Heaven and Hell

For the residents of 86 Easterly Road, Hampshire, Southampton, July 29th was clearly not an ordinary day.

As the morning bells rang seven times, young Jon Hart had already gotten out of bed.

Tossing aside a copy of "Nature" magazine, he ran out of his room and headed to the kitchen.

"Mom, is there any mail?" he asked.

Mrs. Judy Hart, the mistress of 86 Easterly Road, was a petite blonde woman, slightly taller than her 11-year-old son.

"I'm sorry, dear, it seems like there isn't any yet," she said, as she fried some fries in the kitchen, and turned to smile at Jon. "Your father is waiting at the door."

Jon walked into the yard and sure enough, Mr. Eric Hart was pacing at the door.

"Dad, there's really no need to be so nervous!" Jon whispered.

"Nervous? I'm not nervous at all!" Mr. Hart glanced at his son and pretended to be calm. "The professors at Windsor Castle should feel honored to have such an outstanding new student at Eton College!"

However, he kept tapping his feet on the floor as he spoke.

Eric Hart was a well-known lawyer in the local area, and his wife Judy was an excellent fashion designer. The couple were both outstanding in their respective fields, with a combined annual income of nearly 200,000 pounds. Even in Southampton, a port city with a relatively high cost of living, their family of three could live a very decent life.

But what made them even prouder was their son, Jon. In Eric and Judy's eyes, there was no child more exceptional than Jon.

Since he was young, Jon had been a very sensible child... While other kids were crying and fussing, he had already started learning to speak seriously with his parents. While other kids were clamoring for various toys, he had already started reading numerous scientific journals that were somewhat difficult to understand.

At the age of five, he made an impromptu speech on the street with the theme "The Falkland Islands (Malvinas) are an inseparable part of Great Britain since ancient times", which gained widespread acclaim.

In the national primary school leaving exams (SATs) a month ago, Jon scored full marks in all six papers, a performance that could be said to be unparalleled in the history of Hampshire for nearly a century.

...

...

Jon Hart, he was a transmigrator.

In his previous life, he was a PhD student studying microbiology and immunology in a second-tier university in China. After an unexpected car accident and loss of consciousness, he found himself transmigrated to a middle-class family in 1980s Britain, as a baby.

Having spent over 20 years studying in his previous life, Jon knew nothing about lottery numbers or finance... In fact, in the late 20th century and early 21st century, the capitalist developed countries' social structure and economic situation had undergone tremendous changes. Jon's knowledge and skills were largely outdated, but his intelligence and wisdom were still unparalleled. With his extraordinary abilities and knowledge of his previous life, Jon was determined to make a difference in this new world he found himself in.

The idea is great, but first we have to face reality.

He first needs to apply to a top British school... To be honest, Eton College is not the best choice, as it is a traditional elite school that has recently started admitting students from non-aristocratic backgrounds, but the requirements are very high.

But this is the opinion of his father, Eric. In Eric's view, attending a prestigious school like Eton College can help Jon meet many influential people in the future and build a valuable network early on.

To be honest, Eric's idea is correct.

If my memory serves me right, in the coming years, Prince William and Prince Harry (both sons of Prince Charles and Princess Diana) will also enroll at Eton College, and Prince William, the heir to the throne, should be in the same year as Jon.

Being classmates with the future king of England? It seems like an interesting thing.

But on second thought, this is a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity. After all, in the previous life, Jon had crossed over to a world where Prince William's grandmother still had a strong vitality and was a person compared to a certain great figure!

Jon was pondering this with boredom when suddenly he heard a click outside the door.

"Oh... my God... they're here!" Eric's face turned pale and he stuttered.

"I'll get the mail!" Jon opened the door to the yard, where the mailbox was adorned with three golden lions stepping on a dead brown bear, which Eric had pasted on more than half a year ago to celebrate a certain big event.

There was also a tabby cat standing next to the mailbox, staring fixedly at the gate of No. 86 Easterly Road.

