"I don’t know." Xie Yizun was deeply shocked and utterly confused, "What is self-performance?"

"Self-performance is when some people like to wear their self-masks to perform in front of others. Simply put, many people enjoy talking about others’ affairs, but really, it’s to perform their own self, get it?"

"I don’t get it." Xie Yizun felt the issue was too profound.

"Precisely because you don’t get it, that’s why I’m telling you. From now on, in any group, if someone quietly gossips, tells troubles, or talks about their own matters to you, don’t listen. Because once you’re used to listening, they’ll come to you whenever there’s something, but all these matters are meaningless. They’re just garbage, you know? They’re not truly treating you as a friend by talking to you; they’re treating you as a trash can. And do they say to you, I’m only telling you, you must keep it secret?!"

"Yes." Xie Yizun thought for a moment and said, "Recently, I’ve encountered several people like this myself. I even thought they considered me a friend."

"Forget it; they’ve long told others before." Ning Youguang said, "And if you get used to being their trash can, they’ll naturally think you should be their trash can whenever something comes up, having you listen to those random things. The problem is, talking about others’ matters, the good ones can pass, but the bad ones will eventually cause conflicts and contradictions. And when problems occur, they’ll push you, the naïve and righteous person, out as the target to block the shot. You’ll become their target between them, think about it, is that so?"

"Yes, originally it had nothing to do with me at all." Xie Yizun realized, feeling goosebumps all over.

"Exactly, those matters originally have nothing to do with you, yet you’re polluted by these trivial matters, right? You still have to spend time and energy digesting their garbage." Ning Youguang said, "You’re not a god; how could you not be disturbed after hearing their nonsense? With that energy, why not play some music, sing a song, or take a nap? Why listen to their vague talks and then be pushed out to block the shot eventually? Silly, right?!"

Xie Yizun was sweating from his forehead because of Ning Youguang’s words.

It was confirmed—he was the fool.

"Who are they to you, a psychological counselor or family? What obligation or benefit is worth digesting their psychological garbage? Isn’t it? You yourself have many things you can’t even digest, right?"

"Right." Xie Yizun was being slandered today, and the competition was overwhelmingly stressful. How could he have the energy to deal with others’ issues?

"That’s it, got it?! If you hang around gossiping people too much, one day you’ll buckle under pressure or when you’re in a bad state and don’t want to listen anymore, they’ll start overthinking and concoct new stories in their heads, thinking all their troubles stem from your refusal to listen. Then you’ll become the scapegoat for their unhappiness. Listen to this logic, what does it sound like?

"A twisted mess, like someone with mental issues." Xie Yizun’s anger flared up uncontrollably as he listened to Ning Youguang’s analysis.

"Exactly, unreasonable people are like mental cases." Ning Youguang said, "Encountering mentally disturbed people means no matter what you do, it’s wrong. They’ll always have reasons to think you’re bad. Are you that idle, wasting time to play such mental games with them."

"Scared, scared, I can’t afford this game." If they were having a WeChat conversation now, Xie Yizun would surely send his sister a string of emojis expressing refusal, precisely conveying his feelings at this moment.

"The breeding ground of self-dependence is environment, is the group. When you don’t join their group or listen to their stories, they naturally can’t perform in front of you." Ning Youguang said, "In the future, when others bring issues to you, solve them if you can, if not, tell them you’re unable to help, or suggest they see a psychologist. Otherwise, you’ll get involved, complicating things further. And if you stop listening, there’ll be no audience, no mirror, their self can’t continue the act, it’ll stop. Otherwise, as long as someone listens, they’ll continue performing, unable to turn back, causing more annoyance."

"I understand." Xie Yizun felt exhausted, "Why are these people so skewed in their values, can’t they do something productive?"