Chapter 67: The Talking Admission Letter and Parental Shock

The crisis was resolved, the faculty was unprecedentedly formidable, and the admissions process at Longhai University came to a formal close.

Soon, admission letters bearing countless expectations were mailed to thousands of households in Nanhe Province.

……

In an ordinary working-class family in Nanhe Province.

The air was as oppressive as a thoroughly soaked rag.

The dim light in the living room illuminated the mottled marks on the wall with startling clarity. At the dining table, a meal of three dishes and one soup had gone completely cold, and no one reached for a second bite.

Wang Hao, a test-taker, kept his head down, curling up in the corner of the sofa like a quail caught in the rain.

His gaze lacked focus as he stared fixedly at the silently flickering advertisements on the television screen, but in his mind, there was only one blindingly bright red number.

657.

It fell short of Longhai University's estimated cutoff score for this year by neither more nor less, exactly three points.

Those three points weighed on him like an insurmountable mountain, leaving him struggling to breathe.

"I told you not to apply to that so-called internet-famous university, but you wouldn't listen!"

His mother's sigh was the sole background noise of the afternoon. She sat on a small stool, her knitting needles jabbing mechanically back and forth, each movement carrying an uncontainable anxiety.

"And now look, falling short by three points… What is this child going to do in the future?"

His father sat silently at the other end, smoking cigarettes one after another. The swirling smoke blurred his tightly furrowed brow and made the atmosphere in the entire room even heavier.

It wasn't that he didn't feel for his son, but rather that he felt an overwhelming sense of worry.

For the sake of this "Longhai University," his son had practically fallen out with the entire family. A newly established private university, hyped to the heavens on the internet—who knew if it was a scam?

Now, failing even to clear the cutoff score, all the arguments had turned into a massive joke.

Right amidst this suffocating silence:

"Ding-dong—"

The crisp ring of the doorbell sounded abruptly, like a stone dropped into a stagnant pool.

All three members of the family instinctively shuddered.

Who is it?

Numbly, Wang Hao stood up, dragging his feet toward the door, and looked through the peephole to see a deliveryman in a blue uniform.

He opened the door.

"Hello, a delivery for Mr. Wang Hao from Longhai University. Please sign for it."

The deliveryman handed over an exquisitely designed box.

Longhai University?

Wang Hao's heart contracted violently, and a complex emotion mixed with shame and resentment welled up inside him.

Is it a rejection letter?

Or… was it sent to the wrong address?

He mechanically signed his name, closed the door, and cradled the box in his hands, feeling that it was heavy and burning to the touch.

"What is it?" His father stubbed out his cigarette and stood up.

"It's from Longhai University…" Wang Hao's voice was somewhat hoarse.

His mother also approached with a worried expression, looking at the box—which looked more like a gift package than a parcel—her eyes full of suspicion.

The box was a deep, opaque blue with a frosted texture on the surface. In the center, the futuristic "Tree of Life" emblem of Longhai University was embossed in gold foil.

"['Future Potential' Program Admission Notice]?"

Wang Hao read the small text on the lid aloud, his confusion reaching its peak.

What did this mean?

He took a deep breath and, under the nervous gazes of his parents, slowly opened the box.

There was no cold, printed paper as he had imagined.

Nor were there any commercial advertisements or phone SIM cards.

The moment the box was opened, time seemed to stand still.

In the living room, only three heavy, almost suspended breaths could be heard.

The interior of the box was lined with velvet, resting quietly upon which were thick, exquisitely crafted cards.

On each and every card were lines of handwritten text, written in different styles of calligraphy yet equally vigorous and bursting through the paper.

Wang Hao's father, a veteran mechanic, picked up the topmost card with trembling hands.

The handwriting upon it was vigorous and powerful, like coiled dragons and crouching serpents.

"Classmate Wang Hao, welcome to the world of new energy. The future is in your hands. —— Qian Liqun"

Qian Liqun!

Wang Hao's father's hand trembled so violently that the card almost dropped to the floor.

This was a name he had only ever seen on national news and at commendation ceremonies! That national-treasure-level academician who had solved major bottlenecks in China's energy sector!

He had actually… personally written a welcome card for his son?

Wang Hao's mother picked up another card, the handwriting on which was scholarly and gentle, exuding a scholar's rigorous demeanor.

"Classmate Wang Hao, the essence of architecture is creation. I look forward to creating the future together with you. —— Jiang Yi"

Jiang Yi!

That grandmaster of architecture who had designed the National Centre for the Performing Arts!

Card after card…

Every single card represented a thunderous name in its respective field.

Every single blessing was like a heavy blow, slamming ruthlessly into the hearts of Wang Hao's parents, shattering all their previous doubts, worries, and prejudices into dust!

This… this was no "internet-famous university"!

This was clearly an academic sanctuary harboring countless pillars of the nation!

However, the true shock had only just begun.

Wang Hao's gaze was drawn to a small recessed slot in the very center of the box.

Embedded within it was a matchbox-sized black screen.

He instinctively reached out his finger and gently touched it.

The screen lit up instantly.

There was no complex boot animation; a young and approachable face appeared directly on the screen, as if he were standing right in front of them, smiling and gazing at them.

It was He Yu, the president of Longhai University.

In the video, he wasn't sitting behind a massive desk, nor was the background some magnificent architecture; instead, it was simply a patch of sunlit lawn.

He looked into the camera, as if looking directly at Wang Hao himself, his voice gentle and sincere.

"Classmate Wang Hao, hello. I am He Yu, the president of Longhai University."

"First of all, congratulations on becoming a member of our 'Future Potential' Program."

"I know that you might feel somewhat lost right now, and perhaps even doubtful. Because your score fell short of our standard cutoff by three points."

Hearing this, Wang Hao's face instantly flushed red, and his fists clenched reflexively.

His parents' hearts also rose into their throats.

However, He Yu's next words left the family of three completely frozen in place.

"However, scores are merely a summary of the past, but they cannot define the future."

"I have reviewed your complete file. The simplified model you devised regarding 'magnetic confinement turbulence' in the National High School Physics Modeling Competition showed tremendous insight. Your talent in physics modeling is far more important than those three points."

"Longhai University values a person's potential, that spark capable of igniting the future."

He Yu's gaze pierced through the screen, brimming with a convincing power.

"Therefore, please feel at ease entrusting your child to us."

He directed this sentence to Wang Hao's parents outside the screen.

"Together, we will witness his future!"

The video ended, and the screen went dark.

The entire living room was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

Wang Hao's father stood frozen in place, his mouth half-open, still clutching the card from Academician Qian Liqun.

Wang Hao's mother covered her mouth, her eye sockets instantly turning red as tears welled up, but these were not tears of sorrow—they were tears of excitement, of pride.

Respect!

This was true respect!

Not because of scores, not because of rankings, but because they saw the true shining potential within a child!

All previous doubts and worries vanished completely at this moment.

Replaced by unparalleled pride and the solid, reassuring peace of mind that came from handing one's child over to such a place.

Wang Hao stared blankly at the extinguished screen, then looked at the lingering shock on his parents' faces.

He felt something melting within his chest, something being ignited.

The disappointment and inferiority brought about by falling short by those three points were thoroughly washed away by an unprecedented warm current called "being recognized."

He raised his head, and light rekindled within his gaze.