Dominate the Super Bowl-Chapter 860 - 859 Absolute Focus

Chapter 860: 859 Absolute Focus

Pfft.

Ariana couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

Li Wei stood there like a gentleman. “See? Isn’t this much better?”

Ariana tilted her head. “What?”

Li Wei smiled. “Smiling, I mean.”

Ariana’s heart skipped a beat.

Li Wei didn’t seem to notice. “There’s no need to worry about the media and online commenters. It’s brutal, but that’s real life. We can never please everyone. At least we can decide: do we live for the people who love us or the ones who hate us?”

“It’s not easy, but it’s a direction to aim for.”

“No matter how the media frames it, truthfully, they’ve already gotten what they wanted—photos of the two of us together. There’s no need to drag Aron into this unnecessarily.”

Ha! Ariana caught the teasing undertone in Li Wei’s words and broke into another smile.

“So, I’m guessing even if I escort you back to the hotel, it shouldn’t make things worse.”

“Wait, or maybe…”

A hotel? If reporters see it, would they really refrain from jumping to conclusions?

But clearly, Li Wei wasn’t actually worried; he was joking around.

The smile Ariana wore reached her eyes fully this time. She dropped her pretensions and gave Li Wei a straightforward gaze. “Then I’ll trouble this gentleman.”

Li Wei chuckled, “Thank you for giving me an opportunity to polish my image.”

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Ariana joined in the playful banter, lifting the hem of her dress and curtsying. “The honor is mine.”

Chatting amiably all the way, they didn’t even notice time flying by until they reached the destination. Li Wei escorted Ariana to the hotel lobby but stopped courteously at the entrance, gentlemanly watching her head to the elevator.

He waited until the elevator doors shut tightly before finally turning to leave.

Just as he opened the taxi door and was about to get in, a sudden shout came from behind.

“Li Wei!”

He turned instinctively toward the sound, spotting Ariana standing breathless at the hotel lobby entrance, having rushed out of the elevator in a hurry.

Li Wei looked puzzled. Had she forgotten something?

“Good luck in the Super Bowl! You’ll never walk alone.”

Li Wei froze.

Before he could respond, Ariana had already spun back around and dashed inside again.

Huff, huff.

Heart racing wildly to the point it might leap out of her chest, and ears humming with a steady roar, Ariana stood before the elevator, waiting for the doors and feeling her emotions surge high.

Li Wei, lagging a moment behind, finally responded, shouting a belated “Thank you”—only to catch sight of Ariana’s retreating figure. His lips curved into a light smile before he got into the cab.

In the rearview mirror, Li Wei caught the driver’s amused expression.

Li Wei: “You’re not a Chiefs fan, are you?”

Driver: “Nope. Falcons. Diehard Falcons fan for life. But hey, you guys beat the Patriots, so Atlanta’s practically your second home field. Rest assured, I’ll keep this confidential.”

Li Wei: ??? Confidential? Confidential about what? There’s nothing secret here, hey!

Still, the “secret” managed to leak—

“Li Wei, Li Wei! Are you dating Ariana Grande?”

As soon as the question was asked, the surrounding reporters collectively held their breath.

To be precise, it wasn’t just the reporters—the other ongoing interviews nearby briefly paused as one person after another surreptitiously tuned in.

The scene was downright absurd.

Today was Super Bowl official media day, the last chance for players to relax before the game, and the air bubbled with lively, festive vibes.

Having experienced last year’s Super Bowl hype, Li Wei’s return to the spotlight this year seemed much more composed.

Both the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs were cooperating with interviews exceptionally well, at least judging from the team press conference. The mood was friendly, brimming with mutual admiration and respect, while keeping things light and upbeat.

McVay and Reed, the two head coaches, expressed plenty of praise for their competition. Reed’s steady demeanor and McVay’s youthful exuberance crafted the tone of the interviews perfectly—an atmosphere completely devoid of pre-Super Bowl tension.

With the group interviews wrapped up, players moved on to individual Q&A sessions.

Early predictions had already pointed to Li Wei and Donald as major focuses, followed closely by quarterbacks Mahomes and Goff.

In reality, the attention paid to Li Wei far exceeded expectations.

Last year, his emergence as a rookie and as both a Chinese and American player made him the darling of media day. This year, boosted by his regular-season MVP title and status as defending champion, he became a full-fledged superstar.

Layer upon layer of appeal stacked high.

At Li Wei’s dedicated interview station, it was packed on all sides—so much so that Donald, Mahomes, and Goff combined couldn’t match the turnout. With seemingly half the event’s reporters clustered around him, the human sea surrounding Li Wei left one speechless.

Even other players wandered over to gawk, clicking their tongues in amazement.

Humorously enough, Li Wei himself was stranded outside the throng due to the sheer density of people.

No way in.

Unperturbed, Li Wei stayed on the outskirts, striking up casual conversations with journalists around him. When someone finally noticed, reporters scrambled messily to open a path, ushering him to the center of the circle.

The moment he stepped in, Li Wei cracked a joke.

“Just make sure you’re at the right podium. If you’re here for news about a California governor campaign, you need to head left—third station past Goff’s.”

Following Li Wei’s gaze, everyone turned to count. One, two, three… Sure enough—

Goff.

Laughter erupted everywhere.

Right from the start, Li Wei’s interview station had become the highlight of the day. Only now was the scale of his public magnetism beginning to sink in.

Then, true to form, the opening question focused entirely on gossip. Nearby listeners craned their necks to eavesdrop, their eager expressions unmistakable.

Faced with such a spectacle, Li Wei could only sigh lightly.

Just as Ariana predicted, the rumor mill eclipsed the Super Bowl itself, stealing more headlines than they had any right to.

Fed up, Li Wei opted for honesty over humor, cutting straight to the chase.

“No.”

Plain and simple, without leaving any room for speculation.

The reporters: …

They’d expected at least a little elaboration, maybe a sentence or two explaining the situation. But this was it?

Unwilling to let go so easily, one reporter pushed further.

“But someone caught photos of you and Ariana entering a hotel together.”

Whoa.

Every bystander inhaled sharply, no effort spared in masking their astonishment.

Li Wei, somewhere between amused and exasperated, couldn’t decide whether to call them out for pretending not to read social media news or for acting so startled over something this trivial.

Unlike Ariana’s concerns about dinner snapshots or edited images, what circulated now was a photo of them heading to the hotel. Naturally, this plucked at deeper implications.

But Li Wei had come prepared.

“I imagine there are also photos of me entering and exiting hotels with Coach Reed.”

The crowd: ???

Coach Reed: Achoo!

Not only did teammates and players gape, but even the reporters were momentarily stunned.

Li Wei shrugged lightly. “I’m just saying—a photo is no big deal.”

“When the hotel in your mind is a place of romantic intrigue, everyone going in and out becomes evidence of intimacy. But when the hotel in your mind is simply where the team stays while playing an away game, then my coming and going with Coach Reed is purely business.”

“Trust me, the lobby doorman probably doesn’t want to be implicated in celebrity gossip either.”

Or else, every passerby would spark rumors.