a girlfriend. I lost my virginity when I was 10.”

“...You really are a pervert.”

“Heh, jealous?”

“Yeah, super jealous.”

Ignoring Edward Thompson’s perfunctory response, Liam Pike invited him again: “Since you don’t like wild girls, I know a few pure girls. Want to meet them?”

This time, it was Edward Thompson’s turn to scoff: “Pure girls who are associated with you?”

“If you want them to be pure, they can be as pure as you want.”

“Your range is really broad.”

“Enough joking. Even if you don’t have someone you like now, you must have a type you like, or the kind you want to marry. That way I can keep an eye out for you. You can’t have no requirements at all, right? That would actually be the hardest requirement to meet.”

This time, Liam Pike’s question was actually sincere. Edward Thompson thought for a moment, saw someone walking ahead, and replied, “Yeah, someone like Aunt Vivian Carter.”

Liam Pike followed Edward Thompson’s gaze and saw the assistant dean approaching. He stopped with the dirty jokes and greeted her politely.

After Vivian Carter responded, she asked Edward Thompson, “Someone like me?”

Edward Thompson replied, “He asked me what kind of girl I’d want to marry.”

Vivian Carter looked at Edward Thompson with an appreciative gaze and said, “Good taste!”

Liam Pike didn’t stick around. He started the engine and said, “The teacher’s taking the goody two-shoes home!” before driving off.

Vivian Carter shook her head—clearly, she didn’t have a great impression of Liam Pike.

But she never advised Edward Thompson to stay away from Liam Pike, the spoiled rich kid. After all, it had been a year and Edward Thompson hadn’t been led astray, so she was at ease.

Besides, the Pike family only had this one son in this generation. If he managed to prove himself, it wouldn’t be hard for Liam Pike to win the family business inheritance over his sisters.

In terms of attitude and grades, she actually had high hopes for Liam Pike’s future.

Edward Thompson got into Vivian Carter’s car and they headed back to the apartment together. They lived in the same building. When he first came to the US last year, the dean had asked Vivian Carter to help him find a place to live. Most of the time, he took the bus home by himself, but occasionally Vivian Carter would give him a ride.

After Edward Thompson fastened his seatbelt, Vivian Carter started the engine and said, “I’ve already taken care of things. Be more careful in the future, don’t get into fights so easily...”

“Mm, mm, mm,” Edward Thompson nodded like a pecking chick. “Auntie, sorry to trouble you again. It’s all my fault, making you work overtime and miss your beauty appointment. I promise I’ll turn over a new leaf and be a better person.”

Edward Thompson’s attitude made Vivian Carter very satisfied—he was always so positive and sincere.

Women, after all, just want the right attitude.

Right now, internet company stocks were booming. At a prestigious school like USC, the computer science department received huge sponsorships every year, with budgets so high they could never use it all. In recent years, the department had been upgrading teaching equipment in bulk. If anything got old or broke, it was simply replaced—repairing things was unheard of. Faculty salaries had also increased a lot...

For Edward Thompson, in this kind of environment, as long as the dean still had his back, any problem that could be solved with money wasn’t really a problem.

He was very grateful for this stock market bubble. His ability to “believe that might makes right” was, to a large extent, thanks to this bubble.