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

Wang Zihao completed several test papers in a row. He struggled with the first one, barely passed the second, found his rhythm with the third, and by the fourth, his pen moved across the paper much more smoothly than before.

He still gets some questions wrong, but every time he sees a mistake circled in red, his accuracy rate on the next question of the same type increases by a few percentage points.

The feeling is subtle, like a rusty gear that has finally had some engine oil poured in. Although it still makes a creaking sound when it starts turning, at least it has begun to move.

After Chen Chu finished flipping through the last test paper, he put the red pen on the table, leaned back, and said, "That's fantastic! In just one night, your average score has already exceeded sixty points, with the highest score reaching seventy-six. Even on the most difficult test, you got forty-nine points. What does that mean? It means you have a lot of room for improvement."

Wang Zihao sat opposite him with a blank expression, but when he heard the number "seventy-six", his fingers holding the pen unconsciously loosened.

His lips twitched, as if he wanted to laugh, but he forced it back down.

He frowned, looking at Chen Chu with a suspicious gaze, his tone carrying the wariness of a hedgehog that had become immune to praise after being praised so many times.

"You're not just trying to fool me, are you? Using this method to trick me into continuing to do the problems? I've seen this kind of trick online, first praising someone until they get carried away, then getting them to keep working."

Chen Chu didn't rush to refute. He reached out and patted Wang Zihao's shoulder with a serious, earnest tone, as if he were entrusting him with an important task: "Kid, you don't know what a student like you means to me."

Wang Zihao was taken aback by his serious tone and couldn't help but ask, "What does it mean?"

"It means you have a lot of room for improvement." Chen Chu's expression was as serious as if he were conducting a career planning session. "It's my good fortune to be able to teach a student like this to prove himself."

When Wang Zihao heard the words "huge room for improvement," the little bit of expectation that had just appeared on his face instantly shattered.

"There's huge room for improvement, doesn't that mean I'm really bad right now?"

He couldn't help but mutter something, but when he said it, there was no anger in his voice, but rather a kind of helplessness that came from being amused but was too embarrassed to show it.

Although he said it as a complaint, he was actually a little happy inside.

This feeling was very unfamiliar to him. He clearly didn't do very well, with a highest score of only seventy-something, which was still below average in the class, even comparable to the average student in the regular class.

But the way Chen Chu spoke gave him the illusion that he had really done something extraordinary.

A sudden alarm bell rang in his mind: something was wrong.

He has been assimilated by Chen Chu.

He shook his head, repeatedly telling himself: No, no, no, anyone would be happy to be praised. This is a normal reaction for a normal person, and it has nothing to do with Chen Chu.

He wasn't assimilated; he just happened to be happy for a moment.

Wang Zihao nodded expressionlessly, stood up from his chair, and announced in a deliberately calm tone, "It's already midnight, I'm going to sleep."

He turned and walked towards his room, when Chen Chu's voice came from behind him, carrying a sincere sense of praise: "You really are a natural-born learner, you even know to go to bed on time. This is the most important part of the learning process, much more important than doing exercises."

Wang Zihao paused for a moment. He opened his mouth, wanting to say, "You can praise me even when I'm sleeping, do you have some quota to meet for praising people?", but he swallowed the words back.

He realized that it was useless for him to speak; Chen Chu had the ability to praise every single word he said in return.

He chose to remain silent, quickened his pace back to his room, and closed the door behind him.

The bullet comments section has completely given up on any attempt at serious discussion, turning into a massive, stifling laughter scene.

[He can even praise someone for going to bed on time; Wang Zihao can hold back his laughter—he's a master of composure. If I were him, I would have burst out laughing.]

Honestly, my opinion of Wang Zihao has changed. He doesn't seem to dislike studying; you see him doing the last two practice tests—he was genuinely focused. No one forced him; he just picked up his pen and wrote down each question himself.

[Very good, keep up this attitude, sooner or later Chen Chu will praise you as a man with "excellent breathing rhythm".]

Why did he not study when others taught him, but he did when Chen Chu taught him? I think those parents should reflect on whether their parenting methods are problematic. All they do is scold, scold, scold—can scolding produce results?

