My SAT scores are out. It turns out that I'm the top scorer of my state. But I insist on applying to an obscure, third-rate private college in front of my friends and family.

Everyone thinks that I've gone nuts. Mom even gets down on her knees and begs me not to destroy my future.

"You can go to any top college you want! Why must you attend that trashy college instead?"

I remain unmoved despite the fact that everyone keeps convincing me to change my mind.

What they don't know is that if I don't go there, everyone will die in three days.

I got a 1580 on the SAT out of 1600, including a perfect score in one section, making me the undisputed top scorer in the entire state.

In front of all my family and friends, I announced that I had decided to apply to Seabrook Technical College.

Mom thought she'd misheard me. She stared at me in utter disbelief.

"I'm applying to Seabrook Technical College," I repeated.

Dad was frozen for a long time. His phone slipped straight out of his hand and hit the floor.

"Ethan… S-Say that again?"

My cousin, Matilda Flint, shot out of her chair. "Ethan Walker, have you lost your mind? Why would the state's top scorer go to some third-rate vocational school?"

The living room descended into chaos. All my relatives crowded around me, talking over each other to persuade me.

"Ethan, are you under too much pressure? Have you fried your brain?"

"With a score like yours, Easton University and Northbridge University—the top institutes in the country—would be fighting over you. Why would you go to that kind of trashy school?"

"Do you even understand what your score means? You came in first in the entire state!"

I looked at their anxious faces, not knowing what to say.

Mom's eyes turned red as she grabbed my hand. "Tell me—why do you want to go to that college? Did someone threaten you? Or did the school offer you something?"

I pulled my hand free.

"No one threatened me. I just want to go there."

"Ethan, you've always been a sensible kid," Dad chimed in. "When have you ever made us worry like this? You have to give us a reason!"

My aunt stamped her foot anxiously.

"Ethan, snap out of it! That lousy school barely even counts as a proper college! You won't even have a diploma when you graduate. You'll be throwing away your own future!

"You've been brilliant since you were a kid. You started reciting classical poetry when you were five years old, studied advanced math at ten years old, and always came in first all through school.

"Our whole family is counting on you to be successful and bring honor to the family name. You can't ruin yourself like this!"

Dad just continued to stare at me, his eyes almost pleading. "Ethan, you really have to think this through carefully."

"I already have," I answered firmly.

Suddenly, Dad grabbed my shoulders. "Do you know that by doing this, you'll…" He realized he had lost control and quickly caught himself. "...be disappointing us?"

I took a deep breath. "I know exactly what I'm doing. Please stop trying to persuade me."

The whole room fell silent. Everyone stared at me like I'd lost my mind.

Mom suddenly dropped to her knees and grabbed my legs.

"Ethan, I'm begging you. Don't do something so foolish. You're everything to me. If you're ruined, I won't be able to go on living either!"

Seeing her kneeling there, my heart felt like it was being torn apart.

Dad pulled Mom up to her feet and glared at me furiously.

"Fine! You've got some guts! From today onward, you're no longer my son! If you insist on going to that trash vocational college, then don't ever come back to this house!"

I lowered my head, not daring to meet their disappointed gazes.

Just then, my homeroom teacher, Mr. Hayes, hurried over. He'd heard I was giving up Easton University and Northbridge University and had rushed over from school to talk some sense into me.

"Ethan, I know you have your own ideas, but this decision is far too impulsive. Do you know how many students across the country dream of getting into Easton or Northbridge? You're completely squandering your talents by doing this!"

I shook my head.

Mr. Hayes was sweating from anxiety.

"You've always had great ambitions. How can you settle for a place like that? Did something happen at home? Or were you tricked by someone?"

I shook my head again.

At that moment, my best friend, Ryan Platten, rushed in as well. His expression was filled with panic when he learned of my score and my college of choice.

"You said you wanted to go to Easton just two days ago. Why the sudden change?" he asked.

"I changed my mind. That's all."

Everyone exchanged looks.

I closed my eyes, unable to bear seeing their disappointed expressions any longer.

"I'm tired. I need some rest."

"Ethan, I can't just watch you throw your future away," Mr. Hayes blurted out. "I hope you can rethink this calmly. We'll talk about it again tomorrow."

"I've already made my decision. I'll be submitting my application to Seabrook Technical College tomorrow."

The moment the words landed, Mom fainted and was rushed to the hospital. After examining her, the doctor said it was just stress and shock and that she'd be fine after some rest.

The first thing she asked when she woke up was, "Ethan, have you changed your mind?"

Sitting by her bedside, I shook my head.

