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

Zhou Zhenyang hung up the phone from the program director, tossed his phone onto the slightly messy desk, and let out a long sigh. Outside the room, the sound of the television and his parents' hushed conversation mingled together.

Hearing the noise in the bedroom, Zhou's mother pushed open the door and came in, carrying a plate of cut fruit.

She looked at Zhou Zhenyang, her brows furrowed slightly, her tone tinged with confusion and reproach: "Yangyang, I overheard you on the phone outside just now. Are you not planning to go record that TV program? Why not? It's such a big deal that the TV station invited you; it's such a great opportunity to get exposure!"

Zhou's mother slammed the fruit plate down on the table and continued muttering, "Your neighbor Aunt Wang's son was practically handing out flyers all over the neighborhood just to get on that local TV station in the district. And you, you're turning down such a good opportunity. What on earth are you up to?"

Zhou Zhenyang rubbed his aching temples and patiently explained, "Mom, my project has reached a critical point, and I'll be joining the group to do experiments soon. Which is more important, scientific research or appearing on TV? I don't have time to record those variety shows, and that's not where I belong."

"Doing experiments?" Mr. Zhou, who had appeared at the door sometime earlier, immediately brightened upon hearing this, his previously somewhat displeased expression instantly transforming into a radiant smile. "Doing experiments is good! This is a matter of national importance!"

Mr. Zhou immediately turned to Mrs. Zhou, his tone brimming with barely suppressed pride: "I knew our son was so insightful! Going on TV is something actors do. Our Yangyang is a scholar, a scientist! He's contributing to the country!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou's mother immediately understood. The resentment on her face vanished instantly, replaced by undisguised pride. She excitedly wiped her hands on her apron and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, doing experiments is good, doing experiments is the right thing to do! You go ahead with your work, Mom won't bother you anymore."

After saying that, the elderly couple left the room excitedly. Less than two minutes later, Zhou Zhenyang's WeChat notifications started going off like crazy.

He clicked on it and saw that it was full of messages from the relatives' group chat. Zhou's father couldn't wait to post about it on his WeChat Moments and in the family group chat.

"My son, though not very talented, resolutely declined a lucrative offer from the provincial television station for the sake of the nation's scientific research. He said that appearing on television to grab attention is meaningless; only by focusing on experiments can one make the greatest contribution to society. As his father, I am deeply gratified!"

The accompanying photo is a candid shot of Zhou Zhenyang's back in the study.

Below, rows of relatives gave their thumbs up, showering the viewer with compliments.

"Hey, Lao Zhou, your Yangyang's really doing great!"

"Our Zhou family is about to produce a great scientist!"

"I knew Yangyang was extraordinary from a young age; his awareness now is amazing!"

Looking at the extremely exaggerated praise on the screen, Zhou Zhenyang felt like he was being pricked by needles, and he got goosebumps all over.

He simply couldn't stand this suffocating "vain" display of wealth; the embarrassment of being roasted over a fire made him unable to stay a second longer.

He grabbed his coat and fled from home, heading straight for the research institute's laboratory.

Upon entering the laboratory building, the familiar and quiet atmosphere calmed Zhou Zhenyang's agitated mind somewhat.

He had just changed into his white lab coat and hadn't even had time to set up the equipment when the door to the director's office opened. The project leader, with a full head of white hair, beckoned to him, his expression somewhat serious: "Zhenyang, come here for a moment."

Zhou Zhenyang's heart tightened, and he quickly walked into the office, closing the door behind him.

"Director, you wanted to see me?"

The leader placed his hands on the table, his gaze fixed intently on Zhou Zhenyang, and said in a low, serious voice, "Zhenyang, this new experiment in our group has a very high level of confidentiality according to the official documents. Since you're involved, you must strictly adhere to the confidentiality agreement. Not a single word about the experimental data, progress, or even our current research direction can be revealed to outsiders. Understand?"

Zhou Zhenyang's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately stood up straight, solemnly agreeing: "Don't worry, Director, I know all the confidentiality regulations and will never divulge a single word to anyone."

After leaving the director's office, Zhou Zhenyang returned to his workstation, his tense nerves relaxing slightly. He adjusted the centrifuge while inwardly chuckling to himself.

In fact, as a front-line operator, he knew very well that although this experiment had a prestigious name, its core principle was not complicated. To put it bluntly, it was just a very routine basic data comparison experiment.

