Live Stream: Overly Pampered Education Creates Three Superstars in One Family

The homeroom teacher glanced at Chen Chu speechlessly, then placed the test paper on the table and tapped the score column twice with his finger.

She recounted the whole story in a calm and unhurried tone, without deliberately emphasizing any details, but the outline of the matter was clear enough.

Finally, she sighed, her gaze sweeping back and forth between Zhou Lin and Chen Chu, and said helplessly, "The children are still young, their values ​​haven't fully formed yet. You parents need to pay attention. They might fool me with cheating, but can they fool the teachers in the high school entrance exam hall?"

Zhou Lin stood in front of the desk, her hands clasped in front of her, her posture very humble. After listening to her homeroom teacher's words, she lowered her head slightly, her tone sincere and apologetic: "I'm sorry, teacher, it's my fault, I didn't notice... I hope you can forgive me."

The homeroom teacher shook her head, her tone still not stern, but with a teacher's characteristic insistence on addressing the issue at hand: "It's not a problem I can forgive, but I hope you will pay attention to it yourselves. This parent..."

She looked at Zhou Lin, a hint of regret in her eyes. "I've seen the information; you also have a master's degree. You couldn't possibly be unaware of the importance of education. This self-deception of his—who does he ultimately harm by lying to himself?"

Zhou Lin didn't argue, but simply lowered her head again, her voice still gentle: "I'm sorry, teacher..."

She always behaves this way around professionals: listening to doctors' orders, teachers' advice, and lawyers' analyses. This is a habit she developed over many years of professional experience, and it reflects her innate respect for the word "professional."

She enjoys listening to professional advice in professional settings, and even though those words made her stand here being scolded on behalf of a child who wasn't her own, she didn't show the slightest impatience.

Wang Zihao stood by the window in the office, sunlight shining on his face from the side, hiding his expression in the boundary between half light and half shadow.

He watched Zhou Lin bow her head and apologize to the homeroom teacher. Her posture was very humble, and her tone carried an apology that she shouldn't have to bear.

Wang Zihao clenched his back teeth tightly, his cheek muscles tense, as if he were trying to forcefully lock something inside his mouth to prevent it from escaping.

Why?

Why should she apologize on my behalf?

I didn't ask her to come; I don't want her to tell me what to do.

It felt like something was pushing his eye socket outwards, and a stinging sensation spread upwards from the root of his nose. He tried desperately to open his eyes wide, but tears still welled up uncontrollably, splashing onto his shoe and leaving a small, dark dot.

"Leave me alone! I don't want you to bother me! Go away!" His voice was almost a shout, each word seemingly squeezed from the deepest part of his chest, hoarse with a near-collapse. Before the words had even finished, he turned abruptly and pushed open the office door.

She rushed out of the corridor like a chased little animal. Her footsteps echoed hurriedly in the stairwell, growing fainter and fainter.

The office fell silent for a moment.

The comment section seemed to be stirred by an invisible hand. The words paused briefly from the previous debate for a few seconds, and then surged up again at an even more violent speed.

[What a hopeless case! His mother was there apologizing on his behalf, and he couldn't stand it and ran away? Leaving Zhou Lin there alone to be scolded?]

Zhou Lin has really worked hard. A high-level executive, she gave up her career to stay home and raise her child. And what did she get? Her own child is being mistreated, and the parents don't appreciate it; now the child is even being scolded by the teacher in front of everyone. Tsk.

[This tech guy messed up his own business, didn't fix it, and instead ran away, which fits my stereotype of him. That's just how he is; stop trying to defend him.]

Zhao Shuilan sat in the observation room, watching the screen show Wang Zihao rushing out of the office. She shook her head slightly and said firmly, "A student who doesn't study hard and instead resorts to crooked tricks, who can he fool? In the end, he's only fooling himself."

Zhou Zhenyang sat down next to her without refuting her. He was silent for a few seconds, then nodded, his tone calm but with a hint of barely perceptible regret.

"I don't know what Wang Zihao's motive was for cheating, but no matter what, cheating is wrong. There's nothing to discuss about that."

"You talk to the teacher, I'll go find him!"

Chen Chu sprang up from his position against the wall the instant Wang Zihao turned and rushed out of the office.

He didn't make any unnecessary movements, nor did he turn around to say anything polite to Zhou Lin or the homeroom teacher. He simply said one sentence to Zhou Lin, then opened the door and chased after her.

Wang Zihao was no longer visible in the corridor, but footsteps could still be heard coming from the direction of the stairwell.

Chen Chu took a step and chased after him. His pace was not fast but steady, and his breathing was even, like an old father who was used to being tormented by his son all year round and had mastered the basic skills of a chase.

