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

Zhao Shuilang was furious, but couldn't find a point to refute it for the time being, so she could only snort coldly.

……

The bell rang for evening self-study, and students walked out of the school gate in twos and threes.

Li Lele packed her schoolbag and prepared to go home.

She took a deep breath and was about to walk towards the school gate when a voice came from behind her.

"Lele!"

She turned her head.

Qian Jiaxin jogged over with her schoolbag on her back, a smile on her face: "Want to go shopping together?"

Li Lele was taken aback for a moment: "Ah...can I go?"

"Of course! Let's go, let's go, it'll just be a short walk, it won't delay your journey home." Qian Jiaxin tugged at her arm.

Li Lele hesitated.

She originally intended to go straight home.

But what happens after you get home?

Do homework.

After you finish your homework?

My mother would check and say, "Why is this wrong again?" Then she would sigh and say, "Who am I working so hard for?"

Moreover, after that incident, she thought Qian Jiaxin would never talk to her again.

After all, her mother's attitude that day was so obvious; she thought Qian Jiaxin must have noticed and was definitely angry.

But Qian Jiaxin acted as if nothing had happened.

They didn't care at all.

How could she possibly refuse?

"Come on, come on," Qian Jiaxin tugged at her again, "It's rare that we don't have to go to evening self-study today. Anyway, you'll be doing homework when you get home, so why don't we go out and play for a while?"

Li Lele glanced in the direction of the school gate, then looked at Qian Jiaxin.

She bit her lip.

"……good."

The two girls walked out of the school gate side by side.

The night breeze was cool, and the streetlights cast long shadows of them.

Li Lele hadn't walked with her friends like this in a long time, and she felt something inside her loosen up a little.

As they reached the mall entrance, Qian Jiaxin suddenly said, "By the way, a few friends and I are going to sing karaoke on Sunday. Do you want to come along?"

"Sing?"

"Yeah, it's just the few of us, nobody else." Qian Jiaxin looked at her. "Are you coming?"

Li Lele's eyes lit up: "...I want to go."

At 7:30, Li Lele pushed open the door to her home.

The living room lights were on.

Her mother was sitting on the sofa, and when she saw her come in, her face immediately darkened.

"What time is it?"

"7:30..."

"7:30!" Mom stood up. "Do you know how worried I was? I called your teacher, and she said school was over a long time ago! Where have you been?"

Li Lele's heart suddenly raced, and her palms began to sweat.

She opened her mouth, her mind racing. If she said she went shopping, her mother would definitely ask who she went with.

If she says she went with Qian Jiaxin...

What would Mom say?

I can't say.

"I...I'm doing my homework at school." She lowered her head. "There's so much homework, I just lose track of time while I'm doing it."

Mom's expression softened a bit.

"Doing homework at school?" She sat down again, her tone softening. "Why didn't you call ahead? You made me worry for ages."

"I forgot..."

"Alright, alright, remember to call next time." A slight smile even appeared on Mom's lips. "Doing homework is a good thing, but you also need to be mindful of the time. Are you hungry? I've left some food for you in the kitchen."

"I'm not hungry... I'm going to do my homework now."

Li Lele entered the room and closed the door.

She leaned against the door, her heart still pounding.

It was the first time she had lied to her mother, and her palms were sweaty.

She sat down, opened her notebook, and found that she couldn't concentrate on reading a single word.

……

Xu Ziang and his good friend Zhang Lei walked together on the commercial street.

Zhang Lei held a cup of milk tea in one hand and a skewer of grilled squid in the other, his mouth greasy from eating.

Xu Ziang walked beside him, holding nothing in his hands.

Passing by a Burger King, Zhang Lei stopped and said, "Are you hungry? I'll treat you to a burger."

"How could I possibly accept that..." Xu Ziang waved his hand.

"It's okay, we're all brothers!" Zhang Lei had already pushed the door open and gone inside. "What do you want to eat?"

Xu Ziang stood at the door, hesitated for a moment, and then followed them inside.

Five minutes later, he had a royal castle in his hand.

He took a bite, and the steaming hot beef patty and melting cheese melted in his mouth. He felt that he hadn't eaten anything so delicious in a long time.

He took out his phone, snapped a picture of the hamburger, and posted it on his WeChat Moments: "Thanks for the treat, Brother Lei! Whopper is awesome!"

Less than five minutes later, my phone vibrated.

