People in America: My Uncle Don Quixote

Chapter 101 Fame Spreads Throughout the World, Starting from This Moment (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

You rode a steel griffin.

[A masterpiece of fairy industry and dwarven craftsmanship, capable of carrying multiple people across distances of thousands of miles.]

[No missions available at the moment]

"Mr. Levi," the flight attendant's voice drew Levi's attention, "Are you flying to San Antonio to participate in the All-Star Game?"

"What? Oh, it's me," Li Wei said. "What's wrong?"

"I watch football often too," the flight attendant said with a smile. "I recognized you as soon as I saw you. I'm the chief purser on this flight. Please feel free to tell me if you need anything."

Unlike in China, American airlines don't all have handsome men and beautiful women as flight attendants. Looking at the purser, who was at least a generation older than him, Li Wei didn't think she had any feelings for him. After a polite greeting, the purser went to greet the other business class passengers.

For this trip to San Antonio, NBC actually booked him round-trip business class tickets, which surprised Levi quite a bit.

He recalled that more than three months ago, when he arrived in this unfamiliar country alone in economy class, he had no relatives or friends and had to face an uncle whose attitude towards him was unknown.

At that time, nobody cared about him, nobody knew him.

But now, NBC is willing to pay for his round-trip business class tickets (although the benefits of this business class are far inferior to those of business class or first class on international flights) just to invite him to play in the competition, and even cover Don Quixote and Lily's airfare and hotel stay.

She was recognized by the flight attendants when she boarded the plane and now has a certain degree of fame online.

The owner of an NFL team worth hundreds of millions casually gifted him a luxury car worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, he had a beautiful girlfriend whose father was a Russian oligarch, and even the descendants of top American old-money families treated him with great courtesy...

Everything changed in just three months, which truly made him sigh. The capriciousness of fate had once again brought them together.

After a flight of 4 hours and 15 minutes, the plane landed at San Antonio International Airport.

Compared to the snow-covered New York in the eastern United States, the temperature in San Antonio, Texas, was still in the 20s.

Li Wei and the others changed into short sleeves as soon as they got off the plane.

Before even leaving the airport terminal, Li Wei saw a group of staff members in uniform holding up signs for the U.S. All-Star Bowl and waiting outside the security line.

"Lee Wei, representing the East Coast, quarterback," Lee Wei walked up, dragging his suitcase. "These are my relatives, my uncle and sister."

The staff member was a white young man who looked to be in his early 20s, wearing a baseball cap with the NBC Sports logo on it.

Upon hearing Li Wei's name, he quickly swiped a few times on his iPad to confirm the list.

"Welcome to San Antonio, Mr. Levi. We see your entourage information on the roster," the staff member said, deftly pulling out three tags from a large storage bag hanging around his neck. "This is your player pass, and these two are family and VIP passes. Please be sure to wear them at all times during All-Star Weekend, as they will be required to enter the arena, hotel exclusive areas, and restaurants."

Li Wei took the name tag, glanced at it, and hung the gold player ID around his neck. The ID had Li Wei's photo, position, and the huge letters TOP100 on it.

"Your luggage will be delivered to the Grand Hyatt Hotel by a dedicated staff member. Your bus is at Exit C. For the rest of the journey, please separate the players and their families. Families and VIPs will board the white Mercedes-Benz vans. There is a family lounge in the hotel lobby," the staff member said, pointing out the directions quickly. "Also, as the number one quarterback and a five-star player, the core quarterback of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, Adidas may have a brief equipment photo shoot and demonstration in the hotel lobby. Please be prepared."

Li Wei nodded and led Don Quixote and Lily out of the airport terminal.

A wave of heat, a mixture of dry dust and vehicle exhaust, hits you. This is Texas, the birthplace of Westerns and cowboys, and one of the most football-obsessed states in the US.

A black player bus was parked on the side of the road, its body completely covered with "GG" signs and several huge player silhouettes.

