After she finished speaking, she handed the brown envelope to Adam.
Adam received it with a smile, immediately starting to tear it open.
But before he could make a tear, Clement, standing behind him, suddenly exclaimed, "Wait!"
Adam paused, turning to look at him, "What's wrong?"
Clement pointed at the envelope in his hand, hesitating, "Uncle Adam, the recipient on the envelope... I don't think it says Calvin."
Adam froze, pulling back his gaze to lay the envelope flat.
The others around him also turned their eyes to the envelope with a look of confirmation.
In that instant, everyone was stunned.
Adam and Ada furrowed their brows, their expressions turning exceptionally grim.
Everyone else was equally shocked, including Shaw.
Alston read the name aloud, "Summer... Shaw..."
Summer?
Dana, the head of the neighborhood committee, snatched the envelope from Adam's hand.
Seeing the name on the envelope, she was also speechless for a moment.
Wasn't Calvin supposed to be the one going to college? How did it turn out to be Summer?
While everyone was still processing, Summer rushed forward, grabbing the brown envelope from Dana's hand.
Seeing her name in the middle of the envelope, Summer's heart raced wildly.
Holding her breath, she tore open the envelope, pulling out the admission letter. After reading it, she confirmed it was her acceptance letter, and couldn't help but let out a scream.
She showed the letter to the still-dazed Shaw, her excitement and joy evident in her voice and expression, "Dad! It's mine! I got in!!"
Shaw finally started to come to his senses, stammering, "It's... it's... it's... our Summer's, our Summer got in..."
At that moment, Carman approached as well.
She took the letter from Summer's hand and, after reading it, immediately covered her mouth.
If she hadn't, she would either have cried or screamed out loud.
Summer, completely overwhelmed, turned to Carman, "Mom, did you see? I got in! I really got in!"
She started out smiling with excitement, but soon tears streamed down her face.
Hugging Carman tightly, she sobbed, "I got in...sob..."
She had worked so hard for this moment.
When she had initially transformed, escaping her novel-like life, she had been happy, but it wasn't until now that she truly felt she was changing her destiny.
She was no longer the Summer from the story, no longer.
Summer and Carman hugged and cried.
Some of the onlookers, touched by the scene, also began to tear up.
Especially Dana, whose nose had turned red.
Dana cried for a while, wiped her tears, and walked over to Summer, patting her back, "Good girl, you really made your parents proud!"
She waved her hand, "Let's all congratulate Summer on getting into college!"
The neighborhood committee members started drumming and playing gongs again.
This broke Summer's mood, and she started laughing through her tears.
When the drumming finally stopped, Summer wiped away her tears.
The others finally realized—Dana had made a mistake, thinking the letter was for Calvin when it was actually for Summer.
Someone in the crowd asked, "Summer, you got into college too?"
Summer nodded, her voice still a bit nasal from crying, "Yes, I applied secretly because I was afraid you would laugh at me. But my grades have always been good, and I've been studying hard while teaching in the village."
Someone shouted, "Shaw, your family lucked out!"
Shaw, still in a daze, said, "My family... our Summer... we..."
His confusion made everyone laugh.
Someone teased, "Shaw, are you so happy you're confused?"
Shaw, slow to react, suddenly started wiping his tears again, "Am I dreaming?"
Carman, crying and laughing, couldn't help but slap his arm.
Shaw, wiping his tears, said, "I need to calm down..."
And Shaw wasn't the only one who needed to calm down.
Adam, Ada, and Calvin were all extremely distressed, not fitting in with the joyous crowd at all.
They couldn't believe it, but couldn't deny the clear facts of the acceptance letter.
Ada forced herself to stay calm.
She asked Dana, "So where's Calvin's acceptance letter?"
With Ada speaking, everyone turned their attention to her family. Becky had already retreated into the house.
