68 Hudan University.
Chapter 68: Hudan University.
Haru just looked down and then sighed again. But he was thankful that he chose not to go back to school to get his results with everyone else. Not only was it faster to get them in the post but it also wasn't public.
"So, What do you think? Do you know what university you want to go to?" Krista asked him and put her hand on his back. "Well, Honestly I didn't really think about it. I was willing to accept anywhere that would take me.
"I say we just wait and see," Zen said. Krista shot him a confused look and then he went on to explain what he meant by that. "Well, Haru definitely has the best scores in the country. So it's only natural for the top universities to want him as a student so they will all get in contact soon enough and try to offer him money to study with them." Krista looked at him and then looked at Haru.
Haru already knew this all too well and it is exactly what he didn't want to happen. He thought about it. He was better off just picking a university now and letting the board of education know before the people tracked him down and started offering him all sorts of things to go with them.
A free scholarship was good enough. He was willing to pay the full amount but this just made things a little easier for him. It's not like he needed much in the first place. He still had money saved up as he didn't really have any need to spend it.
He stood there whilst everyone looked at him. Thinking about what to do. He could go to the top university and get all the benefits but then again It seemed wrong. He could be taking the place of someone who worked as hard as they could to get good exam results. He just had his memory boosted by a dragon singing to him. It didn't seem fair.
"What are you thinking?" Luke asked his son who was staring at the table not really paying attention. "I decided," Haru said bluntly.
"You decided? You decided what?" Luke asked him again. Haru looked up after a few more seconds. "I will go to Hudan University. I don't want anyone to make a big deal out of things so I will go and let the board of education know about my decision." He took the paper into the living room and then called the number.
It rang a few times before a lady picked up on the other side. "Hello, you have reached the board of education. I am the manager of the executive office. How may I help you?" She asked. Her voice was sweet and soothing. It fit her job well if she answered calls all day.
"Hi, I just got a letter in the post about being offered a full scholarship to any university under the board's jurisdiction. I am just calling to tell you I made a decision but I'm not sure what to do about it." He said sounding confused.
It was probably weird for the woman too. They couldn't have offered too many scholarships right? " Oh, You are one of the top five students for this year then? Congratulations. All I need is your name and then we can discuss what we can do next." She said in the same soothing voice.
"Okay, My name is Haru Kitagawa." He said. The line went dead for a few seconds before she spoke again. "Did you say Haru Kitigawa?" She asked surprised.
"Yeah," Haru said and then the phone went silent again. "Okay, sorry about this but I will have to transfer your call to the administration department. They have a few things to talk to you about. There have already been fifteen different requests to offer you large sums of money to go to their universities." She explained to Haru.
Wow, they work fast he thought as he stopped her midway through her explanation. "I don't mean to sound rude but, I'm not interested in any of their offers I have decided on Hudan university. What do I do to make it happen?" He asked. The woman went silent again.
"Did you just say you aren't interested in the offers?" She didn't understand why anyone would refuse them without even seeing the money they were offering. "It is a lot of money. I suggest you at least consider it." She tried to win him over but Haru didn't budge.
"Yeah, I considered it a while ago but my answer is still the same. I would like to go to Hudan university. If you don't want me to pick for myself then I can always just pay the entrance fees. I'm not really in need of the scholarship but I assumed you would do all the paperwork for me and make it easier to enrol."
Zen had been teaching Haru business techniques. And the first rule Zen followed when making a deal with someone is to make it sound like you have nothing to gain from what they are offering you. Their pride as a company will no allow them to simply let you walk away from them.
It was a tried and tested method and as Haru would soon find out, it works. "Wait, Yeah that's fine you don't need to look at the offers if you don't want to. And picking Hudan is a good choice. We actually have already gotten an offer from Hudan too. The money isn't as well paying as the other top universities but if you are not interested in it I will let them know. And you are correct. We will do everything on our side to make sure that everything goes smoothly for you." She began to panic.
It was probably a situation she hadn't been in before. A student calling and taking the power from the conversation. She seemed disturbed by the thought as she sat silently. Haru didn't say anything to make sure that he had control of the situation. It was just like Zen had taught him. Once you have control they will do everything you want.
"Hello, Are you still there? Did I do something wrong?" She asked. Haru then spoke. "Yeah, sorry I was just thinking. What do I need to do in this situation?" He asked her.
She replied almost instantly. "Nothing at all. You just sit back and relax and let us do our job. Once all the paperwork is finalised we will call you back and let you know everything about it. I wish you all the best and if you ever need to contact us again then don't hesitate to call this number." She said and waited for Haru to reply.
He waited a few seconds and she didn't end the call yet. "Okay, Thank you. Bye." He said and was just about to end the call when he heard her voice again. "Bye, bye!" He pressed the red circle on his phone and the call ended. He sat back in his seat kind of amazed.
Zen's little business trick actually worked with everyday life too not just in the business world. I would like to learn more about psychology if it is this useful. Maybe I could major in it? He thought about it for a few seconds before he noticed his mom in the doorway holding his baby sister.
"How did it go?" She asked with a smile. Haru smiled back. "Great they said they will do everything on their end to get me into Hudan, like I wanted." He was actually excited. But he wasn't sure what he wanted to study yet.
"That's great news. But what have you decided to major in?" Krista asked him and then sat down on the couch. "I'm not sure yet. I haven't really given it any thought." He admitted.
"You haven't thought about it yet you still want to go to university? Well, What do you want to do for a living?" She asked. "I don't know. That is the difficult part. I'm not really used to making life changing decisions. What if I chose something that I end up hating?" He became nervous at the thought.
Haru was solely focused on becoming a cultivator and seeing the things that Li Jun and Hao had told him about. The many mysteries of the many worlds out there yet to be discovered. What did anyone in the world have to offer him that would help him advance his cultivation? He already had the best help from a dragon and his master who was insanely powerful. Who else had the right to teach him?
The Idea of education seemed pointless when he thought about it from this perspective. His end goal was to become powerful enough to leave this world so what was the point in trying to fit in? The more he thought about it the more disheartened he became with his the decisions he had made. He sat there thinking before Krista put her hand around him.
"If there is anything at all on your mind. We can talk about it. Your mother will always love you no matter how old you are." She could see that something was troubling him.
Haru then realised the reason that he should go to university. If nothing else it would make his parents proud. They weren't cultivators like he was so they wouldn't live even a fraction of the lifespan that Haru currently had.
Cultivation came with its benefits and being at the Qi creation stage meant that his life span would let him live for at least two hundred years. The time he could spend with his friends and family here on earth would be limited so it was best to make the most out of him.
It felt like he had reached a kind of enlightenment as he came to this conclusion.
