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

The lights were a bit too bright, illuminating every minute detail of the micro-expressions of everyone on and off the stage.

An invisible smell of gunpowder permeated the air, the aftershocks of a fierce clash between two generations and two educational philosophies.

Sitting in the guest seat, Chen Chu listened to the indignant speeches of the parents opposite him. Instead of getting angry, he couldn't help but laugh.

He shook his head, a slightly mocking and helpless smile playing on his lips. His long, slender fingers tapped lightly on the table, the "tap-tap" sound particularly clear in the studio, which had been quiet for a moment.

"Dear parents, do you place too much importance on the word 'grades,' even more so than on everything else?"

Chen Chu's gaze slowly swept across the entire room, his tone calm yet penetrating, "In this world, there are countless things that have a far greater impact than poor grades."

He held up one finger and slowly said, "If a child is in a bad mood, suppresses it for a long time, and becomes depressed, isn't that a big deal? If they don't eat well, become malnourished, or overeat and ruin their stomach and intestines, and get sick, isn't that a big deal? If they stay up all night doing homework and don't sleep well, resulting in lethargy the next day, or even neurasthenia... Aren't these things important?"

Chen Chu's voice wasn't loud, but every word he uttered was like a small hammer, striking the hearts of everyone present.

"In my opinion, any one of the things I mentioned above, taken individually, would be a huge problem for a growing child. In fact, these issues concerning their physical and mental health are far more serious than what you call 'academic problems'!"

These words immediately caused a stir among the audience.

Many parents looked at each other, feeling that Chen Chu's words were somewhat unorthodox, but upon closer examination, they could not find any reason to refute them.

After all, no one dares to say that grades are more important than life.

However, there are always some people who are not convinced.

Zhou Liying, who was sitting in the front row of the parents' representative seats, suddenly stood up. Her brows were furrowed and her face was flushed, clearly showing her extreme dissatisfaction with Chen Chu's "casual" attitude.

"Teacher Chen!" Zhou Liying clenched her fists, her voice trembling slightly with excitement, "Isn't that a bit of an easy thing to say, since you're not in my shoes?"

She took a deep breath, like a lioness protecting her cubs, ready to unleash all the grievances and resentment in her heart: "Who doesn't know that you, Chen Chu, have a high vantage point and a far-sighted vision? Your child has been smart since childhood, with excellent grades, so you don't need to worry about him at all. What's more, your wife is the owner of a huge company with astonishing net worth! Your family has the resources, so you can sit here so casually, talking at length about 'quality education' and 'balanced upbringing of children'."

Zhou Liying's eyes reddened slightly, her voice filled with the bitterness and helplessness of an ordinary person: "But what about us? We're just the most ordinary, most mundane working people in this society! We don't have vast wealth, we don't have social resources. If our children don't work hard now, if they don't strive relentlessly for those grades, they won't even be able to live a good life in the future!"

At this point, Zhou Liying became increasingly agitated, even adopting a questioning tone: "Furthermore, Ms. Chen, please don't stand on your moral high ground and criticize us. Do you think we don't want to work hard to provide a better life for our child? We leave early and come home late every day, have to put up with our bosses at work, and act subservient to clients. We've already done everything we can! We've placed all our hopes on our child, is that wrong?!"

The studio was completely silent, except for Zhou Liying's slightly heavy breathing.

These words resonated with countless ordinary parents present, and many silently lowered their heads, their eyes welling up with tears.

Yes, what other options are there for children from ordinary families besides studying?

Despite Zhou Liying's tearful and highly inflammatory accusations, Chen Chu's smile did not diminish in the slightest. He was not intimidated by her imposing manner; instead, his gaze sharpened.

"First," Chen Chu held up a finger, "what does 'good grades are necessary for balanced development' mean? Balanced development refers to the all-round development of morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor skills; it refers to a sound personality and mental maturity. Does this have a necessary causal relationship with whether a family is rich or poor, or whether a child's grades are good or bad? Does that mean children from ordinary families don't deserve mental health or a happy childhood?"

Zhou Liying was stunned for a moment, opened her mouth, but found that she could not refute this point of view.

"Secondly," Chen Chu's tone grew increasingly forceful, his eyes piercing Zhou Liying's heart like two sharp swords, "what does it mean that 'children won't have a good life if they don't work hard'?"

He abruptly stood up, placed his hands on the table, leaned forward, and an imposing aura instantly enveloped the entire studio: "Ms. Zhou, parents, I ask you, isn't this so-called good life earned through the hard work and struggle of your own generation? If you feel your current life isn't good enough, it's because your own abilities and efforts aren't sufficient! Since you yourselves want a good life, why force a teenager to work for you? Why make your child bear your anxieties about upward mobility?!"

These words were like a bombshell, exploding directly in the studio.

Zhou Liying was choked by the barrage of questions, her face turning pale and then red. She stared intently at Chen Chu, her lips trembling, her mind blank, unsure how to answer for a long time.