"That looks like you, Brother Li Wei!" Lily exclaimed, pointing at the bus. "You're right in the middle!"

A row of Mercedes-Benz vans were parked behind the bus, constantly going in and out, picking up family members and taking them to the hotel.

Li Wei watched as Don Quixote and Lily were led onto one of the buses, and then he picked up his bag and boarded the players' bus.

The bus was already sparsely populated with a few physically strong high school students who looked to be between 20 and 30 years old. The vast majority of them were Black, with very few White people. Levi was an absolute oddity among them, both in appearance and skin color.

He casually found a window seat and sat down, waiting for the bus to depart.

About 20 minutes later, after four or five players boarded, the bus slowly started moving and entered the highway. The San Antonio skyline gradually came into view. Unlike the steel jungle of Manhattan, New York, San Antonio, although the seventh largest city in the United States, is more straightforward and full of rugged Western charm.

About 20 minutes later, the bus slowly came to a stop in front of the Grand Hyatt San Antonio.

If it weren't for the fact that this was a hotel, Li Wei would have almost thought he had stumbled into the venue of a massive comic convention. The entire hotel had been booked by NBC for the entire week, and the hotel lobby was completely covered with all sorts of All-Star Bowl materials, with sponsor banners, life-size player posters, and crowds of people constantly moving around with badges of various colors hanging around their necks.

From this point on, the staff began to separate. After Don Quixote and Lily exchanged a few words with him, they were guided by staff to another passage to check in, while Li Wei, as a player, had to go through the other side.

From now on, Li Wei will spend a week living with the other players. He will see Don Quixote and Lily again on Saturday's match day. If his eyesight is good enough, he may be able to find the family box among the more than 5 spectators and find them.

"Mr. Li Wei, please come this way. Here's the car wash procedure." A more experienced-looking female staff member stopped Li Wei.

"A car wash?" Li Wei raised an eyebrow.

"This is industry jargon, Mr. Li Wei," the staff member smiled. "Registration, measurement, equipment collection, portrait rights agreement, schedule collection—it's an assembly line. You have to go through this process like a car going through a car wash before you can get your room key."

Li Wei followed the staff to a huge banquet hall surrounded by black curtains.

For the next 40 minutes, Li Wei was first asked to stand in front of a backdrop with markings, and his face was captured in close-up by three cameras from different angles; then his height and weight were checked (although there will be a public measurement tomorrow); then, he was stuffed into a huge black duffel bag.

"This is a backpack provided by Adidas," said the black guy handing out the equipment. He had a full head of dreadlocks, which seemed to be a common hairstyle among black people. "Two pairs of spikes, one pair of training shoes, three sets of quick-drying training clothes, two hoodies, and this special helmet... If you don't like the stiffness of the sole of these shoes, you can exchange them at the service station on the sidelines during training tomorrow."

Li Wei weighed the heavy bag in his hand. This set of equipment alone, specially made by Adidas based on his previous body measurements, was worth several thousand US dollars.

Including round-trip airfare, hotels, relatives, etc., the fixed expenses for these hundreds of players alone exceed several million US dollars.

At the end of the process, he came to a long table, where a woman wearing glasses handed him a thick binder.

"Mr. Li Wei," she said, pointing seriously to the cover, "there are a few things I must emphasize to you, please listen carefully."

Li Wei nodded slightly. "Please speak."

"First of all, during the game week, we have a curfew. By 10:30 p.m., we must be back in our rooms. We have coaches and staff who will knock on our doors to check on us. Unless there are special circumstances, such as being away from our rooms for an official interview, we will receive a warning the first time. The second time may affect our starting position and we may face a lawsuit from NBC."

"I understand," Li Wei nodded. "Anything else?"

"Secondly, there's the dress code. From the moment you receive your room key today, you must wear clothing provided by Adidas when you leave your room," she said. "If you are photographed wearing Nike or Under Armour in public, it is a very serious breach of contract and could result in your immediate disqualification from the competition."

