SHT Chapter 48

In the office, Edward pulled a chair from the seat next to him and asked Jamie to sit down. He looked at Jamie, who had been silent all the way, and felt a sense of emotion. He wondered if his plan would work? Or would it backfire?

He was a little worried and hesitant in his heart. After all, he hadn't paid much attention to students like Jamie when he was a PE teacher. Providing psychological counseling to students wasn't something a PE teacher should do.

If anyone other than Edward were the class teacher, after seeing the report card, hearing what other students said, and having a personal conversation, they would most likely treat Jamie as a real underachiever, right?

Not talkative, poor grades, no friends in class. Such a student, especially in the class 9 of grade 11, anyone else would have given up on him.

Edward sighed, dispelled his distracting thoughts, and smiled at Jamie, saying, "Jamie, I want to ask you, did you participate in the math Olympiad in junior high school?"

Jamie had participated in the math Olympiad in junior high school, which was information Edward had obtained from Andrew. He heard Andrew say that Jamie not only participated but also won an award.

However, Andrew didn't know the specifics. Hearing Edward's question, Jamie's hands, which were resting on his lap, suddenly trembled. Edward had been watching him, and this small movement didn't escape his observation.

After a moment of silence, Jamie finally nodded, "Yes."

He only said "yes" and said nothing more.

Silence fell over the office once again. Looking at Jamie's appearance and his rough hands exposed, Edward felt a pang of heartache. The heavy blow of his family's misfortune had completely shut down this once lively and cheerful top student.

He was now like a walking corpse, living in pain in his own closed world.

In the afternoon at Sakura Village, both villager Leo and Jamie's aunt, Sofia, had told Edward that Jamie was a sensible child since he was young. He was a good student, had a good personality, and never caused trouble.

His parents used to work in coastal cities, and he was closest to his grandmother since he was young. Edward could easily deduce that his grandmother, Rin, was now Jamie's biggest weakness.

If the old lady was well, there was still hope for recovery. But if the old lady passed away? Jamie might be completely ruined. Edward couldn't imagine if his grandmother, Rin, passed away, would he do something foolish?

"Can you tell your teacher what competition you participated in? Did you win any prizes?" Edward asked with a smile. He wanted to get closer to Jamie, at least make him not dislike him.

After another moment of silence, Jamie finally spoke, "I participated in the 'Golden Cup' Junior Mathematics Invitational Tournament and won second prize."

Edward keenly noticed that when Jamie said these words, his eyes were no longer lifeless, but had a glimmer of light. There was hope. Edward was overjoyed.

From getting information from Andrew, to home visits, to asking Katherine about the Olympiad competition, everything was Edward's attempt.

Because he could see Jamie's talent. He had been looking for the breakthrough to open Jamie's heart.

The Olympiad and Rin, these were the two points he was focusing on. And in Edward's opinion, these two points could be connected.

The Gold Cup Junior Mathematics Invitational?

Edward raised an eyebrow. He was a PE teacher and had never heard of these competitions. If Katherine were here, it would be great. Edward thought to himself.

He made a mental note of the competition's name, planning to ask Katherine about it tomorrow morning.

"That's amazing."

Edward smiled and gave Jamie a thumbs-up. But this kind of praise didn't stir any waves in Jamie's heart, not even a change in his expression.

Praise and compliments, Jamie had received too many of them since he was a child.

Edward saw his expression. No matter what, he was willing to talk to him, which was a good start. Even a simple question and answer was better than complete silence.

"Do junior high math competitions have prize money?" Edward asked with a smile.

Junior high kids are only fourteen or fifteen years old. Edward guessed that there probably wasn't any prize money, at most a certificate.

When he participated in the long jump competition for the school, he didn't get any cash reward either.

Sure enough, Jamie shook his head. Good, good, no prize money.

Edward chuckled inwardly and continued, "High school Olympiad competitions do have prize money."

Hearing Edward's words, Jamie's whole body trembled.

Edward continued on, "I went and asked for you. A laborer on a construction site earns 80 dollars a day."

"Even if you stop going to school and go to the construction site to carry bricks every day, you can earn 2400 dollars a month for 30 days. We won't talk about whether your body can handle it, let's just assume you're gifted and can endure this hardship."

"Working without a break, carrying bricks for 365 days a year, you can earn 29200 dollars. Don't you think that's a lot?"

Jamie shook his head. He was a smart kid.

Not going to school, construction sites working year-round, workers working year-round, these preconditions don't exist. Without these preconditions, naturally, the final result wouldn't be achieved.

He was more outstanding than Edward imagined. He had already had other ideas in mind when he first heard about the prize money for the high school math competition.

No one knew what it felt like to watch their own mother leave. No one knew how much psychological trauma he had suffered. No one knew how he had endured the past year and a half.

A top student in junior high school, one of the top ten students when he entered high school, a winner of the math competition. He had stood so high, and then he fell so hard. Changes, setbacks, cold eyes, ridicule. The mental torment day and night had once made him consider suicide.

But every time he returned to that empty house, every time he saw his grandmother, who was still kind and gentle despite being tormented by illness, urging him to eat well and study hard, how could he be selfish and heartless and leave her first?

He couldn't. He wanted to make money to treat his grandmother's illness. He wanted to earn money to repay the relatives and friends who had lent money to his father.

Even though they no longer visited, even though they looked down on him now, Jamie knew it wasn't their fault. But he was only 17 years old after all. A minor, not a high school graduate, where could he go to earn money?

His grandmother's monthly medication alone cost three to four hundred dollars, not including hospital checkups, follow-up visits, and treatment. His aunt had already done enough to take care of his grandmother and him.

He wanted to find every way possible to make money. Jamie's shaking head made Edward sigh deeply.

He couldn't know what was going on in Jamie's mind, so he could only follow his original plan and said to Jamie, "According to past experience, if you can win the first prize in the National Olympiad in Mathematics, the Education Department, the district, and the school will all have cash rewards."

"It adds up to about ten thousand dollars. If you can win the first prize in the International Mathematical Olympiad, then the prize money will only be more."

Looking at Jamie, whose brow had a glimmer of hope, Edward said gently, "I know your grandmother is not well, and you want to earn money to pay for her medical expenses. But you're not focusing on your studies and thinking about going out to work early to earn money, which is putting the cart before the horse."

As he spoke, he took out a prepared bank card and placed it on the table.

"There are ten thousand dollars on this card. You can consider it as the teacher's advance payment for your Olympiad in Mathematics prize money. If you are willing to participate in the Olympiad in Mathematics, I believe you will definitely be able to win the national prize or even the International Olympiad in Mathematics. Jamie, I'm asking you now, are you willing?"

When Edward looked at Jamie again. A 17-year-old boy. He didn't say a word, tears streaming down his face.