Chapter 73
The employee’s voice quickly drew everyone’s attention.
“Is that for real? Let me see!”
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“The people ranked below this unemployed housewife are students from Ashford University, Redmont University, and Westbridge Institute of Technology!”
A collective gasp filled the elevator.
Even Harvey’s secretary, Cyrus, was intrigued by the conversation. However, unlike the other employees, he remained composed.
With a faint smile, Cyrus turned to Harvey and said, “It must be a mistake in the ALI Math Competition records. In previous years, the gold medalists in ALI were either top–tier professionals returning from elite institutions abroad or renowned scholars from prestigious universities in the country.
“There’s no way a housewife could enter such a competition, let alone take first place. If that were true, ALI Group would be ruining its own reputation!”
Before he even finished speaking, one of the employees read aloud while staring at their phone, “The contestant ranked first is… Elara Jones, 27 years old.
“She graduated from Hawke University with a bachelor’s degree and spent the last seven years as a full–time housewife.”
This information was publicly available on ALI Group’s official website, as the competition was a nationally recognized event. For many, it served as a gateway to securing positions in top corporations or furthering their studies at elite universities.
Because of this, most participants willingly made their resumes public, allowing companies and institutions to reach out.
Among the top 100 contestants, Elara was the only one with just an undergraduate degree.
The others boasted extensive academic and professional achievements–many had multiple accolades from international competitions, while some had impressive work experience at major firms overseas.
Only Elara’s résumé was blank, and the past seven years of her life experience was summed up in just a few words: “Full–time housewife.”
Cyrus felt his mind buzzing. “Wait… What did you say her name was?”
“Her name is Elara Jones. Here, Mr. Oakes, take a look.”
The employee handed their phone to Cyrus, whose eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the screen, as if willing the text to change.
After a moment, he let out a forced laugh. “Well, now… Isn’t that an interesting coincidence?”
Cyrus stole a nervous glance at Harvey.
Harvey clearly remembered that Elara had graduated from Hawke University. A full–time housewife for seven years… Could it really be her?
That was impossible!
He immediately dismissed the thought. He admitted that Elara had once been an exceptionally gifted young
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woman, far beyond her peers in intelligence.
However, after seven years without touching mathematics she would have forgotten most of it. Given how quickly knowledge fades, she probably wouldn’t even remember high school math.
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If the person who had secured first place in the ALI Math Competition preliminaries was truly his ex–wife, then it must have been a mistake–surely, the committee had recorded the wrong score!
Just then, a man’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “May I take a look at the contestant profile for this Elara Jones?”
The employee holding the phone turned toward the voice and quickly handed it over. “Mr. Graham, here you go.”
The one who had spoken was Jasper Graham, the Director of Technology at Fisher Corp’s Research and Development department.
Jasper was a renowned figure in the field, a technical powerhouse. Even employees who had never worked directly with him knew his name.
Jasper tapped on the contestant’s profile page on the ALI Group website. There was no photo, but based on the year Elara had entered university, he quickly confirmed his suspicions.
Jasper remarked with a smile, “She was my senior at Hawke University.”
“Your senior?” The employees were astonished. “But she’s younger than you.”
“That’s because she entered Hawke University’s junior program at 14 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree at 18. I was 18 when I first got into Hawke University.”
The first half of Jasper’s statement alone drew a chorus of exclamations from the employees.
Jasper sighed in admiration. “Elara was a legend at Hawke University! At 16, she competed in the International Olympiad and won first place in five subjects–mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science. She made waves across the academic world that year.
“Top universities around the globe, even Nobel laureates, extended offers to her. Both Alderidge and Redmont Universities were willing to provide her with a 24/7 personal tutor if she enrolled. She could have obtained Melcina citizenship instantly if she had chosen to study there.
“But instead, she chose to pursue a PhD at Capitol University under Dr. Tobias Snapp, the leading figure in modern mathematics in our country.”
The employees were once again stunned into silence. The elevator had already reached its stop, but no one moved. “So, what happened?” someone finally asked. “Her profile only lists a bachelor’s degree.”
Jasper’s voice took on a somber tone. “By the time I heard news of her again, she had already dropped out and gotten married.
“Dr. Snapp was deeply disappointed… The loss struck him so hard that from then on, he refused to take on any female students.”
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Chapter 74
