Gwen, the virtuous wife and loving mother!

Gary Cooper did not stay long.

In his own words, he had to head to Trinity School in Manhattan that afternoon to evaluate another student who had also submitted a scholarship application.

Mrs. Snow warmly escorted Gary Cooper all the way to the door.

Hawk followed along.

However, his mind was clearly not on the farewell, but rather on what Gary Cooper had just said.

"Don't thank me. It was my colleague Anna..."

Hawk thought back to what Anna had said earlier at the cemetery.

"I've prepared a gift for you, and I hope you'll like it."

"So..."

"Is this the gift?"

Hawk thought to himself.

Soon after.

After Mrs. Snow watched Gary Cooper walk toward the parking lot and returned to her office, her face beamed with a smile full of happiness for Hawk: "This is wonderful, Hawk. I originally thought they would need to take the files back for discussion before reaching a decision. I never expected him to award you the slot for next September right on the spot."

Hearing Mrs. Snow's jubilant tone, Hawk temporarily pushed Anna to the back of his mind and smiled at Mrs. Snow.

"I didn't expect it either."

"It's great, Hawk. You know as well as I do that New York University's law school has quite a few contenders this year, and they had way too many brilliant students to choose from. That's why I told you to prepare thoroughly. I honestly didn't think he would make up his mind during his very first evaluation."

At this, Mrs. Snow let out a sigh of relief, then looked at Hawk: "However, it's not time to relax just yet, Hawk. As Gary said just now, he will prepare the paperwork once he gets back. Only when that official invitation letter is actually in your hands can we truly let our guard down."

Despite her words, Mrs. Snow looked completely at ease.

Because a reversal after the fact was virtually unheard of. University admissions officers and private high school guidance counselors relied on each other to maintain their reputations.

High school counselors spot promising talent and then leverage their own experience to contact university admissions officers.

It was a mutually beneficial relationship.

Therefore, an admissions officer giving a verbal promise on the spot only to back out later was something that simply wasn't done.

Unless that officer wanted to make a joke of their entire professional career.

After all, if you dared pull a stunt like that, no high school counselor would ever dare introduce a student to you again.

Thus, Mrs. Snow's warning not to relax too soon was mostly symbolic.

However...

Hawk figured that whether his invitation letter would actually arrive probably depended on him making a phone call to the good friend he had made that very morning.

When favors are bestowed, strings are attached.

What did this Anna want?

Hawk thought to himself as he left Mrs. Snow's office and walked down the hallway.

He didn't feel any sense of being threatened, as if she were saying, "If you don't give me what I want, I'll ruin your college prospects."

He was no longer six or seven years old; he was long past the age of adolescent cynicism.

The fact that she had the power to influence where the New York University scholarship slots went was simply a testament to her capabilities.

Furthermore, Hawk didn't believe that failing to secure the NYU scholarship would mean NYU was engaging in shady conspiracies.

Real corruption was far darker than this.

This was barely scratching the surface.

Hawk was much more inclined to view this as a transaction.

Much like how wealthy and influential high school students scoured everywhere for recommendation letters to hand to their dream universities.

Weren't those recommendation letters bought by the students' parents using money or personal favors anyway?

There was no fundamental difference between the two.

Stripped of pretense, it was all just a transaction.

However, since it was a transaction, both parties had to be willing participants.

Therefore...

He planned to hear out his new friend Anna's demands first, and only then decide whether or not to accept the deal.

Stepping out of the teaching building behind him, Hawk took out his phone, looked at the most recent outgoing call in his chat history to a number not saved in his contacts, hesitated for a moment, and pushed it back into his pocket, deciding to deal with it tonight when he got back. He then smiled as he watched Gwen walking toward him from a distance.

Gwen seemed to have already heard the news, as she threw her arms around Hawk with a beaming smile.

"Oh, this is amazing, Hawk. Congratulations."

"Thank you."

Hawk hugged Gwen back, and after pulling away, said to her, "Mine has come through, Gwen. Yours should be arriving soon too."

Gwen smiled and said, "Berkeley has already called me. I had my online interview yesterday, and my invitation letter should arrive in the next couple of days."

Hawk was stunned.

"And you didn't tell me."

"Who told you not to come to school today?"

Gwen replied with a smile, then said to him, "But my news was from yesterday, and yours is from today. Clearly, Anya is watching over you."

Hawk raised an eyebrow.

Gwen explained, "If that's not it, why didn't New York University's notice come earlier or later, but happened to reach Mrs. Snow precisely on the day you went to visit Anya? Obviously, as you hold Anya in your heart, Anya holds you in hers."

Was that really it?

Hearing Gwen's words, Hawk was momentarily taken aback, but he quickly recovered and said with a smile, "She's my little sister."

By the afternoon.

Because of the suitcase full of cash, Hawk didn't bother struggling to take the school bus home; instead, he rode back with Gwen in her car, getting dropped off right outside his apartment building.

On the way back, Gwen had asked curiously, "So now that you have a million dollars, how do you plan to spend it?"

Hawk looked over at Gwen: "Get a driver's license, buy a car, and then for the prom, buy a suit and take you to the graduation dance."

Gwen was slightly stunned as she looked at Hawk, who had answered almost without a second thought, and couldn't help asking, "And what else?"

Hawk smiled: "I only decided to sell those things right before prom day precisely because I didn't want your prom to have any regrets."

Call him chauvinistic, or call him whatever else.

That was genuinely what he thought, and that was what he did.

As for everything else?

Whether it was the spacious penthouse luxury apartment he envisioned, or the meteorites he was now contemplating, or even Wakandan vibranium, none of those could be bought with a mere million dollars right now.

Meeting Hawk's gaze, Gwen parted her lips, her sky-blue eyes shimmering with light.

"Hawk..."

"Aren't you upset that I sold dangerous weapons?"

"People are always the ones who kill, not weapons, Gwen."

Interrupting her, Hawk looked at her earnestly and said, "Besides, those were my spoils of war. I have the right to dispose of them."

Hearing Gwen's reply and seeing her serious expression, Hawk smiled.

Soon enough.

The Bridge Apartments arrived.

Standing at the apartment entrance, Hawk watched as Gwen drove away in her yellow Corolla before pulling his gaze back, turning around, and pushing his rolling suitcase back inside his building.

Just as he was about to turn around again, a voice called out from behind him.

A young man who looked like a courier was running across the street toward him.

"Mr. Hawk, please wait a moment!"