Welcome to 听故事说中文, the podcast where stories come alive to help you improve your Chinese language proficiency and cultural competency.

Today, we're talking about champion diver Quan Hongchan. While fans celebrated her recent gold medal, many noticed how visibly thin she's become. Behind her flawless dives is a grueling, almost heartbreaking battle with the scale.

We'll explore the extreme discipline required to stay at the top at just 17 years old—like stressing over 50 grams of water and giving up everyday joys like fried chicken or a simple sip of cola. But this isn't just a sports story. It's a relatable reflection on how we so often tie our own self-worth to numbers, and a gentle reminder to appreciate the simple freedoms we take for granted.

Rui & Simeng

************************************************************

Support Our Podcast

If our podcast brings value to your life and you'd like to help us continue creating great content, consider becoming a patron for as little as $7 a month. As a patron, you will enjoy:

• ✨ Ad-free episodes for an uninterrupted listening experience.
• 📜Access to all story and story walkthrough transcripts.
• 📚 Comprehensive vocabulary lists.
• 🎧 Exclusive patron-only episodes.
• 💬 The opportunity to join our member community for weekly online meetups.

Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep delivering the content you love. Thank you for considering becoming a part of our community! 💖
- LCTS

************************************************************

Check out our playlists on Spotify

Chinese for Intermediate-Playlist

Chinese for Intermediate High-Playlist

Chinese for Advanced-Playlist

Chinese for Superior- Playlist

Chinese for Beginners-Playlist

Welcome to 听故事说中文, the podcast where stories come alive to help you improve your Chinese language proficiency and cultural competency.

Today, we're talking about champion diver Quan Hongchan. While fans celebrated her recent gold medal, many noticed how visibly thin she's become. Behind her flawless dives is a grueling, almost heartbreaking battle with the scale.

We'll explore the extreme discipline required to stay at the top at just 17 years old—like stressing over 50 grams of water and giving up everyday joys like fried chicken or a simple sip of cola. But this isn't just a sports story. It's a relatable reflection on how we so often tie our own self-worth to numbers, and a gentle reminder to appreciate the simple freedoms we take for granted.

Rui & Simeng

************************************************************

Support Our Podcast

If our podcast brings value to your life and you'd like to help us continue creating great content, consider becoming a patron for as little as $7 a month. As a patron, you will enjoy:

• ✨ Ad-free episodes for an uninterrupted listening experience.
• 📜Access to all story and story walkthrough transcripts.
• 📚 Comprehensive vocabulary lists.
• 🎧 Exclusive patron-only episodes.
• 💬 The opportunity to join our member community for weekly online meetups.

Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep delivering the content you love. Thank you for considering becoming a part of our community! 💖
- LCTS

************************************************************

Check out our playlists on Spotify

Chinese for Intermediate-Playlist

Chinese for Intermediate High-Playlist

Chinese for Advanced-Playlist

Chinese for Superior- Playlist

Chinese for Beginners-Playlist

Welcome to 听故事说中文, the podcast where stories come alive to help you improve your Chinese language proficiency and cultural competency.

Have you ever felt like someone was watching you? For Pipi, a 32-year-old working in Beijing, that feeling became a literal reality overnight. Her company, struggling with declining profits, decided to install high-tech AI surveillance—cameras that don't just record video, but analyze exactly how long you're at your desk and even if you look like you're daydreaming.

Management hoped this "digital boss" would spark a new wave of productivity. Instead, the office went silent. Genuine collaboration was replaced by anxiety and a quiet, collective resistance known as "lying flat."

In today's episode, we follow Pipi as she navigates an environment where trust has been replaced by algorithms. It's a fascinating look at the modern workplace, the limits of technology, and the universal human need for dignity.

Let's dive into the story and see why Pipi believes that true efficiency can't be forced by a camera.

—Rui and Simeng

************************************************************

Support Our Podcast

If our podcast brings value to your life and you'd like to help us continue creating great content, consider becoming a patron for as little as $7 a month. As a patron, you will enjoy:

• ✨ Ad-free episodes for an uninterrupted listening experience.
• 📜Access to all story and story walkthrough transcripts.
• 📚 Comprehensive vocabulary lists.
• 🎧 Exclusive patron-only episodes.
• 💬 The opportunity to join our member community for weekly online meetups.

Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep delivering the content you love. Thank you for considering becoming a part of our community! 💖
- LCTS

************************************************************

Check out our playlists on Spotify

Chinese for Intermediate-Playlist

Chinese for Intermediate High-Playlist

Chinese for Advanced-Playlist

Chinese for Superior- Playlist

Chinese for Beginners-Playlist

Welcome to 听故事说中文, the podcast where stories come alive to help you improve your Chinese language proficiency and cultural competency.

Have you ever felt like someone was watching you? For Pipi, a 32-year-old working in Beijing, that feeling became a literal reality overnight. Her company, struggling with declining profits, decided to install high-tech AI surveillance—cameras that don't just record video, but analyze exactly how long you're at your desk and even if you look like you're daydreaming.

Management hoped this "digital boss" would spark a new wave of productivity. Instead, the office went silent. Genuine collaboration was replaced by anxiety and a quiet, collective resistance known as "lying flat."

In today's episode, we follow Pipi as she navigates an environment where trust has been replaced by algorithms. It's a fascinating look at the modern workplace, the limits of technology, and the universal human need for dignity.

Let's dive into the story and see why Pipi believes that true efficiency can't be forced by a camera.

—Rui and Simeng

************************************************************

Support Our Podcast

If our podcast brings value to your life and you'd like to help us continue creating great content, consider becoming a patron for as little as $7 a month. As a patron, you will enjoy:

• ✨ Ad-free episodes for an uninterrupted listening experience.
• 📜Access to all story and story walkthrough transcripts.
• 📚 Comprehensive vocabulary lists.
• 🎧 Exclusive patron-only episodes.
• 💬 The opportunity to join our member community for weekly online meetups.

Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep delivering the content you love. Thank you for considering becoming a part of our community! 💖
- LCTS

************************************************************

Check out our playlists on Spotify

Chinese for Intermediate-Playlist

Chinese for Intermediate High-Playlist

Chinese for Advanced-Playlist

Chinese for Superior- Playlist

Chinese for Beginners-Playlist

Welcome to 听故事说中文, the podcast where stories come alive to help you improve your Chinese language proficiency and cultural competency.

In today's episode, we are diving into the world of sports, but we aren't talking about loud personalities or flashy headlines. Instead, we're looking at Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a pitcher who redefined success through quiet persistence.

Yamamoto wasn't the tallest or the most physically imposing player on the field. In fact, many underestimated him early on. But while others relied on raw power, Yamamoto relied on something arguably more difficult to master: precision and emotional discipline. From his humble beginnings in Okayama to the high-stakes mounds of Major League Baseball, his journey is a masterclass in how to handle pressure without saying a word.

************************************************************

Support Our Podcast

If our podcast brings value to your life and you'd like to help us continue creating great content, consider becoming a patron for as little as $7 a month. As a patron, you will enjoy:

• ✨ Ad-free episodes for an uninterrupted listening experience.
• 📜Access to all story and story walkthrough transcripts.
• 📚 Comprehensive vocabulary lists.
• 🎧 Exclusive patron-only episodes.
• 💬 The opportunity to join our member community for weekly online meetups.

Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep delivering the content you love. Thank you for considering becoming a part of our community! 💖
- LCTS

************************************************************

Check out our playlists on Spotify

Chinese for Intermediate-Playlist

Chinese for Intermediate High-Playlist

Chinese for Advanced-Playlist

Chinese for Superior- Playlist

Chinese for Beginners-Playlist

Welcome to 听故事说中文, the podcast where stories come alive to help you improve your Chinese language proficiency and cultural competency.

In today's episode, we are diving into the world of sports, but we aren't talking about loud personalities or flashy headlines. Instead, we're looking at Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a pitcher who redefined success through quiet persistence.

Yamamoto wasn't the tallest or the most physically imposing player on the field. In fact, many underestimated him early on. But while others relied on raw power, Yamamoto relied on something arguably more difficult to master: precision and emotional discipline. From his humble beginnings in Okayama to the high-stakes mounds of Major League Baseball, his journey is a masterclass in how to handle pressure without saying a word.

