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

The next morning, the production crew came to our door.

Director Liu sat in Chen Chu's living room, holding a glass of cold water that Chen Chu had poured for him, his face full of embarrassment.

He took a sip of water and finally spoke: "Mr. Chen, we had a meeting regarding your live stream yesterday..."

Chen Chu leaned back on the sofa, legs crossed, expression nonchalant: "Well, and then?"

"Then we discussed it and felt that what you're doing might not be appropriate."

Director Liu was very careful with his words, trying to make his tone sound less like he was giving orders. "After all, the production team has its own rules. You're trying to make money by directing traffic from the show's live stream to your own. How should I put it... it's a bit like you're taking advantage of the production team."

Chen Chu was silent for a moment, then said confidently, "Seriously? You won't even let us take advantage of this?"

Director Liu was speechless at his reaction.

Chen Chu continued, his tone carrying a sense of self-righteousness: "I didn't steal or rob on the show. I attracted viewers and earned money through my own abilities. I didn't violate any laws or public order and good morals, so why shouldn't I be allowed to take advantage of them?"

He leaned back on the sofa and said, "Then I won't broadcast the show either."

Director Liu's expression instantly fell. He leaned forward, clasped his hands together, and pleaded in his voice.

"Mr. Chen, please stop threatening me, okay? I'm just a poor little director, with producers above me and audiences below me. I'm caught in the middle, not daring to be trusted by either side. If you don't air it, my show's ratings will drop drastically, and the bosses will definitely send me to the frontier."

Chen Chu looked at him, remained silent for a few seconds, and then smiled: "Okay, I won't tease you anymore. Now give me a solution."

Director Liu quickly sat up straight and cleared his throat: "We've discussed it. From now on, we won't interfere with how you drive traffic from the live stream. You can stream however you want. But the money earned from the live stream won't count towards the income from the event tasks. After all, the core of our program is to see different families' educational methods. If you do this, you'll be aiming directly for the championship. What are the other families competing for? The program won't be interesting anymore."

He glanced at Chen Chu cautiously. "Do you think this will work?"

Chen Chu thought for a moment and nodded: "That's fine."

After seeing Director Liu off, Chen Chu closed the door, turned around, and saw Chen Ziran standing at the entrance of the corridor. He was already wearing his school uniform and carrying his schoolbag, looking ready to leave.

"Dad, I'm going to school," Chen Ziran said.

Chen Chu was somewhat surprised: "Didn't you take the day off today? Aren't you staying home?"

"I'm tired of staying home every day," Chen Ziran said, straightening up after changing her shoes. "Besides, I don't know why, I suddenly feel like going to school. At home, I always want to play games; at least at school I can concentrate a bit more..."

He paused, not saying the second half of his sentence, and added that he didn't have to lose points playing duo queue with his dad at school.

Chen Chu leaned against the door frame, looking at his expression. He had a feeling that the kid was up to something, but he didn't expose him. He just nodded and said, "Okay, go ahead."

Chen Ziran was about to open the door when he stopped, turned around, and gave a perfectly timed, slightly worried look: "By the way, Dad, about that event... the money we earn from the live stream isn't included in our income, so doesn't that mean we'll be at the bottom?"

"Hmm, that seems to be true." Chen Chu scratched his head. "But it's okay. What your dad wants to tell you is that you should study hard, because studying can help you avoid a lot of detours. But if you don't want to study, life isn't just about studying. You can do whatever you want, as long as you're happy."

Chen Ziran stood there, gripping the doorknob, and after several seconds spoke, his voice softer than before: "Dad, you're so good to me."

Chen Chu reached out and patted him on the head: "Alright, stop being so mushy. Remember to come back early tonight and help your dad rank up."

Chen Ziran's expression of emotion instantly crumbled, replaced by a pained look: "...I understand."

He opened the door and strode out. The instant the door closed, Chen Chu vaguely heard him let out a long sigh of relief outside.

The breath he let out was particularly loud, carrying a joyful sense of relief.

The live chat was filled with laughter and cheers.

[Did you hear that, son? There were a lot of people outside just now. Dad has something to tell you. Remember to help your dad rank up tonight!]

[Hahaha, I heard Chen Ziran's long sigh from outside the door!]

[Chen Ziran: I hid at school to avoid playing games, and you expect me to come back at night and help you rank up?! What did I do wrong?!]

[But honestly, what Chen Chu said just now was really good. Studying is the most cost-effective path, but it's not the only one. He just wants his child to be happy.]

I'm so upset, he doesn't want anything, he just wants you to be happy.

Physical education class on the playground of Shude Middle School.

Free time has arrived.

Chen Ziran sat on the steps of the flower bed by the playground, holding a bottle of iced tea he had just bought from the convenience store. He didn't open it, but just twirled the bottle around, tapping the cap with his fingertips.

He kept thinking about what Chen Chu had said that morning: "So what if we come in last place? It doesn't matter." He didn't care about winning or losing, but he didn't want to embarrass his father.

He unscrewed the bottle cap and took a sip, his gaze sweeping aimlessly across the playground. He happened to see several classmates walking from the other end of the playground toward the convenience store.

The person at the front, wiping away sweat, complained, "It's so hot! Why is the convenience store so far away?" The person next to him chimed in, "Yeah, it takes ten minutes to go back and forth, by which time the school bell will have rung."

He does not mean that.

Chen Ziran's thoughts suddenly stopped.

He recalled what he had just seen in the corridor: students from several classes ran to the school store to buy water during their break, because the school store was at the other end of the playground, far from the teaching building, and it would take at least seven or eight minutes to go back and forth.

What if someone sells water near the teaching building?

They could even deliver it right to the classroom door!

He put down the bottle of iced tea and looked at the small shop that seemed particularly distant under the blazing sun. An idea was rapidly taking shape in his mind.

……

Meanwhile, the air pressure in Xu Ziang's living room was very low.

Xu Danian sat at the dining table with a thick stack of printed flyers in front of him, probably two or three hundred in total, featuring promotional material for a newly opened supermarket nearby.

He pushed the stack of flyers in front of Xu Ziang: "You can't work on the construction site, but you can at least hand out flyers, right? At your age, you don't even have the ability to support yourself."

Xu Ziang lowered his head, said nothing, and reached out to take the stack of flyers.

Xu Danian leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, his tone as lecturing as ever: "Kids abroad, your age, are already earning their own tuition. They go out to work at eighteen to help support their families, and they can even take the college entrance exams on their own. You should learn from them, instead of staying at home all day like a good-for-nothing."

Xu Ziang remained silent.

He stood up, stuffed the stack of flyers into his bag, lowered his head, changed his shoes, pushed open the door, and walked out. The door closed behind him.