The Concert (Continued)

So the child's grades are still not ideal, they still don't pay attention in class, and they still underperform in exams. Many students have been told this since they were little, and teachers and parents are happy to use similar words to find reasons for the child's poor performance.

Over time, children may even develop the feeling that if they study hard but their grades still don't improve, their parents and teachers will consider them not smart. So, they might as well be lazy and leave room for themselves to be "smart".

From this perspective, it would be more effective for a teacher to say something like, "Your child is a little slow-witted and needs to work hard to catch up with others." While such a statement might offend people, it is a genuinely effective statement, unlike saying, "This child is very smart, but just doesn't study hard," which is meaningless and as if nothing was said at all.

After Si Ming briefly explained his thoughts, Yu Shuying shook her head and said, "From a social value perspective, hardworking ordinary people are more valuable than lazy smart people. But what we need to discuss now is not who is more outstanding, but who is more intelligent. If we have an intelligence metric, Hongdou is undoubtedly the highest among us, belonging to the genius category, while Murong Qing is only slightly above average. As long as Hongdou is willing to spend one-third of Murong Qing's effort on studying, she can easily surpass her."

Si Ming retorted, "You're making it sound like Hongdou doesn't work hard, but in reality, she spends even more time on painting than Murong Qing does on studying."

"The two are different. Murong Qing doesn't like reading; she just thinks reading is right and that learning can improve herself, so she does it. This is her principle, putting personal likes and dislikes after 'right.' Hongdou, on the other hand, is the opposite. She puts her own preferences first, only doing what she likes, without considering other factors, acting impulsively. You might think she's working hard, but she's actually enjoying the process and doesn't find it tiring at all."

"Maybe that's true, but everyone has their own way of life, and it's not for outsiders to interfere. Let's continue our search for friends. As for peers, Lu Mao has already returned to China, and the only one I can think of now is Liu Qingqing."

"Who is that? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before?" Yu Shuying frowned in thought.

"Uh, you must have met her a few times... Never mind, let's skip this one. We can only find her when she wants to, and we might not be able to find her if we actively look for her. Let's change our target and switch to younger people."

The third target: Ying Zhou.

"Huh? Make friends? Are you still in elementary school?" Ying Zhou cast a disdainful glance at them. "To be honest, even elementary school students wouldn't make friends this way these days. Only kindergarteners would do that."

"... Can I beat him up?" Yu Shuying asked.

Si Ming suggested, "It's best to resolve this peacefully as much as possible; only resort to force if absolutely necessary."

Sometimes, a disagreement can lead to friendship; that too can be a way of making friends.

Ying Zhou said impatiently, "Is there anything else? If not, hurry up and get out. I need to focus on my studies. It's the final sprint of junior high, I don't have time to play house with you. Speaking of which, you're high school seniors too, right? You're about to take the college entrance exam, aren't you? Is it really okay to be so leisurely doing this? Be a little more mature. If you don't go to university, you'll be entering the workforce after high school. As a soon-to-be member of society, you need to learn to take responsibility for your life!"

"... I was actually lectured on the principles of being a good person by a middle school student, and I couldn't refute it," Si Ming couldn't help but sigh. "Murong Qing's education is too successful! She actually transformed a delinquent student into a model student with excellent character and academic performance. Is this really her? Has she been brainwashed by some kind of 'Selfless Brahma Sound'?"

Ying Zhou curled his lip and said, "Isn't making friends a simple matter? As long as you have good grades, or are skilled in martial arts, or have some talent, people will naturally be willing to show you goodwill. After all, it's a universal principle that the weak follow the strong."

Si Ming added, "The premise is that your personality can't be too awful; most people don't like trying to win someone over with their kindness."

Otherwise, with Yu Shuying's talent and looks, she would have had a lot of suitors long ago. In the end, they were all driven away by her bad temper. It is difficult to maintain a friendship, but it is easy to destroy one.

Although there are some people on the internet who shout things like "Goddess, step on me!", "I love it when Goddess looks at me with disdain!", and "Please whip me, Gongjin!", no one in real life would be so shameless. Even if someone is shameless by nature, they will hide it well. After all, everyone has to care about social reputation and the feelings of relatives and friends.

Not everyone can be as shameless and indifferent to the opinions of others as Yao Bilian. People can play a role and follow their desires without restraint online, but in reality, they must learn to restrain themselves and act in accordance with social moral standards.

Imagine you're livestreaming in women's clothing when your parents suddenly burst into the room and catch you red-handed... This is the ruthless clash between reality and virtuality, which usually ends in a virtual defeat.