She originally thought she represented the hardships of the lower classes, but she never expected Chen Chu to tear away that veil of warmth and expose the cruelest truth: many parents are actually using the method of forcing their children to work hard to cover up their own incompetence and laziness.

The other parents were also shocked, as if struck by lightning.

Although Chen Chu's words were sharp, harsh, and merciless, they were like a scalpel, precisely cutting open the abscesses deep within their hearts that they had never dared to face.

The deeply inspired parents fell into a long silence, and the atmosphere at the scene was so oppressive it was almost frightening.

But Zhou Liying was still unconvinced. Gritting her teeth, as if grasping at the last straw, she loudly retorted, "Stop trying to change the subject! How can these be the same? Can studying and working be the same?!"

She seemed to have regained her confidence, her voice rising eight octaves: "In school, as long as you're willing to work hard, as long as you're willing to memorize and do practice problems, you'll definitely be rewarded, and your grades will definitely improve! But it's not like that in the workplace. Hard work doesn't guarantee a reward; the world is too complicated! That's why I'm forcing him to endure the hardships of studying now, so he'll suffer less in the workplace later!"

Upon hearing this classic example of "paternalistic sophistry," Chen Chu couldn't help but burst out laughing.

He looked at Zhou Liying as if she were a joke.

"Ms. Zhou, your statement is a complete fallacy of misrepresentation. Learning is just like working; how can they be different?"

Chen Chu smiled and shook his head. "You've sanctified learning. To put it bluntly, learning is nothing more than a 'highly cost-effective' activity during your student years."

Chen Chu picked up his water glass to moisten his throat and continued, "Essentially, there isn't much difference between work and study. They are both behaviors in which humans expend mental or physical labor to achieve a certain goal and thereby obtain corresponding rewards. Work yields a salary and a position, while study yields grades and a degree, nothing more."

"Even..." Chen Chu changed the subject, his tone tinged with a hint of emotion, "If we analyze it from a human nature perspective, learning experiences in certain aspects are even far less valuable than working."

"Think about it carefully, everyone. Although work is hard, it is a choice made by adults after weighing the pros and cons. The most important thing is that you earn your own money and spend it yourself. Every month when your salary is deposited into your card, you can immediately use it to buy ribs to eat or new clothes to wear. This kind of positive material feedback is real and immediate."

"But what about studying?" Chen Chu spread his hands. "That's right, everyone can talk about grand principles, and the knowledge you gain through studying is yours to keep. But can that knowledge be immediately converted into cash? If you memorize a classical Chinese text today, can you exchange it for a hamburger? If you solve a conic section problem, can you spend two hours at an internet cafe? No!"

Looking at the parents deep in thought below the stage, Chen Chu analyzed, word by word, "The positive feedback cycle of learning is too long, so long that it can take several years or even more than a decade to see any substantial return. For a child whose mind is not yet fully mature, this extremely long period of delayed gratification, this meager positive feedback, is definitely much more painful than working!"

"You always think that work is hard, and that children sitting in bright classrooms, sheltered from the wind and rain, must have it easy. But let's think about it honestly: isn't learning hard? Isn't it boring?"

Chen Chu's gaze was full of insight, piercing straight to the heart: "Everyone here, who didn't go through their student days? Ask yourselves honestly, when you were sitting in the classroom back then, were you truly able to dedicate yourselves fully to your studies every day, without any distractions? Were you truly able to shield yourselves from all temptations, striving solely for that vague and uncertain future?"

This soul-searching question plunged the entire studio into a deathly silence.

Many parents instinctively avoided Chen Chu's gaze, their faces showing embarrassment and shame.

They all silently agreed in their hearts, and some even couldn't help but nod slightly, indicating that it was impossible.

After all, they know best what kind of people they were during their student days—passing notes in class, reading novels, dozing off, copying homework…these are all old, trivial things.

Why should we expect our children to do things perfectly, like ascetics, when we ourselves couldn't do them back then?

In the slightly awkward atmosphere, a male parent sitting in the corner suddenly raised his hand, unwilling to be left out, and shouted, "Teacher Chen, that's not necessarily true! People grow up and become more sensible. If I could go back to junior high and high school right now, with all my memories, I would definitely study as hard as I could and wouldn't waste a single second!"

As soon as the male parent finished speaking, he had a strange confidence on his face that seemed to say, "If I could live my life again, I would definitely be king."

Chen Chu looked at him, a hint of undisguised mockery flashing in his eyes.

He didn't even get up, but just glanced coldly at the male parent, his tone icy and sharp: "This parent, if you really want to work hard, you don't need to wait for time to go back to junior high or high school. You can start learning new skills right now, you can start working hard, working overtime like crazy, and desperately trying to make money through side hustles."

Chen Chu paused, a mocking smile playing on his lips: "But why aren't you studying properly now? Why aren't you working hard and striving to improve yourself? Instead, you're pinning your hopes on that vague idea of ​​'going back to the past'?"

