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

Wang Zihao squatted in the corner of the toilet stall, his back pressed against the cold tiles.

Chen Chu's question, "Why did you cheat?" was like a pebble thrown into the murky pond in his heart, creating ripples that spread outwards in circles.

Why cheat?

He pondered this question over and over in his mind several times.

Vanity?

Of course there are.

But that was just a thin layer of dust, which would dissipate with a gust of wind.

He has many ways to satisfy his vanity: pretending to be a rich second-generation online, giving gifts to female streamers, and buying the most expensive skins in games. Each of these is more direct and satisfying than cheating.

He would never touch cheating, something that is tiring, stupid, and easy to get caught, unless there is a deeper reason.

Ultimately...

It's really hard to say.

When the answer surfaced in his heart, he himself felt it was naive.

That's too naive.

A sixteen or seventeen-year-old is still behaving like a primary school student, crying over something they can't get. It's so embarrassing.

But it's really hard to say it directly.

How should he bring it up?

Is he supposed to sit on the bathroom floor and tell a man he's known for less than 48 hours, "I cheated because I wanted my dad to look at me more"? He'd feel like throwing up just saying that.

So he chose to remain silent, burying his face in his knees like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.

Chen Chu looked at him and waited for a while. Seeing that he didn't seem inclined to speak, he didn't urge him.

He simply leaned against the partition and said in a casual tone, "Is it because you want attention?"

Wang Zihao's shoulders twitched slightly, but he didn't look up. Chen Chu continued, his tone still unhurried, "Actually, before you came to our house, I watched all your previous videos. There's nothing hard to understand; it's just that you feel Zhou Lin doesn't care about you, that she's biased, and that you're an outsider in this family."

Wang Zihao didn't speak, but he clenched his back teeth.

"But!" Chen Chu changed the subject, "You saw it yourself. She was standing in the office, bowing her head and apologizing to your homeroom teacher. Do you think that's something a biased person would do?"

silence.

The restroom was so quiet that only the humming of the exhaust fan above the stall could be heard.

Wang Zihao had no rebuttal.

He had just witnessed the woman he had always labeled as "biased," "hypocritical," and "pretentious" standing before the homeroom teacher, her posture more humble than anyone else's, her tone sincere and apologetic, taking all the blame upon herself.

She didn't have to come.

She could have easily said something like Wang Wenwu: "I'm very busy."

But she came, and she apologized.

One of the hardest things in the world is taking a beating for someone who doesn't appreciate it. This punch struck the softest spot in his heart, softening his hatred somewhat.

In truth, he didn't hate Zhou Lin that much. Ultimately, he didn't hate Zhou Lin; he hated that his mother was gone, that his father had remarried, and that he had become an unwanted cog in the machine of the family, an untimely intruder.

He knew perfectly well that Zhou Lin hadn't done anything wrong.

He was the one who was truly at fault.

He couldn't accept it; he was unwilling to face it.

The fault wasn't Zhou Lin's; it was his pride.

"You already know she's not bad to you," Chen Chu's voice came from the other side of the partition, with a leisurely pace, as if he were talking about something perfectly ordinary. "Then it wouldn't hurt for you to take a step forward, would it? Good is relative. It's too much to ask others to understand your thoughts if you don't say or do anything."

He paused, then added, "Even parents can't communicate without interaction. Do you really think Zhou Lin is a genius who can automatically read your mind?"

Wang Zihao's lips moved, but no sound came out. His mind was in turmoil. He knew, of course, that Chen Chu was right, but then what?

What can he do?

He's already made a huge scene. He was called out in front of the whole class, ran away in front of so many teachers in the office, and even made Zhou Lin take a scolding for him.

Should we make him go back and apologize now?

How should he apologize?

Should he walk into the office, bow his head, stand in front of Zhou Lin, and say in a tone of sudden realization, "Auntie, I'm sorry, I was wrong"?

Just imagining that scene made him feel itchy all over and gave him goosebumps.

He's been restrained.

My pride, the harsh words I had uttered, and all the anger and resentment I had accumulated have left me stuck in a limbo, unable to get down.

Taking a step back means collapse; taking a step forward means maintaining dignity.

The next second, he felt his collar being grabbed by the back of his hand.

"What are you doing? Let me go!"

Wang Zihao's body was lifted up by an irresistible force. Chen Chu lifted him up from the toilet stall floor like a chicken, dragging him out of the stall with his feet almost dragging on the ground.

Chen Chu's grip was extremely strong; his fingers were squeezing the fabric at the back of his collar, his knuckles like a locked pair of pliers, leaving him no room to resist.

Faced with the enormous power disparity, he found that his struggles in Chen Chu's hands were like a kitten flailing its paws on the water, completely ineffective.

