To gain knowledge and earn a diploma—this was his original and most fundamental purpose for coming to America, and he was very clear about it.

After Vivian Carter recovered from overeating, she felt a bit guilty about making the students work so hard, so she brought Edward Thompson some dessert—the kind that’s ready to eat right out of the package.

But then she saw that Edward Thompson was still studying at 10 p.m.!

Good grades don’t come for free!

Regardless of the facts, Vivian Carter thought Edward Thompson was truly a good kid...

……

……

In the following days, Edward Thompson attended classes as usual, but his attitude toward studying was noticeably more enthusiastic.

This put pressure on Liam Pike. He hadn’t managed to outscore Edward Thompson last semester. Despite being a bit of a playboy, his grades had always been excellent—he was ranked first in the department on the entrance exam, and he was also number one in the first semester’s finals. But last semester, Edward Thompson surpassed him. This semester, he was already determined to compete with Edward Thompson, and now he was motivated to work even harder.

On Saturday, August 23rd, Vivian Carter drove Edward Thompson to the tryout location—Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Liam Pike came along too, just to join in the fun.

After parking, the three of them walked to the entrance of the stadium.

Edward Thompson asked in confusion, “Aunt Vivian Carter, can’t you take us through the staff entrance? Why are we coming here?”

“Leo, you need a sense of ceremony! This is the moment your basketball dream begins! Of course you have to go through the main entrance!” Vivian Carter was especially fired up at this moment.

The place where dreams begin?

At that moment, Edward Thompson’s heart started beating uncontrollably fast.

The word “dream” always stirs up excitement.

Vivian Carter continued to cheer him on: “Leo, you’re about to join the school team. Go for it! Become an NCAA superstar, get into the NBA, and become a super star!”

Edward Thompson’s excitement quickly calmed down, and he replied, “Aunt Vivian Carter, you’re being way too optimistic. Getting into the NBA isn’t that easy. I haven’t even officially joined the school team yet—I still have to try out. Even if I make the team, there’s no guarantee I’ll become a regular player. There are so many schools in the NCAA, and just counting Division I basketball teams, there are two or three thousand regular players. But only a few dozen get drafted into the NBA each year, and their average NBA career is less than three years. Then there are outliers like Jabbar who played for over twenty years...”

Vivian Carter rolled her eyes at this, and Liam Pike complained, exasperated, “Leo, can’t you have a little dream? You’re way too realistic!”

Edward Thompson wanted to have dreams and passion too. He hoped this would be the place where his basketball dream began.

But when the dorm advisor aunt immediately raised the bar to becoming an NBA superstar, he couldn’t help but calm down.

With the mood ruined, Vivian Carter led the two of them into the Memorial Coliseum. They walked inside for quite a while before arriving at the main arena of this massive stadium.

The biggest highlight of this venue is that, for football or baseball games, it can be set up with nearly 100,000 seats.

Vivian Carter excitedly introduced the classic games that had been held here, but to Edward Thompson, aside from the sheer size, there wasn’t much else special about it. It basically retained the original look from when it was built seventy years ago, and many design details were obviously outdated.

Although it was his first time here, Edward Thompson had seen news about the Clippers complaining about the many inconveniences of this arena.

If they hadn’t really reached their limit, the Clippers’ stingy owner wouldn’t have chosen to move. The rent here is much lower than at the newly built Staples Center, and on non-game days, Staples Center doesn’t even provide practice facilities—you have to pay extra to rent them.

But that had nothing to do with him. After taking in the vast playing field, he focused his attention on the court.

On and around the court, there were hundreds of people, both men and women. Today, it wasn’t just the men’s basketball team recruiting—there were tryouts for the women’s team too.

Scanning his competitors, Edward Thompson started to feel the pressure.

In the computer science department, he was the second tallest—there was one guy over two meters who was taller than him, but that guy was clumsy and nowhere near as agile.

But now, just among those he could see, there were more than a dozen people taller than him, and one who was nearly a head taller.

Vivian Carter noticed Edward Thompson’s unease, tugged his arm, and said, “You don’t need to worry too much. None of these people are that strong. The ones who should be on the school team already made it. The annual tryouts are just to discover those potential talents who only started playing or showed their skills after coming to college...”

Edward Thompson hadn’t been particularly concerned about making the team, but in this environment, his thoughts were influenced.

Hearing Vivian Carter’s words, he couldn’t help but wonder—could I be that potential talent?

It was like buying a lottery ticket.

If you don’t buy one, you’re sure you won’t win.

But once you do, you can’t help but hope you’ll be the chosen one.

After a while, Henry Bibby arrived with the coaching staff.

Edward Thompson sized up the head coach of the basketball club. Today, his outfit was a bit more restrained—let’s call it formal wear—but he was still flashy: a floral suit, a red tie, and a head full of curls...

Curls?

Edward Thompson leaned in and quietly asked Vivian Carter, “Is the head coach Black?”