Over the next period, Connie, unwilling to admit defeat, seemed to want to re-establish her position in Dr. Sturgis's heart.
So, her visits to the University of Texas to see Dr. Sturgis significantly increased.
As for Mike, his life was busy and fulfilling: school in the morning, the University of Texas in the afternoon, accompanying Mia to see her Grandma on weekends, and also finding time to connect with Lina.
However, as time progressed to July, and the Summer League for college football began, Mike truly felt he was getting a bit overwhelmed.
Firstly, regarding Mia, as the Genovia royal gathering approached, the etiquette lessons the girl needed to learn became more and more intensive.
Therefore, she needed Mike's help in more areas.
Secondly, Dr. Sturgis's research project, while not encountering any major issues, was repeatedly accelerating its progress.
There was no other way; although the Nobel Prize results are typically selected in early December, the submission deadline for eligibility is usually in October.
This meant that the Booster Recovery research project needed to yield results within the next three months.
Under these circumstances, Dr. Sturgis wished he could split each researcher into two.
In this urgent situation, Mike's group of "elite" individuals would inevitably have to take on more work.
Finally, there was the school's Summer League football.
Not only did George express a strong desire for Mike to return to the team, but even Principal Sam personally sought out Mike.
Principal Sam had already decided to resign from his position after Christmas this year.
Therefore, he hoped to see the school achieve more honors during his final six months in office.
This seemed to have become an obsession for the old man.
The situation had become so serious that Mike found it difficult to decline the football team's activities.
Thus, he could only transform into a master of time management, juggling between the three teams.
The only good news was that there was no dramatic conflict within the school's football team.
Mike smoothly became the team captain, and the players were also very willing to cooperate with his playing style and tactics.
And so, in early July, Mike led his new teammates to an easy victory in their first game.
At the same time, Mike also took the opportunity to visit the state newspaper office to discuss poster distribution with Manager James.
However, given the newspaper's previous "star-making" effect, Manager James hesitantly indicated that if Mike wanted to continue the collaboration this time, he would need to concede more benefits.
But times had changed; Manager James had clearly misjudged the situation.
Mike, whose stock market investments were soaring, was not short of such small sums, so, too lazy to argue, he turned to collaborate with Jack instead.
Jack was the first person at the TV station to bet on Mike.
He had now been transferred back to the television department and had become a small team leader there.
Seeing Mike approach him again, Jack was very happy and immediately offered to take a smaller share of the profits.
However, Mike insisted that they still split the profits fifty-fifty.
The production and distribution of the posters required Jack to find people, and Mike was essentially a hands-off manager, just waiting for the final payout, so there was no need to take further advantage.
The actual situation was that Jack's attitude made Mike recognize him as a friend, and thus he was willing to achieve a win-win with the other party.
A week passed, and by mid-July, before the second elimination match began, Jack brought Mike some bad news.
Manager James from the TV station's newspaper department announced that no matter how well Mike performed in this year's Summer League, his news would no longer be published in the newspaper.
At the same time, Jack also brought Mike good news: the leaders of the television department stated that as long as Mike continued his hot performance from the first half of the year, the television department promised to create a special sports documentary-style feature for him after the season ended.
"This is probably your idea again!" Mike said, smiling, as he stared at Jack.
The other party had brought a larger professional filming team this time, clearly preparing for the upcoming television special.
"Work hard, strive to lead Medford into the finals, and there will be a live broadcast then…" Jack's answer was evasive, but his meaning was already very clear.
Subsequently, in the second round of the elimination tournament, Mike, as expected, once again led his teammates to victory with a dazzling performance.
At this point, even without newspaper publicity, Mike's reputation as a football "new star" still reappeared in the eyes of many football enthusiasts.
At the same time, with the old principal's support in the school, only halfway through the season, Mike once again became the hero of Medford High.
For a time, in Texas, a land where strength speaks loudest, Mike's prominence even surpassed that of a typical second-tier celebrity.
Fame and fortune were within his grasp.
And what Mike needed to do now was to continue winning more games.
Another week passed, and the Medford Team surged forward, once again defeating their opponents with impressive strength and successfully advancing to the finals.
Under this string of consecutive victories, the star strategy also demonstrated its power, which was its "star-making" ability.
Mike, at the core of the team, saw his momentum rise once again, becoming unparalleled for a time.
This was the charm of "Crazy July"...
As July drew to a close, on the day of the finals, Medford's opponent this time was none other than Austin High, who had looked down on them in the invitational tournament earlier in the year.
This final, which had live broadcast, was chosen to be held at the Texas Stadium.
Texas Stadium is a sports venue specially prepared for various large-scale events, with as many as fifty thousand spectator seats alone.
The various sports facilities in the venue are also very complete and advanced.
At this moment, this grand open-air stadium was filled with football enthusiasts from all over Texas.
"Don't be nervous, kids, we've already created a miracle.
Now, I just hope you can enjoy this game." In the pre-game preparation area, George was trying to calm down the players.
He said not to be nervous, but facing such a grand spectacle, George himself was a little shaky.
"Go Mike… Go Mike…"
"Go, Wonder Boy!!!"
The game was still a while from starting, but huge cheers were already erupting from the stands.
Everyone loved Mike!
Perhaps there was an insider at the TV station; a few days ago, this person exposed the conflict between Mike and the newspaper department.
So now Mike inexplicably had a new nickname, "Wonder Boy."
Many people seemed to regard Mike as their spiritual anchor; these people admired the spirit of "resistance" in Mike.
This was also thanks to James; his deliberate obstruction seemed to have given Mike the opportunity to be "deified."
"Go, take the players to warm up…" George, who had been watching the time in the rest area, reminded Mike when there were ten minutes left until the game started.
"Follow me." Mike, wearing the captain's armband, stood up and called out to his teammates.
At the same time, dense flashes of cameras lit up on the sidelines; clearly, this moment of Mike standing up and calling his teammates was recorded by many people.
All he saw were dazzling lights, and in his ears were waves of cheers.
Because it was a semi-enclosed venue, standing in the center of the stadium, one could feel that the cheers from the audience were exceptionally enthusiastic.
In a stadium with fifty thousand people, everywhere you looked there were dense crowds cheering wildly.
Facing such a grand occasion, for athletes on the field to keep their movements from stiffening was already a sign of great composure.
At this moment, after circling the field, Mike returned to the center of the field and saw that many of his teammates were so nervous they couldn't even move their legs.
It was clear that this group of new players from the Medford Team had never seen such a grand spectacle and were a bit intimidated.
"Medford—"
Seeing this, Mike extended his hand and shouted.
"Victory!"
His teammates instinctively gathered around, putting their hands together.
"Medford—"
"Victory!!!"
...
Indeed, in certain moments, a good leader can transmit positive emotions to teammates.
"Being here proves that you're excellent.
So you don't need to fear anyone, even if the opponent is last year's league champion team…" Mike encouraged his teammates.
Soon, the warm-up time ended, and the final of this year's Summer League football officially began.
The Medford Team was fortunate enough to win possession in the coin toss, and both offensive and defensive teams simultaneously walked to the midfield.
"As before, everyone stick close to me."
"Trust me, victory belongs to Medford—!"
During the preparation time, Mike loudly reminded his offensive team members.
The Medford Team's strategy was very simple: to play a star strategy centered around Mike.
Anyone who had followed the Medford Team's recent games knew this.
However, this simple and direct strategy, when used by the Medford Team, was surprisingly powerful, simply because they had a strong core.
This was also another explanation for Mike's "Wonder Boy" title.
He always seemed to bring the surprises that the audience desired.
Beep—
The game whistle sounded.