Chapter 16
I became famous overnight!
At home, my parents were grinning from ear to ear every day.
Several times, my mom would randomly start giggling to herself while eating. She
would look at me in a daze.
“My goodness, I must be dreaming!”
“To think I could give birth to such a smart daughter. Maybe I should have gone to college too. Who knows, I might have gotten into Harvard, Yale…”
“Hey, are you really my daughter? You weren’t swapped at birth, were you?”
“This is too good to be true. I’m too happy!”
My dad snorted from the side,
“The kid being smart definitely didn’t come from you. It must be from me.”
“Do you think our daughter might be a genius with an IQ of 180? Let’s get her
tested.”
My mom slammed down her chopsticks with a clatter.
“Nonsense, she definitely takes after me. You can’t even figure out grocery shopping at the supermarket!”
The two of them bickered back and forth while I laughed.
Our family atmosphere wasn’t this good in the past. Although my parents doted on me, back then I didn’t study and went out to bars every day, coming home very late at night.
The only school activities they attended were to get scolded.
Or they would sit in the back at parent–teacher conferences and feel humiliated.
At home, my parents would often sigh over how disappointing I was.
But ever since I started studying hard, everything seemed to have changed. I really made my mom proud.
After dinner, I lay in bed thinking about when to share this good news with Daniel
Collins.
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Besides my own efforts, I had to thank Daniel Collins for being able to achieve this
score.
I knew that without him, even if I studied to death, there was no way I could have made such a huge improvement.
As a true genius, he taught me not only knowledge, but also how to learn. These were things that no amount of money could buy.
I closed my eyes, pressing my arm over my face.
All kinds of past events flashed before my eyes one by one.
It was so hard, really too hard.
To be honest, I myself didn’t know how I got through this period.
If I had to do it again, I couldn’t guarantee I would still have the courage to go all-
in like this.
People only saw my glamor, achieving first place at an unbelievable speed.
But those sleepless nights, those days of confusion, those startling nightmares… I never took a nap again. Rain or shine, school or holiday, I only slept five hours a
day.
It was really tough to endure at first. I felt like my whole being had been hollowed
OUL
I also thought about giving up countless times, wanting to take a break and rest
for a bit.
But in the end, I gritted my teeth and got through it.
Behind the miracle were my tears and sweat day and night.
The bitterness of it all was something only I could understand.
Just as my eyes were stinging with tears, there was a sudden knock on the door. I sat up and saw it was Daniel Collins.
He was leaning against the doorframe in all black, arms crossed, with a genuine smile on his face for once, instead of a cold smirk or sneer.
“Hey.” His eyes were full of mirth, pink lips curving up slightly.
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“I heard you got first place. Congratulations.”
I felt my heart rate skyrocket. I leaped off the bed in one bound, grabbing him. excitedly,
“I got a 706! I got first place! Am I amazing or what?!”
I had never shared my joy before, but now I realized that he was the only one I truly wanted to share my happiness with.
“Yes, yes, yes!” Daniel Collins laughed, pinching my cheeks.
“Looks like you’re not mentally challenged after all. No need for an evaluation.” I dragged him to my desk, showing him my exam papers one by one, my words garbled from him squishing my face.
I told him how difficult the last question was and how I finally solved it.
I told him Natalie Wilkinson got that question wrong, which was why she lost to
- me.
I also told him I realized I should be studying for myself from now on…
Daniel Collins didn’t interrupt me, just propped his head up and watched me with a smile, nodding non–stop.
By the end, my mouth was parched. I looked at him with shining eyes, “Teacher
Daniel, what are we learning next semester?”
But Daniel Collins fell silent.
After a while, he reached out and ruffled my hair.
“You’ve graduated. Your master can rest easy now.”
“You didn’t really expect me to be your personal tutor forever, did you? I need to get back to my own studies too.”
I froze, the words I was about to say getting stuck in my throat, making it hard to breathe.
I looked at him, wanting to ask if he could stay, that this was too sudden.
But I couldn’t say it.
He was right. I had forgotten Daniel Collins wasn’t my tutor.
He was a masters and doctoral student at Harvard….
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His future was dazzlingly bright, far more promising than mine.
Teaching me was just a fluke. Now he had to go back to where he could shine.
I couldn’t hold him back.
“Oh… this is too abrupt.”
I tried to laugh it off nonchalantly, “Time really flies.”
Daniel Collins didn’t say anything, just gazed at me steadily.
His eyes were like obsidian, deep and glittering.
I felt the temperature on my face rising along with the air in the room. The
atmosphere turned awkward for a moment.
Just as I couldn’t bear the silence and was about to speak, Daniel Collins suddenly stood up.
Outside the window, the city was a blur of traffic and dazzling lights.
The fantastical neon glow of the night squeezed in through the window, enveloping him.
Backlit by the vast night, he smiled at me.
“Emily Anderson, I’ll be waiting for you at Harvard.”
My eyes stung with tears that started flowing.
“Okay,” I wiped my eyes. “I’ll come find you in a year!”
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