The photographer stood at the toilet door, holding the camera against the wall. He paused for a moment when he saw Chen Chu carrying Wang Zihao out of the toilet, then his eyes swept over Chen Chu with a sharp look.

Chen Chu secretly gave him an OK sign.

The photographer understood immediately, turned on the camera, and aimed the lens.

Zhou Lin was still standing in the office, and the homeroom teacher was talking to her about something, probably about Wang Zihao's recent academic performance, classroom behavior, and interpersonal relationships with his classmates.

Zhou Lin listened quietly with her head down, nodding occasionally in response.

Just then, the office door was pushed open.

The homeroom teacher looked up and saw Chen Chu carrying Wang Zihao by the back of his collar as they walked in.

The two adults exchanged a glance.

Wang Zihao stood in front of his desk, his hands hanging at his sides, clenching and unclenching repeatedly.

Head bowed, lips pressed into a thin line, neck stiff and rigid, like a frozen steel bar. He remained silent for a long time, perhaps counting from 1 to 10 seven or eight times in his mind.

Chen Chu flicked his forehead, forcing him to say, "Apologize now!"

Wang Zihao remained silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have cheated." He said these words in a cold tone, as if he were being forced to complete a task.

The homeroom teacher frowned slightly. Looking at Wang Zihao's face, which was full of reluctance, she instinctively felt that the apology was not sincere enough. To put it bluntly, it was as stiff and awkward as handing in homework.

She opened her mouth, seemingly preparing to say a few more words, but before she could utter a sound, another voice rang out first.

"Good, good, it's a good thing that you can speak."

Chen Chu stood behind Wang Zihao, arms crossed, his tone filled with sincere approval, as if the perfunctory apology from before was some great achievement. "There aren't many people who can admit their mistakes, let alone do so in front of your mother, your homeroom teacher, and hundreds of thousands of viewers in the live stream. To err is human, to forgive divine. I think you've already taken on the ancient virtue of Lian Po carrying thorns to apologize."

The homeroom teacher's mouth was open, but the rest of the words got stuck in his throat.

She really wanted to know, just this one "I'm sorry"? What does that have to do with Lian Po's apology with thorns on his back?

Wang Zihao's reluctance was practically overflowing. Is this what you call an apology?

But before she could translate those words from her mind into spoken language, things began to go awry.

The dissatisfaction on Wang Zihao's face visibly subsided after Chen Chu's words.

He kept his head down and his neck stiff, but he didn't run away or talk back.

Wang Zihao spoke again, his voice still not loud, still carrying an awkward and reluctant tone, but this time he was more specific: "I shouldn't have cheated by buying exam questions, and I shouldn't have gotten into a conflict with my classmates."

Zhou Lin stood beside the desk, her eyes flickering slightly.

She instinctively wanted to say something, something like "It's good that you know you're wrong and can correct it" or "Auntie doesn't blame you."

She had these words ready, lined up in her throat, just one step away from crossing the threshold of her lips.

But before she could even open her mouth, Chen Chu's voice beat her to it, leaving no room for anyone to interrupt.

"Not bad, not bad, you even know how to summarize afterwards."

Chen Chu patted Wang Zihao on the shoulder, his tone filled with sincere praise and affirmation, as if Wang Zihao had just delivered an important speech rather than read a self-criticism. "You've already mastered the method of success. You know, summarizing afterward is a fine tradition of our Chinese nation."

Chen Chu looked at the homeroom teacher with a half-joking, half-serious expression on his face, "If there are still opportunities for Party members, save a spot for this kid."

The homeroom teacher stood there, her face almost blank. It wasn't that she had no emotions, but rather that she had too many and too complicated emotions, and for a moment she didn't know which one to display.

She really wanted to ask, why?

Why would anyone equate "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have cheated" with "Lian Po carrying thorns to apologize"? And why would anyone think that someone like Wang Zihao is suitable to be a party member?

But looking at Chen Chu's self-righteous face, she ultimately said nothing, only sighing silently in her heart.

The comments section has completely given up on any attempt to have a serious discussion about this matter, and has become a sea of ​​laughter.

[Chen Gou, at least give the others a line! Didn't you see the parents and teachers wanted to speak? You played the good cop/bad cop role all by yourself, while everyone else just stood there as background, huh? I really can't stand it!!!]

[To be honest, I had already typed out a long post ready to criticize Wang Zihao. But as soon as Chen Chu opened his mouth, I couldn't hold back anymore. "The ancient Chinese tale of Lian Po carrying thorns to apologize," my typing hand trembled, and then I silently deleted my entire post. Chen, you're truly a master of breaking your guard.]

[Me too. I've been cursing Wang Zihao for days, and I was going to curse him again today. But when I saw Chen Chu grabbing him by the back of the collar and pulling him out of the bathroom, I just couldn't bring myself to curse him. Is this just for the sake of the show?]