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

Wang Minghui raised his head, his eyes filled with undisguised and straightforward anger, and glared at Chen Ziran.

He took a step back, clutching the small towel tightly in his hand as if he were holding onto something that would give him courage, and then he said, "Ugh."

The sound wasn't loud, but in the quiet corridor of the early morning, the two words were like two pebbles thrown into a calm pond.

After saying that, he turned and left.

His slippers clattered rapidly on the hallway floor, as if he were fleeing a place he didn't want to be.

Chen Ziran stood there, his sleepiness completely shattered by those two words.

He was stunned for a while before his mind finally started working. Hate? Hate what?

Whom do you hate? Do you hate me?

He reflected on his behavior over the past two days. Apart from eating, sleeping, doing homework, and playing games, his only interaction with Wang Minghui was when he rubbed his head that noon.

Could it be because of this?

He recalled Wang Minghui's stiff shoulders and slightly darkened face at the time, and belatedly realized that he might have really stepped on a landmine.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," but Wang Minghui had already disappeared.

Chen Ziran scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit of a headache.

He washed his face with cold water, and the icy water made him feel a little more awake.

We entered the living room.

Zhou Lin was already up and standing in the kitchen heating milk. She glanced at the hallway and asked, somewhat puzzled, "Hey, where's Minghui? Why is he leaving so early these past few days? He used to dawdle and I had to urge him several times before he'd leave."

She poured the heated milk into a cup, then looked at Chen Ziran with a gentle apology in her voice.

"Your schools aren't far apart; the junior high and elementary schools are right next to each other. This kid won't walk with you, so please bear with him. He's just shy around strangers, it's not directed at you, he's like that with everyone."

Chen Ziran shook her head, paused for a moment, and then decided to tell the truth: "No, Auntie, it's my problem."

He briefly recounted how he had patted Wang Minghui's head, his tone tinged with regret. "I really didn't know he hated having his head touched. I just saw him helping with chores and thought he was a capable kid, so I casually patted it. I'm used to patting my sister's head at home. I'm really sorry."

After hearing this, Zhou Lin's expression changed slightly, and she quickly waved her hand, her tone filled with a more urgent self-reproach than Chen Ziran's: "No, no, no, it's not your fault! It's all because I spoiled Minghui. He's always had a bit of a temper, it's nothing serious, don't take it to heart. When he gets home at noon, I'll make him apologize to you. How can you tell someone you hate them over such a small thing?"

As she spoke, she put down her milk cup, took out her phone from her apron pocket, and looked as if she was about to call Wang Minghui.

Chen Ziran quickly waved her hand, her tone tinged with embarrassment and anxiety: "No, no, no, it's not that bad! Auntie, there's really no need for this. I was the one who touched his head first, and he didn't do anything wrong. Making him apologize is like putting me in a very difficult position. It makes it seem like I'm bullying a child and then complaining to his parents. I really didn't mean that..."

"I'm so sorry..." Zhou Lin looked at him apologetically.

Chen Ziran felt that the conversation had fallen into a dead end with an endless loop.

He let out a long sigh as he walked out of the Wang family's gate with his schoolbag on his back, feeling that he had said all the polite words he could in those few short minutes.

On his way to school, he felt increasingly awkward about the incident. He never imagined that simply patting someone's head would turn into a diplomatic incident requiring apologies from both sides.

When he arrived at school, Chen Ziran stuffed his schoolbag into his desk drawer, leaned back in his chair, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Yang Xunran leaned over from the back seat and poked his back with his pen, his face showing a gossipy excitement: "Hey, Ziran, that Wang Zihao from the next class, the one who swapped families with you. Tsk tsk tsk, I heard he got caught cheating on a test and his dad kicked him out of the house. Is your dad taking care of him now?"

"You're really not as good as me..."

Chen Ziran leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and chuckled smugly, "You don't even know who your brother Chen is."

Yang Xunran was amused by his appearance. As they chatted, he remembered something else, took out his phone from his desk, waved it in front of Chen Ziran, and said in a low voice, "Speaking of which, that group Wang Yong asked me to join last time was quite interesting. You know, it wasn't without its merits."

Chen Ziran was drinking water and almost choked when he heard this. He swallowed the water and stared at Yang Xunran with a look that said, "Are you kidding me?"

"You...you haven't fallen for him, have you?"

"How could that be!" Yang Xunran immediately denied it righteously, raising his voice several decibels. "I don't like being hit! Who would be a masochist? I'm not a pervert."

Chen Ziran breathed a sigh of relief, but the relief wasn't quite over yet.

Yang Xunran then changed the subject, pressing the pen against his palm and gently pushing the tip in a tiny bit, as if conducting a serious scientific experiment. His eyes were fixed on the small indentation left by the pen tip, and he said with a puzzled expression, "But then again, sometimes a little prick doesn't seem to hurt that much. Ziran, don't you find it comfortable? Try it, just press down like this, just a little bit."

He handed the pen to Chen Ziran.

Chen Ziran looked down at his palm, which was slightly dented from being pressed by the pen tip, and remained silent for a long time.

"..."

After school at noon, Chen Ziran, Yang Xunran, and a few other boys in the class who were on good terms with each other made plans to go to an internet cafe to play games together.

It's mainly out of respect for learning. Studying is too tiring. If you don't relax properly at noon, how can you have the energy for the afternoon classes?

Anyway, the first period is music class, which is perfect for taking a nap.

The group walked out in a large group, and Yang Xunran couldn't contain his excitement as he muttered to himself about the network configuration once they got to the internet cafe.

"Ziran, you jungle, I'll play mid. Hey you, Wang Yong, are you even good at top? Maybe Ziran, you should go top..."

When Chen Ziran reached the school gate, he suddenly stopped.

Several classmates who had already walked several steps back turned to look at him, and Yang Xunran also stopped and followed his gaze.

On the sidewalk not far from the school gate, a small figure carrying a schoolbag was walking alone.

Instead of heading home, Wang Minghui walked slowly along the path outside the school wall, head down.

"Ziran? What are you standing there for? Come on!" Yang Xunran patted him on the shoulder. "We only have two hours at noon. We need to go play a few rounds and then come back. If you stand here daydreaming, you're wasting our gaming time."

"I saw someone I know." Chen Ziran gestured with his chin towards Wang Minghui's direction. "It's that kid from the Wang family, the one I told you about, Uncle Wang's youngest son. Why isn't he home for lunch? What's he doing walking that way all by himself?"

Yang Xunran glanced in the direction he was pointing, then turned back to look at Chen Ziran, his expression shifting from confusion to a look of abandoned resentment: "Seriously? You're going to be the 'big brother' again? Bro, we're a five-man squad! A five-man squad! How are we supposed to play without you? Are you expecting the four of us to team up with random players and get wrecked? How long are you going to be gone? We're all brothers, what's there to be shy about? Let's go together!"