Chapter 2

My phone almost crashed from the number of calls and messages.

The first message was from my mother.

[You went too far today. We raised her like our own daughter. Her life has been very hard. You have no idea how difficult her path was. We just want her to live better. Is that wrong?]

The next one was from my father.

[Celine is different from you, Stefan. She is very sensitive. Northbridge is her lifelong dream. When she found out she might not get in, she almost tried to end her life. I just couldn’t ignore that.]

[You caused such a scene today. How will she face people now? Apologize to her immediately!]

I didn’t even read the rest and simply deleted everything.

Then another call came in. I wanted to reject it, but my finger slipped and I answered.

“Stefan, your mom told me you want to cut ties with your family?”

It was my uncle.

“Yes.”

“I don’t want to be harsh, but you are being very ungrateful. Your parents worked hard to raise you and now you want to leave them?”

He kept talking about how difficult my parents’ lives had been.

“Your dad just felt sorry for the sponsored student and wanted to help her a bit more. Is it really necessary to cut ties with your parents over this?”

I waited until he finished speaking and quietly watched the city lights outside my window.

When I didn’t answer, his voice grew softer.

“Uncle, I’ve wanted to enter Northbridge University since I was a child.”

“We all know that…”

I interrupted him. “Back then, when I missed the entrance score by one point, I begged my dad to help me. He worked at Northbridge his whole life. It would’ve been easy for him.”

“He said he hated people who used connections.”

My uncle fell silent in an instant.

Then I continued, “But Celine missed it by nine points and still got in.”

“So, when it was me, he hated people who used connections. But when it was someone else, it was fine.”

“Uncle, I’m his son and he must avoid suspicion. But does his sponsored student not need to avoid suspicion?”

“That’s a double standard,” I said sarcastically.

My father sponsored many students, but compared to what he gave them, I came last.

To the outside world, he was a kind and respected professor.

But to me, he wasn’t even a qualified father.

Time was limited. Every bit he gave to them was taken away from me.

My uncle tried to explain awkwardly. “Your dad is just doing good deeds. You don’t need to fight over this.”

My head started to ache upon hearing this.

“Uncle, last year I passed Northbridge’s graduate written exam. My interview result was also very good. I was almost guaranteed to enter Northbridge.”

“But I didn’t get in. Do you know why?”

“Why?”

“Because my dad talked to people and stopped me. He was afraid others would say I used connections.”

“But Celine was directly chosen as his graduate student. Isn’t that funny?”

There was silence on the other end.

After a long time, my uncle finally said, “Try to understand your dad, Stefan. He’s a big professor. If even his sponsored student couldn’t get into his own university, he would lose face.”

I was furious.

“Am I not good enough to give him face?”

“I’ve been in first place since I was young. I’ve won so many awards. Why must I give up my dream school just to avoid suspicion?”

“And why must parents hurt their own child for an outsider?”

“What kind of parents are they? What kind of logic is this?”

“Tell them not to worry. When they’re old, I will support them with money. But nothing else.”