Dana, embarrassed by her mistake, smiled awkwardly, "The mailman only delivered this one and left right after. Ada, I'm sorry for the mix-up. I thought it was for Calvin because I assumed he'd be the one going to college. Who would have thought Summer would too? And this girl, she's always so quiet. Who knew she was such a great student?"
Hearing this, Caroline interjected, "Great achievements often come from those who stay quiet about their progress. Isn't that true?"
Everyone nodded, thinking of examples that fit this description.
But saying this now seemed a bit inappropriate, as it sounded like a dig at Adam's family.
Dana quickly tried to smooth things over, "Success comes from ability. Calvin has also applied to other prestigious schools. His acceptance letter might still be on the way. Just wait a little longer, Ada."
This provided Adam's family with a way to save face.
Ada wasn't happy, her face dark, "Dana, please be more careful in the future. This mistake made a joke of our family."
Dana felt genuinely apologetic.
She smiled, "No one thinks less of Calvin. When his letter arrives, I'll personally buy fireworks to celebrate."
Ada, tired of talking, turned and went back inside, followed by Adam and Calvin.
The rest of the crowd stayed, some surrounding Summer with questions, some comforting Shaw, and others congratulating Carman and discussing the day's events.
Inside the house, Calvin sat silently at his desk, fuming.
Adam and Ada, in their room, also sat in silence, frowning.
The noise outside was irritating.
Ada couldn't hold back, "How could this happen? If her letter isn't fake, I suspect she cheated."
Adam looked at her, "Don't say things without evidence."
Ada still couldn't believe it, "How could she get into such a prestigious college? That's incredible!"
Adam said, "Seeing is believing. She got in, and everyone saw the letter. It's shocking, but it's true."
Ada, frustrated, changed the subject, "Dana caused this mess, making us a laughingstock. And that Caroline, she never knows when to shut up."
Adam said, "It's just a mix-up by Dana. Once Calvin's letter arrives, this will all be over. Caroline is just a loudmouth. Don't mind her."
Ada took a deep breath, calming down, "The letters should be arriving soon. Why don't you find out which school Calvin got into?"
Adam nodded, "I'll ask someone at work tomorrow."
***
The family didn't come out again that afternoon.
Meanwhile, the yard was bustling with activity all afternoon.
Summer was bombarded with questions until she thought she might escape. Just then, Michael came to call her, saying someone was looking for her outside.
Summer quickly followed him out.
"Who is it?" she asked Michael.
He pointed ahead, "Over there, around the corner."
Michael then ran off.
Following his direction, Summer walked to the corner, and there stood Logan, leaning casually against the wall.
Seeing him, Summer looked even more puzzled.
She walked up to him, "What are you doing here?"
Logan straightened up, "If I remember correctly, you promised to treat me to a meal when you got your acceptance letter. I heard you received your letter today. Congratulations."
Summer hadn't forgotten about the meal and wouldn't go back on her word.
Feeling happy about her acceptance, she smiled at Logan, "Did you get your letter too?"
Logan didn't answer, simply pulling a brown envelope from his backpack and handing it to her.
Summer looked at the envelope, reading the college name on it, and blinked in surprise.
Logan noticed her reaction.
"What's wrong? Can't I get into a good college?" he teased.
Summer looked up, "No, it's just..."
She hadn't expected him to apply to the same college.
According to the story, he was supposed to go south for college.
Of course, she wouldn't mention the novel. Smiling, she said, "I didn't expect you to apply here. We'll be classmates again."
Then, thinking of something, she asked, "What's your major?"
Logan gestured for her to look.
Summer took out the acceptance letter, reading it with some confusion, "Political Science? I didn't see that major when I applied."
Logan explained, "It's a special program. I applied for Political Science, but was placed in this program. It might be confidential."
Summer put the letter back, smiling, "That's impressive."
Logan didn't want to discuss who was more impressive.
He put the letter back in his backpack, asking, "Ready to go?"
"Let's go."
Summer was eager to leave the house and all the neighbors behind.
She ran back, calling over her shoulder, "Wait for me, I'll grab my bag!"
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