Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

The first round is over.

Wu Jiayuan gathered the cards into a stack and put them back on the coffee table, then clapped her hands: "Alright, alright, the first round of the easy kind is over, let's move on to the second round."

"The second round of in-depth analysis." Lin Zhen read the label on the box. "The production team is quite good at dividing things up."

"What does 'going deeper' mean?" Sun Zhuohang asked nervously. "Even more ruthless than before?"

"You'll know once you see what you draw." Jiang Yining had already reached into the box.

The six people took turns drawing cards for the second round. He Xu glanced down at his card, which had a line of text written on it:

Do you think a person needs to take good care of themselves before they are qualified to love others?

He tucked the card into his lap and didn't speak immediately.

"Let's go in order." Wu Jiayuan gathered the cards together. "I asked first in the first round, so how about starting with Lin Zhen this time?"

Lin Zhen adjusted his glasses, flipped the card over, glanced at it, and then looked up: "Then I'll ask Teacher Jiang."

Jiang Yining sat up a little straighter: "Come on."

My question is: "When two people are together, do you think similarities are more important, or complementarity?"

Jiang Yining tilted her head slightly and tapped her knee lightly with her fingers twice: "...Let's complement each other."

Why?

"Because I'm a very talkative person," Jiang Yining chuckled to herself. "If I were to find someone who talks as much as me, we'd be constantly vying to talk, and we couldn't possibly get along."

"I need to find someone quiet, someone who can listen to me ramble on and occasionally give me a response. But I can't find someone too boring, someone who won't even answer when I talk to them, or I'll go crazy."

She thought for a moment and added, "So complementarity means that he can keep up with what I'm saying, but he doesn't have to be as talkative as me. He has his rhythm, and I have mine. The two of us complement each other perfectly."

Lin Zhen nodded: "I understand perfectly well."

"And what about you?" Jiang Yining countered, "Do you think they're similar or complementary?"

"That's not a question I need to answer," Lin Zhen said.

"Hey, Lin Lu, why are you being so petty? Fine, then let me ask you the question I drew—"

Jiang Yining flipped the card over and glanced at it: "Lawyer Lin, I have a question for you."

Lin Zhen sat up a little straighter: "Go on."

My question is: "When two people are together, do you think it's more important for them to have compatible values ​​or for them to have similar feelings?"

Lin Zhen adjusted his glasses, thought for a few seconds, and then said, "Having similar values ​​is important."

Why?

"Feelings come and go quickly," Lin Zhen explained. "You might have feelings for someone today, but they might be gone tomorrow. But if your values ​​are different, those values ​​are fundamental; they determine how you view money, family, work, and right and wrong. If your values ​​clash, even if you feel a strong connection, you'll eventually argue."

Jiang Yining nodded: "So what if you meet someone you feel a strong connection with, but after talking to them a few times you find that your values ​​are very different? What would you do?"

"Cold salad," Lin Zhen said.

There was a moment of silence on the sofa, then Wu Jiayuan was the first to burst out laughing: "Lawyer Lin, you're being way too decisive!"

"Otherwise what?" Lin Zhen pushed up his glasses, his expression serious. "The longer you talk to someone whose values ​​don't align with yours, the more uncomfortable it becomes. This feeling is more tiring than arguing. At least when you argue, you're on the same level. But when your values ​​don't align, it's like talking to a brick wall; you just can't see eye to eye."

Jiang Yining nodded without arguing, and put the card down: "I agree—who's next to ask? Teacher He?"

He Xu flipped his card over, glanced at it, and then turned to look at Zhuang Wenmin: "Zhuang Wenmin, I have a question for you."

Zhuang Wenmin turned her head to look at him: "Mm."

He Xu lowered his head and read aloud the words on the card: "Do you think a person must first take good care of themselves before they are qualified to love others?"

This was clearly a profound question, and everyone listened with thoughtful expressions.

Zhuang Wenmin leaned back on the sofa armrest and remained silent for a few seconds: "I think the question itself is problematic."

"How so?"

"It treats 'living well' and 'loving others' as two separate things that must be prioritized," Zhuang Wenmin said. "It's as if you have to meet a certain standard before you have the right to love others. But what does 'living well' mean? Is it having money? Owning a house? A successful career? Or a mature mindset? Everyone's standards are different."

She paused, her gaze shifting from He Xu's face to the glass of water on the coffee table, then back again: "I've seen many people whose own lives are a mess, but when they're in a relationship, they're incredibly good to their partners. I've also seen people who are extremely successful in their careers and have very regular lives, but when they're in a relationship, they become incredibly selfish. So this has little to do with whether or not you've lived your own life well."

After listening, He Xu didn't rush to reply, but gently tapped the rim of the water glass with his finger.

"Then what do you think it has to do with more?" he asked.

