0713: You who shine in the parallel world

The current education system is not only affecting children, but also parents, involving all aspects, including the gift-giving aspect in the current drama.

However, when adults bring the mercenary and unspoken rules they learn from society into the education of their children, many things will become distorted.

Whether it's Wang Zhengliang, who is personally experiencing the storyline, or the other six people who are immersive observers, they are all unsure how Weiwei's father would choose when faced with a situation where he has to spend half a month's salary to fit in with others and "please" the homeroom teacher.

Fortunately, the two parents did not make Wang Zhengliang make a decision to transfer the money on the spot, because at that moment, the homeroom teacher, Ms. Liu, happened to walk into the classroom.

The "Candy" duo turned around, looking like they were about to focus on the parent-teacher meeting, but the moment they turned away, Teacher Guoguo's mom whispered something to Teacher Tang's dad in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear:

"See? I told you they were poor, and you didn't believe me. The mother is mean and stingy, and the father is an irresponsible migrant worker who can't even earn two thousand yuan. The child is doomed because of them. It's our Guoguo who's kind-hearted. She kindly gave their child an empty bottle to sell for money. Otherwise, that child wouldn't even be able to afford an ice pop in the middle of summer. And that child is such an ingrate. He actually went to the homeroom teacher and told her that my Guoguo bullied him."

Xiao Tang's father shook his head: "I heard that the mother in that family almost never gives the child pocket money, afraid that the child will buy things unrelated to studying if he has money. It's no wonder that the child grows up in a family like that. Tsk tsk, I don't know how Weiwei's father is a head of the family. He can't earn money, can't manage the family, his wife doesn't like him, and the child isn't close to him..."

"Shh, keep your voice down, don't let him hear you," Guoguo's mom reminded her.

"So what if he heard it? Does he want to cause trouble at the parent-teacher conference? Then his child can forget about studying here." Xiao Tang's father smiled jokingly.

Clearly, the two of them had only asked Wang Zheng to show his money to embarrass him. They already knew that Weiwei's family was not wealthy at all, and that the idea of ​​the whole class of parents pooling money to buy designer brands for the teacher was something he could never understand or imagine.

After they finished whispering, Ms. Liu, the teacher on stage, announced the start of the parent-teacher meeting. Ms. Liu looked quite young, at most in her thirties. She was dressed simply and wasn't wearing makeup. On the surface, she didn't seem like the kind of person who would easily accept bribes from parents, let alone expensive gifts.

She introduced Weiwei's father, who was attending a parent-teacher meeting for the first time, to the parents in the audience—actually, there were only two NPC parents and the seven brothers.

The teachers sat below and clapped indifferently and reservedly, while the other brothers gave Wang Zhengliang face and cheered very enthusiastically, slapping the table, stomping their feet, and imitating the monkeys of Mount Emei shouting. Their momentum was so strong that passers-by outside thought the classroom was full of people, but when they opened the door, they found that there were only nine people sitting below the stage.

Taunted by his brothers, Wang Zhengliang sat helplessly in his seat, grinning at the table. Yu Yu was certain that his smile represented secret smugness.

Xiao Liang, who was used to this, was thrilled, but the three NPCs, who were seeing such a grand spectacle for the first time, were almost deafened.

"Uh... this welcome is really warm. I didn't expect Weiwei's dad to be so popular." Teacher Liu stood on the stage with an awkward smile. "Since everyone is so enthusiastic, why don't we let him take over the sharing session at today's parent-teacher meeting?"

Wang Zhengliang, who had been smiling, immediately stopped smiling upon hearing this: "Share? Me? What would I share?"

"Share your parenting experiences, educational experiences, how to accompany your child's healthy growth, etc. You can say whatever comes to mind. In previous parent meetings, other parents have already shared a lot of things. I'm sure Weiwei's dad, as a new member, has a lot of experience to share with everyone. Come on, let's give Weiwei's dad a shout-out."

The classroom, which had been quiet for less than ten seconds, erupted again with a series of screams and table-pounding: "Whoa! Show your face!!!"

"Okay, okay, stop yelling, I'll go right now." Wang Zhengliang gestured to his six younger brothers who were egging him on before walking toward the podium.

Standing on the stage, Wang Zhengliang looked at his brothers' expectant eyes, ignoring the amused expressions on the faces of the two NPC parents in front of him. He didn't know what parenting experience Weiwei had, but he himself had quite a bit of experience.

"Actually, I think the most important thing in educating children is to accompany and care for them, especially now that we adults are very busy with work, we should pay more attention to the psychological growth of children."

The younger brothers, who were supposed to be the straight men, said, "Oh? What do you mean by that?"

"We are indeed first-time parents, and this is our own choice. But our children didn't choose; they are also first-time parents. So being a parent is not just a title, but also a responsibility—to be responsible for our children, and to be responsible for our own choices."

The younger brothers, who were supposed to be the straight men, said: "Wow, that makes sense."

"I believe that educating children is not about lecturing them with a bunch of grand principles, nor is it about handing them over to tutoring classes and then washing your hands of the matter. It's more about letting them participate, experience, and understand..."

The younger brothers, who were supposed to be the straight men: "So how do we do it?"

Without any prepared speech, Wang Zhengliang spoke as he thought, and then he gave a couple of examples of spending time with his children. His friends in the audience were not going to let Wang Zhengliang's words fall flat, and they kept responding faster than the last, making Wang Zhengliang laugh several times.