[Waaaa, Teacher Chen, my child is exactly like Wang Zihao, spoiled rotten, and won't listen to anyone. Why does Zihao study when you're with him, but not when I'm with him? Please teach us! My husband and I have bachelor's and master's degrees, and we're both going crazy.]

[To the person upstairs: They call him Teacher Chen online, I don't even want to imagine what they'd call him offline.]

Chen Chu had just finished showering and came out, his hair still wet and a towel draped over his shoulder. He sat down on the sofa, picked up his phone, and glanced at the live stream, finding the chat still flooded with discussions about what had just happened. He wasn't sleepy, so he leaned back on the sofa, placed the towel on the coffee table, gathered his thoughts, and then spoke.

He paused for a moment, then, instead of speaking with his usual humor, said in a calmer, more relaxed tone, "Actually, most people don't dislike learning. It's just that learning doesn't provide them with positive feedback. It's like playing a game; it's only fun if you win and lose. At the very least, you need to win occasionally to keep playing. Nobody likes to keep losing. Nobody plays a game where you only lose."

He leaned back on the sofa cushions, casually tapping his knee with his fingers. "Game designers understand this principle: if you lose, you get a consolation prize; if you win, you get a big reward—basically, you have to gain something every time you play. But learning isn't designed that way. When many children study, if they do well on a test, their parents tell them not to be arrogant; if they do poorly, their parents say, 'Why are you so disappointing?' Either way, they get scolded, so what's the point of studying?"

A comment floated by.

Wait a minute, I really enjoy playing Soul Reaper games. Aren't those games just about dying and dying all the time?

Chen Chu happened to see this comment and chuckled.

"But even in a soul-traveling scenario, there are some really enjoyable moments, right? The moment you defeat the boss, or when you arrive in a new area and see a new landscape, that feeling of finding a new vista after a long and winding road. You die fifty times, and finally you take down that boss, the sense of accomplishment at that moment is stronger than anything else."

He took the towel off his shoulder and placed it aside, shifting to a more comfortable sitting position, and continued, "Learning is the same. When a student faces a difficult problem and spends half an hour solving it, the satisfaction at that moment is exhilarating. But if they face a problem they just can't solve, then it's painful. For example, a shut-in can't win over a girl's heart..."

He made a hand gesture.

"I can't do this kind of question either."

A flurry of laughter filled the screen as Chen Chu steered the conversation back on track, "In short, there's a method to learning. I don't know the specifics of everyone's children, but Wang Zihao's learning ability is actually quite good. What he lacks isn't brains, but feedback. No one has ever told him, 'What you're doing is right,' so he stopped doing it."

He smiled at the camera and casually concluded, "That's about it. Time to sleep."

In the observation room, Zhou Zhenyang sat on the expert panel, his notebook open in front of him, half a page filled with dense notes.

Upon hearing Chen Chu's words, he put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, let out a long sigh, and exclaimed, "Indeed, you're right. Feedback from learning is more satisfying than playing games, more satisfying than masturbating."

The comment section instantly exploded into a sea of ​​laughter.

[Dr. Zhou, you're a cultured person, how come you speak so crudely, hahaha!!]

[Funny analogy! The words may be rough, but the meaning is sound! I've memorized the metaphor "even better than masturbation"; I'll use it next time I explain to my advisor why I'm staying up all night writing my thesis.]

[You're absolutely right! I love the moment I'm almost solving a math problem; it's so satisfying. Seeing a problem I like is more gratifying than seeing a new teacher I like...]

Wang Zihao lay on the bed in the guest room, the blue light from his phone screen shining on his face.

He stared at the ceiling for a long time, then lowered his head.

He opened the chat window with Lele, paused his fingers on the keyboard for a moment, and then typed a line of text and sent it.

"Lele, I want to prove myself!"

A while later, the other end replied. Lele sent a cute cat tilting its head emoji: "What do you mean by 'prove yourself'? Are you going to give me a gift to prove it?"

Wang Zihao frowned slightly as he looked at the message, then typed a line on the screen and sent it.

"No, I want to prove that I have the ability. Regarding the exam I told you about before, I did several practice tests today, and my scores kept going up."