The hope in her eyes instantly shattered, and she looked like she was about to faint again.

Dad quickly steadied her. "Don't get worked up. We'll persuade him slowly."

Just then, Leonard Flint, Mom's brother, also arrived at the hospital.

He was the deputy director of our city's Department of Education. The moment he heard about my decision, he took time off and anxiously rushed over.

"Ethan, what on earth are you thinking? Do you know that I just got a call from Easton's admissions office? They're ready to admit you with special consideration—they're offering a full scholarship and can even guarantee you a spot in their graduate program!"

Everyone in the hospital room was stunned.

Matilda excitedly jumped to her feet. "That's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"And that's not all," Uncle Leonard continued. "They promised to assign you the best advisors for your graduate program, and once you graduate, they'll recommend you to work at the National Institute of Science.

"Do you understand what that means? Only a handful of people in the entire country get this kind of treatment each year!"

Of course, I knew how rare this opportunity was, but I still shook my head.

Uncle Leonard's eyes widened. "Do you know how many people would fight tooth and nail for this opportunity?"

Mom sat up from the hospital bed and grabbed my hand. "Ethan, you can have anything you want. Just, please… Don't throw away your future."

I looked at her pale face. "I'm sorry, Mom."

Tears started rolling down her cheeks again. "Why are you tormenting me like this?"

I turned toward the door, unable to meet her gaze.

Right then, an elderly man with white hair walked in. It was Arthur Caldwell, my high school's principal. He had come especially from school to persuade me.

I greeted him respectfully. "Hello, Mr. Caldwell."

He looked at me and said earnestly, "Ethan, you've always been the pride of our school. Only one in 10,000 people is lucky enough to have talent like yours. How can you waste it like this?"

I lowered my head. "I'm sorry for disappointing you."

"I'm not disappointed," he said, shaking his head. "I'm heartbroken.

"Do you know how many resources the school put into nurturing you? The best teachers, the best facilities, and the best environment. Now that you've achieved such outstanding results, you tell us you want to go to a trashy school. What are we supposed to do with that?"

My eyes grew wet as I heard that. But I still said firmly, "I've made up my mind, Mr. Caldwell."

"Just tell us why, won't you?"

Everyone stared at me, waiting for my answer.

I opened my mouth to speak, but in the end, I still shook my head.

Mr. Caldwell sighed.

"If you won't say anything, I'll just have to find out for myself."

I watched him start dialing a number, my heart racing. After chatting with the other person for a few minutes, his expression suddenly changed. It went from anger to confusion and finally to utter shock.

"What? Are you sure?" he asked, his voice trembling. "Okay… I understand."

He hurriedly hung up the phone with a somewhat odd expression on his face. Everyone looked at him, waiting for him to explain, but he merely stared at me blankly, unable to form words for a long time.

Uncle Leonard pressed, "Mr. Caldwell, what happened? What did the college say?"

Mr. Caldwell took a deep breath before jumping to his feet. "I can't get involved in this matter anymore."

The whole room was stunned.

Mom looked confused. "What do you mean, Mr. Caldwell? Didn't you say you were going to get to the bottom of things?"

Mr. Caldwell shook his head. "I'm not interfering with this matter anymore. Ethan, go to whichever college you want. I won't try to persuade you again."

With that, he turned and left the hospital room without another word, leaving everyone else staring at each other in bewilderment.

Just then, a commotion sounded from outside the hospital room.

A group of reporters carrying cameras burst in, instantly crowding the room. Leading them was Portia Wynn, a reporter I'd seen on the local TV channel before.

"Hello, I'm Portia Wynn, a reporter with the local news channel. May I ask which one of you is Ethan Walker?"

Everyone turned to look at me.

I sighed and stood up. "I am."

Portia excitedly signaled the cameraman to start filming.

"Ethan Walker, first of all, congratulations on becoming the state's top scorer in this year's SAT. But we heard that you're giving up Easton University and Northbridge University for Seabrook Technical College. Is that true?"

The red light on the camera was on. I knew this was a live broadcast.

I nodded. "Yes, it's true."

The room erupted into an uproar, and the other reporters surged forward one after another.

"Ethan, why would you make such a choice?"

I looked at the microphones and cameras, feeling the immense pressure. But all I could say was, "I just want to go to Seabrook Technical College. That's all."

Portia was clearly unsatisfied with the answer.

"Just like that? A top scorer gives up Easton and Northbridge just because he 'wants to'? Ethan, could you give us a more detailed explanation?"

I shook my head. "It's just a personal choice."

The reporters began whispering among themselves.

