Chapter 105: Negotiation with Imperial University
When the principal and dean saw Chu Luo, they looked at her with a heartened expression as if she was their promising daughter.
The principal, who had always been calm and collected, was also a little excited at this moment. “Chu Luo has made Ocean City’s elite high school proud this year. She’s also the student who scored the highest score in history since the school was founded. Ever since the score was announced yesterday, many high school principals have called me to congratulate me, hahaha…”
These words made the others smile knowingly.
The principal added, “That’s not all. The First Television Station, Ocean City’s Education Channel, and the Education Network have all called to interview you.”
The dean standing at the side replied, “Most of them are asking about your learning method. You can decide if you want to be interviewed.”
Chu Luo responded with an “Mm.”
Seeing that she didn’t refuse, the principal continued with a smile, “Early this morning, the director of Ocean City’s Education Bureau personally called and said that he’d give you a reward. Even though this year, the college entrance examination questions in the entire empire are difficult, you were still able to score full marks. In the past, the reward from the Education Bureau was 100,000 yuan, but this year, he’s specifically giving you 200,000 yuan.
“Also, the reward from our school has been unanimously decided by the school’s board to be 500,000 yuan.”
As a private elite high school, the school board didn’t lack that bit of money. They were interested in the long-term fame that Chu Luo would bring to the school in the future.
Chu Luo didn’t feel much about money, but Old Gao was happy for her.
The principal continued, “Our school’s reward will be given to you tomorrow, when you go back to school to fill in your application.”
Chu Luo nodded.
After the principal finished speaking, the dean continued, “Chu Luo, we will hold a general assembly tomorrow before the holidays. When the time comes, you can go on stage and talk to your juniors. Take it as you encouraging and cheering them on.”
“What should I say?”
“Say what you want to say. As long as it can stimulate their enthusiasm for learning.”
When Chu Luo heard this, the corners of her lips curled up and she nodded. “Okay.”
The principal and dean exchanged a few more words with her before Li Tao and the others came over.
The principal knew that with them around, the youngsters would be restrained. He smiled and said, “Then we won’t disturb your teacher and students’ gathering. Imperial University will announce the admission score today. Don’t forget to check it later.”
With that, the two of them left.
Once the two school’s heads left, Ji Cheng, who had been pretending to be a quail, exhaled exaggeratedly. “Hah… the principal and dean are finally gone. With them around, I feel like even my breathing is tense.”
Old Gao scolded jokingly, “If you’d had results like Little Chu Luo, He Jiang, and Li Tao, you wouldn’t be afraid of the principal and dean.”
Ji Cheng grinned. “Of course. It’s precisely because my results are bad that I’m afraid of them. If my results were good, I’d hold my head high and chat with them with ease.”
Old Gao rapped his forehead.
“Aiyoh! Old Gao, you’re too ruthless. Don’t tell me you were deliberating waiting to teach me a lesson after the exams because my grades weren’t good?”
Old Gao deliberately put on a fierce face. “You’re right. Previously, I told Little Chu Luo that if she didn’t get the results she expected, I would hit her palm with a ruler. I was thinking that I wouldn’t need that ruler anymore. Coincidentally, you came…”
“Hey! Old Gao, please be magnanimous and let me off. I also got my desired results this time, didn’t I? My old man even said that he wanted to set off firecrackers and hold a banquet to celebrate.”
“I say, Ji Cheng.” Li Tao finally couldn’t bear to listen anymore. “You only managed to get into a third-tier university. Isn’t it too much to set off firecrackers and hold a banquet to celebrate?”
“Hey, hey, hey… Li Tao, how can you mock me like that? I got into a third-tier university because of my ability, okay? Of course, the biggest contributor is Chu Luo, but… before this, my old man felt that it was already good enough if I got into a vocational school. I’d have been considered to have exceeded my usual performance.”
Everyone: “…”
After they’d been chatting and laughing for a while, Mrs. Gao finished preparing the food.
Other than Chu Luo, there were five other people, including Li Tao. The Gao family’s square dining table and long stools were the older type. Two people could sit on one side.
Ji Cheng and the rest came with alcohol. The boys didn’t dare to say it just now. After the dishes were served, when Ji Cheng and another boy ran out to bring in a few boxes of wine, Old Gao instantly pointed at them with a fierce expression. “You brats, so you guys came prepared.”