Yu Shuying pointed at Ying Zhou and said, "Although you speak eloquently, you actually have no friends. I can smell the scent of your own kind on you."

"Who said that? A bunch of people are chasing after me, wanting to be my friend. It's so annoying."

As a somewhat famous teenage idol, Ying Zhou had the confidence to speak his mind. Even his nasty personality was seen as sincere, genuine, and aloof.

However, Yu Shuying wouldn't be fooled by such simple rhetoric, and she cut to the chase. "Can these people really be called friends? Do you really consider them your friends?"

"Enough with the nagging! I don't need friends. Friends only weaken my humanity," Ying Zhou said angrily, pushing the two out of the room. "Anyway, I need to study now, don't bother me!"

After being locked out, Yu Shuying remarked, "He's just like I used to be. Even if he doesn't believe the world revolves around him, he still thinks he has the power to change how the world works."

"So you know you're a bit of a chuunibyou, huh?" Si Ming suggested with a sidelong glance, "How about we look for Murong Qing's younger brother? He's as straightforward as Hongdou, and very sensible too. He'd be the easiest person to befriend."

"... I haven't sunk so low that I need the sympathy of elementary school students."

When the two arrived in the living room, they found Yao Bilian and Hongdou having snacks. The former said, "You two have come at the right time. I just heard from a friend that pop Yuezheng Yao is going to hold a concert at Linked Mountains University. Are you going?"

Si Ming's first thought was, "The name Yuezheng Yao sounds familiar. Did she appear a long time ago?" Then he remembered that it was her older sister Yuezheng Qiong, who had appeared before, and he had even carried out a rescue mission for her.

"This person is probably the biggest star in our country. If she holds a concert, tickets will be extremely hard to come by. Do you think you can get a ticket?"

"I have a friend who works inside and can get tickets, up to ten, no problem, and they're guaranteed to be good seats."

Si Ming was slightly interested. This world had Internal Cultivation. Singers didn't even need microphones for their concerts, and their voices were exceptionally beautiful after being refined by Internal Cultivation. In addition, martial arts and singing skills were both techniques. The musicians here could do things that earthlings couldn't, so it wasn't surprising that they could sing truly heavenly sounds.

"I'm fine, what about the others?"

Yu Shuying said, "I don't really like these kinds of activities."

Hongdou asked, "These kinds of activities?"

Yu Shuying said, "It's an activity where there are so many people that you're shoulder to shoulder and pushing and shoving. It reminds me of maggots wriggling in a latrine. And a bunch of people crammed together, their bodies reeking of the stench of hormones, shouting like wild animals in heat, making meaningless noise, while the object of their heat doesn't even glance at them. There's nothing more stupid than that. I would suffocate in that kind of environment."

Hongdou nodded, seemingly understanding, "Although I don't quite understand, I also don't really like crowded places."

"And I don't have any good memories of these kinds of events," Yu Shuying said, a sarcastic smile returning to her lips. "When I was little, my mother once took me to a temple fair, something she never did before. I was excited about it all day. Later I found out she wanted to use the opportunity to get rid of me, preferably by kidnapping me, so she could feel less guilty. Unfortunately, I've always been very smart and have a photographic memory, so even though she secretly slipped away halfway through and left me alone at the fair, I still managed to find my way home. But ever since then, she's never mentioned taking me to a temple fair again."

To others, Yu Shuying's mockery seemed to be a dig at her incompetent mother, but Si Ming knew she was mocking his naiveté, and her words were undoubtedly filled with sadness.

However, Hongdou has never been good at reading the atmosphere. Even if others say things clearly, she is still a little confused, let alone sensing other people's hidden emotions. She continues to talk about her own things as if nothing is wrong.

"My mother never abandoned me. When I was little, she took me to the bookstore, but I always let go of her hand and wandered off to other places. My mother thought it was dangerous, so she stopped taking me there."

That must have been really tough.

"Yes, but I didn't want her to worry. Besides, temple fairs often end before I know it because I'm engrossed in creating, so I don't even know what I went through. Therefore, I don't think it's a big loss if I didn't go." Hongdou doesn't lie, so she wasn't deliberately trying to be strong.

Si Ming asked, "So you're not planning to attend the concert?"

"Well, I'd better not cause trouble for others. You guys take my share and have fun. I just finished a new piece and am going to give it to Auntie Liu. I'll probably be sleeping all day now."

Hongdou stretched, making her chest even more prominent. Fortunately, Yu Shuying, the only vulnerable person present, didn't seem to care about this and wasn't affected. She waved her hand and said, "I'm not going either. Going to that kind of place to breathe stupid air is like committing slow suicide."

Si Ming, "Since none of you are willing, then I will..."