"Finally, there's the media. You have to cooperate with all officially arranged interviews, such as those with NBC," she paused, "and also during game week, please be mindful of your comments on social media. From this moment on, you represent the brand image of the All-Star Bowl."

After the woman finished speaking, she adjusted her glasses and handed over a room key.

"Furthermore, engaging in activities such as soliciting prostitutes, using drugs, or drinking alcohol during this period would also be considered a very serious breach of contract," she said, smiling at Li Wei's face. "But I believe you wouldn't do those things. Your room is on the 24th floor, sharing with a wide receiver from the Western team. This is to promote communication and is also a tradition. Do you have any questions?"

"No." Li Wei shook his head, took the room key and the thick schedule, and walked through the activity area into the hotel's interior area.

After arriving at the 24th floor, I swiped the swipe to open the door to room 2408, and a blast of cool air rushed out.

This is a standard executive twin suite with huge floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the winding San Antonio River and the massive silver dome of the Alamo Stadium in the distance.

The room was empty, except for a huge gym bag on the other bed. It seemed that his short-term roommate and rival had arrived, but was not in the room at the moment.

With the idea that he should abide by the rules once he signed the contract, Li Wei changed into the full set of clothes provided by Adidas and was just about to sit down to study the thick schedule when there was a knock on the door.

"Knock knock knock".

Li Wei walked over and opened the door.

A middle-aged man in a dark suit stood at the door, with a red "All-Access" badge hanging around his neck, indicating a higher rank than any of the staff he had encountered before.

"Mr. Li Wei?" he said with a very confident tone. "I am the coordinator of the organizing committee. Please come with me. Someone wants to see you."

"7

"Now?" Li Wei glanced at the time. "But according to the schedule, it should be free time now, and there's still an hour until dinner. Besides, if it were a media interview, someone should have notified me in advance."

"It's not the media, nor is it on the schedule," the man lowered his voice and looked around, "it's a private meeting with someone you know."

Li Wei narrowed his eyes.

"Lead the way," he said simply, closing the door behind him.

Instead of leading him to the crowded passenger elevators, the man took him to an elevator at the end of the corridor.

He took out a pure black card, swiped it, and the elevator doors opened immediately.

Unlike passenger elevators with five rows of buttons, this elevator only has two floors to choose from: the lobby and the top floor (PH).

The elevator ascended rapidly, and upon reaching the top floor, two ornately carved doors came into view. Two burly bodyguards stood at the door, and upon seeing Li Wei, one of them nodded to him and pushed open the doors.

This is the Presidential Suite at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio.

The room was decorated in an extremely luxurious style, with a huge crystal chandelier emitting a soft glow, and the air filled with a faint aroma of cigars and aged whiskey.

A familiar figure stood with his back to the door, in front of the huge panoramic floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at San Antonio, where people were bustling about like ants.

"It seems like it's been 16 years since I last came here," he said, turning around slowly with a smile as he heard footsteps. "We meet again, Li Wei."

"Mr. John Mara," Levy nodded slightly, "it's nice to see you again. You are in as good health as ever."

"Fate has been on my side, allowing me to hold on a little longer," John Mara waved his hand. "Have a seat."

The two sat on the sofa in the living room and chatted for a few minutes like ordinary elders and juniors.

"How's that car driving?" Mara asked. "It shouldn't have any problems, right?"

“Everything is working perfectly, Mr. Mara,” Levi said. “What I like most is the electronic image in the rearview mirror; it works very well.”

"That's good," Mara nodded. "Otherwise, I would have secretly stuffed the dealer who sold me the car into the trunk."

Li Wei pursed his lips but didn't reply.

"I was just joking," Mara laughed. "I wouldn't do something like that for such a small thing."

Then, he changed the subject: "But some people will, Li Wei, are you ready?"

"You mean someone will kill me?" Levi pointed to himself, "Just like you told me last time?"

"Oh, not really," Mara waved his hand. "I was just joking, but there are a lot of people in the NCAA who will do anything to prevent you from playing, that's true."

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