Li Tao smiled and said, “Old Gao, don’t be angry. Didn’t you especially hold a celebration party for Chu Luo today? How can a celebration party be without alcohol? We only bought low-percentage alcohol. Everyone just wants to have fun. We definitely won’t let Chu Luo get drunk.”
After saying that, Ji Cheng opened the box and bent down to take out two bottles. He gave one to Old Gao and passed the other to Chu Luo. “We were all able to get our ideal results this time, all thanks to the questions you’d spotted on the last day.”
Chu Luo looked at the pink wine bottle in his hand. She had wanted to try it before, and when she heard him say that, she took it.
Old Gao looked at Chu Luo’s sparkling eyes and was about to scold her.
Mrs. Gao knocked on his bowl with her chopsticks and said, “You old antique, the children have already graduated, yet you still restrict them about this and that. What’s wrong with Chu Luo drinking a little? If she gets drunk, she can rest at our house.”
Old Gao didn’t say anything else.
After everyone got a bottle of wine, they didn’t even drink from their glasses and just drank directly from the bottles.
Chu Luo took a sip of this wine and smacked her lips twice before coming to a conclusion. “It’s too faint. There’s no smell of alcohol at all.”
Old Gao: “…”
The others roared with laughter.
He Jiang said, “Chu Luo, why don’t we compete in wine-drinking and see who’s better?”
Chu Luo looked at the bottle and said, “You can’t beat me in drinking.”
He Jiang: “…”
“Chu Luo, aren’t you bragging a little too much? The class rep’s family runs a wine factory. He has been soaking in wine jars since he was young. How can he not win against you!”
The others also thought that Chu Luo was joking.
Only Li Tao glanced at her.
Everyone didn’t drink much. Today, Mrs. Gao cooked a huge table of dishes. The group gave her face and finished the table of dishes.
Old Gao deliberately shouted, “Other than Little Chu Luo, you guys are a bunch of pigs!”
Mrs. Gao looked at the empty plates and couldn’t stop smiling.
The admission cutoff for Imperial University would be released at 2 PM.
After the meal, it was already 1:30 PM. Everyone walked to the living room and sat down. He Jiang and Li Tao had brought their laptops with them. The two of them opened their laptops while the others stood behind them and stared at them. They looked like they were afraid of missing out on the cutoff score.
Chu Luo didn’t feel as excited and nervous as them. She informed Old Gao and went straight to Old Gao’s desk to take two books to flip through.
Just as she finished flipping through the two books, a few people exclaimed in excitement when they saw the cutoff score.
“Hahaha… This year’s admission score is actually 690. I remember Zhang Tianyi scored 689.”
Everyone remembered how Zhang Tianyi had treated Chu Luo in the past. Although Chu Luo had ruthlessly slapped his face afterward, when they saw this kind of score, everyone’s hearts couldn’t help but feel excited.
At this time, Ji Cheng even specifically looked at Chu Luo and asked, “Chu Luo, you really don’t like Zhang Tianyi anymore, right?”
A few cold gazes swept towards Ji Cheng at the same time. Ji Cheng subconsciously shrunk his neck, smiled embarrassedly, and said, “I was just asking casually. With Chu Luo’s current looks, how could she possibly fall for that plastic surgery face?”
Chu Luo ignored him and asked Old Gao, “How many students from Class 1 got into Imperial University this year?”
“Just one,” Old Gao said with a smile. “Other than our class, the average score for the entire level is low. There are only six people who scored above 690.”
“Haha! Half of those people are from our class!”
“I suddenly feel like our class is super impressive!”
Chu Luo smiled. “I see. I wonder how Teacher Li feels now?”
Everyone was looking forward to seeing Teacher Li’s reaction when all the Grade 12 students returned to school tomorrow.
After the college entrance examination cutoff score was released, Chu Luo’s phone suddenly rang.
She took it out and saw that it was an unfamiliar number.
Old Gao happened to be standing behind her. He accidentally glanced at the caller ID and immediately widened his eyes. He said excitedly, “Little Chu Luo, answer it quickly. If I remember correctly, this is a call from the Imperial University student recruitment office.”
“Wow! The Imperial University student recruitment office called Chu Luo so early. What does that mean…”
“This means that Chu Luo has been admitted early!”
“Chu Luo, answer the call!”
Chu Luo was actually a little surprised that the Imperial University student recruitment office knew her number, but she still picked up the call amid the excited voices of the crowd.
