I was reborn without dreams

Chapter 98 is filled with outrageous remarks.
"Zhang An Education" is not a real school education, so there is no need to strengthen ideological construction on the path of respecting teachers and valuing the way. Whether the students become scum or heroes is not important to "Zhang An Education".

The only indicator of a trainee's professional competence is whether they achieve a satisfactory score on the exam.

Strengthening ideological development is a matter for society, schools, families, and individuals.

"Zhang An Education" only wants to maximize profits.

The host Zhuo Yang's series of questions also puzzled the audience both at the scene and in front of their televisions.

no……

What kind of crappy school is this?

Differences in perception lead to significant biases.

Even though Zhang Da'an emphasized from the beginning that those he recruited here should not be regarded simply as students, but as trainees.

However, nobody listened to this.

Forget about this and that, your school is just playing video games!

But let me say a few words...

Not suitable.

Their achievements are genuine.

"To be honest, I'm a little confused right now, but going back to the question I was most curious about, what does it mean that parents who know how to have fun also participate?"

"Oh, we also invite parents who are good at playing games to participate in the competition. In addition to the parent group, there is also the family group. The parent group is for parents to compete against each other; the family group is a real father-son battle, like brothers fighting tigers together, a two-on-two battle mode."

"No... what do you mean by a real father-son game?"

"Because there are also fake father-son games. Real father-son games are when dads and sons play games like 'Dynasty Warriors' or 'Street Fighter' together; fake father-son games can be summed up in one sentence: whoever wins is the dad."

"Hahahahahaha..."

The studio erupted in laughter. The atmosphere was incredibly electric, with everyone's emotions swinging wildly, making it almost unbearable.

Zhuo Yang couldn't help but laugh and ask, "This reminds me of playing games when I was a kid, and when I was in school, the arcades were strictly checked. It wasn't easy to get in and play; you had to sneak in."

"Then you can come to my place to repeat your studies. I play games here openly and honestly, and I even stream them live."

"There's a live stream?"

"Well, what do you think? I've equipped every classroom with a TV, a rear projection screen, and a projector. It's all closed-circuit television, just like the school's TV station does. It's an important tool for teaching, so what's wrong with broadcasting a game live when we have some free time? After all, watching a game live means seeing huge crowds of people, not just a few dozen or a hundred or a thousand people crammed into a small venue."

"This sounds so awkward to me. It's like getting into a good university while playing a video game..."

"The key is to balance work and rest. As long as you make the most of your time, you can achieve twice the result with half the effort. To be honest, I'm still bothered by this issue. The fees are too low, which leads to too many applicants. I'll have to raise the prices next year to control the number of students admitted."

"The price is going up again? It's already 60,000!!"

"Based on the fees in the United States, if I charge $60,000 a year, it would be charity."

"..."

The host, Zhuo Yang, looked speechless, which sparked another round of laughter from the audience. However, the audience became more curious about Zhang Da'an's decision to let repeat students play games, rather than feeling resentful.

In fact, if you actually live around Xindongweigang Middle School for two months, you'll understand that it's not a place where you play games all day. The daily teaching tasks and study time are fully arranged, but it's not as high-intensity and high-density as other schools that cast a wide net for repeat students.

Some farms engage in intensive farming, but Xindongwei Port Middle School takes a high-quality approach, which has a higher added value.

However, these are only relatively high-quality schools. If you really want schools that excel in all aspects, you have to look at various "XX Affiliated High Schools" or long-established foreign language schools.

However, in terms of its current impact on regional school education, "Zhang'an Education" is still the most hated, because "Zhang'an Education" is an area that ordinary middle-income families can reach by gritting their teeth and stomping their feet.

For truly prestigious schools, the emergence of "Zhang An Education" in the spotlight is a good thing. Otherwise, once we enter the era of internet information transparency, people might look back and discover the disparities in the world, which could easily lead to a mental breakdown.

Some talented people can become ruthless after their mentality explodes. For example, a disillusioned inorganic chemical engineer or an organic chemical expert, or even a level six fitter, would be quite explosive.

"Don't the parents object? It's like playing games at school, and even dragging their parents along?"

"You can object."

"Are there any objections?"

"Yes, of course, that's normal. After all, 99.9% of parents can't possibly have even one student achieve top marks, so it's understandable that they might not understand. I can't force others to accept my ideas; that's not worth it and a waste of time. I earn hundreds of thousands or millions every day, so I can't afford to get bogged down in this kind of thing."

"Hundreds of thousands or even millions every day?! Let's not talk about money for now, we can discuss that later. I have to hold back for now. Let's get back to the current issue: does the parents' opposition put pressure on you?"

"No."

Zhang Da'an easily shifted his sitting posture. "For parents who object, I will let them take their children home and then give them a full refund."

