American Adventure: My Uncle is Don Quixote

The female reporter heard Li Wei's answer, and even with over a decade of experience as a veteran journalist, she couldn't keep a straight face. She was at a complete loss for words.

She had covered sports news for over a decade and interviewed countless Super Bowl MVPs—from Brady to Manning, Wilson to Mahomes. Every single one of them, in this moment, would either thank their family, thank God, or shout, "I'm going to Disney!"

But no one had ever asked how their beverage was selling while holding up the Super Bowl MVP trophy.

She froze for two seconds before breaking into a laugh and asking in return,

"Don't you know?"

"I was busy playing the game," Li Wei said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I forgot to ask earlier."

He spoke so casually, as if making NFL history and securing an unprecedented undefeated season championship was just some minor thing he did on the side. His beverage's sales figures, on the other hand, seemed to be his real concern.

The reporter shook her head, her smile widening.

"Well, I happen to know," she said, "but I'm not going to spoil it for you here."

She paused deliberately, then jerked her chin toward the press conference hall. "You'll have to wait for the press conference. I'm sure a reporter will ask you then."

"You're creating more suspense for me than Marcus Anderson did," Li Wei responded with a laugh.

The cameraman behind her couldn't help but grin, giving Li Wei a thumbs-up. This was going to be great footage.

The sideline interview quickly wrapped up. The short segment was just an appetizer; the post-game press conference was the main event.

The award ceremony and celebrations lasted about forty minutes, after which the players gradually returned to the locker room to quickly clean up and change.

As was standard procedure for the NFL Super Bowl, the post-game press conference would feature both teams, with the victors going first.

The media center at SoFi Stadium was located two levels below the main concourse. Being a newer facility, it was far more spacious and impressive than MetLife Stadium in New York.

The press room had been temporarily converted into a tiered hall. A long dais stood at the front, bristling with a dense array of microphones and recording devices.

Over two hundred reporters were present, with media outlets from at least thirty different countries and regions in attendance.

The first person to take the stage for the Giants was the team's owner, John Mara.

He was beaming, dressed in a dark gray suit with a deep blue, Giants-colored handkerchief tucked into his breast pocket.

The press conference officially began, and the first question was for him.

"Mr. Mara, congratulations to the Giants on winning the Super Bowl and completing an undefeated season. As the team's owner, what's the first thing you want to say right now?"

John Mara pursed his lips and offered a faint smile.

"Cancer and time have been taking turns cracking their whips at me. The Giants' recent slump made me feel hopeless at times," he said. "This is a legacy the Maras have built for three generations, but under my watch, it lost its former glory."

His voice was hoarse, as if worn raw from shouting all day. "But I prayed to God. I said, 'God, please, send me a sign. Tell me how I can restore the New York Giants to their former glory.'"

He turned to look at Li Wei. "And then, I saw this young man on film. Thank God I found Li Wei."

The press hall filled with laughter and applause.

"You must have had to make a very tough decision," another reporter asked. "Li Wei's arrival was groundbreaking. He broke the NFL rule that players must be three years removed from high school to be eligible for the draft. And offering a two-year, 200 million USD contract was unprecedented. That package was even larger than what the league's top Quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, was making at the time."

John Mara adjusted his microphone. "As you know," he continued, "the last decade or so has been very difficult for the Giants. We've been through so much disappointment, so many rebuilds, so much failure. Sometimes, I even began to doubt whether the Maras were still capable of leading this team back to the top."

He paused.

"So you have to understand the conviction of an old man who's battling an illness and feels like he could die at any moment," he said with a small laugh. "But the revelation I had was so powerful... so powerful that even as I was signing the contract, I still wondered if I was out of my mind."

"But your gamble paid off," said the reporter.

"Yes. Thank God, and thank Li Wei," Mara said. "I'm so glad he's in New York. It's a privilege for the city, and a privilege for the New York Giants."

The reporters frantically clicked their shutters, the flashes of their cameras almost non-stop.

The focus then shifted to Head Coach Dabor, who sat beside John Mara.

"Coach Dabor, as Li Wei's head coach, how would you evaluate his performance this season?"

Dabor fell silent for a moment, leading a few of the more impatient reporters to wonder if his microphone was working.

Hearing the question, Li Wei couldn't help but feel a little sheepish.

'Compared to his teammates, he could hardly be called hardworking.'

'After all, with the system, things like recovery, training, and throwing were just him going through the motions.'

'His [Predestined Trajectory] skill allowed him to maintain near-perfect accuracy without having to practice at all.'

'His high stats, superior physique, and the buff from his Knight's Aura meant he didn't need to do any Power or endurance training.'

'His high Spirit allowed him to memorize the entire playbook with just a single glance, making actual studying unnecessary.'

