College acceptance letters rolled in, and I sent a message to my online tutor and virtual crush. "I didn't get into Harvard. Goodbye." Then I turned right around, enrolled at MIT, and blocked him. Fast forward to my freshman year lab. The grad student TA called me out in front of the entire class. "Come up to the board and solve this. I’ve taught you this before." Me: "..." Are you kidding me?! Why is the online crush who desperately wanted me to go to Harvard standing in an MIT classroom?! Chapter 1 When I started taking AP tracks in my junior year of high school, my GPA tanked hard. I was terrified I wouldn't make it into MIT. Out of desperation, I started flirting with a guy on a study forum whose username was "Harvard Reject." I asked him to help me study. He was gentle, considerate, and incredibly understanding. "Don't worry. With me around, I guarantee you'll get into Harvard." I was flattered, but panicked. "No, no, Harvard isn't necessary." Secretly, I was muttering to myself: MIT is exactly what I want. "Tsk, what kind of talk is that? You can look down on your own IQ, but don't insult my abilities." Me: "..." Right, right. I certainly didn't dare insult his abilities. "Harvard Bro" really knew his stuff. Under his tutoring, my grades didn't just skyrocket; they stabilized. On my final practice SAT, I scored a massive 1560. I excitedly shared the news with him. Harvard Bro was completely unfazed. "Yeah, that score should be enough for Harvard." It was definitely enough, but I didn't want to go to Harvard. I had my heart set on MIT since day one. But over the year he tutored me, I clearly felt that Harvard Bro had a weird obsession with Harvard. Otherwise, he wouldn't have kept "Harvard Reject" as his username for over a year. If I didn't go to Harvard, would he be disappointed? Staring at his message, I decided to test the waters. "What if I don't get into Harvard?" "Relax, you'll definitely get in." Hmm... He probably thought I was just having pre-test jitters and was trying to comfort me. Just like that, I kept my MIT dream a secret. The day before college decisions, Harvard Bro messaged me, telling me to stay calm. He said he was busy with his master's thesis and told me to text him the moment my official acceptances came through. Chapter 2 Late March arrived, and decisions dropped. I had a near-perfect SAT and stellar extracurriculars. Hmm... I got into Harvard, and I got into MIT. While I was agonizing over which to officially accept, my mom got a personal recruitment call from MIT admissions. She practically forced the decision for me: MIT it was. Goodbye, Harvard. Getting into my dream school was obviously amazing. But whenever I thought of Harvard Bro, who had tutored me for so long, anxiety crept in. He kept pushing me toward Harvard. Choosing MIT felt like a massive betrayal. While I was agonizing over how to break the news, his message popped up first. "Decisions are out, right? How did you do?" Look at that gentle check-in. My guilt deepened tenfold. I steeled my heart, gritted my teeth, and sent a message. "I didn't do well. I didn't get into Harvard." "..." He fell silent. Before his second message could come through, I fired off another line: "I'm sorry. Goodbye." Then I decisively blocked him and went offline. Chapter 3 After that, I completely lost touch with Harvard Bro. Even though it was just a fleeting digital romance, passing by the Harvard campus in Cambridge during my first week of college still made me stop in my tracks. My roommate, Zoe, asked what was wrong, noticing the mix of regret and longing in my eyes. I sighed. "Once upon a time, I was this close to going to Harvard." "..." Zoe was speechless. She grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the library to fight for a seat. "Let me tell you a secret: every MIT student walking past Harvard says the exact same thing. Now hurry up, or all the good tables will be gone." Me: "..." What a painfully honest humblebrag. Sure enough, the library was already packed. Zoe groaned. "Are these people monsters? We made it to MIT, why are we still grinding this hard?!" At a glance, every table was full. There were a few spots in the group-study zone, but after hearing a chaotic blend of three different languages, we decided the silent reading area was vastly superior. "Hey, I see a spot! Over there!" Zoe smacked my shoulder in excitement and sprinted over to negotiate with the occupants. Seconds later, she waved me over. "Chloe, hurry! We got seats." As I walked up, I caught the end of their conversation: "Don't mention it. You guys freshmen?" "Yeah!" Zoe smiled, her voice dripping with sweetness. I sat down quietly, noticing the seat directly across from me was empty, though a textbook was resting on the desk. "You should technically call me 'Senior,' but I'm actually a few years ahead. I'm a grad student now," the guy said. "Wow, impressive!" While I was wondering if the empty seat across from me belonged to someone else, Zoe had already exchanged contacts with the senior. Once everyone settled, silence fell again. I looked down at my textbook. A few minutes later, a shadow fell over the desk, and someone pulled out the chair across from me. Whispered conversation ensued. "The PI dragged you back to the office?" "Yeah. Found an error in the data. Had to recalculate." The first voice was Ethan, the senior who gave us the seats. The second voice was unfamiliar, but incredibly pleasant. I peeked up. Sitting across from me was a young man with glasses. He had high brow ridges, deep, expressive eyes, and thick eyelashes. His eyes were stunningly gorgeous—like something straight out of an anime. Sensing my gaze, he looked up. The moment our eyes met, my breath hitched. He was ridiculously handsome. But the anime-esque guy merely gave me a cold, sweeping glance. Then, his eyes landed on the textbook in front of me, and he raised an eyebrow. "Materials Science and Engineering? You're an MSE major?" he asked, sounding surprised. Oh? He was actually talking to me. I nodded. I was always good at STEM in high school, largely thanks to Harvard Bro, so I declared MSE the moment I got into MIT. I don't know if it was my imagination, but the guy's lips curled up slightly. "Not bad." Before I could process that, Ethan chimed in amicably, "What a coincidence! That's our department too." Ah. Very coincidental. Direct seniors. "Hi, nice to meet you," I said politely. The handsome guy just gave a noncommittal "Hmm," his attitude turning frosty again. "Don't mind him," Ethan laughed. "He's just like that." I smiled and brushed it off. Chapter 4 My major is notoriously brutal. The homework is endless and soul-crushing. It was another weekend. Zoe and I were trapped in our dorm, pulling our hair out over a Physical Chemistry problem set. Finally, Zoe let out a dramatic wail. "I literally can't do this anymore. Just kill me. Why is it this hard?! I've recalculated it three times and it's still wrong." Looking at the stray hairs she had literally pulled from her scalp, I felt bad for her. But I was just as helpless. The difficulty jump from high school to college was a massive cliff. "Should we ask someone?" "Ask who?" Zoe's question stumped me. The professor? Absolutely terrifying. Classmates? Zoe was the valedictorian of her high school and even she was stuck. In my despair, a figure popped into my head. Harvard Bro. If he were here, this problem would probably be child's play for him. But I deleted him! If I had known college homework would be this torturous, I wouldn't have acted so impulsively. Suddenly, Zoe sat bolt upright from her dead-corpse pose on the bed. "I know exactly who to ask!" "Who?" "That senior we met at the library! Ethan! I have his number. He's an MSE grad student, he definitely knows this." Zoe didn't hesitate. She grabbed her phone and fired off a text. A minute later, she was dragging me out the door. "Let's go, let's go! He said yes. We're heading to his lab right now."
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