"Wow!! Good grief!"

This startling commotion undoubtedly drew another burst of laughter from the audience.

Because Zhang Da'an's actions were simply... too counterintuitive.

In a normal school, school leaders and homeroom teachers would come out to communicate with parents, talking about corrections, rectifications, improvements, and so on. They would say a lot of nice things, smiling and bowing, which is all very normal.

But Zhang Da'an actually told them to leave immediately?
"Are you really going to let them go? Just because they offered opinions? Because there were dissenting voices?"

"As I just said, 99.9% of parents will never see even one student achieve top marks. Even in the Wudu City middle school entrance exam, which has the lowest prestige, the number of top scorers will only be in the single digits. And these single-digit number of people, once they become parents, will absolutely not voice any objections. This is a level of understanding beyond our current level. It's like if someone suggested that rockets should use smokeless coal to save money, do you think rocket experts should respond?"

"..."

With a helpless expression, Zhuo Yang took the microphone and turned to the side to ask in a low voice, "Zhang An, I have a question for you. In your eyes, am I similar to a monkey?"

His little antics sparked bursts of laughter, and the atmosphere gradually became quite pleasant.

When the audience thinks about the issue again, it is no longer a black-and-white question, but a thought will pop into their minds: Is there a reason for him to do this?
"So, did everyone come for the night? I'm happy to chat with guests like this."

Host Zhuo Yang felt he had struck gold, and that "Dialogue with Talented People" might just make a comeback and survive.

Judging from the feedback from the scene today, tomorrow's event will be big; he doesn't even need to guess the ratings, they're sure to break records.

Amidst the pleasant atmosphere, Zhuo Yang quickly steered to the most impactful topic, glancing at his cue card before asking, "So, Zhang An, on this note, I have to ask you, what's your opinion on video games? Is it mostly positive?"

"Without a doubt."

A fairly straightforward and direct answer.

Zhang Da'an did not hesitate at all, which left Zhuo Yang stunned.

"This is a sensitive topic now. You dare to openly support video games? And you even dare to bring video games into schools?"

Let me give you an example.

Instead of directly answering Zhuo Yang's question, he said, "Last year I had a student named Liu Xingyun, who was the top scorer in a county under Sucheng City. In addition to being the top scorer in the county, he was also the overall champion of three e-sports competitions: the 'Xindongweigang Cup,' the 'Zhang An Cup,' and the 'Xindongweigang Ladder Ranking.'"

"Clam?!"

Zhuo Yang looked completely bewildered, while the audience gasped in surprise.

"Being good at games doesn't necessarily mean good grades, but those with good grades are more likely to be good at games. As long as your reflexes are quick, the rest is about strategy and numbers. I want to emphasize that good grades and good gaming skills are not equivalent, and I have no concrete evidence to prove a positive correlation; it's purely based on experience." "County top scorer?"

"Correct."

"Are you exceptionally good at games?"

"Correct."

"Your example is excellent; it leaves me speechless."

"That's not the only example that leaves you speechless. I'm just mentioning the top scorer. I have plenty of people ranked in the top 1,000. You think there aren't any girls playing games? I have a 'girls' group' here."

"There's a 'women's group' too?!"

"How about balancing work and rest, playing 'Pac-Man' would be fine?"

"Well... it's not impossible."

Zhuo Yang was having a hard time processing this, and it wasn't just him; most of the parents in the audience, both at the venue and watching on television, couldn't accept it either.

Is this kind of outrageous operation really feasible?
"That means no one failed the exam in your area. If someone did, wouldn't the parents be furious?"

"Parents who get upset when their children do poorly on tests are unqualified and represent a typical case of dysfunctional family education."

"You can't just say things like that!"

Host Zhuo Yang exclaimed in surprise, "This program solemnly declares that the opinions and views expressed by our guests are not related to this program. Okay, Zhang An, please continue."

As he spoke, Zhuo Yang took out paper and pen, looking like he was taking notes seriously.

I'm listening to you, even though you're talking nonsense.

Amidst the laughter of the audience, Zhang Da'an laughed and said, "He said I was talking nonsense, but I wasn't talking nonsense."

"The director cut this part out."

"Hahahahahaha..."

As long as the atmosphere isn't too serious, there shouldn't be a big problem. Zhuo Yang was actually feeling uneasy at the moment. If there were problems with public opinion, he would have to take responsibility.

For someone like him who works in the media, things can be big or small.

All we can say is that we hope Zhang Da'an's status as a two-time top scorer in the college entrance examination can draw away all the firepower; ideally, that status should be a "focusing ring."

“When we recruit students, in addition to interviewing the students, we also secretly interview the students’ parents. For those parents who are exceptionally outstanding, I will notify the front-line interviewers to find a suitable reason to reject them.”