A young reporter asked, "Ethan, do your parents support your decision?"

Everyone turned to look at Mom and Dad.

"We… We respect our son's choice," Mom said, forcing out a smile. But her expression was so strained that it was obvious to anyone that her smile was fake.

Another reporter turned to Dad. "Mr. Walker, as the father, are you really okay with your son giving up Easton University?"

Dad stammered, "This… This is his own decision…"

His answer was clearly unconvincing, and he looked especially nervous on camera.

Portia sensed something immediately.

"It seems your family is just as surprised by this decision? Ethan, is it something you can't talk about?"

When I heard the words "can't talk about", my heart tightened. I looked at the camera, knowing that millions of people might be watching the live broadcast right now.

"No one is pressuring me, and there are no problems at home," I answered.

"As the state's top scorer, your choice will influence many younger students. Don't you think you owe everyone a more reasonable explanation?"

I looked at her stern expression and felt a wave of helplessness. "I have nothing more to say."

An awkward silence fell over the room.

Portia glanced at her colleagues, then turned to the camera and said, "Dear viewers, we're live right now with Ethan Walker, the state's top scorer. Unfortunately, he refuses to reveal the real reason he's giving up Easton and Northbridge. The choice is certainly puzzling.

"Our live coverage ends here. Thank you for watching."

She signaled the cameraman to cut the feed, then looked at me. "Ethan, your answer is very disappointing. I hope you won't regret today's choice in the future."

With that, the reporters gradually left the room.

Uncle Leonard shook his head while scrolling through his phone.

"Ethan, do you know how many people were watching that live broadcast? Probably millions! And they'll all be thinking that you've gone crazy!"

Sure enough, it didn't take long before the Internet exploded.

Uncle Leonard scrolled through the comments, his face growing darker by the minute.

"The comments are flooding in, and almost all of them are criticizing you."

He read out the most-liked comments, "This is what today's youth are like—they don't know how to cherish opportunities!

"He's wasting educational resources! He should be stripped of the top-scorer title!

"I bet he's trying to be an Internet celebrity. How disgusting!

"A person like him doesn't deserve the title of top scorer. Apologize to all the other examinees!

"It's his upbringing. How on earth did his parents raise him?

"This is a classic example of a person who has book smarts but no real capability!"

As he continued reading, Uncle Leonard noticed that some people had already started doxxing our home address. Some even said they wanted to come to our house to demand an explanation.

At that, Mom's face turned pale with fear, and Dad panicked as well.

I looked at their expressions, filled with despair, and I knew that this was only the beginning.

Online violence was like an avalanche—once it started, it was almost impossible to stop. And an even bigger storm was brewing.

…

The next day, the harassment reached a frenzied level. Our address had been exposed online.

Early in the morning, a large crowd of reporters and angry people gathered at our doorstep, holding up banners that read "Wasting Educational Resources Makes You the Public Enemy!" and "Brain-dead Top Scorer—Get Out of the Education Sector!"

Mom didn't dare step outside at all and spent the entire day crying. Dad took the day off and stayed at home, but his face grew darker and darker.

Uncle Leonard was even suspended from the Department of Education for an investigation. They said they needed to thoroughly investigate whether there was anything wrong with our family.

"Ethan Walker!" Dad finally exploded. "Look at the mess we're in now! Our whole family is going to be destroyed because of you! How long are you going to keep hiding the truth?"

Mom cried, "Ethan, I'm begging you. Just tell us the truth! If this continues, we won't be able to survive!"

I peeked through the curtains. The crowd outside was massive—reporters, people, and even some parents with their children. All of their faces were filled with anger.

Suddenly, someone started banging on the door.

"Ethan Walker! Come out! My son scored 1540 on the SAT, but he couldn't get into Easton! What gives you the right to waste the opportunity? Come out and apologize! Apologize to all the examinees!"

The banging grew louder, and someone even started kicking the door. It shook under the heavy blows.

I knew that if I didn't act soon, the door would really break down. I took a deep breath and walked over.

"What are you doing?" Mom cried, grabbing my arm in panic.

"I'm going to explain things to them."

Dad's eyes widened. "Explain? What could you possibly explain?"

I saw the despair coloring their faces. I knew I had to say something to calm the crowd's anger.

I opened the door, and the chaos outside instantly stopped. Everyone stared at me, their eyes full of rage and suspicion.

Reporters raised their microphones and cameras.

"I know everyone is very angry, and I understand. I have to tell everyone the truth."

The crowd went completely silent. Everyone was waiting for my next words.

Gritting my teeth, I started to talk.