Chinese people are especially afraid of not doing well in life, but strangely, the more anxious they are, the more they tend to偏 (veer off) in the wrong direction. The things that truly determine fate are often avoided, and in the end, they can only mess with symbols that are easiest to control. For example, many Chinese people taboo the number "4". They avoid the 4th floor when buying a house, avoid 4 in phone numbers, avoid 4 in license plates, and even hospitals, elevators, and hotels actively "eliminate" 4.

The problem is, in traditional Chinese culture, "4" is not originally an unlucky number. The four seasons, the four directions of heaven and earth, stability, and peace across the four seas—"4" actually represents completeness, stability, and order.
What truly makes "4" become "inauspicious" is actually modern society.
When houses began to be financialized, floors had prices; when phone numbers and license plates became symbols of identity; when commerce constantly promoted "8 for wealth, 6 for smoothness, 4 as bad"; numbers gradually stopped being just numbers and instead became carriers of anxiety.
Because many people don't actually believe that numbers can truly change fate. But they believe: if they no longer have the ability to change the macro environment, income, social class, and future, at least they can control their house number and phone suffix.
This is a typical modern anxiety. The more insecure people feel, the more superstitious they become about symbols; the less they can control reality, the more they cling to "auspicious" signs.
Thus, a number originally symbolizing completeness, "4," has been forcibly shaped by the times into an "inauspicious" sign; while an ordinary "8" has been packaged as an illusion of wealth and success.
At the same time, many people claim to believe in science, yet they seek psychological comfort in numbers, feng shui, almanacs, and "good omens." Because truly difficult things—such as improving cognition, taking risks, and changing structural dilemmas—are too painful.
Compared to that, avoiding a "4" seems cheap, simple, and can give people the illusion that they are "already working hard to improve their fate." So, what people are truly afraid of is never "4." What they really fear is losing control of their lives.