Before the male parent could argue, Chen Chu delivered the fatal blow: "Because you only talk about working hard, you naturally feel it's easy!"

"Someone who, at their current age and in their current living conditions, refuses to work hard or strive for their family's well-being, actually has the audacity to claim that they could overcome all laziness and study diligently if they went back to junior or senior high school? It's utterly ridiculous!"

Chen Chu's ruthless and scathing remarks instantly ignited the entire audience.

Many people were stunned for a moment, and then burst out laughing on the spot.

"Hahaha, that's amazing!"

"Exactly! If you don't even want to work hard now, how can you expect to go back in time and be a top student?"

"That's so true. Who isn't a master of empty talk?"

The atmosphere instantly shifted from oppressive to cheerful. Indeed, Chen Chu had an exceptional eye for people, tearing apart their inherent hypocrisy and self-indulgence.

At the same time, the barrage comments in the online live streaming rooms have also experienced a complete explosion.

Netizens thoroughly enjoyed the performance, exclaiming how satisfying it was, as if Chen Chu had swept away years of pent-up resentment, giving them a true sense of triumph.

The screen was filled with a dense barrage of comments, almost completely obscuring the view.

[Holy crap! Chen Gou is awesome! Did he borrow a machine gun for his mouth? The output is insane!]

[Chen Gou is right! If you want a good life, you have to work your ass off to earn it. What kind of skill is it to have a child and force them to fly for you?]

[So true! My parents are like that too. They play mahjong all day, and when they come home they scold me for not studying. I wanted to say that to them back then!]

Chen Gou comparing studying to working sounds strange at first, but upon closer inspection, it seems absolutely right! In fact, the cost-effectiveness of studying is getting lower and lower these days!

[Well said! That male parent I just spoke to was hilarious. People who only talk the talk will definitely say the nicest things. If you really let him take a certification exam now, he'd probably fall asleep after reading for two minutes.]

[As expected of Chen Gou, he's a master at dealing with all kinds of hypocrisy and defiance!]

Online opinion is almost unanimously in support of Chen Chu.

Just then, Zhao Shuilan, who had been sitting in the next seat, also picked up the microphone.

She tried to ease the tense atmosphere by saying, "I completely agree with and support Professor Chen Chu's point that 'parents should not transfer their own anxieties to their children.' Professor Chen's words, though sharp, were indeed very insightful."

Zhao Shuilan changed the subject, her tone becoming gentle and rational: "However, Teacher Chen, I think we need to clarify another issue to avoid misunderstandings among the audience. These parents, like Ms. Zhou, may have problematic methods and motivations in forcing their children, but we cannot deny the value of 'effort' itself."

Looking at the camera, she said earnestly, "For children themselves, studying and working hard are ultimately for the sake of having more choices in the future. Parents shouldn't force them, but there's nothing wrong with children's spontaneous efforts! Effort is not a sin, striving is not wrong!"

Zhao Shuilan's supplement was very insightful, and this time not many people disagreed with her...

……

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, in a luxury suite of an upscale hotel.

Zhou Zhenyang was sitting on the sofa, holding his phone, his eyes fixed on the screen showing Chen Chu's live stream.

On the screen, Chen Chu's words, "Why force children to work hard for you?" still echoed in my ears.

Zhou Zhenyang's expression was somewhat complicated, sometimes lost in thought, sometimes with a wry smile. After a long while, he sighed deeply, picked up another cell phone from the coffee table, and dialed the program director's number.

The call was answered quickly.

"Hey, Lao Li, it's me, Lao Zhou." Zhou Zhenyang's tone was very calm. "Well, I've thought about it carefully, and I think I won't be participating in the next episode. I've got a lot of projects on hand lately, and I'm just too busy."

Li Minghui on the other end of the phone was visibly taken aback for a moment, but then didn't try to persuade him further, readily agreeing, "Oh dear, that's a real shame, Lao Zhou. Since you're busy, let's work together again next time!"

After hanging up the phone, Li Minghui sighed.

In fact, he knew perfectly well that the production team initially invited Zhou Zhenyang purely because he was their classmate, essentially giving him free publicity.

……

In the hotel room, Zhou Zhenyang tossed his phone onto the sofa and turned his gaze back to Chen Chu on the live stream screen.

He shook his head with a wry smile.

"You really dare to say that..."

Zhou Zhenyang leaned back on the sofa, looked up at the ceiling, and sighed deeply, "Yes, he's right... In the end, hard work is for yourself. If you want a better life, you have to fight for it and work hard."

He pictured the parents standing outside the tutoring center, their eyes filled with fervor and anxiety, gazing longingly at their children.

"Instead of... holding a whip, like a cruel slave owner, frantically lashing and forcing his child forward from behind..." Zhou Zhenyang murmured to himself, completely lost in reflection.