"Scat!" Jon kicked the stray cat away, then took out a stack of letters from the mailbox.

As he looked at the letters, he walked back into the house, and Eric and Judy hurriedly gathered around him.

The first letter was a gas bill.

The second one was a postcard Aunt Elia sent to Judy.

The third one was for him. Jon slowly tore open the envelope:

"Dear Mr. Hart,

We are pleased to inform you that, after our discussions, it is unanimously agreed that you have the talent and qualifications to study at Eton College and become one of the 247 new students in the year of 1992.

Yours faithfully,

Tony Riddell (Headmaster of Eton College)"

"Oh, my God!" Jon couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"How did it go?" Eric and Judy asked eagerly.

"I got accepted!" He smiled and handed over the letter.

Eric and Judy took the letter and read it carefully once. The expression on their faces changed from anxious to surprise, and finally to ecstatic.

"Jon... my dear, I knew you could do it!" Judy hugged her son and kissed him several times on the face.

"I will tell all my colleagues how excellent my son is..." Eric shouted with joy in the yard.

Then, the couple kissed passionately in the yard without any reservations.

It has to be said that for a student from a non-aristocratic background, getting an invitation from a prestigious school like Eton is a great honor.

Especially in the atmosphere of British "happy education".

In this life, Jon spent six years in primary school, and none of his teachers ever asked him about his academic performance... The only thing teachers cared about was, "Are you happy at school?"

Basically, all classmates grew up in this "happy" atmosphere.

Except for a few exceptions.

For example, a girl named Susan in the same grade, whose father is an extremely wealthy banker in Southampton. Every day after school at 3 o'clock, when other students were happily engaged in extracurricular activities, Susan would be picked up by her father in his Rolls-Royce.

As Susan put it, she had to learn piano and dance under her father's coercion every day; her father also hired three private tutors to force her to study a lot of subjects and assigned endless homework.

Classmates felt very sympathetic to Susan's experience...

A week ago, news came that 11-year-old Susan scored above 95 on every paper of the SATs exam, and was admitted to the St. Paul's Girls' School in London.

Those classmates who sympathized with Susan could only go to the local public middle school in Southampton and continue to enjoy their "happy education".

While British education emphasizes "happy education" in teaching, it shows no mercy in elimination.

The SATs exam (National Primary School Leaving Examination) is for 11-year-old primary school graduates. The passing rate in general years is only 30%-50%. The results of this exam and the recommendation letters determine what level of middle school the 11-year-old graduates will attend, and even determine their future destiny.

There is a big difference between prestigious schools and ordinary schools...

Famous universities like Cambridge and Oxford will not even acknowledge the transcripts of ordinary public middle schools, let alone pay attention to the recommendation letters written by principals of ordinary public middle schools. Even if your grades are good, it is difficult to gain their recognition; whereas graduates from schools like Eton College and St. Paul's Girls' School, as long as their A-Level exam results are not too bad, basically have a 50% chance of easily getting into Cambridge or Oxford, and the rest can smoothly go abroad for further studies...

Looking at his parents celebrating with joy. Jon couldn't help but have a smile on his face...

The preliminary goal of planning the route has been achieved, and now, I have basically stepped into Oxford and Cambridge...

In his mind, scenes of himself celebrating successful experiments in the laboratory, publishing papers in core journals, and even standing on the Nobel Prize podium were beginning to emerge...

The only regret is that Eton College is an all-boys school; it would be difficult for him to interact with girls of the same age in the next seven years.

Lost in his thoughts, Jon's gaze fell on the last letter.

Mr. Jon Hart, Hampstead, Southampton, 86 Eastleigh Road, Hampshire.

The envelope was made of thick parchment paper, and the address was written in emerald green ink. There was no postage stamp.

Jon turned the envelope over with trembling hands, and saw a wax seal on top, with a shield emblem depicting a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding the uppercase letter "H".

"Oh my God!" Jon couldn't help but curse in Chinese.

At this moment, his heart felt like a thousand grass, mad horses running wild.