Indeed, as they had said, the Imperial University student recruitment office was calling to offer early admission to Chu Luo, as well as the benefits of waiving all tuition, living, and accommodation fees.
Chu Luo thought for a while and only made a small request. “I want to enroll in a few specializations at the same time. As long as you agree, I will enroll in Imperial University.”
The other party didn’t expect Chu Luo to have such a request. The person who called didn’t have the right to promise her anything either. He said that he would report her request immediately.
After hanging up the phone, Chu Luo scanned the crowd, who was looking at her with scorching eyes, and blinked innocently.
Everyone thought to themselves, ‘F*ck! Is this a request that a mortal can make?’
What was more unexpected was that Chu Luo also received a few more calls from the key universities in the country. At the same time, she received invitations from several famous universities abroad.
Towards the end, the group of people listening to Chu Luo’s calls had calmed down.
Everyone stayed at Old Gao’s place until four in the afternoon before leaving.
After everyone had walked out of the district, Li Tao gave He Jiang a look. He Jiang shouted for the others to leave first.
After the others left, Li Tao stopped Chu Luo.
“Chu Luo, I said before that as long as I get into Imperial University, I will pursue you. Now…”
“I told you before that I don’t like you.” Chu Luo looked at Li Tao and replied bluntly, “It doesn’t matter if you can get in or not.”
When Li Tao heard this, he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and said, “Although I expected you to say that, I still felt the hit.”
Chu Luo looked up at him.
Li Tao suddenly smiled at her. “Although you’re not accepting my courtship, you can at least tell me which specialization you want to apply for, right?”
Chu Luo looked at him. “Do you think I was joking with the Imperial University admissions office just now?”
Li Tao swallowed at these words and immediately explained, “No. Even if you study a few majors, you have to have your first choice.”
Chu Luo nodded and said, “I might sign up for a foreign language major.”
“…”
“Or computer science.”
“…”
“Or chemistry.”
“…”
“Or physics.”
“…”
“Or history.”
“…”
Chu Luo mentioned several major departments in a row, making Li Tao speechless.
Finally, after Chu Luo finished speaking, he couldn’t help but ask, “Have you never thought about entering the Math Department?”
Chu Luo thought for a moment and nodded. “It’s possible.” Then, she added, “It’s possible that I’ll study at all the colleges.”
Li Tao stopped talking and looked at Chu Luo with a bright gaze.
Chu Luo looked back at him. “Don’t you believe me?”
Li Tao thought: ‘No one would believe this.’
Chu Luo stopped looking at Li Tao and walked towards the apartment.
When she returned, Li Yan wasn’t there.
After dinner, she watched Professor Wu’s video lesson until eleven o’clock. Just as she was about to sleep, her phone suddenly rang.
It was Chu Zhengyang.
Chu Zhengyang asked through the phone, “Luoluo, did you not go home but straight to the apartment beside the school?”
When Chu Luo heard this, she walked to the window and pulled open the curtains. Indeed, Chu Zhengyang was standing downstairs.
She responded with an “Mm.”
Chu Zhengyang exhaled and said, “Someone from the admissions office called you this morning. I gave the person your number. Did you receive the call today?”
Chu Luo looked at the figure standing under the street lamp and guessed that Chu Zhengyang definitely didn’t listen carefully to what the person on the phone had said. It was also possible that he didn’t care at all.
“Then stay here properly. Uncle has something to attend to and has to go overseas. If… when I come back, I’ll celebrate with you.”
Chu Luo looked downstairs and only responded with an “Mm.”
Chu Zhengyang hung up the phone and strode away from the apartment building in a hurry.
Outside the apartment building, he got into the nanny van that was waiting for him.
The two brothers, Wei Yongchang and Wei Jingcheng, were sitting in the car.
Wei Yongchang asked, “Did you see her?”
Chu Zhengyang shook his head. “I only called her from downstairs.”
Wei Yongchang nodded and said, “We’ve already found the exact location of that ancient tomb. I heard that Li Yan will also go over. As long as we follow him in, we can find the main tomb before he does and obtain the legendary divine medicine. As long as we can obtain the divine medicine, Xiao Wei and Tingting’s Gu worms will be cured.”
Chu Zhengyang’s expression turned solemn and he nodded at him.
Previously, he had been very resistant to going to the ancient tomb and had always felt like he would never return. However, he had no choice now. For his wife and daughter, he could only bet his life.