The next morning, the doorbell rang, breaking the tranquility of the Lin family villa.
Zhang Wanru was sitting in the courtyard drinking coffee when she glanced at the gate and called out, "Butler Li, open the gate and see who it is."
Butler Li opened the courtyard gate and saw two vans parked outside, with about ten people standing there. These people looked tired, but their expressions were excited.
Butler Li didn't remember having guests at home today, and asked in confusion, "Who are you?"
A man wearing glasses quickly said, "I'm from the Tsinghua University Admissions Office. Is this Lin An's home?"
Before Butler Li could answer, a man behind him pushed the person who had spoken aside, approached Butler Li, and said, "Hello, I'm from the Peking University Admissions Office. We're here for Lin. Please let us in; we were here first."
Peking University did arrive first. As soon as the competition results came out yesterday afternoon, their admissions office immediately held a meeting and formed a task force. They obtained Lin An's registered home address when he transferred schools from the Haishi Education Bureau. Then, everyone simply took some personal belongings and drove straight to Haishi.
Because of weekend traffic, they arrived late at night. Fearing that Tsinghua University would beat them to it, they slept in their car overnight while waiting outside the Lin family's house. Unexpectedly, when they opened their eyes in the morning, they saw that the Tsinghua students had also arrived. Competitions are held every year, but students who almost get full marks are rare. Tsinghua and Peking Universities are determined to recruit such students.
Sitting in the courtyard, Zhang Wanru heard about Tsinghua and Peking Universities and hurriedly called out to Lin Zhe, "Xiao Zhe, come quick!"
Butler Li, standing at the door, waved his hand, signaling to everyone to give him a chance to speak.
The crowd finally quieted down, and Butler Li said with regret, "I'm sorry, everyone, Young Master Lin An no longer lives here."
"Where does he live now?"
"Um... I don't know either. Please wait a moment, I'll go ask Madam if she knows."
Butler Li turned around and saw Zhang Wanru leading Lin Zhe out, followed by Lin Rou.
“Madam, these people are from the admissions offices of Tsinghua and Peking Universities. They want to know Mr. Lin An’s current address.”
Zhang Wanru had no idea where Lin An was living. She used to worry that Lin An wasn't eating or living well, but now she felt that Lin An was very capable and it was none of her business to worry about him. She said coldly, "How would I know where he lives?"
The admissions office staff were all taken aback by this answer. Lin An didn't live at home, and his mother didn't even know where he lived. Could this be his stepmother?
Ignoring the awkward expressions on everyone's faces, Zhang Wanru pushed Lin Zhe forward and said confidently, "I know that Tsinghua and Peking Universities have early admission programs. This is my son, Lin Zhe. He is already a senior in high school. He is very outstanding and usually ranks among the top students in his grade."
The admissions officers exchanged glances, their eyes filled with mockery. Which student at Tsinghua or Peking University isn't among the top in their school, and many are even top scorers in their respective regions? And they didn't even know what kind of high school Lin Zhe attended. If the school wasn't prestigious, even if he was first in his grade, he might not be able to reach the minimum admission score for Tsinghua or Peking University in the college entrance examination.
"Excuse me, since Lin An isn't here, we won't bother you any longer."
Seeing that everyone was about to leave, Zhang Wanru hurriedly stopped them, saying, "Come in and have a cup of tea. Our Xiao Zhe is really outstanding."
Lin Rou chimed in, "You don't know the truth. He's much better than Lin An."
The admissions office staff understood Zhang Wanru's motherly bias, but they didn't care about students like Lin Zhe who were mediocre at all; their mission was to win over genius students like Lin An.
At that moment, someone from the Peking University admissions office suddenly shouted, "Hurry up, I've got the address!"
It turned out that he and Principal Chen were old acquaintances, and he found out Lin An's address from Principal Chen.
Upon hearing this, the Peking University students hurriedly boarded the bus.
"Hey, don't go! Our Xiao Zhe is such a good boy!" Zhang Wanru said anxiously.
