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.