This study explores the complex emotional landscape of Chinese middle-class parents in educational investment, focusing on the paradoxical interplay of confidence and anxiety. Through in-depth interviews with 16 parents in Nanjing, we employed Bourdieu's concepts of illusio and 'capital' to examine how personal emotions, family resources, and policies shape parental educational strategies. Findings indicate that despite the 'Double Reduction' policy, parents remain invested in educational illusio, confidently deploying various forms of capital. However, the gap between illusio and actual opportunities generates anxiety. Parents demonstrate reflexive adaptation and risk mitigation strategies, recalibrating personal illusio to align educational expectations with opportunities. This research expands upon existing explanations of educational anxiety as a unidirectional driver, illuminating the multifaceted emotional dynamics and adaptive mechanisms of middle-class parents in a changing policy landscape.