He clicked on it, and Xu Danian liked it. Then came a comment: "Your son is amazing, he can afford to buy hamburgers now. Unlike your dad, who can only eat steamed buns at home."

Xu Ziang was stunned.

He stared at that comment several times.

Then WeChat vibrated again; Xu Danian had sent a photo.

When I clicked on it, it showed my family's dining table, with a white porcelain plate on it containing two cold steamed buns, and a small dish of pickled vegetables next to it.

Xu Ziang's hand holding the hamburger hung in mid-air, unable to take another bite.

He looked at the golden, crispy hamburger in his hand and suddenly felt that it was heavy, like a stone.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Lei asked when he saw that he wasn't moving.

"...It's nothing." Xu Ziang put down his hamburger. "I'm full."

He put the hamburger back in the paper bag and never touched it again.

……

At 10 p.m., Chen Ziran lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

He turned his head and glanced at the new computer on the desk. The RGB light strip on the side of the case was still glowing softly, as if beckoning to him in the darkness.

He remembered his father's casual expression when he opened the package, the afternoon when the two of them squatted on the ground together tightening screws, and his father's words, "Not bad, it's pretty bright," when the screen lit up.

Such a good graphics card, such a good CPU, such a good monitor.

How much will it cost?

He took out his phone and opened a short video app. After watching a few videos, a notification popped up.

"You will never know how hard your parents have worked for you."

The video shows a pair of hands covered in calluses, with dirt stuck in their fingernails that can't be washed off.

Accompanied by sentimental music, the narrator says, word by word: "Every peaceful afternoon you sit in the classroom is earned by their sweat under the scorching sun."

Chen Ziran felt a lump in her throat.

He threw back the covers, walked barefoot to Chen Chu's room door, and pushed it open.

Chen Chu was leaning against the headboard scrolling through her phone when she saw him come in. She paused for a moment, then asked, "What's wrong?"

"Dad, you've worked hard." Chen Ziran stood at the door, his expression serious as if he were making a vow.

Chen Chu frowned: "What's wrong with you?"

"Dad, you work so hard, it breaks my heart." Chen Ziran's eyes were a little red. "You edit videos so hard every day, and you still have to cook for us..."

"Stop." Chen Chu put down his phone and sat up straight. "Who taught you to talk like that? Another short video?"

"no……"

"Listen," Chen Chu interrupted him, his tone suddenly becoming serious, "Making money isn't easy, that's true. But that's an adult's business, it has nothing to do with you."

Chen Ziran opened his mouth: "But Dad, you're so tired every day."

"Who told you that?" Chen Chu leaned against the headboard. "Kid, let me tell you, without you, do you think I wouldn't have to work part-time editing videos? Without you, do you think I wouldn't have to eat? Without you, do you think I wouldn't have to earn money?"

"These are the things I'm supposed to do anyway. Even without you, I still need to eat, drink, go to work, and earn money. On the contrary, it's because of you that I can be a little happier in this boring life."

Chen Ziran was stunned.

He opened his mouth, unsure of what to say.

This was unlike any video he had ever seen.

In the video, the parents all say, "I'm working so hard for you," but my dad says, "These are things I was supposed to do anyway."

"What, you've figured it out?" Chen Chu smiled as he looked at him.

"Dad... what you're saying makes sense."

"Of course." Chen Chu leaned back against the headboard. "On the contrary, Dad is more worried about something else now: why are you thinking about these things at such a young age? Did I do something wrong?"

Chen Ziran quickly shook her head: "No! It was said by a marketing account..."

"Read fewer marketing accounts."

"……oh."

Chen Ziran scratched his head, turned and walked out of the room. He turned back at the door and said, "Dad, goodnight."

"Good night."

He closed the door and went back to his bed.

Looking at the ceiling, it felt as if the heavy burden that had been weighing him down and making it hard for him to breathe had been lifted off his shoulders all at once.

In the live chat, netizens started spamming the comments section.

[Marketing account: You'll never know how hard your parents work for you. Chen Chu: Stop reading marketing accounts. Hahahaha!]

Chen Chu's words were so well said. "These are things I was meant to do anyway,"—my parents have never said anything like that to me.

My parents' favorite saying is, "I work so hard all this time for you." Every time I hear it, I feel like a sinner.

I earn 30,000 yuan a month now, but I still don't dare to spend money. Every time I spend money, I remember my mom saying that our family is poor and that I need to be more sensible.