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

The days that followed were like they were on fast-forward. The countdown on the blackboard dwindled day by day, test papers were handed out one by one, and the classroom was so quiet that only the scratching sound of pens scratching paper could be heard.

Li Lele felt like a rubber band stretched to its limit.

I get up at six in the morning and go to bed at 11:30 at night. The time in between is divided into countless small pieces by classes and tutoring, and each piece is filled to the brim.

She couldn't remember the last time she chatted with her classmates, nor could she remember what it felt like to have a quiet meal.

That evening, it was almost nine o'clock when her tutoring get out of class ended. She walked out of the school building with her backpack, the streetlights at the school gate casting long shadows. She stood under one of the streetlights, not moving forward, just standing there for a long time, looking at her shadow on the ground.

The next day at breakfast, she put down her chopsticks, lowered her head, and spoke in a soft voice, but each word was very clear.

"Mom, I don't want to have tutoring anymore."

Li Lele's mother paused for a moment with her chopsticks.

"What did you say?"

"I don't want to have tutoring anymore," Li Lele repeated, her voice even softer than before, but not completely gone. "It's too tiring."

Her mother put down her chopsticks, stared at her for a long while, and her expression changed from surprise to coldness: "Do you know how much that tutoring class costs per session? Your father and I scrimped and saved to send you to school, and you just say 'it's too tiring' and then refuse to go?"

"I really can't take it anymore..."

"You have to endure it, even if you can't!" Mom's voice suddenly rose. "Do you think I wanted you to be this tired? Who am I doing this for? The more hardship you endure now, the less hardship you'll endure in the future! If you give up now, what will you do later? What if you don't get into a good high school? What if you don't get into a good university? Do you want to spend your whole life toiling in the mud like us?"

Li Lele kept her head down, her knuckles white as she gripped the chopsticks, her shoulders trembling slightly, and she didn't say anything more.

The porridge on the table had gone cold. She didn't touch it again.

……

Chen Ziran's home.

The desk was piled high with test papers and exercise books, and a handwritten countdown was pasted on the wall: "Three days until the monthly exam." Chen Ziran was slumped over the desk, a physics problem spread out in front of him. He had been staring at it for almost ten minutes, and the three auxiliary lines he had drawn on his scratch paper were all wrong.

He suddenly threw his pen on the table, leaned back, and let out a long sigh.

Chen Chu poked half his body into the living room: "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to study anymore." Chen Ziran stared at the ceiling, his tone filled with a sense of emptiness and weariness.

Chen Chu walked in, sat down in the chair next to the desk, and waited for him to finish his sentence.

After a moment of silence, Chen Ziran spoke up: "Dad, I don't want to play games anymore."

Chen Chu was taken aback. He looked at Chen Ziran's serious face; it didn't seem like he was joking. These words coming from Chen Ziran were even more surprising than him getting a perfect score on a test.

"If you don't want to fight, then don't." Chen Chu leaned back in his chair, speaking casually. "Then let's take a break and go for a walk."

Chen Ziran didn't speak, nor did he stand up. He remained leaning back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the open test paper on the table, as if he were struggling with something. After a long while, he finally spoke, his voice muffled: "I just feel... there's not enough time. The monthly exam is in three days, and I still have several test papers to finish, and a few question types I haven't figured out. If I don't get 550 points, Mom won't let my sister off the hook."

Chen Chu looked at him, paused for a moment, and then stood up: "Wait here for me for a while."

He left the room, and returned a while later with a cup of hot milk. He placed the milk in front of Chen Ziran: "Drink this first."

Chen Ziran picked up the cup and took a sip. The warm liquid slid down his throat, and his tense shoulders relaxed slightly.

"Son, listen to me." Chen Chu sat down on the edge of the bed, looking into his eyes. "You want to do well on the exam, you want to protect your sister, that's a good idea. But if you push yourself to the limit, who will score 550 points?"

Chen Ziran held the cup without saying a word.

"There are still three days until the monthly exam. You can't possibly learn everything in three days. But you don't need to learn everything either. You just need to make sure you get the points you know. Go to bed early and review tomorrow morning. It's much more efficient than staying up all night to cram."

Chen Ziran held the glass of milk, remained silent for a while, then nodded. He finished the milk, stood up, put the glass in the kitchen sink, and turned to walk back to his bedroom. At the door, he turned back and said, "Goodnight, Dad."

"Good night."

In the live chat, netizens couldn't help but sigh as they watched this scene.

This is the first time I've seen someone who doesn't want to play games.

It's not that I don't want to play games, it's that I'm more sensible now and know what's important.

This kid has really grown up. A little over a month ago, he would never have said something like "I don't want to play games."

On one side, they're being pushed to the brink of collapse but still stubbornly holding on; on the other, they know they're tired and say they want to rest. The gap between the two families is becoming increasingly apparent.

When Li Lele said she didn't want to attend tutoring, her mother said, "You have to endure it even if you can't stand it." When Chen Ziran said he didn't want to play video games, his father said, "If you don't want to play, then don't." The same "I don't want to" received completely different responses.