A unique chase competition began on campus.

Wang Zihao was in the lead, running with his head down, his backpack strap slipping halfway off his shoulder and dangling behind him. He had only one thought in his mind: run.

He didn't know why he was running away, or where he was going. All he knew was that he couldn't stay in that office any longer.

Chen Chu kept a distance that was neither too close nor too far. He didn't chase too closely because he noticed that Wang Zihao was running towards the playground, not towards the school gate.

This means the child simply wanted to escape the scene, not actually run away.

The photographer, carrying dozens of kilograms of photography equipment, followed at the back, panting heavily, but his lens remained steadily pointed forward.

Wang Zihao went into the toilet at the end of the teaching building.

Chen Chu stopped at the entrance of the restroom and glanced back at the photographer who had caught up with him.

The toilet door was open, and there was no one else inside. It was during class time, so no students would be using the toilet.

Chen Chu turned around, grinned, and leaned close to the photographer, lowering his voice to say, "Let's not take any more pictures this time. Everyone needs privacy. What if we film someone going to the bathroom?"

The photographer unloaded the heavy camera from his shoulder, shook his numb arm, and said speechlessly, "I carried dozens of kilograms of equipment with you for half the campus, and you're just telling me not to film? Is that reasonable?"

Chen Chu coughed, leaned closer to the photographer's ear, and whispered, "Next time I'll treat you to a meal and give you a special meal. You know, I don't usually cook, but when I do, it's like a state banquet."

The photographer recalled the vegetarian meal Chen Chu had given him at the temple, so delicious that he almost wanted to lick the plate clean. His mouth watered reflexively, but then he realized he was standing at the toilet door, the faint smell of ceiling air freshener mixed with the lingering odor of human excrement.

He quickly shut his mouth, frowned in disgust, waved his hand, leaned the camera against the wall, and said speechlessly, "Fine, hurry up. If Director Li starts yelling, I'll just say you told me to do it this way. I've already been loyal enough."

Chen Chu gave him a speechless look: "You call this loyalty?"

He pushed open the bathroom door and stepped inside, a completely unrelated thought flashing through his mind: This bathroom is really nice. The walls are covered with white tiles, the floor is dry and clean, and the partitions above the urinals are spotless.

He recalled that when he was in junior high school, going to the toilet was like a "feast for all," with no partitions, everyone lined up in a row, and some people would even flick cigarette butts under their butts from behind...

Uh, it's far away.

Banish those meaningless childhood memories from your mind, then raise your hand and gently push open the door to a cubicle.

Wang Zihao was sitting against the corner wall of the innermost cubicle, his back pressed against the wall tiles, his legs curled up, his arms resting on his knees, and his head buried between his arms.

His shoulders were still trembling slightly, and through the gap between his arms, you could see that his eyes were red-rimmed and the tip of his nose was red, like a cat that had been soaked in a downpour for a long time, curled up in the only dry corner it could find.

Chen Chu didn't rush to speak. He left the cubicle door slightly ajar, stood in the not-so-spacious space, waited quietly for a few seconds, and then prepared to speak.

But Wang Zihao spoke first. His voice was muffled, hoarse with a kind of suppressed urge that was finally on the verge of collapse, but his tone was still hard: "If you want to say that I was right to cheat or something, forget it. I have a reputation to uphold."

Chen Chu was taken aback. He leaned against the partition, looked down at Wang Zihao, remained silent for a moment, and then said in a matter-of-fact tone, "How could cheating possibly be right?"

Wang Zihao still didn't raise his head, but his voice lowered even further: "I thought you would say that..."

Chen Chu was not swayed by his words. He remained leaning against the partition, his tone shifting from casual conversation to serious mode.

"Cheating is absolutely wrong. There is no room for negotiation. These ordinary exams are not for comparing with others, but for testing your own learning outcomes. There is no benefit to cheating, except for deceiving yourself and indulging in a vanity that you are not worthy of."

Wang Zihao did not refute. He kept his head down, his shoulders no longer trembling, but he was still curled up like a clenched fist.

He certainly knew that cheating was not a good thing.

He always knew.

But why did he still do it?

silence.

Chen Chu looked at him, taking in the figure huddled in the corner.

His tone suddenly softened, as if a heavy stone had been removed and replaced with something lighter.

"But did you cheat because of vanity?"

Chen Chu seemed to be waiting for an answer. "I'm afraid not. If that's the case, it doesn't mean you're guilty of a heinous crime. Nor would I completely condemn you just because you cheated."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word seemed carefully chosen before he spoke: "I can also hear why you cheated."

……

……

P.S.: The streamer has been playing God's Balance so much lately that he's lost his mind... Waaaaah.