The next day, early in the morning.
"Hello, this is the admissions office of Harvard University. Is this Ethan Miller's residence?"
A polite male voice came from the other end of the phone.
Linda's drowsiness vanished instantly, and her brows furrowed into a knot:
"What? Harvard Admissions Office?"
Her voice suddenly rose:
"I'm also the director of the Yale admissions office! Scammers these days are so bold? Specifically targeting parents of SAT students, right?"
The other party hurriedly explained:
"Ma'am, you misunderstood. We really are from Harvard University—"
"Bullshit!"
Linda was so angry she slammed the coffee table, and the teacup shook with a clatter:
"How many brain cells my son has, don't I know? If he can get into Harvard University, I'll write my name backwards! Besides, the results aren't even out yet—where did you get this information? Did some tutoring agency sell our data?"
Harvard Admissions Office: "..."
Linda received a call from the Harvard Admissions Office, thought it was a scam, and gave the caller a thorough scolding on the spot.
Robert happened to come out of the bedroom:
"What's wrong? Who are you arguing with this early in the morning?"
Linda put down the phone angrily:
"There's a scammer pretending to be from the Harvard admissions office, saying they want to admit our son early! Current scammers are too outrageous—it's laughable! What are our son's grades! Harvard University, my ass."
"Exactly!"
Robert echoed without thinking:
"Could my son get into Harvard? I gave birth to him—don't I know?" As he spoke, he patted his chest.
Ethan, who'd been awakened by hunger, had just come downstairs and heard the conversation between his parents:
"..."
"Mom and Dad! Is there a possibility that they really are from the Harvard Admissions Office, and they really want to admit me?"
Linda slowly turned her head to look at Robert:
"Robert, don't eat breakfast."
"Huh?"
"Pack up. We're going back to your hometown."
"Now? What for?"
Linda took a deep breath and said word by word:
"To go, check, if, our, family, plot, has, been, blessed, by, the, ancestors!"
The words hadn't even finished falling.
"Ring ring ring"
The phone rang again.
Linda walked over and grabbed the receiver:
"What, Harvard calling again?"
The other end of the phone was obviously stunned:
"Uh... Harvard has already contacted you?"
Linda sneered:
"Ha, so you're from Yale?"
"Yes ma'am, we are Yale admissions—"
Before the other party finished speaking, she heard a "click," and Linda simply hung up the phone efficiently.
She said angrily:
"Nowadays, scammers are really getting more and more rampant! And they're coming in series! After Harvard acts, Yale comes, right?"
Robert nodded beside her like a bobblehead:
"Exactly! They think our family is easy to deceive!" As he spoke, he winked at Ethan. "Son, don't you think so?"
Ethan was about to crack.
May I ask everyone reading: How can I make my mother believe this is real and not a scam?
...
At this time, the phone rang for the third time.
Linda took a deep breath and was about to give the caller an "ultimate critical blow," but her expression changed the moment she heard the voice:
"Ms... Ms. Jensen?" Her voice suddenly softened an octave. "You said... What? Those really were calls from Harvard and Yale just now?"
Ms. Linda was stunned on the spot.
So those phone calls just now weren't scammers?
On the other end of the phone, homeroom teacher Ms. Jensen was smiling from ear to ear:
"Yes, Linda! But this also shows you have good intentions about fraud prevention. Scams are rampant now, and having a sense of prevention is a good thing! However, Harvard and Yale did call to recruit early. Ethan must have done well on the exam, otherwise they wouldn't have called in advance."
Her voice was full of pride that couldn't be concealed.
Ethan doing well on the exam made her, the homeroom teacher, look good!
The students she'd taught!
...
Linda hurriedly said to Robert:
"Robert, did you hear? It really was Harvard and Yale calling about our son."
Robert had already taken out his phone and was calling relatives back in his hometown.
....
"I need to call them back right away..."
Ms. Linda was very excited and hurriedly looked for the call log on the landline to call back. Her fingertips were trembling slightly.
Ethan hurriedly stepped forward at this point and said:
"Mom, I'll do it!"
"Okay, okay, you call back. Remember to apologize."
Linda said excitedly to her son.
Ethan took the phone, called back, turned on the speakerphone, and cleared his throat:
"Hello! Hi, I'm Ethan!"
"Hello Ethan, I'm Professor Anderson from the Yale Admissions Office!"
Ethan explained:
"Sorry Professor Anderson! That was my mother who answered the phone just now and accidentally hung up. Is there something you needed?"
Professor Anderson laughed heartily:
"I'm calling today to tell you some good news! Our graders happened to correct your test paper and found that your problem-solving approach was very unique, especially the last major math problem."
"Therefore, we want to give you an 'early admission' spot. However, you must confirm your admission to our school before the results come out and fill in your application, otherwise there will be no early admission quota after the results are released."
"The purpose of my call today is to sincerely invite Ethan to join Yale University and become a member of our Yale family."
Linda and Robert on the side were already smiling from ear to ear, practically drooling.
Ethan's next sentence almost made Linda want to slap him on the head.
"Professor Anderson, I don't really like this method of early recruitment. Since I can get in based on my own strength, why go through special channels?"
The smiles of Robert and Linda suddenly froze.
The other end of the phone was obviously stagnant, and the faint rustling of papers could be heard.
Ethan continued:
"After the results are announced, I'll naturally choose a school based on my scores. But you're trying to rush me now! Professor Anderson! In that case, don't blame me for treating all this as a business transaction! Why don't we talk openly and honestly?"
The rustling sound of papers turning came from the other end of the phone, and Professor Anderson's voice became obviously tense:
"This... Mr. Ethan, what do you mean by this..."
"I mean, since you want to recruit me, why don't you show some sincerity?"
"..."
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
'Ethan already knows his scores? How does he know?'
'It must be Harvard!'
'Professor Williams, yesterday you were drinking and being all friendly, talking about fair competition, but then you went and broke the bowl first thing?'
'Damn it! Ethan already knows the results, so there's nothing I can do...'
Secretly cursing Harvard's pig teammate behavior, Professor Anderson lowered his tone and asked:
"Then Mr. Ethan, tell me what you mean?"
Ethan replied:
"Of course, whichever school gives the better conditions, that's the one I'll choose!"
There was noisy discussion on the other end of the phone, and after about half a minute, Professor Anderson picked up the phone again, his tone obviously much more humble:
"Mr. Ethan, let's do this! We'll give you a scholarship of $30,000 per year, tuition is free, you can directly enter our advanced computer science program, and of course, no matter which major you choose, you'll be guaranteed admission to our master's and doctoral programs! How does that sound?"
Ethan responded lightly:
"Hmm! That's really good!"
Professor Anderson breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he thought Ethan had agreed, the young man said:
"Then I'll think about it!"
There are 50 advance chapters ahead in my Patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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