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Psst! We're moving!
1
On the way home from picking up Xinbao from school, Lin Zhiyi was driving.
Xinbao asked him, “When you were in school, who was the campus heartthrob?”
“The campus heartthrob? There were plenty at my school.”
“Tell me a few names,” Xinbao said expectantly.
“Aren’t campus heartthrobs just the grass on campus?”
Xinbao laughed, “Be serious and tell me a name.”
“Don’t ask about the campus heartthrobs—when you do, it’s me.” The man spoke with great confidence.
2
Xinbao brought home an English test paper with less than ideal results, and Lin Zhiyi helped her correct the mistakes.
There was one question they disagreed on, so I told her, “Listen to your dad. He’s still my tutor! Before I met your dad, I failed the College English Test Band 4 twice, only scoring over 40 points each time, but after his guidance, I scored 71 points.”
“That’s right, 11 points above the passing line!” Lin Zhiyi chimed in.
“But that’s still very bad!” Xinbao commented dismissively.
“...” I was speechless.
Xinbao pointed to the “79” on her test paper and said, “That’s not even as good as my score! Besides, if you flip 79, it becomes 97, but if you flip 71, it’s only 17, far from 100!”
I couldn’t help laughing; this kid has such a good attitude! Even when she didn’t do well, she stayed optimistic.
3
On the weekend, Lin Zhiyi’s college classmates came to Beijing, and he hosted a dinner. I couldn’t attend because I had to finish the manuscript for a new book, so little Xinbao went in my place.
After returning, Lin Zhiyi said to Xinbao, “Next time, don’t order dishes—just focus on eating.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“When Xinbao was ordering from the menu, she kept saying, ‘Too expensive! Too expensive!’ It made me so embarrassed! How could people order comfortably when we’re treating them to a meal?” Lin Zhiyi said.
“Haha! Maybe they thought you brought a financial director who was helping save money while hosting.”
“To save money for my LEGO sets,” Xinbao said nonchalantly.
Lin Zhiyi sighed helplessly, “My teachings are wasted...”
4
Xinbao was going to her English extracurricular class, but before leaving, she dawdled. She ate breakfast absentmindedly, then plopped down on the sofa to read a book, showing no urgency.
When Lin Zhiyi urged her to leave, she said her nose felt uncomfortable, like she might have a cold.
Seeing her dragging her feet, Lin Zhiyi asked, “Are you a hundred percent unwilling?”
“No,” she paused briefly, “a thousand percent.”
5
“What should I do? I got the map question wrong. If only I had looked at it carefully before the exam.”
Before bed, Xinbao was still lamenting over the final exam questions.
“It’s okay, just look carefully next time,” Lin Zhiyi consoled her.
“But I lost five points!” Xinbao was still dissatisfied.
“The purpose of exams isn’t the score—it’s to master knowledge. If you lost five points but learned how to read maps, and on our next trip, you recognize that sign, wouldn’t that be putting knowledge into practice?”
“So, does that mean the more mistakes I make, the more I learn?” Xinbao asked.
“In theory, yes, but next time, read the questions carefully and at least avoid making the same mistake again.”
Xinbao suddenly felt relieved and stopped obsessing over the lost points.
In the next room, I quietly listened to this father-daughter conversation and couldn’t help but applaud Lin Zhiyi.
I love this educational approach: letting children not dwell on the past but instead summarize experiences and look toward the future.
Moreover, exams have never been the goal—they are just a means to assist learning. Mastering knowledge and being able to apply it in life is what’s most important. Scores are the result, and many people habitually focus on results, believing only good outcomes count as experience. In fact, regardless of whether the outcome is good or bad, learning to summarize the process and turning it into personal experience is the key.
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