To say that it involves some top-secret technology that could change the world is pure nonsense.

But that's how it is in scientific research; confidentiality agreements are paramount, procedures are procedures, and rules are rules. It's not that serious, but confidentiality must be maintained. As long as you don't blabber on and spread rumors, there won't be any problems.

……

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the recording studio had plummeted to freezing point.

Chen Chu's remarks about "parents transferring their own incompetence to their children" were like a hurricane, completely tearing away the hypocritical masks of some parents present.

Zhou Liying stood frozen in place, her face turning from red to white, then from white to pale, her chest heaving violently. She felt as if everyone's gaze was piercing her like needles, and the embarrassment and shame of being exposed in public almost made her lose her mind.

Unable to refute Chen Chu's impeccable logic, her pent-up anger finally erupted like a burst dam, pouring entirely onto her daughter, who had been keeping her head down and remaining silent beside her.

"What are you looking at! Are you pretending to be dead with your head down?!" Zhou Liying suddenly grabbed her daughter's arm, her voice shrill and almost cracking, her features contorted with anger. "If you were even a little bit more ambitious, if you were even slightly better, would I be standing here today being yelled at like this? Would I be so humble, begging everyone for advice on how to teach you?!"

The girl trembled at her mother's sudden action, her thin shoulders instinctively shrinking together. She bit her lip hard, her eyes brimming with tears, but stubbornly refused to let them fall, responding to her mother's rage with an almost numb silence.

This appearance, however, further enraged Zhou Liying.

"Speak up! Are you mute?!" Zhou Liying poked the girl's forehead hard with her finger, spitting everywhere. "Who am I working so hard for? Isn't it all for you, this debt collector! Look at you now, like a dead pig that's not afraid of boiling water. I'm cursing you, and you don't even fart! You're such an idiot! Just like your useless father, you can't even get a fart out of him!"

The more Zhou Liying cursed, the more aggrieved she felt, her voice even trembling with tears, but her words grew increasingly vicious: "How come other people's children are so smart, so sensible? And you? When I talk to you, your eyes are always wandering off, are you just daydreaming? Is your brain full of mush?! How could I have given birth to such a useless thing like you!"

The girl lowered her head even further, her nails digging deep into her palms, like a soulless puppet, enduring her mother's harsh words.

The entire venue was deathly silent, save for the echoing hysterical curses of Zhou Liying.

Many people frowned in dismay, but no one dared to step forward and risk offending them.

"Bang!"

A dull thud suddenly interrupted Zhou Liying's cursing.

Everyone turned to look at the source of the sound, and saw Chen Chu slamming his water glass heavily onto the table. Water splashed out, but he didn't seem to care.

Chen Chu abruptly stood up, his eyes, which usually held a hint of nonchalant amusement, now filled with undisguised rage. He strode to the edge of the stage, looking down at Zhou Liying with a chilling gaze, his voice as sharp and piercing as a polar wind.

"Ms. Zhou, I've been watching you for a full three minutes now," Chen Chu said, each word deliberate and forceful. "From just now until now, I've watched you treat your own daughter like a class enemy, viciously insulting and belittling her."

He took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to overturn the table, and demanded sharply, "I want to ask you, you have a mouth, besides using it to spray venom, can't you say a single human word? Why do you always curse her, but never praise her?!"

Zhou Liying was so intimidated by Chen Chu's imposing manner that she took a half step back and subconsciously loosened her grip on her daughter's arm.

Chen Chu gave her no chance to breathe, pressing on relentlessly: "Just now backstage, just now on stage, you were praising the other guests' children, praising those complete strangers with whom you have no blood relation, saying 'So smart,' 'So excellent,' your words of praise were more abundant than the Pacific Ocean! But what about your own child?"

Chen Chu pointed at the trembling girl, his eyes sharp: "You'd rather give all the flowers and applause to complete strangers than offer even the slightest word of encouragement to your daughter! Calling her an idiot one minute and useless the next, are you family or blood enemies?!"

These words were a wake-up call, directly tearing open the most hidden corner of Zhou Liying's heart.

Zhou Liying was stunned. She looked at Chen Chu, whose expression was cold and stern, then at the accusing gazes around her, and her fragile pride resurfaced. She forced herself to straighten her neck and muttered a retort under her breath, "I...I discipline my own child, that's my right as a mother! I'm disciplining her for her own good, what's it to you? Why are you meddling!"

