The Unveiling of Secret Queen

Chapter 410: Chapter 410: Who Looks Down On Whom?_1

Caryn Zachmann: ”She said she was coming to take an independent admission test. Today in Beijing, there are only two schools that conduct such exams—one is Tsinghua University, the other is Southern University...”

Tsinghua University and Southern University are both top-tier institutions in the country. Southern University is already known for requiring scores above the First-tier University threshold, but Tsinghua University is even more exclusive—you can’t get in unless you’re the top scorer.

Nathalie Quinlan’s grades are so laughably inadequate for the test at either school!

Mr. Zachmann also knew that only two universities in Beijing had the privilege to hold independent admissions, and he was silent for a long moment, unsure of what to say.

Leonardy Zachmann, seeing his mood had sunken and not knowing what to do, said, ”Does Nathalie want to go to Tsinghua University? I don’t know if Tsinghua University...” can be swayed by connections.

He swallowed the rest of his words, finding them somewhat difficult to express.

His father came from an education background, an educator of the old school, filled with the unbending pride of a scholar. From his youth, he had held a strong dislike for the practice of using connections to gain advantage.

He was even stricter with the younger generation in his family, who all had to take their exams on their own and attend whichever school they qualified for. This included Caryn and Audrick, the same requirements applied to them.

When Audrick didn’t make it into a first-tier university, he missed the cutoff by three points.

Three points, more or less—it would have been easy for anyone in the family to pull a few strings and secure him a spot in a first-tier university.

In Beijing, many influential families would have done just that, but Mr. Zachmann had resolutely refused. Later, one of Mr. Zachmann’s students even made the effort to visit their home and tactfully offered to help, but Mr. Zachmann declined.

In the end, Audrick attended a second-tier university.

He ended up pursuing music.

It wasn’t that he resented the old Mr. Zachmann for not helping back then; rather, it was the old man’s unwavering character when it came to using connections that he couldn’t accept.

He couldn’t tolerate the prevailing attitudes in their social circles.

But thinking about Nathalie’s grades... Leonardy Zachmann felt a headache coming on, and a deep sense of helplessness shrouded his eyes. He massaged his forehead, not knowing how to resolve the situation.

Tsinghua University wasn’t just any university. If it were some ordinary institution, he could bypass Mr. Zachmann and talk to the president about donating for a new building in exchange for an admission slot for Nathalie.

But it had to be Tsinghua University...

When mealtime came around at the house, a full table of food was laid out, and everyone gathered around, yet not a single person started eating.

The dishes on the table were getting cold.

Mr. Zachmann, truly having no appetite, laid down his chopsticks and said, ”I’m going to make a phone call.”

”Dad, aren’t you going to have dinner?” Leonardy Zachmann asked, concerned when he saw him put down his chopsticks without having touched his bowl of rice.

Mr. Zachmann’s mood was heavy, his face expressionless. His grizzled hair made him appear deflated and dispirited, ”No, I’m not eating. I’ve lost my appetite.”

With that, he didn’t give Leonardy Zachmann a chance to persuade him otherwise and had someone push his wheelchair into the little garden.

Watching his retreating back, Leonardy Zachmann stood still for a full minute before silently returning to his seat. Picking up his chopsticks then setting them down again, he seemed to ponder for a moment before seizing them once more and turned to Caryn Zachmann with some hesitation, ”Caryn, your tutor is Professor Wafford, isn’t she?”

Caryn Zachmann looked up at him.

Leonardy Zachmann averted his line of sight, not meeting her gaze, and spoke with difficulty: ”...Does she have any free time recently? I’d like to invite her for a meal.”

Caryn Zachmann set down her chopsticks, her brow slightly furrowed, her starry eyes fixed on him, as she directly asked, ”Dad, you’re not thinking of asking my tutor for a favor, are you?”

Without waiting for Leonardy Zachmann to respond, she curtly said, ”Ms. Wafford wouldn’t approve of her at all!”

”Our clinical department is the best program at Tsinghua, not just anyone can enroll. Dad, you should give up on that idea!”