"Extremely heaven-defying... That's an interesting word. Could you elaborate on how it's heaven-defying?"

"To sum it up in one sentence, he would probably be an extremely sophisticated egoist."

"Are you speaking Chinese? Let me sort this out... Okay, please continue..."

Another round of soft laughter followed, and Zhang Da'an's outrageous remarks, after "enduring hardship without suffering," popped out again.

"Regarding what you just said about failing an exam, the normal parents' focus is on whether their child didn't perform well, whether they were careless, and then hoping for another chance. But the extreme, sophisticated egoists I mentioned earlier all share the characteristic of blaming the child, the teacher, the school, society, the games, the system, etc. for poor exam results..."

"I will never blame myself."

Following the lead, the host, Zhuo Yang, nodded and said something, feeling that this sentence was a good fit.

"That's what you said."

"..."

"I hereby solemnly declare that the views and opinions of the 'Dialogue with Talented People' program team have nothing to do with me personally; I am just a special guest."

"Hahahahaha-"

The audience burst into laughter, and the way the camera switched back and forth on the TV screen, accompanied by the host Zhuo Yang's "bitter face," truly showed his mastery of camera language.

At this point, the ratings for "Dialogue with Talented People" had already broken the record for late-night programming, which even alerted a department head at the station who was still awake. He called to confirm the results while watching the TV.

It's a bit of a shock.

Zhang Da'an's two outrageous statements, one about "enduring hardship without effort" and the other about "extremely sophisticated egoistic parents," are enough to revive Zhuo Yang's struggling program, and not just revive it, but potentially make it a hit again.

"Zhang An, if there's another episode of 'Dialogue with Talented People,' I'll have to find some time to invite you to come again."

"I'm busy preparing for the 2046-1998 college entrance exam..."

"It'll only be one phase, just one phase, it won't take you long. Just one day, one day!"

"I currently have to monitor the teaching progress of several thousand students across two campuses..."

"Oh my god, sir, I beg you, talking to you has really opened my mind and I've benefited so much..."

"What I really meant was just one thing..."

"You say!"

"You have to pay more..."

"..."

Zhuo Yang's silence was deafening, and the laughter of the audience was deafening. Even viewers in front of their televisions found it quite amusing.

When this episode of "Dialogue with Talented People" ended, the late-night ratings broke a twenty-year record. Zhuo Yang was stunned when he saw the data and couldn't sleep well that night. The next day, he waited for the reports from various media outlets.

Sure enough, the "hard work" approach made headlines in the science, education, culture and health sections of several major newspapers, mostly in the realm of ideological debate. There were no direct attacks on Zhang Da'an, but the indirect tactics were very effective.

In Beijing, the main focus is on subtly pushing the narrative towards "forgetting one's roots," while in Bao'an, there's a direct accusation that Zhang Da'an is disingenuous with historical suffering.

In short, this young man is wicked.

Some lifestyle magazines and newspapers, on the other hand, discussed and reflected on the topic of "extremely sophisticated egoistic parents," without directly criticizing or condemning them, demonstrating a high level of professional media competence.

In stark contrast to traditional media, emerging internet media is quite a spectacle.

In particular, terms such as "Zhang An Cup", "Xin Dongwei Port Ladder Ranking", "Father and Son Game", and "Real Father and Son Game" have become hot topics, and former Xin Dongwei Port Middle School students who were admitted to universities have also gone online to show their faces.

The number of students who repeated the college entrance examination in the past two years was also quite large. The persuasiveness of their personal testimonies was particularly prominent. After various forums confirmed that Xindongweigang Middle School did indeed organize campus video game competitions, many video game enthusiasts and hardcore fans even went to Xindongweigang Middle School in groups to take photos.

It would have been better if they hadn't come. But once they arrived, they were immediately shocked. Even though it was summer vacation, they could still tell from the timeline on the school bulletin board how many e-sports competitions had been organized in the past year. Next to the announcement that "Zhang Ancheng will become the top liberal arts student in 1946-1997, with 0 days left," there was a KT board in the display window with the "New Dongwei Port Ladder Ranking" on it.

The highest score in history indeed came from Linhuai County, Sucheng City, with Liu Xingyun being the top science student in Linhuai County's college entrance examination in 1946-1997.

These game enthusiasts and hardcore fans immediately posted their experiences on blogs and forums. The reason for their urgency was related to the "electronic heroin theory" that had been circulating on several computer forums before.

One side's viewpoint is similar to the mainstream society, believing that playing games leads to a loss of ambition and that video games do more harm than good to students, which basically puts them on the defensive.

Things are different now. The "Xindongweigang Ladder Ranking" at Xindongweigang Middle School is a very strong and powerful piece of evidence to refute this claim.

There is absolutely no strong correlation between video games and students' decadence and lack of ambition!

(End of this chapter)