Just as they were about to applaud and cheer for Xiao Liang's story, the Candy Teachers, who had been silent in the audience, started causing trouble again.

Xiao Tang's father suddenly stood up, walked abruptly to Wang Zhengliang on the stage, and interrupted Wang Zhengliang's sharing in an almost rude manner. He then pretended to be a straightforward and friendly friend, and patted Wang Zhengliang's shoulder lightly.

"Okay, okay, I don't think what you're sharing is meaningful or useful. Our child is about to enter sixth grade, and we need to start preparing for entering a top middle school. Studying is the priority now, so why are you still here saying these irrelevant things about accompanying him?"

Dragging Weiwei off the stage in front of all the parents in the class while he was sharing was a malicious humiliation, and the other party acted as if it was perfectly justified and had no intention of letting it go.

"Besides, all that talk about companionship and children's mental health issues, did you get that from some inspirational WeChat account? We all know about your family's problems, you..."

Teacher Xiao Tang's father didn't have a chance to say anything even more insulting, because before he could finish speaking, a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder and pressed him tightly against his side.

The arm was very strong, but the way he was being restrained didn't hurt him. It just made him stumble and almost fall off the steps of the podium.

At this moment, the disparity in strength was fully demonstrated. Xiao Tang's father seemed to lose his balance and was about to fall when he was suddenly restrained by the force. However, the person who held him tightly with one arm was so reliable in terms of strength that he did not even seem to fall off the stage. Instead, he was casually moved down by the other person's arm.

Yes, it's translation, like moving a plastic doll.

"Teacher Tang's dad, look at you! You're acting impulsively again! You interrupted someone before they were even finished. That's very impolite. As parents, we need to set a good example for our children, right? Besides, the homeroom teacher, Ms. Liu, didn't say anything, and you just rushed up here. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were trying to steal Ms. Liu away and become the homeroom teacher yourself."

Yu Yu smiled gently, put one arm around Xiao Tang's father's shoulder and the other hand on his other arm, and very naturally "invited" him back to his seat.

Teacher Xiao Tang's father was pulled back from the act by Yu Yu like a chick halfway through. He sat there somewhat bewildered, a little taken aback by the role.

"You, this..." Guoguo's mother didn't react either.

"I'm so sorry to have disturbed you parents." Yu Yu clasped her hands together, and her apology sounded sincere.

"It's alright, it's alright," Su Xing waved his hand. "If other parents really feel disturbed, this person sells bathroom heaters. You can go to him to buy a bathroom heater and get a 20% discount."

Although Yu Yu interrupted the even more outrageous part of the flashback in time, Xiao Liang had no desire to continue the conversation. He walked off the stage, and when his buddies gathered around, he smiled and reassured them, saying it was no big deal and jokingly indicating that he wasn't worried at all, because he knew that Yu Yu and his brothers were behind him.

"But Xiao Wei back then might not have been like that."

Wang Zhengliang sighed. If things went as expected, Weiwei in the story would be rudely kicked off the stage, and his past wounds would be exposed in public. If Yu Yu hadn't stopped that young Tang's father, he would definitely have said something sarcastic, like how a loser who works two jobs and has no time for his family is standing on stage talking about companionship and child psychology.

Sure enough, the background noise confirmed their guess.

Weiwei was kicked out of school, and the family's miserable situation was exposed to the public. The child was also affected by the aftermath of the parent-teacher meeting, and his grades plummeted. Finally, the wife could no longer endure the pain of a widowed marriage. On the day the child brought home a failing report card, she signed the divorce papers in front of the child and left the family.

“It’s like a cycle.” Zhang Yuan, who witnessed the scene of Weiwei, who was also Xiaoyu’s, mother signing the divorce papers and leaving during her childhood, frowned with some reluctance upon hearing this. “That divorce paper from my mother when I was a child, years later, is placed in front of my own child again. My child is just like I was back then…”

Wang Yuexin's slightly somber voice lacked its usual tone: "Perhaps he will be unable to stop himself from thinking that his own child might also experience all the pain he suffered in the first half of his life. How could that not break him down?"

“That’s why he needs us. He called us, his friends, over because he desperately needs us to lend him a hand at this crucial moment, to pat him on the shoulder and say, ‘It’s okay, we’re here for you.’” Land Rover patted Wang Yuexin on the shoulder.

“This is why I love you, Tiger,” Su Xing confessed admiringly.

"See? I told you so, didn't I?" Land Rover grinned smugly and even started singing, "Hey bro, give me a hug!~"

Su Xing declined, saying, "But sometimes there's no need to love someone that much."

"Just give me a hug, just one hug."

Land Rover grinned and opened his arms, first embracing Wang Zhengliang, who had just experienced a terrible ordeal. Little Liang then pulled Yu Yu over, while Zhang Yuan and Wang Yuexin were quite proactive in sticking close together. Yu Yu quickly grabbed Chen Chusheng and stretched out her hand to pull Su Xing over as well. The group tacitly squeezed the frilly cat in the middle.

This escape room event had a high number of hugs; almost every unpleasant experience ended with a hug, but Yu Yu didn't seem to mind at all.

Reincarnation is not some kind of mystical concept to him. The obstacles from his family background in this life are very similar to the dilemma of either giving up singing or dying in his previous life. However, he does not believe that he can return to the "starting point" in this life. At least he does not have any terminal illness now and has a group of good brothers who support him, right?