'So even when he was required to be at the training facility, he usually just slacked off. As long as he won games, his teammates and the management didn't care.'

'But games were one thing, and training ethic was another. He was worried Dabor would tell the truth, which would be pretty embarrassing for him.'

Dabor glanced at Li Wei, then slowly began to speak.

"I have never seen a player who combines talent and hard work to such a perfect degree," he said, his expression completely straight. "Li Wei is the most talented and hardest-working player I have ever coached. Bar none."

The words were a complete lie, but Li Wei managed to keep a straight face.

After Dabor finished, Dexter Lawrence also took the stage.

"Li Wei is the most unifying and supportive teammate I've ever had," he said with a serious expression. "I know some tabloids might have reported some minor friction between us, but I can assure you, those are just rumors. I consider him a brother."

Li Wei sheepishly rubbed his nose and cleared his throat a couple of times.

Finally, it was Li Wei's turn.

"Li Wei," a reporter from ESPN was the first to stand, beginning with a smile. "That's a sharp suit you're wearing today."

It was indeed a sharp suit, especially since Li Wei had specifically commissioned it to be stitched with gold thread (Chapter 276), causing it to sparkle under the lights.

"Thanks," Li Wei quipped. "I'll get you the address for my tailor later."

The reporters responded with a wave of good-natured laughter.

"We can talk about that later… Li Wei, first off, congratulations," the reporter said, still smiling. "A 21-0 record, Super Bowl champion, and MVP. What are your thoughts on the game?"

"The 49ers are a great team," Li Wei said after a moment's thought. "They're very disciplined on defense and aggressive on offense. They gave us a lot of trouble."

This wasn't the answer the reporters were hoping for. Another journalist picked up on his choice of words: "us."

He eagerly raised his hand to follow up. "You just said 'us,' but I want to ask, did they give *you* any trouble?"

Li Wei grinned. "Not one bit."

The press hall erupted with laughter and whistles, and a few reporters even banged on their tables in delight.

If that kind of undisguised confidence had come from any other player, it would have been seen as just showing off.

But coming from Li Wei—a young man who had just shattered countless records to win the Super Bowl with an undefeated season—it just felt right.

The reporter who'd asked the question shot a smug look at his colleagues, pleased with his sharp follow-up. It was his question, after all, and he knew it would be a major headline tomorrow.

"Now that's more like it," he said with a laugh. "But seriously, Li Wei, many analysts and players believe there isn't a single team in the NFL that can threaten you right now. What are your plans for the future?"

Li Wei thought for a moment.

"Enjoy life for a bit, I guess," he said. "After all, I'm only in my second semester of freshman year. I still have classes to finish and papers to write. My professors don't care if I'm a Super Bowl MVP."

The reporters broke into laughter.

"Then, I'll look forward to next season," he continued. "I hope my opponents can give me a bit more of a challenge. This year's games weren't all that tough, to be honest. I thought the veterans would teach this rookie a lesson or two, but I felt no pressure at all."

'I'm not targeting any one team. I just want to say that every team here is...'

"Other than that, focus on my business," Li Wei said. "The off-season is more than half a year long. I've got to do something with my time."

The words had barely left his mouth when a man in a dark suit raised his hand. He looked different from the sports reporters in their press vests.

"Hello, Li Wei. I'm a financial reporter from CNBC," he said, pushing up his glasses. "During your sideline interview, you said the thing you most wanted to know was how your beverage was selling. Do you know the answer yet?"

"Still don't," Li Wei said with a confident shrug, glancing to the side. "A reporter from Fox told me earlier that someone would fill me in at the press conference."

The financial reporter nodded with a smile and looked down at his note card. "Then allow me. According to data compiled from multiple reliable sources, your beverage went on sale after the Super Bowl halftime show. In less than an hour, you sold five million bottles, completely selling out on the official website."

A wave of gasps went through the press hall.

"Furthermore," he said, looking at Li Wei, "as of right now, pre-orders across major retail channels and online platforms have already exceeded twelve million bottles."

"I think your next headache won't just be whether your opponents can pressure you," he added with a chuckle, "but how you're going to scale up production."

Li Wei had expected his LW beverage to sell well, but he never imagined it would sell *this* well.

'Five million bottles sold out completely in under an hour.'

'When he'd joked with Jin Heon about needing sacks to carry all the money, he'd mostly been kidding.'

'But now, it looked like they were going to need trucks.'

The Giants' portion of the press conference concluded, and it was the 49ers' turn.

The 49ers' owner and head coach briefly summarized the game. While their words included some praise for the Giants and Li Wei, they focused more on validating the performance of their own players.

The reporters, however, found little of interest in the statements from these old foxes. The person they were truly waiting for was the man seated on the right side of the dais: Marcus Anderson.