USTC's Admissions Director Came Calling Too

USTC's admissions director came calling too.

Faced with such a surprise, Xiao Guohua remained calm and said, "Teachers, please calm down first. Well, there's actually no need for you two to argue."

"Do you know that my child is only a second-year high school student? He was only able to take this year's Gaokao because he was selected by the USTC Young Scholars Program."

"According to the agreement we signed earlier, Xiao Yi is supposed to attend USTC for his undergraduate studies this year and can't apply to any other schools."

Upon hearing this, neither admissions teacher seemed worried. The one from Shangjing University said directly, "Haha, Mr. Xiao, don't worry. Of course we know all that. We came precisely because Xiao Yi is only a second-year high school student and yet managed to become the Gaokao Top Scholar."

"Our proposal is for Xiao Yi to enroll in the third year of high school at Shangjing University Affiliated High School this fall. Of course, it will only be in name; in reality, he will study directly at Shangjing University that year. We heard that Xiao Yi excels most at mathematics, so he can enter our Mathematics Department directly and begin studying undergraduate mathematics courses in advance."

"Then he won't need to take next year's Gaokao at all. Xiao Yi can simply attend our summer camp, and once it ends, he will officially receive his admission letter from Shangjing University. We have a Mathematics Talents Class specifically for training mathematics specialists. As long as Xiao Yi's mathematics is outstanding enough, he can absolutely enter the Talents Class when the time comes."

At this point, the admissions teacher said regretfully, "It's just a pity that we didn't discover Xiao Yi earlier. Otherwise, his qualification to take this year's Gaokao would have been issued by our Mathematics Talents Class, and there would have been no need for him to remain in his third year of high school for another year."

USTC could grant Gaokao qualifications to students not yet in their final year of high school, and Shangjing University or Tsinghua University naturally could as well. Whoever issued that qualification would have the student enroll at the corresponding school after passing; otherwise, the student would have to return to the third year of high school.

That was why the teacher found it so regrettable that Shangjing University and Tsinghua University had failed to discover Xiao Yi earlier.

But there was nothing to be done. Their Mathematics Talents Class generally selected winners of first prizes in the Math Olympiad. Through other channels, they had no way of knowing that such a genius was hidden away in such an ordinary high school, only to be discovered by the local USTC.

Xiao Guohua and Du Xin were both dumbfounded as they listened. There was such an option?

Seeing their expressions, the Shangjing University teacher continued, giving them further reassurance. "Please rest assured, the process is absolutely legitimate and fully compliant with the rules. A gifted young man like Xiao Yi is more than worthy of this."

The Tsinghua teacher said, "So are we."

"Besides, we can provide Xiao Yi with a monthly living allowance of 2,000 yuan, along with guaranteed scholarships. We can also ensure that he receives the best educational resources. Tsinghua has plenty of academicians who can serve as Xiao Yi's teachers."

The Shangjing University teacher snorted. "Forget Tsinghua's mathematics. Can it possibly compare with our Shangjing University Mathematics Department?"

"Mr. Xiao, Ms. Du, the mathematics program at Shangjing University is indisputably number one in the country."

The Tsinghua teacher said, "Teaching students isn't about competing over overall rankings. I can't even be bothered to talk about all the convoluted issues in your Shangjing University Mathematics Department."

The Shangjing University teacher said, "And where exactly is Tsinghua any better?"

Just as the two admissions teachers were about to come to blows again, another voice carried up from downstairs.

"What the hell are you people from Shangjing University and Tsinghua doing? You came to USTC's turf to poach students without even saying hello? And you're poaching our student? Bastards!"

Then came a succession of footsteps. Judging from the sound alone, there were probably more than a dozen people.

Very quickly, a whole group came upstairs.

The person at the front gave a look, and the people beside him promptly stepped forward and squeezed the Shangjing University and Tsinghua representatives aside. Then he smiled at Xiao Guohua and said, "Hello, Mr. Xiao. I'm Wang Enqing, director of the admissions office at the University of Science and Technology of China. I came here specially today to offer our congratulations to our top scholar, Xiao!"

Good grief, even the admissions director had come in person!

The admissions teachers from Tsinghua and Shangjing University immediately showed helpless expressions.

This was USTC's territory, after all!

In the living room.

Several people sat on the sofa, while more than a dozen stood beside them.

Xiao Yi would have bet that his home had never been this crowded before.

Under normal circumstances, people might have thought debt collectors had come knocking.

Mm... actually, it was pretty similar. They were not here to collect debts, but they were here to take someone away.

"Xiao Yi, I've wanted to meet you for a long time. Professor Liu Bin mentioned you to me several times before and said you were especially talented in mathematics."

"Heh, now that I see you, you're not merely talented in mathematics. You're clearly gifted in every aspect."

"On behalf of the University of Science and Technology of China, I'd also like to congratulate you on becoming our province's top scholar this year. Let me tell you something quietly: you scored twenty-five points higher than second place! Among all provinces that took the new curriculum National Paper B this year, you were unquestionably number one!"

Wang Enqing, director of USTC's admissions office, lavished praise on Xiao Yi the moment he saw him.

Of course, Xiao Yi truly deserved it.

The new curriculum National Paper B they had taken this year had been genuinely difficult. The provinces that used National Paper B were jokingly called nightmare-difficulty or hell-difficulty regions online. Yu Province and Yue Province, for example, both used that paper.

Yet Xiao Yi had still scored 741 points on such an exam. Moreover, every point he lost had been in Chinese; he had not lost a single point in any other subject.

That was enough to show that this student possessed an unimaginable level of talent.

Then, when he remembered that this student had already been selected by USTC's Young Scholars Program, Director Wang—who had been in the USTC admissions office half an hour earlier—smiled so broadly that he was practically ready to pop champagne.

If their "intelligence officer" embedded with the Gaokao grading team had not told them that people from Shangjing University and Tsinghua University had already gone to Xiao Yi's home, he would still have been completely in the dark. The student might even have been stolen away by those two schools.

Glancing at the admissions teachers from Shangjing University and Tsinghua beside him, Wang Enqing smiled again. "Xiao Yi, and Father Xiao and Mother Xiao, here's the situation."

"Since Xiao Yi has now achieved a top scholar's score on the Gaokao, in addition to what we previously discussed about joining the Gifted Class, we can provide Xiao Yi with even more resources."

"This includes full tuition exemption, free accommodation, free meals, and various monthly allowances, with a guaranteed minimum of 3,000 yuan per month! If Xiao Yi achieves any results in his studies, the university can also grant him additional rewards. For example, if Xiao Yi achieves good results in competitions—whether school-level, provincial-level, or national-level—we will offer rewards at different tiers according to his achievements."

"For national-level competitions, such as the National Undergraduate Mathematical Modeling Contest, the university can provide Xiao Yi with an additional reward of up to 30,000 yuan."

"And also—"

"Director Wang, only 30,000? Shangjing University can give 40,000!" At that moment, the Shangjing University admissions teacher, who had been watching like a hawk, spoke up.

Wang Enqing ignored him. "Most importantly, when it comes to educational resources, we can provide Xiao Yi—"

"Educational resources are even less worth mentioning. USTC should just forget it. In domestic mathematics, if Shangjing University calls itself second, no other school would dare call itself first."

"You!" Wang Enqing glared at the man.

Do you have to keep running your mouth?

But at that moment, Xiao Yi spoke. "Um, I agreed to go to USTC."

"What?!"