Balfour looked at her, âWhat are you getting at?â
Ellinor stood up, her gaze steady on him, âMr. Howard, I think your teaching methods are a bit off.â
Balfour chuckled, âMs Mendoza, I didnât even get a chance to say hello. Weâve barely been apart, and here we are again. But before I could ask why you were with my brother, you jumped the gun and started questioning me. Do you think youâre an expert at education?â
Ellinor heard the sarcasm in Balfourâs words, but she clearly didnât care.
âIâm no expert, but sadly Iâve been through some pretty terrible education myself and have been on the receiving end of some horrible lessons. So I thought Iâd give you a heads up and save you some regret down the line.â
Balfour lounged in his chair with his elbow resting on the armrest and his long fingers lightly propping up his forehead, âWhat advice do you have to offer? Do tell, Iâm all earsâ
Ellinor glanced at Byran lying on the sickbed, his head hanging low, much like a mouse in the presence of a cat.
Then she fixed her cool and sharp gaze back onto Balfour.
*Mr. Howard, I understand you want your brother to succeed, but donât you think your way of teaching might crush his self-confidence, leaving him at a loss when faced with problems, or it could even make him start to doubt and loathe himself?â
Byran was taken aback. He looked up at Ellinor, surprised that she understood his feelings all along.
She was actually speaking up for him to Balfour.
Balfour squinted his eyes, âGo on.â
Ellinor continued, âByran got hurt today because he rushed to help a girl who suddenly fell ill.
Regardless, you should first affirm his intention to help, then slowly teach him to ensure his own safety the next time he helps someone else. Instead of outright negating everything he did, like you just didâ
Balfour raised an eyebrow slightly, âIf a person really wants to be acknowledged by others, the first thing they need to do is make their actions impeccable, not demand others to lower their expectations.â
Ellinor didnât agree with his harsh view, so she continued, âNo one is perfect!
Mr. Howard, perfectionism is your problem, not your brotherâs. You can demand yourself to be flawless, but you have no right to demand that he must also be a perfectionist, even if he is your own brother!
Everyone is an individual. His personality or bad grades donât mean he canât lead a satisfactory life.
Your brother has a knack for E-sports, he can totally make a name for himself with his own talent. Heâs still young, why wonât you let him do what he loves?
There has never been an absolute standard to judge what a person needs to achieve to be excellent, and not everyone needs to be an overachiever to be happy.
Some people donât need to meet othersâ standards of excellence; they can still lead a very satisfying and happy life.
As his brother, donât you want your brother to be happy?â
Byran looked at Ellinor in disbelief and was deeply moved as he listened to Ellinor say all this.
Ellinor had spoken about how he felt. She was truly his confidant!
However, in the face of Ellinorâs string of questions, Balfour didnât react much. He just squinted his eyes slightly and seemed to be listening, but not at the same time.