************************************************************

Support Our Podcast

If our podcast brings value to your life and you'd like to help us continue creating great content, consider becoming a patron for as little as $7 a month. As a patron, you will enjoy:

• ✨ Ad-free episodes for an uninterrupted listening experience.
• 📜Access to all story and story walkthrough transcripts.
• 📚 Comprehensive vocabulary lists.
• 🎧 Exclusive patron-only episodes.
• 💬 The opportunity to join our member community for weekly online meetups.

Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep delivering the content you love. Thank you for considering becoming a part of our community! 💖
- LCTS

************************************************************

Check out our playlists on Spotify

Chinese for Intermediate-Playlist

Chinese for Intermediate High-Playlist

Chinese for Advanced-Playlist

Chinese for Superior- Playlist

Chinese for Beginners-Playlist

Welcome to 听故事说中文, the podcast where stories come alive to help you improve your Chinese language proficiency and cultural competency.

This week, we've got a powerful, satirical story about a young man who is, quite literally, a "testing genius."

He did everything right: top student every single year, culminating in scoring the highest in the province on the college entrance exam—the Zhuangyuan. But his success came at a cost. His life was completely mapped out by his high-achieving parents, treating him more like a project than a person.

The heart-wrenching twist comes after the final exam. When his mother finally offers him freedom—TV, games, going out—he can only stare blankly and reply: "没意思" (méi yìsi), "It's boring."

Join us as we explore this story about an exam-obsessed culture and the devastating moment a mind brilliant at tests loses the ability to live.

Comment below and share with us your thoughts.

Btw, did you tell the difference on the sound quality ? 😊
Simeng

************************************************************

Support Our Podcast

If our podcast brings value to your life and you'd like to help us continue creating great content, consider becoming a patron for as little as $7 a month. As a patron, you will enjoy:

• ✨ Ad-free episodes for an uninterrupted listening experience.
• 📜Access to all story and story walkthrough transcripts.
• 📚 Comprehensive vocabulary lists.
• 🎧 Exclusive patron-only episodes.
• 💬 The opportunity to join our member community for weekly online meetups.

Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep delivering the content you love. Thank you for considering becoming a part of our community! 💖
- LCTS

************************************************************

Check out our playlists on Spotify

Chinese for Intermediate-Playlist

Chinese for Intermediate High-Playlist

Chinese for Advanced-Playlist

Chinese for Superior- Playlist

Chinese for Beginners-Playlist

Welcome to 听故事说中文, the podcast where stories come alive to help you improve your Chinese language proficiency and cultural competency.

This week, we've got a powerful, satirical story about a young man who is, quite literally, a "testing genius."

He did everything right: top student every single year, culminating in scoring the highest in the province on the college entrance exam—the Zhuangyuan. But his success came at a cost. His life was completely mapped out by his high-achieving parents, treating him more like a project than a person.

The heart-wrenching twist comes after the final exam. When his mother finally offers him freedom—TV, games, going out—he can only stare blankly and reply: "没意思" (méi yìsi), "It's boring."

Join us as we explore this story about an exam-obsessed culture and the devastating moment a mind brilliant at tests loses the ability to live.

Comment below and share with us your thoughts.

Btw, did you tell the difference on the sound quality ? 😊
Simeng

************************************************************

Support Our Podcast

If our podcast brings value to your life and you'd like to help us continue creating great content, consider becoming a patron for as little as $7 a month. As a patron, you will enjoy:

• ✨ Ad-free episodes for an uninterrupted listening experience.
• 📜Access to all story and story walkthrough transcripts.
• 📚 Comprehensive vocabulary lists.
• 🎧 Exclusive patron-only episodes.
• 💬 The opportunity to join our member community for weekly online meetups.

Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep delivering the content you love. Thank you for considering becoming a part of our community! 💖
- LCTS

************************************************************

Check out our playlists on Spotify

Chinese for Intermediate-Playlist

Chinese for Intermediate High-Playlist

Chinese for Advanced-Playlist

Chinese for Superior- Playlist

Chinese for Beginners-Playlist