Chen Chu sneered, a mocking smile playing on his lips, and retorted crisply, "What does this have to do with me? Ms. Zhou, is your memory failing you? Weren't you the one who stubbornly stood here asking me how to educate your child? What, now that I'm telling you where the problem lies, you're complaining that I'm meddling?"

Zhou Liying was choked, her face turning red. She stammered for a long time before finally managing to utter a weak, feeble sentence: "But...but that's just how this child is! She's terrible at everything, she can't do anything right, she really has no redeeming qualities! What am I supposed to use to praise her? Am I supposed to lie through my teeth?!"

"No merits?" Chen Chu seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He looked at Zhou Liying with a sad and angry gaze. "In this world, no one is born perfect, and no one is born worthless."

Chen Chu's voice softened a bit, but the weight in his tone grew heavier: "Ms. Zhou, do you know what a 'strength' is? Often, a child's so-called shining point may start as just a tiny seed, or it may just be that she has developed a little interest in something, even something insignificant."

He pointed at the girl and said in a deep voice, "Perhaps she has a talent for drawing, perhaps she has strong practical skills, perhaps she is simply more empathetic than others. But as her closest relatives in this world, her parents, you haven't observed her carefully, haven't nurtured this seed with your hearts!"

Chen Chu's voice rose again, echoing throughout the studio: "Not only do you not encourage her, but you also brutally stifle these interests because they can't immediately translate into high scores on exams! Day after day, you constantly suppress her, verbally abusing her with the most vicious language, trampling her self-esteem underfoot! After all this comprehensive destruction, you now actually come to ask me, how much brilliance can you expect from such a scarred child?!"

"Ms. Zhou, you were the one who extinguished the light in her eyes, and now you blame her for not shining bright enough?!"

Dead silence.

The huge studio was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Chen Chu's words, like a resounding bell, not only shocked Zhou Liying but also struck a chord in the hearts of every parent present.

Upon hearing Chen Chu's words, the expressions of the surrounding parents began to change. Their anger faded, replaced by a deep, somewhat painful reflection.

Because they suddenly realized that Zhou Liying's behavior at this moment was not an isolated case at all.

This could even be described as a universal and appalling microcosm of the tragedy of their entire generation.

Among the audience were young parents in their thirties who had just become parents.

When Chen Chu uttered words like "preferring to praise outsiders rather than encourage children" and "constantly suppressing and insulting," their thoughts were instantly pulled back to twenty or thirty years ago.

They were reminded of their own childhood.

Their parents' behavior back then is so similar to Zhou Liying's repulsive appearance on stage now!

No matter how well you did back then, how many perfect scores you got, or how many chores you did for your family, you never received a word of affirmation from your parents.

"What's there to be proud of? Look at so-and-so!"

"Don't get cocky, you're just lucky!"

Whenever outsiders are present, parents will always belittle themselves to the point of being worthless. No matter how much praise others give them, parents will immediately wave their hands and use the harshest language to negate their worth.

"Oh, no, no, that child is as stupid as a pig!"

"He's no good. He's stubborn and dull-witted; he won't amount to much. Your child is much smarter and more intelligent!"

It was as if only by belittling their children to the point of worthlessness could they demonstrate their "humility" and "good upbringing" as parents. In fact, in the educational philosophy of that era, the more desperately one belittled their children and the more one practiced "repressive education," the more correct it was considered.

Chen Chu's words were like a sharp carving knife, cutting through the scabs of time and instantly transporting them back to their childhood filled with grievances and confusion.

Although later, when they grew up and became more sensible, some people told them that it was a unique kind of "humility" of Chinese parents, that their parents were protecting them in a roundabout way, preventing them from becoming arrogant and complacent.

They also forced themselves to understand and let go.

However, when they close their eyes at this moment, and when those past memories flood back like a tide, they still feel an uncontrollable tightness and discomfort in their chest.

Can that deep-seated inferiority complex, that psychological trauma of feeling unworthy of happiness no matter how hard you try, really be erased by a simple "humility"?

Why?

Many parents in their thirties had tears in their eyes, silently asking themselves these questions.

Why was it that back then, my parents were so generous and unreserved in showering other people's children with praise and smiles, yet they would never lower their heads and utter even a single word of praise for me?

Could it be that... that version of myself who longed for my parents' approval back then, that version of myself who secretly shed tears in the dead of night, was really so terrible, so unworthy of a single word of praise?