"Wow, I can't wait! Zihao, you're amazing! You're working so hard, you must be doing something big, right?"

Lele's reply was as quick and enthusiastic as ever, accompanied by a starry-eyed emoji: "Speaking of which, my birthday is coming up soon, next Wednesday."

Wang Zihao looked at the message, remained silent for a moment, and then typed.

"Okay, I'll give you a gift then."

"No need to go to so much trouble, I'm just happy that you're willing to talk to me."

"I still need to give a gift."

"Really? That's so kind of Zihao! What's the gift? Can you tell us?"

"Keep it a secret."

He turned off his phone screen, rolled over, and buried his face in the pillow.

In the darkness, he kept his eyes open, and after a long time, he slowly closed them.

……

The other side of the city.

When Chen Ziran returned home from school, she habitually glanced at Wang Minghui while changing her shoes in the entryway. Wang Minghui was sitting on the sofa flipping through a comic book.

Chen Ziran opened his mouth, about to say "What are you looking at?", when he saw Wang Minghui jump up from the sofa as if he had been electrocuted, and quickly walk into his room with the book in his hand.

The door clicked shut.

Chen Ziran stood in the entryway, still clutching the sneakers he had taken off, staring blankly at the closed door for a moment.

Do you hate me that much?

He frowned and reviewed his behavior over the past two days, confirming that he had not done anything to offend Wang Minghui.

I didn't take his snacks, I didn't break his toys, and I didn't say anything bad about him.

Did he commit some major taboo?

Or perhaps this little guy is just naturally slow to warm up. He forced a greeting on the first day out of politeness, but now that he's used up his politeness limit, he doesn't want to keep up the act anymore?

He thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation, so he had to put the matter aside, change into slippers, go into the guest room, throw his backpack on the bed, wash up, and then pick up his phone to send a message to Chen Chu: "Dad, log in."

Chen Chu had just finished showering and was drying his hair with a towel when his phone screen lit up. He picked it up and saw a message from Chen Ziran: "Dad, log in."

I couldn't hold back anymore...

He draped a towel around his neck, sat down on the sofa, and opened Honor of Kings while simultaneously starting a live stream, changing the title to a single line.

"Ziran's Wonderful Journey".

More than an hour later.

Chen Chu leaned back on the sofa, his cheeks slightly flushed from the losing streak, and his breathing was a bit more rapid than usual.

The word "Failure" was still lit up on the screen, and in the data bar of the settlement interface, Chen Chu's economic curve showed a clear downward drop after the eighth minute.

He tossed his phone onto the sofa and stood up.

"Going to take a shower..."

Chen Chu walked towards the restroom. He entered the restroom and closed the door.

In the living room, Chen Ziran's barely suppressed gloating laughter came from his phone, unmistakable even through two doors and a network cable.

Chen Ziran laughed so hard in the voice chat that he pounded the table: "Dad, don't go! Don't go! I promise I won't eat anything recklessly next game, I'll help you farm the boars next game! I'll pull the monsters and help you fight them! Really! Come back! Play one more game before you go to sleep..."

Chen Chu did not respond further.

But Chen Ziran didn't care. He leaned against the headboard and started another round.

.........

The alarm clock rang precisely at six o'clock the next morning.

Chen Ziran lay on the bed with her eyes closed for several seconds before reaching out to turn off the alarm clock.

I didn't log off until after 2 a.m., so I only slept for a little over three hours.

When he got out of bed, he felt like he was in someone else's body. The floor tiles under his feet felt soft and spongy, and his brain felt like it had been filled with a whole bag of cement.

As he walked to the bathroom door, he bumped into Wang Minghui, who was turning out from the other side of the corridor.

Wang Minghui was holding his small towel and toothbrush, seemingly having just woken up and preparing to wash up.

The two stopped at the bathroom door at the same time, their eyes met for a moment, and Wang Minghui quickly lowered his head.

Chen Ziran didn't mind, and cheerfully ruffled Wang Minghui's hair, "Why do you get up so early even in elementary school? The pressure of studying these days is really getting greater and greater..."