Who would study psychology unless they had some issues?!-Chapter 180 - 178: The "Cognition" that Can’t Keep Up

Zhuang Junzhe spoke slowly, "I was quite fortunate to become a graduate student on my first try, getting into Jiang University in my first year."

[Avoided eye contact with me—not out of guilt.]

[Eyes were rather stiff, body somewhat tense, but—the chin was lifted.]

Nan Zhubin nodded, giving a [Positive Attention] here: "That’s quite impressive and not easy at all."

Unlike the college entrance exams, the master’s graduate exams have many "previous graduates" who take them a second, third, or even fourth time, commonly referred to as second, third, fourth attempts.

Even many undergraduates who have been working for years wish to pursue further studies as graduate students, along with veterans, teaching assistance programs, etc., resulting in a wide age range among master’s students, where the youngest in a class might just be in their early twenties, while the oldest could be over thirty.

Because of this, being able to "pass in one go," especially getting into Jiang University, a renowned university in Jiangdu that ranks nationally, is very challenging.

[Redirected his gaze back, making eye contact with me.]

Zhuang Junzhe smiled slightly, a bit humbly.

"Not really, it’s just... I was quite lucky."

"But thinking about it now, there are pros and cons. Since coming here, I’ve realized... the gaps between classmates are growing, and personal abilities might have less impact on people..."

"Before, I could claim that my abilities surpassed theirs, carelessly, but now I’ve gradually discovered... my ’cognition’ can’t keep up with theirs."

Zhuang Junzhe smiled again here: "I, uh... played a little trick, using the word ’cognition,’ which is often mentioned online now. But I think ’cognition’ should also be considered a kind of ’ability’?"

Nan Zhubin offered an [Explanation]: "When you say your ’cognition’ can’t keep up with them, are you actually trying to say—your ’abilities’ can’t keep up?"

However, it was awkward to say it directly, so he circled around it.

The visitor didn’t speak, just smiled.

When Nan Zhubin heard him mention the word "cognition," he raised an eyebrow, as this word was relevant to his area of expertise.

But it wasn’t the right moment to interrupt the visitor.

The visitor now showed a bit of [Defense], so Nan Zhubin smoothly guided and encouraged him: "What kind of cognitive gap is it?"

Zhuang Junzhe rubbed his palm again, but this time, instead of misaligning and overlapping, he interlocked his fingers and slowly clenched his fist.

[Slightly averted his gaze from mine, but this time his eyes were lively, pupils shifting with his breath... starting to recall memories.]

[Simultaneously starting to relive emotions. That’s why he no longer insisted on "eye contact," which is a social behavior.]

He pressed his lips together before speaking again:

"Firstly, it’s about work. Many of the classmates who also got into graduate school straight out of college have interned at big companies like Jiejie, Tencent, and others. When they talk about the work environment and benefits there, I have no input."

"Then, probably my family background. Many in the class have parents working in state-owned enterprises, as civil servants, or are military dependents. I know that when I graduate with my master’s, I might never reach the level where I can give a report to their parents. Do you get what I mean?"

Nan Zhubin didn’t speak, just nodded. fгeewebnovёl.com

"And also, my friends, many of them would take advantage of their free Thursdays, Fridays, and weekends to make short trips to other cities. During real holidays, they’d even go abroad..."

Zhuang Junzhe smiled, "In my perception, going abroad for such long trips is for study or work. Going abroad for a short holiday of four or five days—it’s hard for me to understand the cost-effectiveness of expensive airfares..."

Nan Zhubin looked directly at him, responding with a smile, and then quickly smoothed his expression to indicate he was still following the visitor’s thoughts and words.

"Why did I mention ’cognition’? It’s because... I met a girl recently."

At this point, Zhuang Junzhe paused and pressed his lips together.

Nan Zhubin blinked, finding it reasonable. Emotional issues were the most common triggers for longstanding problems to emerge.

"In the beginning, we went out with some classmates from the class. She’s from a well-off family but not to the extreme extent I mentioned before. I remember during a conversation, she and her friend talked about their overseas travel experiences, Thailand, Singapore, luxury boutiques, and such."

"But what surprised me was later when she approached me on her own..."

Zhuang Junzhe smiled, his eyes dropping; this time, his smile lingered for a relatively long time.

But he soon composed himself.

"When we started seeing each other privately, she said I looked very cool and handsome. She thought my family was wealthy. She mentioned once feeling reluctant to buy Dior at a boutique, and because I didn’t comment, she assumed I was someone who had a closet full of Dior at home, so I looked down on her..."

Zhuang Junzhe smiled again.

"Later, when I told her about my family situation, she was quite happy because she felt there was no pressure."

Then, Zhuang Junzhe’s smile disappeared once more.

"But later, when talking with her, I always found myself unable to keep up with her conversations, unable to engage in her topics. She talked about going to Indonesia, Bali, places I’ve never been. I thought of saving up to visit Suzhou or Chengdu first, but she said she’s been to all the major cities in China and found them boring..."

"When we went out, the restaurants she chose averaged over two hundred per person, which was hard for me to accept."

"Later, she told me I was excellent, with better grades, working harder, looking good, able to balance studying and working part-time. But she said it was hard to communicate with me..."

"We ended up just going on a few dates without defining our relationship, and there was no further contact."

Zhuang Junzhe fell into silence.

Nan Zhubin paused, waiting, but the visitor didn’t continue.

He pondered, recalling the body language and emotions showcased by the visitor while narrating the relationship experience, combining it with the previous discourse, reckoning it was a chance to venture an [Explanation] to extract the crucial points from the narrative.

Thus, verify whether his understanding aligned with the visitor’s expression.

"Do you mean she initially approached you and then left you because your ’cognitions’ were mismatched?"

Zhuang Junzhe suddenly lifted his head: "Yes!"

In his heart, Nan Zhubin sighed.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