Seeing that the Peking University students had already boarded the bus, the Tsinghua University leader became anxious: "Hurry up, catch up with their bus."
His colleagues hurriedly got into the car, but Lin Rou grabbed his arm and urgently scolded him, "Let go! Let go, let go right now!"
Lin Rou also wanted to introduce how talented her good younger brother was: "Don't go, you don't know, Xiao Zhe could count at the age of three and recognize characters at the age of six. Come and find out."
The man thought to himself, "Where did these idiots come from? Six-year-olds are already in elementary school. Everyone knows how to read. If it weren't for the fact that I'm an educated person, I would have slapped them all to wake them up. Tsinghua University isn't for good-for-nothing kids like yours. Don't you have any self-awareness?" He was so anxious to snatch the genius Lin An that he swung his arm so hard that Lin Rou lost her balance and fell flat on her face.
The man didn't even turn his head before running into the car.
"Second sister, are you hurt? Let me help you up."
"Xiao Zhe, be good."
The mother and her two children embraced each other, showing mutual tenderness.
Butler Li turned around, made a vomiting face, walked into the room, and muttered to himself, "The Lin family is finished."
The admissions office staff arrived at Lin An's old house very quickly.
The dilapidated old house in front of them was so different from the luxurious Lin family villa they had just seen. Everyone felt a mix of emotions. They couldn't imagine what Lin An had gone through. The life of a genius was indeed full of twists and turns. He was poor but did not lose his ambition. He was a true pillar of the nation. Their desire to win Lin An over grew even stronger.
Lin An heard someone knocking on the door and went to open it.
The door opened, and the admissions office staff rushed in, instantly filling the dimly lit living room with people.
Before Lin An could speak, the two groups rushed to introduce themselves and their purpose.
Peking University immediately moved on to negotiating terms, firmly stating: "Lin An, if you are willing to come to our school, you can choose any major, tuition will be waived, and you will receive a living allowance."
The head of Tsinghua University's admissions office quickly followed up by expressing their sincerity: "In addition to what Peking University has mentioned, Tsinghua University will add another 100,000 yuan in scholarships every year."
The head of the Peking University admissions team immediately replied, "We at Peking University will offer 200,000 yuan!"
"Tsinghua University: 300,000!"
"500,000 for Peking University!"
"Six hundred thousand for Tsinghua!"
The living room of the old house seemed to have turned into an auction, with the item up for auction being Lin An's choice of university. Because of Lin An's poor living conditions, they had the illusion that Lin An desperately needed money, and unanimously chose the strategy of enticing students with money, all willing to offer as many scholarships as possible to show their sincerity.
The highest scholarship that the head of the Peking University admissions team could decide was 500,000 yuan. He didn't dare to challenge him anymore and looked at Lin An, saying, "Lin, don't worry, I'll go and ask my superiors. I'll definitely give you a number that will satisfy you."
Lin An suppressed a laugh and said, "No need, I don't need the money. Let's leave the scholarship to the students who need it."
Everyone was shocked. Lin, who was living in poverty, was so noble and virtuous, regarding money as dirt. He truly deserved to be called the chosen one.
The Tsinghua representative was the first to react: "Lin, just tell us what you need. You can ask for anything. For example, we at Tsinghua can help you renovate this house. Our Academy of Fine Arts' design department is top-notch in the country, and we guarantee you'll be satisfied. Or, if you have a girlfriend, we can admit her as well."
Lin An, thinking of Leng Lin, that academically challenged student, asked, "Is it okay to bring a girlfriend to school?"
Tsinghua University, sensing a promising future, immediately expressed its full confidence: "Absolutely!"
The Peking University students, feeling they were at a disadvantage, quickly added, "We can do it too."
After a moment's thought, Lin An concluded that given Leng Lin's learning ability, it was virtually impossible for her to graduate from Tsinghua or Peking University. Moreover, being surrounded by so many top students would likely make her feel inferior, which might not be good for her mental and physical health.
Under the eager gazes of Tsinghua and Peking University students, Lin An said calmly, "I've decided to go to the Mathematics Department at Peking University."
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