Mr. Hammond, seeing that Vincent was done with his recording session, chimed in, "I''m going to have a word with Vincent. He''s our runner-up in the science category this year, just a point shy of the top schr. Such a shame."


    Mirabe''s eyes narrowed slightly. "It is quite a shame."


    One point can mean twopletely different oues.


    Mr. Hammond sighed, gave her a small wave, and walked off.


    Mirabe stood there for a moment before making her way to the office next door. Her parents should be finishing up their chat with those folks from the Department of Education by now.


    **


    In the days following the release of the final exam results, Delh and Shawn''s phones were practically ringing off the hook with calls from prestigious universities, all eager to recruit their daughter.


    Knowing Mirabe had her heart set on Prestige College, they politely turned down the other offers.


    Wade, who had been keeping tabs on Mirabe''s academic performance, was genuinely surprised by her perfect score. Such achievements are rare and often indicative of a bright future.


    After finding out her intended major, Wade felt much more at ease.


    Although Mirabe was a top student in the humanities, it didn''t matter much to them. Their biology department wasn''t as rigid as other STEM fields about a strictly science-based background, and they were willing to make an exception.


    He made sure to mention this to the department head, Calvin.


    Calvin, who was in charge of recruitment for the biology department, had also been following this year''s final exam oues. He hesitated a bit, "Even though she''s the top scorer, she''s from the humanities. Do you think she''ll struggle with a science major?"


    Sure, a perfect exam score is impressive, but specialization does matter. A humanities student choosing a science major felt like a mismatch.


    After a pause, Calvin thought about a few science students he had been monitoring and added, "I do think that student from Parkside High School, who ranked second nationally in the sciences, would be a great catch for us."


    Only one point behind the top schr and with a solid science background, his potential seemed to surpass that of the humanities valedictorian, even though he hadn''t applied for the biology program. That wouldn''t stop them from recruiting him.


    Wade frowned slightly, then said, "I believe Mirabe''s understanding of the sciences is quite solid."


    After all, she had aced those challenging sciencepetitionsst year, tacklingplex problems that showcased her expertise.


    Plus, with Mr. Hammond''s strong endorsement, his rmendations were not to be taken lightly.


    Calvin, picking up on the slight hesitation in Wade''s "should be," stayed silent for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I''ll send the biology department''s offer to Mr. Hammond right away, so he can include it with the eptance letter."


    After all, there''s an entrance assessment. If her fundamentals don''t hold up, she can be advised to consider other majors early on. Keeping someone in a program where they don''t belong just to avoid wasting talent was something the biology department couldn''t afford to do.


    Unaware of Calvin''s thoughts, Wade hummed softly and got up. "Then, I''ll be off."


    "Sure," Calvin stood as well, respectfully seeing him out.


    As Wade left the office and descended the stairs, he bumped into Tang Zhe from the physics department.


    Rong Jun, a professor and recently appointed academician in the physics department, had been sending Mirabe physics problems and chatting with her frequently, trying to recruit her into the physics program.


    "What brings you here, Academician Rong?" Wade asked, clearly surprised to see Rong Jun.