Chapter 12

Xia Weining knows how big an impact information asymmetry has on a person. In the past, due to cognitive bias, many of her choices were generally delayed and she missed opportunities. Now she has the opportunity to let these children understand society as early as possible, so she will do it.

Do something small to alleviate their information gap.

They began to organize outdoor activities to guide children to get closer to science and technology and learn new things, including playing movies and documentaries, and using multimedia to show the development and life outside the county.

Watching more and more children's faces filled with confidence, they become talkative, discuss the latest technological products, can feel the speed of development, and slowly develop calmness in their blood.

In this way, when they first see the prosperity of a big city, they will not feel at a loss or out of place, but will be able to integrate quickly.

Xia Weining had three classes today and was extremely tired. She couldn't wait to go home and rest. In order to relieve her physical fatigue, she could only move her neck while walking.

As she turned the corner, she caught a glimpse of a figure picking at his fingers. She walked over and then stepped back, "Xia Li?"

"Oh, Teacher Xia." He greeted her and then lowered his head.

"What's wrong with you? You look listless."

"Are you having a conflict with your classmates?"

"Didn't do well on the test?"

…

Xia Weining's questions came like a machine gun, one after another, but unfortunately Xia Li didn't respond to any of them.

"What's wrong?" Xia Weining held her hand, "What can't you tell me?"

Xia Li stopped and stood there expressionlessly, tears silently sliding down her face.

Her action completely frightened Xia Weining, "Who bullied you?"

"No, no one bullies me."

After saying that, he started crying loudly.

Xia Weining hugged her tightly, "You've cried like this and you still say no one bullies you."

"No one bullied me. It was my own fault." The little girl wiped her tears with the back of her hand. Her eyes were red, pitiful and fragile. She looked at her eagerly, "I'm hungry."

Xia Weining was at a loss for words. "Let's go and have dinner."

The two went to KFC and ordered a lot. Xia Li almost finished the meal by herself. She was no longer sad. She drank orange juice comfortably, her eyes blinking as she looked at Xia Weining.

"You don't want to ask me what's wrong?"

"Do you want to talk?" Xia Weining concentrated on picking up the leftovers on the table and eating. "I won't force you."

Xia Li couldn't bear to watch it any longer. "If you want to eat, just order some more. You look so pitiful now. I can't bear to look at you."

"I'm not blaming you, but of course I'm hungry after a tiring day. Teaching kids like you is the most strenuous job in the world."

"You are really exaggerating." Xia Li couldn't help but look disgusted.

"Okay, now you dare to look down on me. This is not the time to cry like before."

Xia Li raised his finger to threaten her, "Don't tell anyone what happened just now."

"How dare you threaten the teacher."

"You told me to treat you as a friend, not just a teacher."

"Yes, yes, you are right." Xia Weining was defeated. "I will keep it a secret for you."

"Thank you." Xia Li's eyes deepened a little, and he lowered his head and smiled lightly, "I know you are trying to comfort me, and it's quite helpful. I feel much better now."

"Can you tell me now?"

The waiter just brought the hamburger over. After thanking her, Xia Weining ate the hamburger leisurely without asking her the reason. Seeing her like this, Xia Li couldn't sit still anymore.

"Do you still want to hear it?"

"You talk about yours, and I eat it with my mouth, without affecting my ears."

Xia Li was speechless. She suddenly realized that Xia Weining could be quite unreliable sometimes.

"We were divided into classes a few days ago, and I was assigned to the key class."

Xia Weining nodded, "Well, then?"

"I found that I couldn't keep up in the key classes. Everyone's grades were better than mine."

"So you're frustrated?"

“Shouldn’t this be disappointing?”

Xia Weining curled her lips and nodded in agreement, "You should be disappointed, but have you adjusted now?"

"I want to hear what you have to say."

Xia Weining put down the burger in his hand, wiped his hands, and said seriously, "Please be prepared for the coming big wave of chicken soup."

Xia Li sighed heavily, "Sometimes I'm quite curious. Are you really a teacher? You're very special and different from other teachers."

"Of course I'm your teacher. Let me cultivate your mind from now on." Xia Weining asked, "Are you feeling down because you can't learn in the key class and the pressure is too great, or because your grades are lagging behind?"

"It's a bit of both. It's more that there are too many students with good grades in the class, and I'm far behind them."

Xia Weining felt relieved. There was no problem with Xia Li anymore. She felt that this girl was too perfect and did not meet her actual standards.

"You will meet many people in your life, many of whom are better than you. Don't be sad or anxious because of others' better achievements. Everyone has their own circumstances and pace. Don't let others disrupt your pace. Stick to your own pace and walk slowly. Smiling and congratulating others on their success is also a kind of tempering for yourself. Accept your own shortcomings and accept yourself fully."

"Aren't you jealous of others?"

"To be honest, I've been jealous before, but later I realized it's pretty scary. I secretly tortured myself with other people's success. Then I told myself that no matter how successful others are, it's none of my business. I'll just turn a blind eye."

"Is this how it's adjusted?"

Xia Weining nodded. "In the final analysis, it comes down to one sentence: pay less attention to others and focus more on yourself."

"I understand this."

