What is the sadness of the small-town test-taker? The most frightening thing about test-takers isn't even physical injury. They mistakenly believe that their high school self was "hardworking," while their college self is "degenerate," and that all future setbacks are due to not persevering and "working hard" like in high school. As a result, they blame themselves madly and give up on themselves at the same time. In fact, test-takers in high school weren't really working hard; they were just carried along by the atmosphere. You don't understand why you're doing the questions; you only vaguely know that doing questions has benefits. But no matter how deep the understanding, you can't grasp it, and you don't have time to think—just doing one exam paper after another. When you get to college, your self-motivation drops to zero. Your parents are still stuck in the era of "top students come from every profession" and "graduation guarantees a job." Your teachers' only goal is for you to score high. You only get half a day off every two weeks, and you can't even watch two new episodes of your favorite anime. Unsurprisingly, you start staying up late, playing online games, browsing forums, and growing strong in Dior's petri dish. Between ages 25-30, the test-taker will face their first breakdown. You realize your classmates are pulling ahead, others are thriving, getting promotions, raises, and marrying wealthy and beautiful partners. Meanwhile, you're stuck doing meaningless low-wage labor or even unemployed and living off your parents. This isn't sudden; it's the total reckoning after wasting countless time and opportunities. So, what is the true sadness of the test-taker? It's that you know nothing about how this world operates, that during your most energetic and opportunity-filled youth, you suck on the nipple of superficial pleasures like a baby. It's that your parents, aside from providing basic material needs, can only hinder you. You have to pay a bloody price to learn the experience that others' parents have been telling their children since childhood.