Chapter 53

“You’ve used the Pomodoro Intervals to become so, um…hardworking?”

The comments left on the livestream were not mentioned at this moment as Zhao Xiaolu had an odd look on her face while assessing Lin Yu.

“More or less, I guess. It’s all thanks to your guidance back then.”

Lin Yu chuckled.

“That…”

Zhao Xiaolu hesitated for a brief moment as she secretly took a glance at Lin Yu’s expression. However, she then sheepishly stuck out her tongue and said, “I was actually giving you a very lackluster and casual response. Back then…”

“I understand. You’re afraid of being terminated, right?”

Lin Yu interrupted her as he sheepishly chuckled and said, “But everything you’ve said was actually really effective. One statement to snap a dreaming person awake, so I should really thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me. However, what do you say about answering one question for me in return?”

Zhao Xiaolu immediately calmed down. There was a shred of spiritual innocence that flashed from her eyes as she cheerfully said, “How did you do it? I do not believe relying solely on both the Pomodoro Intervals and the Stimulus values could have yielded such strong results. Moreover, a theory and actually carrying out a task are two different things. Didn’t you previously mention that you were an undeniably weak-willed academic failure?”

Once again, that curious look appeared on her face after she was done speaking. She was smiling widely, her eyes resembling crescent moons as she said, “Are you still afraid of being terminated?”

“You’re overthinking.”

Lin Yu rolled his eyes as he casually pulled up a chair from the side and sat down. He said with a smile, “I happen to be constantly agitated by Old Xu, you know. If I could be a Hero Livestreamer, it’d honestly be something I’d die for.”

“Then, how did you pull it off?”

Zhao Xiaolu had an unconvinced look on her face.

“Simple, I’ve transformed the method into an actual physical item with some additional stuff. Also, I made an Academic Genius System.”

Lin Yu chuckled.

“Academic Genius System?”

Zhao Xiaolu was slightly puzzled. Although she occasionally read novels, she mainly indulged in the young women’s romance genre and was unfamiliar with the references he made.

“To put it simply, it’s an assist software. The time is managed by Pomodoro Intervals and points are collected upon each task completion. After that, I lock away my access to money so that it can only be unlocked by an exchange of accumulated points. Naturally, I start to stick by the rules after being starved a couple of times.”

Lin Yu gave Zhao Xiaolu an easy and direct explanation so she was able to quickly understand what exactly the Academic Genius System was.

‘He truly locked away his access to all of his money?’

Zhao Xiaolu secretly labeled her impression of Lin Yu in her heart: ‘This man is ruthless.’

However, even though she was slightly shocked by his explanation of the Academic Genius System, she shook her head and said, “It’s not enough. Although transforming this solution into an actual physical tool can temporarily improve the results by a small margin, it’s still not enough. You’ve said it before, you’re weak-willed.”

“That’s why I’ve added something else to it. I can make up for my weak will with humiliation.”

Lin Yu raised his index finger and gave the frame of his smart glasses a light tap while saying with a smile, “It’s just like right now. I’m currently livestreaming.”

“Livestreaming? Where’s your camera?”

Wang Miao began looking around, frustrated.

There was a slight glimmer in Zhao Xiaolu’s eyes as she stared curiously at the frame of Lin Yu’s smart glasses and said, “That’s a pair of smart glasses? Which brand is it?”

“It was a gift from a friend. It’s still in its research phase so there isn’t one.”

Lin Yu used the same old excuse without hesitation.

Zhao Xiaolu was obviously interested and spoke in a slightly excited tone, “No way? Can you lend it to me to test it out myself?”

“Sure.”

Lin Yu hesitated for a brief moment, but took his smart glasses off and handed it to her.

A simple pair of smart glasses could be bought from the market. Since he never blatantly said he had made it himself, it did not matter whether its performance was slightly better or not unless the Related Department went specifically out of their way to target him. This meant that not a single person would bother asking which ‘friend’ of his gave it to him, so lending it for a friend to try it out was no big deal.

Indeed…the owner of the restaurant himself had passed out in the washroom from crying too hard.

Lin Yu swore to the heavens above that he was not the kind of person to be motivated by lust. Besides, he was not close to the restaurant’s owner.

…

[Whoa, the goddess’ point of view. My nose will start to bleed soon.]

[I’m doomed. That smile earlier made me fall in love.]

[Is this the cute academic genius girl that Pigeon Demon had said?]

[Hey, that Propmaster actually looks quite good. I’d actually thought he was afraid to show his face because he was ugly.]

When Zhao Xiaolu tried out the smart glasses, it immediately caused an uproar in the livestream.

However, Zhao Xiaolu did not wear it for too long, simply giving it a try despite being reluctant to part with it after looking through the Academic Genius System and plenty of viewers watched as she reluctantly returned the glasses.

“That’s right, what does livestreaming have anything to do with your weak will and making up for it with humiliation?”

Zhao Xiaolu recalled that question before she was distracted by her curiosity of the smart glasses, waiting for Lin Yu to put his glasses back on.

“A person’s will and personality are actually interchangeable and both affect each other. There is a term in psychology called self-limitations. Have you heard of it before?”

When making his Academic Genius Program, Lin Yu had also done plenty of research recently and questioned her with a smile.

“Nope.”

Zhao Xiaolu shook her head honestly. Since she was not majoring in psychology, she would not possibly know everything no matter how well informed and intelligent she was. The lackluster solution she had previously given Lin Yu was merely used as an excuse to brush him off.

“In simpler terms, if a person is subconsciously having doubts, affirming that they cannot accomplish anything would become a psychological barrier that they have built for themselves.”

Lin Yu was finally able to feel the thrill of showing off his own knowledge after having someone else show off their knowledge in front of him the last time. Moreover, this person was his old ‘rival’, so he secretly felt ecstatic on the inside. However, he soon realized it would come off as mean, so he suppressed his emotions and said, “But I think I can use it to my advantage. If I can doubt myself, why can’t I also affirm myself, right?”

“Affirm yourself?”

Zhao Xiaolu frowned as if thinking about something.

“That’s right, affirm yourself. In most cases, self-limitations would cause most failures to occur. However, the main reason was still based on lifestyle. People around them would also look down on them, on top of a series of repeated failures. In the end, this would result in self-hatred and doubt.”

No matter doubt nor affirmation, Lin Yu had strongly experienced both sides. Hence, he seemed to be lamenting slightly as he explained. After pausing for a moment, he continued.

“The most crucial part to all of this, realistically speaking, would be how others viewed a person or what kind of impression is left behind by oneself to others. Most people only live in the eyes of people. There was actually a cruel experiment that was carried out overseas. A huge group of children were divided into two groups and one group was constantly being berated no matter the merits, while the other was constantly rewarded…”

After explaining the importance of ‘other people’s perspective’ in such a long-winded manner, Lin Yu returned back to the main topic.

“If the people around you think you’re excellent, you would work harder to be even more impressive to preserve your own image. Or you could be unaffected by any impact under negative situations, which would in turn be a boost to your self-esteem. Humility could be the motivation for determination.

“Just take my livestreaming as an example. Plenty of people were making fun of how my Academic Genius System would be useless and that it was all a show. There are also plenty of followers watching my livestream while I demonstrated my Academic Genius System. I don’t want those people who mocked me to get away with it, and I don’t want to be humiliated in front of so many people. I also don’t want to let my followers down and I want to prove that my Academic Genius System is actually effective. Even if I am pretending, I have to focus on seeing it through.”