"It depends on whether you're willing to put effort into the relationship," Zhuang Wenmin said. "If you're doing well on your own, but you're not willing to put effort into others, it's useless. Even if your life is a mess, if you're willing to adjust your pace for someone, then you can still get along."

He Xu looked at her for two seconds, then his lips twitched slightly: "You seem to have a pretty good eye for people."

"It's easy to look at others, but hard to look at yourself." Zhuang Wenmin turned her gaze away, her tone returning to its usual calm and collected manner.

He Xu didn't ask any further questions and put the card down.

Wu Jiayuan turned the card over and read aloud: "Zhuo Hang, I have a question for you."

Sun Zhuohang straightened his back a bit: "Ah? Okay."

My question is: "In a relationship, do you think companionship or personal space is more important?"

Sun Zhuohang thought for a moment: "Spending time with them... I'm probably the clingy type."

"Clingy?"

"Hmm." Sun Zhuohang's voice wasn't loud, but it was very serious. "I don't really like being alone. When we were filming before, I felt really uncomfortable when the crew finished and everyone went back to their rooms. I like having someone with me, even if we don't talk, just sitting next to each other and doing our own things is fine."

Jiang Yining chimed in from the side, "What if you met someone who really needed their own space?"

Sun Zhuohang's expression changed slightly: "That might be a little uncomfortable. But I can adjust."

"How do I adjust it?"

"I try not to bother her. If she doesn't talk, I find something to do, and then I go over to her when she wants to talk." Sun Zhuohang scratched his head. "My manager said I need to change this habit, saying that being too clingy is bad and can drive people away. But I haven't been able to change it."

Lin Zhen pushed up his glasses: "You don't need to change. Being clingy isn't a problem, you just need to find someone who's happy to be clingy with you."

Sun Zhuohang paused for a moment, then nodded, his expression one of reassurance and earnestness: "Um... I'll try my best to find it."

Zhuang Wenmin flipped the card over, glanced at it, and then turned to look at Wu Jiayuan: "Dr. Wu, I have a question for you."

Wu Jiayuan sat up straight: "Okay."

Zhuang Wenmin read aloud the words on the card: "What do you fear most in a relationship?"

Wu Jiayuan did not answer immediately.

She leaned back on the sofa, her gaze sweeping from the plate of fruit on the coffee table to the lake outside the window, then back again. She thought for a moment, "What I fear most is—two people being together, the feelings gone, but neither of them saying anything. Just dragging it out, pretending to live on."

Zhuang Wenmin tilted her head: "Hypocritical?"

"It's that kind of situation... where both of you know it, but neither of you wants to be the one to speak first. You eat as usual, text as usual, celebrate holidays as usual, and everything seems normal, but deep down you both know that it's not the same anymore," Wu Jiayuan said.

"I've seen this happen. I have friends who dragged it out for two years. When they finally broke up, both of them felt wronged. In reality, they were already past their prime, but they just didn't dare to admit it."

Jiang Yining, standing nearby, asked, "So you think that when it's time to cut ties, you should cut ties?"

"Yes," Wu Jiayuan said. "If the relationship is over, you should say so. Don't drag it out. Dragging it out is unfair to everyone. The two of you should talk things out clearly. If it's time to break up, then break up. If you can still be friends after the breakup, then stay friends. If not, then let it go."

Zhuang Wenmin nodded and put the card down.

Sun Zhuohang flipped his card over, glanced at it, and then looked up.

His gaze swept between He Xu and Lin Zhen before finally settling on He Xu: "Brother He Xu, I have a question for you."

He Xu turned his head to look at him: "Mm."

Sun Zhuohang lowered his head and read aloud the words on the card: "Do you believe in fate? Or do you think that relationships need to be actively pursued?"

He Xu leaned back on the sofa, thought for a moment, and then spoke in a very flat tone: "I don't really believe in fate."

Why?

"Fate is such a mysterious thing," He Xu said. "Many times, we attribute something to fate, thinking that what's meant to happen will happen, but in the end, we never get to see it—love isn't something you can wait for."

He paused, his voice lower than before: "I used to think that many things were predetermined. But then I realized that if you wait and wait, all you get is 'Never mind.'"

There was a moment of silence on the sofa.

Sun Zhuohang listened and nodded, his expression showing a seriousness that seemed to have been touched by something but couldn't quite put his finger on: "So you think I should take the initiative?"

"You have to take the initiative," He Xu said. "But taking the initiative doesn't guarantee a result. If you take the initiative and the other party ignores you, then that's it. But at least you tried, and you won't regret it."

Sun Zhuohang put down the card, thought for a while, then looked up and said, "Then I should be more proactive in the future."

He Xu glanced at him sideways and said, "You really should be more proactive. Don't be so timid, like a turtle."

Sun Zhuohang's ears turned red again, but this time he didn't lower his head. Instead, he nodded and said, "...Okay."