Who would study psychology if they didn't have some kind of problem?

Chapter 182 The "Cognition" That Can't Keep Up

Zhuang Junzhe slowly said, "I was very lucky to pass the postgraduate entrance exam on my first try. I got into graduate school in my first year, and I was even admitted to Jiang University."

He avoided eye contact with me—but not out of guilt.

[His gaze was somewhat fixed, and his body was a little stiff, but—his chin was raised.]

Nan Zhuren nodded, giving a positive review here: "This is very impressive and extremely difficult."

Unlike the college entrance examination, the postgraduate entrance examination has many "repeaters". Many people take the exam for the second, third or even fourth time, commonly known as the second, third or fourth attempt.

Even many people who have worked for many years after graduating with a bachelor's degree want to pursue postgraduate studies. In addition, there are veterans, volunteers, and other support programs, so the age range of master's students is very wide. The youngest in a class may be only in their early twenties, while the oldest may be over thirty.

Therefore, it is extremely difficult to "pass the exam and become a master's student on the first try," especially to be admitted to Jiangnan University, a prestigious university located in Jiangdu and ranked among the top in the country.

She turned her gaze back to me and met my eyes.

Zhuang Junzhe smiled, somewhat modestly.

"No, no, actually... I guess I was just lucky."

"But thinking about it now, there are pros and cons. Since coming here, I've realized... the gap between classmates is widening, while individual ability may be having less and less impact on a person..."

“I used to be able to say that my abilities surpassed theirs and I didn’t care, but now I’m gradually realizing that my ‘understanding’ can’t keep up with theirs.”

Zhuang Junzhe chuckled again: "I... well... I played a trick. I used the word 'cognition,' which is often used online these days. But I think 'cognition' should also be considered a kind of 'ability,' right?"

Nan Zhuren offered an explanation: "When you say your 'cognition' can't keep up with theirs, what you're really trying to say is—your 'ability' can't keep up?"

However, I was too embarrassed to ask directly, so I went around in circles.

The visitor didn't speak, he just smiled.

Nan Zhuren raised an eyebrow when the other party used the word "cognition," because this word involved his area of ​​expertise.

However, it wasn't the right time for him to interrupt the other party.

The visitor was now showing a slight defensiveness, so Nan Zhuren took the opportunity to guide and encourage him: "What kind of cognitive gap is it?"

Zhuang Junzhe rubbed his palms together again, but this time, after the friction, they did not overlap. Instead, his fingers interlaced, and finally he slowly clenched his fist.

Her gaze slightly averted from mine, this time her eyes were very expressive, her pupils moving with her breath... she was beginning to reminisce.

[At the same time, I began to re-experience emotions. That's why I stopped being fixated on "eye contact," a behavior with social attributes.]

At the same time, he pursed his lips before saying:
"First of all, there's the issue of work. Many of my classmates who were also admitted to graduate school in the same year have interned at big companies, such as Zijie, Tencent, and other large companies. When we talk about work, I can't get a word in edgewise when it comes to the work environment and benefits."

"Then, it might be about family background. There are many children of state-owned enterprise employees, civil servants, and military dependents in the class, so... Teacher, I know that if I go into employment after graduating with my master's degree, I may never reach the point where I can give a presentation to their parents. Can you understand?"

Nan Zhuren didn't say anything, but simply nodded.

"And then there are my friends, many of them, who combine their free Thursdays, Fridays, and weekends into a short holiday to travel to other cities. During real holidays, they even go abroad..." Zhuang Junzhe smiled: "In my understanding, long-distance travel like going abroad is for studying or working. Going abroad for four or five days during a short holiday, with expensive airfare, I find it hard to understand in terms of cost-effectiveness..."

Nan Zhuren looked directly into the other person's eyes, smiled in response, and then quickly composed herself, indicating that she was still following the other person's train of thought and words.

"Then why did I say 'cognition'? Well, actually... I met a girl a while ago."

At this point, Zhuang Junzhe paused and pursed his lips.

Nan Zhuren blinked, finding it reasonable. Emotional issues are the most common trigger for a problem that has been relatively stable to erupt.

"At the beginning, she and I went out together with our classmates. She came from a well-off family, but not the kind that was particularly extravagant as I just described. I remember when we were chatting, she and her friend next to her kept talking about their experiences traveling abroad, such as Thailand and Singapore, and visiting luxury boutiques."

"But what was somewhat unexpected was that she later took the initiative to approach me..."

Zhuang Junzhe smiled, his eyes lowered, and this time his smile lingered for a relatively long time.

But it subsided quickly.

"When we got to know each other privately later, she said I looked very aloof and beautiful, and she assumed my family was very rich. She was telling someone that she saw Dior in a boutique but couldn't bring herself to buy it. I didn't comment, and she assumed I was the kind of person who had a whole wardrobe of Dior items at home, so she looked down on her..."

Zhuang Junzhe smiled again.

"Later, I told her about my family situation, and she was quite happy because she felt that this would relieve her of the pressure."

Then, Zhuang Junzhe's smile disappeared again.

"But later, when I chatted with her, I always found myself unable to keep up with her pace of conversation or participate in her topics. She talked about going to Indonesia and Bali, which I've never been to. I wanted to save up some money to go to places like Suzhou or Chengdu, but she said she'd already been to all the first-tier cities in China, so it wasn't interesting..."

“When we go on dates, the restaurants she goes to cost more than 200 yuan per person, which I find hard to accept.”

"Later, she told me that I was excellent, that I had better grades than her, worked harder than her, was better looking, and was able to work part-time while studying to save money; however, she said that it was difficult to communicate with me..."

"In the end, we only went so far as to have 'dated a few times,' without confirming our relationship or having any further contact."

Zhuang Junzhe fell silent.

Nan Zhuren paused, not waiting for the other party to continue speaking.

He thought for a moment, recalling the body language and emotions the other person displayed when recounting this relationship experience. Combining this with the other person's previous account, he felt he could risk offering an "explanation" to extract the key points the other person had just mentioned.

This is to verify whether one's understanding is consistent with the other party's expression.

"You mean she initiated contact with you, and then left you because your 'understandings' didn't match?"

Zhuang Junzhe suddenly looked up: "Yes!"

Nan Zhuren sighed inwardly.

(End of this chapter)