"We can't just focus on the success of others. They may have put in countless efforts before they succeeded. Jealousy will only make us superficially attribute their success to good luck or talent, ignoring their inner efforts. This can help us find a psychological balance."

Xia Li held up his face in his hand with boredom. "Although the chicken soup you mentioned is very old-fashioned, it is quite applicable to me."

Xia Weining's eyes were about to roll up to the sky.

"There's something else I want to tell you." The little girl's face suddenly turned flattering.

"What is it that deserves your flattery?"

Xia Li really needed someone to help her make decisions, so she didn't argue with Xia Weining. "The homeroom teacher said that it's too hard for us day students and it interferes with our studies, so he suggested that we live on campus."

"Do you want to live on campus?"

"I can study more every day while living on campus, but I don't like it."

Xia Weining was straightforward, "Then continue to go to school as a day student."

Xia Li couldn't believe it, "So simple?"

"It's that simple. Don't force yourself to do something you don't like, provided it doesn't affect your studies."

"Don't worry, it won't affect you."

Xia Weining nodded in satisfaction. This Xia Li was exactly like someone else's child, full of advantages, obedient, sensible and hardworking, unlike her previous self.

"Xia Li."

"Um?"

Xia Weining rarely addressed her so formally, and this call stunned Xia Li.

“Don’t imitate others. You will only become their shadow and lose yourself. I hope you can be yourself, different from others, and not be defined by others.”

Xia Weining paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled in relief, "Actually, none of this matters. I just hope you can be happy."

It felt like a gong was hanging in Xia Li's head, making her brain numb and her heart filled with great shock. She was now even more certain that Xia Weining was indeed very different from others.

The two of them seemed to be destined to meet each other.

After this conversation, Xia Li felt much better. She chose to continue studying in the key class, but she would no longer be as anxious as before. Now her mentality is more mature. She gets up early and goes to school late every day. Although it is hard work, she enjoys it.

The bell rang and Xia Weining walked out of the classroom refreshed. All her classes for the week had been completed and she could enjoy a wonderful weekend.

As soon as I walked to the office door, an accident happened.

Director Zhang Jimei walked into the office with a pile of materials. Everyone lowered their heads and pretended to be busy. Xia Weining was caught red-handed because he was a minute late due to his lack of experience.

Zhang Jimei came up to her with the materials in her arms, "Teacher Xia, there are no classes this week, right?"

"like……"

My brain was working quickly, trying to find a suitable reason, but before I could think of anything, I was interrupted by Director Zhang.

"Don't worry, I've already checked for you. You don't have classes this week."

Xia Weining gave a formal smile. The leaders had already checked everything, so what could she say?

"Anything happening this weekend?"

Their school has a biweekly break, but this week they have no break and classes are as normal, but she has no classes.

"Probably not."

"I think you're fine too, you don't have a boyfriend, and you don't have to take care of a family or children."

Xia Weining: ...

Taking into account her far-leading advantages, she was successfully selected by Director Zhang as the person to work overtime. After reading Director Zhang's analysis of the reasons for choosing her, Xia Weining felt a little disappointed. In the end, she found that she was simply the overtime saint.

She stayed at home for two days over the weekend and buried herself in a pile of documents with Director Zhang. The dense words made her eyes dizzy and her arms ache. She had never read so much documents in all her years of work as she had in these two days.

She has developed an illusion and the words don't look like words.

After much torment, I finally finished the work on Sunday evening and handed the last file to Director Zhang. "Director, all the information has been sorted out."

"Thank you, you've worked hard."

Xia Weining felt a little embarrassed. "Nothing. I just feel like I haven't been of much help."

"You helped me do a lot. I definitely couldn't do it alone."

Xia Weining smiled, then said, "I don't know if I've done it right. I hope I haven't caused you any trouble."

Director Zhang smiled and said nothing more after hearing this.

Xia Weining suddenly felt very depressed and walked out of the school in a daze, thinking about what had just happened. It was easy for her to get stuck in the emotions of the past and keep magnifying things until it led to a bigger collapse.

This has been her psychological crux for many years.

It happened again today.

She suddenly thought of a sentence: excessive humility is equal to pride. In fact, her personality is imperfect. A perfect personality should have self-awareness, be able to accept other people's praise calmly, and have a strong sense of deservingness.

She seems to have a fear of praise. Even if it is the affirmation she deserves, she will deny it verbally. In fact, she desires for other people's praise but lacks trust in it. That's why she denies it again and again, hoping that others can give her affirmative answers again and again.

But she forgot that no one would always indulge her and satisfy her inner needs.

The bell for the end of evening study suddenly rang, and familiar music filled her ears, making her feel as if she had returned to her youthful days. She was still that confident and outspoken student.

There was a moment when she had a strong feeling that she wanted to be her high-spirited self again.

So she figured it out and decided that she would accept other people's praise and affirmation with an open mind from now on.

A knot that has troubled me for many years was finally untied.

Xia Weining felt unprecedentedly relaxed, and with the sense of accomplishment brought by her work, all her fatigue dissipated like the wind. She lay comfortably on the bed, and suddenly remembered that tomorrow was Monday and she had a group meeting early in the morning. Her excited heart instantly died.