Leadership (Please Vote!)

Leadership (Please Vote!)

Evening.

The sun was setting.

"Sigh."

Adam rode his bike home, letting out a long sigh.

It wasn't that Duke had refused to help.

In fact, although Duke was puzzled, he still helped Adam arrange a meeting with the genius in their class. After the three met, Adam relied on his well-practiced acting skills and his extraordinary knowledge from decades in the future to do his best to befriend the guy. The other boy seemed thoroughly taken in by Adam's act, his attitude gradually changing from coldness to warmth.

But unfortunately, after acting all day, the system had never given him a single prompt. Adam could only head home dejectedly.

"Where did it go wrong?"

Adam thought irritably, "You could tell from the way Duke's classmate spoke and acted that he had a high IQ. He was friendly toward me too, and he clearly said we were friends from now on. So why didn't it work? Is the system sexist? Was he not a woman?"

At that thought, Adam glanced at the system panel and mocked himself. "System, system, you're not that kind of system, are you? Probably not. Even a system should follow the First Law: There are countless roads, but safety comes first. Drive improperly, and your family will shed tears..."

There were too few samples and no basis for comparison. For the moment, Adam couldn't figure out the mystery behind it.

"Looks like I need to keep trying."

Adam's gaze gradually hardened. If one genius didn't work, he would find another. If male geniuses didn't work, he would find female ones. He refused to believe he couldn't figure out the pattern.

Night fell.

Ding-dong.

"You're here."

Adam ran to open the door. Seeing that it really was Juno, he greeted her with some surprise.

"Not happy to see me?"

Juno looked at Adam in surprise, the curve of her lips unconsciously widening. With her perceptiveness, she could naturally tell that Adam was more pleasantly surprised than alarmed by her arrival. In just one day, his attitude had changed dramatically. That was interesting...

"Of course I am. Welcome."

Adam was still thinking about whether Juno could add 0.005 Wisdom Points for him every day. How could he still care about the possibility that she was Bloodthirsty Little Red Riding Hood?

After all, people die for wealth, and birds die for food!

"Hi, Juno~"

Holding Charlie in her arms, Teddy drew out the greeting with a teasing look on her face.

Their mother Amy's maternity leave had ended, and she had gone back to work. Since she was a nurse, she often worked overtime. Their father Bob was an exterminator, and since most houses in the United States were made of wood, snake, insect, and rodent problems were serious. Emergency calls often required Bob to rush out as well, so he wasn't home either.

Charlie was still little, so Teddy took care of her most of the time. Although Adam was the eldest brother, he could only help out and take turns holding her. As for their third child, Gabe, nobody dared count on him at all.

The Duncan family was rather like Adam's family in his previous life. The parents needed to work, there were many children at home, and the older children mostly took care of the younger ones. Siblings close in age almost never stopped bickering and roughhousing. It was noisy, but warm. Once they grew up, the siblings were all very close. It was precisely because of that familiarity and warmth that Adam had integrated so well and truly regarded the Duncans as his family.

And as family, little sister Teddy naturally had to gossip about her big brother Adam's love life.

"Hi, Teddy."

Juno nodded calmly. In most people's eyes, she was a weirdo, so her mental fortitude was rock-solid. Teddy's gossipy gaze and tone couldn't stir the slightest ripple in her.

"Teddy, you can handle Charlie, right?"

Adam asked.

"Of course."

Teddy agreed with a broad smile, then muttered self-mockingly, "Anyway, Spencer isn't coming today. Looks like there's no way I'll be giving away my first kiss at home..."

Yesterday, she had invited Spencer over to "study." Although she had persuaded their parents to go out on a date and Adam had taken Charlie away, there was still Gabe, that little devil, at home. Every time she and Spencer got close, he would suddenly pop out and ruin the mood.

She had been willing to try again if it didn't work the first time, but Spencer didn't have that patience. After several interruptions, he had simply left. She hated Gabe so much her teeth itched, yet there was nothing she could do but wallow in self-pity.

"Call me if you need anything."

Adam couldn't be bothered with Teddy's self-pity. After saying that, he took Juno down to the basement.

Although Spencer had some issues, in the original timeline, Teddy and Spencer really had ended up together. They could barely be considered childhood sweethearts with a happy ending. Adam had no intention of meddling in their relationship just to show off some so-called big brotherly concern. Only those in a relationship knew whether it was warm or cold, and besides, he had absolutely no standing to lecture Spencer.

An hour later.

"Oh, God, this again?"

Emmett walked in and saw Adam and Juno studying seriously. He slapped his forehead. "Adam, you can't become a bookworm. You need to rock!"

Bang!

As he spoke, Emmett grabbed a drumstick and struck the triangle hard.

"Emmett, if you discriminate against bookworms now, one day it'll be bookworms discriminating against you."

Adam rolled his neck and casually fired back. Rock and roll couldn't save his life!

"How could that happen?"

Emmett looked unconvinced.

"You don't believe me?"

Adam curled his lip. "Go look around town. Among the people doing well, are there more rockers or more bookworms? After a reckless youth, all that's left is a complete mess."

"..."

Emmett froze, then muttered with a sour expression, "Damn it, when you put it that way, it really is true."

"There's no need to separate them so completely."

Juno spoke up. "You should study, but you can also play rock and roll. They aren't opposites. On the contrary, they can even complement each other. A simple question, Adam: besides rock and roll, what other extracurricular activities do you have? Football? Basketball?"

"Uh."

Adam repeatedly shook his head.

What he valued most now was his studies. He also had to spend his remaining time doing good deeds, so where would he find time for anything else? Besides, his strength and speed were only above average, not even good enough to be called outstanding. He had no advantage in sports, so he had never considered using athletics to boost his profile.

"That's exactly it."

Juno reminded him, "For college admissions, especially at top universities, excellent grades are only the entry ticket. To stand out among so many outstanding applicants, extracurricular club activities and talents that demonstrate leadership carry enormous weight. You don't play football, basketball, or other sports, and you don't join star clubs like Model United Nations. How will you prove yourself when the time comes?"

"Leadership?"

Adam frowned. "That isn't mandatory, is it?"

Where did Sheldon and Leonard get extracurricular leadership experience? They were even worse than trash at sports, yet they still got into the best universities.

"Of course it isn't mandatory."

Juno nodded. "But the prerequisite is that your grades have to be outstanding enough—brilliant enough to shine. For example, winning medals in major science competitions. Can you do that?"

"..."

Adam fell silent for a long time, then said seriously, "Let's talk about how playing rock and roll can demonstrate leadership."