Time flew by, and it was Monday again.
"Mike isn't up yet?" Connie, who had prepared breakfast sandwiches, asked Paige, who was sitting obediently at the dining table.
"No, maybe he was too tired the past two days." A hint of resentment appeared on Paige's obedient little face.
For the two days of the weekend, Mike had been accompanying Cady and Lina on a spring outing, naturally neglecting the little girl.
Moreover, Paige was very clear about what Mike and the other two had done during those two days.
"Alright." Connie was also very clear about Mike's private life; she shrugged her shoulders and said, "You go call him out for breakfast, I'll go see what interesting things happened in today's newspaper."
Because the internet was not yet well-developed, the most convenient way for people to receive information at that time was through newspapers.
Every morning, paperboys would deliver the latest issue of the newspaper to every household's mailbox.
When Connie returned from the door with a stack of rolled newspapers, Mike had also been called up by the little girl and was getting ready to wash up.
"Mike, I must remind you, you're still young and should learn to exercise restraint…" Connie advised Mike while unfolding the newspaper.
As someone who had been through it, she knew that excessive energy consumption was very harmful to a young person's body.
"What?" Mike, who had just squeezed toothpaste onto his toothbrush, almost thought he was hallucinating.
However, he quickly realized that Connie was concerned about him.
Knowing that the other party must have misunderstood something, Mike then helplessly explained, "My body is fine, I just overslept."
Because there were two ladies in the house, Mike couldn't explain too explicitly.
In fact, with his current physique, even driving all day would not be a problem; there was no such thing as lack of energy.
The reason he couldn't get up in the morning was entirely due to his habit of sleeping in; he always slept until he woke up naturally.
However, seeing the distrustful looks from Connie and Paige, Mike felt that he should change his habit of sleeping in from now on.
Connie did indeed misunderstand again; she thought Mike was being stubborn. After all, boys love face and would certainly not admit they were not up to it.
Just as she was about to advise Mike a bit more, her gaze was suddenly drawn to the newspaper in her hand.
"Oh, Mike, you're on the front page, and it's in color!" Connie exclaimed, even forgetting what she had intended to say.
Today's newspaper headline used a very large color layout to print Mike's photo.
In the picture, Mike was wearing a football uniform, and under the sunlight, his handsomeness carried a wild charm.
That was exactly the photo taken right after Mike's game.
"Is that so? I didn't expect Jack to be so fast…" Mike said indistinctly while brushing his teeth.
He certainly remembered what Jack had said before, but he hadn't expected him to actually pull it off, and with such efficiency.
"'Texas: A Rising Football Star'…" Paige also curiously leaned over to the newspaper and read the front-page headline.
Mike quickly finished brushing his teeth, came to the dining table, and joined Connie and Paige in looking at the newspaper.
"This layout is really terrible…" Looking at his photo occupying more than half of the front page, Mike couldn't help but complain.
If it weren't for the small print below providing relevant explanations, Mike would have suspected that the newspaper office was intentionally using his handsome photo to make money.
"This is playing football, right? The photo is really good." Connie was attracted by the photo and asked with interest, "Mike, when is your next game? I can go to the venue to support you…"
"This Saturday morning, but I don't know if the home game will still be in Medford," Mike replied.
As far as he knew, the opponent for this week's invitational tournament had not yet been determined, so it was still uncertain where the home game would be set.
"No problem, just let me know once the game venue is confirmed." Connie was clearly intrigued by the photo and interested in going to watch the game live.
Sunshine… sports… plus a handsome man…
One could only say the photo was too misleading.
Just then, Mike's phone rang.
"Who's calling so early…"
After answering the phone, Mike asked, "Who are you looking for?"
"It's me, Jack…" Jack's slightly excited voice came from the phone, "Did you see today's newspaper? Our plan is about to succeed…"
What plan? A star-making plan?
Before Mike could voice his doubts, Jack on the other end of the phone continued to rattle on, "You don't know how much effort I put into this front page. Oh, and I have good news to tell you. If this issue of the newspaper sells well, there will be many more front pages waiting for you. Just think, that's a series of color front-page headlines…"
Alright, it seems the newspaper office really does have a star-making plan.
And Jack, who was about to push this plan forward, was now so excited that he was a bit incoherent.
However, this was understandable; after all, if the star-making plan succeeded, Jack, as the initiator, would certainly gain a lot of credit from it.
"Wait, Jack." Mike interrupted him and asked, "I want to know, are you planning to pay me for my portrait rights?"
"This…" Jack was stumped by Mike's question and remained silent for a while before asking, "Are you serious?"
We're discussing serious business, and you're asking me if my eyes are dry?
One must know that no news figure had ever brought up the issue of money with a newspaper office before.
"I'm very serious," Mike replied.
Such a large photo spread clearly went beyond the scope of a general news item.
It was very necessary for Mike to protect his portrait rights.
"Alright, your situation is a bit special, I will report it to the higher-ups. But don't get your hopes up too much…" Since Jack didn't have to pay the money, he naturally didn't want to offend Mike.
From a personal perspective, Jack actually quite hoped to see a overbearing newspaper office get a little frustrated.
"Then let's leave it at that for now; we'll be in touch if anything comes up." Mike, who was in a hurry this morning, then hung up the phone.
"Well done, Mike. You should make those capitalists bleed a little…" Connie, who had heard the negotiation content, supported Mike, not minding the trouble.
It should be known that the newspaper office, as the current information giant, was not short of money.
"Alright, hurry up and eat breakfast. You two are going to be late—" After the small interlude, Connie looked at the time and urged Mike and Paige again.
Of course, the main person she was urging was Mike, who was late.
"Alright, alright, I'm going now…" Mike, feeling a bit unnerved by Connie's gaze, drank all the milk in his cup in one gulp, picked up the sandwich in front of him, and stood up: "Paige, are you ready? We should go."
Paige, who had been ready for a while, picked up her pink backpack and walked out ahead of him as if in a huff.
Watching the two, one big and one small, leave in a hurry, Connie smiled and shook her head from behind.
…
When Mike and Paige arrived at the school gate, they just heard the bell for class.
"Can't you get up a little earlier in the morning?" Paige, who still held some resentment towards Mike, seized the opportunity to vent when she saw they were late.
"That's not my fault, it was all delayed by that phone call… Jack needs to be responsible for our lateness…" Mike cleverly shifted the blame.
Of course, there was one more thing he didn't say: if the little girl's short legs could run a bit faster on the way, they wouldn't have been late at all.
"Forget it, I forgive you." Paige, who wasn't truly angry in the first place, stopped being unreasonable after venting a bit.
Then, the two entered the campus just as the bell rang.
In fact, for the two highly intelligent individuals, being late for class wasn't something they cared much about.
After all, they had already self-studied the high school curriculum.
Later, when Mike reported his arrival and entered the classroom, he noticed that the atmosphere in the class was very strange today; many students' gazes were fixed on him.
Football… photo… front page…
Then, from the students' quiet discussions, Mike understood why everyone was acting so unusually.
Clearly, this was all due to the power of today's color front-page headline.